Ch.11Unavoidable Ill Fate (2)

If the protagonist Justin doesn’t tolerate injustice, then the main heroine Catherine is a character who doesn’t tolerate disadvantages.

Simply put, she’s someone who absolutely refuses to take any losses. Ruide was certain that if she had been born in modern times, she would have insisted on splitting bills down to the last penny.

But she gets along well with the protagonist. As is typical of good characters in novels, the protagonist was the ultimate pushover.

Catherine was perfect for taking care of that pushover. She poured refreshing soda down his constantly blocked throat, making her quite popular with readers.

“How do you even run a business? Isn’t it basic to serve customers in the order they ordered?”

However, meeting her as an enemy was unbearably rude. Her squawking was so loud it hurt his ears.

Ruide’s face flushed. In truth, he had also felt satisfied watching such scenes. He was genuinely embarrassed now.

‘Professor Hersy, you really…’

Hersy had crossed the line after three years had passed in the story.

Good heavens, he couldn’t stand it for a day, but she endured this for three years?

He looked at Hersy with newfound appreciation.

Hersy was eating her steak while staring at him blankly like a meerkat.

Even in this situation, Hersy maintained noble etiquette—she was truly an angel.

“S-so, your hand.”

“If you have a mouth, use it to speak!”

‘…You’re not giving me a chance to speak.’

The waiter was sweating profusely, clearly troubled. Ruide felt sorry for him.

“Speak up! Why did you serve food to that table first!”

“P-please calm down first. I’ll explain.”

The waiter wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.

“Those customers arrived first. Naturally, they also ordered first.”

“Ha, do you think I’ll fall for such an obvious lie?! I clearly saw you come to our table first and then go to their table!”

“Th-that was because we made a mistake on our part and I went to apologize…”

Catherine was so agitated that she was breathing heavily with a flushed face. Ruide hoped she would develop high blood pressure and go into cardiac arrest.

“I was going to let it go if you apologized sincerely. But you—this won’t do. Why do rude people like you never admit their mistakes?”

They say people criticize others using words they’ve frequently heard themselves.

Whoever said that was absolutely right.

Catherine had been shouting about rudeness all this time, which was probably what she’d heard most often in her life.

Even now, that irritating tone of voice was not only disrespectful to him and Hersy but also extremely rude to other customers quietly enjoying their meals.

“I-I’m telling the truth. I can take responsibility for my words. Those customers really did order first, and due to our mistake, they’ve been waiting much longer…”

“Still lying. Be honest. You prioritized them because of their higher status!”

At this point, she had already made up her mind. Catherine acted as if she was definitely the victim. From experience, getting involved with such people never ended well.

‘Just ignore it. I’ll only lose out.’

The most important condition for happiness?

Ruide thought it was not going bald.

Paying attention to this conversation would only lead to stress-induced hair loss. He would make up for the waiter’s trouble with a generous tip.

Ruide ate some of the now-lukewarm stew with his spoon.

‘As expected, unicorn stew never disappoints.’

The unicorn beef stew was delicious. At first, he thought unicorn meat sounded bizarre, but it tasted like high-quality beef.

Even in a world where detoxification magic destroyed all delicious elements, this stew retained its unique savory flavor, making it enjoyable to eat. That’s why Ruide always ordered stew when dining out.

“You still won’t admit your mistake?”

“Please listen to me! I never did such a thing! I’m a commoner—to commoners, nobles are all the same whether they’re barons or dukes. How could I discriminate?”

“Enough. I have nothing more to say to you. Call your supervisor.”

“P-pardon?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself! Bring your supervisor! And!”

Catherine stomped over to Ruide.

“You.”

She finally stood beside their table and spoke in an angry voice.

“All this commotion happened because of you, and you can still eat?”

Hersy, who had been quietly chewing her steak, had a trembling corner of her mouth.

“You’re real pieces of work. Don’t you have even the slightest conscience?”

Clang.

Hersy put down her knife loudly. After wiping her mouth with a napkin, she spoke quietly.

“Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a meal?”

“Who doesn’t know that? Clearly you used your status to get your food served first…!”

As Hersy was about to speak, Ruide stepped in.

Partly to prevent her from suffering unnecessary harm, but mostly because—

He had endured enough.

“Be quiet. My ears hurt.”

Ruide looked at Catherine with obvious disgust. Catherine momentarily flinched, intimidated by his demeanor.

“This place isn’t exclusively for Lady Ovillion’s use.”

Only then did Catherine look around. Students who had been dining were looking at her with very uncomfortable expressions.

“I understand that as a country noble, you might not be familiar with proper etiquette, but Lady Ovillion.”

At Ruide’s cold words, the nobles who had been listening quietly began to whisper.

-Did you hear that? She’s an Ovillion.

-I suspected it from the start. What other noble lady could be so vicious?

-Typical manners from that filthy black mage family.

Ruide looked directly at Catherine and spoke deliberately.

“No noble of any standing would complain about food being served slightly late. Everyone considers patience a noble virtue.”

“There’s no reason or need for us to be served before you. That waiter didn’t tell a single lie. We’ve been here for more than 30 minutes.”

“If you don’t believe me, ask the other people.”

