Chapter 26
At midday, countless students were reading in the library with languid expressions.
There was still a long time before exam season, but the academy’s final exams were not something one could overcome by cramming. Without studying consistently, there was no way to maintain one’s grades.
They had only just finished lunch, and an important festival like the Hunting Festival was just around the corner. There was no way the contents of their books were properly sinking in.
That was why most of the students sitting in the library were yawning as though they were bored.
Of course, there were still some students studying diligently among them, but they must have been oddballs who had never found studying boring in the first place. They were the sort of strange people one could see only at an academy.
Unfortunately, I belonged to the former group rather than the latter. While I had been staying in the temple’s intensive care unit, the liberal arts lectures I was taking had progressed quite a bit, so I had deliberately come to the library to spend an unhappy stretch of time catching up.
If there was one consolation, it was that I did not have to shoulder this suffering alone. Leto was sitting across from me with a hollow-eyed expression.
There was only a single book in front of me, but several books boasting all sorts of colorful covers were stacked beside him like a tower. It was a volume of studying worthy of a student in the Department of Magic, where theory and hypotheses were held in high regard.
Compared to him, what a happy man I was. Thus, I consoled myself with that pitiful victory of the mind while sipping the tea I had brought in my canteen.
It was the sort of tea whose refreshing fragrance cleared the mind. It would not be an exaggeration to say that there was no academy student who did not make frequent use of it during exam season.
Naturally, Leto did too. He tipped the tea from his canteen into his mouth, then frowned when he realized that his share was empty.
He nudged me with the tip of his foot. I had been forcing myself to read despite my throbbing headache, so I looked at Leto questioningly.
Leto gestured with his eyes. The signal carried the following meaning.
‘Let’s step outside for a moment.’
As it happened, I had been looking for any excuse to escape the hell of this book. There was no reason to refuse Leto’s suggestion.
I enthusiastically closed the book. I did not forget the bookmark. I still had roughly half of it left to read, after all.
I did wonder what on earth someone who swung a sword would use ‘topology’ for, though. The academy required every student, whether in the literary or martial departments, to take at least one course each semester in both the humanities and the sciences, so it could not be helped.
Still, mathematics was somewhat better. If I asked Leto, I could usually get an answer. Even now, I had written down several things to ask him.
But the actual subject of conversation between Leto and me centered on an unexpected topic. It began when Leto picked up one of the newspapers published by the student clubs and placed at the entrance to the library as he was leaving.
Leto ordered tea at the student center directly across from the library, then leafed through the newspaper. His tired eyes swept across the pages until a glint of interest appeared in them, as though he had found something intriguing.
He burst into a chuckle. Then he held out the newspaper as though telling me to look. In particular, Leto tapped one section repeatedly with his finger.
A short headline was printed there.
‘South Forest Magical Beast Massacre’
I had just ordered a fresh cup of tea and was finishing the drink left in my canteen when I nearly spat it out.
My hand swiftly snatched the newspaper away. It contained a somewhat sensationalized rumor written as though it were an objective fact.
[‘South Forest Magical Beast Massacre’]
[Mr. Ian Percus (23), a third-year student at the main campus, has become the talk of the academy after subduing numerous magical beasts in the forest located south of the academy grounds on the 15th. The magical beasts Mr. Percus subdued alone that day numbered more than ten, including high-ranking magical beasts—an extraordinary achievement even considering that he is an upperclassman at the academy.]
[Meanwhile, Ms. Seria Yurdina (22), a second-year student, has become the subject of criticism after fleeing while leaving her companion in danger, despite her excellent standing as the top student in the Department of Swordsmanship. Regarding the mass outbreak of magical beasts in the South Forest, the Academic Affairs Office offered the explanation that it was ‘the result of allowing the magical beasts to breed unchecked in preparation for the Hunting Festival,’ and so on……]
[Mr. Ian Percus is also the central figure in the so-called ‘Yurdina’s Rude Brat Half-Death Incident,’ making him the subject of even more controversy. Despite being only a middling-to-low-ranking third-year student, he has recently demonstrated unexpected skill. How far can this rare figure from the ranks of the Empire’s lower nobility go?……]
The more I read, the stiffer my expression became. After reading the article down to the final line, I spoke with a frown.
“What is this?”
“What do you mean? It’s a newspaper article. About you, no less.”
Leto snickered as though it were someone else’s business, but I was not at ease. There were too many parts of the article that bothered me.
My voice rose, laced with irritation.
“No, what kind of content is this? There was only one high-ranking magical beast among the ones I subdued that day, so why does this make it sound as though several high-ranking magical beasts were included? And Seria fled while leaving her companion in danger? She went to call Professor Derek! And why are they emphasizing my background?”
“It sells better that way.”
Yet Leto answered as though he were stating an obvious truth.
“The public tends to be more drawn to the facts they want to believe than to the facts as they actually are. That rude brat of Yurdina ran away, while a middling-to-low-ranking student from the Empire’s lower nobility subdued numerous high-ranking magical beasts? Ha! There’s your story.”
“Even so……”
Privately, I thought Leto was right, but I still could not stop grumbling.
If this continued, I would feel terribly sorry for Seria. I had only recently heard that she was already suffering from harassment.
It felt as though I were using Seria as a sacrifice to build my own reputation, which made me feel even worse. No matter how little Seria cared about other people, wasn’t she human too?
Her heart must be made of flesh and muscle as well. I knew that she was being hurt by her relationships with others, whether she realized it or not, and I could no longer stand by and watch this situation unfold.
