Chapter 82 : Chapter 82
Volume 2
Chapter 6 : The Girl and the Dawn
“Forget it. I can more or less guess who is stirring up these rumors behind the scenes again.”
Ariel pressed a hand to her forehead with a headache.
Within the academy, aside from that damned club known as the Newspaper Society—which, since it usually failed to get any real headline-worthy news, made a hobby of manufacturing news for its own amusement—there was probably no one else this bored.
“It looks like I will have to find a chance to pay the Newspaper Society a visit. No matter what, I cannot let these rumors keep spreading.”
“Huh? But the president of the Newspaper Society is that famous sixth-year senior, Mingote. Will he even listen to you?” Lia blinked and asked worriedly.
Although Ariel had already become somewhat well-known among part of the student body, compared to a sixth-year senior, that level of fame probably did not amount to much.
Let alone enough to make the Newspaper Society change its usual way of amusing itself.
“But I cannot exactly not go.”
Ariel bit out through gritted teeth:
“I do not want to become Muen Campbell’s ex-girlfriend for no reason at all.”
The thought of being pointed at and whispered about like that in the future was more unbearable than being killed.
“Not just an ex-girlfriend. An ex-girlfriend who had an abortion,” Lia added with a perfectly straight face.
“…Well now, you little brat. It has been so long since I last saw you, and the first thing you do when we meet is come here to mess with me?”
Ariel slapped the ancient book beneath her pillow, then glared with her slightly fierce phoenix eyes, carrying a sharp edge to them.
A moment later, she pounced on Lia with a villainous cackle.
“Come here and let me inspect you properly. Let me see whether you have gotten fatter again.”
“I have not! Stop it, that tickles… hehe…”
“Oh, so that is how it is. You say no, but after just one holiday, you secretly changed into underwear a whole size bigger. Lia Angel, you are too baby-faced for this!” Having discovered a reality too cruel to accept, Ariel flew into a rage.
“Today, I must deliver heavenly punishment unto you!”
“Mm… do not come over here, go away already… it tickles so much, hehe…”
As she dodged Ariel’s grasping hands, Lia laughed and said, “It is not as if I can help it if they grow. Honestly, I envy you too. At least your shoulders do not ache when you walk, and you do not feel oppressed in your chest when you sleep…”
“Damn it, damn it, and you are still saying more, you are still saying more!”
A certain super-flat girl felt her dignity had been gravely insulted, and immediately launched an even fiercer assault.
As the two of them played around, the dormitory was soon filled with the lovely atmosphere unique to young girls.
…
The moonlight was cool and clear.
After they finished their horseplay, Ariel no longer felt like continuing to read.
Leaning by the window, she admired the bright moon in the sky while combing through the long hair that had just been thrown into disarray.
At that moment, Lia, whose cheeks were still faintly flushed, carefully edged over and asked:
“So then?”
“So then what?”
“I mean Muen Campbell’s apology.”
Resting her face in her hands, Lia looked at Ariel and asked:
“What do you think? Are you going to forgive him?”
“You must be joking.”
Ariel immediately rolled her eyes.
“He did something that was awful to me. You think one apology is enough to make it all go away? My temper is not that good.”
“That is true. But…”
Lia thought for a moment before saying:
“Still, that was Muen Campbell, the Duke’s son. He used to be so arrogant and overbearing, and yet he suddenly apologized to you, right in front of so many people too. I think he must have made up his mind with great difficulty. Maybe he really wants to turn over a new leaf.”
“Spare me. I think the odds are much higher that he is plotting something.”
Thinking back on everything Muen Campbell had done today and comparing it with the Muen Campbell in her memories, Ariel still found it difficult to believe that one single holiday could change a person this much.
Has he really been possessed by an evil god?
Should I trick him into going to the Life Church for a purification ritual one of these days?
“And as for how sincere he is, that is still open to question.”
Ariel declared indignantly:
“Do you know what kind of apology gift he gave me today? A skewer! And one he had already taken several bites out of at that. You call that sincerity?”
“Uh… maybe it was because the situation came up too suddenly?”
“Well, he did say he would make up the gift later, but with how vulgar he usually is, I imagine it will probably just be some precious gemstones or jewelry.”
“Mhm. Gemstones and jewelry are vulgar, sure, but… do you not want them?”
