blueteamnovel Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Chapter 17
"Zero, what's troubling you? Speak freely."
Rodelin asked, her eyes sparkling.
With a feigned sad expression, I opened my mouth.
"Kekeke... Life without friends... is truly sad."
"Hmm? I see. Given your appearance... it's not easy to break through prejudices."
"That's right. I thought Annwood Academy would be different, but... it's just the same as outside."
"Uh, umm...! But if you try, surely there will be good results...!"
I covered my face with both hands and slightly bowed my head.
"It's hopeless. My mere existence seems to discomfort others. Perhaps it's best for someone like me to leave the academy."
"No, no...! Stay calm, Zero!"
"I should just become twisted. Sob sob, become a dark mage, befriend corpses, and create skeletons to increase my friends..."
Ruthless self-deprecation!
Befriending corpses and playing family with skeletons!
If I run out of materials, I could attack people to make new friends!
Had my thoughts really gone that far?
At that, Rodelin began to panic.
"It's only been a day! Even I am getting along with you..."
"Getting along? Really?"
"Uh, um? Yes, that's right."
Just as planned. A smile naturally formed on my lips.
Hopefully, it's not visible through the gaps in my fingers.
"Then we can call ourselves ‘friends’, right?"
"Hmm?"
"Right, friends."
"No, that's not it. I am... your senior."
"...Senior?"
"That's right. I'm the senior, you're the junior. We can't be friends."
What kind of outdated line is that.
It's not like ‘I'm the teacher, and you're the student’.
‘Self-deprecation isn't working. I need a different approach.’
I gently pushed Rodelin away and cornered her against the wall.
Then, I blocked her escape route by pressing my left arm against the wall.
The so-called wall-slam pose.
Does it seem like a strange posture?
It's a misunderstanding. Only those with a head full of lewd demons would think so.
Looking at it from any angle, it's just a very wholesome(?) posture for making friends.
"Would you please be my friend?"
"That's, that's..."
"I just need a friend. That's not too much to ask, right?"
"A, aah... that's, that's..."
Rodelin visibly panicked.
Her cheeks flushed, her lips breathing out, her ponytail slightly disheveled from hitting the wall.
Her eyes spinning wildly.
Almost there. Just a little more.
Say it.
Hurry up and agree to be my friend!
"Im, improper..."
"What?"
"Improper Behaviour Punch!!"
Thump!
My vision spun. I felt dizzy.
Had I really been punched? That proud Rodelin resorting to violence?
It was truly an incomprehensible situation.
As I groaned with my face covered, Rodelin's shout reached my ears.
"As, as the vice-student council president, I'll, I'll give you a demerit point!"
With those words, she quickly made her escape.
All I saw was the back of Rodelin, her ears red as beets.
"Keke, making friends is damn hard."
It's all because of these slit eyes.
* * *
"Really annoying!"
Luna burst out of the cafeteria, as if running away.
She was extremely angry.
Not able to make even a single friend.
Even behind Zero in the number of friends.
Misunderstood by the vice-student council president as being lovers or friends.
Truly, everything was infuriating.
"Argh!"
Unable to contain her anger, Luna kicked the ground.
The force caused a clump of grass to roll across the ground.
"Sigh..."
She tried to ignore it, but it was impossible.
Luna was essentially a kind-hearted person.
One on each hand, two tall mountains.
Perhaps the two high mountains were too hard to look at.
A boy slowly approached her.
"It seems like you need to be hit to come to your senses. I don't enjoy hitting a lady but... Urgh!?"
It was when the boy reached out his hand.
Luna easily dodged his attack and threw a punch.
"Kuk!"
Luna's fist hit his jaw squarely.
The boy fell, landing hard on his buttocks.
Luna smacked her lips, watching him.
'Che, he didn't faint. But that's to be expected from an academy freshman, right?'
Luna was small in stature.
It was uncertain whether she could subdue three boys, especially those who had passed the entrance exam, without a sword.
But she had no intention of losing to such thugs.
'Especially not to those who bully the weak!'
Luna charged in, and the fight began.
Throwing punches, kicking at vital spots, biting.
However, the difference in body weight was significant.
Luna rolled on the ground after taking a solid hit to her side.
"Cough!"
"Ha, she really is crazy. This is why commoners are trash."
"Maybe she's even a serf. That's why she doesn't know her place, attacking nobles who should be revered like the heavens."
"Let's teach her what the heavens are really like."
One of the boys harshly grabbed Luna's hair.
Disgusting creatures. To think such people were of the same noble class as her.
Unbelievable.
These self-proclaimed 'heavens' were not the traitors, but her family was.
"Haah, haah... Consider yourself lucky. If I had a sword, you all would be dead."
"Oh, is that so? I'm shaking in my boots."
"Puhaha! Let's end this quickly!"
The boy raised his fist high in the air.
As Luna braced for the impending blow, she closed her eyes.
"Keke, what are you doing now?"
"Huh?"
"And who are you?"
A familiar laugh and voice.
Luna opened her eyes slightly and saw him.
A boy with eyes so small they were almost invisible. Zero.
"Can't you see we're just having fun? Beat it."
"Keke, that would be troublesome. She there is my friend."
"She's your friend?"
"Hmm... It seems I'm the only one who thinks so... but let's just say that for now."
Zero's unique way of speaking and an air of nonchalance that could be called strange.
The children seemed to sense the oddity as well.
"Why is he so relaxed?"
"Is he a skilled fighter? But he's not a face we recognize... Ah!"
"What? You know him?"
"That's him, the one who got third place in the entrance..."
"What? Him?"
Third place?
Luna couldn't believe it.
The academy hadn't publicized rankings beyond the first and second place.
'Zero... in third place?'
Annwood Academy is the empire's most prestigious institution.
While the average skill level of its students is high, the top ranks are on a different level.
But Zero in third place.
She knew he had been hiding his skills, but to this extent?
The boys huddled together, whispering.
"He's a target for recruitment. What should we do?"
"Let's let go of this crazy girl for now. No need to make an enemy unnecessarily."
"Che! No choice then."
Thump!
The boy relaxed his grip, and Luna fell to the ground.
The boys left her side and stood in front of Zero.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Godner, the eldest son of the Jepherin Count family."
"Pleased to meet you as well. It's an honor."
"The vice-head of the Vyuern Duke family, Teron, is looking for you. You know why, right?"
"Keke, I'm not sure, actually?"
Godner sighed deeply.
"What. I thought you'd be smart for being third... Let's be direct. Join Teron's faction."
--TL Notes--
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