Chapter 15: Class F Agitator Part 5

Swift and decisive.

Lobelia’s actions could be summed up in that one phrase.

She immediately began gathering evidence through her intelligence unit, and it took her less than half a day to identify the culprit.

Now that an unprecedented incident had occurred where a student had been attacked inside the Cradle, Olga Hermod was surely on the move as well.

However, she had no intention of letting anyone steal her prey.

So she poured more effort into finding the culprit than ever before.

“Guh!”

Dietrich, the future Swordmaster, was dragged before Lobelia in that state.

He had been hauled in with his knees buckled and his head forced down.

“We’ve brought him, Your Highness.”

“Well done, Ariel. Good work.”

Dietrich trembled.

He was one of the most outstanding swordsmen among the first-year students.

Despite having only recently enrolled, he already had the ability to bring nearly half the second-years to their knees.

And yet, he had been subdued without even putting up proper resistance.

So this is the genius of the Aether Duchy…

Ariel Aether.

To Dietrich, her power seemed just as formidable as Lobelia’s—no, perhaps even greater.

Her strange, alien mana filled the space around them so densely it was suffocating.

Was this really the kind of mana a human could possess?

Cold sweat ran down Dietrich’s face.

“So, you’re Dietrich, are you?”

Flinch!

But Dietrich soon realized he had no time to entertain such thoughts.

Her voice was cold and sharp and felt like it pierced right into his ears.

Even with his head forced down so he couldn’t dare look at her, her overwhelming presence was undeniable.

The very essence of a tyrant king.

“Come to think of it, yes. Maybe I should’ve just gotten rid of you earlier.”

Lobelia Vicious von Miltonia.

At her question, Dietrich couldn’t help but flinch.

“What do you mean…?”

Crash!

But as he tried to lift his head, he was immediately subdued by Ariel’s magic.

“……”

Lobelia was seriously considering whether to kill Dietrich right then and there.

Yes, she had heard about him.

Didn’t Johan tell her?

A close friend of Kult…

A close friend of her enemy.

According to Johan, Dietrich didn’t yet know that Kult was a villain, so if she ever tried to make contact, it would be best to approach him carefully.

And that was exactly what Lobelia had done.

Was that the root of the problem?

You must’ve trusted too much in the future you thought you knew, Johan.

Johan had been stabbed by that very Dietrich he had defended.

In any case, there was only one thing Lobelia could do for someone like Johan.

He wasn’t even a man capable of avenging himself with his own strength, or even thinking of revenge, for that matter.

“I have a few questions for you. I expect full cooperation.”

“Y-Yes! I’ll tell you everything!”

“You could stand to be a little more stubborn, you know.”

That way, the pain would last longer.

Lobelia was in a thoroughly unpleasant mood. She had confidently declared that Eden wouldn’t be able to touch him, and yet, what was this disgraceful mess?

She couldn’t afford to handle this half-heartedly. Not for the sake of her own pride.

“Why did you attack Johan?”

“Well, that’s…”

***

Dietrich was a model student.

At least, he had resolved to become one when he first entered the Cradle.

Even if he had once been a scoundrel prowling the back alleys, he wasn’t the kind of trash who repaid kindness with betrayal.

That was why Dietrich had worked hard to control his nature and become a model student. So he wouldn’t bring disgrace to Kult, the one who had given him a chance.

Perhaps it was thanks to those efforts.

Among the first-years, Dietrich became one of the most admired students.

But even someone like him had a weakness.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Ah… senior…”

That was Johan Damus. A senior who had suffered a serious injury during the class placement exam because of Dietrich’s mistake.

“Um, what brings you here today…?”

Dietrich couldn’t help but be cautious. It was only natural, considering Johan had never looked kindly upon him.

Of course, when Dietrich apologized for going overboard, Johan did accept it.

Even so, Dietrich could tell that it had been a reluctant acceptance.

Yet Johan never used the incident as leverage to demand anything from Dietrich. He simply kept his distance. He never tried to impose any disadvantage on him.

To Dietrich, Johan was unfamiliar in that way. He disliked Dietrich and had every reason and power to seek revenge.

He’s not like any noble I’ve seen before… Is this what a true noble is?

Someone with great power who didn’t wield it arbitrarily.

Someone who could restrain his emotions and exercise self-control to the extreme.

A true example of noblesse oblige.

He was a noble worthy of respect.

Dietrich who didn’t know that his backer was a crazy terrorist group called “Eden” couldn’t help but think that way.

“Can you help me out with something? I’ve, uh… gotten into a bit of trouble, and I think I’ll need someone discreet and highly skilled.”

“Just leave it to me, senior!”

“I wasn’t really asking blindly for help… Oh, really? Thanks.”

Dietrich had never held a favorable impression of nobles, but after experiencing so much recently, that perception had begun to change.

Yeah, both the Marquis and Johan-senior. There really are people worthy of the title of noble in this world!

