Ch.8787. All-Strength Mage

# On the Way to the Central Plaza

On the way to the central plaza, countless gazes focused in my direction.

It was because everyone from the student council was involved, and with even the student council president among them, it had taken on the appearance of a student council procession.

And among those gazes, there were definitely some fixed on me.

I could tell some were looking at me with disgust… but strangely, no one seemed to be approaching.

It made sense. Right now, I had the princess and student council president on either side of me, with the second-year student council members positioned behind me. Only a madman would approach carelessly.

“Um… could you all give me some space?”

Since this was starting to feel like nothing more than a casual stroll, I made that request. Without saying much, they all began to back away considerably.

They were retreating so awkwardly as a group that it seemed almost too obvious… it was actually funny seeing these academy elites behaving this way.

Since they’d still be following at a distance anyway, I told them to just kill time at a café near the plaza. The place had floor-to-ceiling windows, so they could see everything just fine.

After isolating everyone in the café, I wandered around alone for a moment, and finally someone seemed to approach…

“What? Why are you here?”

“…Oh, it’s you.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t someone looking for trouble—it was just Lilith.

She glanced around briefly before asking:

“Why are you wandering around alone? Where’s Celia?”

“She’s nearby.”

“Why isn’t she stuck to your side like usual?”

So now it’s considered normal for Celia to be attached to my side?

Since she seemed curious, I briefly explained the current situation.

“Oh, that’s what’s happening? I’m interrupting then.”

“Yes, so hurry up and leave.”

“Wait a second. I’ve been having some strange people following me around lately too. Can you do something about it?”

But… it seemed Lilith was trying to jump on this bandwagon too.

Strange people… there are some following her right now, actually.

“Can you see them behind me right now? They’ve been like that since I left class!”

“Chase them away.”

“Hey, do you avoid poop because you’re afraid of it?”

“I avoid it because it’s disgusting.”

I got scolded for pretending not to understand what she meant.

For now, it seems she’s just ignoring them since there aren’t many.

But they’re already following her like this?

Maybe because her appearance was earlier than in the original story, the period when followers started gathering had been moved up too.

“Anyway, so can you do something about it or not?”

Though it might be small-scale compared to later, it must be annoying for Lilith who has to deal with it directly.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t really any solution.

If I had to suggest something, maybe roasting the follower representative to stop them?

“If you can’t help, just say so. Why are you just staring at me?”

“I can’t help.”

“Right. I figured. Sigh, I didn’t want to deal with this kind of thing at the academy.”

“You’re accepting it more easily than I expected.”

“Well, that’s because…”

Lilith stopped mid-sentence and suddenly whipped around.

When she did, the follower who had been trailing her quickly hid behind a tree.

He’d been spotted ages ago—did he not realize it?

“See that? They’re so pathetic I don’t even feel like saying anything. It’s just a bit annoying, but it’s fine for now.”

“What will you do if it gets more serious?”

“I’ll figure that out when the time comes.”

She really lives carelessly in her own way.

As expected of a character who got in trouble in the original story for alternating between just two sets of holy maiden robes because she found managing multiple outfits bothersome.

When our conversation about the followers ended, Lilith lightly slapped my arm with her palm and smirked.

“Anyway, good luck. I’ve heard the rumors too, and they’re pretty wild.”

“How do you always manage to hear all these rumors?”

“Unlike you and Celia, I don’t have such a narrow social circle.”

Fair enough. Lilith does have a social butterfly personality.

Since I don’t hang out with her, I wouldn’t know, but she’s probably already established relationships with upper-class students, middle-class students, and even seniors from other years.

Maybe it’s because she’s spent time working as a holy maiden outside, but she’s very skilled at expanding her social network.

Does she not realize that each of those actions is actually increasing her followers?

“Anyway, never mind that. So everyone’s hiding in that café right now, right?”

Lilith, having ended the conversation, looked toward the café I had mentioned earlier when explaining the situation.

Since they had all taken seats where they could see us clearly, we could see them well too. Celia started waving when she made eye contact with Lilith.

…Actually, she wasn’t waving—she was gesturing for her to go away.

Either not realizing this or ignoring it, Lilith waved back lightly to Celia and said:

“Can I go join them and watch too?”

…I just told her to do whatever. I don’t care. She can figure it out herself. One more spectator won’t make much difference.

Or will it? Would this mean I’m now entangled with Lilith too, making things bigger?

‘It’s all the same in the end anyway.’

They’re all academy students anyway. The goal is achieved if a big fish takes the bait, so I decided not to worry about it.

Finally alone, I wandered around for quite some time.

I knew they’d make a fuss if I went too far out of sight, so I just paced around within view of the café. It seemed the rumors had already spread, as still no one approached me.

Isn’t that obvious? If a confrontation here escalated into a street fight, it would immediately be grounds for penalty points.

But rules are written in blood, aren’t they? The existence of penalty points means there are people who commit such acts.

