Interlude: The Oddball Noble

At the end of our journey from the Denning lands, Charlotte and I had finally arrived at...

“So this is Kirsch Mage Institute, huh? I came here once during the test, so I suppose this is my second time here,” I muttered with annoyance.

“Jeez! Why are you whining like a child just because you weren’t able to fit into your favorite clothes?!” Charlotte exclaimed, exasperated. “Only someone like you would put off moving into school until the morning of the entrance ceremony, Master Slowe! Come on, we’re going to be late. Please hurry!”

Kirsch Mage Institute’s entrance ceremony took place on a nice and warm sunny day, and it was my first step forward as the blackhearted Piggy Duke.

“But look, Charlotte. There’s someone over there who seems like he’s going to be late too, just like me. See that redhead over there?”

“Huh?! Oh, you’re right... But Master Slowe, you promised that you’d be a good boy here, so please, absolutely do not do something like fall asleep in the middle of the entrance ceremony!”

“I know, I know,” I said, slightly exasperated. “You’re such a worrywart, Charlotte.”

They say that if you truly love your children, you should let them out to explore the world beyond. Well, in my case, it’s probably more accurate to say that they weren’t able to handle me back at home, so they kicked me out.

This school was like a lavish, miniature garden where nobles in the midst of adolescence were educated and trained to become splendid mages. It was a three-year-long boarding school. With the exception of our biannual long holidays, we would live together with nobles of our age and a few gifted commoners.

“If you were to ask the adults in the imperial court, everyone would agree that their time at Kirsch Mage Institute was... Consequently, your parents, as well as your ancestors whom you may not be familiar with, walked these very grounds...”

I was listening to the grand speech of the headmaster Morozov Pedaworks, who had mentored many capable mages in this school over the years, but...

The headmaster chuckled. “How delightful. It seems that one of your peers has already fallen asleep, and right under my nose at that. He must have had quite the wonderful education in his past.”

...if I remembered right, I had slept like a hog while standing upright back then.

I had snored the whole time, so I had probably been a big annoyance to the people around me. After all, it was likely the first time that everyone got to see the headmaster of Kirsch, one of the living legends in this country, in the flesh.

But, you know, I’ve already met him. I was the only one who had an interview as a part of my entrance exams in the first place, and that was with him.

What had I said back then, I wonder? If I’m not mistaken, the headmaster... The headmaster had asked me whether I had anything precious to me. I had answered in the affirmative, and the interview had ended at that. Abruptly, in just the blink of an eye, I had been accepted into this school.

But nobody could speak out against my actions. After all, I was from a ducal house, the famous House Denning. A member of the Household of Mages, which held the most authority in Daryth, was enrolling in this school.

Not a single Denning had come to this campus for the sake of education up until now, so my peers were probably filled with trepidation. Not only that, but I was also rather infamous for the fact that even House Denning had given up on me, and my bad reputation even crossed over to other countries.

“Hey!” a voice nagged at me. “Hey, you! Wake up!”

Nobody would ever try talking to me while I was happily away in dreamland. Of course not.

But who would have thought that somebody would pinch my cheeks, of all things!

“Don’t ignore me!” he hissed. “The headmaster’s watching. If you get his attention right from the start of school, you’re not going to have it easy!”

I hesitated. “You. Wait. Are you actually talking to me?”

“Who else do you think, Mister Chubby?”

“Huh?” My eyes widened. “I could never have imagined that someone would dare denounce me as ‘chubby’ in my first meeting with them.”

I was really shocked. I seriously thought that my heart would leap right out of my chest. Think about it—I’m a Denning, you know? A Denning!

I cracked my eyes open just a little, and red hair invaded my field of vision.

This had been my first meeting with that guy.

This had been when the former prodigy of House Denning first met the boy who would go on to save the world.

“Everyone takes everything so seriously... The best way to enjoy lessons is by not participating in them in the first place! Oh, but I need to make sure that Charlotte doesn’t find out.” I snickered to myself like a cat that had gotten the canary. “I’ve already noticed that Charlotte makes detailed records of my everyday life and sends them back home!”

