Two days had passed.
Monday, the day Adel had been late had crowned him the biggest topic in the Department of Magic. Today was Wednesday.
Wednesday. The dead center of the school week.
A day that drags for everyone, regardless of status.
And it was no different for Class 1-B. There were easily twice as many students slumped over their desks compared to usual.
Unless some exciting news came along, the rest of the day would likely stay this way.
Which is exactly why on a day like this every class has that one gossip-lover who just has to stir things up.
Clatter—!!
“Breaking news! Big news!!”
“What is it this time?”
“Why’s she making a fuss again…”
“Adel went to the gym after class! I heard he’s already there right now!!”
“Seriously?”
“Adel? That weakling?”
“Guess he’s planning to become a knight since he can’t use magic!”
“Hahaha!”
Adel Bliss.
Over the weekend, he had undergone a drastic change.
Having shed his former loser image, he now gave off a slightly rebellious vibe, successfully completing his image makeover.
And yet, the wave of change everyone had expected to follow his transformation… was still way too quiet.
The tension that had once hung in the air, as if something big was about to happen, had long since faded.
“He can’t do magic anyway~. End of the day, he’s still useless.”
Everyone in Class B remembered the humiliation Adel had endured.
And seeing how Adel wasn’t doing anything to fight back now, people had started looking down on him again.
—Oh. That guy can’t do magic, you know?
No matter how good-looking someone might be, there’s only so far that’ll get you.
At Tane Academy, where only the elite of the elite gather, being incapable of using magic was as good as being labeled a loser.
“Wanna go watch later?”
“Hmm? …Sure, why not? He’s nice to look at, at least. Hoho.”
This wave of mockery was steadily returning Adel to his former “loser” status. At least in the minds of the other students.
Then, school ended. After class.
A few students who hadn’t gone home yet had gathered in a corner of the classroom.
“So? How’s it going, Gorel?”
“Just as I thought. There’s no way that guy can properly use mana.”
“Maybe he’s too timid to even step up?”
“In that case, he really is a complete loser.”
Gorel, Jonin, and Buffen.
The three main instigators who used to bully Adel exchanged glances.
“Wanna head to the gym?”
“Of course.”
“By the way, the Bliss family’s pretty much done for, huh? Heh. This’d be the perfect chance for him to switch to a swordsmanship house or something.”
“Let’s offer to spar with him.”
“Ooh, I like that. Pfft—!”
And so, they made their way to the gym.
Outside, the sun was already beginning to set.
Fueled by sinister anticipation, the three of them stepped into the gym, completely unaware of just how far someone who’d been “possessed” by a veteran gamer for five whole days in this world could grow in such a short time.
***
For some reason, the temperature inside the gym felt high.
About twenty students were already gathered, here just to watch.
It wasn’t a big crowd, but it wasn’t small either. Gorel’s trio thought it was just the right amount.
Too many eyes would be a hassle. This was perfect. Less pressure, more fun.
“Huff… huff…”
They spotted Adel, drenched in sweat, wiping his face as he gasped for breath.
A few of the female spectators had their eyes glued to him.
And that’s when it started.
“Heyyy~! Really going at it, huh, Adel!”
“Looking like you’re finding meaning in life?”
“……?”
“If it’s that hard, maybe try running with a support spell on or something?”
A few students from the Knight Department who had been running alongside Adel paused and glanced at the group, visibly tense.
Before anything else could happen, Adel responded.
“…Who are you supposed to be?”
“…What?”
“I said, who are you?”
“…Whoa. You don’t recognize us? That kinda stings.”
The burly Gorel stepped forward.
“We’re always worrying about you. Telling you to just use some magic if it’s so hard. You seriously don’t remember that? What, do you hate us now because we told you to use magic even though you’re magically crippled?”
“Puhahaha!!”
“Hey, Gorel! That was supposed to be a secret….keke! What if people find out the prodigy early admission student Adel actually cannot use magic?!”
They snorted and laughed like they always did.
Adel had never once truly gotten angry until now. Which is exactly why they felt so confident acting this way.
But then—
“No.”
That’s when it happened.
A voice rang out across the gym. It was cold as ice and sharper than anything anyone had ever heard from Adel before.
“I asked for your names.”
“….….”
“Did you three smear honey on your mouths or something? Answer.”
A rough tone, as if he’d been speaking that way all his life.