And while academy students may be powerful, they’re still students in their prime. It wouldn’t be strange to expect someone to approach me, with action preceding concerns about penalty points.

In fact, in the original story, there were quite a few events where people picked fights with the protagonist.

With these thoughts, I continued to wander around, killing time.

How much time had passed? The cups of the spectators in the café were starting to empty one by one.

Just as I was wondering if I should give up, a large shadow fell across me.

“Are you Ludion?”

Well-maintained, flowing red hair.

Clearly shining golden eyes.

A gentle, kind voice and manner of speaking.

All these elements indicated that the figure standing before me was female.

But… didn’t I say a large shadow fell across me?

Beyond that, she was a collection of elements that departed from the perception of an ordinary woman… no, an ordinary person.

A physique that had already transcended the category of human, deserving to be called monstrous.

Rugged muscles and a massive mace to match.

A weight belt worn instead of a regular belt, possibly for training, weighing who knows how many kilograms…

It would be impossible not to recognize someone so unique, bordering on peculiar.

Celia’s fan club vice president. Lias Faizen.

Nicknamed the “All-Strength Mage”… despite appearances, she is technically a mage.

The comedy is that she actually can’t use physical enhancement magic. Though looking at her build, she probably doesn’t need it…

Anyway, I was expecting to catch a big fish, but I didn’t think such a large one would bite from the start.

“Senior Lias. It’s my first time meeting you.”

“What? You’re more polite than I expected?”

When I greeted her respectfully, partly intimidated by her appearance regardless of being a newbie, she looked surprised.

They say first impressions are important.

No matter what rumors she might have heard, rumors are just rumors. When actually facing someone who presents themselves this way, she can’t help but be taken aback. My handsome face probably played a part too.

I just want to reduce troublesome situations, not turn all students into enemies.

If I had wanted to beat everyone and pick fights alone, I would have quit the academy and gone around stirring up trouble everywhere.

As someone who’s enjoying this world in my own way, while plot developments getting twisted is one thing, having relationships and perceptions twisted would be quite painful.

“I guess my reputation has spread that way?”

“Well, um…”

“You don’t need to deny it. I appreciate the consideration, but I already know everything.”

“Ah… right, I see…”

So I continued with my humble approach… it seemed she was finding it difficult to take any aggressive action.

But it didn’t matter. Having already approached and started a conversation, she couldn’t leave without doing something.

How would our interaction look to those watching from a distance, unable to hear our conversation?

“Wow, it’s Senior Lias.”

“She’s really huge…”

“She’s even carrying a weapon. That guy’s in real trouble.”

“But look at how he’s standing straight and looking right at her. He’s no joke either.”

I’m sure it looked like quite the intense standoff.

Is watching fights really the most entertaining thing? The atmosphere around us was gradually heating up.

“Kyaaah! Big sis!! You’re so cool!!”

Someone even shouted that loudly.

“Big sis, you’re so cool!” It seems she has her own fan base too.

Thanks to this, Lias, who had approached me first, started looking more troubled.

She looked around for a moment, her mouth opening and closing, before seemingly making up her mind and pointing her mace at me.

“You seem better than I heard, but you’ve still crossed the line by far. I’ll check if you’re qualified to be by Her Highness’s side.”

“Well, it would be awkward for you to just turn back now. I accept.”

“…”

At some point, people had gathered around us, forming a circle.

As a result, we could no longer be seen from the café, but by then they were already mixed in with the crowd, watching.

‘The vice president of Celia’s fan club…’

This is enough of a filter to weed out all the small fry.

Though nicknamed the “All-Strength Mage” due to her physical appearance, she’s actually skilled with magic too.

She’s truly a hybrid human.

Among the fourth-year students, only a handful appear even in the latter half of the story, and Lias is one of them… as someone recognized enough to hold the vice president position in Celia’s fan club, there’s not much more to say.

“Even if you’re better than the rumors suggest, I have no intention of going easy on you. Prepare yourself.”

“I look forward to it.”

With my greeting, she swung her massive mace horizontally.

It was a natural move—if she had brought it down vertically and damaged the ground, she would have been taken straight to the disciplinary committee by Alkine’s hand, who was watching.

The speed was too fast to simply dodge, so I used evasion techniques, but it seemed few people had directly witnessed such evasion before, as surprised voices could be heard from all around.

“…This is just like the rumors.”

“What if the rumors had been wrong?”

“You’re on the student council. You should be able to dodge something like this.”

Her suddenly swinging at me was quite startling, but I guess it was her way of acknowledging me?

Whatever the case, lingering here any longer risks getting caught and receiving penalty points without recourse.

I’ve already received penalty points once for unauthorized absence, and I can’t get any closer to community service.

Since the purpose is partly to show others, there’s no need to drag this out by going easy on her.

‘I’m sorry, senior. Next time I’ll get Celia’s autograph for you.’

Thinking that to myself, I pulled out the fork I had stolen from the student cafeteria last time.