Lia stared at Ariel, a teasing look in her eyes, as if she had seen through everything.
“Miss Ariel, who has clearly become the Count’s heir and yet is still poor as a church mouse… Do you not want them?”
“Ahhh, of course I do! But the things I need to do cost far too much money!
Miss Lia, have mercy. Lend me a little more.”
Ariel threw her arms around Lia’s thigh.
“I have already lent you all my money.”
Puffing out her cheeks, Lia said, “I still do not even know what you are secretly doing. You are spending so much money, and you will not even tell me what it is for.”
“Hehe. Actually, I am researching a secret Pachichi cake recipe unlike anything else in the world!”
Ariel put on a solemn expression.
“Yes, yes. Take your time researching it.”
Lia clearly did not believe her, but she also had no interest in prying into other people’s secrets.
She waved a hand and said goodbye.
“It is getting late. I should head back to my dorm.”
“Alrighty. Be careful on your way back!”
“Oh, right.”
Just as she was about to leave, Lia turned around and seriously reminded her:
“The opening ceremony is tomorrow. You absolutely cannot be late.”
“As if that would happen.”
Ariel patted her chest firmly. “Do I look like the sort of person who would be late for something important?”
“What do you think?”
Lia replied speechlessly:
“The person who had the most academic points deducted last semester was none other than Ariel, because of lateness.”
“Hehe…”
“Forget it. I will come wake you up tomorrow. Good night…”
“Good night, Lia.”
…
After Lia left, Ariel let her forehead thump against the tabletop and sighed heavily.
“Learning magic burns through money so fast.”
Although she had become the Count’s heir, she still had no access at all to the Bugarde family’s financial power and with nothing but her monthly allowance, there was simply no way it would be enough.
After all, the path she was taking was not the ordinary route of magic.
That unusual path was much more powerful, but naturally, it also burned through money much faster.
What a painfully flattening reality.
“That is why magic has always been called a toy for nobles. The saying that the lower classes are mostly brutes is not merely mockery to a great extent. It is a cruel truth exposing the hierarchy of this world.”
The candle flame swayed.
From an ancient ring Ariel wore, a wisp of hazy smoke slowly rose, gradually taking the shape of a graceful figure.
“Master, is there any way to make money?”
The moment she saw that figure, Ariel’s wailing immediately became even more pitiful. “Your beloved disciple is about to starve to death.”
“Of course there is.”
The graceful, indistinct figure—that was, Ariel’s master—said, “You are already a Golden-tier mage now. If you want to make money, there are plenty of ways to do it.”
After all, while mages spent money quickly, they also earned it quickly. Selling just a few magic scrolls would bring in a considerable income.
“But…”
Ariel’s master continued:
“You know the situation as well as I do. It is not that we cannot make money. It is that we have nowhere to make it.
Because of that incident, most of Belland’s underground black market has temporarily shut down. There is nothing I can do about that either.”
“Mm… and it is all because the ancient magic you taught me is too likely to make people jealous. If the scrolls I make could be sold through normal channels, I would not be this troubled.”
“You could always study ordinary magic instead. It is not too late, you know.” The hazy beauty smiled faintly.
“No thank you.”
Ancient magic is so powerful. Why would I not learn it?
“Come to think of it, I bear some responsibility for that matter too.”
Ariel stared into the candlelight, and a trace of regret surfaced in her eyes.
Back at the Duke’s residence, she had clearly sensed that something was off.
But because she trusted the Duke, and because the Pachichi cake was too tempting, she had not chosen to investigate further.
And then that incident happened.
Princess Selicia was attacked.
Muen Campbell was severely injured after being dragged into it.
Duke Campbell and His Majesty the Emperor flew into a rage and launched a thunderous crackdown on the dark underbelly of Belland.
Now the entire underworld of Belland had turned into sewer rats, hiding away and not daring to show themselves.
Forget the underground black market. These days, if anyone wore a hood on the street, a group of imposing men would suddenly appear and invite them away for “tea.”
Belland had become so peaceful that even thieves were hard to find.
“If only I had taken one more step back then.”
Ariel sighed.
Saving Selicia in the middle of that crisis would have been such a perfect chance to build favorability, and yet she had let that opportunity slip right through her fingers.
What a waste!
Still, there was one thing that could make Ariel feel at least a little happier.
Selicia had been attacked, but the one who ended up gravely injured was Muen Campbell.
