NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9
I wondered how I should explain this to Rin, who was staring blankly at me. To talk about the current situation, I would also have to mention sexual harassment.
Wait a minute.
“So, you don’t care that I’ve been accused of being a sexual harasser?”
Thinking about it, if she misunderstood that I was dating someone, there’s no way she would just sit back if rumors about sexual harassment started spreading.
“You wouldn’t do that.”
Rin wiped her tears and steadying her voice, spoke clearly to me.
“I already told my friends. You’re not that kind of person.”
“And I wrote a letter to Diana too.”
“What? To my sister?”
“Yep.”
As I handed a tissue to Rin, who was sniffing, I tried to calm my confused mind. In my past life, I had escaped the academy without being able to explain myself even once, so I hadn’t expected Rin to go this far for me.
‘Moreover, she even sent a letter to my sister.’
Diana McLean. My sister, in her fifth year, was graduating from the academy. Though I had never met her as she was currently out of town for practical classes.
‘There are hardly anyone who knows I’m her little brother.’
After all, I wasn’t a standout student in the first place.
“Just hold on a bit longer. Sister Diana will resolve it soon.”
“……”
Bitter emotions swirled on my tongue again.
At that time, I had run away, not telling anyone about my unjust situation, feeling as if I were a protagonist in a tragedy.
“You don’t have to worry about the sexual harassment case.”
“Uh?”
Thinking I should tell Rin, I began to explain the current situation and what was happening on the girls’ floor.
Given the commotion upstairs, it seemed like Eve and Tana were handling things well, so there didn’t appear to be any urgent need.
“So, you pretended to be a fake couple to catch the real culprit?”
“Yeah, and I think we caught them by now.”
At that, Rin smiled brightly, then snapped back to her usual expression after pinching her cheeks.
“Oh, I misunderstood. I’m sorry. But you could’ve told me earlier.”
“……”
Maybe it would have been the case in the past, but it was tough now. To be honest, just being in the same room was making me feel queasy.
‘But I think I’m slowly getting used to it.’
I was thankfully not experiencing headaches or dizziness like when we first met.
“So, is the misunderstanding resolved now?”
“Uh-huh.”
Something felt missing as Rin fidgeted with her fingers, but I slowly opened the door.
“Now that it’s noisy upstairs, I can go back to my room naturally.”
“……Got it.”
We had come to the stairs leading to the fourth floor when Eve and Tana happened to come down.
At first, both of them smiled, but upon seeing Rin beside me, the mood shifted.
“Are you okay?”
Of course, with no time to concern myself with that, I asked if Eve was alright, and she nodded, confirming she was fine.
“But where are you going now?”
“First floor. We’re calling in other professors for a detailed explanation.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Once the polymorph is released in front of everyone, your false accusation will be cleared quickly. Congratulations, Daniel.”
“Really, I’m glad.”
Tana and Eve congratulated me, but there was something about their tone that felt insincere. Suddenly, Rin tightened her grip on my hand and spoke to them.
“Thank you so much. I was trying to help since my Daniel was unjustly accused.”
“It’s alright, we took care of it.”
“Let’s go now.”
The two started to leave, pulling Rin’s hand away as she held onto it tightly.
“Let go of this.”
“……You used to hold on a lot.”
“When are you talking about?”
It had almost been ten years since we used to hold hands and play together as kids. Back then, I didn’t know anything, and it was really fun playing with Rin and Ares.
“Go on. If you stay here too long, people will misunderstand.”
“Got it.”
Once Rin had gone up the stairs, I returned to my room.
*
“I’ll cancel the expulsion.”
Seeing the dean speak elegantly while trying hard to hide his anger was truly satisfying. He was just mumbling about how it was an accident that happened because other professors didn’t conduct a proper investigation without acknowledging his own mistake. What a pathetic struggle.
It was because the sexual harassment accusation played a crucial role that the expulsion was canceled, as a measure of consolation for the unfairness of being falsely accused.
‘What a pleasant surprise.’
Honestly, I hadn’t expected this to be resolved so easily, so I felt a bit dazed.
However, the dean suddenly changed his demeanor and locked eyes with me.
