“Eh—?”
The two noble girls stood frozen.
Whoosh!
A flash of sword light gleamed, instantly slicing through the dust and smoke to reveal Shulim, completely unscathed.
At her current level, Second-Tier magic of this caliber could easily be cut apart with a sword.
“H-How... how are you completely fine?!”
Swoosh!
The next instant, Shulim vanished on the spot.
Startled, the two girls began looking around for her, only for a voice to sound from right behind them.
Thump! Thump!
After two heavy thuds, the two noble girls rolled their eyes back and collapsed to the ground.
Shulim stood quietly over them, still holding her sword in position after striking them with the pommel.
Dealing with them required neither magic nor advanced swordsmanship.
She returned her sword to its scabbard and turned to leave.
As for the two girls left lying on the ground...
“We're inside the academy anyway, so leaving them alone should be fine...”
...
...
In the middle floor of the Echo Labyrinth.
Clink! Clink!
Shulim shook her pouch, gauging the weight of the magic stones inside.
“That's enough for today...”
Stashing the bag of magic stones into her pack, Shulim turned to retrace her steps. Behind her lay a pile of monsters sprawled out in every direction.
A short while later, she reached the upper floor near the exit.
Thump! Thump! Thump...
“...You piece of trash, know your place!”
“...We're going to teach you a lesson today!”
“...Hit him harder! Make it hurt so he remembers what he is!”
Hearing the commotion ahead, Shulim had to pause.
Mm... this must be that thing.
The common occurrence usually called a group beatdown, or perhaps... bullying?
In an open area just ahead, a group of boys was surrounding and violently kicking another boy. The boy lay on the ground holding his head, silently enduring the assault without resisting.
Judging by their uniforms, all of them were students from Manacos, though based on their ages, they appeared to be upperclassmen. A few among the attackers were clearly nobles; they only stepped in for an occasional kick, spending most of their time directing the others from the side.
As for the boy lying on the ground, his face was obscured as he covered his head, but given the dynamic, he was likely just an ordinary commoner.
After beating him for a while, perhaps growing tired or noticing Shulim, the attackers finally stopped.
“Ptui!”
The leader among the nobles stepped forward and spat on the boy lying on the ground.
“You filthy commoner! A noble like me was generous enough to let you join our party in the first place, and you actually have the nerve to ask for payment?!”
“Ha! Payment?! We already gave you loot, and you still want payment?! Here—here's your payment! Take that!”
The noble boy delivered several more vicious kicks to the downed youth before finally venting enough anger to satisfy himself.
“Let's go!”
The group abandoned the boy and departed, taking his share of the loot with them...
...
The boy lay motionless on the ground with his eyes closed.
Shulim walked over, crouched down beside him, and looked at him curiously.
“Hey, are you still alive?”
“...I say...”
The boy lying like a corpse suddenly opened his eyes.
“If you saw what was happening, you could've lent a hand instead of just standing by and watching the show...”
“Why?”
Shulim tilted her head, resting her chin in her hands, and added,
“Those guys were no match for you anyway, right?”
“Ugh... putting it like that ruins the mood.”
The boy gave a speechless look, then snapped straight up and stood on his feet.
He stretched his limbs. Although covered in dirt and grime, despite being beaten for so long, he hadn't sustained any actual injuries.
He looked at Shulim. “Are you a first-year?”
Shulim nodded.
“Ehh~ You're pretty impressive, entering the dungeon as a first-year.”
“By the way, I'm Arthur! As you can see, I'm a pauper—emphasis on pauper, not just commoner! What about you? What's your name?”
The boy named Arthur had messy short brown hair and bright, spirited brown eyes. Just as he described, he wielded the most ordinary sword and the lowest-tier wand, looking thoroughly shabby.
Shulim stared at him silently.
...Why did this suddenly turn into a self-introduction?
“...Shulim Hayeral. That is my name.”
“Shuli—Wait! You're actually a noble?!”
Arthur looked utterly shocked.
“Why are you so surprised? Do I not look like a noble?”
“Not at all, okay?! In fact, I almost thought you were in the same line of work as me! I could feel that dangerous vibe coming off you from a mile away! Realistically speaking, what noble looks like you? Are you sure you're not an assassin raised by some gang?!”
...
This guy was incredibly rude...
Noticing that Shulim's expression was turning sour, Arthur realized he had crossed a line.
“Ah~ Um, noble milady~ Your humble servant just had a momentary brain-fart and talked nonsense. Please don't take it to heart~!”
Looking at Arthur's forced, grotesquely flattering smile, Shulim felt slightly nauseous.
“Stop, you're disgusting... And do you really think it's that easy to fool someone after showing your true colors?”
“Tsk!”
Arthur clicked his tongue loudly, his expression darkening into something villainous.
“Damn it, that didn't work?!”
“I heard that...”
“Argh~! Seriously, what do you want?”
Arthur threw his hands up in defeat.
Shulim tilted her head. “What do you mean, 'what do I want'?”
...
“Aren't you mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you?”
“What do you mean why...? I was rude to you, wasn't I? Usually, at a time like this, nobles like you go flying into a rage, screaming 'filthy peasant' this and 'vermin' that, right?”
...I really wonder what kind of nobles you've been dealing with.
“...Didn't you say I don't look like a noble?”
“Oh, right!”
Enlightenment washed over Arthur. He stroked his chin, nodding repeatedly as he muttered to himself.
“I see... I see...”
“You—”
Arthur reached his conclusion.
“—are totally different from those scumbag pieces of trash!”
Even though she knew he hadn't intended to include her in his insult, he was still talking about nobles as a whole. And she was a noble, after all...
“...Setting that aside, are you really going to just let this go?”
“Mm, you mean that...”
“Like hell I am!”
Arthur's expression grew sinister.
“There's no way I'm letting them off! If I don't get payback, my name isn't Arthur! I'm going to make that bastard learn what happens when you mess with someone from the slums!”
Watching Arthur swear an oath to the heavens, Shulim paused to think.
“Are you really short on money?”
Hearing her question, Arthur's expression stiffened, a flash of gloom crossing his eyes.
“Yeah. I am... really short...”
...
Rate on N.U.
