Chapter 59: Disobedience (3)
by fnovelpia
“Ugh…!”
As I heard a short groan and the sound of a desk shaking, I momentarily closed the novel I was reading and looked to the side.
There, Lady Jessica was rising from the makeshift bed we’d cobbled together from desks, gently rubbing her neck.
That man probably hadn’t attacked her seriously, but to wake up after only ten minutes of unconsciousness…
Should I call this the blood of a hero? Marveling at the Lady’s remarkable recovery, I stood up and approached her, saying:
“You’re awake already? Impressive. How’s your neck feeling?”
“My neck…?”
Still not fully alert, the groggy-eyed Lady Jessica tilted her head quizzically while rubbing her nape.
No, perhaps it wasn’t that she couldn’t remember, but rather that she hadn’t even registered the attack since it came from a blind spot.
“You seem a bit hazy on the details, so I’ll give you a quick rundown. You were just struck on the back of the neck by that man and were unconscious for about 10 minutes.”
“That man…? That, that man…!?”
Seemingly grasping the situation upon hearing “that man,” Lady Jessica jumped to her feet on the desk, indignant.
Her face flushed red with anger. If this were a play, special effects of roaring flames would’ve appeared behind her.
“Ian, where is that man now?!”
“Well… I watched him leave with his gang, but I’m not sure where they went.”
I hadn’t planned on asking in the first place, but what happened after Lady Jessica fell unconscious was so shocking that I didn’t even have the chance to ask where they were going.
As I relayed the events that unfolded after Lady Jessica’s blackout without a shred of falsehood or exaggeration, her body began to tremble with rage.
“Not only did he knock me out on a whim, but he dared to treat people so casually…!!”
“Lady Jessica… Let me give you some advice. Don’t get involved with that man. The best way to deal with a lunatic is to simply ignore him.”
It’s a bit crude, but as commoners say, you avoid sh*t not because you’re afraid of it, but because it’s dirty.
That man might be considered strong within this well called the Academy, but he’s nothing more than a frog in a well.
There’s no need to be entangled with someone who’ll crumble once he experiences the vast ocean called the world.
[“Hey, you mediocre Sword Saint descendant!]
Those words that I couldn’t forget no matter how much I focused on my book filled my mind once again.
Had I still not let go of some lingering attachment that I thought I’d abandoned that day?
Those words repeating in my head turned into irritation, and that irritation quickly morphed into anger directed at that man.
‘And yet, if he meets my sister, he’ll end up just like me….’
That’s right. If he meets my sister, every swordsman except our father will end up just like me.
If he were to witness firsthand the inhuman talent loved by the goddess…
“Miss Rain! Are you listening to me?!”
“…Huh?”
Had I been too deeply lost in thought?
Lady Jessica, who had apparently redirected some of her anger from that man towards me, was now glaring at me with her arms crossed.
“I’m sorry…. I was just thinking for a moment. What were we talking about?”
“I was saying that avoiding someone by calling them crazy is just running away! How is that any different from fleeing when something’s too hard to handle?!”
“I see….”
I thought she was saying something profound, but it was just a grandiose way of saying she wanted to court trouble.
“Besides… That man isn’t the type to be deterred by being ignored…. He has an extraordinary talent for getting under your skin even when you try to ignore him….”
“That’s just because you’re too easily provoked, Lady Jessica….”
While that man might be skilled at provocation, judging by how quickly she reacted to my casual remark just now, Lady Jessica seems to have very little resistance to it.
“Anyway, I’m going now!”
“Going? Where? Surely you’re not planning to go look for that man?”
“Of course I am! If I don’t hurry, someone might die!!”
“Die…?”
There’s a limit to how much you can chalk up to accidents during sparring. No matter how crazy he is, he wouldn’t commit murder in the Academy, would he?
“Surely… he wouldn’t go that far?”
Besides, it’s good for such nasty fellows to get a taste of their own medicine once in a while.
They wouldn’t dare touch Lady Jessica because they fear her family, but they probably thought they could handle a mere baronet like him.
After all, their target was Ian, notorious as a vicious thug in the Academy.
They likely calculated that everyone would praise them rather than condemn them.
“In a way, they brought this upon themselves. It might be best to let them face some harsh consequences. And if he happens to get expelled, it would be like blowing your nose without using your hands….”
“We can’t allow that!!”
“Pardon…?”
“If that man gets expelled, I won’t be able to get my revenge!! To prevent that, I must stop him from being expelled at all costs!!”
“…Lady Jessica, are you actually friends with that man?”
Thrown off by the sheer absurdity, I thoughtlessly blurted out those words. In response, Lady Jessica drew the hammer from her waist and said:
“If you say something like that one more time, I’ll challenge even you to a duel, Miss Rain.”
“……”
Overwhelmed by her words, devoid of even a hint of playfulness, I nodded and said:
“…I’ll be more careful in the future.”
“…Yes, well then….”
With those final words, Lady Jessica started running in the direction that man had gone.
