Two weeks had passed since I enrolled.
It was more than enough time to adjust to the Academy.
Beaumont Academy’s classes were, as expected, advanced. Still, I had lived for about as many years as the teachers had.
My talent might have been somewhat lacking, but the depth of my background knowledge was enough to overwhelm the others.
Practical examinations might prove troublesome, but unless it was a simple skills test, there was always at least one loophole to slip through.
At least, I had concluded that my grades would not put me in any trouble. So I immediately began my commercial activities in earnest.
All I had to do was provide the seniors with the goods they wanted and skim off a small profit.
“Then I’ll be counting on you again next time.”
“I’ll look for even better goods. Take care, Senior!”
Thanks to bundling in recommended products and selling those as well, my pockets grew steadily fuller.
Of course, my biggest customer was still Radeos.
Ever since the term began, he had occasionally brought in students without the snake mark as well and held training sessions.
Each time, I made profits worth dozens of gold coins.
And then there was Media, my other target.
She ought to come soon.
Putting aside the fact that the special items I had prepared for Media, a senior in the Department of Magic, were gathering dust in my room, it would be a problem if she failed her midterms and was expelled before they could properly take effect.
“If there’s still no response a week before the midterms, I’ll approach her first.”
My Academy life was proceeding without straying far from my plans.
I could still feel my classmates’ resentful stares, but what could a bunch of freshmen possibly do?
Even if they organized a boycott against my goods, there were more than enough other people willing to buy them.
In short, I had enough room to worry about someone else.
“Are you okay?”
I sidled up to Lucia and asked.
“What do you mean?”
Lucia shot back sharply.
“Like I said before, if you need my help.......”
“No. Not at all. I don’t need it.”
She left before I could even finish.
“I hope you don’t wait too long to change your mind.”
I called after her. There was no response, but she must have heard me.
So she hated the thought of accepting my help that much.
“She’s letting the problem grow for no reason.”
I could roughly guess why.
Objectively speaking, Lucia probably saw me as a sly bastard who would use any means necessary to achieve his goals.
That was not far from the truth.
She was kind enough to help even someone like that, but not foolish enough to be unafraid of the price she might have to pay for that bastard’s help.
The problem was that this was only dragging her deeper into the mire.
“Well, well. Look who it is.”
“Where are you headed, Reincarnator?”
Two freshmen from the Department of Martial Arts stepped in front of Lucia as she rounded a corner.
“Move.”
Lucia spoke quietly.
Even knowing that the coldly honed anger was not directed at me, I felt a shiver run down my spine.
“And if we don’t?”
“We aren’t servants who have to obey just because the Reincarnator orders us to, are we?”
Like puppies that did not know to fear a tiger, the freshmen taunted her without the slightest fear.
“.......”
Lucia ignored the Department of Martial Arts boys’ wordplay and tried to go around them.
They did not simply let her pass.
They shifted their feet just enough to block her path.
After several rounds of twitching one step at a time, like they were dancing together, Lucia tried to squeeze between them.
But they were Department of Martial Arts students, chosen for their physical talent.
They were only ten years old, but their strength already rivaled that of most adults.
Lucia was talented in magic. That did not mean she was strong.
There were two of them, so she was completely outnumbered as well.
In the end, Lucia had no choice but to take another route after failing to break through their ironclad defense.
The Department of Martial Arts boys’ laughter followed as a bonus.
“Tch. She just takes that?”
If it were me, I would have blasted them with magic immediately.
And this was not even the first time it had happened today. Every day, whenever they had a spare moment, the Department of Martial Arts boys hovered around Lucia and picked fights with her.
This low-grade bullying had already been going on for more than a week.
Lucia’s patience was remarkable. She had not caused a physical confrontation yet.
“There’s still no one helping her.”
If just a few of her classmates from the Department of Magic had stood with Lucia to even up the numbers, the Department of Martial Arts boys could not have behaved so brazenly.
The Department of Magic students consistently acted as if they had neither seen nor heard a thing.
Some of them even looked delighted as they watched Lucia suffer.
In a way, both departments seemed to be ostracizing her together.
“This is why I can’t help believing that people are inherently evil.”
The reason Lucia had been isolated was simple.
Lucia was the image of a model student.
Lucia had stood out the most at the entrance examination, and Lucia had stood on the platform as the freshman representative.
Anyone who compared themselves to Lucia was bound to look dimmer by comparison.
Every one of her classmates held some degree of inferiority toward her.
When Lucia struggled and suffered, their inferiority complexes would ease, and they would feel a powerful thrill of pleasure.
The bullying Lucia endured was surely a rather stimulating form of entertainment for her classmates.
Of course, there was another reason the hostile atmosphere around Lucia had settled in so quickly.
“Just like Kyle said, Reincarnators aren’t anything special.”
“She looked like she was about to cry at the end.”
The moment Lucia left by another route, Kyle, who had been watching from a short distance away, sauntered over with a snicker.
“Exactly. It’s ridiculous that someone like her is the freshman representative.”
Kyle had disliked that Lucia became the freshman representative.
He was the one who had been quietly egging on the Department of Martial Arts students from behind the scenes, making them go after Lucia.
From what I had heard, Kyle had gone around challenging every student in the Department of Martial Arts to a fight as soon as the term began.
