Sometimes I wonder.
Humans view killing other humans as an exceptionally heinous crime.
Murder is evil. It’s clearly stated as a crime in the Empire’s laws, and murderers receive appropriate punishment.
However, killing beings other than humans is generously tolerated. In fact, slaying monsters is often praised as a great feat.
In this world, even if the same life is taken, treatment depends on what that life is.
To me, as a non-human, they all seem like the same life.
There’s no difference in the guilt felt from killing a human or an animal; it’s hard to tell apart.
Thus, most concepts of good and evil are aligned with human standards.
So, as a being that can only eat other beings, am I an evil existence?
Am I a being that must die in this world because I was born a monster?
Today, I contemplated for a long time.
*
Objectively speaking, Iria is extraordinarily beautiful.
Her long, flowing white hair gives a mysterious impression, and her cute face is complemented by her crimson eyes, which hold a deadly allure.
But is that enough for most students to worship her?
“Iria-sama, we worship you as a goddess!”
Hmm.
That seems a bit excessive.
Of course, that’s only when judging by appearance alone. Iria’s true worth lies in her unique personality.
She’s fundamentally indifferent to most things and has garnered a good reputation among some for rejecting those who approach her.
And.
Iria’s popularity peaked due to that incident, I suppose.
After defeating Lucia, a recommended student, in a duel, she demanded Lucia to lick her foot.
That created a gap moe that completely transcended her usual demeanor.
“Wow… Does she have that kind of taste?”
“At that level, isn’t she just a walking sex symbol?”
“Watch your mouth, you brat. Do you want to end up like Lucia?”
“I’m fine with that.”
Do they realize that all their conversations are reaching Iria’s ears?
“………..”
Iria had better hearing than a normal person. Now that she’s heard it all, she scratched her cheek awkwardly.
She simply wanted to attend the academy quietly, not knowing how to respond to such things.
Since it wasn’t directly harming her, she decided to ignore it. Should I head to the library again today?
If there’s one significant advantage of enrolling in the academy, it’s that I can freely use the largest library in the Empire.
Before enrollment, gathering information about the world meant eavesdropping on conversations in taverns or struggling all day to interpret unreadable newspapers.
Those were painful times, and I don’t want to think about them too much. Iria hurried her steps towards the library.
Just then, someone blocked her path. Well, not exactly blocked, but they seemed to have some business with her.
“Iria! I was just looking for you!”
“Rena?”
“Come follow me for a moment.”
Rena grabbed Iria’s hand and headed somewhere.
Feeling light on her feet, Iria was dragged along before she could ascertain what was going on. She didn’t particularly mind being pulled, so she resisted not at all.
They soon arrived at an empty lecture room. There, Rena handed Iria a piece of paper.
“First, read this.”
Iria read the lines written on the paper, but since her language skills weren’t perfect, she could only understand half of it. So she asked Rena again.
“What does this say?”
“It means external practicum.”
“And this?”
“It means to form a team.”
Putting the contents of the paper together, it seemed to say this:
If you go east outside the Central Empire, there’s an unexplored cave.
They judged the danger level to be low enough for students to explore, and if you organize a team and submit an exploration journal, it would count as a substitute for the exam and grant you points.
However, it seems that they require at least two students ranked in the top ten of their year to be included in the team of three or more since low-level monsters appear.
Showing her the paper, Rena then exclaimed.
“Let’s do this!”
“Um.”
Iria seemed to ponder for a moment. Is there going to be a monster? The truth is, ever since being possessed, she hadn’t gone outside the Central Empire, so she had never seen a monster.
But still, they’re kin like me, so she felt somewhat intrigued. However, she wasn’t so keen on the hassle of going outside the Empire just for that intrigue.
“If we submit this, we won’t have to take exams for three subjects during the midterms.”
“………!”
That might actually be less bothersome than taking the exams.
It would be more time-efficient to go out once and come back than to take three tests.
“Alright.”
Since there was nothing to lose, she quickly agreed. It was full of merits instead.
If there are such good conditions and no one is doing it, could it be because the eligibility requirements are strict?
It’s certainly tough that they require at least two students within the top ten, so it seems other students wouldn’t easily form a team.
Of course, Iria and Rena were both within the top ten, so it was fine to bring anyone else just to fill the numbers.
At that moment, Rena spoke up.
