Crisis (1)

After Aira deserted our group, the group assignment proceeded so smoothly that it made all my worries seem pointless.

As the saying goes, a mud loach muddies the water. Once that mud loach was gone, the water it had muddied naturally cleared up as well.

As I’d always said, I could have handled the assignment alone, but this was, after all, a group assignment, so I put in the effort. Whenever Benjamin and Leona came up with a plausible hypothesis, I refuted it or fleshed it out.

Thanks to that, we produced a very satisfying result. Of course, since all I had done was flesh out the hypotheses they had put together, I took responsibility for the presentation myself.

"But didn't you say The Life of Xenon wasn't fun? From the looks of it, you read it pretty thoroughly."

"S-Shut up! I was just curious about what came next!"

When Benjamin was away, I could exchange all sorts of stories with Leona. Despite the way she talked, I realized she was a reader who genuinely enjoyed The Life of Xenon.

Her ears twitched above her head whenever she got excited, which was a little distracting, but Leona only showed her true self around me, so it wasn’t a major problem.

"Are you really going to be able to give the presentation properly? If it’s too much, I can do it for you."

After her brief excitement subsided, Leona asked me in her characteristic cynical tone. She looked at me primly with her arms folded, but concern and worry were mixed into her gaze.

I wasn’t sure whether she didn’t trust me or felt sorry that I had ended up handling the presentation as well. Still, considering Leona’s personality, I guessed it was the latter.

"I can do it. Just trust me once. Or would you like to try?"

"Forget it. The presentation is tomorrow; what are you going to do now? Anyway, I’m leaving. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

When Leona waved and left, I waved back and saw her off. The place where Leona and I had just been was secluded, so we had been able to talk to our heart’s content.

A little while later, after watching Leona disappear from sight, I headed off. I’d finished the final check, so I planned to rest comfortably and write during the time I had left.

'I wish third year would come soon. I’d have plenty of time then."

After returning to the dorm and throwing myself onto the bed, I thought about the future. As Professor Birus had explained in the first class, students had to earn above a certain score through their second year to advance to the next year.

But once you became a third-year student, you chose the major you wanted to focus on, and all you had to do was delve into that major. I learned that when I went to Professor Birus separately last Monday to report Aira’s conduct, among other things.

If the first two years combined high school and university, then from the third year onward, you were a university student who focused on a single subject. No need to worry about credits or anything like that; you just concentrated on that major and earned good grades.

'What about me...'

Naturally, my goal was history. There was no field in this world I found more interesting than history.

I wanted to become a third-year student as soon as possible so I could quickly finish writing The Life of Xenon and start my next work too—a modern-day story that would be treated as fantasy in this world.

Instead, it would deal with the history of a tragic war, so it wouldn’t have heroic deeds like The Life of Xenon.

'No. No. Rather than thinking about my next work, I should focus on The Life of Xenon for now.'

If I started working on it for no good reason, I might end up spreading myself too thin. That could lower the quality of my work, so for now it was better to devote myself to The Life of Xenon.

Of course, once I had only two volumes left until the end, I planned to work out the setting gradually. That should be fine by then.

'...I should write when I’m thinking about things like this.'

Even wasting time like this felt like a shame. Recently, between Aira’s problem and all the other things I had to worry about, I was a little tired, but it was bearable.

More than anything, if I lay down now, I’d probably wake up tomorrow morning. Wouldn’t it be better to finish at least one part before going to sleep?

So I dragged my weary body to the desk and sat down. On the desk lay the manuscript pages I had been writing on until just before leaving the dorm, neatly arranged.

'I wonder if those people are doing all right?'

As I infused mana into my magic pen, I suddenly thought of the complete madhouse. They had seemed decent on the first day, but as time passed, it became painfully obvious that cracks were appearing.

Rina, who always wore an utterly carefree expression, had become expressionless, and Cecily’s bright expression whenever she saw me had also darkened sharply. As for Maria, perhaps she had half given up, because she occasionally let out a hollow laugh.

Of all of them, however, the most remarkable was unquestionably Jackson. Jackson, who had clung to them in an effort to form a connection, was gradually growing uncomfortable around them.

What’s more, he would occasionally give me an envious (!) look. I could roughly guess how serious things were.

