A few days have passed since then.
Based on the conspiracy theory of the Seven Great Gods that I came up with, I hunted down the dark forces of the church (probably bandits) together with White and the others, and also hunted dragons blessed by the gods (probably just strong monsters).
I’ve had a fairly fulfilling life, teaching Scarlet, Kuro, and other knights the art of curses.
Meanwhile, there were various developments in Holga Village.
The reincarnated heroes all enrolled in the Magic Academy of the Imperial Capital as scheduled. It seems they will receive more specialized education as heroes there.
And Kasuya Takihito—
“Next lecture. Among the magical creatures, the dragon species is the most dangerous. Which of these lays eggs? Can anyone answer?”
“Yes, teacher. The Dranback species falls into that category.”
“Mr. Schwarz, that’s an excellent answer. Now… Miss Wetland, how would you respond if you encountered a Dranback?”
“Well… if we go by the textbook, the Dranback species is one that values etiquette among dragons. I suppose we should bow to show we mean no harm?”
“The reincarnated heroes this time are quite remarkable; they must have received proper education in Holga.”
In the classroom.
A three-dimensional image of a dragon is projected.
Students in uniforms sit surrounding it.
A school scene, IN Fantasy.
Yes, it seems I have also enrolled in the Magic Academy.
…Why?????
◇◇◇◇
“Phew… everyone, good work. Did you understand today’s lesson?”
“Hmm… it was a monster class, right? It might be pretty tough… there are so many names.”
“Dragon species, evil spirit species, relic species, and holy spirit species… I need to study new things.”
“Is it really that hard? Isn’t it kind of interesting?”
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Even in another world, school break times don’t change.
Groups of close friends gather, chatting about how boring that class was or whatnot.
Well, usually in the rules of society, those with higher caste in a group tend to be louder.
In front of me, that rule is playing out.
“Oh, Ritsu, want to go hang out in the city after school? Apparently, there’s a sweets shop you can only find in the Imperial Capital.”
“…Tsumugi, don’t cut in front of me so cheerfully. I’m going too.”
“Ehh, it was supposed to be a date with Ritsu!”
“Hey, Ritsu, is it okay for me to cry since I’m being naturally excluded here?”
“Wait, don’t cry yet. Why don’t the two of you ask everyone to join?”
“‘…It wouldn’t be a date then.’”
A love comedy is unfolding right before me.
A cool black-haired handsome guy is being fought over by a fluffy blonde natural beauty and a cool slender beauty.
Hmm… these guys might just have protagonist traits.
It’s rare to encounter such a blatant school love comedy scenario today.
Must keep an eye on this.
“Hey hey, hey! What are you all talking about… whoa, I sense the waves of love comedy again… you both really like Ritsu, huh?”
“Ahaha, Ritsu-kun is kind, after all…”
Two more beautiful girls have joined!
A healthy beauty with a short ponytail and a glasses girl with braided hair.
This group seems to revolve around that black-haired handsome guy.
Although not as much as Snow and White, the girls here are all cute.
…Hmm, they seem protagonist-like. Not bad.
In my previous world, I lived a solitary life without any clear goals, so I didn’t understand the human relationships among classmates at all.
I didn’t have any friends, and… wait, do I still not have any?
With a shift in perspective, the love comedy unfolding before me, which would have seemed annoying in my previous world, can become good material for my villainous scenario.
Snow’s classic charismatic hero protagonist, Plan A.
White and the members of the “Cursed Brotherhood,” the dark protagonists, Plan B.
And perhaps this real-life team could become Plan C…
“…Ah, sorry, were we being too loud?”
“Eh?”
The one who spoke to me was the black-haired handsome guy I heard was called Ritsu.
“Um, could it be that you’re also a reincarnated hero? Where did you live in the village?”
“…Ah, um…”
Hmm. How should I respond?
This communication will likely determine my standing in this classroom to some extent.
“““““““… ” ” ” ” ” ” ”
The classroom has grown a bit quiet.
It’s not that the conversation has completely died down, but they’re probably listening in.
Hmm… What kind of position would be advantageous for a villain role-play?
Should I act like a mob loner who can’t communicate as usual?
Or an unexpectedly funny guy once you talk to him?
…Is it because I can use magic?
Unlike my previous world, no matter how much attention I draw or how much I’m being judged by these top-tier students before me, I don’t feel scared at all.
“R-Ritsu… is this person… could he be… the one with the G-grade gift…?”
“Could he be the one who had no house in Holga village?”
“Ah… R-Ritsu? It’s probably better not to talk to him too much…”
“No house? You mean you didn’t have a home? Huh? How did you survive?”
The real-life team starts to tremble.
The black-haired handsome guy, Ritsu, tilts his head in confusion and asks me.
Points for him.
His attitude of not being intimidated by the fact that he’s in the position of someone who has no house, which would usually cause people to pull back, is not bad.
“Nanazaki, stop it! LOL, that guy is seriously just a useless person with no house.”
“How did you even get into this academy, huh?”
“That guy was the practice target for magic back when we were kids.”
The ones who joined the conversation while laughing are…
Oh, some slightly unsavory sports club members!
Those guys who became my practice targets for magical power manipulation have grown so much… it’s a bit emotional.
“Hey, are you listening, no house? Don’t ignore us.”
“W-Wait, stop being so rough.”
“What are you saying, Nanazaki? This guy has been staring at your Hanabuchi-san and Asagiri-san the whole time; it’s seriously creepy.”
“Seriously!! No matter how beautiful they are, there’s no way someone like you could get their attention.”
“Eh? You like them? LOL.”