To put it mildly, life at Kirsch Mage Institute was the best! No matter what I did, nobody could tell me off.

My bad behavior didn’t change the fact that I was from House Denning. Even the teachers didn’t want to bring unnecessary trouble upon themselves, so they left me alone. As a result, even if I skipped classes, nobody said anything about it.

Just one month had passed since my school life had begun, and practically everyone knew that I was to be treated with caution.

Okay, I don’t feel up to it today, so I’m going to leave the classroom now. I felt many sets of eyes glued to my back as I left the room. However, no one dared to say anything to me.

I headed out of the school building and walked wherever my feet would take me. It was during this little stroll that I heard the muffled voice of someone quarreling with someone else on the other side of the school building.

I took a look. “That red hair... Hmm, I think that’s...Shuya Newkern, or something like that?”

If my memory had served me right, he was an eccentric guy who earned pocket money by telling fortunes. He had been standing next to me at the entrance ceremony, so I remembered him.

Right now, he was standing in front of a commoner, seemingly defending that student. They were surrounded by several upperclassmen.

Well, “quarreling” wasn’t exactly the right word. It was more like Shuya was firing off statements one-sidedly at the others.

I squinted my eyes and muttered to myself. “Not only that, but the commoner over there... Aren’t they the student from the rumors? Their parents did some shady stuff, had part of their assets seized, and they may quit school soon. Wow, that redhead is really stupid. Even if he helps out a troublesome commoner, it won’t benefit him one bit.”

Moreover, didn’t that student also try and fail to steal some of the upperclassmen’s wallets in desperation? I think that’s the one.

Apparently, the student had done it on impulse, but it was probably going to be impossible for them to live a peaceful life in this school after that.

What a noble considered to be pocket change was a fortune to a commoner. There were many nobles here who didn’t have the first clue when it came to money and didn’t keep track of it. That student had probably thought that the nobles wouldn’t notice one missing silver coin.

But, well, the commoner dug their own grave, enough to become a target of bullies. I guess it’s inevitable that someone would try to extort money from them.

I had an aha moment. “Oh, that’s how it is. Looks like that guy’s surprisingly righteous, huh?”

From what I could hear, it seemed that Shuya had found out about the bullying and was telling the upperclassmen to stop.

But, well... As long as it didn’t go overboard, even the school turned a blind eye to such things.

After all, we were in Daryth, where commoners and nobles coexisted. Outside of the school, a much harsher reality was lying in wait, and that was the reason for the lenience on campus. If someone tried to steal a noble’s wallet, they could even be killed for the crime. As a result, if bullying at school went too far, the staff would interfere, but that only happened once in a blue moon.

The staff knew that clearly, and they only accepted commoners who could survive in such an environment. As for the commoners, they came with the knowledge that this mage school hadn’t been built with them in mind.

Kirsch Mage Institute was a school established for nobles. Commoners had to harden their resolve when they enrolled.

I sighed. “Well, I guess I owe that guy one for waking me up during the entrance ceremony, so I’ll give him a hand.”

I’m surprised though. I hadn’t gotten the impression that Shuya was such a compassionate guy.

Oh, Shuya took the commoner by the hand and slipped away from that group. With leers on their faces, I saw the upperclassmen say something to Shuya, but that guy kept on walking.

When we passed by each other, frustration was clear on his face. In the end, Shuya probably failed to retrieve the commoner’s money back from those students.

That guy... Why is he trying to look cool even though he’d gain nothing from it?

What a fool...

“What do you want, fatty?” one of the older students sneered. “Shoo. Go away.”

“My seniors,” I addressed them with derisive politeness. “Is it fun picking on people weaker than you?”

“Watch your tongue,” one snapped. “We only kindly told a commoner unworthy of Kirsch the truth. ‘You don’t belong here.’”

“My, my.” I raised an eyebrow. “You’re only a student too, and I believe that you have no authority to do that. More importantly, do you all not have class right now?”

One of the others replied, choosing his words slowly. “What about your classes, first-year? Skipping only one month into school?” He paused. “And we’re probably the students who are the most worthy of being here in the first place. You must know the marquess house which currently holds the most authority within this school, and we are their—”

“Hey, quit it!” one of the other students warned. “He’s... He’s that Denning guy!”

