episode_0237

Hours after the duel ended, Sebastian faced a grim reality.

Whack!

With a fierce punch, Sebastian fell to the floor.

“…Guh.”

“You incompetent bastard. Can’t you stand straight?”

Cordo crossed his arms and glared at his son.

As Sebastian quickly stood up, a flurry of punches and kicks rained down on him.

The armored knights and staff merely watched idly from behind Cordo.

A few minutes later, perhaps his anger had subsided from the beating, Cordo finally spoke calmly.

“You lost again! And this time, you were utterly crushed…!”

“…”

Cordo crossed his arms and glared at his son.

“Sebastian, you are a disgrace to the family.”

A voice filled with contempt rang in Sebastian’s ears.

“If what’s on your shoulders isn’t just decoration, then think. How could you lose to a first-year kid from an ordinary family? Do you know how much money and time has been spent on your education and equipment so far? Even basic gear and training easily amounted to tens of millions of credits.

Is that all? You were given top-tier relic equipment that money couldn’t buy. You even received a custom-made armored suit that isn’t even sold to the public!”

Cordo, who had been speaking, finally couldn’t hold back his fury and bellowed.

“And yet you lost? To just a girl? You incorrigible piece of trash. You’re worse than the scraps stuck in a skull-kit’s teeth. You’re an inferior loser!”

Shame boiled within Sebastian, leaving him speechless. He hung his head low, clenching his fists.

Cordo took a step closer and looked down at his son.

“You not only lost our family’s honor to that girl, but you also brought greater shame upon us. You lost to an ordinary female student right in front of everyone.”

He spat out with a venomous tone.

“You’re useless.”

At those words, Sebastian’s head snapped up. He looked up at his father with eyes filled with shock and pleading.

“Father, I’m sorry, I-”

“Sorry? What good is that?”

Cordo roughly cut him off.

“No excuses needed.”

“I’m sorry.”

Sebastian felt like he was suffocating under his father’s coldness. He managed to exhale a breath.

“I have no face. I will bear all of this burden alone. I will take responsibility for this matter no matter what. I swear-”

Cordo burst into a disbelieving laugh. There was no warmth or affection in his gaze as he looked at his son.

“Swear? Responsibility?”

He turned his back, as if dismissing him.

“Yes, since the topic has come up, I should tell you now. Sebastian Restraid. As of this moment, I am stripping you of your position as the next successor to the Restraid Royal Family and Clan.”

Sebastian’s face turned pale. More shocked than the beating he had just received, he staggered backward.

“Ah, Father! You can’t do this. I-”

“Discard the delusion that you are special just because others are foolish. There are plenty of other children to replace you.”

Cordo replied coldly, then strode away towards where the airship was docked.

His subordinates followed him, completely unconcerned with the former successor’s predicament.

Even after Cordo had left, Sebastian stood frozen for a long time.

As the commander took his seat in the airship, the chief of staff next to him spoke.

“The selection for the next successor will proceed as planned. By the way, what should we do about that female student, Violet?”

“What do you mean, ‘what should we do’? Investigate her thoroughly.”

“Should we… take care of her?”

“Take care of her? What nonsense are you talking about?”

Cordo looked bewildered at his subordinate’s question.

“She may be audacious and lack manners, but we must be clear about the facts. That girl just defeated the next successor of Restraid.”

Putting aside the anger and despair in his heart for a moment, Cordo recalled the scene from earlier. Violet’s combat power was beyond imagination.

“Didn’t that student insult the Royal Family’s name? Is that acceptable?”

“It is indeed very unpleasant. Horrible, even! That’s precisely why we must keep her close.”

An awakened individual who recently transferred defeated an armored knight. There’s no telling where that monstrous potential will lead. Perhaps a monster comparable to the Demonic Spear Warrior of Western Polaris could be born.

“That bug-like girl, we will make her our bug. By any means necessary.”

**

After winning the duel, I realized how much my situation at the academy changed day by day.

Every time I walked through the campus, every time I passed through the hallways.

Even when I ate in the cafeteria, countless eyes were on me.

“Wow, look over there. Isn’t that her? The one who dueled Sebastian Senior-nim!”

“Right, right! Her name was Violet, wasn’t it? What year is she?”

“They say she’s still a first-year. To have that level of skill already…”

My face flushed at the whispers I heard around me.

Some of the first-year students who were in class with me even came up to talk to me, one after another.

“Hey, you’re Violet, right? The one who won that duel? I watched the duel! I’m a fan!”

“Eek?”

“Me too! You were so cool. Especially when you were beating that armored suit with the halberd! Want to take a picture with me?”