Selicia must have become completely disappointed in that useless man by now!
(Note: The Duke’s residence had sealed off the news of the princess’s assassination attempt. Ariel’s intelligence came from special channels and was incomplete.)
“Speaking of which, I just thought of a very good way to make money,” the hazy beauty suddenly said.
“It is simple, quick, and extremely convenient.”
“Oh.”
Ariel’s eyes lit up. “Please tell me, Master.”
“Did Muen Campbell not say today that he would make up for his apology gift later?”
The hazy beauty smiled as she said:
“Then tell Muen Campbell that as long as he gives you one million, you will forgive him. Perhaps he will happily hand over the money.”
“Impossible!”
Ariel slapped the table and refused without hesitation.
“Do I look like the sort of shallow woman who would abandon her principles for a mere one million? If Muen Campbell wants my forgiveness, then unless he truly turns over a new leaf and his character earns my approval, it will be absolutely impossible!”
“Really?”
“Of course it is true. Truer than pearls!” Ariel declared with absolute certainty.
“Is that so? What a pity.”
The hazy beauty rested her face in her hand and sighed.
“I actually think Muen Campbell looked rather sincere today.”
…
Early morning.
The thin mist was hazy, and all was silent.
Yet Professor Prang was already out of bed, beginning his daily walk as usual.
His walk was not for exercise, but for the sake of fulfilling the duty of an excellent educator.
“The early bird gets the worm. This batch of students is hopeless. They do not even understand such a simple truth!”
Standing on the grand avenue lined with parasol trees, Professor Prang gazed out at the quiet dormitory district and could not help shaking his head.
“Back when I taught the Golden Generation, those favored children of heaven were already up studying and training before dawn had even broken. But this class? There are only two hours left until the opening ceremony, and yet not a single one of them is awake. Sigh. Terrible. Truly terrible. Not one shred of awareness of what it means to be a student of Saint Maria Academy.”
Professor Prang could not help sighing in grief over the decadence of this year’s students.
At the same time, he was already considering whether he ought to suggest to the principal that these future pillars of the Empire be managed a little more strictly, instead of being left so free and allowed to grow in such an undisciplined way.
As he thought about it, the disappointed Professor Prang was just about ready to head back.
But at that moment, he heard hurried yet rhythmic footsteps. In the stillness beneath the parasol grove, the sound was exceptionally clear.
“This…”
Professor Prang’s eyes lit up.
Could it be that there really was still an outstanding student who had not wasted the most important hours of the morning?
Professor Prang turned around in satisfaction, already deciding that he would praise this student properly.
He would even use them as a model example during the ceremony later, to show the rest of those lazy students.
Look. Look carefully. This is what a model student ought to be. Learn from this, you lazy louts.
“Good morning, Professor.”
“Yes, good morning, Mue—Muen Ca—Campbell!”
“Huh?”
Muen was startled by the old man suddenly shouting like that.
His reflexive trauma response nearly made him lash out with a kick.
Fortunately, he realized in time that this was the academy and that no evil god was going to suddenly appear, so he forcibly restrained himself.
“I-Is there something you need?”
Muen asked cautiously.
He could hardly help being cautious.
He had already recognized who this old man with eyes wide as bronze bells was.
Prang Ronier, Head of the Magic Department.
The oldest senior magic professor in the academy.
And also the professor the original owner of this body feared the most.
As for the reason he feared him… it was probably because, under Professor Prang’s instruction, he had only managed to learn a single Light spell in an entire year, and lived in constant terror that one day the enraged professor might simply swallow him whole.
“Muen Campbell, what are you doing?”
Realizing his own lapse in composure, Professor Prang came back to himself, gave two dry coughs, and asked.
“Me? I am out for a morning run.”
Dressed in neat short exercise clothes, Muen did not even stop moving while speaking to Professor Prang. He kept jogging in place.
“A morning run!”
Professor Prang’s eyes widened.
Shock, confusion, and bewilderment flashed through them.
It was as though he had suddenly seen a terminally ill patient leap out of bed, slap his own backside at the people behind him, and then run an entire marathon.
Staring straight into Muen’s eyes, Professor Prang asked solemnly:
“You are certain you are not running away after sneaking out from peeping at the girls’ dormitory?”
“Why would the Professor even think that!”
