Ch. 34

"Uh... well, that is... so..."

Seeing her stammer at my blunt words, I felt this really was an academy after all.

Among mercenaries, if you said something like this, they'd ask why you were making them feel sorry, and then shamelessly swing their blades at you instead.

"Anyway, having talked with several professors, you must have judged my abilities to be dangerous and reported it to the Tower Master. That I might be Silver Ring."

Professor Elin's report had surely played a big part in why the Tower Master, like some kind of psychopath, had asked me out of nowhere whether I was Silver Ring and started blasting spells at me.

Of course, since I'd ended up gaining information on cursed swords and enchantments, along with a limitless token, it hadn't been a total loss.

Or should I say it was actually a net gain?

Anyway, no matter how much men grow close through fighting, being forced into a fight against one's will was a thoroughly unpleasant thing.

"What I want to say is that you no longer need to worry about me. The Tower Master can vouch for the fact that I'm not Silver Ring."

After I finished, Elin, who'd been silent for a moment, opened her mouth with a serious expression.

"There's a bit of a misunderstanding... but there are a few things I need to make clear. First of all, it's not that I never considered the possibility that Mr. Benjamin might be Silver Ring, but I judged the likelihood to be extremely low. Lancia... no, I'd happened to hear a story, and it was more convincing than I expected..."

'Lancia...? Lancia Feibrin? What did that girl say this time?'

"In any case, it's true that I found it hard to believe a commoner could have the ability to convert even Talents into spell formulas, so I asked the Tower Master to verify your background. But that was to check whether a particular family was pulling some scheme, not to determine whether you were Silver Ring."

A particular family's scheme, huh.

I was curious, but I had a feeling knowing would just become a hassle.

"Then why did the Tower Master fire off a spell at me without any warning?"

"Excuse me...? The Tower Master fired a spell first?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then how are you still alive?"

"I dodged it?"

"You dodged the Tower Master's spell? Didn't you just say he fired it at you out of nowhere?"

"Yes. That's what happened."

"Then how did you dodge it?"

"Why, was I not supposed to dodge it?"

"...Is that something that can be dodged?"

Come to think of it, even once the Tower Master had completed the spell formula, the magic itself had never been particularly visible.

It was only thanks to my Talent, Reader, that I'd been able to see that the formula had been completed.

Which meant that other people would be hit by the magic without even knowing the formula had been completed.

Wow, thinking about it now, that old man had been really dangerous.

It was only because I'd dodged that things had ended well; when you thought about it, he'd probably intended to leave me half dead and then talk.

Was that why he'd reacted with such a guilty start when he confirmed I wasn't Silver Ring?

"Anyway, I came because I'd like to ask you to stop talking about me from now on."

It wasn't simply that I was embarrassed and wanted her to stop.

The number of students had dropped significantly because of the Kraken incident, and the academy would be recruiting additional students, and Sarah Argel, one of Silver Ring's key figures, was set to be among them.

According to what I'd read in Aden's life, she would infiltrate the academy at this time and live hidden like an ordinary student, and later collapse the barrier protecting the academy's underground.

I didn't know what was down there, so I couldn't know the exact reason they attacked the academy, but it was a fact that numerous students were sacrificed because of this.

Of course, Aden had even tried to win her over to prevent this...

For now, this hadn't happened yet, so I'd think about it later; in any case, the less Silver Ring knew about my existence, the better it would be for hitting them from behind, so I had to stop needless rumors from spreading.

Separate from the rumors that had formed from my antics up to now, rumors after the additional recruitment was completed could reach Silver Ring's ears directly.

If I got marked as high-risk and drew attention for no good reason, my range of action might become restricted.

"Understood. From now on, I'll refrain from talking about Mr. Benjamin as much as possible."

"Thank you."

"By the way, since you've come all this way, how about we talk about some other things too?"

"Other things?"

"Yes. You may not know much yet... but there are some things you need to know about 'Perfection.'"

The conversation that started that way was more important than I'd expected, and its content was unexpectedly dangerous.

Dangerous enough that, if one were so inclined, it could shake even this country.

They say humans repeat the same mistakes.

But I was a person who believed in using yesterday's errors to build a better today.

"Magnificent."

A quiet lunch hour, with brilliant sunlight pouring in through the window.

A fork in my left hand and a knife in my right.

I lightly pinned down a thick steak, the Maillard reaction having done its work to perfection, with the fork, and when I gently moved the knife back and forth, its rosy-red interior revealed its majestic form, juices streaming out.

Gulp.

After finishing the morning training, I'd instinctively been heading to eat a sandwich when it suddenly occurred to me that I might have to listen to Aria's chatter like yesterday, so I'd hurriedly changed direction and come to where the nobles ate lunch.

The menu I'd picked as soon as I arrived was the pinnacle of extravagance, a dish priced at a whole 3 gold.

Befitting that enormous price, food worthy of the word "magnificent" was laid out before me.

Ahh, so this was the taste of a successful life.

The meat that passed between my trembling lips melted away smoothly, leaving behind nothing but a drug-like pleasure.

"Wow!"

With an exclamation that burst out on its own, I started double-forking without restraint.