Perhaps he had been burned badly by doing a group assignment. From the start, they were a combination that could no more mix than oil and water.

'I do feel a little sorry for him. We only have one...'

Trickle-

In the middle of my thoughts, liquid began to run from my nose. I came out of my reverie and brought a hand to my upper lip. It felt slightly sticky.

When I pulled my hand away, half expecting the worst, bright-red blood had smeared across it. It was a nosebleed.

No wonder I had felt so sluggish today; my body had finally sent me a warning.

Drip- drip-

As I stared blankly at the blood on my hand, it began to drip onto the manuscript pages. I jumped and hurriedly moved the pages out of the way.

Fortunately, it had landed on the edge rather than the middle, so I avoided the disaster of having to rewrite the manuscript. Even so, I needed to stop the bleeding quickly.

"Tissue..."

Apparently, I’d have to take the day off from writing.

*****

Time passed, and the day of the presentation arrived. It meant the end of the group assignment, which had brought plenty of drama and trouble, was drawing near.

"Hey. Don’t tell me you guys actually prepared everything?"

"We did."

"Hmph. Really? Fine. I’m the group leader, so if you apologize, I might take you back..."

"Fuck off."

And just before class began, Aira suddenly came over and shamelessly tried to act as if nothing had happened, but I swore at her again, emphatically.

Marie, sitting beside me, looked at me in surprise when I swore, but I ignored her.

She had overturned her own table, so where did she get off trying to put her spoon on someone else’s? Aira’s shamelessness was so beyond imagination that I felt sick; I didn’t think I could hold back unless I cursed at her.

"You...! Just you wait! I really am going to send a letter to my father!"

"Do whatever you want."

Anyway, Aira returned to her seat after saying only that I would regret it. I watched her retreat on her short legs, then shook my head.

How depraved did someone have to be to act like that? In another sense, she was even more impressive than Jackson.

"Did you get into a fight with her?"

As I sighed inwardly, Marie, sitting next to me, asked a question. Her voice was full of curiosity.

I answered in a low, flat voice without even looking at her. No matter how I thought about it, my anger at Aira’s shamelessness kept surging.

"We did. She said something she shouldn’t have."

"What did she say?"

"A few weeks ago, my older brother joined the Navy Knights. And she’s the daughter of House Matius. You know what I mean, right?"

"I think I roughly get it."

Even after I said that much, Marie nodded as if she understood. Then again, it was such a famous family that it would have been strange if Marie didn’t know about it.

I watched her nod, then asked in a tentative voice. I was worried that she might look down on soldiers just like Aira did.

"Marie. What do you think of soldiers?"

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"The reason I fought with Aira was partly because of my brother, but she also treated soldiers like guard dogs that only protected the house. I wondered if all nobles were like that."

Of course, I didn’t think Marie herself held that sort of mindset. But I was concerned that most nobles, if not Marie personally, might think that way.

If the daughter of a military family could make such outrageous remarks, I couldn’t even imagine what the other nobles were like.

Marie fiercely furrowed her brow and spoke as if asking whether I was serious.

"...Are you insane? If someone said something like that, they’d be forced to enlist."

"They’d be forced to enlist?"

"Yeah. It’s one of the well-known punishments among us nobles. If a noble’s child insults a soldier, the parents force the child to enlist as a soldier. Most don’t last a month before bursting into tears, but they’re required to serve for two years. It’s stipulated by law, so being a noble doesn’t make any difference."

That was certainly a novel yet effective punishment. Anyone who had served in the military would know firsthand just how terrifying the punishment Marie mentioned was.

They would learn painfully how warm the nest of home was, how good family and society were, and, finally, how fucking awful the military was.

This world also had no smartphones or televisions, so there must have been an absurd amount of abuse and hardship. There was no punishment more effective for noble children raised like hothouse flowers.

"What happens if it’s the parent, rather than the child, who insults a soldier?"

"That hardly ever happens, but I doubt they’d come out of it looking good. And if the daughter of House Matius really insulted a soldier, the repercussions would be enormous. Enlistment would be certain, for starters, and in the worst case, she could even be expelled from the family."

Enlistment, huh... It might be fun to see. Wouldn’t Aira soon learn firsthand what the second day at boot camp felt like?