“D-Denning?! Th-This thing is Denning?! But his appearance doesn’t live up to it at all—”

“Well, I’m so sorry that someone like me is a Denning.”

Lately, these lackeys of the marquess household House Groux had been getting pretty cocky. I faced these third-year students, and...

The next day, the second son of House Groux bowed down right in front of me in the dining hall.

“Pardon the rudeness of my associates. Please accept my apology to you.”

I looked on silently.

“However, you are very thoughtless, despite your status as a member of House Denning. It is against the rules to use your wand for brawls within the campus.”

I didn’t reply.

He harrumphed. “It seems that the rumors of the Fallen Wind are true.”

And ever since that day, the rumor spread that getting involved with me only led to catastrophe.

“Yo, Shuya. That’s a nasty look on your face. What happened?” I asked. “I have to say though, you have a pretty strong sense of justice, even if you pack no punch at all. Why did you do that?”

He clenched his teeth. “Delphin quit school. It’s definitely those guys’ work.”

“Well, you should think twice before doing anything about it. You’re from a baron household, and you’re trying to oppose a marquess household. Ridiculous.”

“Wait, Denning, did you actually fight them for my sake—”

“Hah? This is Kirsch Mage Institute, mind you. Did you really blindly believe what that headmaster said?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“That commoner voluntarily threw themselves into a society where their social standing means they’ll never belong. That’s why they turned out like that.”

“Get to the point, Denning.”

“Let this be a lesson to you. You should stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. I’m trying to tell you to keep your head low. You’re going to be crushed at this rate.”

Kirsch Mage Institute was like a miniature version of Daryth’s aristocracy. In this place, the only things that mattered were one’s family standing, the power of one’s parents, their economic clout, and their family’s military strength. Even if a student had a bit of talent in magic, it didn’t change a thing.

And on the next day, just like I had expected, that redhead came into class with a swollen face.

I did warn him that if a noble got involved with commoners due to a bit of pity, he would become a magnet for trouble.

“I’ve lost track of how many times this has happened... Did that guy turn his ears off when I gave him some advice?!”

Nobles who were on the bottom of the social ladder, fruitcakes, commoners whose extreme talent caused them to be shunned... That guy actively got chummy with all of the problem students, and it only fanned the flames of conflict wherever he went. There were probably many incidents that would have faded away quietly in the background if only that guy had never gotten involved.

Despite all those incidents, Shuya hadn’t changed his ways at all.

I breathed out a heavy sigh. “What a hopeless guy.” I had already gotten used to cleaning up after his disasters from the shadows.

But over time, he had gained friends. Well, yeah, from a bystander’s perspective, he’s like the hero who would stand up for their sake. We’re like night and day, while I scuttle around sneakily behind the scenes.

“Hey, have you heard the news?” a student muttered. “Apparently, we have an international student here now.”

“And a princess, no less! You should try wooing her!” another egged on.

“I’m not stupid! She used to be the fiancée of the Piggy Duke! If that guy is still hung up on her in some way, I’ll be walking to my death!”

Countless times, I had pulled a few strings behind the scenes to save Shuya, and with each incident, the rumors about me only became more exaggerated. First, the third-years started fearing me, then the second-years began to anxiously watch out for any change in my mood, and finally, my peers stopped interacting with me.

At first, some people used to strike up a conversation with me out of curiosity because, well, I was a member of House Denning who was at this school. Over time, however, that number plummeted to a big, fat zero.

“Let’s see... Mister Haul, please refrain from leaving your room tomorrow. According to my reading, if you break the promise you made with your friend yesterday, you might suffer!” Shuya said.

“A-Are you sure, Shuya? A while ago, I had a terrible time after I ignored your divination’s advice! B-But Shuya, what in the world is the source of this voice that you can hear?!”

Shuya was an eccentric guy who told fortunes using a crystal ball. That guy has gone off to do something silly again... But I wonder about that too. Just whose voice can he hear?

To pass the time, I had made all of his fortunes come true using my spells. But one day, the cat was finally out of the bag.

