"Why...!"
After lunch break — Class A.
In the classroom where self-study continued as usual, from its far corner, the anguished voice of Clyde von Helmute echoed.
At the end of his resentful gaze —
"Lady Katia!"
"Lady Katia, I just heard from Lord Ermes that the reason you've grown so strong is because of his instruction. Is that true!?"
"Please, share the essentials of it with us too!"
Students of Class A whose attitudes had changed since the competition.
Saying things like "We lost because Class B was stronger" —
spouting utter nonsense,
those students gathered around Katia von Trackia.
Thanks to her starring role in the final battle of the competition, she could be called the only student in Class A whose reputation hadn't dropped — in fact, it had risen. With that influence, she was steadily becoming the new central figure of Class A.
"Don't all come at once. I'll hear you out, so one at a time, please. ...There's no rush. As long as you have the genuine will to learn, El will teach everyone equally. Just... keep it modest. El is, after all... mine."
She was currently responding to the students in a calm voice. On the surface she appeared composed — but inwardly, she was surely mocking him to her very core for having so smoothly stolen the position of the class's center right out from under him.
Having reached that conclusion, Clyde found himself irritated — frustrated with his own tendency to jump to such judgments.
Meanwhile, he himself was being given the cold shoulder by every single student crowding around Katia.
They said things like: "He only talked big and couldn't back it up," "He fell for their provocation so easily," "He kept Lady Katia here out of self-preservation and delayed her from joining the battle" — and more. He was being treated as though he alone were the war criminal.
(Give me a break...! That competition was a class battle. The responsibility for the defeat should fall on the entire class — to try and pin it all on me, what a mean-spirited, spiteful lot!)
In reality, those Class A students weren't trying to pin it solely on Clyde — and had they won the competition, he himself would have been more than ready to snatch all the credit. But setting all that aside, or perhaps truly having forgotten it, he stoked the flames of his own anger.
But now was not the time to unleash that frustration.
"...What should we do, Clyde-dono?"
The remaining Class A students gathered around him.
Among them, the faction that refused to accept defeat and kept grumbling their discontent—students who, from Clyde's perspective, were "still sane"—spoke up.
"It seems those ignorant, deluded students still believe that Class B's victory was legitimate."
"How absurd. There's absolutely no way that could be the case, is there?"
"Exactly. ...But the fact remains that no definitive proof has surfaced. Just what on earth are the faculty doing?"
"Ah... you're absolutely right, every word of it."
The students affirmed Clyde's sentiments. Feeding off their agreement, Clyde stoked the flames of his anger once more.
"I can't believe even the faculty of this prestigious academy have gone so senile...! It seems I have no choice but to handle this myself!"
After that class competition ended.
Naturally, Clyde refused to accept the result. Convinced that Class B must have resorted to some underhanded method, he went straight to the faculty to lodge a formal complaint. This is a grave matter—it will surely bring disadvantage upon you as well. You should immediately interrogate the Class B students, starting with that most suspicious fellow Ermes, and force a confession out of him, he demanded.
(And yet—!)
Despite deploying a sizable number of faculty to interrogate Ermes, they were unable to extract a single useful piece of information.
And Class B stood in unified defiance against the faculty, so in the end, not a single testimony was obtained—imagine that.
To make matters worse—the heavy-handed interrogation of Ermes was documented as evidence and used against them, fanning the flames of pushback from parents and guardians. Clyde had not held back in telling the faculty just how incompetent they were.
And without a doubt—
At the center of it all stood that man from Class B.
"Ermes...!"
Clyde clenched his teeth at the name, his brow furrowing even deeper.
Unlike Clyde, who kept getting badmouthed, evaluations of Ermes only continued to rise.
The biggest contributor to Class B's victory, the Trackia family's hidden gem, the master who had guided Katia from a Flawed Lady to the greatest magician of her generation, and so on.
How blind can people be, he thought.
That man was nothing more than someone who cleverly issued orders from the back lines during the competition match. In an actual fight, even wielding Bloodline Magic, he still didn't have enough strength to put up the slightest resistance against Katia.
How could someone like that outrank him and receive praise from the entire academy, earning the respect of so many people?
...Those who praised him would say:
He was a man with a new perspective never seen before. His past reputation as a Prodigy was no mere title. He was someone who could bring a fresh wind to this academy.
With him at the center, "This academy might finally change"—
(—What a joke!!)
That was what Clyde found most unforgivable.
The academy changing was fine. The signs had already been there with Aster's decline, and Clyde himself had always believed the academy needed to change.
But—
(—Not like this. This way of changing is absolutely wrong. And above all, for the one leading it to be—
Why
is it not
me
?)
He had always believed, without a shred of doubt, that he was the one who should have been at the center of it all.
(I watched it all, His Highness Aster, closer than anyone else! Of course I properly understood where His Highness went wrong. That's exactly why I've always preached the importance of cooperation rather than relying on one person's strength!)
And yet, that man had ruined everything.
He was instilling dangerously misguided ideals centered on Class B — ideas that could shake the very foundations of this country. Follow him, and it was only a matter of time before the nation descended into chaos. Why couldn't anyone see that?
