Chapter 45
Sluuurp…
We sat together on the bench, gazing up at the moon and drinking tea.
‘But where does this guy keep pulling the tea out from?’
Roy was puzzled. Did he have some unusual artifact?
‘Come to think of it, that would suit a high-ranking noble family best.’
Sluuurp…
“Still, it is nice to just relax like this for once.”
“….”
“I’ve been caught up in one thing after another lately.”
In truth, rather than getting caught up in things, I’d been waiting for trouble to happen so I could get involved.
Roy shook his head.
“You’re far too carefree.”
Slurp.
“You do know Crown Prince Roderick’s faction is still grinding their teeth over you, right?”
“So they are.”
“…Don’t underestimate the crown prince too much.”
Roy advised me seriously.
“If Crown Prince Roderick and Second Princess Elettra are in opposition, then no matter how you look at it, there are far more people in this empire who’ll side with Crown Prince Roderick.”
“Why? He seemed incompetent.”
“Tsk. You don’t even know something like that?”
Of course, Roy didn’t think Gilliam truly didn’t know. It was probably just the way that sly delinquent talked.
Then Roy could simply ignore Gilliam in kind.
“It’s precisely because he’s just incompetent enough. An emperor who’s too capable is exhausting.”
“…!”
Don’t light up like you’ve just had a brilliant change of perspective! It makes me want to hit you.
“And more than anything… His Highness Roderick has the power to get rid of anyone who displeases him.”
The higher you climbed, the less it mattered how strong any one individual was.
If two knights fought until one of them died, which one would win?
The stronger one, most likely.
Then what if two nobles fought until one of them died?
Would the stronger one win?
No.
This time, it’d most likely be the one with more money and power.
They could buy strong people with money and use their authority to cover up murder.
Even the Everchess family couldn’t afford to ignore the crown prince.
But.
Even so, in the end, the imperial family and the crown prince stood above the Duke of Everchess’s house.
They possessed more money and power.
“I won’t tell you to bow and scrape… but you’d better be careful.”
Slurp.
“And it’s not just the crown prince. There are plenty of people within the academy who don’t look kindly on you, either.”
Slurp.
“The board especially must see you as a thorn in their side. If not for you, they’d have fired the professors they dislike by now….”
Especially Kadisha. With her strong sense of justice, she was the person the board found most troublesome.
“I even heard recently that some strange cult is after you, too… Tsk, the whole world’s your enemy. Tsk, tsk, how do you expect to survive after making enemies of everyone…? Tsk, you’re the most pathetic excuse for a delinquent, Everchess.”
Slurp.
“…Roy.”
“?”
Roy only raised an eyebrow, since he had a mouthful of tea.
“Are you worried about me?”
“Pffft!”
Roy turned into a tea-colored watering can.
“Y-you’re talking nonsense! Who in their right mind would worry about a hopeless piece of trash like you!”
Scratch.
“Male tsunderes have no market and no purpose… Anyway, thanks.”
Roy said seriously.
“…Everchess.”
“What?”
“Please, I’m begging you. Kill yourself.”
“That’s harsh, coming from a friend.”
“Who the hell is your friend!!!!!”
.
.
.
Weekends at the academy were generally a time to relax.
Cadets could laze around, study, or go out and have fun.
The day after the bunny-girl hullabaloo, which had taken place on Saturday.
A sunny Sunday morning.
Gilliam Everchess, the worst delinquent hooligan to ever make the academy tremble,
was, of all things!
“….”
reading a book in the library.
The smell of old paper and wood.
A table made of natural wood.
Dry air, necessary for preserving books.
The sound of a fountain pen being dipped in ink.
The sound of writing with an inked fountain pen.
It was an utterly ordinary library scene.
“….”
And that was precisely why Gilliam Everchess’s presence there felt so incredibly out of place.
Glance.
Glance, glance.
‘Strange…?’
‘Isn’t that the notorious delinquent…?’
‘What on earth is he doing here…?’
The academy was a four-year school.
And Gilliam’s reputation… or rather, infamy, had spread from first-years to fourth-years alike.
‘Did he come to the library to pick up girls…?’
‘But he’s just quietly reading…?’
‘He’s even reading the book properly…?’
Glance, glance.
Glance, glance.
‘Is he researching something…?’
‘Maybe he’s studying psychology to figure out how to make women even more submissive…?’
‘Or maybe some wicked occult technique or forbidden magic…?’
Shiver…
Shiver-shiver… No, that sound effect’s weird.
Anyway.
The sight of the delinquent reading a book was seriously disrupting the concentration of the cadets gathered in the library.
‘…He looks good when he’s concentrating, too.’
‘His profile is nice….’
‘Maybe he has an intellectual charm, too…?’
‘I hope he dies.’
‘Die, die, die, die, die, die.’
Anyway.
It wasn’t right to leave things as they were.
“……Haa.”
So, taking advantage of the moment Gilliam briefly straightened his shoulders,
“E-Everchess.”
“Yeah?”
Turning to the side, I saw a woman with her face hidden behind a book.
She was a library committee member.
