Iria decide to quietly observe the situation from the side.
In the empty Swordsmanship Training Ground, Ariel and Amelia were facing each other.
The atmosphere was thick enough for a battle to erupt at any moment, but if they fought, Ariel would win. It would be so overwhelmingly one-sided that calling it a combat would be a stretch. After all, Ariel had already reached a level surpassing even the academy’s professors.
That’s why Amelia’s expression was dark. Having the strongest student of the academy as an enemy would only lead to trouble.
She was simply envious of Iria, who, despite being a first-year, was grabbing all the attention, and she couldn’t help but wonder how things ended up like this.
Amelia took a step back. Cold fury glinted in her wall-eyed gaze that was now aimed at her.
Of course, she had no intention of solving things with violence. Ariel didn’t want to head in that direction, at least.
Instead of wielding force, he let out a small sigh.
“Apologize to Iria properly. After all, the rumors spreading around these days are under your influence, right? Just like you did to me, how many people have you spread it to until now?”
Ariel may have been oblivious to the rumors, but he was no fool.
He had some understanding of the power dynamics among students and how each person’s influence played out.
Among them, Amelia was the worst.
Though she represented a strong presence in her year, she couldn’t match up to a fourth-year, and Ariel was in the second year.
Because of that, her feelings of inadequacy compared to the two of them were beyond imagination. The only one she could compare with among all the top students in the entire academy was Iria from the first year.
While it might seem pathetic for a third-year student to be comparing herself with a first-year, she couldn’t help but feel the insurmountable gap in talent that still existed between the grades.
So, at least she thought she was stronger than Iria.
When she heard that the top mana of the first-year was only 84, that was the case.
And then.
“······.”
By the time Iria took down Sera, she understood what the true gap in talent was.
Amelia was merely a pitiable average who became the top student due to being born in the right era.
Because she didn’t want to admit that herself, she had become who she was now.
Unable to climb up, she wished for others to fall. A rather sinister individual, if one were to say.
“······It’s not just me, right?”
Amelia refused to bow her pride and didn’t apologize until the very end.
She was just that kind of person.
“Isn’t it just a rumor that many people are talking about? If you’re going to do something, why not tell all the people who brought it up the same? Honestly, among all those many people, I was just unlucky.”
“······.”
“You’re the one being sensitive, Ariel. The victim is just sitting quietly, and here comes the meddling. If you don’t want to hear it, then just. I’ll gladly stay out of your way, just as you desire.”
Why was it always her that held the blame, when everyone else did the same? If she had to give herself a lecture, it should be passed on to those people too and let them react.
It was a long speech, but in summary, that’s about it.
It was essentially an all but impossible task. How could one find and apologize to only the malicious ones among the rumors floating around?
Knowing that it couldn’t be done was the reason behind her provocations. Amelia spoke in a deliberately taunting tone to restore her battered pride.
After listening to everything from start to finish, there was a being who opened their mouth.
“That’s a good idea.”
“?”
“?”
It was Iria.
That certainly didn’t fit the situation.
“······What?”
What does she mean it’s a good idea? Amelia felt a chill of uncertainty rise within her — as Iria was such an unpredictable figure.
It didn’t take long for her to realize what Iria was getting at.
“I think you’re not wrong. It wouldn’t be fair if some people who’ve done the same thing get punished while others don’t.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“I’m thinking of going one by one to the people who spread the false rumors and challenging them to a duel. Would that satisfy you?”
“Is this girl crazy?”
As Amelia was now, she couldn’t understand what Iria was saying.
It just looked like a pompous display from a somehow deficient first-year.
The dynamics of their conversation crumbled with Iria’s intervention. Amelia simply stormed off in annoyance.
Was it really all just bravado?
Iria pondered as she watched Amelia leave.
*
At first, she clearly had no intention of stepping in.
No matter what they said, they could never directly harm Iria.
It was really just a matter of gradually scratching at her nerves.
But then.
“Apologize to Iria properly.”
Someone was there to get angry on behalf of Iria.
None other than Ariel, he was expressing hostility towards the top student in the third year, for Iria’s sake.
