Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

195 – The Secret to Strength (2)

Clomp, clomp—

The morning of the academy’s students

begins a bit earlier than most.

Well, there’s no particularly special reason,

it’s just because the cafeteria

always opens its doors at the precise same hour.

Maybe the noble students, who don’t have to worry much about money, could afford to miss it, but

for commoners, who were desperate to save

every single coin,

they had to wake up on time

in order to save on meal costs.

Of course, I wasn’t one of those people.

I, at least, had

a somewhat regular income coming in,

and Ella cooked so well that

there was no real need to go eat at the cafeteria.

So, why am I making my way to that cafeteria at this early hour?

On that matter,

I, too, had quite a bit to say.

Just so you know, I’m not exactly

a fan of traipsing about in the mornings.

It’s never been my thing, the cold, and so

each time the crisp breath of dawn

sweeps over me, gooseflesh rises on my skin, and

that faint, almost ethereal scent of morning air, it just doesn’t sit right with me.

Normally, even today, I’d be

lost in my blankets, soothing the aches

of yesterday.

Yes, that’s certainly how it would be.

If not for that one trailing, plodding

along behind me now.

“Just a moment, shouldn’t you at least

tell me where you’re heading?”

“..Because of someone, I missed breakfast, so I’m going to eat.”

“Breakfast..? Oh, are you speaking of

that… commoner’s eating establishment?”

Whether she truly wanted to attend the same lectures wasn’t a lie, from just a moment ago she continued to

trail unilaterally right behind me.

Every single place I went, without fail.

In bits and pieces, in order to

shake her off on purpose, I hunted through locations,

places she’d find unfamiliar, but

she had no intention, it seemed, of

falling behind me, steadfastly trailing,

and now I, myself, am nearly resigned.

I could lengthen the distance, truly, but

there isn’t the slightest hint that

she’ll give up, so

what good would spacing ourselves out do?

She’s just the type to

catch up again later, anyway.

‘..How on earth did I get tangled up with a person like this?’

“..Hmm? You just had a rather discourteous

thought, I believe… didn’t you?”

“..If you think it’s discourteous,

“I just wish you’d leave me be.”

“No way, I absolutely

*will* be attending your lectures!!”

“…Haa, do as you please.”

Now completely exhausted and clutching my aching head,

I started walking towards the Academy

cafeteria once more.

Frankly, the fare in that place

probably wouldn’t hold a candle to Ella’s cooking, but

it was already too late

to head back to the dorms, and

my stomach, having been empty

since last night’s supper,

had begun a fierce protest, arguing that

this wasn’t the time to be picky.

I had no choice.

Just to take her to the cafeteria quietly.

“Dining there will be a first

for me, so I’m quite looking forward to it.”

“..Haa.”

“Well, if it’s a place frequented by

commoners, it’s probably all the same…”

I glanced sideways at her, muttering

to herself as always, then

immediately looked up at the sky,

sighing again.

I envied her for not knowing

what was about to unfold.

‘…Please, just let things go smoothly.’

As she’d just said,

that cafeteria was used more by

commoners than by nobles.

The same commoners the nobles have constantly ignored

and oppressed, that is.

Would those guys really look kindly on a noble like her?

No, would they even

leave her alone in the first place?

Well, even so, just for the sole reason

that she was a noble, would they

openly try to intimidate her?

No madmen would be running amok, surely.

Though, it was certain that the gazes upon us would be anything but gentle.

Even so, if they just didn’t rush…

But would they truly *not* rush…?

I couldn’t be sure.

Would commoners ever truly take to nobles in the first place?

From their perspective,

we were almost, what, like brigands in broad daylight.

Nobles who perpetually exploited them,

using them solely for their convenience—

why would they ever see us favorably?

Even if amongst nobles,

there were the good and the bad,

unfortunately, this world

was thoroughly steeped in malice.

Meaning, there were far more

bad nobles than good ones.

Much like how, after only ever encountering villains,

the naturally formed distrust of humanity

wouldn’t simply vanish

upon meeting a single virtuous soul.

I could guarantee that the moment they met us,

they would already be looking at us

through colored lenses.

Lenses brimming with prejudice and conjecture,

clouding the truth.