“But you know that Daniel is in this situation because of your misconduct, right? The evidence is in the violence incident and the missed exams. You need to work harder from now on…”
“What are you talking about? The violence incident is a false accusation, and I missed the exams because other students were interfering with me.”
“Haah, is that all you can do is make excuses…”
“In the first place, Chapeni turned me into his first victim just because he found my trimmed nails in the dormitory trash can. He had no idea who I was. The second time he used me again because I was close with Eve.”
I said, somewhat annoyed while looking down at the dean, who was seated in his chair.
“You say it’s because of my misconduct? Don’t shift the blame to the victim with such illogical reasoning.”
“Daniel! Don’t you think your words are too much? Even if you are from a commoner background, you should at least adhere to basic etiquette.”
“I may be a commoner, but I know how to admit my mistakes and apologize. But you, sir, are simply shifting the blame for your judgment error onto me. I nearly got expelled at the age of 18 for being accused of sexual harassment.”
The dean coughed and gestured for me to leave. His hand was infused with mana, causing me to instinctively step back, but I replied clearly.
“I will resolve the false violence accusation. And I will show you my results for the missed exams.”
“Your mouth can’t save you.”
The door opened on its own, and I stepped out as it slammed shut with a force that could break it. He looked pretty heated, but sorry, I had way more to say.
I thought about going straight back to the classroom, but it was already the end of the first period. Even if I went now, it would just be the start of break, so I headed to the rooftop to cool off a bit.
An empty rooftop.
It felt nice that the cold wind was cooling my hot head from earlier as I looked down.
I could see some delinquent students had scribbled graffiti here and there, and there were even some cigarette ashes lying around.
Although Aios Academy was a prestigious institution recognized on the continent, I’d heard that at this time, its reputation was fading.
The students were mostly from high-ranking nobles who had been talented and educated early, so they couldn’t have low grades.
However, the lifestyle at the academy was deteriorating, which reflected poorly on its reputation.
Due to the extreme focus on grades, the proper moral and etiquette training was minimal.
‘So, I could get in.’
With so many discussions swirling, commoner students were gradually being accepted, and the reality was that they served as a shield for public opinion.
I didn’t know about Aios Academy in my past life. I had intentionally ignored information about that time.
“Sigh, about the violence incident…”
I had already thought that part through. Now that I wouldn’t be expelled no matter what, I still didn’t want to go around bearing false accusations.
In my past life, I had been timid and accepted everything, feeling wronged, but I didn’t want to live that way this time.
I noticed some male students who had been with May in the past and who were aware of my violence incident, thinking that if I took care of them first, something would come out.
“Hmm?”
I sensed a presence behind me.
I quickly turned and seized the neck of the opponent, twisting their wrist to disarm them and bring them down.
“Gah, Ack!”
“Ah…”
A white-haired girl.
She was in a uniform just like mine and looked shocked as she glared at me, holding what was merely a stick.
“I’m sorry for approaching so suddenly.”
“Gah! Huh!”
I must have squeezed her neck too tightly as she exhaled harshly while still glaring at me.
“You…!”
She frowned and seemed about to say something. But I recognized her now.
‘She’s one of the girls following Ares, isn’t she?’
One of Ares’ “fishes” who could be considered luxurious. Truly, Ares’ followers had good skills; had this ambush been attempted by another student, they wouldn’t have reacted in time.
‘In the Forest of the Demon Realm, ambushes were a daily occurrence.’
There, enemies popped out not just from behind but also from the ground and sky, so getting used to sensing these presences became second nature.
“Sure, I might have overreacted, but your sudden ambush was a mistake too.”
“……”
“So what’s the deal? I’d like to know your reasoning.”
I crossed my arms and waited for her to speak. She pouted and scratched the back of her head, glancing sideways at me.
I stared at her, trying to apply some pressure, and she finally caved in.
“Actually, I’m friends with Ares, so I was curious about your skills.”
“Just for that?”
“But I didn’t hurt you! Besides, you’re amazing. Ares couldn’t even stop my ambush.”
I guess that makes sense.
She definitely measures up.
A white-haired girl adept at ambushing—
‘She’s from the Chokugen Faction, isn’t she?’
I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for Ares, thinking about how strange his followers were.