Catherine was visibly flustered.

“O-of course they’d take your side…!”

“It seems impossible to convince Lady Ovillion regardless of what evidence or proof is presented. Just keep thinking that way for the rest of your life.”

This is why people should speak their minds.

He felt refreshed, as if a decade-old indigestion had finally cleared.

Catherine stood frozen like a stone, unable to move.

“Let’s go, Hersy. I’ve lost my appetite.”

“Ah, y-yes.”

Before standing up, Hersy hesitated when she saw Ruide’s bowl. He had barely eaten a quarter of his stew.

Hersy had only wanted to repay Ruide and spend a good time with him.

But an unwanted intruder had ruined everything. Having their time disturbed was extremely unpleasant.

However, Ruide had already concluded the matter. If she complained now because she was dissatisfied, it would be disrespectful to Ruide’s decision.

Hersy suppressed her anger and left her seat.

As they passed by Catherine—

“Why are you acting like victims? I’m the victim here.”

Catherine, who had been hanging her head, muttered.

“You’re still saying such things…”

Hersy, already angry, stopped in her tracks. Ruide, who just wanted to leave, sighed.

“There’s just no evidence, but my gut feeling is certain. You, you’re the bad ones, right?”

Catherine’s voice trembled uncontrollably.

Hersy couldn’t understand.

Their only crime was simply being there. They hadn’t done anything. Yet suddenly Catherine was getting angry by herself, complaining by herself, having a fit by herself, and now breaking down from her own anger.

‘What did we even do to deserve this? Is she acting this way because Ruide eliminated her? That’s too petty. What’s wrong with eliminating someone in a survival situation?’

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Unable to control her sudden impulse, Hersy said:

“Insolent billion.”

“…!”

Catherine’s eyes went wild upon hearing the nickname she hated most. She pulled out the magic wand hidden in her clothes and pointed it. Hersy was startled.

Using magic was forbidden at the Academy. This was a quite strict rule. Regardless of who attacked first, both parties would be punished without mercy. Ruide’s expression hardened as well.

Ruide warned her sternly.

“Lower that wand, Lady Ovillion.”

But if she were the type to heed warnings, she wouldn’t have caused a disturbance in the first place.

Catherine ignored him and shouted.

“Ice Pistol!”

Four sharp ice chunks rushed toward Ruide. It was the most powerful spell she could cast.

Ruide made no attempt to defend himself. He simply held his head high with his hands in his pockets, looking at Catherine.

That alone—

“You call that magic?”

Catherine’s spell stopped in mid-air, right in front of Ruide.

Ruide touched the suspended icicles. With a slight pressure, they broke. Examining the ice fragments, he said:

“It’s hollow inside. The material composition itself is terrible. This is the worst magic I’ve ever seen in my life.”

He clenched his fist. Catherine’s magic crumbled into powder.

“I-impossible.”

Catherine’s eyes widened in disbelief. She was already angry, and truthfully, she didn’t yet have the skill to properly cast the 3rd-tier magic “Ice Pistol,” so it was admittedly crude.

However, it shouldn’t have been so easily neutralized. At the very least, it should have hit Ruide’s barrier.

Above all…

Catherine couldn’t even tell what magic Ruide had used to counter her spell. It was a major blow to her magical pride.

“I’m amazed you can cast such low-quality magic. I would have died of embarrassment.”

Ruide’s indifferent gaze and tone, as if looking at an inanimate object, felt like an arrow piercing her heart.

Tears quickly welled up in Catherine’s eyes.

“Who… who do you think you are?”

‘Now she’s squeezing out tears.’

Ruide felt disgusted.

Feeling no need to respond further, he said to Hersy:

“Hersy. Let’s go.”

Hersy looked dazed.

“Ah, yes.”

She was bewildered, as it was her first time having someone get angry on her behalf. She stared blankly at Ruide as they walked. A thought occurred to her:

‘…He’s cool. So he has this side too.’

She had always thought he was just cute. But what he just showed was cool. Hersy’s face reddened. She felt like a princess rescued by a prince in a crisis.

‘Sh-should I suggest going to a dessert shop?’

They couldn’t even finish their meal properly because of the unpleasant intruder. They hadn’t even gotten to dessert, let alone finishing their food. Just as she was gathering courage to make the suggestion—

The sound of someone running came from behind.

It was Justin. Rushing urgently, Justin blocked Ruide’s path.

With his characteristic look of ‘justice’ in his eyes, he placed his hand on Ruide’s shoulder and said:

“…No matter how much of a genius you are, you have no right to trample on and crush someone’s self-esteem. Go back and apologize right now.”

Ruide found Justin disgusting.

‘Justice my ass. If you care so much, you should have stopped her from the beginning.’

Ruide frowned and knocked Justin’s arm away.

Then he brushed off the dust from his shoulder. Looking at Justin as if he were vermin, he said:

“Eat shit.”

Ruide pushed past Justin.

The expression on Justin’s face as he passed by—

He was grinding his molars, his face clearly showing anger.

In that fleeting moment, Ruide realized:

The relationship between the protagonist and himself could never coexist.

The ill-fated connection he had tried so hard to avoid had already begun.