After the lecture ended, Seria and I headed to the student council building once again.
We usually went there when we had nowhere else to go, but today, there was a reason.
[Alkine: Can you come to the student council after today’s schedule? I have something I need to tell you.]
It was because Alkine had sent such a message.
By the way, even her tone in the messages had completely softened. It stood out more when compared to the messages she’d sent not long ago.
[Alkine: Can you delete the records above?]
…What? Did my thoughts get automatically sent somehow? How did she know to send such a message…
I did feel a slight urge to leave them undeleted, but if I got caught, who knew what would happen… So, I followed her instructions and deleted all the previous records.
After a while, we arrived in front of the student council building.
Why was that? The place, which usually felt empty, was quite lively.
I could clearly hear murmuring voices from inside.
When I slightly opened the door and entered, I saw Grain, Cain, and Golid, the second-year student council members, sitting around a table and chatting.
“Hey, isn’t this our brilliant junior?”
“Your midterm rank was lower than expected—what happened?”
Cain and Golid greeted me with such comments after noticing me enter.
These people were usually glued to Grain, and I hadn’t had many opportunities to talk to them… But after the recent synthetic rift incident, it felt like we’d grown much closer.
I later found out that they had seen me as… some sort of rival in love.
-“Rudion? He’s like a monstrous junior. Talented and capable. But honestly… from my perspective, he doesn’t even seem human, so I don’t feel those emotions you’re thinking about.”
Apparently, after the rift strategy concluded, Grain had firmly declared this when questioned, clearing up the misunderstanding.
Thanks to that, I achieved the rather bizarre feat of “0 confessions, 1 rejection,” but having already experienced the even more absurd “2 confessions, 1 success,” it didn’t feel very impactful.
Anyway, they seemed to be discussing the second-year top student.
I had been curious about it, so this was convenient. I’d ask them later.
For now, talking to Alkine took priority.
Even now, as I lingered and exchanged a few words here, Alkine was staring at me intently. If I dragged things out by talking about the second-year top student, I’d definitely hear about it later.
So, I quickly wrapped up the conversation and approached Alkine.
“Senior, we’re here.”
I addressed her using the title she preferred, but for some reason, she looked dissatisfied.
“…Call me by my name too.”
Oh, so that’s why. It was because I hadn’t used her name.
She’s seriously so picky.
“Alkine, you’re actually way more troublesome than I thought.”
Seria seemed to share the same thought as me and said it aloud.
The difference was that I had only thought it, while she had actually said it out loud.
“W-What? I just want Rudion to do what he said he would.”
Alkine replied confidently to Seria’s comment, but the slight trembling in her pupils revealed she wasn’t unaffected.
Well… calling her by her name wasn’t difficult, so I decided to just do as she asked.
“Alkine-senpai.”
“Mm, welcome.”
Only then did Alkine seem satisfied with the greeting.
I kept my voice low enough so that the group chatting on the other side couldn’t hear us, making it feel a bit like we were sharing a secret.
It gave rise to a strangely thrilling feeling.
At that moment, Seria suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Rudion. Where’s that bracelet?”
“Huh? I stored it in a subspace. Why?”
“Give it to me. I need to read what you’re thinking right now.”
What’s gotten into her?
But something told me that handing over the bracelet would spell disaster, so I carefully removed her hand from my wrist.
“…Rudion?”
“No. I can’t give it. It’s mine.”
“So, you’re going to play hard to get, huh? Just wait. I’ll turn everything you own into nothingness.”
What are you even saying, Seria? Even as a joke, you shouldn’t say things like that.
“I’m not joking, though?”
“No, it has to be a joke.”
“Fine, it’s a joke.”
“…Do you two practice your conversations or something?”
Alkine seemed slightly sulky now that the conversation focus had shifted to Seria.
But realizing that she was the one who joined in late, she didn’t express her dissatisfaction further.
So, she quickly got to the point.
“Well, the reason I called you here is because… I think there are going to be a lot of troublesome things happening soon. I thought I should let you know in advance.”
Troublesome things? Did the student council workload increase or something?
“Well… the thing is, third-years might start coming to see you more often.”
“Me?”
So, the troublesome target wasn’t us but me.