His way of thinking was the complete opposite of his own. In other words, it was wrong. And yet, so many people were siding with him.
(Why won't anyone understand? I'm the one standing here who knows exactly where he went wrong—
if
you
just
,
left it to
me—
everything would work out!
)
—I have to do something. That thought burned through his mind.
But that man was more cunning than he had imagined. Like any proper villain, he was skilled at concealing his sins, making it nearly impossible to catch him red-handed.
"…What should I do?"
The words were only in his own mind, but having taken a moment to sort through his anger, he had calmed down somewhat.
Clyde, wearing a slightly more composed expression, fell into serious contemplation.
Everyone was being deceived by that man.
The most effective way to make them realize it was still that competition — finding proof that Class B had won through unfair means.
But that approach had been going nowhere, all because the instructors were incompetent. In that case—
(Was there some other way to achieve the same result?)
That's it. In the end, all he needed to do was prove that "B Class didn't win because they were superior."
If that was the case, there was no need to fixate on exposing B Class's cheating. He just needed a way to protect their honor while also showing that not every student in B Class was outstanding. Yes — some extraordinary factor that had nothing to do with the abilities of the B Class students themselves…
"—Ha ha."
The idea came to him almost instantly.
There it was. Right in front of everyone. Proof that the "B Class students" weren't the ones who were exceptional. An irregularity that anyone who watched the competition would have noticed.
A presence whose abilities were clearly worlds apart from any B Class student had been right there on that battlefield.
"C-Clyde?"
One of the A Class students spoke up, sensing the shift in his demeanor.
Clyde answered, practically brimming with delight.
"That's right. It was obvious to anyone. Someone who had no business being in B Class — without her, they never could have beaten A Class even with cheating. And yet someone turned the tables."
Once he laid it out like that, every A Class student around him reached the same realization.
Savoring their surprised gazes, Clyde made his grand declaration.
"—Sara von Hartmann. A poor magician who, despite possessing the extraordinary talent of Dual Aptitude, had been stuck in B Class bound by her family's standing. She was behind all of it."
That was the crux of it.
She was a magician with an exceedingly rare gift and the support abilities to match. Without her selfless dedication, there was no way the B Class students could have won.
Therefore, her magical ability — far beyond anything B Class should have produced — had been one of the decisive factors in their victory.
In other words—
B
Class
won because—
Sara
alone
was
outstanding —
and that
was why.
It
was
absolutely
not
because
the other
B-class
students
were
outstanding.
That is the truth.
If they can be made to understand that, everyone will see that the so-called Ermes training was completely pointless.
And the way to prove it is simple.
"
"We need only take Lady Sara—"
"—"
"to A"
"Class,"
"and move her there."
"That would suffice."
"No, saying 'move' is rather rude. We should have her placed where she truly belongs."
And then, we challenge B-Class once more.
"Instead, let's do this—take whichever A-Class student has the lowest magical ability and send them to B-Class in her place. When we crush B-Class soundly this time, the ridiculous fantasy that's taken over this academy will finally be shattered. B-Class will have their spirits broken, and the evidence of their cheating is sure to come out."
"Ha ha, exactly! I've been saying it all along, haven't I? She doesn't belong in B-Class—it's foolish to be bound by family lineage!"
Clyde laughs, praising the brilliance of his own idea.
Besides, this is for her own good.
After all, she's too kind. Even toward those washed-up B-Class students, she treats them with courtesy—she's wasting her kindness.
And that's exactly why Ermes has been able to deceive her. He's exploited that gentle heart of hers, sweet-talking and manipulating her. Otherwise, there's no way she—she who treats everyone equally—would show someone like Ermes such extraordinary respect.
Ah, that won't do.
Her kindness should be reserved for those who are truly worthy. Yes, for example—
"That's right! Helping someone who's been unfairly judged is exactly my duty as A-Class leader!"
He believed without a shred of doubt that he was the one destined to save the poor princess.
With a face thoroughly drunk on his own sense of justice, Clyde continued.
"Then it's settled—let's get moving right away. This weekend should work. Sure, at first she might be too modest to accept out of kindness, but if we persistently persuade her, she'll surely understand! Just you watch, Ermes—you thought wrapping the saint around your finger meant your misdeeds would go unnoticed, but your reign of terror ends here!"
His obsession, his hatred toward Ermes, and his public persona all merged into one.
And so, the next destination for his flailing was decided.
—And Clyde never noticed.
The girl Katia, whom he had written off as someone who no longer had any interest in him, had been observing Clyde from around the point where he started raising his voice.
She couldn't quite make out his specific words amid the noise, but she seemed to have a general grasp of what he was saying.
"...I knew he'd go that route."
She said with a sigh, and in that same moment made her decision about the weekend.
...And on top of that, even though it was exactly what she'd expected, one of the plans she'd actually been looking forward to had been ruined — adding yet another layer of fury toward Clyde to the pile.
Setting every flag I possibly can, and from next time onward — deeper character episodes for Sara and Clyde.
The Boss and his subordinate will be making their moves too, so stay tuned!