Unfortunately, the former was a puppet of Kult, and the latter was a selfish man only looking out for himself.

Blinded by his own garbage-level judgment, Dietrich vowed to carry out Johan’s request. Whatever it might be.

And as a result, Johan asked him to take part in a staged incident.

Without the slightest doubt, Dietrich went along with the plan.

The only part that didn’t go quite as expected was…

“Senior! Don’t worry! I promise I’ll stab you without making it hurt too much!”

“Wait, I said just hold on a seco—”

“One, two!”

The only difference from Johan’s original estimate was that Dietrich’s level had risen by several stages after letting go of his emotional burden.

As a result, the realism of Johan’s staged incident increased dramatically. So much so that even Lobelia was fooled.

***

Johan Damus was attacked by an unidentified assailant and rushed to the intensive care unit, where he was hovering between life and death.

“…Or so the rumor went.”

“Are you crazy?”

I had to explain the situation to Lobelia, who had latched onto the very rumor I had intentionally spread and come straight to me.

There was no need to ask how she had found out.

“Um, senior… I’m sorry. I think I got caught.”

“……”

At her feet lay Dietrich, who was for some reason in such a wretched state that his clothes were in tatters.

Why had she beaten up a perfectly fine guy like it was the dog days of summer?

And why did she keep acting so familiar? Dropping by unannounced like this was honestly a bit much.

“So… you staged the whole thing? Well, at least you look okay. That’s a relief.”

Lobelia said it with a bright smile, but no matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like she was smiling out of relief.

“…Even if it was staged, I actually got hurt to keep things realistic.”

“I figured as much.”

“Yes, I’m a patient. I might look fine, but I’m still classified as critical, so please be careful.”

“Haha.”

“……”

At Lobelia’s exasperated laugh, I flinched.

“Why him, of all people?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, why’d you drag him into this? Doesn’t that make things more confusing?”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, for Lobelia who knew about the relationship between Kult and Dietrich, the situation was ripe for misunderstanding.

“…There was actually a good reason for it.”

I had recruited Dietrich beforehand to carry out the staged incident.

After all, to make the act convincing, I needed someone skilled enough for the role.

Someone who could hurt me, draw out a scream of pain from me to attract a crowd, and then shake everything off and escape.

There weren’t many people like that.

At least within the Cradle, it would have to be someone like the main character Lobelia or her close aides.

But reaching out to Lobelia’s side made me uneasy.

Didn’t I just try to sell her a piece of information and ended up standing in front of Eden’s cult leader?

So I recruited Dietrich. Someone who wasn’t one of Lobelia’s aides but possessed comparable skills.

Because of what happened during the placement exam, he felt indebted to me, so it was easy to bring him in.

Even though he was considered Eden’s sharpest blade, Dietrich himself still didn’t know anything about the relationship between Eden and Kult.

So I decided to borrow him for a bit.

Kult, your blade is something else, you know?

I asked him to stab me in a way that would look like blood was gushing out but without causing too much pain and he actually did it.

Seriously, even though there was so much blood, there was hardly any pain.

Though, I did start to lose consciousness. How can a person control a blade so delicately?

“I’m sorry, senior…”

“No, you were amazing! How can getting stabbed not hurt at all?”

“That’s just because you lost consciousness early on…”

“What are you talking about? I was talking just fine back then.”

“Well… you were already half out of it and rambling nonsense.”

“……”

“But the plan went well, so isn’t that something to be relieved about?”

Dietrich smiled brightly.

So what you’re saying is, I didn’t fall asleep. I passed out?

That I really hovered between life and death?

“You little…!”

“Ha! I see. So that’s what happened?”

Just as I was about to say something, Lobelia’s words, which were more of a sigh than anything else, made us fall silent again.

“So? What were you trying to achieve this time with such an elaborate stunt? In the end, I was the one tricked by your false information. I’ve become a laughingstock, haven’t I?”

This was why power was terrifying. The pressure was so intense I could barely breathe…

Well, whatever. It was over now.

Even if she decided to get involved, it would be a separate matter at this point, so it should be fine.

In the end, unable to withstand the pressure, I decided to confess everything.

“I see…”

“The other party intended to incite Class F students to attack students from other classes. But do you really think no one had doubts about that?”

No matter how you look at it, attacking students from other classes was an extreme action.

Even if these students had grown used to bloodshed, they’d naturally hesitate, at least a little, when the target was their fellow students.

So, to erase that hesitation, they must have planned to incite them step by step.

“That’s why I acted in a way that would fan those doubts.”

Last night, I was attacked.

When I was ambushed, the attacker said people like me—weaklings—were nothing but a hindrance, then proceeded to assault me.

Of course, I didn’t tell the whole story.

If I had laid everything out and claimed I was attacked, they’d have called me a delusional lunatic making up a fantasy novel.

So instead, I gave them just enough to spark their imagination.

