The morality of a group tends to converge downward.
Their words and actions grew bolder.
“His magic is creepy too. It gives me chills just watching it.”
“True. I’ve never seen anyone use magic like that before.”
“What Arcane Path does he follow?”
“You’re on the Knightly Path, so you wouldn’t know. They’re called Life Spirits. He controls things like ghosts, you know? It’s really creepy.”
I take back what I said about the Unfortune Letter being trivial.
I hadn’t known Lumin was being ostracized.
Looking back, he had always stayed close beside me during Arcane Path major classes.
Whenever he went to the Magic Practice Chamber, he went with Lulusha or me as well.
My head throbbed.
Lumin was not the sort of person who should become a target for bullying. He did stutter, but not severely. He sometimes said irritating things, but he was rather cute as well.
It must be because of his magic.
Lumin had been born with the Arcane Path of Life Spirits.
Two Illusion, One Life.
With a drop of life dwelling within beguiling deceptions, it created beings that were neither alive nor dead.
The problem was that the Life Spirits Lumin controlled were especially grotesque.
Fairy’s Touch, which Lumin had received as a Performance Assessment assignment, was one example.
It was a warm magic that let Life Spirits heal people’s bodies and minds, but the Life Spirit itself was too hideous to call a fairy.
“Do you know which club he joined? He did not tell anyone, but I looked into it and found out he joined somewhere called the Occult Research Club.”
“Occult? It really suits him. That makes him even worse. Hahaha.......”
A secret society, my foot. It was only the Occult Research Club?
“It’s ugly watching him secretly take chocolate out of his pocket and eat it.”
“That’s true.”
“When you ask him for one, he hesitates before giving it to you. If he doesn’t want to give it, why not just refuse? I don’t know why he acts that way.”
“What house is Haina affiliated with? Is he even a noble?”
Perhaps I should not have come here.
This wasn’t a problem I could do anything about.
Ever since the Founding Emperor laid the foundations of the Empire at the age of seventeen, we had all been adults from the age of seventeen.
Each person had to bear their own weight.
It was hard enough just to keep myself alive.
The sound of rain grew louder.
Just as the owner of the Horror Express Mystery Shop had said, the sky was dark and the weather cloudy today as well as yesterday.
The moon was not visible to the naked eye, and sudden showers fell at times.
Was that why wicked thoughts were flourishing in people’s hearts?
They had merely gathered in the Glass Conservatory to avoid the rain and chat, but their gossip about Lumin gradually became more and more extreme until they finally devised a malicious plan.
“He doesn’t have any friends to do the Independent Project with anyway, does he? Should we help him?”
“What are you talking about?”
“He doesn’t have anyone to work with anyway, so we can at least let him feel like he does for a little while. How about we tell him we’ll work together, then leave his name off at the end? Aren’t you curious what his expression will look like then?”
“You’re a real devil.”
“So you don’t like it?”
“I mean I do!”
“What happens if he has no group?”
“The homeroom teacher will put him somewhere appropriate. You know, a group made up of loners.”
“The loners won’t like him either.”
“Let them figure it out. So, what do you think? It’ll be fun, right?”
“Good!”
“Then tomorrow, let’s ask him to do the Independent Project with us. Who wants to?”
“Me!”
“Me too! Let me do it too!”
“He’s been darting his eyes around lately. If we talk to him, he’ll stutter and be happy!”
“Hahahahaha.......”
I let their voices go in one ear and out the other as I watched rainwater strike the Glass Conservatory. Streams of water mixed together, scattered, and fell downward.
I placed my fingertips on the damp glass and wrote the words “Top Student.” Beside them, I wrote “death.”
I silently let out the sigh I had been holding deep in my chest.
Only now could I truly understand the meaning of the sentence on the Unfortune Letter that said fate would be paid as the price.
***
Matsu was a better guy than I had expected.
“I’m sorry, Matsu.”
“It’s fine. When Lumin said he was close to you guys, I vaguely expected it.”
The corners of Matsu’s mouth rose teasingly.
“Armand, you’re that sort of guy in the end, even if you pretend you aren’t.”
“That sort of guy?”
“The kind of guy who kicks Obern in the groin for Chepin.”
I snickered. Matsu shrugged and continued.
“Maybe it’s because I’ve no presence, but since I was young, people have talked about this and that without realizing I was nearby. Then I end up hearing all sorts of stories whether I want to or not. The Lion Class students were the same. When you brought up Lumin’s name, I thought it might turn out like this.”