Besides, doesn’t the saying go that even a cur in his own yard

has half the fight won?

When you think about it, that restaurant, too,

was as familiar as their own home

to those commoners.

And, possessing numerical superiority,

it wouldn’t be strange for

a surge of misplaced confidence to spring forth.

The confidence to think, ‘Should we go for it?’

‘…Let’s try our best to avoid that.’

*

Meanwhile, inside Erdena’s mind,

as she followed after Jenison,

She was consumed by one thought, and one thought only.

How could she possibly become as strong

as that man?

Everything she’d experienced until now

in the Academy had been the same.

Swordplay classes taught nothing but

prescribed movements and elegant

techniques.

Magic lessons only covered circuits

and spells appropriate for one’s age.

But what she’d felt during her

spar with Jennison wasn’t familiarity, but novelty.

Never had she felt so proud of her own

achievements as she had during that duel,

yet he had parried every strike

with such ease.

How was he so strong?

Perhaps there was another

reason entirely?

Perhaps there was a method

that only he knew, and no one else.

‘I’ll find out… I must!’

*

Generally, the Academy was known for

providing the same education to both

nobles and commoners.

Even if only in name,

the Academy proudly displayed the rule of “Equality.”

This rule was created to better facilitate

the relationship between student and student, professor and student,

rather than noble and commoner.

Of course, some students and professors in the Academy’s past

had disregarded, even

tried to completely exclude, this rule.

Their reasoning was, predictably, contemptible.

‘No, it’s absurd to think

we’re on equal footing with such lowly creatures!’

‘Indeed, from the moment they’re born…’

‘Born of entirely different stock…’

‘These rules are why

the Empire can’t progress!’

Quite foolishly,

the nobles of that time

were not yet aware.

Or, more accurately, it would be more precise to say they couldn’t accept it.

That they, who were of such high standing,

were the same as those base

commoners.

They simply refused to accept it.

And so they, deliberately,

dug in their heels with every ounce of spite,

wholeheartedly rejecting the academy’s rules.

They always craved superiority.

They longed to dominate others.

They could treat those beneath them

like their own hands and feet,

and even those who were older

than themselves, they could, without fail,

manipulate to their heart’s content.

Beating up someone they disliked a few times was commonplace,

and if there was a person of interest,

they could simply seize them by force.

Those things, which to others

seemed so undeniably unjust,

were to them such

obvious rights, privileges,

and the academy’s rules were no different

than a demand to forfeit all of these privileges.

Truly, it was like

a bolt from the blue.

Of course, their absence wouldn’t

immediately cause

problems in their lives,

but to abandon all of them

now…

the fruits they had tasted

were far too sweet.

‘To think I must take classes

in the same space as *those* things?!’

“Gah, who would even *think* of trying to feed us this swill?!”

The nobles’ discontent grew more fervent with each passing day, and

the commoners, already simmering with resentment

at the nobles’ habitual arrogance,

began to rise up in collective defiance,

determined to claim the right to live, at least within these walls,

without constant oppression.

The biggest grievance was this: they refused to be lackeys

to pathetic nobles in the very academy their parents’ blood and sweat had paid for.

And so it was the current Headmaster,

of all people, who brokered peace between these two factions,

bared teeth at each other.

No sooner had she ascended

to her post than she decreed

the dissolution of all such relationships between students,

declaring that, within the academy’s bounds at least,

all were equal students.

None dared defy her word.

Of course, a lingering undercurrent

of disdain for commoners persisted,

but it was hardly as fervent as before.

That alone, one supposed, was something to be grateful for.

Well, it wasn’t as if there weren’t still those who couldn’t stomach even that much.

Commoners chafing at being treated

like mere beasts by the nobles, or

nobles incensed that a commoner would dare speak so casually

to their betters, and so on.

That sort hadn’t vanished entirely.

They simply kept it under wraps,

furtively sizing each other up.

Neither side saw a need to worsen things,

not at the cost of their own comfort.

“What’s good here?”

“…Don’t know. First time for me too.”

“What? Heavens, this is…”

“Above all else, information is lifeblood…!”

And just now, that relationship

was on the verge of turning sour once more.