They say if you get close to ink, you’ll unknowingly become stained. So if you get close to a lunatic, do you unknowingly become tainted with madness?
‘…The Lady’s gone half-mad too.’
“Phew….”
Crushing the filthy mouth that had spewed those words, I felt the anger at the insult to Baldo subside ever so slightly.
The rare sight of teeth being crushed before their eyes must have been quite shocking, as the gang watching from behind remained frozen, showing no reaction.
I was the same. I too had been petrified like them when I witnessed that horrific scene of Baldo being insulted.
Now that I’ve given them a taste of the same pain I felt, albeit to a lesser degree, it’s still not enough.
“Now, what should I crush next?”
I deliberately approached the fallen guy slowly to instill fear.
“Urghaaak…!!”
Amidst the agony of his crushed teeth, the guy moved his body with the sole desire to not die.
While his attempt to move was commendable, a speed only slightly faster than a turtle’s wasn’t enough to escape me.
His futile effort to resist by moving his body only resulted in me grabbing his leg, causing his face to plant into the ground once more.
“Gaaah!!”
“Can’t answer? Then should I start by crushing this leg?”
As I said this, increasing the pressure on the leg in my grip, the guy started thrashing wildly.
His flailing leg struck my chest. Though it didn’t hurt at all, the footprint left on my white uniform was quite irritating.
“Fly away!!”
I lifted the leg I was holding and threw the guy towards his gang.
Seeing their leader flying towards them, the gang seemed to come to their senses. They caught their bleeding leader with their bodies.
“Ugh…!”
Unable to fully catch their suddenly airborne leader, the impact sent them stumbling backwards onto their butts.
“Pathetic bastards… And you call yourselves knight department students? Or are you actually from the magic department, here out of loyalty?”
“Sh-shut up!! You think you’ll get away with this?!”
One of the gang members wearing glasses suddenly shouted, then pointed at me impudently. I approached him with a smile.
“What exactly won’t I get away with?”
“What?!”
“Judging by how you cowered before Jessica, none of you are above the rank of count, right? At best, you’re probably around the level of viscount?”
Even if I crossed a line, the cause of this fight lies with those guys. Between several low-ranking nobles below viscount and me, who passed the S-class…
It’s obvious whose side the Academy will take.
Moreover, even if they were nobles above the rank of count, I wouldn’t let it slide if they insulted Baldo in front of me.
“By the way, did you just point your finger at me?”
“Eek…!!”
Sensing the threat, the bespectacled guy quickly tried to retract his finger, but my hand had already grabbed it.
“I hate finger-pointing. It’s like aiming a gay weapon like a rapier at me…!”
“What nonsense…!! How did you know I use a rapier…?!”
“What?! So you really do! You homo bastard!!”
Fearing I might contract AIDS from prolonged contact, I immediately snapped his finger.
“Aaargh!!”
As his finger bent in an unnatural direction, one of the gang members who had been watching from the side quickly ran towards the door.
He must have moved hastily with the intention of escaping, but it was a poor choice when facing an opponent with vastly superior physical abilities.
I went around to the side, overtaking him, and delivered a Baldo to his empty stomach.
Originally, it would have been a blow that tore open his stomach, but fortunately, thanks to my control, such a situation did not happen.
The guy who took the Baldo instantly lost consciousness, briefly floating in the air before falling to the ground.
“Ah….”
In the span of about 10 seconds, everyone gathered here realized one thing.
The fact that they couldn’t escape from me….
“Now, who should I teach the noble power of Baldo to next! You?! Or you?!!!”
“Ah, aaaargh!!!”
“Don’t come!! Don’t come, you crazy bastard!!”
“P-please spare me!! Just this once…!!”
Satisfied with the chaos that had engulfed the training ground through the power of Baldo, I approached the guys.
And just as I was reaching out towards the first guy I saw—
“You crazy man…!! Stop that hand right now!!”
Feeling the hostile voice approaching me from behind, I instinctively Baldo’d towards whoever it was.
“Kyaaah!!”
“Je-Jessica?!”
Oh no… Because she suddenly rushed at me from behind, I accidentally Baldo’d Jessica!
Struck in the side, Jessica let out a short scream and tumbled sideways.
“Are you okay?!”
Hurrying over to the fallen Jessica, I found her glaring at me through narrowed eyes, clutching her side.
‘She didn’t pass out…?’
Of course, I had controlled my strength to avoid killing her, but even so, it was a blow that would have knocked her out a few weeks ago.
You’ve grown, Jessica….
But come to think of it, isn’t Jessica’s newfound strength due to the defeat I handed her that day?
I don’t mean to take credit, but if it weren’t for that incident, would Jessica have trained this hard?
Wanting to hear at least a word of gratitude, I asked Jessica:
“Jessica, don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“…I’ll, I’ll…!!”
“Hm? What was that?”
Unable to hear clearly what she was saying, I brought my ear closer to her mouth. A small voice escaped through her slightly parted lips.
“I’ll… kill you….”
“Give it your best shot, Jessica!!”
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