Chapter 154: Academy IF Side Story – The False Family (1)

Chapter 154: Academy IF Side Story – The False Family (1)

“Cecil Constantine. I shall grant you the honor of accompanying me.”

“..What the hell is that?”

“What, what? Nonsense? Hmph. As expected, a flower on a cliff has thorns, doesn’t it? I’ll forgive you this time. You’ll eventually take my place… as the runner-up.”

I stared blankly at the female student with a haughty expression.

Blonde twin tails with upturned eyes.

And lips that curved into a smile as if she were the best.

What should I say?

It’s only been a week since I enrolled in the Academy, and something strange has already entangled me.

It’s the lunch break I’ve been looking forward to, so let me eat in peace.

‘Who on earth is she..’

I think I saw her on the podium during the testimonial presentation.

I remember her introducing herself as a master of elemental magic.

Perhaps it was because of her unique arrogance.

I recall the students’ reactions weren’t very positive.

Well, that was just my first impression, and she might be doing fine, but.

I don’t understand why she’s approaching me like this.

I stared at her blankly.

“You.. what’s your name?”

I asked in a slightly awkward tone.

“You… don’t know my name?”

Then the female student seemed slightly shocked.

She opened and closed her mouth, sighed, and then, as if resigned, sat down gently next to me.

“W-well. I’m Meichen Brown. The only daughter of the Brown family, and a master of elemental magic.”

The way she elongates the pronunciation after her name is a bit irritating.

It’s like a British accent in English.

With a slightly peculiar aristocratic accent and a unique pronunciation.

The more I look at her, the more I feel ‘annoying.’

“Uh.. right. Meichen. So why do you want to accompany me?”

I glanced at her and took a bite of the steak on my plate.

I ate a lot of steak at ‘that’ mansion too.

But for some reason, the steak here tasted much better and felt better.

Meichen’s eyes widened for a moment at my words.

She suddenly put her fingers to her mouth and put on a serious expression.

“The bar is set high..”

“No.. Stop saying weird things.. Why are you here without a lunch tray? Didn’t you come to eat together?”

“Eat..? Hmm, ahem. As expected, you’re thinking of accepting my proposal? If you want it that much.. I’ll accompany you.”

“Just get some food.. The food is really delicious today.”

Meichen turned her body with a haughty gait.

Unlike the arrogant demeanor from before, she quickly went to get her food.

“Ahaha.. Hello, Madam. Ah, yes. Father is doing well. Ah, you don’t need to give me this much.. Thank you.”

Her attitude is quite different when she’s getting food.

When she turns around, she reverts to her arrogant face from before.

What is this? Is she a split personality?

She seems like she’d be great at social interactions.

Meichen sat down next to me with her food tray.

Her gesture of tucking her hair behind her ear was also arrogant.

“Hmph. As expected, aristocratic social life is tiring. People are always flocking to me..”

‘Wasn’t she just a friendly aunt..?’

She’ll probably become extremely polite again when she faces the aunt.

Is she acting like this because I’m here, or is she always like this?

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment and chewed on the delicious salad.

The sauce and salmon inside have a great combination.

Expensive salad is the best.

“Oh. Unnie..! Unnie!”

Just as I was about to chew the steak and talk to her.

Lucy waved her hand cheerfully from across the hall.

There were small groups of children similar in height to Lucy gathered around her.

They looked like chicks, so cute.

“Lucy. Hi. Did you come to eat now?”

“Yeah! I came to eat with my friends! Is the person next to you your friend?”

“She’s someone who will be my friend. Eat well.”

“You too, Unnie!!”

Lucy wagged her tail like a dog and cheerfully walked away.

It was quite heartwarming to see her brighter after entering the Academy.

I smiled at Lucy and resumed my meal.

“Hmph.. You knew my ‘next target’.. As expected, Cecil, you are worthy of being with me.”

“Aren’t you going to eat..? What’s with ‘target’..”

“What? You don’t know ‘The Angel of Class A’?”

“What’s that..?”

How does she know all that?

I stared at her, dumbfounded, and frowned slightly.

When Meichen saw that I was pretending not to know, her eyes started to turn upwards again.

“With that cute appearance.. and lively personality.. the angel who attracted all the attention of the male students in the Academy within a week of enrollment!”

“Lucy is quite cute. She can even take out her wings, you know?”

“Uh.. R-really? Dragons can do that.. No. Ahem, ahem. I see. Actually, I knew that.”

‘Is she crazy..?’

It hasn’t even been 10 minutes since I started talking to Meichen.

I felt an overwhelming urge to leave the table.

She has a bit of a ditzy charm.

Should I call her cute, or absurd?

It feels like a 50-50 split.

“By the way.. why are you doing that recruitment thing..?”

“You’re the top student, yet you’re ignorant of information. The Academy, you know, is a place for students to socialize and a microcosm of society..!”

“Are you looking for connections or something? I don’t have anything special.”

“You, who overcame hundreds, thousands of competitors, say you have nothing? It’s okay, don’t worry! At least I know your worth!”

“No, I really don’t have anything..”

“That’s impossible. A top student like you must have a prominent family, right?”

“I’m an orphan..”

“Y-y-you must have a prominent family..?”

