The moment I left Media’s musty-smelling room, even the taste of the air felt different.
My honest impression was that, if possible, I never wanted to enter Media’s room again.
“Phew.”
Emily let out a deep sigh.
The deal with Media had been made.
Emily would help Media with her midterms, and Media would not hold Emily accountable for anything she had done so far.
Media had threatened that if she was expelled because of her midterm results, she would still find some way to take revenge on Emily even after leaving. But unless a natural disaster occurred, there was no way that would happen.
“It is good that things worked out.”
I smiled and patted Emily on the shoulder.
It was not a perfect resolution. Media still hated Emily, and Emily was aware of Media’s hostility.
People did not go from hating each other enough to kill each other one day to completely forgiving each other and becoming friends simply because they joined forces once. Things like that only existed in novels and films.
What did it matter if it was only a temporary fix?
This had left my hands. Whether the conflict I had covered up festered and burst later had nothing to do with me.
“You call this working out? How has this worked out? It is nothing but a loss for me......!”
Emily looked at me resentfully.
“Ahem. Anyone hearing you would think I had threatened you.”
“You did!”
Emily snapped irritably.
“I did not threaten you. I merely warned you about something that could actually happen.”
“How is saying that I could die any different from a threat?”
“‘I will kill you’ is a threat. ‘You will die if you keep that up’ is a warning. Do you not know the difference?”
I knew Emily did not feel kindly toward me, but it still bothered me when she fabricated things like this.
All I had done was stop Emily, who had been happy at the thought that Media might be expelled from the Academy, and correct her misunderstanding.
That there was no chance Media would give up on revenge even if she left the Academy.
That Media had the money to carry out that revenge.
That the situation would only worsen as time passed.
That in the end, it would not end until Emily died or House Jun fell.
“The result is the same. As you told me to, I ended up helping Media with her exam.”
GRIND.
Gritting her teeth, Emily jabbed my chest with her fingertip.
“I merely presented one solution. Would it not be more appropriate for you to blame yourself for failing to find another option?”
Of course, even if Emily racked her brain over it, the chance that she would have found an answer was low.
There could not be many ways to instantly improve a relationship she had ruined this thoroughly.
“I think I should be receiving thanks instead.”
“Thanks? Me, thanking you?”
Emily’s eyes widened as though she had heard something unbelievable.
“Who was it that gave Media the opening to make this situation so bad by bullying her? Who ignored me even when I clearly said she would regret it, then even provoked her? And who ended up asking someone else for a solution because she had no idea what to do herself?”
I met Emily’s eyes as I listed each point one by one.
“Meanwhile, there is someone trying to mediate between the two of you even at the cost of giving up an opportunity to earn more money. What do you think of a situation where one person causes trouble and another person solves it?”
.......
Emily quietly avoided my gaze.
“Do you still not understand why I should be receiving thanks?”
My efforts, devoted to the peace of the Academy, deserved to be fairly acknowledged.
“......No.”
Emily tightly pressed her lips together in frustration.
Even if she had logically benefited from me, it was natural that she did not want to admit it.
“Well, it is not as though I desperately want to hear you thank me. I did not know the situation would become this serious either.”
I had only intended to give Emily a suitable taste of consequences and do some business, but Media’s rampage had turned everything into a mess.
Still, it was fortunate that the result was not that bad.
As the situation was roughly being settled, only one question remained.
“Why did you torment Media that much in the first place? Did you never consider that she could retaliate later using the power of her House?”
Media had a reason for revenge. But I could not find a reason for Emily’s cruelty.
What was the root cause of this entire incident?
As someone who had become deeply involved as well, I was curious.
“......I hated that she was better than me.”
“......Are you seriously saying that?”
Media had said something similar. I thought it had been a misunderstanding or a persecution complex.
She had bullied Media for two years over such an idiotic reason?
“I lost the first test! That alone pissed me off, but then she comes up to me and says, ‘You are worse than me even though you are a Reincarnator.’”
Emily even imitated Media’s voice as she vented her frustration.
“Hmm.”
