The Second Provision (5)

A disciplinary hearing was convened. Merhen and Dolores were summoned before the faculty.

“Merhen. We understand you were the first to pull Lady Dolores's hair. Is that true?”

“Yes, but...”

“Yes, yes. That's enough.”

Having dismissed her explanation without interest, the professors looked at Dolores. Just that morning, she had sported a full head of beautiful blond hair. Now it had been chopped into a bob.

“Lady Dolores. Surely Merhen didn't use a dagger?”

“Ahem. Professor Rammer, haven't you heard?”

Several professors whispered among themselves.

After hearing what had happened, he cleared his throat awkwardly. So it had been that troublemaker Kern's doing.

The fellow who had come from the Swordsmanship Department to take magic classes was well known even among the faculty. He had become more notorious still for simply sitting through those classes without demonstrating a single proper spell.

In any case, that was a matter for the two ducal houses to settle. Not wanting to get involved, Professor Rammer hurriedly moved on to other questions. With each exchange, Merhen's expression grew darker.

She had been bullied and humiliated for nearly a year. That was why she had finally snapped. Yet no one here would listen to her side of the story.

Dolores was the daughter of an influential ducal house, no less. Her magical talent was also outstanding enough to earn her the top spot in their year.

And Merhen? A commoner and a failure who couldn't even manifest magic. Whose side the professors would take had been decided from the start.

And this was supposed to be an academy that pursued equality?

'Bullshit.'

Nothing but pretty-sounding bullshit. Reality was entirely different.

Rammer gave Merhen a cold smile.

“Merhen. We have already gathered all the witness statements. I understand you lack even the social skills to make a single friend among your classmates, and the basic self-control to refrain from going into debt to indulge in luxuries?”

“...”

“That would explain why you attacked a fellow student without the slightest hesitation. This is a very serious offense. And... aside from your written work, your grades are abysmal as well. One glimpse tells the whole story. I believe we can see how you normally conduct yourself.”

Not a single person was on her side.

'... It was only a matter of time anyway.'

Merhen clenched her fists.

No matter how well she scored on written exams, it meant nothing. She always received the lowest marks in practical exams, which carried far more weight. In the end, she was always near the bottom of her class.

She would have been expelled someday anyway. Thinking of it that way seemed to lift her gloom a little.

'What will I do once I leave...?'

She felt a little regret. She should have worked herself to death before things came to this. She should have tried a little harder at something, anything.

If only she could manifest magic, at least she wouldn't be getting expelled so helplessly...

Rammer pushed up his glasses.

“I recommend Merhen's expulsion. This is entirely for the honor of Prail Imperial Academy.”

“Ahem. I agree.”

“As do I...”

Just then—

BANG!

The door to the hearing room burst apart. There stood Kern.

“I can't listen to any more of this ear-rotting crap. Is this place full of fucking idiots?”

“What do you think you're doing? Do you have any idea what this hearing—!”

“And they call trash like this professors. Tsk. At least the Swordsmanship Department had actual human beings.”

“You insolent brat!”

The professors were outraged. Duke's son or not, his remarks had clearly crossed the line. They were professors, and he was a mere student, wasn't he?

At that instant, dozens of streams of sword energy poured from Kern's blade. Horrified by the sinister energy, the professors cast defensive spells.

But before they could finish casting, the sword energy had already shattered their defenses and reached their throats. He walked toward the professors, who had frozen in place.

“See? Fucking idiots.”

Kim Minwoo smiled coldly.

For professors at an imperial academy, their skills were pathetic.

'They aren't even war mages.'

War mages, as they were commonly called, were a type occasionally found in fantasy settings, distinguished by their extensive combat experience. Mages like that didn't just stand still casting defensive spells and praying like these morons. They knew how to move.

By comparison, these fools were nothing but hothouse flowers. Pathetic types who thought standing elegantly in place and chanting spells was all it took. Stupid mages—the easiest kind to hunt.

'Well, the Death Spirit Sword Art in the ring is powerful, too.'

It was an S-rank skill, after all. And the more mana he fed it, the more streams of sword energy it released.

He had poured in over four thousand mana to subdue the professors in one stroke. It was hardly surprising that their defensive spells had shattered immediately.

He approached Dolores.

“Hey.”

She had been staring in bewilderment between him and the subdued professors, and hurriedly answered.

“Y-yes?”

“Why aren't you telling them the truth?”

“What...?”

“You bullied her. Didn't you?”

“...”

“Didn't you?”

“I-I wasn't bullying...”

“Yes, you were. Throwing things at her from behind, bad-mouthing her, all that sneaky shit. You're a duke's daughter, aren't you? Aren't you ashamed to treat a commoner like that?”

Dolores bit her lip hard. Her hands were visibly trembling.

“... Why the hell are you doing this to me? Like you said, all I did was mess with one commoner!”

“I told you. It's none of your business. Still haven't learned your lesson? Want another haircut?”

As the Death Spirit Sword touched the back of her head, Dolores went deathly pale. She instinctively pictured the hair at the back of her head.

For now, she could at least claim she had changed her hairstyle. If he cut off any more, she wouldn't be able to show her face outside. The professors were already subdued and couldn't help her.

Dolores cried out urgently.

“D-don't! What do you want?”

Kim Minwoo whispered quietly.

“Apologize, leave her alone from now on, and drop this whole incident. Do that and I'll let you off.”

