episode_0030

“Please, be my friend!”

“What kind of nonsense is this?!”

Despite my desperate plea, Jim coldly brushed me off with a wave of his hand.

“Please, I’m begging you. Someone like you is exactly what I need right now! What do you want? Money? I can give it to you. If not that, then a meeting with Chris? I can arrange that.”

“Wh-what are you even saying?”

“I’m saying that someone like you is exactly what I need right now.”

The moment I saw how he made sure his insults wouldn’t be overheard by others, I was certain.

I can’t let this guy slip away. Sooner or later, I’ll need someone like him for the things I have to do.

“Let go of me right n—Ugh!”

Just as Jim had done earlier, I pulled him close.

“Think about it, won’t you? I’m offering to cooperate directly. Believe it or not, Chris and I are actually on decent terms now.”

“Stop spouting nonsense. There’s no way Lord Chris would—”

“Think again. If I was willing to make the humiliating confession that I was jealous of my own sister, who do you think was the first person I told? Hmm?”

“Don’t tell me… you already told Lord Chris?”

Of course, I’d never made such a confession to my family, but Jim’s eyes had softened considerably.

He must believe me. Good sign.

“It was hard for him to accept at first, but he eventually understood. That’s Chris for you—his mindset is on a whole other level compared to someone like me.”

I spun every story I could, weaving truths and lies together, slowly coaxing Jim.

People like him are surprisingly easy to handle.

Those from powerless families—especially those who aren’t even the heirs—might call themselves nobles, but their lives are far from noble.

“S-so, then… by any chance…”

“Sure. I’ll help you get closer to him. Of course, I can’t just outright arrange it, but I can make sure you ‘coincidentally’ run into him. The rest is up to you, right?”

“Of course!”

The only reason this guy is clinging to me now is out of sheer desperation to survive.

No matter how many connections he builds, almost no one in this Phiennd Academy can match the weight of the Grave family name.

Of course, Chris isn’t a fool either—he at least does the bare minimum of checking who approaches him.

And the man standing before me, Jim Zesta, couldn’t even clear that bare minimum.

In that situation, I’m extending a helping hand.

Plus, it’s a bonus if it helps shift my image in the academy.

“How much can you actually do for me?”

“With Chris?”

“Yeah. You said you’d give me chances to meet him. If it takes forever, that’s no good for me either.”

“Sorry, but I can’t just hand you opportunities like that. You know where you stand, right?”

“Huh?”

“I’m telling you to know your place.”

“…Understood.”

Jim finally seemed to grasp the gap between us, clenching his fists tightly.

Good. It’s a relief he’s self-aware.

Besides, though I didn’t tell Jim, the reason I can’t openly introduce him is for his own sake.

If I introduced a nobody noble like him to Chris as my friend, it’s Jim who’d get interrogated, not me.

“Then, there’s something I’d like to ask of you first.”

Jim was now sitting right next to me, firing off questions.

Got him.

He’s completely mine now.

Time to drive the final nail in.

“You need money, don’t you?”

“What?”

“No need to be shy. I know exactly how expensive academy tuition is.”

I handed Jim a small pouch.

“So, first things first—money. What you need right now isn’t Chris, but the groundwork to catch his eye.”

“H-how much is this?”

“150 gold coins. That should be enough, right?”

150 gold coins is half a year’s salary for an average adult man. Even for a noble, it’s more than enough to groom himself and buy favors from Chris’s inner circle.

“You said you needed a friend, but you were just planning to buy one?”

“It’s not like you actually want to be friends with me either. This is just a cheap alliance of convenience. Isn’t the money you’re getting from it enough?”

“……”

Without a word, Jim snatched the pouch, then said with a satisfied look:

“Looking forward to working with you, Eric!”

I firmly shook the hand he extended with a beaming smile.

And as if that were a signal, students from all over the cafeteria began swarming toward me.

Unsurprisingly, every single one of them was… not normal.

“Hey. I can be your friend too—could you lend me just a little…? W-we can be friends!”

“U-um, could you put in a word for our elven Great Forest? If it’s the Grave family heir speaking, they’ll definitely listen!”

“Please restore honor to our family once more…”

“Stop the discrimination and persecution against beastfolk. If you truly treat everyone equally…”

“We’ve obtained a medicine effective against madness from our merchant guild—would you be willing to test it…?”

What the hell was that last one?

After shoving away the beastfolk trying to force some weird drug down my throat—with Jim’s help—I finally managed to sit back down.

Ugh, I’m exhausted.

Honestly, I thought at least one of them might stand by my side and help me, but every single one just wanted to take advantage of me.

Even if the students in the cafeteria were outsiders, they’d still built their own networks among themselves.

By the time first year and the first semester of second year passed, they’d have at least familiarized themselves with each other’s faces.

There are only about 100 students per grade, after all.

But there was no room for me to squeeze in anywhere.

Even so, in first year, I should’ve been on good terms with everyone.

In both the first and second playthroughs, before I possessed Eric, he must’ve lived as an ordinary student.

In the end, I had no choice but to ask Jim.

“There’s something I want to ask.”

“Yeah?”

“Was there anyone I was close to in first year?”

“You don’t remember?”

“Back then… I was too busy running wild. Honestly, I don’t want to remember.”

Jim wiggled his fingers at me.

“What?”

“Five silver coins.”

I love how straightforward he is.

I rummaged through my pocket and handed him five coins—smaller than gold ones.

“You’re the Grave ducal heir. Nobles like me didn’t even cross your mind—you only mingled with other ducal heirs and royalty. Besides, by the first semester of second year, no one could get close to you because of your madness.”

“Damn it.”

Hearing Jim’s words, I realized something.

Even in the original story, Eric only awakened to the prophecy and vowed to save everyone starting in second year.

His grand entrance was crashing Chris’s entrance ceremony and causing an uproar.

It was such a flashy move, and since there was no reason not to, I did the same in the previous playthrough.

After that, instead of maintaining first-year connections, I was too busy raising the hero’s party, running around like a madman.

I spent more time outside the academy than in it, skipping or leaving classes early, making excuses to avoid high-society gatherings and parties—even running away from home.

Those few acts of rebellion naturally distanced me from everyone, and after midterms, the madness piled on, severing the few remaining ties completely.

The food in front of me looked even colder now.

I thought I was recognized by everyone, but turns out I was just an outcast.

Just as I was sinking into gloom, the cafeteria doors burst open.

BANG—!

“Lord Chris! Please reconsider—”

“How many times must I repeat myself?”

“Even so, dining in a place like this is unthinkable! Everyone will find it strange!”

“Then let them think what they will.”

Chris had arrived, trailed by her entourage.

Judging by the way the highborn ladies around her kept chattering and Chris’s exhausted expression, she must’ve been harassed relentlessly before even getting here.

‘Just a bunch of leeches.’

Now I understood why Chris had warned me. Surrounded by so many people, she looked like she might collapse any second.

Even if I wanted to shove them away, the moment I did, they’d all turn on Chris and tear her apart.

The Grave family has as many enemies as allies. There’s no way some of these idiots aren’t just riding on the family’s prestige.

This is exactly when the academy’s madman—me—should step in.

If Chris collapses from exhaustion, I’m the one who’ll suffer for it. I know better than anyone how pointless responsibility can ruin you.

That’s why I don’t want to see her like this.

“I’m going to help Chris, so wait here for a—”

When I turned my head, Jim was already out of his seat, pushing through Chris’s guards to join the crowd of students trying to talk to her.

Every time he got shoved back, I watched in dismay as he skillfully slipped gold coins to the students around him.

“Ha.”

Guess I really did pick a good friend.