Muen was aghast. “The girls’ dormitory is not even on this side.”
“Or perhaps you are on your way to the girls’ dormitory?” Professor Prang proposed gravely.
“I am absolutely not!”
“Then that is strange.”
Professor Prang stroked his beard, his expression grave, as though confronted with a magical problem of the century.
“For you, Muen Campbell, to be up this early and dressed so revealingly… if it is not for the sake of doing something bad, then it simply makes no sense.”
“I am not going to do anything bad. Is that really how I look in Professor’s eyes?” Muen was even more appalled. “And these are just sports clothes. How is this considered revealing?”
“What else should I think?”
Professor Prang looked equally shocked. “Did you not do enough bad things last semester?”
“…”
Last semester?
You are really bringing up last semester?
Well, if you are bringing up last semester… then I really do not have much of an argument.
After all, all of it is true.
Muen Campbell really did do every sort of bad thing imaginable last semester!
“A-Anyway, I really am just out for a morning run.”
Muen said helplessly.
“Please do not overthink it, Professor.”
“But a run at this level should not have much training effect, should it?”
Professor Prang himself had a solid foundation as a warrior, so he knew that, let alone a second-rank warrior, even a first-rank warrior in the late stage would gain very little from ordinary physical exercise alone.
“I know.” Muen said, “I am doing this just to wake myself up.”
“To wake yourself up?”
“That is right. If I exercise a little in the early morning and then go back and take a cold shower, I will feel energized for the entire day.”
Muen smiled. “At the very least, I will not doze off in class, right?”
“I will not doze off in class…”
Professor Prang’s eyes widened so much that he looked as though he had just seen a giant shrimp dragging its own eggs past him.
You little bastard.
How dare you say something like that?
Last semester, in every single one of my classes… you dozed off!
“Alright then, Professor, I will be on my way. Goodbye.”
Muen had a strong feeling that nothing good would come from staying here, so he seized the chance to slip away.
Before Professor Prang could react, he ran off over the scattered leaves, jogging all the way until he quickly vanished into the morning light.
“Can a person really change so much in such a short time?”
Looking at the direction where Muen had disappeared, even Professor Prang, who had educated countless students, found it difficult to suppress the shock in his heart.
Yesterday, when he had only observed him from afar, the feeling had not been quite so strong. But now, after encountering him up close like this, he realized that… Muen’s actions did indeed seem to carry a measure of sincerity.
As he thought, Professor Prang unconsciously peeled off a strip of bark from the nearby parasol tree and stuffed it into his mouth.
Ugh, so bitter!
If only it were my desk…
Ah, no, no, no.
How could I waver so easily?
Do not be fooled, Prang Ronier!
Go expose Muen Campbell’s false mask!
For the sake of my desk… no, for the sake of my dignity, built over decades of teaching and guiding others!
“Hmph.”
Professor Prang bit down hard on a chunk of tree bark and sneered.
“Muen Campbell, just wait. From now on, I will be watching you constantly!”
…
“Brr—”
While jogging along, Muen suddenly felt a chill run through him. He shivered and looked around warily.
“Why do I suddenly have the illusion that a yandere is staring at me again?”
“That is strange. This is Saint Maria Academy. Ann should not be able to get in here.”
…
The morning light was just beginning to brighten.
The rare stillness before the great building was broken by the crisp sound of heels striking the ground.
The girl with bun-styled hair who had been dozing sleepily at the door was jolted awake at once.
She hurriedly looked toward the silver-haired girl of peerless beauty in front of her, straightened her back, and said loudly:
“Your Highness!”
“I have told you before, do not call me that at the academy.”
Selicia glanced at Veir, who had hastily wiped at the corner of her mouth, though it was still slightly damp, and said:
“And do not stay up late at night reading those novels about a domineering evil god falling in love with me. It affects your work.”
“Yes, President.” Veir’s cheeks reddened faintly.
“Come.”
Seeing that Veir had acknowledged her words, Selicia did not say anything more and entered the empty building.
She followed the familiar corridors and stairs all the way upward, and finally arrived before a room whose plaque read 【Student Council Room】.
“I am back.”
Selicia murmured softly to herself, then pushed the door open.
Opposite the doorway stood a simple desk and a plain-looking chair.
Along one side of the room stood bookshelves crammed with books, and there was also a sofa for receiving guests.