“Hmm, so, Iria, you can do some swordsmanship and cast magic, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then it would be good if you stand in the front while I stay back. I’d like someone to fill the front line.”
“And?”
“Do you know anyone among the swordsmanship department that you can trust to handle it well?”
“…………..”
Perhaps the reason Iria could only think of one person was that her network was extremely limited. She didn’t particularly have anyone trustworthy in mind.
No matter what, Lucia didn’t seem like the right choice. They weren’t close enough to include her as a teammate.
Just as Iria was erasing the one person she thought of in her head.
“Sorry, I just remembered Iria doesn’t have any friends, huh? I didn’t mean to overlook that.”
“………”
Iria slightly furrowed her brows.
Rena seemed to find her reaction amusing and continued.
“What’s with that face? Did I say something wrong?”
“You did.”
“That’s a lie, right?”
“I’m serious.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I see.”
Rena nodded her head, but her expression was clearly disbelieving. Iria felt a sting in her pride.
Maybe that’s why.
“Follow me.”
“What? Did you really have a friend?”
This time, Iria took the lead as she walked. Rena, now curious, followed her.
Lucia’s daily routine flows regularly.
She wakes up early, goes to the academy, attends lectures, and uses any free time to practice wielding her sword.
Recently, she had experienced a crushing defeat in a duel. So now, she was diligently training, savoring the bitter taste of defeat.
Despite the terrible humiliation after losing, Lucia didn’t give up.
There will be another chance someday. First, she needed to analyze the reasons for her loss and strengthen herself.
At the outdoor training ground of the Imperial Academy.
Since it was lunchtime, there was no one there except for Lucia.
In such a place, an unexpected visitor arrived. Familiar silver hair, and crimson eyes.
“What?! Why are you here?!”
Lucia couldn’t help but scream upon seeing Iria’s face.
She had been burned in both reality and dreams, so it made sense. She stood on high alert, ready to react.
Rena, who had followed Iria, asked.
“Are you friends?”
“Yes.”
“Not at all!!”
The question got contradictory answers from both of them. It seemed to be a one-sided friendship without mutual agreement.
Feeling uneasy, Lucia asked.
“Uh, why, why are you doing this to me?”
“………..”
Sweating coldly and unable to meet her gaze, Iria handed her a piece of paper.
“What is this… Group external practicum? What does this mean?”
“Let’s go together.”
“I’d go with someone else. I wouldn’t normally go with you…”
“That’s right. I didn’t expect anything anyway. Rena, let’s look for someone else.”
It so happened that Rena was absent during their duel due to being unwell.
Regardless of what had happened between the two of them, it was clear that their relationship was quite bad.
As a third-party with no involvement in the incident, Lucia wanted to mediate, but given their situation, it didn’t seem possible.
Lucia appeared to be terrified of Iria.
Rena then asked Iria.
“Um… Iria. Do you know anyone else?”
“No.”
“Yeah, I thought so.”
Truth be told, she had not expected anything.
That’s how it is with Iria.
“Then, let’s go look for someone else.”
Rena sighed quietly and turned around. Just as Iria was about to follow her,
“Wait a moment.”
Lucia called out to them.
“This is a first-come, first-served team.”
She was reading the notice right there.
Though she wasn’t thrilled about the team, she was interested in the extracurricular activity.
Even if the difficulty isn’t high, it’s still a chance to gain real-world experience.
Plus, she could get a professor’s recommendation when deciding on her career path after graduation.
It was undeniably a good condition.
“Hmm…”
Lucia pondered.
Since she hadn’t taken the entrance exam, her grades hadn’t been calculated yet.
Thus, to meet the requirements, she needed to recruit two other top-ranking students, but Iria’s side would likely submit the application first. They were already meeting the conditions.
However, did that mean she had to join a team with Iria, who had humiliated her? Naturally, she didn’t want to. She still hadn’t forgotten the salty taste of the foot she had licked that day.
But she had to think rationally.
Even though Lucia had lost to Iria, she hadn’t given up on being the top student yet.
Her head was filled with the thought of one day defeating Iria and reclaiming the top spot.
If she followed Iria this time and could find her weakness, it might be beneficial for her.
Thus.
“…I’ll join that group. It wouldn’t be easy to find a more suitable person than me anyway.”
Lucia joined the party.
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