I walk with Ada and Francis flanking me on either side.
Francis is making a fuss, saying something about it being unprecedented…
“That’s why! If you do something like that…!”
“What’s wrong with me acting high and mighty if I can erase this city in the blink of an eye?”
“N-No! Please, I’m begging you, stop it!”
“What should I do?”
“Please! I’ll do anything!”
“Hm?”
Did you just say anything…?
As I’m teasing Francis for fun…
Suddenly, we’re surrounded by about ten students. Probably upperclassmen.
“Who are you?”
I ask, while squeezing Ada’s chest. It’s wonderfully soft. This is my first time squeezing a twelve-year-old’s chest; it’s refreshingly new.
“You…!”
The one who stepped forward is a handsome guy with silky blonde hair. Well, not as good as me.
If I’m a Hollywood superstar, he’s like a second-rate model in Japan. Like one of those “Ja-something” types.
…Wait, why is he popular if he’s not that handsome? Not that he’s ugly, but still.
I guess even if a guy is somewhat ugly, he can make up for it in other ways.
But if a woman isn’t beautiful, she’s often dismissed regardless of other abilities…
Which is harder, I wonder?
So, what was it again?
This guy… who is he?
I ask who he is, and he responds with “you”. What kind of upbringing did he have?
“Oh, so your name is ‘You’? What a terrible name, I’d like to see your parents’ faces.”
“…I am Sei Cladion, heir to the Cladion Count family.”
“Cladion…? Oh, that’s right. The one with nothing but a run-down mine.”
Ah, I remember now.
The teacher mentioned it.
A Count family with a reputation for bad finances.
“A run-down…?! You dare insult my family?!”
“Insult or not, your family really has nothing. Why didn’t you industrialize before exhausting the mine? Stupid?”
“Y-You…! Unforgivable! I challenge you to a duel! This is not just to make you retract your insult but also to remove you for disrupting the school’s order! If I win, you will leave the academy!”
Sigh.
Blood sugar… oh, a duel.
Ah, right, that kind of thing.
“Can I kill the people around us?”
Since we’re surrounded.
“…They are witnesses.”
I see.
Witnesses or not, the fact that they surround and intimidate a younger student shows their true nature.
“Can I kill you?”
“Try if you can!!!”
Interesting.
As I was about to snap my fingers…
“Wait a moooooooment!!!!!!”
Francis grabbed my arm with amazing force.
“What’s wrong, Fran? Want some attention? Oh, good girl, good girl.”
“Wait, seriously, wait! This isn’t a joke, please wait???”
“Okay.”
“Promise you won’t do anything, okay? Please, for Fran’s sake.”
Calling herself “Fran” is hilarious.
It’s amusing, so I’ll wait.
“Sure.”
“Ada! Make sure he doesn’t do anything! Please!”
“Yes!”
Ada responds enthusiastically, but she won’t listen to you, you know?
And then, Francis…
“Ahem…”
Clears her throat and faces the guy from the trash province.
“Pardon me, Lord Cladion.”
“You are… from the Klein family?”
“Yes, my name is Francis.”
“My apologies. I am Sei Cladion.”
“Lord Cladion… I’ll get straight to the point. Please, stop this.”
“But…!”
“Lord Cladion. Exas here shows no mercy. Win or lose, it will only harm you. Think of the insult from a fallen knight as being bitten by a dog…”
“No, I can’t do that! I am the student council president of this academy! To maintain order, I cannot forgive him!”
“If so, at least teach him the proper way to duel…”
“From your tone, Lady Klein, it sounds as if I will lose.”
“Th-That’s…”
“Do you think I would lose to someone who cheated on the entrance exam?”
Ah-ha?
So that’s how it is.
Interesting.
Well, humans are like that. They always claim “There must be some mistake!” when they don’t understand something.
Few people are willing to investigate why such a mistake happened.
You should learn that in college, though! Strange, isn’t it?
“Um, well… Yes! Even if he loses, if he doesn’t know how to surrender, he might die! That’s not good, right?”
“Hmm… I understand. Let’s wait a bit.”
“Thank you.”
And then, Francis…
“Okay?! You absolutely must not kill him, got it?!”
“How much can I hurt him?”
“Not how much, just don’t injure him!”
“Then it’s not a duel, is it?”
“Anyway, just try not to hurt him!”
“Alright, I get it.”
Now then…
“Uh, Trash Province guy?”
“It’s Cladion!!!”
“So, if I lose, I leave the school, right?”
“…That’s right.”
“What will you do if you lose?”
“I’ll do anything.”
Hmm?
“Then I’ll give you plastic surgery.”
“Pl-plastic surgery?”
“I’ll shave off your nose and replace it with a goblin’s nose.”
“How far…! How far do you intend to insult me?!”
“Of course, to the very end.”
While Francis, with an expression of utter despair, looks on, the noble duel begins!
“Gyaaahhhhhhh!!!!”
It’s over.
Even though he was acting all high and mighty, Trash Province guy got beaten in an instant.
Sad, isn’t it?
He shot some strange flames at me, but I have ‘Dispel’ that neutralizes magic and ‘Barrier’ that absorbs excessive energy on my body at all times…
In theory, I wouldn’t die even if a nuclear missile hit me.
So now…
As promised, I shaved off his nose.
And now I’ll transplant the goblin’s nose.
“Alright, it’s done. It suits you.”
“A-Aahhhhhh!!!!”
Oh, he’s going berserk.
Interesting.
He ran away, covering his nose.
“What was that about?”
Ada asks.
“There are idle people everywhere. I’m envious.”
I reply.
Carrying the still-frozen-with-despair Francis, I returned to the Klein family mansion…