The sports club’s voices grow louder as they keep glancing at the top-tier girls.
Ah, I see.
Is it something like wanting to show off a bit?
“What are Mitsushiro and the others doing?”
“Not sure… but Ritsu seems to be in trouble.”
“Should we stop them?”
“Ah, be careful, Kanade-chan…”
It seems that appeal isn’t working very well.
The top-tier girls’ attention is directed toward those black-haired handsome guys.
These guys seem lacking; they don’t have the refinement or status to take me down.
“That’s why, can you leave the classroom? It’s a nuisance to have someone who can’t even use basic magic in here.”
“If something interesting happens, it’s fine to stay, though. LOL.”
They’ve been continuously glancing toward the top-tier girls.
《…It’s puzzling. Why are they suddenly attacking you? They showed no interest until now.》
Navi-chan, this is just something that often happens with humans.
You know, deepening bonds by teasing people ranked lower than them in class or something.
《…By attacking the weak in their group, they’re likely trying to show that they’re the strong ones, right? Ah, it’s interesting how they’re making their sexual allure known to young females.》
“Exactly. In the end, these guys can only get laughs by teasing others… ah.”
“““Huh?”””
Oops, I accidentally spoke out loud during my internal conversation with Navi.
That was a huge provocation.
“What did you just say about us?”
“Are you getting too cocky?”
“Hey, come here.”
The B sports club member grabs my arm.
Whoa, they’re pretty strong.
Is this body enhancement through magical power? Hmm, not bad.
“Hey, stand up…! Hn!”
“Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up and drag him up.”
“I know…! Shut up!”
The amount of magical power keeps increasing.
I see, so this is how you enhance your body with magic.
Since the body itself acts as a vessel for magical power, if you simply increase the amount, the body becomes stronger.
“Eh, eh… what are you doing? Shouldn’t we stop this? Ritsu.”
“Y-Yeah, Ritsu, you might get hurt, so it’s better to…”
The classroom starts to buzz.
“Hey, guys, stop it. This is going too far.”
“Huh…? Nanazaki, stay out of this.”
“Right now, he’s completely looking down on us!”
Despite the black-haired handsome guy from the top-tier group trying to intervene, B from the sports club doesn’t stop grabbing my arm and shoulder, fully caught up in rage.
Hmm, I don’t really want to stand out right now.
Although awakening as a villain from a bullied position sounds good…
To bring out Snow’s flavor, I’d like to be perceived as a good person by my classmates to some extent.
《What kind of mouth…》
“Damn… what the hell! No house, you can’t use magic, and you don’t have a gift, so why are you even at the same magic academy as us?!”
“…”
Hmm, this is tricky.
“Why isn’t this guy saying anything?! Damn!”
“…”
Ah, what should I do about today’s menu?
White and the others have been strangely bringing in ingredients recently.
Should I make pasta with all the tomatoes from the portable field?
“Hey… seriously, something’s off with this guy. Why is he so calm without any magical enhancement…”
“…”
Oh, that’s not what I should be focusing on right now.
Now, about these bullies.
— What should I do with them?
What to do…
“““Huh…?!”””
Crash…
The sports club members let go.
Oh no, my magical power is leaking out somehow.
This sometimes happens, you know? Without realizing it, magical power circulates, or the spell is in preparation mode. I still need more training.
Ah, but did those guys sense the source of my magical power?
Well, that could make things quite interesting…
Before I knew it, the whole class was focused on me.
Did I make too much noise?
An awkward atmosphere.
The top-tier beautiful boys and girls are looking at me with a sort of fear.
The sports club members have a similar expression.
The other classmates have mixed feelings of curiosity, disgust, and disdain.
Navi-chan, do you have any good ideas to improve the atmosphere from here?
《…You bring disharmony to people in any situation… you are the curse itself…!》
No good, she’s being all poetic again…!
And then it happened.
The classroom door opened.
“Ah…!”
The black-haired handsome guy’s face lights up.
“Hey… everyone, what’s going on? It feels kind of weird in here.”
“Snow, it’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it.”
“Eh? That’s what they say when it’s my fault!”
A blonde-haired, blue-eyed beautiful girl and a tall Western handsome guy.
The two look like they came straight out of a movie.
“Ah… haha, Snow-san and Aki…”
“Mitsushiro. What’s wrong? Why are you frozen in a place like this… huh? …Do you need something from Kastani?”
The guy called Aki speaks to the sports club.
Wow, true handsome guy, top caste vibe; his voice is deep and cool.
“No, not really! It’s just that, why is this guy in a magic academy when he can’t even use magic? You know, something like that… right?”
“Ah, yeah. Exactly. Aki-kun, don’t you think it’s strange? This guy hasn’t received any training in the village, so why is he here at the academy?”
“K-Kastani, did you do something like sneak in through the back door? N—”
“It’s me.”
““““““Eh????????””””””
The atmosphere in the class freezes once more.
Responding to the sports club’s words was the princess-like beautiful girl, Snow-san.
“I recommended him to this academy. Is there a problem with that?”
Her expression is completely devoid of a smile.
Her beautiful doll-like face calmly gazes at the members of the sports club.
“Eh.”
“Ah, ah, I-I mean…”
They blink several times, flustered and stuttering.
In the midst of it all, Snow-san smoothly slips between them.
…Oh no, she’s coming over here…
“Hello! Kastani-kun! …Hehe, you look good in your uniform!”
Snow-san smiles at me.
“Oh, sorry for suddenly calling out to you. Um, if it’s okay… would you like to have lunch together?”
With the same smile as on that school trip day.