It was impossible to believe this was the Adel they knew.
But even so, these were still the words of a magically‑disabled nobody.
“…Ha! Ha!! You’re saying you don’t know our names?”
They stepped forward threateningly.
“We even tossed you into the river ourselves because you never wash! Hahaha!!”
“Remember? We always scrubbed you clean. Our precious early admission prodigy. Don’t you remember, Adel? Did you drink too much of that filthy wash water?”
“My bad! I just figured Clean Magic would fix everything! Puhaha!”
Their coarse laughter echoed.
Adel pressed a hand to his brow.
“What’s wrong, Adel? Keep running. We’ll help you with some ‘Grease’ magic, okay?”
“Slipping makes it easy…no effort at all, right?”
“Puhahahahaha!”
It was around then.
He let out a sigh, still holding his brow.
“…Guess I was mistaken. Just because you’re kids doesn’t mean you’re pure.”
“…What? You bastard. You talking about us?”
They moved closer, trying to intimidate him, but he didn’t answer. Adel Bliss simply raised a finger.
Crackle—
In that instant, blue light flooded the gym.
“Lightning Pick.”
“Wha—”
A third‑circle spell.
And it detonated without even a chant. Right before the eyes of more than twenty spectators.
“Gehk—grrkkkrrrrk?!”
Maybe his muscles failed from the shock. A foul stench rose from below, and Adel grimaced.
“So your name is something like Choco? You’re worse than a house dog, doing your business wherever you please.”
“Y-You bastard!!!”
A punch swung toward him as his companion went down. But Adel slipped aside as easily as flowing water and stomped on the attacker’s foot.
The magic tool Aron had given him, strapped around his ankle, smashed the boy into the floor with nothing but a flicker of intent.
“Aaaaargh!!!”
After kicking him away, only one remained.
Adel seized the last one by the collar with flames blooming at his fingertips.
Fwoom—
“Should I make sure you never see again?”
“…H-Heuk.”
“Say it. Your name. Declare it loud.”
“Huff… huff…”
“Still think this is a joke?”
Ssszzzt—
The ends of his hair began to burn.
“Your name.”
“Uh… uuh…”
“If you don’t answer…”
“Aaaaargh!!!”
That was the end of it.
Perhaps the fear was too much—
The last one simply fainted where he stood.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Adel shrugged his shoulders and looked toward the spectator seats set up in the gym.
Just moments ago, those faces had been full of mocking smirks….now they were twisted in shock.
“Uh, uh… ~ I just came to work out, but there’s a lot of people here. Should we go eat dinner?”
“Y-Yeah, let’s go, let’s go—.”
“Then I’ll go back to the dorm and take a nap. Haha!”
Noticing his gaze, they spouted whatever came to mind and hurried off. It was almost a stampede. Practically running away.
Adel simply watched them quietly. And then he realized that some of his own classmates were mixed in with the crowd.
“Uh, well… that was cool. Right? Countess—”
“Y-Yes~. I-It was cool. Still, I guess an early-admission student has that level of skill. I mean, instantly casting a third-circle spell…”
“Hey.”
“Haha. No way he’s calling us, right?”
“Of course not~. No way…”
“You two girls. What are your names?”
“Kyyaaa!!”
“Hiiiik!!”
***
After the commotion settled.
I bowed my head to the knight department students who had been watching.
“Sorry. Because of me…”
“It’s fine. It was good entertainment.”
“Yeah. Mage types are usually sneaky like that.”
“But could you use Clean Magic? It smells—.”
Good people. Come to think of it, they had tried to step in earlier when I was being insulted. Touching. Maybe that saying is true….people who train their bodies tend to have better personalities.
“You’re gonna clean up and keep running, right? You said you’d do 100 laps today.”
“……”
…Okay, maybe I’ll take back the personality comment.
Letting out a sigh for a different reason, I kicked aside the guys sprawled on the floor.
“Damn scum. What a waste of time.”
Still, after putting on a show like that in front of so many witnesses, no one else would dare pick a fight. It was something I’d have to deal with eventually anyway.
Satisfied with that, I stepped back onto the track.
“Hey, wasn’t Senior Awen just here?”
“Huh? Why would she come all the way here? Must’ve seen wrong.”
“Who?”
“Ah. Someone you don’t know.”
I tilted my head, then started running again.
◆ Battle Victory!
◆ NP + 5,500
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