“...”

“Think carefully. You'll have to keep seeing me, you know. Every time you bully her, I'll cut off more of your hair.”

“I-I'm telling my father everything! You think my family will let this slide?”

“Go ahead. Get yourself a knight escort, if you like. But even the dean of the Swordsmanship Department can't beat me. Think you can handle that?”

“...”

“Or are you going to try to get me kicked out? You can't.”

They were both from ducal houses. Neither family held an overwhelming advantage; the two houses were of similar standing.

He had only cut off her hair, not her head. There wasn't much they could do about that. At most, they could demand compensation, and he could settle that by handing over some money.

“Hic... Waaah!”

Dolores burst into pitiful sobs, as though no one in the world had ever suffered more.

Regardless, the Death Spirit Sword remained at the back of her head.

“You've got three seconds. Choose. Three, two, one.”

“Waaah! Fine! I'll do it, you son of a bitch!”

“You heard her, didn't you? It seems the parties involved have reached an amicable agreement.”

This time, he stared straight at the professors. Someone was literally threatening them at swordpoint. The plump pigs' answer was as good as decided.

* * *

A convenient finding of mutual fault.

The disciplinary proceedings ended with Merhen and Dolores receiving matching demerits. It had all been possible thanks to the enthusiastic cooperation of Dolores and the professors.

'Well, I should be able to handle the fallout.'

The professors there were typical opportunists who bowed before power. He had caused a scene, but he was a scion of a distinguished house himself. Chances were, the whole incident would quietly blow over.

Even if it didn't, that was fine. With the Swordsmanship Department's dean backing him, things would work out somehow. It wasn't as if he had killed a professor.

He left the hearing room with Merhen.

“... Thank you.”

“I'm the one who egged you on. Helping you this much is the least I can do. How do you feel?”

“A little relieved. No, maybe a lot...”

Her expression certainly looked much lighter, as though she had shaken something off. Perhaps some of her pent-up anger had finally dissipated.

Since he had gone so far as to cause a scene at her disciplinary hearing, word would spread quickly. That ought to reduce the number of students bullying her.

'Now I need to address the root of the problem.'

He looked at Merhen. Ultimately, all of this had happened because she couldn't manifest magic.

If she could just manage that, her exceptional aptitude would let her rise through the ranks quickly. At the very least, she would be able to enjoy a much happier academy life than she had now.

'Of course, I doubt it'll end with just that...'

Compared with Cedric's trial, this was merely taking a little longer. The underlying difficulty was extremely low. All he had to do was make one girl happy.

And for that, he would receive an immensely powerful summon on Cedric's level?

The trade-off didn't add up. There was very likely something more to it.

“Merhen. Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“If someone asked you to become undead, would you? Assuming you could become incredibly powerful.”

She tilted her head at the unexpected question before answering.

“... I don't really see why I should. Becoming undead kills your emotions and takes away your five senses. It's nothing but drawbacks.”

“Suppose you received that offer after being expelled from the academy. Do you think you'd still feel the same way?”

“I think I would. There haven't been many happy moments in my life. If I became undead without ever getting to enjoy a proper life... I suppose I'd feel terribly cheated.”

“I see.”

“But why are you suddenly asking me this?”

“I was just curious.”

Why was the trial set in her human days? Because she hadn't enjoyed her academy life?

That didn't quite fit. Even if she had been bullied and eventually expelled, it still didn't fit.

Someone on the level of a Banshee Queen could easily settle any grudges from her human life. She would have taken revenge until not so much as a splinter of bone remained.

It wasn't a situation that should leave her with much regret.

That was why he had asked. He wondered whether her regret had something to do with becoming undead. Her answer had just told him that was very likely.

A being capable of turning Merhen into a Banshee Queen. No matter how he looked at it, only one came to mind.

'The Death Lord.'

Perhaps the Death Lord of the past would appear in this setting himself, discover Merhen, and turn her into an undead.

Even if she didn't want to become undead, there was nothing she could do if he forcibly raised her. Perhaps that was why she still harbored such sorrow—because she endlessly yearned for her human days.

'Then is the main objective to stop the Death Lord of the past?'

It was only conjecture. Yet somehow, he had a feeling that was how things would unfold.

Otherwise, he couldn't think of much reason yet for the trial to be set during her human life.

'That would also put the difficulty on roughly the same level as Cedric's trial.'

Everything so far had been incredibly easy. Easy enough that it wouldn't be strange for something major to appear.

'I'll have to keep that possibility in mind.'

He returned to the classroom with her. Students were quietly edging away from them. The noble girls who had bullied Merhen were no exception.

With Dolores cowed, what could her lackeys possibly do? They had to keep their eyes down.

Unlike before, Merhen made room for him without resistance, and he settled naturally into the seat beside her. Before long, a professor entered and began the lesson.

“As you all know, practical exams begin next week. You will pair up with students from the Swordsmanship Department and enter the Demon Forest in teams of two.”

The Demon Forest. Once a year, academy students gathered to enter it. Its distinguishing feature was the demonic energy that accumulated there, giving rise to all manner of mutated monsters.

From what he heard, it wasn't nearly as dangerous as its ominous name suggested. Apparently, as long as the students were careful, they could finish their field exercise without any major accidents.

He looked at Merhen. Fortunately, he was still enrolled in the Swordsmanship Department. His choice of partner was as good as decided.