It was a feeling she had never experienced before, and honestly, it was quite fascinating.
It was a strange feeling, but for some reason, Iria thought it wasn’t such a bad feeling.
After her death, she thought she would never have anyone on her side.
“······.”
That’s why she didn’t want to leave this matter to Ariel.
Regardless, it was an incident that stemmed from Iria’s actions. It felt a bit uncomfortable to leave her own issue to someone else.
Ariel would likely not let this matter fade away. He would surely try to resolve it within the scope of his reach.
Iria didn’t want Ariel to solve her problem.
“This is my job.”
It was a task meant for Iria and not Ariel. The only reason it had been postponed was out of grievance.
That was the reason Iria decided to draw her sword.
As per usual, rumors about Iria were spreading throughout the academy.
They talked about her, indifferent to her presence. They had never cared before, so they seemed to think today would be the same.
“Look, a monster’s passing by.”
“Hey, watch your mouth. What if she hears?”
“I spoke to make sure she does. It doesn’t matter anyway; she doesn’t react.”
“True, under normal circumstances, what kind of first-year would be so bold to challenge seniors? That would be making enemies of all upperclassmen.”
However, today, Iria didn’t let that slide.
She turned her head in the direction of the voices. And she approached.
Iria grabbed the wrist of the senior girl who was gossiping about her.
Her crimson eyes fixed on the woman.
“What, what?! You’re not letting go?!”
The woman shouted in surprise.
Iria’s expression remained unchanged. She wasn’t angry, nor was she crying.
Her expressionless face, which was utterly unreadable, felt eerily chilling when seen up close.
The terrified senior tried to pull her hand away, but Iria wouldn’t let go.
Only a calm voice escaped her lips.
“Let’s duel.”
“What, what?!”
Then, she dragged the senior straight to the Dueling Arena without hesitation.
During this process, Iria paid zero attention to the reactions of those around her or what the senior had to say.
Ignoring everything, Iria utterly took her to the Dueling Arena and promptly beat her up that day.
*
Iria’s bizarre behavior continued onward.
As she walked down the halls, every time she heard her name being mentioned, she would drag the ones speaking it to the Dueling Arena and unleash violence in the name of a duel.
Because of the constant dueling rush happening several times a day, victims were emerging everywhere.
Naturally, Iria couldn’t be everywhere at once, so her bad reputation spread even worse in places where she wasn’t present.
Iria’s actions were, quite frankly, nearing insanity.
Though it had slightly faded recently, there still remained a subtle hierarchy among the grades in the academy.
Despite her strength, provoking a third-year student was tantamount to making an enemy of the entire third-year.
Even if someone got into a dispute, she was seen as an underclassman meddling with seniors.
Individual skill aside, no one could surpass the combined strength of all the students in the third year.
Thus, most of them thought Iria had picked the wrong fight. There was no doubt she would soon face dire consequences.
But the outcome unfolded far differently than they had anticipated.
Iria was much stronger than they believed. She even claimed one-sided victories against seniors two years above her.
After facing defeat just a few times, they no longer dared to speak poorly of Iria openly.
The rumors might not have come to a complete halt, but the disparaging remarks had transformed into warnings about being cautious of Iria.
“······.”
However, what they overlooked was that Iria’s hearing was beyond what they thought.
Especially when it came to her name, Iria was incredibly sensitive to those whispers and picked up even the most elusive of conversations.
So, what, they could just ignore it and pretend it wasn’t happening?
“I, I didn’t say anything!! I swear!!”
“Two days ago, around 13:07, I saw a green-haired woman gossiping about me behind the park.”
“Eek!”
Iria could read human memory.
Even if they pretended it never happened, Iria would drag them in. Her eyes couldn’t be deceived.
Just as Ariel had once settled matters with a duel for all first-year students, this time, Iria was proving her strength to them.
“You can even come at me all at once.”
In the face of overwhelming strength, numbers, weight class, and mana quantities became meaningless.
Iria defeated over thirty students in duels within a single day. Yet, she showed no signs of fatigue.
After dispatching most of her opponents without a scratch on her, she stood unharmed.
That day, a storm of blood raged through the academy.
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