The Lorender Empire was the most powerful nation on the continent, and accordingly, anything operated by the Imperial Family could be considered the finest on the continent as well.
Perhaps that was why the Student Council President’s office at the Imperial Magic Academy was more extravagant than the dean’s office at most academies.
Yet in stark contrast to the room’s imposing splendor, its current owner, Gilbert Ellimore, couldn’t hide his anxiety as he bit at his fingernails.
A small badge rested on his desk.
Gilbert repeatedly swept his emerald-green hair back as he sank into thought.
‘The Camille Barony....’
It was the badge of the Camille Barony.
The only clue that might reveal the identity of the person who had humiliated him several days ago.
That day, Gilbert had gone into the capital to indulge in his secret amusement, only to awaken on the street with agonizing pain in his backside.
He remembered absolutely nothing.
All that remained was an intense emotional impression—the overwhelming sense that some man had utterly defeated him.
Those were unmistakable traces of Memory Manipulation Magic.
If proof was needed, the worsening migraine that struck whenever he tried to recall what had happened was evidence enough.
But even after investigating the Camille Barony thoroughly, he couldn’t find a single person connected to magic.
Every child of the Camille family had enrolled in a Warrior Academy and was making considerable progress there.
“Damn it... how the hell did someone humiliate me like that....”
Gilbert had barely slept for days.
It was the first time in his life he had suffered such humiliation.
And imagining what the lingering pain in his backside might imply filled him with an almost unbearable sense of shame.
“Damn it! Damn it!”
Cursing, Gilbert raised a glass filled with alcohol to his lips.
He would find out who had done this.
No matter what.
And once he uncovered their identity, he would make sure they paid appropriately.
Still restless, he grimaced at the humiliating sight of himself sitting on a doughnut-shaped cushion because his backside remained sore.
Then came a knock.
The door to the Student Council President’s office opened.
Click, click.
A female cadet entered in high heels, her blue hair tied into a ponytail.
She had a striking figure, further emphasized by the close-fitting Academy uniform she wore.
“Young Master. I’ve brought the information we purchased from the Information Guild.”
The fact that she addressed him as Young Master rather than President made it clear that she was Gilbert’s personal maid.
Apparently having waited impatiently for her return, Gilbert roughly tore open the seal on the folder she handed him.
He examined the pages one by one with intense concentration.
Then his eyes stopped on a photograph.
“Anna Camille.... Lion Heart Academy....”
Long blonde hair.
Blue eyes.
A cute face bright enough to make almost anyone immediately fond of her.
And that pretty face felt familiar to Gilbert.
There were limits to Memory Manipulation Magic.
Memories themselves could be erased, but emotions could not.
Judging by the desire stirring inside Gilbert as he stared at the picture, this girl had definitely been one of those present that day.
“Lion Heart Academy....”
Gilbert endured the lingering sting from his backside and slowly formed a vicious smile.
***
“Hmm, but...”
“Hm?”
“Young Master. Haven’t you gotten considerably more muscular lately?”
“Huh? Really? Seriously?”
It was White Class’s usual early-morning training.
Tyr poked and prodded at the muscles here and there on my body, openly impressed.
Was it because I screamed like a lunatic during every training session while repeatedly passing out and getting back up?
Or was it because of all the training I did inside Admuasil’s Space?
Either way, now that a month had passed since enrollment, the results were finally beginning to show.
I had already felt like my body had gotten noticeably bigger lately.
“Maybe I’ve gotten a little more handsome...?”
A muscular Ruben Seirin.
Who knew such a thing was even possible?
Feeling unnecessarily pleased with myself, I flexed my biceps and triceps and struck what I thought was a cool pose.
Was it like this?
Or this...?
“Why are you imitating someone whose back itches right in the middle but whose arms can’t reach it?”
W-What?
What was with that brutally sharp criticism?
I turned my head and found Karen standing there with her arms crossed, staring at me as though I were pathetic.
When did she get here?
More importantly, why was she standing in front of me?
She normally stuck to Anna like a shadow, so seeing her alone without Anna nearby felt strangely awkward.
“What do you want this early in the morning? Did you lose Anna or something?”
Was it my imagination?
The moment I mentioned Anna, Karen’s expression visibly darkened.
She hesitated for a moment before slowly approaching me.
This demon had apparently gotten far too comfortable with me lately.
She didn’t hold back at all anymore.
“I have something to tell you.”
“What?”
“The Young Lady... appears to be getting bullied.”
Hmm?
Who was getting what?
Anna Camille was being bullied?
I thought about it carefully.
Was that even possible?
In the month since enrolling, Anna had become the most beloved person in White Class.
Her naturally cheerful and optimistic personality.
Her fairy-like appearance.
Her respectable family background.
She was practically impossible to dislike.
If anyone tried bullying Anna, White Class’s secret society would probably dispose of them quietly before I even heard about it.
So no.
That was impossible.
“Nonsense. If someone bullied Anna at Lion Heart, they’d already be buried somewhere.”
“It isn’t an ordinary cadet!”
Haa....
I missed the calm, expressionless Karen.
Why had she started yelling so much lately?
“If it isn’t a regular cadet, are you saying a faculty member is bullying her? That makes even less sense.”