“I see.”
“But I didn’t think it really would. Armand, you’re more of a crazy bastard than I thought.”
Matsu grinned.
“So, Armand, show the Ivory Tower’s half-baked thunder-brats what being truly crazy looks like. In exchange, I’ll handle the exploration of the Temple in the Dark Forest you mentioned.”
“All right. If you need help, tell me anytime.”
“I’ll. You owe me.”
Matsu grinned and patted my shoulder.
“Do well.”
“Thank you.”
Then Karl and I headed to the Lion Class.
The four students from the Glass Conservatory were already talking to Lumin, perhaps because they were needlessly diligent.
“Lumin.”
“O-Oh, Armand! Karl!”
Lumin’s face brightened when Karl and I appeared.
“W-What is it?”
“It’s about the Independent Project.”
“Ah, the Independent Project!”
Lumin spoke.
“I-I decided to do it with these friends. What about you two?”
I looked at the four Lion Class students, who were smirking.
People could gossip about others behind their backs.
They could make malicious plans.
But carrying them out was another matter.
“Lumin, you should do it with us.”
“Huh?”
“I said we should do the Independent Project together.”
“B-But we’re in different classes?”
Lumin tilted his head, and the expressions of the four students hardened.
I continued calmly.
“That can be changed depending on the circumstances. According to the school rules, students are generally supposed to carry out the Independent Project with others in the same class, but students from different classes can work together when there are special circumstances.”
“Special circumstances?”
“Yes.”
Originally, I had planned to get through the Independent Project easily at the Temple in the Dark Forest, but that would not be enough to bring Lumin along.
“We’re going to the Island of Wraiths.”
Lumin’s eyes widened.
“T-That place?”
“Yes.”
“Is that allowed?”
“There’s no reason we can’t. That’s why I need the help of someone who was born with the Arcane Path of Life Spirits.”
“Uh.......”
Lumin’s eyes wavered at the words that I needed his help.
“I-Is that really all right?”
“If you’re all right with it, I’ll go to my homeroom teacher and yours right now to ask for permission.”
“Will they give us permission?”
“I checked the precedent. I’ll persuade them.”
“Then.......”
Lumin turned to the four students. They grabbed his shoulders.
“That won’t do. Lumin, you said you’d do it with us.”
“Are you going to betray us like this?”
“Don’t you know the Island of Wraiths is dangerous? Just do it with us.”
They threw their arms around Lumin’s shoulders, pretending to be friendly.
“You made an appointment, so you have to keep it. Right?”
“Do not cancel it on your own.”
“Aren’t we friends?”
“If you betray us.......”
That was when it happened.
“Hey.”
A chilling voice rang out.
Karl had cut them off.
The four students and Lumin looked at Karl with startled eyes.
Karl spoke again.
“He said he’s doing it with us.”
Silence fell.
I jabbed Karl in the side with my elbow. Karl looked down at them without an expression, then forced the corners of his mouth to twist upward.
“We’re going to do it with Lumin, so yield.”
I jabbed Karl in the side again.
Only then did Karl manage to make something like a smile.
“Haha, we can’t do without Lumin!”
What was this, a man with two faces?
One of the four students opened his mouth hesitantly.
“Y-You just.......”
“What?”
“Y-You can’t just tell us something like that. Lumin agreed to do it with us first.”
Before the smile disappeared from Karl’s face again, I patted him on the back and spoke to the platinum-blond head nearby.
“Hey, Pass.”
Jelly, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation while pretending not to care, immediately whipped around.
“What!?”
“I’ve something I’m curious about.”
“Mm, you want to know how to use Flower Blooming?”
Ignoring her trivial provocation, I continued at once.
“When weeds grow in a garden, what do you do?”
“Out of nowhere? What do you mean?”
“Do you leave them because you’re too lazy to deal with them, or do you pull them out?”
“You pull them out immediately.”
Jelly furrowed her brow.
“If you leave weeds alone, they’ll eventually ruin the entire garden. Why are you asking something like that?”
“Last night, I went to the Glass Conservatory to avoid the rain, and there were weeds there.”
“You should have pulled them out.”
“That’s the caretaker’s job.”
“Tsk, tsk. You’ve no sense of ownership over the Ivory Tower, do you?”
“Do you?”
“Of course. If it were me, I would have pulled them out right away.”
She puffed out her chest and gave a confident smile.
“I can’t stand things that bother me.”
“I see. I understand. Look forward again.”