I had left a warning for the gang of punks chattering in the back alley a while ago, but if this distorted information continued to circulate, it would be like pouring water into a bottomless jar.
In the end, I nodded to myself as though I had made up my mind and spoke.
“……This won’t do. I should at least go complain to whoever published this newspaper.”
Yet Leto’s response to my firm resolve was utterly unenthusiastic. He gave a small laugh, stretched, and basked in the sunlight. Perhaps because he had found an interesting topic, some color had returned to his haggard expression.
“Don’t bother, don’t bother. A famous fourth-year is the president of that club. There’s no way she’ll listen to you.”
“Who’s the president?”
“The Ball Princess.”
“Ah, that commoner-born senior……”
I rubbed my face after hearing Leto’s words. If it was that senior, there was a high chance she would not even pretend to listen to me. She was famous for being impossible to read, despite having an extraordinarily rich network of connections.
Seeing me looking especially troubled today, Leto cautiously studied my expression before asking. It was a simple question, but one probing at the heart of the problem.
“Why? Did something happen?”
At his words, I hesitated for a moment. I was reluctant to tell him that Seria was being ostracized, and that it had recently escalated into harassment.
It was Seria’s personal problem. In fact, revealing such an issue to others might only hurt Seria more.
But it was also true that I could not think of a proper solution. I could not track down every person going around badmouthing Seria and warn them one by one.
In the end, I sighed and had no choice but to tell Leto roughly what I had heard about Seria’s situation yesterday.
That negative opinions about Seria had recently been spreading, that the distorted information about the magical beast subjugation had contributed to it, and that the harassment was increasingly crossing the line.
Leto listened with an expression that gave no indication of whether he was interested or not, then soon spoke in a disinterested voice.
“Those punks you said you met yesterday.”
“Huh?”
Faced with Leto’s sudden question, I could only respond with a puzzled sound.
The punks I had met yesterday? The ones who had been badmouthing Seria in that alley?
I had already dealt with them using appropriate means and given them a thorough warning. At the very least, they would not be able to openly pull anything on Seria from now on.
Since I had not spared them another thought after that, Leto’s focus on them struck me as somewhat out of nowhere.
But Leto seemed to have a slightly different perspective from mine.
“What color were their cloaks?”
“They called me ‘senior,’ so… Yeah, brown.”
Second-year students, the same year as Seria and Selin.
At my answer, Leto pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed as though he had expected it. An expression of genuine concern finally settled over his face.
He rubbed his temples repeatedly, perhaps because his head was throbbing. Irritation began to creep into his voice.
“First of all, it does seem like this is your fault……”
So it was? My gaze instinctively lowered. Apparently, I had provided a catalyst for the public’s existing dislike of Seria, even though it had already been building without my help.
I had made the decision to save Seria’s life, but because I had failed to think things through, I had ended up hurting her instead.
She still had two more years to spend at the academy after this one. If these opinions continued, she would inevitably run into trouble once she reached the upper years, where collective action became more important.
But Leto was not finished. He threw me a cryptic remark.
“……But it isn’t entirely your fault, either.”
The subtle nuance made me frown. What was he talking about? It was my fault, but it was not entirely my fault?
It was an ambiguous statement. A retort immediately sprang from my lips.
“What do you mean?”
“Who knows.”
Unlike my serious reaction, Leto offered only a listless response. Just as I decided I would have to press him on this properly,
Leto shook his head as though he had no choice. In the end, advice tinged with a sigh flowed from his lips.
“I’ll tell you this much. There’s always a group leading the way when it comes to ostracism. The ones who shape public opinion and actively participate in the harassment.”
“Tean’s group?”
At my words, Leto’s green eyes slid toward me before avoiding my gaze. A groan escaped him.
“Well, they’re part of it too, but… Think about it logically. If they alone could create this kind of atmosphere, wouldn’t they have done it long ago?”
“You mean another group has joined in?”
Leto shrugged. He did not answer, but the fact that he did not deny it was enough for me to gauge his suspicion.
I remained with my arms crossed, lost in thought for a moment. Another group had joined in? Why on earth?
It was something I could not know at present. But the answer was simple.
“Then we just need to crush those two groups, right?”
“No, I mean… I suppose so. But can you do it?”
At Leto’s doubtful look, I wore a bitter smile. Even so, my voice in response was calm yet confident.
“I have to. Somehow.”
It was my responsibility, and I wanted Seria not to be hurt any further because of me.
Yet in response to my resolute answer, Leto merely snorted and gave me grief.
“Nice resolve. Why don’t you use that determination to somehow manage topology, too?”
His words hit a nerve, and I blurted out a protest. It was one of the most fundamental questions I had been harboring lately.
“No, hey… Why does a swordsman have to study that crap in the first place? It makes no sense, does it?”
“Tsk, tsk. Don’t you know interdisciplinary integration is the trend these days? Try applying topology to swordsmanship somehow.”
Leto clicked his tongue and left me with that answer, but it was the sort of idea that did not even make me laugh hollowly.
“Are you crazy?”
Apply topology to swordsmanship?
Swordsmanship was a contest decided in an instant. There was a limit to what one could understand and calculate with one’s head. Each sword strike had to rely solely on intuition and experience in the moment.
Even Leto, who had thrown out the suggestion, merely waved his hand and laughed as though it had been a joke. And I had better things to do than become so invested in a joke, so I decided not to argue about it any further.
But one problem remained in my mind.
A group that was bullying Seria.
I still could not come up with an answer for how to deal with them. I would have to think about it more carefully, I supposed… at least until I saw Seria’s condition the next day.
At least, that was what I thought until I saw Seria’s condition the next day.