Chapter 32: Public and Private
by fnovelpia
‘Damn ice b*tch….’
After receiving the demerit points, I returned to the dormitory and lay down on the bed, trying to sleep. But because of the demerit points, I couldn’t sleep at all.
Even when I tried to forget and sleep, Marina’s face kept popping up every time I closed my eyes.
Damn ice b*tch… Since when were spellcasting b*tches allowed to interfere in warriors’ fights?
And of course, Peter only got a light punishment because of favoritism.
I wasn’t entirely blameless, but Peter was at fault too, and I won in the end, so why was I the only one getting a severe punishment?
Peter might have been put on probation, but it wasn’t enough.
On top of probation, I received 20 demerit points.
‘20 points… no, 21 points. When will I ever clear those?’
The academy had a merit and demerit system where merit points positively influenced promotion exams, and demerit points had the opposite effect.
If that was all, I wouldn’t have cared much, but the problem was that accumulating more than 50 demerit points meant expulsion from the academy.
The only way to offset these demerit points was by earning merit points.
But earning those merit points was no easy task.
‘Didn’t the protagonist first earn merit points after defeating a demon?’
I remembered the protagonist receiving 50 merit points for that, but I couldn’t wait for the demon that appeared after chapter 60.
‘If only I could use that technique that only those who majored in physics could master, against Marina and Peter…!’
The name of the technique was Memory Erasure.
It was a terrifying technique that erased memory by striking the opponent’s head with full force.
While seriously contemplating this, a knock sounded at the door.
‘Who is it?’
At this hour… though, no one would visit even at other times. With no one in mind, I slowly got up.
As if growing impatient, the knocking sounded again, so I stomped to the door, making sure they heard.
‘It stopped.’
Hearing my footsteps, the knocking stopped. Standing in front of the door, I opened it to see who it was at this hour.
“…Hori?”
“Ian! Are you, are you okay?!”
“What?”
Standing outside with a large bag and a worried expression was Hori.
“…Come in first.”
“Ex, excuse me.”
Talking outside might cause trouble if caught, so I brought Hori inside.
Hori looked around the room before placing her large bag down and speaking.
“Are you okay?! I thought you were badly hurt….”
“Hurt?”
I had some scratches from blocking Peter’s attack with my aura, but a few days of rest would heal that.
“Who said I was hurt?”
“No one said anything, it’s just a rumor….”
A rumor?
Had news of my fight with Peter already spread?
Considering the commotion in the main building, it would be strange if it hadn’t. But wasn’t it too fast?
“…What rumor?”
“The rumor was that you challenged Sir. Peter and got seriously injured….”
“…What the f*ck?”
Unable to contain myself, I swore, my anger seeping through.
“I, I didn’t say it…!!”
Thinking my anger was directed at her, Hori trembled like a leaf.
I quickly reined in my anger and waited for Hori to calm down before asking again.
“…Sorry. Can you tell me again? What was the rumor?”
“Like I said, the rumor was that you challenged Sir. Peter to a duel and got seriously injured….”
For a moment, it sounded like I had been defeated, causing anger to surge to my head.
“So… is that the end of the rumor?”
“Yes. I went to the temple, but you weren’t there, so I thought you might be in the dormitory.”
Hori added that she had a hard time finding the nameplate in the dark and laughed.
“But seeing you like this, it seems it was just a false rumor. I even brought a potion.”
“No, there was a duel. It ended before it was settled, though.”
If Marina hadn’t interfered, I would have killed Peter right there, so I considered it my victory.
“Even though he’s retired, being the commander made him incredibly strong.”
If we had fought outside rather than indoors, the outcome might have been different, but a win was still a win.
Some students who heard the rumor might think I lost because they didn’t know I used Baldo, but it was clearly my victory.
“There was blood on the main school stairs. So that blood….”
“That was Peter’s. I didn’t want to grip the reverse-blade sword backward, but I couldn’t cut through otherwise.”
Hearing this, Hori widened her eyes in disbelief.
“I knew you were strong… but I didn’t expect this.”
“It was half luck…. So, you brought a potion thinking I was hurt? I’m touched.”
When I pointed at the large bag Hori had brought, she lowered her head shyly.
Nothing might happen now, but coming all the way here despite the risk of running into Jessica was worth it.
“…I owed you my life once. But how did the fight start?”
“Well… do you remember Jessica, the one I mentioned before?”
“Yes. The one who threw the cake….”
“After I said I split her head with my katana and threw her cut hair, he went berserk.”
“…What?”
Realizing I had skipped too much, I explained in more detail.
But even after my explanation, the confusion didn’t leave Hori’s face.
“Why did you do that?”
“It was all for Baldo.”
“???”
Seeing Hori’s deepening confusion, I didn’t know where to start.
Since I couldn’t sleep and had plenty of time, I began to tell Hori about my passion for Baldo.
Finally, Hori seemed to understand a little and asked.
“…What does Baldo mean to you that you go to such lengths?”
“What does Baldo mean to me?”
I didn’t know how to answer that.
It was a question that couldn’t be compressed into one word, so I briefly mentioned one aspect of what Baldo encompassed.
“I can’t say it all… but if I had to say one thing, it’s conviction.”
“…Conviction?”
“Yes, a conviction that must be upheld no matter what.”
“Is that why you went against someone who might be stronger than you?”
“Conviction that bends or breaks before someone stronger isn’t conviction.”
“!!”
My casual remark seemed to resonate deeply with Hori, who looked at me with wide eyes.
“That… that’s a really good saying.”
“Really? Were you dealing with something related to that?”
“…A little. But I’m not going to worry about it anymore.”
I didn’t know what she meant, but seeing the satisfied look on Hori’s face, I felt relieved.
“Really? Then that’s good. So, to wish you luck in your future endeavors….”
I took a piece of Jessica’s hair that was displayed on my desk and handed it to Hori.
“I’ll give you this.”
“…What is this, exactly?”
“It’s Jessica’s hair. A bun symbolizes wealth, so it should bring you good fortune!”
After hesitating for a moment, Hori looked at the golden hair in bewilderment before accepting it.
“…Th-thank you. I’ll accept it gratefully.”
“Great!”
Should I also give one to Victor or send it to my mother back home?
After all, luck grows the more you share it.
“Ugh…!!”
While wrapping a bandage in my room, I frowned at the wound reflected in the mirror.
I had fought knights, demon worshippers, and even beasts, bearing countless scars.
But this was the first time I had been cut by such a peculiar sword.
Was it called a reverse-blade sword?
It was fortunate that I got hit by that sword now, in my old age when my temper had cooled.
If it had been in my younger days, I would have felt so humiliated by losing to such a sword that I might have hanged myself!
‘Did I lose….’
Even though I couldn’t fully use the power of the ley lines indoors, a loss was still a loss.
‘Seeing that reverse-blade sword was my downfall.’
Thinking it wasn’t sharp, I decided to block it with aura, which was my mistake. From the moment that brat showed me the sword, he had been aiming for this.
“Haha….”
Despite facing such a humiliating defeat, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Though he had a nasty side, fighting only with Baldo because he looked down on his opponents, his talent was real, as Master Otar said.
He might have significant flaws in his character to be the partner of the next Sword Saint, though.
“…….”
As I reached for the bandage on the desk, I noticed a document lying nearby.
Work is work, and personal matters are personal, I suppose.
I hesitated for a moment, then bit my lip in frustration and wrote down the name of a man.
[S Class Recommendation]
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