Now that I heard it, it did sound a little obnoxious. But was it not Emily’s own fault for being a Reincarnator and still losing to an ordinary student?
“My Privilege is not related to magic! It is only an additional function! So it has nothing to do with my magic grades! Is it not impressive that I am still maintaining first place even without a related Blessing?!”
As though she had read my mind, Emily snapped at me.
“I admit it. Media’s magical talent is greater than mine. But she cannot do a thing in actual combat, yet she uses magic a little well and acts all superior......!”
“So you forgot about Media’s House and everything else, then bullied her because your pride was hurt?”
A wounded pride.
It was a fairly common trigger for bullying at school or in the workplace.
“I did think that she could retaliate. That was why I bullied her even more thoroughly. If I made her into a complete wreck, her House would abandon her.”
How vicious. It was even more frightening because she had half succeeded.
When I first met Media, she had been half broken already. Her self-esteem had hit rock bottom, and she could not make rational judgments.
If she had been expelled from the Academy and her condition had worsened further, she might not even have been able to think of revenge.
“Your plan went completely wrong.”
Because of me. More precisely, because I learned about Media’s situation.
She had harbored ill intentions and then tripped into a pit she had dug herself.
.......
Emily seemed to have complicated feelings.
If I left things alone here, her resentment might turn toward me again.
I needed to make sure her feelings did not rot.
“Then.”
I opened the shop. What would be good?
After thinking for a moment, I bought a golden bouquet that resembled Emily’s hair color. A lush bouquet appeared in my hand as though by magic.
The moment I held it out, Emily hurriedly stepped back.
“Wh-what are you trying to do?”
Emily stared at the flowers with eyes full of wariness.
Her reaction made it seem as though she were looking at a flower-shaped bomb rather than flowers.
“It is a gift to say that we should shake off the bad blood between us and end things cleanly.”
If Emily had been my customer, I would have selected a gift according to the preferences I had researched beforehand. But she had never bought goods from me.
So I chose the safest gift, one least dependent on personal taste.
At least so far, I had never met a woman who disliked flowers.
“Out of nowhere?”
Emily still did not lower her guard.
“Because the situation has finally been settled.”
Until the deal with Media had been finalized, there was still room for another duel or conflict in some other form.
But now it was over. Unless another problem arose, there was no reason for me to be hostile toward Emily.
“Take it. They are just flowers.”
I held the bouquet out to Emily again.
Emily hesitated for a long time, then snatched the bouquet like a hawk hunting prey.
Only after turning it upside down, smelling it, and even shaking it did she accept that it was an ordinary bouquet.
“Do you like it?”
It was a gift asking for reconciliation. I waited for Emily’s response.
“You have some nerve. How many times have you bullied me? You want to let all that go with a single bouquet?”
Emily looked back and forth between the bouquet and me as though she could not believe it.
“Bullied you? Get your wording right. It was only your karma coming back to you.”
She needed to remember that every duel after the first had been commissioned by other seniors.
If Emily had lived kindly, those would have been peaceful days.
“It is still true that you attacked me until I passed out!”
“You must fight until your opponent surrenders or loses consciousness. That is what a duel is.”
Emily seemed to be trying to make it sound as though I had done something terrible, but I had not a shred of shame.
“Then...... You are not apologizing?”
“Of course not.”
Apologizing first was an act of admitting that I was at fault, which could work against me in court.
As a precaution, avoiding apologies whenever possible was common sense on Earth.
“Be honest. What is your objective?”
Emily looked at me as though she could not understand me at all.
“I do not want us to remain on uncomfortable terms. As long as people buy goods from me, they are all precious customers.”
The only harm Emily had caused me was a little interference with my business, and even that was a problem that had now been resolved.
Aside from that, Emily was an ordinary Reincarnator. There was nothing to lose from having an amicable relationship with her.
“You think that because you gave me flowers once, I will buy goods from you even though I hate you?”
Emily pointed at me with the hand holding the bouquet I had given her.
“You can hate me, but do not hate the goods. The goods are innocent.”
“Why are they innocent when buying them fills your pockets?!”
She certainly had a lot to say.
“You will regret it again.”
