Chapter 6: Countless People Were Pouring Onto Me Part 1

Second Year, Class F.

Jeff who was a commoner student had been in Class A during his first year.

That meant he was once considered a top talent.

But what about now? After the class placement exam, he was assigned to Class F.

“Why?”

An empty cry echoed through Class F.

“Why me?”

This past year—

Had he been lazy?

Had he been inferior to others?

No, that wasn’t it.

Jeff had gripped his sword until his hands bled and trained until his bones felt crushed.

There had been 22 terrorist attacks against the Cradle.

Jeff, who had lost a friend in one of them… no, they all continued to push forward, determined not to forget those sacrifices.

They carried the wishes of the friends who had gone before them and pressed onward toward the future.

But what was the result?

“Why us?”

What they received was the lowest ranking in the Cradle.

Under normal circumstances, they might have accepted it as inevitable.

In the old Cradle, even if it felt unfair, they would have accepted it.

They would have sighed in resignation, thinking their efforts simply fell short.

“What exactly are we lacking to deserve this kind of evaluation?”

But now, it was different.

Everyone here wasn’t just an individual; they bore the dreams of those who had died or given up.

They were the ones who had clawed their way to survival.

They had bled and struggled to make it this far.

“Do you really think this makes sense?”

Everyone thought the same thing.

Not a single one of them believed they were inferior to others.

Excuses like “it can’t be helped” had been discarded long ago.

“This isn’t right. There’s no way we deserve to be judged this poorly!”

Jeff shouted.

To the students of Class F who were drowning in gloom someone shouted:

“Do you see? There’s not a single noble here.”

Accepting that hard work hadn’t paid off, especially when that effort was driven by the sacrifices of others, was no easy thing.

“It means our efforts can never overcome our birth.”

“No. It means we must overcome it.”

A sigh from someone.

A sneer from someone else.

All that negativity intertwined, deepening the dark mood.

“I’ll show them.”

And then, someone sparked a flame atop that oily gloom.

“We’ll prove who we are! We’ll prove just how hard we’ve worked!”

The spark began to spread.

The flame of revolution had been lit.

But at that very moment, someone arrived to douse that fire.

Clack!

“What are you staring at?”

A boy with gray hair and a gloomy expression.

“Never seen a noble before?”

His name was Johan Damus.

“Shit.”

The weight of that single curse snapped everyone back to reality.

“Who is that?”

“Y-You know… from House Damus.”

“House Damus? Not even a baron’s son, but a count’s?”

A noble—no, a noble from a count’s family—walking into Class F, cursing like that?

That fact alone made one thing crystal clear.

“Oh… so the classes weren’t divided by status after all… Damn. That part was actually fair.”

The fire that had just begun to spread was extinguished in an instant.

***

The Rebellion of Class F.

An uproar where they attacked students and professors from other classes indiscriminately, desperate to prove their worth.

What started as a cry for recognition didn’t take long to morph into hatred.

And really, it was hard to call the people here villains.

They were just frustrated.

I mean, if I scored an average of 96 on the college entrance exam but got placed in the 7th tier instead of the 2nd, I’d be furious too.

Didn’t I go through the same thing?

I thought I had a guaranteed A in the written test, but I got a C.

“Goddamn it.”

Wait, thinking about it now, I’m getting pissed again.

These bastards took the test with answer sheets in hand, and they were still talking about how hard they worked?

Shouldn’t I be the one leading the rebellion?

Of course, I had neither the strength nor the will, so it was obvious I’d just end up keeping my head down.

“Piss off, fu*ker. I’m taking the window seat.”

“Uh, o-okay. You can have it.”

Still, I could at least throw this kind of tantrum.

“Sitting by the window might help. At least you get a nice view outside. It might make you feel a little better.”

“…Don’t pity me.”

“Huh? Ah, sorry. If that bothered you, I apologize.”

No matter what I did now, I came off like someone to be pitied.

That was the whole point of this act.

The more pathetic I looked, the more likely they’d think, “Ugh, at least I’m not as bad off as that guy.”

