episode_0041

There was one guiding principle that I had always maintained in my dealings with the woman named Seldiane Elkonja.

It wasn’t something I maintained intentionally, but it was an attitude that I never went beyond because I acted according to my personality.

The mindset of the commoner Erto when dealing with the great noble Elkonja.

It was ‘don’t bend, but don’t go against’.

Seldianne is clearly the eldest daughter of a prestigious noble family similar to Tirisia, and is therefore the closest person to becoming the next head of the family.

The other students at the academy mostly feared her, respected her, and held her in high regard.

Not only commoners, but also nobles.

It was a natural courtesy to her status as a high-ranking noble, and those who knew Celdianne’s personality would deliberately lower themselves.

If you offend Elkonja, you will pay the price in one way or another―

Because such perception was widespread among academy students.

A discriminator who takes pride in being a nobleman above all else and openly calls commoners inferior.

This is because the person with such an extreme and biased personality was none other than Seldiane Elkonja.

But I didn’t really care about such facts.

Could it be because I have been childhood friends with Young-ae of the Brewery family since kindergarten?

It was true that the position of a great nobleman did not seem that daunting to me.

Of course, I also have common sense, so I understand to some extent how much power and honor such families have in society.

I also knew how much effort I, a commoner, would have to put in to pioneer a future with Tirisia and stand by her side.

But regardless of that gap, the story is that I could not help but perceive the existence of a great noble as a friend.

So I never thought of Celdiane as much of a threat.

Although he was a nobleman with an unusually high nose, he never thought that he had to bow down to her because he was a commoner.

If we’re going to judge her by her personality, there must be plenty of students in the academy who are on par with her.

As a place where people with pride as nobles or wizards gather, this academy is full of people with all sorts of personalities and uniqueness.

She was just one of them, and like Tirisia, she was within the scope of my recognition as a friend.

I had perfected my own attitude of not bowing down like other sycophantic noblemen, and of simply listening to what she said as a friend.

To put it simply, I was doing Celdiane Elconza a favor.

Her sharp personality had a secretly honest and wholesome side to her, and as a noblewoman, she helped me in various ways under the pretext of taking care of the common people.

When I collapsed from the shock of Tirisia’s affair, you gave me some tonics, and when I packed her lunch, you treated me to a sumptuous meal in return.

Also, he trained me in handling magical powers, expecting me to perform well in the Yeonmu Festival.

I thought I was good enough friends with her.

I mean it seriously.

but…

In the end, I guess that’s what I should say.

To be honest, it was surprising, but in a way, it was understandable.

The heart that considered Celdiane Elconja a friend.

That thought was just mine alone.

In the incident in the square, she chose the noble Elkonja over the friend of the commoner Erto.

That sincere attitude that led the noble union to banish me from the academy.

I was honestly very disappointed by that behavior that could be called a betrayal.

In the case of Tyrissia, I remained a friend without getting angry or retaliating because there were things about her that I was personally curious about and things I was preparing for.

In short, it is not a judgment based purely on my personality.

But in Celdianne’s case, the premise was completely different.

I have no expectations, no curiosity, no hopes for her anymore.

In short, it meant that I had no reason to show any more favor to Seldianne.

Now we are strangers. The link called Jeong was also severed that day.

But how could a guy who should know my feelings order me to meet him through a mere letter?

She was truly an absurd noble lady.

It seemed necessary for me to clearly convey to her how I was feeling, in keeping with my original personality.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that there’s a reason to meet.

*

After tearing up Celdianne’s letter, I went to the academy to attend the afternoon lecture without paying any attention to it.

As soon as I appeared, the classroom began to fill with the students’ chattering, whether inside the classroom or in the hallway.

Because I trained hard for the Yeonmu Festival, my five senses were quite sensitive.

Because I wasn’t yet fully versed in handling the newly opened magical circuits, my amplified hearing was able to sense surrounding sounds at will and transmit them to my brain.

“Look over there… It’s that guy. Commoner Erto.”

“Still showing up at the academy with an indifferent face.”

“If I were you, I would probably take a break for a while even if it means getting kicked out.”

As expected.

The students’ reactions were not as expected.

“It was all planned by Miss Brewery, but… ”

“That guy didn’t do anything particularly good, did he?”

“It’s true that we didn’t match from the beginning.”

Tirissia was labeled the mastermind behind the incident, placing all the blame on herself, while Kelg Durakal got away like a victim.

Up until that point, it was just the results as they were.

But what is left for the commoner Erto?

First of all, I am the biggest victim of this incident.

A noble victim who kept his mouth shut to protect Tyrisia’s honor even after witnessing her infidelity right before his eyes, and who gave up his desire for revenge for the person he once loved.