People who had deleted accounts on shopping sites and other websites knew.
The moment you delete one, certain you will never use it again, a situation soon arises where you need that site.
On the other hand, accounts you leave open because you think you might use them later go unused for years and become dormant without so much as a mouse or bird noticing.
Things always got tangled up that way.
“Fine. If I need something someday, then......”
Emily’s voice had lost all confidence.
Having already ignored one of my warnings and suffered enormous losses, Emily could not simply brush my words aside.
“Then I will await your visit, Senior Emily.”
I swung my arm exaggeratedly like a stage actor and bid Emily farewell.
“......You are not doing that because you think it looks cool, are you?”
Emily frowned deeply as though she had seen something awful.
“Of course I am doing it to annoy you.”
Seeing her face twist like that was quite satisfying.
***
Time passed quickly.
Before I knew it, we were in the middle of our midterms.
There were dozens of written exams and practical exams that consumed an entire day.
It was an exceptionally harsh schedule for ten-year-old children.
“Hmm.”
I sat atop a tree and looked around.
Based on the surrounding terrain, I estimated my current location. In doing so, I also found the direction I needed to watch.
Dust was rising in the distance.
It was the examination ground where the third-year practical assessment for Monster Capture was taking place.
According to what I had investigated in advance, it would soon be Emily and Media’s turn to take the test.
“Let us see.”
I pulled a telescope from my pocket and raised it to my eye.
Thanks to magical enhancements, it offered a field of view far wider and clearer than an ordinary telescope.
It was worth the money.
It did not take long to find Media and Emily.
Just as we had agreed beforehand, Emily was herding monsters over and feeding them to Media.
I had worried that Emily might use the opportunity of being alone with Media to cause trouble, but it seemed that concern had been completely unfounded.
“Lawrence. What are you doing up there?”
Lucia called to me from beneath the tree.
“I told you that there was something I had to check.”
“Are you not done yet? We need to go take our exams too.”
There was no reason to hurry when we were not that busy.
In any case, I had already confirmed what I needed to confirm. I climbed down from the tree without hesitation.
“What was so urgent that you had to check it?”
Lucia scolded me as though she could not understand.
“The capture exam for the third-year Department of Magic seniors.”
If Emily showed even the slightest suspicious behavior, I had been prepared to either snipe her or rush over immediately to protect Media.
I had an exam schedule as well, but Media, who absolutely needed to remain at the Academy, was more important than my own exams, where it did not matter if I ruined one subject.
“Ah....... The third-year Department of Magic......?”
Lucia covered her mouth in surprise.
Something about her reaction felt unsettling.
“Th-that rumor was true?”
“What rumor?”
I had a feeling that not hearing it would be better for my mental health, but I could not ignore it.
“Senior Emily Earning and you are dating......”
The words from Lucia’s mouth were shocking beyond belief.
“......Lucia. What do you mean by that?”
I barely swallowed the curse that had risen to my throat. Suppressing my anger made my tone gentler than usual instead.
“I heard that you confessed to Senior Earning while offering her a bouquet......”
Lucia spoke cautiously as she watched my reaction.
“Did I not clearly state last time that I do not see young children as women?”
It was strange. Lucia was not foolish enough to forget my words so quickly.
“You did. But the heart does not always work like something cut with a knife, does it? If you only consider physical age, she is older than you, so it is not really a big problem. I understand. So you do not need to be so embarrassed......”
Lucia spoke with a kindly smile, but at the same time, she stepped back and put more distance between us.
“What do you understand?!”
And what was with that wary attitude?!
“How could such a baseless......”
Suddenly, I remembered what happened after I left Media’s room.
I had indeed given Emily a bouquet. But it had absolutely not been a romantic confession.
“......Who said that? Which bastard said that?”
The fact that it was partially based on the truth made it even more malicious. If I left it alone, someone might spread another rumor next time.
“Uh....... I only heard it from someone else.......”
Lucia’s voice grew quieter and quieter.
“It is fine. I will find out who started the rumor, whatever it takes.”
I needed to meet the person who had slandered me like this and have a deep conversation with them.