episode_0002

Elise Arkstra.

One of the heroines from the web novel “Sword of the Academy.”

It seems like the way she describes Lian is similar to how she explains things, but that’s not important right now.

What’s more important at the moment is the woman in the front row who was glaring at me disapprovingly.

“Do you have something to say?”

“······Nothing to say.”

“Like thanking me for the ride, or genuinely being grateful because your leg was hurting.”

“······Is it necessary?”

“No, seeing your face, I don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t really want insincere gratitude.”

With those words, Elise abruptly turned her head.

Hmm.

If that’s the case, why did she even bother speaking?

It would have been better not to say anything at all.

The already uncomfortable atmosphere just became more awkward.

It was clear that I had brought this upon myself, but still, I did give her a ride when her leg was hurting.

“Thank you for the ride.”

“······That sentence doesn’t feel sincere at all. Forget it. It was just on my way anyway.”

Elise responded with an irritated tone, as if to say there was no need for such an apology.

“By the way, why were you walking around there looking so dejected? You looked like the sky was falling.”

“······Are you really asking out of curiosity? Or are you just saying anything because you have nothing else to say?”

“I’m genuinely curious this time. It’s class time right now.”

“You’re skipping class just like me.”

“I left early with permission. I’m not sneaking out like someone during lunch break.”

“···.”

Oh man.

She already knew everything.

Rather than feeling embarrassed about trying to use the same logic and failing, the fact that Elise already knew everything sent shivers down my spine.

“······How do you know that?”

“Well, if I say it’s a woman’s secret, will you believe me?”

“Do you think I would? How many times have I asked you for help?”

“I suppose so. I should have handled the client who found out the truth.”

“······Don’t joke like that. It’s creepy.”

This was the real identity of Elise Arkstra.

Outwardly, she belonged to a prestigious family, but in reality, she was the illegitimate daughter of the Arkstra Hujak family, seated on the throne of the underworld. Despite not yet having graduated from the academy and rarely engaging in direct activities, she seemed to know everything about the academy students, making her an absolutely formidable woman.

It seemed as though she could read my thoughts, as Elise began to smile slightly and gaze at me. “Why, are you anxious? Afraid I might erase your existence without a trace?”

“…”

“Don’t worry. I have no need to bother erasing someone like you. I am an extremely busy woman, you know?”

“Um, yes.”

“Well then, it would be nice if you could at least answer. Where did you go that made you miss class?”

“You already know. If you knew I had permission to leave, then surely you know why I left too, don’t you?”

Elise, having heard my words, responded with a look that seemed to warn against speaking nonsense. “Do you think I would believe such a lie? Until yesterday, you diligently covered up your actions, and suddenly you claim to have gone outside due to a hospital visit. Do you expect me to believe that?”

“Or perhaps you should look it up. There’s no information my sources can’t find.”

“Hmm. There’s nothing my information can’t find, but there’s no need for me to go to such trouble just to find out why someone like you left.”

“…”

I had thought about it several times before, but this way of speaking truly had a knack for irritating people. I couldn’t get angry. It was almost as if she was provoking me to get angry. Since Elise’s intentions were so clear, there was no need for me to take the bait.

“If you don’t want to believe it, then don’t. I really did go to the hospital.”

“Hmm. You’re sticking to your story even after all this effort. Why did you suddenly go to the hospital?”

“Just… because I suddenly wasn’t feeling well.”

“What did they say at the hospital? Did they tell you not to feign illness?”

“No, it’s not that.”

I paused for a moment. I couldn’t decide whether I should tell her this right now. It was a dilemma.

Actually, should I tell the truth, or just brush it off as a fall cold?

“······Even if I tell the truth from the start, I don’t think you’d believe me.”

I wondered if the way I said it really mattered.

If I told the truth, it seemed like they wouldn’t believe me, and if I lied, that sharp-witted woman wouldn’t miss a beat.

So, I just made a choice.

“What is it? What’s so important that you’re taking up this much time······.”

“I’m dying. Me.”

“···.”

“They say I have about a year left.”

Even after I finished speaking, there was no response from the woman in the front seat.

What’s going on?