Naturally, no one could stand up to Kyle, and the ones who lost became his underlings.
Being a group selected for their skill at brawling, they did not seem to give a second thought to following someone stronger than them.
“Hey, loser. Have you come to repay your debt?”
I greeted Kyle.
“You......!”
The moment he saw me, Kyle’s face twisted. Until just then, he had been enjoying himself over tormenting Lucia.
What terrible manners. I greeted him so warmly, and all he could do was scowl.
“You don’t have to look so frightened. It’s not like I’m going to eat you. I only brought it up because you still haven’t given me the money you promised.”
Still, I was an adult. An understanding adult.
“.......”
Kyle ground his teeth, pulled a pouch from his clothes, and threw it at me.
Thud!!
The pouch, packed full of metal, flew at terrifying speed and struck the wall beside me. The hard masonry cracked slightly, scattering chips of stone.
“Take it and get lost.”
Oh.
It seemed he had brought money with him in case he ran into me.
At least he was not completely incapable of learning.
“Finally.”
It had taken nearly a month since the bet for me to receive my winnings. I opened the pouch with a small measure of anticipation.
“......Hey, is this all?”
“What?”
Kyle glared at me sharply.
“No, well. So Kyle Sanders’ pride is only worth this much. Beating you amounts to no more than a dozen or so silver coins.”
No matter how thoroughly I shook the pouch, only silver coins dented from its impact against the wall fell out.
I had expected at least one gold coin to be mixed in.
It seemed I had overestimated Kyle.
“.......”
I thought I heard the sound of teeth grinding.
“Yeah. It’s disappointing after taking you so long, but I left the amount up to you.”
In the end, it was not even worth one gold coin.
It was not a small amount by a commoner’s standards, but where were we?
This was Beaumont Academy, where the sons and daughters of the Kingdom’s wealthy families had gathered.
In a place where it was normal to carry at least a dozen gold coins in your pocket, a few silver coins were practically not even considered money.
We did not even have to mention the prince. Seniors paid out gold coins whenever they bought anything.
“Did it take you a lot of effort to save this? Here, I’ll give it back, so go buy yourself something tasty.”
That was why I could return it without regretting it.
“What’s wrong? Did something make you angry?”
I held the pouch out to Kyle, but he did not seem pleased.
His face cycled between red and blue, like it might burst at any moment.
“......Get lost.”
The one phrase Kyle barely managed to squeeze out.
A clear expression of refusal.
“You don’t want it? Don’t make this awkward for me.”
I shook the pouch in front of Kyle’s eyes.
Jingle, jingle. The cheerful sound rang out.
“I said get lost!”
Kyle roughly slapped the pouch from my hand. The pouch burst open, and silver coins spilled across the floor.
The noise around us died away.
The Department of Martial Arts boys nervously watched Kyle’s mood, while the Department of Magic students turned away as though it had nothing to do with them.
The mood had become serious in an instant.
“You don’t even say you want to fight now? How pathetic.”
The same boys Kyle had provoked against Lucia could not even properly lose their tempers at my taunts.
The reason was simple.
I had seniors behind me.
They might have been a group of underachievers, but they were still seniors.
That alone would be troublesome enough, but the Seventh Prince, Radeos, was standing at my side as well.
If they crossed Radeos, a fifth-year expected to graduate without trouble, the consequences could follow them even after graduation.
“A Reincarnator like you is teaching the kids such wonderful things. Do you have nothing better to do?”
I whispered in Kyle’s ear.
It was ridiculous, acting like some gang just because he had a pack of followers when none of them had any guts.
“Why are you taking that bitch’s side?”
Kyle growled.
It seemed he had misunderstood and thought I was picking a fight on Lucia’s behalf.
I only wanted to torment Kyle.
“Who knows? If I had to say, I’m on my own side. But.......”
If someone benefited me, they were an ally. If they harmed me, they were an enemy. It was a simple distinction.
“You don’t seem like you would give me much benefit even if I kept you around, so should I invest in Lucia instead?”
Compared to a Kyle so childish it was hard to believe he was a Reincarnator, Lucia was far more valuable in every way.
Kyle’s eyelid twitched at my words.
“Relax your face. I haven’t heard her ask for help yet. I won’t step in for the time being.”
I smiled and patted Kyle’s shoulder.
Even if I stepped in first, Lucia would not thank me.
I would be lucky if she did not get angry and call it unwanted interference.
I had no intention of devoting myself that far to someone who had said I was the type she disliked.
“......You make it sound like you could end this situation whenever you want.”
“Of course. Naturally.”
There were almost no impossible things in this world.
If something seemed impossible, I recommended checking whether you were simply short of money.
“Hah....... You really are something.”
Kyle spoke sarcastically. It seemed he still did not understand the power of money.
It was almost impressive that he still had not learned his lesson after looking down on me like this and getting thoroughly humbled in our duel.
“Anyway, keep up the good work. Make Lucia come ask me for help.”
That was all I could expect from Kyle.
“You’ll regret not taking my side.”
Kyle spat out the threat and turned away.
He was talking nonsense again.
“You should be thinking about joining me. Why would I join you? What would I gain.......?”
I could not help sighing at his endless stupidity.
Maybe he had injured his head while practicing swordsmanship.
Now I even felt sorry for him.