… that was my position that Heidiera asserted in the square.

In fact, this interpretation is also possible from the perspective of other students.

“No matter what the sacrifice was, in the end, there was nothing that guy could do, right?”

“Right, not to mention Ms. Brewery, even Senior Durakal is stronger than me, so what can I do?”

“A powerless commoner was just hiding, but isn’t it too much of an exaggeration to say that he did it for the honor of Miss Brood?”

The commoner Erto did not sacrifice himself for Tirisia,

There was just nothing I could do.

Some of the students accepted Heidiera’s claims at face value, but there were also those who came to subjective conclusions after checking all the circumstances.

It was a view shared mainly among the aristocracy.

“If you think about it, who would have believed that guy if he had insisted on telling the truth on his own?”

“If it weren’t for the cooperation of Ms. Isidel and Ms. Elconza, we wouldn’t have been able to present any evidence.”

“There is a risk of being retaliated against by Senior Durakal for making a fuss without any evidence… ”

“He knew all that, so he would have kept his mouth shut even if he was in a position to be expelled.”

There was no way I could refute what they were muttering in the current situation.

Only I can understand why I kept my mouth shut, and even if I were to recall this memory and show it to others, it would be something they would not believe.

If we look at the situation officially known to the Academy up to now, their claim was indeed logically sound.

So, I didn’t really have any reason to explain or complain, but there was one thing I didn’t like.

The reason why you belittle me and portray me as a weak coward who chose survival over sacrifice, even though you know the whole story, is

They just tried to wipe out an innocent person from the academy by using the power of the group.

Because it seemed like a way of thinking to rationalize his narrow-minded behavior.

It was obvious why the story spread mainly among noble students.

By dragging me down to a slightly lower position, which almost got me expelled due to my absurd instigation, they are trying to dilute their mistakes and weaken their justification for apologizing.

It was clear that this was the driving force behind this malicious interpretation.

That is, the noble students have no intention of apologizing to me, a commoner.

They are trying to somehow cover up the situation and end it by making themselves victims of Durakal’s trick.

Yeah, good.

It’s up to them what they think about me.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a victim who has suppressed your desire for revenge or a coward who is just trembling in fear.

but,

At least someone,

I felt I had to express my position as a representative of that group.

Rather than just letting it end like this, if someone has a conscience and is a human being, wouldn’t there be someone who can apologize to me for what happened that day?

Such personal wishes were the only things I expected from the students of this academy.

*

After the afternoon lecture, which was like a bed of thorns, ended, it was time to go home.

As I left the main building of the academy, the letter from Celdiane that I had seen during the day flashed through my mind.

An order, like a promise, to meet in the garden after school.

I decided to just ignore it and return home.

I didn’t like the place very much from the beginning.

It’s so obvious that he’s calling me out alone to a garden full of his allies.

Now that I have some idea of the nobles’ perception of the situation, I don’t think I’ll hear anything good from Seldiane.

“Oh my, there was so much talk around me today.”

“Cow, I also have a lot of people asking me questions, so I’m sweating profusely… ”

It was while I was crossing the plaza outside the academy with Lucica and Heidiera on either side of me.

“Stop right there―!”

ah,

I didn’t expect this.

“… ”

Looking back, I saw Celdianne and her subordinates gasping for breath as if they had come running from the academy.

“Huh? What’s going on with that girl?”

“Hmm… I have a feeling this is going to be a headache.”

Lucica and Heidiera also raised their eyebrows and glanced at the three people who appeared from behind.

Seldianne, who was snorting, either out of breath or anger, pointed at my face with her black fur fan.

“You! Didn’t you read the lady’s letter?! I told you to come to the garden!”

“You didn’t read it and ignore it, did you?”

“How could you dare do such a rude thing to Elconja!”

Miyu and Juri, standing next to the girl with the golden bun hair, also glared at me as usual, each saying something.

“… ”

I just stared at them expressionlessly.

Then, Seldianne, looking frustrated, urged me to answer.

“Please say something! How dare you refuse the lady’s call?!”

“… ”

After a short pause, I opened my mouth in a cold voice.

“Why should I follow your orders?”

“Huh… ?”

For a moment, Celdianne’s face hardened as if she had seen something truly absurd.

“What, what?”

“Now, what are you saying…?”

The same was true for Miyu and Juri.

I made my position clear to them once again.

“Why should I do that, Miss Elconza?”

In that regard,

Celdianne’s eyebrows furrowed little by little,

“… Huh?”

With a clumsy smile, a question mixed with anxiety flowed out from her cherry-like lips.