“Hey, Denning!” he yelled. “You’re doing something to my clients, aren’t you?!”

“What’s this all of a sudden?” I grumbled. “Your clients? Oh, those people from that weird part-time hobby of yours.”

“Don’t call it a hobby! This is my job!”

“A job where you listen to voices talking to you?” I asked incredulously. “Are you sure you’re not high on some fishy drugs?”

“Damn you, Denning...!”

Teasing him had been great fun, so I continued to carry out pranks on Shuya despite his protests. After that, he had begun to find fault with me at every single opportunity, and it even frequently evolved into squabbles.

That guy wasn’t bound by his social standing, and his stance as a noble had been interesting to me. That was why I had found so much joy in watching him.

“Hey, have you heard? Lady Alicia, of all people, apparently made a friend of sorts,” a student gossiped.

“Oh, I certainly have! That oddball, right? The one who always carries a crystal ball.”

On top of this newfound joy, he became friends with Alicia, who seemed like she had been bored here at Kirsch.

I’ll be honest—Alicia has been on my mind for a very long time. She used to be my fiancée, after all.

Since she had come to this country, I wanted her to have a good time.

“Hey, Shuya!” Alicia yelped. “I told you to wait for me!”

Alicia had smiled very little ever since she came to Kirsch, perhaps because she didn’t fit in very well. Shuya had been the one who changed her tune. After she became friends with him, I could clearly tell that she was having fun.

Let me confess something. I was over the moon about that! But at the same time...maybe I felt somewhat jealous of Shuya too. After all, I am the blackhearted Piggy Duke, and it’s too late for me to be friendly with Alicia again. I chose to be with Charlotte. Forgetting that choice and trying to get on good terms with Alicia again is the wrong path.

“Master Slowe! Have you made any friends yet?!” Charlotte exclaimed at me one day.

“Nope. It seems that everyone is scared of me. That aside, Charlotte, can you believe it? There’s someone more foolish than me at this school!”

“Master Slowe!” Charlotte said chidingly. “How many times have I told you that you should not make fun of people?”

“But it’s really laughable, you know? He makes no sense whatsoever. Hearing a voice from a crystal ball is way too wild!”

Charlotte hesitated before she could reply again. “I must say... You look really happy, Master Slowe.”

I continued to observe him, day after day. He had given me so much joy that it was enough to make me forget my current situation.

This place was Kirsch Mage Institute, a place where nobles mingled with each other, and yet I had found a noble who completely deviated from the definition of one.

And this certain person...went by the name of Shuya Newkern.

“Master Slowe! Master Slowe! Please wake up!”

“Huh...?” I mumbled. “Wh-Wha—” I howled in shock.

Rolling, rolling, rolling...bang!

It took me some time to comprehend what in the world had happened to me.

I felt something chilly. Okay, so this is the floor. I fell onto the hard, rock floor.

Charlotte shoved me!

Ow. But I don’t think Charlotte would do that without good reason. She had forgiven me in the end, even after I’d broken my promise with Princess Carina by coming to Zenelaus. She had even believed me in the end that the guild in Zenelaus was hiding something.

Surely, there must be excruciating circumstances for her to shove me onto the ground.

“Is there something you need me for, Charlotte?”

Still, that was such a nostalgic dream. A dream about Shuya, of all people. I have never had one of those before.

“Good morning. Master Slowe, do you know why I’m angry?” Charlotte said slowly.

Yep, she’s definitely mad. It doesn’t feel like she’s criticizing me for sleeping in the middle of the day, though. Ah right, Charlotte knows that I’ve been living a nocturnal life lately, so it can’t be that.

I had been taking advantage of the fact that zombies were less aggressive at night to investigate the subordinates of the lich with the guild’s staff members. This was all preparation to minimize disadvantages for adventurers in the final battle.

Well, I didn’t really want to say this, but in exchange for that, the guild was footing the bill for Charlotte and Alicia’s living expenses. Other than that, I had also requested that the guild send guards to protect the two whenever I wasn’t in Zenelaus, though it seemed that these two hadn’t realized it yet.

In that case, what was Charlotte so angry about?

The gears in my mind whirred in order to figure out the problem. The answer came to me in a flash of inspiration.

