Chapter 91: Catchphrase
by fnovelpia
Despite only moving once, my to-do list had grown immensely – from repairing the old workshop to hiring servants for the mansion and determining how much support to send Hori.
Just thinking about all the work ahead made me feel overwhelmed with laziness.
Perhaps because of that, or due to the change in sleeping quarters, I couldn’t fall asleep easily that night and woke up earlier than usual.
If I’d known this would happen, I should have stayed in the dorm for a while and moved after hiring servants to prepare the mansion.
“Haah…”
Regretting it now was pointless. I got up and headed to the dining room on the first floor for breakfast.
Though there were no servants yet, let alone proper groceries, I had bought bread and jam from a nearby store to eat in the morning.
After finishing a light meal, I thought Wolffang should eat too, so I stroked her hilt. Wolffang groaned, seemingly still half-asleep.
[Kuuung…]
If she wanted food, I could get it for her later. No need to force her awake.
Leaving her to sleep more, I went to the stable to find Silence, who would be sleeping there, to go to the academy.
“…”
“Let’s go.”
As I was heading to the academy, leading Silence who looked tired from having to move earlier than usual, a familiar carriage caught my eye. As I approached, I saw a familiar roll of hair through the window.
“Hey!!”
“…”
When I raised a hand in greeting, Jessica looked at me as if wondering if she was dreaming, then closed the window.
‘She closed it?’
Unable to let this rudeness slide, I caught up to the carriage and kept knocking on the window until Jessica opened it.
Knock knock knock!!!
After following the carriage and continuously knocking, I soon heard a sigh and the window opened.
“…What is it?”
“Good morning.”
“…Good morning. Now then…”
As she tried to close the window again with an exasperated expression, I blocked it with my hand. Jessica frowned.
“…Is there something else you want to say?”
“Nothing special. Just be my conversation partner since it’s boring on the way.”
“Haah…”
Jessica sighed again, but she didn’t close the window this time, so it seemed she didn’t completely dislike it.
“Well… as long as you don’t say anything weird. I didn’t have anything to do on the way either… Come to think of it, you’ve been promoted to Count recently, right?”
“Yeah! Now I’m a high noble on par with your papa in terms of rank!!”
I thought she’d close the window as soon as she heard that, but Jessica unexpectedly had a mild expression.
“…That’s right. Now that you’ve entered the ranks of high nobility, even if your influence is small, I expect you to behave in a manner befitting that title.”
“I’m not the type to change my behavior just because I’ve been promoted! I’ll treat you the same as always! So don’t worry about that!!”
It seems that was too much for Jessica to bear. She leaned out the window, pointing at me and shouting:
“Change a little!! You’re now one of the few Counts in the kingdom, so refrain from frivolous behavior!! You have to be more careful now that you have a lot of subjects to be responsible for!!”
“If I don’t even care about my family, do you think I’d care about subjects?”
“…Hah. Right, you were that kind of person. I was a fool to expect you’d change even a little now that you’ve become a Count.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself for making one mistake. You’re not a fool, Jessica, you’re just a bit slow.”
“Urgh…!!”
I heard the familiar sound of wood breaking, so it seems a fan snapped inside the carriage.
“I should’ve just closed the window and left…”
“I was planning to follow you until you talked to me, so it would’ve been pointless.”
“How did I end up entangled with someone like you? By the way…”
Jessica paused for a moment, then glanced at Wolffang on my waist and asked:
“What exactly was that katana you used in that fight? It didn’t seem like an ordinary weapon…”
“That’s Wolffang. She should be waking up soon, so I’ll introduce you. Wolffang.”
“Wolffang? Aah…!!”
As soon as I called her name, Wolffang instantly took human form. Still not fully awake, she rubbed her eyes and leaned against my back.
“The, the katana…!!”
This was a world where magic actually existed, but even in such a setting, sentient magic swords were extremely rare beings.
While Jessica was staring in shock at Wolffang who had transformed into a human, I said:
“This is the magic sword Wolffang, forged using Lobo’s materials. Wolffang, say hello.”
Rubbing her half-closed eyes, Wolffang looked at Jessica and said in a groggy voice:
“Mmm… Nice to meet you. Woman who smells like a female.”
“Yes, nice to meet you too… Ah, female smell?! What did you just say?!”
“I said you smell like a female… Are your ears not working?”