People naturally find comfort in seeing someone worse off than themselves.

I was offering to be that “someone worse off”.

By doing so, I could smother the sparks of inferiority smoldering in the hearts of the Class F students.

My plan was to make sure a rebellion never happened in the first place.

And if that ended up twisting the story?

Who cares, fu*k it.

If their lives were going to fall apart just because I didn’t screw up Class F a little, then that guy had something wrong with him anyway.

Let them deal with it however they want.

Still though…

“How sad, poor thing.”

“And he’s even a noble, so the comparisons must be brutal.”

Okay, that stung a little.

***

The hellish morning classes finally ended.

Was it because the classes were hard? No. It was the suffocating stares that clung to me.

No matter what I did, people kept watching me with pity.

They were being incredibly considerate.

For example, when I picked up a sword—

“Ah, how about holding it like this? I mean, no pressure, but it looks a bit easier that way…”

Or when I was drawing a magic circle—

“Oh, that part’s wrong… wait, never mind. Just a mistake, huh? You messed up a little there.”

And even when I ate alone—

“Mind if I sit next to you? I don’t have any friends either.”

Cut it out.

Cut it out, you fu*king bastards.

The way you’re treating me is what pisses me off the most.

If they were going to give me advice, they might as well have done it openly. There was no need to awkwardly twist things around under the guise of being considerate.

Anyway, because of that mental exhaustion, I decided to spend the rest of my lunch break somewhere quiet and out of the way.

I ended up finding a bench on a deserted street, sat down with a deep sigh, and listened to the sounds around me.

The wind blowing. Leaves rustling in that wind.

And then came the sound of a girl plopping down next to me.

“What now… Wait, Lady Ariel? What is it this time?”

“Ahem! Ah, hello, Sir Johan.”

The first thing that caught my eye was the wide-brimmed witch’s hat. It was obvious who would be under it.

It was the kimchi stew recipe I had evaluated not long ago. Lady Ariel Ether.

Just watching her awkward energy radiate from head to toe made me feel like my lunch was about to come back up.

For the record, I had a salad for lunch.

Which meant I was that annoyed.

“Do you have a moment to talk?”

“No.”

“…My apologies.”

Still, as soon as I showed any hint of irritation, Ariel quickly got up and left. The way she was reading my mood so closely… there had to be something going on.

But still—just because I was curious didn’t mean I should get involved. Asking what was going on would be the perfect way to get tangled up in someone else’s business.

I didn’t even look back.

Absolutely not! No matter what happens!

I was not getting involved with any of you!!

***

But no matter how firmly I swore to myself, that didn’t mean I could stop a natural disaster.

That’s right. The main character Lobelia and the people around her started showing up like natural disasters crashing into my life.

“Do you have a moment to—”

“Nope. Not talking. I told you, I’m not talking!”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Every time I walked through the school grounds, Ariel popped up out of nowhere like some random encounter system.

Seriously, how did we end up running into each other this often?

She said she was looking for me, but she was too good at it…

Wait—did she put some kind of tracking spell on me or something?

The most infuriating part was that she actually listened. When I told her I didn’t like it, she quietly backed off.

“Ahem, Johan. Don’t you think you could at least hear her out?”

“And who are you to act like we’re close?”

I didn’t even know the guy’s name.

Anyway, that kind of obedient attitude seemed to make people feel sorry for her.

She walked away looking all pitiful, making me look like the bad guy for no reason.

It was the same during our first meeting, and just from the way Ariel looked, she had a knack for drawing sympathy.

She had this natural-born ability to make others look like absolute jerks.

“Um…”

“Fine, go ahead.”

Those sudden encounters kept happening all week, and even though I hated it, I had to admit it.

This wasn’t the kind of problem that could be solved just by ignoring it.

It was like a ghost in a horror game. You might be able to drive it off for a moment, but you couldn’t get rid of it completely.

“Oh, then excuse me.”

As soon as I gave her permission, Ariel trotted up to me.

But even though I’d agreed to hear her out, her expression didn’t improve at all.

“About that time… I wanted to apologize for what happened.”

