Chapter 50
Damn it.
I had promised to face-plant him, but it was I who had face-planted in the end.
“....”
I remembered hearing Mr. Effenhauser’s declaration of my victory, so the outcome must not have been reversed without my knowledge.
I was probably in an infirmary or some similar kind of space. The curtains were drawn, so I couldn’t see if anyone else was there.
Soon, someone appeared and pulled the curtains open.
“You’re awake.”
“Oh, senior.”
It was Adriana. She approached me and gently placed her hand on my forehead, then slowly nodded as if she judged that I was in an okay condition.
“So, what happened?”
“You won the duel, but then you suddenly collapsed. This is the dormitory’s recovery room.”
Recovery room? I didn’t know there was such a thing. I wondered if Mayaton was here, too.
When I looked around, Adriana shook her head as if she knew what I was searching for.
“That senior is in a different recovery room. You didn’t think they’d put you in the same room, did you?”
Considering I had practically crushed his head, he would probably need rest and care as well.
Adriana sat down by my bedside and sighed.
“Junior, you knew what I was trying to do, right?”
She was probably talking about that look in her eyes before.
“Well, yes...”
“I could have fought for you.”
Her eyes were questioning me, asking me why I’d chosen not to rely on her for help and had done something reckless instead.
“Did you expect your supernatural powers to awaken just in time? Were you hoping for something so unbelievable to happen or something? Was that why you made such an incomprehensible statement earlier on, that you had to take a beating?”
Adriana seemed angry. In any case, she must have already scanned my body once while I was unconscious, and would have figured out that my abnormal strength was due to the influence of sudden supernatural abilities.
“It all worked out in the end. Isn’t that what matters?”
“That’s ridiculous. I mean, I did hear about your unusually-excessive aptitude, but... you still took an incredibly reckless risk.”
I knew that I had latent supernatural powers and had realized how they could be awakened. Nonetheless, what I had done had required immense luck. It was basically equivalent to diving headfirst into the ground, only to find out that the ground had shattered on impact instead of my skull.
“If things hadn’t gone well, what’s the worst that could have happened?”
Adriana seemed lost for words at my nonchalant response.
“Junior, you still have six years left at the Temple, and you’ve only just started your freshman year. It was an incredible coincidence that you were able to use supernatural powers this time. Are you going to keep taking these reckless risks to awaken your other talents in the future?”
“No, I don’t plan to do that again. Not particularly...”
Supernatural powers were a special case, and for the rest, I planned to buy talents with achievement points anyway, so there was no need to continue doing this nonsense any longer...
“Anyway, don’t do anything so reckless again. And don’t start acting all high and mighty with your seniors just because you won this duel as well.”
“I’m afraid it’s going to happen again soon...”
Everyone must have thought my terrible temperament would finally be broken this time. Unfortunately, upon having discovered how to use my supernatural powers, I’d ended up grabbing a third-year senior by the hair and pounding his face into the ground at the sparring hall.
Thanks to that, Reinhart had now become an even crazier individual to others.
“Well, if that’s the case, I’m really going to have to discipline you myself. Got it?”
Adriana was glaring at me menacingly. I wondered what it would be like if she were to discipline me. I wasn’t sure if she meant it verbally or physically.
“Yes, got it. I’ll try to restrain myself.”
The fact of the matter was, I didn’t want to be disciplined by someone who was angry out of concern for me. After all, this anger came from a place of concern, not hatred.
And of course, even if I really fought with this lady, I’d definitely get my ass handed to me. The fight with Mayaton had ended the way it did because of his carelessness; had it been a proper duel, it probably would have been over in less than five seconds.
“Still, I am honestly very grateful to you.”
Even if everyone else saw me as a madman, I knew I had to treat the person who had been willing to fight for me properly.
Adriana sighed.
“I don’t want a junior that I have to fight for. I just want a junior who gets along well with everyone.”
“Then you must be looking for the guy named Ludwig, in Class B.”
“You know that’s not what I mean... Are you seriously going to make me have to say it? I’m saying you should be more like him, junior. “
“I’m afraid it might be a little too late in this life of mine to change.”
“Ugh, seriously.”
Smack!
“Ack!”
I had eventually pissed Adriana off so much that she smacked me on the head.
Maybe my real talent was being able to piss off just about anyone.
***
I received treatment from the nurses in charge of the recovery room. I had forced my body beyond its normal limits to summon a strength I should not have been able to possess in the first place. That pushed my body beyond its natural physical limits, so fainting was inevitable. However, my condition did not require intense care, so I was able to leave the recovery room soon after.
Almost immediately after, a consultation with Mr. Effenhauser took place.
“... Self-Deception, huh...”
Mr. Effenhauser seemed to be pondering the fact that I had awakened my supernatural powers during the duel.