Using Dietrich, I spread the part of the story I knew. Through rumors.

As a result,

The rumors snowballed, and combined with my current state, they started being accepted as truth.

It was still technically just a rumor, but I was a real, living victim.

“What do you think happens when the student realizes someone tried to manipulate them?

Especially when the group behind it holds such radical views they were willing to murder a classmate in cold blood?”

“The students would be on guard.”

“Exactly. And they’d start suspecting any student who, like before, shows hostility toward other classes.”

And apart from the manipulation, even students who genuinely felt inferior would be forced to hold back.

No one wanted to be tied to a crime for no reason, right?

That’s right. I never needed to catch the culprit. I just had to stop the rebellion.

Now that things have come to this, the opponent would have no choice but to scrap the whole plan to incite Class F.

At this point, no matter what they say, the students would be suspicious—

And it would only backfire.

However, at the same time, they hadn’t lost their spy yet.

The spy inside the cradle was a high-level agent. It wasn’t as if spies who could evade even an Archmage’s place were common.

Unless it was something truly serious, they wouldn’t want to lose that spy.

And I didn’t qualify as one of those “truly serious” things.

“So they wouldn’t go as far as to sacrifice their spy just to target me.”

“Don’t most people try to catch the spy in this case?”

“Someone like Your Highness would do that.”

“Ah.”

Lobelia let out an admiring sigh at my perfect plan.

“Then the agitator in Class F was none other than you, wasn’t it?”

“……”

“If nobles like you disappeared, this country might finally find some peace.”

I felt cold sweat dripping down my back.

It wasn’t because of the injuries I had sustained from Dietrich.

***

A few days later.

I had, miraculously, recovered and returned to my studies.

…Or so I claimed, as I stepped back into Class F under that pretense.

Fortunately, the atmosphere had returned to its former warmth and friendliness.

When the students asked the usual “Are you okay?” questions, I gave vague replies that I was doing better and took my seat.

At last, peace had arrived.

Still, no matter how peaceful things seemed, it was only natural to remain cautious of those I had once suspected.

I quietly observed the students I had once considered potential suspects.

“Uh, mhmm. That’s right. No, really, I was just stirred up too, you know?”

Jeff, looking like someone who had been doused in the oil I had scattered, was busy trying to explain himself to the other students.

He still seemed suspicious because of that, but it probably didn’t matter anymore.

And what was her name again… Ah, right. I remembered now. Melana was staring this way with an expressionless face.

What the… She seemed suspicious too.

I had pushed the suspicion on her half out of a hunch, so why did her every move keep bothering me like this?

It was probably best to just steer clear of her.

And lastly—

The pink-haired extra, the one I was almost certain had been the culprit…

“Huh?”

She was nowhere to be seen.

Class was about to start soon, so where could she have gone?

Feeling uneasy, I started asking the others about her.

“Huh? I don’t know. But what was her name again?”

“Was she even in our class? I thought she was just someone who came over from another class to hang out.”

“I’m pretty sure she wasn’t one of us. Her desk never lined up, and her name was never even on the attendance sheet.”

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen her around lately. Did something happen?”

A chill ran down my spine.

I had already found it strange that no one ever said her name, but I never imagined she wasn’t even in the same class…

At this point, it was clear. She had deliberately infiltrated us.

And she had blended in so naturally, without anyone noticing.

That fact left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

***

In the end, I couldn’t completely walk away from this whole situation.

That strange sense of unease kept pushing me to dig deeper into the pink-haired girl.

Well, “digging deeper” only meant going to other classes and checking their attendance lists…

Since those lists included student photos, I thought I’d be able to find her quickly. But to my surprise, her photo wasn’t in any of them.

“What the hell is this…”

After going around to every class, I finally realized that the girl didn’t exist. Overcome with emptiness, I sank onto a nearby bench and lowered my head.

At this point, the unease began to return.

Didn’t this mean that the girl was a complete outsider?

Not someone who avoided suspicion because she was originally a student, but someone who had evaded Olga Hermod’s eyes purely through her own skill.

The moment my thoughts reached that point—

“Heave-ho. Nice weather today, isn’t it?”

A cheerful voice rang out as someone casually sat beside me.

I had run into her countless times.

I had suspected her countless times.

And I had feared her countless times.

“Hi, Johan.”

“……”

The pink-haired girl spoke to me in a bright voice.

But there was one glaring difference from before that immediately stood out.

Her fluffy, cotton candy-like hair was still the same, but her cute and lovely face was now hidden behind a mask.

That mask was far too familiar, and the moment I realized what it meant, I couldn’t help but recoil in shock.

“Clown…”

Back when I was attacked by Eden—

The one who protected me for some reason.

A presence I had momentarily forgotten amid the flow of time and the string of incidents that followed.

“…Safe Clown.”

“Puhihi!”

The most dangerous assassin had come right up beside me.