Chapter 79 : Chapter 79
Volume 2
Chapter 3 : Apology
An excellent lackey could not be stiff and mindless, merely obeying his master’s orders. He had to learn how to take the initiative.
Even when there was nothing to do, he had to find something to do.
That was why, even before Muen had arrived at the academy, Aemon had already planned this challenge.
If he could brutally humiliate and bully Ariel, the girl Young Master Muen hated, in front of everyone, then that would be the finest gift he could offer him!
Young Master Muen would definitely be delighted! After all, throughout the past year, he had been trapped in constant frustration from being counterattacked by Ariel again and again.
As long as he could please Young Master Muen, the Duke’s son, how could he possibly fail to soar to great heights in the future?
“...”
Looking at the foolish grin on Aemon’s face, Muen could already guess what he was thinking.
If he were the former Muen Campbell, he might indeed have been pleased by this.
—Provided, of course, that Aemon could actually beat Ariel.
“I see. I think I understand now.”
Muen said,
“You have done well, Aemon.”
Heh.
See? Young Master Muen really did praise me.
Aemon thought smugly, his nose nearly pointing at the sky.
“But—”
Muen continued,
“There is no need.”
“Huh?”
Aemon froze as well.
“Young Master... what do you mean by that?”
“What I mean is...”
Muen bent down, picked up the glove from the ground, dusted it off, and stuffed it back into Aemon’s stunned hand.
“In the future, there is no need for you to do this sort of thing anymore.”
“No need to do this sort of thing anymore... but this sort of thing...”
“You were doing all this because of me, were you not?”
Muen patted Aemon on the shoulder.
“So I am grateful to all of you. But from this day on, you do not need to waste your time on such foolish things anymore.”
“W-Why?”
Aemon could not understand. “Weren’t these all things that you wanted done, Young Master?”
“Because...”
Muen smiled. His blond hair reflected the sunlight, making him seem especially radiant.
“I have turned over a new leaf.”
“...Huh?”
“What?”
“I did not hear that wrong, did I...?”
“That was Muen Campbell?”
Muen had not lowered his voice, so everyone present heard his words.
And so every last one of them froze.
Ariel looked as though she had been struck by lightning.
She had even begun asking a certain someone in her heart whether the person before her had been possessed by some evil god or something.
The answer she received, of course, was no.
“T-Turned over a new leaf... what does that mean?”
Only Aemon remained confused.
“Young Master, are you ill?”
“Of course not. As for what it means to turn over a new leaf...”
Muen’s gaze swept over the bystanders around him, as if he were deliberately saying it for all of them to hear.
“In short, it means that from now on, I will not bully others with my status, I will not flirt with girls, I will not act like a scumbag, and more importantly...”
Muen turned to look at Ariel and said with complete seriousness,
“Ariel Bugarde, from now on, I will not trouble you anymore.”
“...Are you serious?”
Only after standing there dumbfounded for quite some time did Ariel manage to force out those few words.
“Of course I am serious.”
Muen tilted his head in puzzlement.
“Do I not look serious enough right now?”
“But...” Ariel still looked skeptical.
And after everything you did to me before, you think one sentence about turning over a new leaf can make it all vanish as if nothing ever happened? As if.
“So it really will not be resolved that easily, then?”
As if he had seen through Ariel’s thoughts, Muen smiled bitterly.
Then he stepped forward again until he stood right before her.
Roughly two paces away.
He straightened his back.
He took a deep breath.
And then...He bowed ninety degrees.
“Compared to what I did to you before, this is far too insignificant, but even so, please allow me to apologize to you now.”
With his head lowered, Muen spoke earnestly.
“I am deeply sorry for the terrible things I did to you in the past, Ariel Bugarde.”
“...Ah... you...”
Ariel’s eyes opened even wider, and her mouth fell open even further.
It was almost large enough to fit an egg inside.
She began to feel that perhaps this really was not a dream.
Rather, maybe she had trained too recklessly before and had somehow been cursed by some bizarre unknown existence.
That Muen Campbell, that arrogant and disdainful Muen Campbell, had actually apologized to her.
He had actually lowered his head and apologized to her!
“Could it be that the world is going to end tomorrow?” Ariel thought in rising horror.
“Originally, I wanted to make more preparations and bring you a proper gift before apologizing to you seriously, but this happened too suddenly.”
Muen raised his head, patted himself down, and smiled shyly.
“Right now, other than the one million Amiel in pocket money I picked off Ann, I have nothing on me. But for someone like you, using money as a gift would definitely count as insulting you, so I will not do something so vulgar.”
Muen looked around to either side. In the end, he placed the half-eaten skewer in his hand into Ariel’s palm and said solemnly,
“The grilled skewers from the third stall on the left after you leave the school gate are very delicious.”
“...”
Ariel looked at Muen, then at the skewer in her hand, and said nothing.
“Then when I have time later, I will make up for the gift. I should get going now.”
Muen prepared to leave, but before he finally went, he leaned closer to Ariel and said in a low voice,
“You do not need to struggle over whether or not to forgive me. Even if you do not forgive me, that is fine. I am apologizing only because I was wrong before. That is all.”
“Farewell, Ariel Bugarde.”
“I hope that the relationship between us can become that of ordinary classmates, rather than enemies.”
“...”
Muen left without looking back.
But even after he had walked quite a distance away, the place remained utterly silent.
The bystanders, shocked speechless, dispersed in silence.
Only after Ariel was left standing there alone did her delicate body suddenly tremble and she finally reacted.
“Huh? Wait, Muen Campbell, using one million Amiel as a gift would have been perfectly fine! I am actually a very vulgar person!”
...
The great clock tower, office.
Professor Prang, the head of the magic department, a stern-looking man with white hair and a white beard, stood by the window, gazing out at the students coming and going by the school gate.
“So, are there any promising seedlings this year?”
A light laugh came from behind him.
Professor Gran, who was also from the magic department, walked to Prang’s side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, likewise looking into the distance.
“The new students do not enroll until this afternoon.”
Professor Prang shot him a glance.
“As a professor, should you not show a little more concern for your own students?”
“Haha, I care very much for my lovely students.”
“You may say that after you have raised the average grades in the subject you teach.”
“It cannot be helped. Potions is such a dull discipline, and it does not directly increase combat power. Hardly any children these days are willing to study it.”
Gran shrugged helplessly.
“So, since new student enrollment is in the afternoon, what exactly are you looking at?”
“If I cannot observe the new students, then naturally I will observe the returning ones.”
Professor Prang said expressionlessly,
“The first day back at school reveals a student’s state of mind more clearly than anything else. Merely by looking at their expressions, I can tell roughly whether they wasted this vacation, or whether they spent it in a way that held at least some meaning.”