Irene Durandal felt a little aggrieved.
No, she felt incredibly, deeply aggrieved.
‘When I was with Master, there weren't this many people in the mountains.’
‘Whether it was enemies or magical beasts, they were all very simple.’
‘If they hated me, they drew their swords. If they wanted to kill me, I slashed back.’
‘If I won, I won. If I lost, I went back to get scolded by my dear Master, and then continued practicing my sword the next day.’
But people's eyes were different... They didn't make a sound, nor did they draw weapons. They just watched you quietly.
Yet, they made one feel even more helpless about where to hide than a sword's edge.
‘...Do they think I'm strange?’
‘Even though I'm from the White Garden... I don't know how to do anything.’
Once this thought cropped up, she couldn't suppress it no matter what.
The girl instinctively wanted to lower her head. She wanted to hide herself behind her cascading silvery-white hair like she usually did, or simply shrink into a corner where no one could see her.
But just as her head drooped slightly... she forced herself to stop.
No, she couldn't do this.
Her dear Master had said so.
When being watched by others, if you showed fear first, you would attract even more malicious entities, just like a wounded beast.
Irene sniffled hard. Her small, curled hands clenched bit by bit as she forced her shoulders to straighten up again.
She lifted her head. Her violet eyes were as clear as ever, but the soft confusion that had been lingering in them just moments ago had been quietly tucked away.
She was like a white kitten that had just had its tail stepped on, baring its claws and fangs to put on a brave front.
‘I-It's fine. I didn't know how to do this in the first place.’
‘I'll just learn it later. Besides, my swordsmanship is very strong. Even dear Master said I was very strong...’
The girl repeated this in her heart over and over again.
As if by saying it enough times, the sourness quietly spreading from her chest could truly be suppressed.
“P-Professor...”
When she spoke, her voice was surprisingly steady.
“Am I done with the test?”
Grom blanked for a moment. Having lived for so many years, the old dwarf could naturally tell that the child before him was putting on a brave face.
He fell silent for a moment, swallowing the questions that had risen to the tip of his tongue.
“...Yes. You're done.”
“Go back and take your seat.”
“Okay.”
Irene nodded.
Her slightly chubby, baby-fat face was tense, and her drooping silvery-white hair obscured her eyes.
She turned around quietly, avoiding those stinging gazes, and walked back to her seat step by step.
And then... she saw Lynn.
To be precise, her Eyes of Insight captured his gaze first.
There was no doubt, no ridicule. There was not even the condescending pity that she detested the most.
That warm gold was just as it had always been, so prominent amidst the pitch-black malice.
And so... pure.
It was as if nothing had happened, as if in his eyes, she was still the ideal Irene.
Irene's nose suddenly felt a little runny.
That peaceful gaze rested on her quietly.
And so, one of the spines that the little white-haired hedgehog had worked so hard to bristle suddenly went askew.
Irene's footsteps paused slightly. In the next second, as if she hadn't noticed anything, she deliberately turned her small face to the other side and walked past him with her lips poised tightly.
‘W-What are you looking at... You're not allowed to pity me.’
‘I'm not sad at all.’
Only, the ahoge drooping amidst her silver hair failed to put on a brave front alongside its master.
【Emotion Points +300】
...
At the back of the classroom, Levi slowly lowered his eyes.
He didn't cry out in surprise like the Azure Garden students. Not even the corners of his mouth curved up too noticeably.
Only his knuckles, hidden beneath the desk, clenched tighter and tighter.
‘Finally, finally, finally, finally...!’
A surge of pleasure that he could barely suppress slowly welled up from the depths of his chest.
Yesterday, this mudblood was surrounded by everyone.
‘White Garden Chief,’ ‘Light of the Regal Department,’ ‘once-in-a-millennium monster rookie’...
Listen to that. What kind of grand titles did those fools plaster over you?
And his own planned probing had completely turned into a joke because of that meddling fellow Lynn and the sudden appearance of Siss.
But what about now? He didn't even need to do anything anymore.
That trash, who had nothing going for her but her face, had crushed everyone's expectations to pieces all by herself.
‘As expected...’
A cold, sinister smile surfaced in Levi's eyes.
‘Mud is just mud.’
‘Even if it's lifted to the heavens, it won't turn into gold.’
The lackey beside him had clearly been holding back for a long time as well. Seeing the surrounding whispers grow larger, a tall, thin youth immediately lowered his voice and feigned surprise:
“Young Master Levi, if I remember correctly...”
“In previous years, the freshmen of the Red Garden had an average affinity of at least 4.5 or higher in their primary element, right?”
“Yes,” Levi replied casually.
“Then the White Garden...”
“Shut up,” he suddenly interrupted in a cold voice.
The lackey was startled, and several students nearby who were eavesdropping also instinctively looked over.
They saw Levi frowning, his face actually showing a trace of disapproval.
“The academy has its own standards for assigning gardens.”
“Since classmate Durandal is in the White Garden, it means she must possess the qualifications to enter the White Garden.”
It sounded like he was speaking up for Irene. But having said this, he paused at just the right moment.
“It's just...”
His voice was very soft, yet it was just loud enough for a small circle of people nearby to hear.
“She is completely clueless about theory, and her element affinity is no different from an ordinary person's.”
“So, I am indeed a little curious.” The corners of Levi's mouth curled up slightly. The smile looked warm, but no matter how one looked at it, he resembled a venomous snake that had finally caught the scent of blood.
“This so-called ‘qualification’ of the White Garden...”
“What exactly is it?”
“...”
The air froze slightly.
The eyes of some students who were already harboring doubts instantly shifted.
Indeed.
What exactly was it?
Looking at the increasingly suspicious faces around him, the long-suppressed pleasure in Levi's heart finally spread out.
Very good, nothing more was needed.
He remembered the ‘teachings’ his senior had given him not long ago.
Crude methods, obvious goals.
As the future heir of the Sah family, he would absolutely not make such a low-level mistake again.
‘What I need to do... is just one thing...’
I only need to ask one question.
A question that everyone already wanted to ask.
The rest—
these clever “elites” would naturally finish it for him.
Thinking of this, Levi instead leaned back slightly against his chair and shook his head with feigned helplessness.
“Of course, perhaps we are simply shallow-sighted.”
“After all...”
He looked at the self-isolating white-haired dumpling in the distance with a half-smile.
“The academy wouldn't make a mistake, would it?”
Rate on N.U.