Despite anyone being able to tell it was a provocative statement, Wolffang’s attitude remained nonchalant, as if she had just exchanged light greetings.
“This one always gives off a female scent in front of her master.”
“Really? Jessica, did you give off a female scent?”
BANG!!
The window slammed shut so hard I thought it might break, and the carriage sped off down the road at full speed.
“See you in class!!”
“A non-virgin who deserves to be torn apart!”
How I wished that voice I heard was just an auditory hallucination.
It seemed far better to believe I was suffering from a mental illness and hearing things, rather than accepting the reality unfolding before my eyes.
Turning my head towards the source of the voice, I saw a male student, about 170cm tall, shouting that while striking a grandiose pose.
A few of the male students standing around him snickered and imitated him, while some female students passing by shot them looks of contempt.
‘How did it come to this?’
Please… if there’s anyone who can answer, I’d like them to tell me.
Just how on earth could the phrase “A non-virgin who deserves to be torn apart!” become popular in this academy where most students are nobles?
Did the food from the cafeteria go bad and drive everyone collectively insane?
Though I said it, it’s definitely not something that should become a trend in everyday life, so why…
There are rumors that some noble young ladies use healing magic to regenerate their hymens and pretend to be virgins, so maybe it’s because of that.
It’s frustrating, but since they erase the evidence with magic, there’s no way to confront them. Perhaps the indignation of those who had no choice but to swallow their tears has erupted with this incident?
“Shit…”
Thinking of it that way, I couldn’t bring myself to curse those future “sponge boys”.
My steps quickened towards the S-class building, thinking I could be freed from this madness if I went to the relatively higher-ranked S-class area.
‘Please let the guys here be normal…’
As I entered the Knight Department classroom, which had no other men besides me, an unexpected figure was waiting there.
“Huh? Why are you here…?”
“…”
The one waiting for me in the empty classroom was Nana, wearing full-body armor as usual, wielding a large shield and sword.
Seeing me, Nana stood up from her seat and threw a white glove she had placed on the desk at me.
“Pick it up.”
“…What?”
Unlike Peter, Nana wasn’t the type to challenge me to a duel without good reason, so I hesitated.
Though I didn’t know the reason, it wasn’t right for a practitioner of Baldo to refuse picking up a glove thrown by an opponent.
As I was about to bend my knee to pick it up, intending to beat her just short of killing her and then ask for the reason…
“Ian!!”
Hearing Euclid’s cheerful voice as always from behind, I stopped picking up the glove and turned my head.
“Euclid. Long ti-“
Before I could finish saying “long time no see”, Euclid extended one hand forward and exclaimed with a refreshing smile:
“A non-virgin who deserves to be torn apart!!”
“…Ah.”
“Hehe!! I’ve been practicing this since I heard you said it a few days ago!! How was it? Pretty convincing, right?”
“…”
I could understand why Nana had challenged me to a duel without needing to hear her reason.
“Pick it up, quickly…”
“No, this isn’t my fault…”
[Ding dong!!]
As a sound rang from the magical communication device in the corner of the ceiling, our gazes focused there.
[First-year S-class student Ian Barthow, the headmaster is looking for you. Please come to the headmaster’s office immediately.]
“…Oh no.”
‘This isn’t my fault…’
While I’m not entirely blameless, it’s hard to say it’s my fault since I didn’t actually go around spreading those words.
But even if I argue like that, Marina, with her personality as blocked as her marriage prospects, probably won’t listen to me.
“Haah…”
Sighing, I opened the door to the headmaster’s office to find Marina waiting for me with a stern expression.
“…Ian, please sit down.”
“…Yes.”
I’m not sure why she looked so serious, but I sat down as instructed. She spoke with a solemn expression:
“…We received a message from the royal investigator sent to the East at dawn.”
“…Pardon?”
Hearing these unexpected words from Marina, I could only stare at her blankly, unable to say anything.
“The photos and map I’m about to show you may break your heart. So please steel yourself before looking…”
“What exactly are you going to show…”
The highly tense Marina placed on the desk an aerial photograph and a map covered in Chinese characters.
Looking at the photo on the desk, I couldn’t tell what it was for a while, but soon realized what it meant.
“…The island in that photo is apparently called Ganryu Island by the local residents.”
I nodded involuntarily as Marina added that it might be a stretch to call it an island.
Because the island depicted in the photo was shattered into pieces like an egg thrown from a rooftop.
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