“Interesting, Number 11. Among the many talents you possess, supernatural powers might have been one of them, but I was skeptical when you said you were going to awaken it somehow. However, you seemed to have found a way to make that happen by accepting the duel from your senior, and while it was a foolish act, I guess you were right, since the outcome was favorable.”
“To be honest, I just thought it would somehow work out, and it somehow did.”
“Though I’m not sure if there’s such a thing called a talent for luck, luck can be considered a form of talent as well, since it cannot be acquired through effort alone. However, from now on, using your abilities to attack someone is strictly prohibited unless under special circumstances, like a duel. But, since your ability is not obvious when used, it’s disadvantageous. Then again, that actually might be an advantage for you.”
Whether or not I used my ability and enhanced my body was practically imperceivable, to an extent. Therefore, it was an advantage to those who used it, but a disadvantage from the perspective of a teacher who needed to make judgments.
“I won’t do anything foolish.”
“Good. I think you’re reckless, but I don’t think of you as a fool.”
Mr. Effenhauser continued to look at me impassively. He always had an intimidating aura, stirring a strange sense of fear similar to the one I felt when faced with Vertus’s cold demeanor.
“Rolendria will be surprised to hear about you. You may leave now.”
Rolendria was the teacher of the supernatural power control class.
She was bound to be surprised because the guy who kept saying that it would somehow work out had actually made it work somehow.
***
Rumors that Reinhart had awakened his supernatural powers during the duel with a senior had already spread, not only throughout the whole class but also among the seniors. A freshman had fought a third-year, and during the fight, the freshman had awakened supernatural powers and beat them up; it was an outrageous occurrence, so it was only natural that rumors would spread.
The duel itself was already the talk of the entire Royal Class, and to top it off, the freshman had won it. It would have been odd if it hadn’t become the talk of the town.
...
Even so, I had not expected it to blow up this much.
“Are you Reinhart?”
“I heard you put on a show back there, huh.”
“Mayaton... That punk really needed a good beating.”
“Oh my, what’s this? You’re just a cute little boy! How adorable! Can I give you a hug?”
‘No, I’m not a baby. I’m seventeen already. And I’m definitely not the ‘cute’ type either.’
“Shall I buy you a little tasty treat? Hm? Do you like macarons?”
At the moment, the dormitory belonging to the first-years from Class A was swamped with seniors who had heard the rumors and had gathered to gawk at me.
In a way, this was to be expected.
A third-year had tried to beat up a first-year, hijacking a duel between him and a second-year and forcing a face-off with him.
By this point, Mayaton would have already been marked as a delinquent by those who either had no interest in or hated the unjust management of juniors, since not everyone in Class A enjoyed the harsh hierarchies.
Many of the seniors from the fourth year onwards lost interest in such matters as they entered the latter half of their high-school years. Those seniors had already developed a distaste for Mayaton for even attempting to bully a freshman.
And not only that, he’d even lost to the freshman.
With all that, it was no surprise that as much as the seniors disliked Mayaton, they were equally curious and perhaps even fond of me.
And although Reinhart wasn’t extremely handsome, he was set up to be above average in terms of looks.
So, I could sort of understand why the female seniors were going all gaga, saying things like, “Aww, you’re like a baby, you’re so cute.”
“How can a kid so young be so down to earth already? I heard that you told him that if you won, you’d ask the seniors not to bully you and your friends anymore?”
On top of everything else, my careless deal that I’d made with the senior, which had been made when I hadn’t thought of winning, had also spread, making it appear as if I were some sort of incredibly generous and righteous guy who looked out for his friends.
“Well... yeah... I did say that...”
“Wow, you’re such a kind kid.”
Of course, my actual classmates in the now-bustling dormitory lobby flashed expressions of disbelief upon hearing these comments since they knew the real me.
The seniors were praising the “crazy madman” Reinhart as a righteous and kind-hearted kid. My classmates looked like they wanted to vehemently deny it, their faces screaming, “No, he’s not like that at all!”
“From now on, if anyone bothers you, come to me. I’ll give them a thrashing myself, okay? If there’s any problem, come straight to the fifth-year Class A homeroom, got it?”
Rumble! Rumble!
At twenty-one, fifth-year students were college-age.
... Of course, she wasn’t really older than me, and was also just a kid to me.
The female senior summoned a small lighting storm in her right hand, showing off her powers.
Why was she summoning a Rasengan from Naruto all of a sudden?
The level of supernatural powers among the seniors had to surpass that of the first-years, given their age.
Some even praised me by saying how encouraging it was to have someone like me who could speak up righteously for others, and that the Temple needed more students who could do the same.
These were praises that neither my classmates nor I could comprehend.
If there were more kids like me around, the Temple would be headed for disaster.
Still, to them, I was merely seen as a nice kid on the surface.
Even the male seniors came around and patted my head, saying I did a good job as well. However, some of the female seniors crossed the line at times.