But third-years? Looking for me? Why?
When I voiced my doubt, Alkine continued.
“The midterm results came out today. Everyone’s been kind of curious about your scores. There are also some rumors spreading… But…”
“…But my grades were quite low this time.”
“Yeah, that’s the reason.”
I was starting to understand the situation.
Up until now, people had assumed I was capable because of my entrance exam performance and my position in the student council. But now that my midterm results were out, that perception had completely shattered.
“They asked me about it, and I answered honestly. But everyone thinks I’m just hyping you up because you’re a student council member and a first-year.”
Until yesterday, no one dared to question me, but now, with just one set of grades revealed, this happened…
It wasn’t surprising. Public opinion was always like that.
“I’ve told you, okay? Handle it well.”
Sigh…
As I sighed at the feeling that things were about to get troublesome, Seria, who had been listening to Alkine, subtly interrupted.
“Rudion, you know I have sharp hearing, right?”
“Yeah.”
It wasn’t quite the question that fit the conversation, but I nodded and answered anyway.
In reality, her hearing went beyond human limits. Even without any related traits, it seemed like something she was born with.
Because of that, after I fixed my habit of mumbling to myself, she was now at the point of reading my thoughts, but that’s a story for another time.
“Today, during school and at lunch, I overheard a few things.”
I was curious why she’d suddenly ask that, but she seemed to have already come to a conclusion based on all the bits and pieces she’d picked up.
And that conclusion was quite shocking.
“It’s not just the third-years. It looks like all the grades are going to bother you, Rudion.”
“…Seriously, why?”
“It’s nothing major. It seems like the way you almost gave up on that test got completely misinterpreted.”
I heard that what I had just lightly brushed off and quit was twisted in a very biased way.
In fact, it seemed like everything that happened afterward in the sparring was completely excluded from the rumors, which honestly made it a bit laughable. How did it spread like that?
“It wasn’t that I couldn’t talk normally, but I guess someone misunderstood the situation and thought this was their chance to do something.”
As I let out a bitter laugh at that thought, Seria said, as if it was obvious.
She said that some group had already set their sights on me and had formed a flow to dethrone me. I didn’t need to guess which group that was. It was probably the quiet Seria fan clubs that had been lurking.
They hadn’t done anything until now, but with just one grade reveal, their attitude changed completely, as if flipping their palms.
‘There must be quite a few people in that group. Didn’t they feel something strange?’
Even if it was a rumor, had they never actually verified it?
But, honestly, I couldn’t say their actions were completely thoughtless.
Given my current situation, it wouldn’t be strange for people to see me as someone who stood out at first, but is now gradually falling behind.
It’s quite rare for someone to start declining in the early stages of their first year, but right now, that’s exactly what was happening, so it was no surprise that I looked like a weakness.
Still, with Seria by my side, I thought things might balance out a bit.
When I glanced at her, expecting some support, Seria just smiled sweetly and shook her head.
“I’m not going to get involved.”
“Why not?”
“Because you didn’t lend me the bracelet.”
What is with this grudge?
I stared at her in disbelief, and Seria started laughing and changed her tone.
“Just kidding. I actually like watching you handle things, Rudion. If I step in, the situation will be over before you even get a chance to do anything.”
That was true.
Even if they tried to pick a fight with me, if she stepped in and questioned what they were doing… a few slightly superior students wouldn’t be able to handle her.
Her power, and even her force, would far exceed theirs.
But… I never expected to be betrayed like this.
I trusted Seria’s affection too much, and now that trust had backfired with consequences.
“Well, hang in there. They’re all basically good people, so don’t let them push you too hard.”
With Alkine’s added trust, I was now truly backed into a corner.
It seemed like I would have to accept any provocation or sparring that came my way from now on.
I thought more trust would be better, but now I realized: too much is just as bad.
Anyway, it looked like things were about to get really troublesome, but… since there was nothing I could do about it for now, I decided to think positively about it.
‘…Maybe this is for the best.’
They say if you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.
Bothering the newbie is forbidden content, but if they come to me and legally allow it… well, I’ll just thank them and accept it with open arms.
Alright, new guys. I’ll do my best to handle it as much as I can, so take responsibility.
They started it, so it’s not my fault, right?