My bombshell statement caused Meichen’s thoughts to freeze.

Her pupils trembled greatly, and she averted her gaze slightly.

Then, she wiped her eyes with her hand.

With an expression that said, ‘This isn’t right,’ her hands trembled.

“..Is that true?”

“Do you think I’m lying? I was only able to enroll in the Academy because Professor Adela took me in.”

After confirming the facts, Meichen looked despairing.

Her lips trembled, and her face looked like she was about to cry.

I chuckled and shrugged.

“..What would you say if I told you that? I thought your reaction would be different.”

There’s no need to discourage her.

When I made a U-turn, Meichen’s expression immediately changed.

Her arrogant expression from before was slightly annoying.

But from that reaction, I could tell what kind of person she was.

“W-well, right? Haha!”

Meichen laughed heartily, but muttered softly, ‘Thank goodness.’

At first, I thought she was some crazy bitch hitting on me.

But she might be a decent person after all.

“Well then. Let’s eat.”

I finished my meal quite enjoyably, chatting with Meichen.

About 80% of our conversation was about joining her ‘group,’ but.

Well, I thought it wasn’t too bad.

She seemed quite transparent.

****

“Hoo..”

Class ended.

The approximately one-hour class was more substantial than I expected, and most of it was information I already knew.

Thanks to that, I was drained from the professor’s barrage of questions.

I answered all the questions, so I received the top student certification from the professor.

‘It’s tougher than I thought..’

Even though I had previewed the basics and most of the magic under the more intense Adela.

There was still more to learn than I expected, and it was definitely interesting.

I walked slowly to the women’s restroom and stood there blankly.

Then, with a slight hesitation, I went inside.

It should be fine.

After all, I had seen Scarlett’s body and knew everything.

My eyes were a bit blurry, so I stood in front of the restroom sink to wash my face.

“Hoo.. I’m so annoyed lately.”

“Her? That Meichen or whatever?”

“Yeah. You know her, right? The one who keeps talking about recruitment and stuff lately.”

But then, strange voices started to be heard.

This timing seems a bit off.

And it’s about Meichen, whom I chatted with during lunch today.

I slowly washed my face at the sink with an awkward expression.

The ones bad-mouthing Meichen were two female students.

I had only heard such things in stories, but this was the first time hearing them in person.

They continued talking without even noticing me.

“She sticks to students who seem to be in the upper ranks.”

“Exactly. Does she think she’s something? Her family isn’t even that great.. It’s disgusting how she’s trying to revive her family by acting like this.”

“I heard their family is on the verge of collapse? I don’t know how she got to be the runner-up. Maybe she slept with a supervisor? How can someone without money come here?”

“Pfft.. That’s possible. She does look somewhat attractive.”

‘What the hell are they saying..’

I can’t stand listening to this anymore.

Even so, why are they talking like that?

My mind was conflicted between ‘intervening’ and ‘not intervening.’

I don’t have a particularly special relationship with her, so why should I intervene?

Still, I had seen her perform magic before.

As someone who has learned magic, I know how to read mana flow.

Her magic was real.

If it weren’t for me, she would have been the top student.

I finished washing my face thoroughly.

“..Her magic is real.”

I muttered softly, a little timidly.

Although my voice was small, they seemed to have heard me clearly.

“What?”

They stared at me as if slightly taken aback.

Why? What’s the problem?

Do they think I’ll be scared if they glare at me like that?

I frowned slightly and glared back at them.

“Who are you to butt into our conversation? You’re the top student, right? Are you close with her?”

Their attitude was as if asking why I was meddling.

They were spewing disgusting words and then acting like the victim, which made me regret it a little.

But still, isn’t that a bit too much?

If they’re going to be like this, I have to fight back hard.

“You guys keep saying disgusting things, so I can’t help but care.”

“Wh-what..? What did you just say?”

“Are your ears fucked up? I said disgusting things, you bitches. Anyway, fuck, you guys are the ones who get caught gossiping and have so much to say.”

I unleashed a torrent of colorful curses, emphasizing the ‘f’ sound.

The female students’ faces turned bright red, and their eyebrows twitched.

“You..! Just because you’re the top student, you’re talking like that-“

“Do I look like I’m talking recklessly just because I’m the top student? Hey, you bastards. Can’t you grasp the situation?”

“Th-that’s the truth! I saw her flirting with you today too.. Aren’t you annoyed?!”

“Haa..”

I have nothing more to say.

I clenched my teeth, grabbed her shoulder tightly, and growled softly.

“You don’t have her level of skill, so you’re jealous and gossiping.. I can see your life.”

At my words, their faces turned red and then blue.

But unable to find a retort, they just huffed and pushed my shoulder hard.

“Live honestly, you idiots.”

With my last words, I gave them the middle finger with trembling hands and left the restroom.

“Hoo.. What a bunch of crazy bastards..”

To say such things after a delicious lunch.

They must be full of themselves.

I sighed and finished washing my face again.

My face felt quite hot, perhaps from the excitement.

Just as I was about to leave.

Creeeak-

The stall door suddenly opened.

It was Meichen, no less.

“..Cecil?”

Her face was tear-streaked, and she looked at me blankly.

She looked quite flustered.