“Hey! Me too!”

The students’ attitudes had changed 180 degrees overnight. I was simply dumbfounded.

「What in the world happened?」

「I don’t know!」

As I walked down the street, even the bolder students who seemed to be seniors showed interest and spoke to me.

“Wait! Pant… pant… Violet! You’re Violet, right?”

As I came out of class, a group of people approached me.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Nice to meet you! Have you heard of Rain Company, by any chance? It’s my father’s clan. After graduation, if you’re interested…”

“Junior-nim, one of my relatives is a director at Elysium Corp. If you’re interested, please contact me…”

“Um, please move aside. I’m coming through!”

I barely managed to squeeze through the crowd.

After school, when I headed to the baking club room for club activities, the same thing happened.

As soon as I opened the door, Narisa Head-nim came up to me with an excited face and immediately brought up the duel.

“Violet! Congratulations! I saw the duel video. It was amazing. To think a member of our club would be so strong and brave…”

“Yes, Senior-nim… Um, but can you ask about the duel later? I’m hungry…”

「Video?」

I was so tired from being bombarded with questions by everyone who recognized me that I just collapsed flat on the desk, and the Head-nim’s voice became cautious.

“Sorry. You look very tired. Then, let’s make whatever you want to eat today.”

“Oh, really?”

I was so happy that I nodded my head-

“Yeah, then…”

Just then, the door burst open and other students rushed into the baking club room.

The students were seniors from other clubs.

“Here she is!”

“See? I told you so, didn’t I?”

“What?! Why are you all here?”

Narisa Head-nim, surprised by the unexpected intruders, tried to chase them out, but they forcefully pushed their way in.

“Violet! Are you interested in joining our Swordsmanship Research Club? I’m the…”

“Hey! Move! Don’t bother the junior! Sorry, she’s a bit thoughtless. I’m the Head of the Combat Magic Club. By any chance…”

“That’s enough, Junior-nim. Are you thinking of joining the student council? The Disciplinary Committee always welcomes your support-”

Unable to bear the waterfall of attention, I screamed and ran out.

“Goodbye everyone!”

**

A few hours later, I sat down with my friends at a quiet cafe somewhere in the academy and complained.

“Why is everyone doing this to me?”

I said, still seemingly unable to understand.

Then my friends gently chided me.

“Dummy, think about it! You fought the successor of a prestigious clan twice, right in front of everyone. And you even won! Of course, word would spread.”

“Everyone kept asking me when the rumor that I was Violet’s roommate spread. They asked what kind of student she was.”

After being told off by Kalia and Daphne, Irene also chimed in lightly.

“You’d better give up on staying quiet for a while. The duel video was leaked, so there’s no one in the entire academy who doesn’t know you. From students to professors, everyone was greatly shocked. They said they didn’t know you were that strong.”

A duel video, huh? Now that I think about it, everyone earlier also said they saw ‘my video’.

What could that mean?

Only Sebastian and I were at the duel site…

“What are you talking about? The duel video was leaked?”

“…You mean you didn’t know?”

My friends calmly explained.

“As you know, cameras were installed in the dueling arena for judgment. The academy and the Restraid family members used that footage to judge, and someone, we don’t know who, leaked part of the video and uploaded it to the academy’s anonymous bulletin board.”

“Who on earth did such a thing? That’s a complete invasion of privacy…”

“I don’t know much either. They say there were even people who secretly peeked through gaps and filmed, so…”

Suddenly, I remembered the anonymous bulletin board I had heard about before. The exclusive community site for Aegis Academy students.

「Let’s take a look.」

The moment I accessed the bulletin board on my smartphone, I was engulfed in shock. The entire board was plastered with stories about me.

“Gasp!”

…

[Honestly, if you’re amused that those damn Restraids got crushed, like this lol]

[Leaked duel video, reposted because the admin keeps deleting it]

[Let’s find out why this duel is particularly noisy]

[I’m a graduating student. I’ll summarize why Sebas lost for you]

[Showed part of the duel video to my brother (a professional hunter), and his reaction was art]

[But isn’t that kid Violet kinda pretty?]

…

“Violet? Are you looking at the bulletin board right now?”

“Yeah! It’s all just about me.”

Just as I was about to go through the posts and comments on the board one by one, the cafe door suddenly burst open.

“So you were here. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

The intruder was Sebastian.

We were startled, but immediately shot back with sharp voices.

“You playboy bastard. What nerve do you have to show your face here after losing the duel?”

“That’s right, you don’t deserve to be here. This is the territory of beautiful girls. Get out right now!”