“What? Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“How anticlimactic.”
I turned away from Jelly and looked at the four students.
Their expressions were frozen.
“That’s what she says.”
“Uh.......”
“It’s fortunate that the rain has stopped and the weather is clear today. We want to do the Independent Project with Lumin. That’s all right, isn’t it?”
“Y-Yes.”
They nodded.
Unless they were fools, they would have understood what I meant.
Jelly’s statement that she would not leave weeds alone for the Ivory Tower’s sake surely did not apply only to gardens.
“Lumin, they say they’re all right with it, so let’s do it together.”
“Y-Yeah! B-But is it all right for just us to do it?”
“Let’s include Lulusha too.”
“Lulusha will do it too?”
“I’ll ask her now.”
The Island of Wraiths was dangerous, but with Karl, Lulusha, and Lumin, who had been born with the Arcane Path of Life Spirits, there should not be any major problems.
“Then I’ll go. See you later.”
“Y-Yeah!”
I grabbed Karl and tried to pull him away, but he did not move.
Karl, who was still staring at the four students, took another step toward them.
“Hey.”
They jolted and looked up at Karl.
“Thank you for yielding.”
“Uh.......”
“See you next time.”
Two of the four students were on the Knightly Path. I did not know what Karl would do when he saw them next, but at worst, he would break something under the pretense of sparring.
“Let’s go, Karl.”
“Yeah.”
I grabbed Karl’s arm and pulled him out of the Lion Class.
Only then did Karl return to something like his usual expression.
“Karl, there’s no need to get angry at people like that one by one.”
“Did it show?”
“Anyone could tell.”
“Ugh.......”
“You wouldn’t get angry because a dog peed on the ground, would you?”
“Is that what it is like?”
“That’s what it’s like.”
“I see. They’re dogs.......”
Karl stared blankly at me, then soon smiled as brightly as usual.
“As expected, Armand.”
I snickered and patted him on the back.
“I’ll go talk to the homeroom teachers, so you convince Lulusha.”
“All right. Leave it to me!”
***
Aurelius nodded as soon as he heard my story.
“I understand.”
“That is all it takes?”
“Yes.”
“Will you not ask about the circumstances?”
“Are there circumstances I need to know?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then that is enough.”
I had expected him to ask something, but as usual, he was an impossible person to understand.
“Do you want me to ask the Lion Class homeroom teacher for permission?”
“No. I will do it myself. Thank you.”
After thanking Aurelius, I was about to leave the room when he called me.
“Armand.”
“Yes.”
“The Club Subsidy.”
“Yes?”
“What are you planning to do about it?”
“You need to give me time.......”
“Report your progress.”
What was wrong with this man?
Was he planning to embezzle the Club Subsidy or something?
I explained my plan to obtain donations in place of the Club Subsidy.
“I received an invitation to the Lumen Patronage Gathering being held this weekend through Mrs. Mary. I plan to find patrons there.”
Aurelius looked at me and tapped the table.
“Is there a problem?”
“No.”
He nodded.
“You are resourceful.”
“It is what you asked me to do, Teacher. I did my best.”
“A lot.”
“Yes?”
“Bring back as much sponsorship funding as possible.”
“Yes, well.......”
I had heard that this man was only the Mystery Society’s Faculty Advisor in name and had no interest in it.
I felt an inexplicable unease, but Aurelius did not explain further.
“You may go now.”
“Yes.”
After saying goodbye to Aurelius, I went to find the Lion Class homeroom teacher’s office on the same floor.
Her name was Kaila.
“What is it?”
Kaila had pushed the desks to one side and was doing gymnastics in the middle of the room.
After hearing me out, Kaila stretched both arms high overhead and smiled.
“So you want to do the Independent Project with Lumin from my class?”
“That is right.”
“Oh, unexpected. It is rare, but not unheard of.”
I nodded.
“Yes. According to what I found, senior students formed groups across classes and carried out Independent Projects last year as well. They achieved excellent results.......”
“Not that.”
“Yes?”
“I mean you are going out of your way to help a child being bullied.”
I looked at Kaila.
She had now placed both hands on the wall and begun stretching her waist.
“Then again, I suppose that is what makes you students: you are still so unseasoned.”
“I do not understand what you mean.”
“Let weak children be weeded out. That is better. For your sake, for the Ivory Tower’s sake.”
Bent at the waist, Kaila looked at me and raised the corners of her mouth.
“For the Empire’s sake as well.”