The next day.
The reactions of his classmates in Class B, where Ermes was enrolled, could be broadly divided into two types.
The first was avoidance. They kept their distance from the commoner—the lowest-ranking person in the class—partly out of wariness after the high intellect and enigmatic air he had displayed on his first day.
And the other was just as it had always been: contempt.
Especially the boy who had tried to blast Ermes with magic during the very first morning assembly—led by him, whispered conversations speculating about Ermes's bad reputation could still be heard here and there.
Honestly, he was used to it by now. So he slipped into his seat, pretending not to hear.
…And amid all that, once again, there was someone whose reaction differed from the rest.
"…Oh, Ermes…"
It was Sara, who sat beside him.
"Um… is there anything I can do for you…?"
Whether she was still worried about yesterday's incident, or simply couldn't bring herself to leave Ermes to his steadily worsening isolation—ever since the other day, she had been approaching him like this of her own accord. She carried an air of quiet desperation, as though she truly meant what she had said about wanting to do something—anything—for him.
…When she put it that way, he almost felt that turning her down with a flat "nothing" would be ruder than asking.
"In that case… there are a few subjects today where I'm not sure exactly what we'll be doing. Would you mind giving me a brief overview of those?"
"O-of course…!"
He said.
Her face lit up at once. Smiling happily, she leaned slightly toward him.
"All right, so second period—"
"—Sara!"
But at that moment, a loud voice rang out from the front.
Sara flinched and turned. Walking toward them was a large male student.
The very same student who had fired magic at Ermes on the first day.
He planted himself intimidatingly in front of Sara, and yet—contrary to his rough appearance—delivered his message with comparatively courteous manners.
"It's about next month's academy festival. There are a few points where I'd like to get the class representative's input. Could you come along?"
"Oh, that's…"
Faced with a perfectly legitimate request, Sara looked back and forth between Ermes and the boy. She hesitated over which to prioritize, but—
"Please go ahead, Sara. Don't worry about me."
He said this without hesitation. This was merely a personal request from him; a class matter should take priority.
She must have understood that too, because she bowed her head apologetically, rose from her seat, and went to where she had been called.
After watching her leave, the boy turned toward Ermes.
"…A commoner…"
His face twisted with displeasure—and something like frustration—as he spat the words out, then went after Sara.
"…"
…To receive such blatant hostility.
He thought this, sighing faintly as he settled into his seat—
"Well, well. You're quite popular, aren't you?"
A teasing voice drifted over from the opposite direction.
He turned to look. In the seat on his other side—the one opposite Sara—a girl sat with her cheek propped on her hand, gazing at Ermes with an amused smile.
She was the female student who, during yesterday's incident with Count Geist, had delivered a precise summary that sealed the count's fate.
She had short-cropped silvery hair with a reddish tinge, and deep golden eyes that seemed to draw you in. Her refined, vaguely cat-like features wore an open, friendly expression. Slender-limbed, yet with a comparatively feminine build.
On top of her striking beauty, she gave off a sense of familiarity—an odd combination that formed her first impression.
"You are—"
"Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Niina von Frodeit. Just Niina is fine. My family is a viscount, but we're classmates, so no need for formalities, okay?"
"Thank you for the kind offer. I'm Ermes—close friends call me El. Forgive me if I stick to polite speech; it's practically a habit at this point, Lady Niina."
"Ahaha, I figured as much. …So it really is you, El-kun."
"Oh?"
She spoke as though she already knew about him. When he raised an inquiry, the girl—Niina—chuckled lightly.
"I heard about it once from Lady Katia—how there was a boy named El she had been separated from since they were small. Once I heard your name and that you were a servant of the Trackia household, it just clicked."
That made sense. She must have been close with Katia back when they were in Class B.
When he nodded, Niina tilted her head with a slightly puzzled expression and asked:
"By the way—doesn't it bother you?"
"Hm?"
"My way of speaking, my mannerisms, you know? Most people find it strange when they first meet me."
"Ah."
It was true; her manner of speech was quite distinctive for a noblewoman.
But he happened to know a former royal who spoke in an even more distinctive manner, so he wasn't all that surprised.
"I did think it was unusual, but it didn't bother me beyond that. Should I have asked about the circumstances?"
"Nah, it's nothing dramatic. I just got used to it as a kid because of family reasons. I'm honestly glad you didn't make a big deal of it."
"I see… Come to think of it, thank you for yesterday. If I had kept talking, I probably would have just been brushed off."
"Oh, that? Heh, how dutiful of you. Don't worry about it. Even for someone like me, hearing a classmate talked about like that wasn't exactly pleasant. If anything, I should be the one thanking you for steering the conversation."
…Honestly, she was incredibly easy to talk to.
Her personality matched that friendly first impression. Anyone besides Sara who would talk to him without prejudice was rare, and he was tempted to keep chatting—
"But Lady Niina, is this really all right?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Well, embarrassing as it is, I'm essentially treated as a sore subject in this class. I've heard that getting too close to me can bring trouble on the other person as well."
"…Ah, that."
When he said this, Niina's expression twisted into something like a wry smile.
"I can't say I don't understand how they feel. …But honestly, I really don't care. I'm a viscount's daughter, but I have an older brother, and with the way I talk, I probably won't have many suitors anyway. Titles and prestige and all that? Not really my thing. I'm the type who wants to live at her own pace, nice and easy!"
"I see."
He found himself smiling wryly in return.
It seemed this girl's personality, not just her speech, was rather similar to Rose's.
As he was thinking this, Niina perked up and leaned in closer.
"More importantly, I'm interested in you right now."
"Interested?"
"Yep. Lady Katia, who basically never opens up to anyone, trusts you enough to make you her attendant—and Sara-chan, the holy maiden of Class B, is specially concerned about you. Have you noticed? That's making the jealousy toward you absolutely insane. Honestly, I'd say about half the reason the male students hate you is that."
"Oh."
He felt he had just picked up on something significant, but before he could mention it, Niina spoke again.
"And more than that—"
Her demeanor shifted into something subtly different from before.
Still smiling, she narrowed her eyes and draped herself in an almost bewitching air as she said:
"You. You're actually incredibly strong, aren't you?"
He was mildly taken aback.
"…What exactly do you mean by 'strong'?"
"Hmm, strongest in the magical sense? Because when you transferred in, right after your self-introduction, you did something pretty outrageous. You blocked three people's General-purpose Magic at once without even looking, and reflected the exact same spells back. Even I couldn't do that—I doubt anyone in this school could."
…She had noticed.
He was surprised. He had thought Sara was the only one who had understood everything that happened at that moment.
"Honestly, the fact that your magic only did that much is a bit strange in itself. Was there something more going on?"
"…"
He was starting to break into a cold sweat. She was far too perceptive.
But then, as if sensing Ermes's tension, Niina quickly waved both hands in front of her chest.
"Ah, s-sorry, sorry! I'm not trying to expose your secrets or anything like that!"
"…You're not?"
"Uh-huh. Everyone has secrets, more or less. …Actually, my own magic is something like that too."
She said this with a slightly awkward air, then lightly cleared her throat as if to reset.
"Anyway, I just wanted you to know I'm curious about you. …Besides, you might get a glimpse of it a bit later."
"Huh? A bit later—"
As Ermes recalled today's schedule and found a likely match—
Niina had regained her earlier smile and said with keen interest:
"That's right. First period—'Magic Practice.' You can look forward to it."