Aside from that, there was nothing else.
Simple and unadorned, exactly as ever.
But after two months of neglect, the room had already become covered in a fine layer of dust.
A cold wind blew through, swiftly sweeping the entire room until not a speck of dust remained.
“Wow, no matter how many times I see it, I still feel that the President's ability is so convenient.”
Veir quietly marveled from behind her.
“If you had been willing to come clean during the holidays, that would have been more convenient than any ability.”
Selicia glanced at Veir, the student council secretary who had evidently spent the entire vacation off having fun somewhere unknown, then walked into the room and brushed a hand over the thin frost on the desk.
“Hehe.”
Veir stuck out her tongue and pretended to act silly, but the cold in the room nearly froze her silly for real.
“I-It is so cold, President.”
“…”
Selicia let out a soft sigh.
She walked to the window, raised a hand, and pushed it open.
Air from outside flowed in.
Though it already carried the chill of early autumn, compared to the room that had just been swept by the cold wind, it was much warmer.
The breeze blew in, and the shadows of the parasol trees swayed gently.
And amid that rustling sound of wind, Selicia heard something extremely faint, yet still easy to distinguish—the sound of leaves being crushed underfoot.
Under normal circumstances, it would not have been worth noticing, but for some reason, Selicia turned to look in the direction from which the sound had come.
And then she saw him.
A golden-haired boy, fragments of dawn light above his head, dressed in a neat set of short exercise clothes, running along the quiet path through the parasol grove.
Was it him?
Selicia’s gaze flickered slightly, and she suddenly asked Veir behind her:
“What time is it now?”
“Huh? Right now? Let me see… six-oh-six.”
“When does the opening ceremony begin?”
“Eight sharp.”
“So he is at least two hours early?”
Selicia’s fine silver lashes fluttered, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
“President, what are you looking at?”
Veir also leaned over curiously.
Then she too saw the golden-haired boy running below.
“Ah, Muen Campbell.”
Veir gave a soft cry, then suddenly tilted her head and spat fiercely.
“Tui! Scumbag!”
“…Did he do something again?”
Selicia turned her head and asked.
“President, you do not know?”
Veir wore an expression of utter disbelief, as though saying, This is such huge news and you do not know?
Are you from Mars? Then she abruptly pulled several crumpled newspapers from behind her backside.
“Hmm?”
Selicia took the newspapers and looked them over.
“Shocking! The Tyrannical Noble Son Muen Campbell Lowers His Head to Apologize to Ariel—The Hidden Truth Is Actually This!”
The paper opened with those large red-highlighted words.
“Lowered his head to apologize?”
Selicia’s brows lifted slightly.
Beneath the red headline was a magic photograph showing the exact scene of Muen bowing to Ariel in apology.
Selicia was still feeling somewhat surprised when the text below drew her gaze away again.
“Ex-Girlfriend? The Untold Story of Muen Campbell and Ariel Bugarde Before Entering the Academy!”
“Worse Than a Beast! They Even Had a Child Together!”
“Thirteen Girls at Once—And She Was the Dreadnought-Class Battleship Among Them?”
“…”
Exaggerated rhetoric.
Sensational words.
Not a shred of credibility.
The old Selicia would have glanced at it once or twice at most, then looked away without wasting her precious time on such nonsense.
But for some reason, this time she patiently read the contents of the newspaper word by word.
Only after reading about how the loathsome scumbag Muen Campbell had toyed with the pitiful Ariel Bugarde’s feelings three times, made her abort five children, driven her to attempt suicide seven times, and caused her to be struck by passing carriages and nearly die nine times due to an incurable illness…
…did Selicia finally find, at the very end of the newspaper, a line of text so tiny that one would never notice it without looking carefully.
—“The above is only the Newspaper Society’s subjective speculation, meant merely for amusement, and does not represent the true situation.”
At that very moment, the first ray of dawn swept past the treetops and fell upon Selicia’s cool and elegant face, causing her expression to relax ever so slightly.
But immediately afterward, her gaze cooled again.
“Well? That Muen Campbell is a scumbag through and through, right?”
Veir leaned over, righteous indignation written all over her face.
“You…”
Selicia withdrew her gaze and sighed softly.
She rolled up the newspaper and lightly tapped Veir on the head with it.
“In the future, read less of this sort of thing. It will make you stupid.”