As I began to feast with such combative fervor, the time it took for the 3-gold meal to disappear completely into my stomach was a mere ten seconds.

"To be this blessedly full..."

While I lay sprawled, savoring a paradise made of meat, a voice with its distinctive cave-like quality reached me.

"...Benjamin?"

"Luna?"

Her eyes met mine, and she hurriedly turned around and left outside.

I cleared away my dishes and quickly followed her out.

"Luna, talk to me for a second!"

"...Benjamin."

"Hold on, look at me! Why haven't you come to the morning workout... huh? What's with you? Your trapezius has been cut in half!"

Not only had her trapezius been halved, but her muscles had shrunk overall.

For a girl for whom muscle loss had been the most troubling thing in the world, what on earth had happened?

"What the hell happened! You were someone who treated even 0.01 grams of muscle as precious!"

"Benjamin... I no longer. Gaining muscle. Am happy."

"...What?"

It would probably have been less shocking if she'd told me the Delsia family was on Silver Ring's side.

No, come to think of it, this might be a disaster in its own right.

"What are you talking about! I can still vividly picture you kissing your biceps every time you lifted a dumbbell!"

"I have learned. The truth."

"The truth? What truth?"

"Men do not. Like muscles."

What was she talking about?

Men who dislike muscles?

"What do you mean? Where is there a man who hates muscles, to say something like that? Men mean muscle! Muscle means men!"

"...Really?"

"Of course! Right now, even I go out to work out every morning to build a body packed with muscle."

"But. Your girlfriend. Has no. Muscles. To be found."

"My girlfriend...? Do I have a girlfriend?"

"..."

"Are you talking about Aria, by any chance?"

"I. Do not know. The name."

"You mean the pale-headed one you saw before at the sparring match, right?"

Luna nodded silently.

At least with Elin, who'd misunderstood that I liked Aria, I could see how that might happen, but I didn't know what kind of train of association could lead someone to the delusion that I was dating Aria.

It was upsetting, but judging by appearance alone, it was true that I was overwhelmingly outclassed.

A romance between the continent's most beautiful woman and the continent's ugliest man? In a sewer of a reality, that was out of the question.

If there were somewhere such a thing could happen, it would surely be inside a fairy tale.

What would be a good title? Maybe something like Beauty and the Beast?

"For some reason, ever since yesterday it feels like I have to clear up misunderstandings about Aria and me... but she and I have nothing going on."

I didn't even wish for us to have anything going on.

Even if she were to confess to me, I'd turn her down.

...Seriously.

I had my own kind of pure heart, too, in my own way.

"If anything, I'd rather have someone like you than someone like Aria."

Pretty only lasts a day or two; the thought of having to listen to that chatter all day long was already giving me goosebumps.

Even if her way of speaking was a bit silly, the quiet type was far better.

"...Someone like me?"

"Yeah. Do you know how loud she is? You can't even imagine..."

"Benjamin, so you were here!"

Just then, as if personally proving the saying that speak of the tiger and it shows up, Aria appeared out of nowhere.

What? Had she been looking for me?

No, more than that... how had she found me?

"Benjamin, why didn't you come to eat sandwiches? Did you think I wouldn't be able to find you if you were here?"

"No... why are you looking for me?"

"Because we have to eat sandwiches together!"

"So why exactly do I have to eat sandwiches with you?"

"Haah... yesterday, when I asked 'You'll eat sandwiches together tomorrow too, right?', you didn't answer!"

Doesn't a lack of an answer usually mean a refusal?

As if she'd read my expression again, Aria flared up and kept going.

"Silence means yes! Benjamin, breaking a promise is bad behavior!"

So she'd gone looking for me to force me to keep the promise?

I wondered whether this was a sensible thing to do.

"Aria. Nice to meet you. I am Luna Delsia."

"Eek!"

Just then, Luna approached the still-rattling Aria with an outstretched hand, and Aria recoiled in terror and jumped far back.

But soon, realizing that what Luna wanted was simply a handshake, she glanced around nervously for a moment before lightly taking the outstretched hand.

"N-nice to meet you...? I-I'm called A-Aria!"

Luna, who had been looking down at the thoroughly cowed Aria shaking her hand with an air of satisfaction, turned and whispered to me softly.

"You broke the promise. And came to me. Satisfied."

"I didn't make a promise, though..."

"My victory. I am full without eating. I will take my leave."

Luna smiled contentedly, then turned and left.

I normally had a good grasp of the flow of a conversation, but right now it felt as if I were missing something big.

"Uuu... scary... no, anyway, Benjamin! I'm hungry. Let's hurry and go eat sandwiches."

"I've already eaten plenty and am full. I will take my leave as well."

"What? You ate alone? That's so petty!"

I'd spoken solemnly, imitating Luna, and Aria pounded my shoulder with her fist in frustration.

But hitting me with such thin arms, with hardly a muscle to be found, only tickled.

Weak, so weak!

"Then let me tell you how I found my way all the way here, so listen! When I was passing by the shop earlier..."

Maybe it was my ears that were weak.

Next time I saw Luna, I'd have to ask whether there was an exercise that protected your hearing.