Huh…
After class.
I was taking a simple walk around the academy, wondering if I should check it out after a long time.
Of course, I wasn’t just wandering around aimlessly; the thought of how to avoid expulsion kept whirring in my mind.
“Anyway, I have to clear my name in the end.”
Even if I could retake the exams somehow, the real problem was the assault on a male student and the sexual harassment of a female student.
I’d have to face those who claimed to be victims again.
“That girl was the one from today, right?”
She was the girl from Class E, who sat off to the side during lectures, much like me. We had made eye contact several times, but she always looked away in surprise.
“But I didn’t feel disgust from her.”
Rather, I sensed guilt and sadness in her eyes, which gave me a glimmer of hope.
If she was framing me with malice, it meant she was feeling guilty. If someone had instigated her, it implied she knew the truth.
“Why didn’t I think this way back then?”
I had been frustrated with my timid self during those times, but now that I was in the same situation, it was incredibly irritating.
“Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
On the school rooftop.
I had gone up hoping to catch a breeze and check out the scenery nearby, but unexpectedly, there was quite a ruckus.
A girl’s scream.
As I quietly opened the door and ascended to the rooftop, I saw some female students bullying one girl, who I recognized.
“Come to think of it, I still don’t know her name.”
Unfortunately, I still had no idea what her name was, but she was the blonde girl who had been following me around today.
She seemed to have many friends and was quite active and sociable, so I wouldn’t have expected her to be targeted like this, but seeing the girl leading the bullying made me nod.
“Isn’t she the one who followed Ares around?”
With her reddish-brown wavy bob.
I would say her beauty was definitely above average, but her fierce-looking eyes were striking.
“So you were flirting with Ares?”
“N-No I wasn’t!”
As if there was no way she could deny it.
Earlier, in front of the restroom, as soon as I spoke, she ran over like a puppy that saw its owner.
The girl with the bob yanked her hair and lifted her up, mockingly laughing.
“Don’t act like you’re the ‘Mayas’ here. You’re just a branch family, not the main one.”
“She thinks she’s the prettiest in the world.”
“Did you see her smile today? I almost threw up.”
Other students chimed in with remarks, laughing about the situation, and it made me wonder if Ares knew about this.
“Maybe I should tell him.”
I thought he might come to save the day like a prince on a white horse. He had always done that before.
Even when Rin and I were being bullied by some older boys, he had rushed over to save us.
Suddenly, one of the girls pointed at me with an alarmed expression.
“M-May! There’s someone over there!”
“Huh?”
So her name was May.
In any case, May looked at me with a startled expression, quickly letting go of the hair she had grabbed and glared at me.
“What are you? A pervert?”
“Isn’t that the one who caused the sexual harassment and assault incident?”
“Why hasn’t he been expelled?”
“What’s the dean doing?”
Oh, it seemed like the target had shifted toward me. Girls were whispering amongst themselves. In another time, I would have bowed my head and run away, apologizing profusely.
“How cute they’re acting.”
From my perspective now, they looked like kids turning red, trying to hide their mistakes, spewing excuses.
Their mocking words struck me as a provocation.
May walked up to me with a scowl.
“A sexual offender should just keep quiet and get expelled from the academy. It’s disgusting to breathe the same air.”
“Hmm.”
“What? Are you trying to do something to me? Go ahead. People like you deserve to be locked up in prison.”
This girl had quite a fierce attitude, so I smiled and replied.
“Does Ares know you’re doing this?”
“…What?”
This was such a silly situation.
“How funny. There are several girls near Ares, yet you chose to bring her here and do this.”
She probably knew what she was doing. Honestly, the girls around Ares were shockingly pretty.
There were cute girls fitting for their age, and some that looked surprisingly mature.
“Such a capable guy.”
I couldn’t help but snicker internally.
“You can’t do anything to those girls, so you’re taking it out on this easy target.”
“This is!”
I caught the wrist of the girl who was about to slap me. I could let their chirping slide, but I wouldn’t allow them to lay a hand on me.
“It’s not because you’re better than her. You’re just looking down on her because she’s from the Mayas’ branch family.”
If she were from the main family, it would be a different story; she might have been wagging her tail, saying let’s be friends.
The gap between the status of the main family and branch was ridiculously severe.
“You…!”
She seemed to want to say something, but struggling to find words, she just pouted. Releasing her hand, I stepped aside, and like she had been waiting for this, she rushed down the rooftop, with her followers trailing behind her, throwing their remarks at me.
I didn’t say much to the girl from the Mayas’ branch staring blankly at me.
She looked confused, as she didn’t understand why I had saved her, but I hadn’t really saved her.
I had just wanted to enjoy the view from the rooftop, and they had started it first.
“I do need some time alone.”
But she was a girl, so she must have a mirror to check her appearance. I decided not to say much and headed down.
“Shall I go back to the dorm?”
I was thinking of visiting the male student who claimed I assaulted him.
Honestly, this was even more complicated than facing the girls; the male student…
“Huh?”
Just as I was pondering how to continue the conversation, I spotted a girl with glasses reading a book by the front entrance of the building.
With her dark navy hair tied back neat and tidy, she approached me slowly as she closed her book.
“Um…”
I could tell she had something to say right away.
I thought maybe the flow would go smoothly, but unfortunately, that was not the case.
“Um, can you please stop looking at me during the lecture?”
She had mustered quite a bit of courage, but her face was red, and her gaze was fixed on the ground. It seemed her conversation skills weren’t very sharp.
“Why? Is it uncomfortable?”
I could see that if I pointed this out, she would only shrink further, so I tried to keep the conversation flowing.
“I… I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Why?”
“…Huh?”
She had not expected me to respond that way and seemed startled as she lifted her gaze to meet mine but immediately looked down again.
“Her name is… Eve.”
Thanks to the name tags that other students wore but never used, I knew her name.
“Why is it uncomfortable?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
Finally, Eve, who was darting her eyes around, tried to turn and escape.
But there was no way she could escape from me, who had hunted down numerous magical beasts in the Forest of the Demon Realm.
I grabbed her hand and smiled.
“Want me to tell you why you’re uncomfortable?”
“Ugh, ugh.”
“Because you framed me, right? Am I wrong?”
Guilt.
The emotion swirling within her was overwhelming guilt.
And I swiftly understood.
The reason she had framed me was not because she wanted to, but for some other reason.
“I’m getting expelled in a week because you branded me a sexual offender.”
“N-No.”
“No? What? You didn’t do it? You went and testified, didn’t you? You said Daniel McLean touched your chest and butt.”
Her face turned red, gripping her book’s cover tightly enough to crumple it.
“Just a little more pressure, and she’ll break.”
With that conviction, I prepared to continue speaking, but Eve couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted.
“I-I really did touch you!”
“Huh?”
What was she talking about now?
She didn’t seem to be lying. Her timid, quiet demeanor had let out a cry full of repressed emotions.
“In the library! You touched me! Ugh! So don’t look at me! It’s scary!”
As Eve began to sob, I could only feel confused.
It seemed there was some misunderstanding between us.
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