episode_0036

“Your ex-boyfriend Yukal said he can’t attend academy classes for a while due to personal reasons and left. He managed to get first place like that, but how does it feel to be abandoned like this?”

In Claire’s mind, milk continued to drip.

“Oh, I wish I could comfortably ask a guy to help me with academy life.”

“I felt a bit stifled trying to please him all this time, but now that Yukal is gone, we can have more fun together. Let’s cheer up together, okay?”

Not content with pouring milk, Claire’s cheek was tapped and slapped by that girl, making her unable to bear it.

Using my maximum speed with physical enhancement, I swiftly drew the training sword I always carried after Professor Chris’s advice and effortlessly cut off that crazy girl’s hand without hesitation.

As I suddenly appeared in the cafeteria, confusion briefly struck before screams echoed throughout the room.

“Ahh! My hand hurts so much! Help me!”

After tormenting Claire for weeks and publicly pouring milk and slapping her face, the girl who had her dirty hand severed screamed in pain as blood spurted from the stump.

Watching her writhe in agony holding her severed arm, I approached her.

Gently lifting her by the hair, tears and snot covering her face, she looked at me with fearful eyes.

“Does it hurt a lot? But don’t worry. I cleanly cut it off, right? If you answer properly, you can receive treatment in time and reattach it. Who ordered you?”

“P-please save me. *sob* I’m sorry.”

“I don’t intend to kill you. Just answer my question, okay?”

Despite my detailed explanations, she seemed panicked, repeating pleas like a parrot. Expecting no coherent response, I threw her to the ground.

Startled by my sudden actions, two other girls who were previously bewildered by the situation spoke up.

“Do you think you can survive such a terrible act against a commoner like this? Our family will not let this go unpunished.”

“That’s right! Even considering academy rules, intentionally harming or threatening other students can lead to disciplinary action. Moreover, this matter falls under imperial law, so punishment is imminent.”

Without fully understanding the situation, the two girls continued to speak out, prompting me to wipe the blood from the sword I used to sever the arm earlier.

“Go ahead.”

“What?”

“Do whatever you want. According to what you’ve just said, I might face disciplinary action or expulsion for violating academy rules. Perhaps your family may work hard to ensure punishment under imperial law.”

Pressuring the two girls with confidence, their trembling demeanor caught my eye.

“But I won’t die. From the empire’s perspective, would they try to kill a promising young man evaluated with talents equal to or greater than those of a noble lady just because a commoner lost a hand?”

If those girls were talking about a mere commoner like Yukal, it wouldn’t be impossible.

However, I can confidently say that my current worth is one of the things I never want to lose in the eyes of the empire.

Unless I thrust a sword into the Emperor’s heart.

“No way. It’s more likely that it will end with just a simple punishment or warning, allowing the Empire to catch me and leave room to cover up this incident. Even if you guys worked hard in your family to establish my punishment as a fact. What will you do if I flee to another kingdom?”

The two female students who were at a loss for words closed their mouths.

“Hiding in another kingdom for a few years, training, and then coming back to kill every single person in your family until no one is left alive seems impossible, right? I could probably do it in less than four years.”

Now, looking coldly at the pale-faced female students who were tired of my threats, I spoke.

“So let’s make things good between us. I don’t have a hobby of cutting off people’s hands or collecting them like that guy down there, before becoming like him, let’s just answer my question. Who ordered it? It was carried out too meticulously for scumbags like you to be behind it.”

“…The eldest son of Lebron Hujak is in his second year. We merely acted as instructed by him. There is nothing wrong with what we did!”

“Is that so?”

As they continued to blabber, I cut through the long hair that had grown white with fear until the end, shocking the girls.

“If you blabber nonsense one more time, next time it will be your head, so shut up. Is there really no fault since you only followed orders? If he ordered you to die, would you die? You bear no responsibility?”

As anger surged within me, I was about to speak more but seeing the pale and convulsing girl below whose hand had been severed, it seemed it couldn’t be delayed any longer.

“Enough. Conversations are meant to be held with humans, what am I asking for? Take her downstairs to the infirmary for treatment and leave now.”

Seeing the girl bleeding and writhing in pain, seemingly wanting to quickly escape from the restaurant, I supported her and rushed out, wanting to get away even a little bit.

Feeling the strong metallic smell of blood, I closed my eyes for a moment.

I never imagined creating a situation where a student would be seriously injured at the academy.

I can’t imagine what kind of snowball effect this incident will lead to.

Honestly, being expelled could complicate things a bit compared to what I said to those girls earlier, as it could affect my main scenario and goals.

Nevertheless, this time, I couldn’t just let it go. Claire deserved to be happy and shouldn’t receive such treatment.

Opening my eyes and looking around slowly, the students’ gazes filled with shock as they looked towards me.

Since the founding of the academy, besides me, no one has caused such a crazy scene in the restaurant.

“I’m warning you here, anyone who dares to touch Claire like the trio who went after her first will be destroyed by me, so be aware of that. Those of you who didn’t directly participate but aided in the act, it’s just a matter of degree, you’re all the same. Reflect on it. If the same thing happens again, I’ll wipe out everyone, not just those who directly participated.”

Turning around, Claire, looking surprised and confused, showed a mix of emotions like amazement and fear, seeming bewildered.

I couldn’t properly guess how she was feeling right now, so I simply took off her uniform coat and covered her, then led Claire out of the restaurant.

I was relieved that there was no blood on her clothes. If there had been, Claire would have had to endure the smell of blood while dealing with a difficult situation.

Taking her to the female dormitory, I was about to leave to interrogate the second-year Lebron Hujak’s son, but Claire grabbed my arm.

“You don’t have to push yourself anymore, Yukal. Because of me, we’ve already broken the academy rules and if things go wrong, we could even be punished under imperial law. It’s a situation where you might get in trouble because of me—”

“It’s not pushing myself, so don’t worry, Claire. It seems like this situation itself could be because of me. Rather, since you’ve been having a hard time because of me, I should be the one apologizing.”

“In the original narrative, there was no instance of Claire being tormented, so it must have overlapped with the chosen turning point and become reality.”

He couldn’t tell Claire the rest.

“Go inside, wash up, cool your head, and rest. I’ll figure out why this happened and handle everything well. Do you trust me?”

Yet Claire, who wouldn’t let go of my arm, probably hoped that, seeing how I behaved at the restaurant, I wouldn’t hurt anyone or shed blood anymore.

“Why… why are you treating me so well? Even though I treated you badly despite your kindness…”

“If that’s not your true feelings, I’ll be satisfied with that. I just want you to be happy, that’s why I’m doing this.”

Gently pulling away Claire’s hand, he quickly ran towards a place where Lebron Hujakja might be.

Since what happened at the restaurant likely reached him, it’s best to move as quickly as possible from now on.

Maintaining maximum sensory perception and physical enhancement, he swiftly headed towards the Department of Magic building.