This wasn’t the reaction I expected.

Of course, I thought she would respond with something like, “Do you really think I’d believe that? You should at least lie convincingly.”

“Ugh. If you don’t want to talk, just say you don’t want to.”

“···.”

“How reluctant were you to speak that you’d try to deceive me with such an unbelievable lie that even a passing fool wouldn’t believe?”

“It’s not a lie······.”

“Fine. I won’t ask any more, and I won’t look into it. Honestly, I’m not that curious anyway.”

Hmm.

The woman in front of me was clearly beyond anything I could have imagined.

“Do you know you’re cursing with your eyes?”

“······You know how to hit below the belt?”

“Don’t admit to cursing. It’s more upsetting.”

“It’s a joke.”

“Not very funny. A year ago, even if you were a scoundrel, you weren’t this cold.”

“···.”

“So, when are you going to answer? The reason you suddenly changed. The reason why the once scoundrel, Lian Trice, suddenly wants to settle the past.”

She’s poking at a sore spot all of a sudden.

Why is she asking about that when she doesn’t even care?

“······Couldn’t find it with your sources? The reason why I’m suddenly cleaning up my past.”

“It hurts my pride, but yes. It started as simple curiosity, but I felt bad because I couldn’t find anything no matter how hard I looked.”

“Keep looking. There’s no information you can’t find with your own mouth, right?”

“······If you were trying to provoke my competitive spirit, you succeeded. Your tone just now really upset me.”

“Good for me. Just by saying a few words, I managed to annoy the princess of the underworld.”

“······If I were to call you by that nickname one more time, it seems like it would erase you from the world, wouldn’t it?”

As if some button had been pressed, Ellis stiffened her expression coldly.

Terrifying.

It feels like she’s really serious about it.

Of course, having just been freshly sentenced to a deadline, I didn’t particularly care.

“Who could have revealed my identity? If someone exposed your identity to a mere academy student, wouldn’t that be your fault?”

“That’s also one of the mysteries of my life. How did you come to know about my identity and my family’s identity? Our family has never directly commissioned anyone.”

Ellis frowned again as if feeling unjust.

How could you possibly know?

You read the original work, so you know.

But because I couldn’t tell Ellis that directly, I responded vaguely.

“You must have made a mistake somewhere.”

“I can’t find it, so it drives people crazier. You need to know what that mistake is so you won’t make that mistake anymore.”

“It’s natural for people to make mistakes.”

“No, that’s something only people like you can say. I’m not someone who can tolerate my own mistakes.”

“···.”

“Look at us now. If I hadn’t made that unknown mistake, I wouldn’t be having this useless conversation with you.”

“······That’s a bit hurtful. Is this a useless conversation?”

“Then is it a useful conversation?”

“It’s a useless conversation.”

I had no intention of denying it.

Someone like Ellis Ackstra is probably the kind of person to whom the phrase “time is money” fits better than anyone else.

The higher the person, the more important time is.

Thinking like that, a sigh was heard from the front row.

“How did I end up getting involved with such a loser?”

“······Can we drop the title of ‘loser’ now? I’ve settled everything as of yesterday.”

“Clearing up past mistakes doesn’t mean getting away from being the person who made the mistake. You should know that better than anyone, shouldn’t you?”

“···.”

“Have you heard the news? The Brilliant Family is gathering evidence to break off your engagement with your fiancée.”

“······Is that so?”

“Sure. I sent a request to our contact on our side that I want to purchase some information.”

The news Alice delivered was essentially the news that I would soon be publicly humiliated.

“Well, that’s convenient.”

“Well, how can we stop the sale of the information? Of course, it’s probably useless since the other party is from the brilliant noble family… Wait, what did you say?”

This news, if it had reached me yesterday, might have had some effect.

“It’s a good thing. Elena is too much for me.”

“…”

“This must be the right thing to happen.”

“…It’s ridiculous. It’s beyond belief that such words come out of someone like you, a wastrel.”

After that, until the car automatically opened the door for me to disembark at the academy,

I didn’t say a word.

I simply thanked her for the ride when getting off.

That was the distance between Alice and me.