“...The Student Council President.”
That was unexpected enough to make me pause.
Who was the current Student Council President again?
I vaguely remembered someone giving a speech during the entrance ceremony....
But I couldn’t remember their face or name.
Then again, the entrance ceremony had been ridiculously grand.
Honestly, I barely remembered most of that day.
“Who’s the Student Council President?”
“Oh, Young Master. I know that.”
Tyr immediately answered.
“The current Student Council President of Lion Heart is Lady Sabel Ellimore. She’s the third daughter of House Ellimore. I think you even met her once at an Imperial Ball when you were little.”
House Ellimore?
Wait.
Could Gilbert be involved in this?
“Let’s go somewhere else first.”
We slipped away from the older cadets and left the training field, moving behind a secluded building where few people passed by.
Karen glanced around carefully before beginning to speak in a low voice.
“Last week, the Young Lady suddenly received a summons from the Student Council. I followed her to the Student Council building without thinking much of it, but they refused to allow a maid inside.”
That was already strange.
Officially, social status had almost no influence within the Academy.
Just look at Karen.
She was some demon of completely unknown origin, yet she had no problem casually speaking to me without honorifics.
And yet a “maid” wasn’t allowed inside?
“Ultimately, the Young Lady met the Student Council President alone. It took around an hour. But when she came back out... her expression was extremely dark. I had never seen her look like that since coming here.”
“Did she tell you what they talked about?”
“...She would not tell me.”
Karen looked deeply troubled.
With an expression like that, she almost looked human rather than demonic.
Regardless, I could clearly tell that Karen was genuinely worried about Anna.
“That wasn’t the end of it. The Young Lady has been summoned by the Student Council President several more times since then. Every time, she came out looking as though she was about to cry. Even now....”
Karen couldn’t finish.
She lowered her head.
Her tightly clenched fist trembled, apparently from anger at herself for being unable to do anything for Anna.
Well, considering this prideful demon had come asking me—the person literally holding her life in his hands—for help, I could imagine just how upset she must have been.
“Got it. From what you’ve told me, it definitely sounds like she might be getting harassed.”
I nodded.
“In the end, I’ll have to talk to Anna directly.”
I already had an idea of what might be happening.
But first, I needed to see Anna.
***
“Anna! Wait!”
Damn it.
Why is she so fast?!
After lunch, I found Anna eating alone in a corner of the cadet dining hall.
I approached her exactly like normal and merely asked if she wanted to talk for a moment.
The instant she saw me, she ran.
What the hell?!
“Haa... haa....”
Thanks to her, I was now running around before I’d even finished digesting lunch.
I felt like I was dying.
I looked to the side and found Tyr and Karen standing there, unsure of what to do.
“What are you doing?! Hurry... haa... and catch her!”
Only then did the two of them shoot after Anna as though they were flying.
You could’ve done that from the beginning!
Clutching my side as indigestion began stabbing at me, I desperately followed after them.
Whether my pathetic running speed could ever catch the daughter of House Camille was another question.
“Haa... haa....”
After running for several minutes in the direction Anna had disappeared, I began hearing a commotion ahead.
“My Lady! Please stop this!”
“Aagh! Karen! Do something!”
“Get away from me! I can’t see Ruben right now!”
Absolute chaos.
Tyr had wrapped herself around Anna’s leg and was being dragged along the ground.
Anna was frantically shaking her leg in an attempt to dislodge her.
Karen merely stood there staring at the two of them, completely unsure what she was supposed to do.
Well....
At least they had caught Anna.
“Haa.... Anna...! Let’s... haa... talk!”
“Ruben! Go away! I’m not in the mood to see your face right now!”
Do you need to be in a particular mood just to look at my face?
I’m not that ugly.
Ignoring Anna’s protest, I started walking toward her.
Finally, she gave an order.
“Karen! This is an order from your master! Stop Ruben!”
“As you command.”
The instant she heard the word “order,” Karen charged straight toward me.
Her eye was burning with determination.
The unmistakable determination to stop Ruben Seirin.
What the hell was she doing?
“Hey. Are you stupid?”
“Huh?”
Karen had approached me brimming with fighting spirit, but a light flick to her forehead snapped her back to her senses.
She really did obey Anna’s words fanatically.
Then again, Glyph of Warding had bound her, so she couldn’t exactly ignore an order from Anna.
But even without that, Karen’s loyalty was strangely close to blind devotion.
Anyway, now that I could finally speak with Anna, I walked closer.
She still had Tyr hanging from one leg.
And as I approached, she sharply turned her head away, stubbornly refusing to look at me.
“Anna. I heard something happened with the Student Council President. Is that why you’re avoiding me?”
“...I can’t tell you.”
Anna avoided my gaze, her expression on the verge of tears.
So something really had happened.
In that case, I had no choice but to throw out a guess and see how she reacted.
“Gilbert Ellimore.”
Anna froze.
“That bastard is involved, isn’t he?”
The expression on her face looked as though my words had struck her straight through.
Apparently, I was right.
“How did you...?”
Haa....
Looks like my rotten connection with Gilbert Ellimore wasn’t going to end with my previous life.
It was going to follow me into this one too.
That damned bastard.