“Everyone calm down. He’s a Senior-nim, isn’t he? Let’s be polite. Senior-nim Sebastian. Could you please leave right now?”

Our accusations were brief, and we quickly fell silent.

Sebastian, unlike before, had a somewhat depressed expression.

Sensing some difference in his demeanor, Daphne stopped her friends and suggested they listen to what he had to say first.

“Um, how about we listen to what he has to say first?”

“Alright! Hey, if you have something to say, say it. If it’s nonsense, then I won’t let it slide.”

As I placed my hand on my sword hilt and glared, Sebastian hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head and spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

“What did you say?”

Unexpectedly, he offered an apology. Although receiving an apology was one of the duel conditions, I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

“I’ll say it again. I’m sorry. I apologize for being rude to everyone here, and to Violet as well.”

“Only to me?”

“And especially, I want to apologize to Miss Daphne. For rudely forcing my feelings on you, regardless of your wishes… and for the Lightbridge Foundation incident as well… Hah, I apologize. I won’t appear before any of you again in the future.”

We looked at each other in surprise. It was unexpected for him to admit his fault so quickly.

「Did this guy eat something bad?」

「He might be plotting some strange scheme.」

I nodded for now, but then shot back with an irritated voice.

“Hey, you’re not planning to settle for just one apology like this, are you?”

“…I haven’t forgotten the duel conditions. This is just a personal apology. I’ll apologize officially one more time later. I will also try to find a way to provide monetary compensation as soon as possible.”

Sebastian kept his head bowed from beginning to end.

My friends still looked displeased, but since he continued to be so humble, it was hard to criticize him further.

「Suspicious! He might be doing this to get on Daphne’s good side!」

「He might be plotting some strange scheme.」

“That’s enough. Don’t appear before us unnecessarily, except where required. Understand?”

“I will.”

Sebastian left the cafe with a gloomy face. We watched his retreating back. We weren’t sure if what just happened was reality or a dream.

I sighed and looked at my friends.

“What do you think?”

My friends also shook their heads.

“Unexpected, I heard he wasn’t that kind of person.”

“Indeed. Could there have been a change of heart?”

We looked at each other with complicated feelings, each lost in our own thoughts.

「Let’s be careful for now!」

The Violet Network was on high alert.

**

Late at night, in the quiet dorm room where everyone was asleep, I covered myself with a blanket and stared at my smartphone.

What I was looking at was the infamous Aegis Academy anonymous bulletin board.

「Let’s take a look.」

The anonymous bulletin board was active day and night, as if there were people posting even at night.

Here, or on Earth, places where people live seem to operate similarly.

…

[Anyone know which clan V belongs to?]

[I analyzed the type of swordsmanship first-year V used]

[Who’s the idiot who brought an armored suit to a duel and got completely stomped?]

[Per bulletin board policy, real name mentions are prohibited from now on – Admin]

…

The topics were similar to before. All about me.

「The academy people are only talking about us!」

Of course, this was limited to the main board.

Within the anonymous bulletin board, there were various boards operating according to different topics.

Still, wherever I looked, our Violet’s initial was always present.

「Everyone is only saying good things!」

The opinions of the people on the board were largely the same. Most were awe and praise for our Violet.

「Perhaps we’ve become popular?」

「Wow!」

As I joyfully scanned the posts, the titles of several caught my attention.

[Actually, V and her friends flirted with S first]

[Is it sane to insult another family so baselessly?]

[I met V, she’s a bit ditzy, talking to her made me frustrated to death because she’s so slow-witted]

I clicked the post as if possessed, and was enraged by the baseless criticism.

「How dare they! Such lies!」

「It’s fake news!」

Our Violet was furious at the outrageous slander. While those who posted such things were being criticized by the bulletin board’s general opinion, it still felt somewhat lacking.

「Someone has to strive to convey the correct truth!」

It’s truly terrible that lies and slander are openly posted.

Seeing how the leaked duel video spread instantly and I became famous, it’s proof that the influence of online culture is not insignificant in this world either.

[They say the girl S hit on is V’s roommate? I saw her in person, she’s super pretty ㅋㅋ]

[They say the kid who always follows V around is the next head of some clan]

Oh dear, already, due to excessive attention, the fallout has reached my friends.

Though only good things are being said now, if we’re unlucky, there’s a high possibility that false rumors about our Violet and her friends will quickly spread.

Fortunately, the posts had like and dislike buttons.

Using these and comments, I might be able to guide the anonymous bulletin board correctly.

「Let’s create a democratic anonymous bulletin board culture!」

「Truth and Justice!」

I pondered ways to control the Aegis Academy anonymous bulletin board.