“What happened, exactly?”

Was there really anything to apologize for?

The time she barged in at night?

If anything, it should be Lobelia apologizing for that.

Or maybe the incident at the dining hall?

Nothing else really came to mind, and I didn’t see why that would warrant an apology either.

Was she trying to apologize for making me look like a jerk with that whole emotional ambush thing? Apologizing for that felt weird, and receiving that apology felt even weirder.

No, if anything, accepting that apology would make me the real weirdo.

“For hurting you.”

“……?”

At Ariel’s words, I looked down at the front of my school uniform.

I had been stabbed by Dietrich not too long ago… but that couldn’t really be considered her fault, could it?

Was I missing something?

“That… about your brother. I heard about it. I’m sorry.”

“……?”

What exactly was she sorry about?

That puberty hit my once-cute little brother a bit early….in a more physical direction?

But the way she said it, it sounded like someone had died or something.

Still, one thing had become perfectly clear because of that comment.

You guys looked into me, didn’t you?

Must’ve been on Lobelia’s orders.

And the one who carried it out was probably Stan Robinhood.

Anyway, thanks to that, Ariel had somehow found out that there had been some issue with my brother, Chris.

But the direction of that misunderstanding was incredibly irritating.

This crazy girl went and killed off a perfectly fine person in her head?

“Because of that, you’ve been ostracized within your family and have had to eat alone without even a single servant… Sniff! I-I lacked consideration. I apologize.”

Ah, now I understood everything perfectly.

I knew exactly what she was misunderstanding.

And yet, the fact that she was still so fixated on me eating alone was kind of impressive in its own way.

Did she die from eating alone in a past life or something? Why is she so obsessed with meals?

Anyway, to be this good at missing the point was almost impressive in itself.

The reason I ate alone wasn’t because I was being oppressed by my entire family; it was because the way the servants looked at me made me uncomfortable. Our Chris was just way too popular, that’s all.

Among the servants, there were many who thought it was a pleasure to see Chris like that.

It was only natural that they sent resentful glances my way.

I had merely dismissed all the servants assigned to assist me, just in case some unfortunate incident were to occur.

But to think someone would end up having thoughts like that because of it…

“Well, if you found out, there’s nothing I can do.”

It was actually a very good thing.

The moment I felt I could use this situation to my advantage, I immediately lowered my voice and spoke.

“Just because I know the future doesn’t mean I can change everything.”

“Ah!”

“That’s the reason I resolved not to interfere with the future.”

“Th-That’s…!”

“Please. I don’t want to go through any more painful experiences.”

Go, Ariel.

Go to your master and tell her to stop trying to recruit me.

***

Lobelia was left speechless at the bizarre scene unfolding before her.

“Y-Your Highness… let’s stop trying to make contact with Sir Johan.”

“A-Ariel?”

This was completely unexpected.

She had expected Ariel to return with her face flushed red after realizing the truth and apologizing to Johan.

But she never imagined she’d come back with tears streaming down her face like that.

She had simply thought that once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Ariel would return and grumble to her.

She had been looking forward to enjoying the sight of Ariel, her face red with embarrassment…

Johan Damus, the more I see you, the more you exceed my expectations.

She had never even imagined that lunatic would turn the situation around and use it to his advantage.

Usually, when one side lies, the other side reveals the truth. This time, both had been liars.

Lobelia had no choice but to admit that in trying to mess with Johan and Ariel, she had ended up being the one outplayed.

“Ariel, for now, calm down and try finishing the rest of this.”

In the end, Lobelia decided to take responsibility for cleaning up the situation.

She handed over the entire document, which she had only partially shown before to deceive Ariel.

“Huuuuuuh!”

Was she empathizing with the fictional Johan Damus with every page she turned?

But that only lasted for a moment.

“……”

Ariel’s changing expressions came to an abrupt halt. Like someone who’d reached the climax of a story only to discover it was all just a dream.

“……?”

Then she began flipping back and forth, going from the back pages to the front again and again.

“You… you tricked me!”

Who was that directed at?

Ariel’s rage echoed louder than ever before.