The name on her name tag was 「Libri Fazel」.
A second-year cadet. In other words, my senior by one year.
A beautiful woman with a shy, bookish air about her and striking, calm blue hair.
But even from Libri, it was painfully clear that this was a top-tier game for the subculture.
Even the shy, book-loving library committee girl had a revealing neckline.
“What is it?”
“Um….”
Libri asked cautiously.
“C-could I see what book you’re reading?”
“?”
I pointed to the pile of books beside me. Go ahead.
Libri scanned the titles.
“「On the Abyss」, 「How to Resist Black Magic」, 「The History of Stars and Darkness」….”
Libri blinked.
“…Why are they so ordinary?”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”
Libri carefully ran her hand over the books.
“You’re not treating them carelessly, either?”
“Well… this is a library, isn’t it?”
“That’s a relief….”
“You shouldn’t mistreat public property.”
“Exactly. Anyone who damages library books should have to buy new copies out of their own pocket… Especially those bastards who underline things in library books. We should catch every last one of them and—”
Libri gave a little cough.
“S-sorry.”
…She had a surprisingly violent side.
What darkness had she witnessed as a library committee member?
〈Next Praise Recommendation (LV.3)〉
【Automatically identifies the target → Libri Fazel】
Recommended line: 「It’s beautiful how you cherish books」
Mood: Calmly, sincerely
“Senior.”
“Hm?”
“It’s beautiful how you cherish books.”
“….”
Senior Libri’s ears turned red.
“I-I’m not falling for that, okay? I already know you’re the infamous delinquent….”
【The target’s heart skips a beat】
<Praise Points: +300 (33000→33300)>
“I wasn’t trying to trick you.”
“I-I don’t know… Just keep treating books carefully from now on….”
Libri started to return to her seat.
“Oh, Senior Libri.”
“Hm…?”
“When you hear ‘forbidden knowledge,’ what comes to mind first?”
Maron’s third Bond Quest.
Study forbidden knowledge together.
I wanted a hint for how to do that.
“W-well, I don’t know? I’m not sure.”
“I see. Understood. Thank you.”
“…You’re surprisingly formal, aren’t you?”
“You’re my senior.”
“Well, that’s true, but….”
Senior Libri kept tilting her head as she returned to her seat.
Then she glanced over and over.
She looked toward Gilliam, who was once again engrossed in his book.
Fidgeting with her fingertips for no reason.
‘Wow….’
‘Is he really taking down another woman just like that?’
‘Crazy bastard… crazy bastard….’
‘Die, die, die, die, die painfully, die miserably, die, die, die, die, die.’
.
.
.
When my body started to feel stiff, I headed to the training hall.
In an indoor space similar to a gym in my old world, a few academy swordsmanship students were training.
‘This really is steeped in romance-fantasy conventions.’
There should normally be far more people training.
Most of them were probably busy attending romance-fantasy-style balls or social gatherings right now.
‘Stats.’
〈Stats〉
Strength: B
Stamina: C
Agility: C+
Mana: C
Accuracy: C+
Resistance: B
The stats I’d improved in preparation for the recent Void Body incident.
As expected, I still had a long way to go.
But I’d improved a lot from all Fs.
‘It’s not like I’ll get much stronger from exercising anyway.’
Winning women over with compliments is much faster.
But to adapt to my increased stats, I had to exercise and get my body used to them.
Otherwise, my body might move faster than expected and I could end up getting hurt.
‘Then I’ll start with legs—’
“Hey.”
“?”
A tall, broad-built senior was talking to me.
A warrior prodigy, much like Magnum.
“Are you young master Everchess?”
“I am….”
“Hmm. I’m Yungt.”
Yungt held out a hand to shake.
“I hear you’ve been seducing all sorts of women?”
“There are all kinds of strange rumors about me, aren’t there?”
It really was strange.
“They only see me as a friend.”
“….”
“….”
“….”
The training hall turned cold.
‘Crazy bastard….’
‘He’s even crazier than I heard…?’
‘Why is he still alive? Why hasn’t anyone stabbed him yet?’
Even Yungt was taken aback.
“A-ahem! I-I see….”
He was far crazier than I’d imagined.
“I didn’t call you over for any particular reason… Would you arm-wrestle me?”
“I don’t mind, but why all of a sudden—”
“And if I win!”
Yungt shouted. Whoa, that startled me.
“D-don’t touch Fazel!”
“…Who’s Fazel?”
I’d heard that name recently.
‘Good heavens….’
‘He picked her up and doesn’t even know her name?’
‘Was she not even worth remembering by name…!?’
“Ah…! Do you mean Senior Libri Fazel, the library committee member?”
“Y-yeah! That Fazel!”
“You must have gotten the wrong idea because she spoke to me today? I have no intention of bothering her.”
“Really!?”
Yungt brightened up.
“Of course.”
I genuinely didn’t understand.
How on earth had this misunderstanding come about?
“Why would I pick a fight with Senior Libri?”
“….”
“I can’t think of any reason to be mean to a kind and charming woman like Senior Libri.”