“What a poor kid... I heard you’ve had a tough life, is that right?”
“Uh, yeah, well...”
It seemed like the female senior had heard about my background. She suddenly pulled me into a hug and proceeded to stroke my head.
‘No, wait. Hey! This isn’t okay! I’m a seventeen-year-old and in the prime of my youth!’
“I’m so glad that you’ve come to the Temple.”
‘Don’t do this to me! This... Viewed from my side, this would actually be considered a crime!’
As word spread that I was born a beggar and from the streets, people couldn’t help but marvel at how I could have grown up to be so upright in such a harsh environment.
A tremendous misunderstanding about me had unfolded among the seniors, and I couldn’t even get the chance to explain.
I was exhausted now. Truly exhausted.
I had become a star at the Temple, all because of a single duel.
***
Regardless of the seniors’ misunderstandings about me, once the seniors had all left, the way the others looked at me also changed somewhat.
This was probably partly because they knew I had awakened my supernatural powers, and also because they had sensed something in the way I had gritted my teeth and fought back despite the harsh treatment by the senior.
Kaier, Erhi, and Connor Lint, who disliked me, would now look at the ground as they passed by me. It felt as if they’d realized they couldn’t compete with me now, not just in terms of ability, but even in mentality.
It wasn’t because I was good at fighting. Rather, the way I kept getting up no matter how many times I was beaten seemed to instill fear in them. In the end, they were just kids, so it was natural that I appeared peculiar to them all of a sudden.
And then...
“...”
Harriet de Saint-Ouen glanced at me and sharply turned her head away, passing by without even looking at me.
‘Well, that was an unexpected reaction from her. Wasn’t this the moment that she was supposed to say something like, ‘You should’ve been beaten up more’?’
“Hey!”
“Wh-what!”
When I called out to her, she stopped as if she had been waiting for it and reacted sharply. I could see that her face was slightly flushed.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?” I asked, and Harriet frowned.
“Why would I have anything to say? What could I possibly have to say to someone like you, you gutter child? Oh yeah, there is something. You should’ve been beaten up more instead of winning in such a cowardly manner by using your supernatural powers.”
There it was. The reaction I was expecting.
“Really? For someone who says that, you seemed pretty nervous when I was getting hit by that senior.”
“Wh-what, what are you talking about?!”
Her face reddened even more, as if she hadn’t expected me to notice her during the duel.
“I saw how pale you turned, and how you were hopping from foot to foot anxiously,” I replied with a sinister smile.
I knew that she had been muttering, “What do I do? What do I do?” under her breath, hoping somehow that Mr. Effenhauser would stop the duel, watching anxiously all the while.
Despite the beating I’d been receiving, I saw everything that was going on around me. To be precise, there wasn’t much else to do but observe my surroundings since I had no choice but to take a beating.
Regardless, I saw how she’d fretted even more when Mr. Effenhauser didn’t intervene as she’d hoped he would.
All of that pointed to one conclusion...
“Were you worried about me, by any chance? That’s kind of cute.”
Her face turned beet red and she stuttered, “Absolutely not! N-no, no, not at all! Y-you’re joking, right? Wh-why would I...! I mean... do you think I would worry about some beggar like you? How dare you... I was rather glad that you got a beating!”
That pretty much confirmed that she was worried about me. After all, who wouldn’t feel a bit of sympathy after seeing someone being so pitifully beaten up?
I walked up to her and, without mercy, squeezed and wriggled her reddened cheeks with my palms.
The cheeks of the dignified daughter of the Duchy of Saint-Ouen were now squished like steamed buns.
“!”
She was so shocked that someone would dare do such a thing to her that she couldn’t even scream, and merely looked stunned.
“Mmrph! Mmmrggh!”
Her extremely surprised reaction to being treated so nonsensically was incredibly adorable. When I let go, her face was still scarlet, and her lips quivered as she stood there dumbfounded.
“How dare you... how dare you touch my body? Someone like you? This is absurd. How could... how could... how could a gutter child do this to me...”
She was so angry and flabbergasted that she couldn’t even shout. Her eyes were practically trembling. It seemed I hadn’t triggered mere anger this time, but an overwhelming sense of shock and disbelief.
Not only had I dared to lay hands on her noble self, but I had also squashed her face like a bun and giggled about it.
Moments like these were when she was the cutest.
The moments when her expression screamed a denial of reality, her mind replaying one single thought thinking, “This can’t be happening to me!”
“S-sniff... Sob! Sniff! Ugh!”
But then, contrary to my expectations, she suddenly began to cry.
“Oh, uh, um...”
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
“Why are you doing this to me!? You slum rat, why do you always only pick on me! Why do you always do this to meee! Stop it! Sob! Sob... sob... sob! Stop teasing meee!”
‘Uh... what do I do now...?’
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