There was food left on the table. Alicia and Charlotte had prepared a meal for after I had gotten back in the morning, and it was left untouched.

I guess I deserve a scolding in this case. They were considerate of my state and made food that is easy to stomach.

Well, Alicia no longer calls me Piggy Slowe either. I’m a scrawny little Slowe now.

“Um, Charlotte, I’m sorry. You put in all that effort to cook for me, but I wasn’t able to eat any of it...”

“That’s not it. I’m sad about that too, but that’s not the point.”

“Huh? It’s not?”

“It’s completely different! You are way off target,” she stressed. “When I went outside just now, I heard a veeery bad rumor.”

I hesitated. “A rumor?”

“About how a certain young mage beat the newcomer of Zylush black and blue.”

“Oh...”

“It was Master Slowe, right?”

“Uh...”

“It was you, wasn’t it? And that newcomer was Mister Newkern, right?”

I hung my head in defeat. “Yes. You’re right about everything.”

Charlotte had always kindly watched over me from afar, even when everyone had bad-mouthed me back at Kirsch. At the end of the day, Charlotte had always been very lenient towards me.

That same Charlotte was now fuming! This was one of the rare times when she was actually furious. She was enraged about how I had given Shuya a vicious beating!

“Why did you do something so cruel?”

Panicked, I began to ramble. “You two have been trying to persuade him every single day, but it just goes in one ear and out the other with that guy! Look at Alicia! She’s so ragged now, and she’s panic-stricken about how Shuya might be killed by a zombie, and yet... When I saw Shuya in high spirits with those adventurers, I just, well, kind of saw red, you know? I tried starting a conversation with him, and it somehow developed into a fight, and I thought...I thought that I had to resort to using force with him. If he realized that he’s weak, maybe he might decide to evacuate Zenelaus, so...”

I trailed off then sagged my shoulders. “You’re right. I’m sorry; I was completely at fault.”

“You used to quarrel a lot with Mister Shuya back at Kirsch too, didn’t you? Why is that?”

It was just like Charlotte said, and it was just like what happened in my dream earlier.

He had Alicia by his side this whole time. Yet, he threw her aside in Zenelaus as he became obsessed with playing make-believe war.

Alicia was all alone again, just like how she had been when she first came to Kirsch.

...That was probably why I felt so much rage when I saw what Shuya was doing now. Alicia is waiting for that guy in a trashy inn while he’s doing all that, but he...

“Because Shuya is Alicia’s only friend,” I answered.

“Huh? Um, could you elaborate?”

“If you take a moment to consider why Alicia followed Shuya here...it’s pretty obvious. Think about it. Alicia doesn’t have aaany interest in dungeons or monsters, does she? Yet she still followed Shuya to Zenelaus. That’s because Shuya Newkern is a precious friend to her.”

“Wait, Master Slowe, it can’t be... Did you argue with Mister Shuya because of...”

“That guy brought Alicia all the way to such a dangerous city. Even the evacuation route to leave via the wilds is perilous enough. Despite all that, he’s neglecting Alicia here, and I can’t stand that. Those two are more than friends on top of all that...”

Charlotte froze. “Huh? No way! Are you saying that...?!”

I nodded slowly.

All Charlotte could do was robotically repeat her exclaims of surprise and the phrase, “No way!”

It seemed that her anger from just moments ago had been completely blown away.

But I haven’t said anything wrong, right? I mean, Shuya and Alicia are going to end up in that way in the future.

“Now that you mention it, Lady Alicia did come to Zenelaus with him as a pair. Right... There’s no way that nothing happened...”

“Miss Charlotte!” The star of the show finally made her appearance before us. “I didn’t find you in your room! How about we borrow the kitchen today and cook together?” Alicia looked at the table. “Ah, hey! He hasn’t eaten it at all!” She then turned to me. “Slowe... Why are you on the ground?”

“You see, there are some very complicated events that led up to this...” I trailed off.

“Ah! We put in all that effort to cook for you, so... Come on! Eat up! Slowe!”

“Hey, don’t shove it into my face!” I yelped. “I really don’t have an appetite right now!”