I chuckled, wishing that day would come soon. She needed to suffer a little before she came to her senses.

"Anyway, did your group prepare everything?"

While I was grinning to myself, Marie asked me in a cautious voice.

I answered Marie, who was cautiously gauging my reaction after hearing the question.

"We finished everything. What about you?"

"...I don’t see any reason to answer that."

Judging by her hollow laugh, they had bombed it spectacularly, just as I expected.

Still, I was curious all the same, so I asked despite the intrusion.

"Did you at least participate?"

"I participated, but I didn’t actually do anything. We just gathered, chatted, and called it a day. And that only happened twice."

"Then what about the research and presentation?"

"Who do you think did all that? For the record, I didn’t do anything either."

"... ..."

When Marie turned the question back on me, I was left with nothing to say.

No wonder Jackson had looked so gloomy; that must have been why. I could sympathize, so I found myself feeling sorry for him.

"Actually, I gave up the moment the groups were assigned like that. The grade might sting a little, but it won’t be too bad. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll just focus on another major."

"A major... What major will you choose when you become a third-year student?"

I asked because I suddenly became curious. I had settled on history, but I didn’t know about the others.

Of course, someone might think it was a little early to ask when even the first semester wasn’t over. But surely they had something in mind.

Marie rested her chin on her hand, thought it over carefully, and then spoke quietly.

"A major... I don’t know. I’d like to study political science, but Rina will be there, so forget it. I don’t have anything in particular in mind for now. I just want to graduate. What about you?"

"History, obviously."

When I answered without the slightest hesitation, Marie made a face as if she had heard something bizarre.

"Is history really that interesting? I can’t understand it."

"Maybe not for you, but it is for me. Do you have any idea how interesting history is?"

"All right, all right. That must be why you know so much about history. Why don’t you just write a book? Professor Elena praised your writing too, remember?"

"Uh..."

The sudden direct hit made me pause for a moment. She had probably meant it as a joke, but I couldn’t dismiss it as one.

Then Marie studied my face and spoke with an odd expression.

"What’s with that expression? Are you really writing one?"

"No?"

"Hmm..."

When I denied it, she stared intently at my face, then lowered her gaze. Marie’s eyes were fixed precisely on my right hand, where the pen callus had formed.

I almost instinctively hid my hand, but barely managed to suppress the urge so I wouldn’t arouse suspicion. Perhaps Marie had decided not to question it any further, because she looked ahead again and spoke.

"Well... if you say you aren’t, then I suppose you aren’t. Still, if you really write a book, show it to me sometime. I am curious."

"I told you I’m not writing one."

"Who said anything? Oh, of course, I could ask my dad to sponsor you, at least."

"Oh, give it a rest."

Even when I grumbled for her to stop, Marie only giggled. Fortunately, it seemed she had meant it as a joke rather than seriously.

But it was still enough to make my blood run cold. She had come at me so suddenly and absurdly that it was extremely difficult to respond.

'How long am I going to have to live on edge?'

I wanted to reveal everything outright, but I was afraid of the aftermath. Besides, I had to be patient for my father’s sake, since he was working so hard to hide my identity.

Anyway, class began, and the presentation—the highlight of the group assignment—started. As I expected, the presenter for Marie’s group was Jackson, and he appeared utterly exhausted, inspiring pity.

'You’ve really had a rough time.'

Perhaps he would stop hitting on them so much after this. I watched him return to his seat with a pitiful expression.

Maybe he had noticed me looking at him too. Jackson met my eyes, but merely let out a hollow laugh and showed no reaction at all.

Thus, one way or another, all the presentations ended, humanities class was over, and the other classes proceeded normally without incident.

After all the classes had ended, I ate with my group members and returned to the dorm.

"Hm?"

When I opened the dormitory door and went inside, I saw an envelope lying by itself on the floor.

I picked it up casually and found that it was a letter from home. Since I hadn’t been expecting any mail from my parents recently, I couldn’t help but wonder.

'I wonder what happened?'

I sat on the bed, opened the envelope, and pulled out the letter. And what that letter contained was...

[They've picked up our trail. Be careful for now.]

It was a warning written in my father’s handwriting.

"... ..."

I blinked at the warning.