LDTOTSDML Chapter 5

The guardian who appeared before them was the chairwoman of the Pryde Scholarship Foundation, and the single most vicious, most notorious figure in the entire empire.

"To think the Academy, which should be the safest place there is, is this dangerous."

"Liquor? Liquor, in this sacred place of learning?"

"When they should be protecting the victimized student, instead they're handing down discipline?"

"How the hell am I supposed to feel safe shipping my own kids off here after this?"

"Do you have any idea how much our house donates to this Academy every year……"

Having graced them with her precious presence in person, the Duchess expressed deep regret over the incident.

First, she went and worked over the noble who'd gotten drunk and torn the place up.

And that year, the Academy learned, in its very bones, the meaning of the phrase "strapped for cash."

It started with the Duchess withdrawing her donations to the Academy. Following her lead, other noble houses in turn either withdrew their donations or rescinded their pledges to donate.

On the surface, the reason given was outrage at the Academy's conduct, but in reality, everyone was simply reading the mood of the displeased Duchess and trying to stay on her good side.

That was how furious the Duchess was.

She held it against the Academy for failing to immediately protect her sponsored student—and a young student who had become a victim, no less.

"You're gonna run it like that? Then don't bother running it at all."

The Duchess acted as though she genuinely intended to shut the Academy down.

And in the end, she went so far as to put a motion for the Academy's closure on the agenda of the council attended by the Emperor and the heads of each region.

Only then did the Academy grasp the severity of the situation. They quickly reversed their dithering, half-hearted attitude, tracked down every victimized student, and began protecting them.

"……It really almost got shut down."

The fifth-year senior, who had served as student council secretary at the time, trembled slightly, as if recalling a terrible nightmare.

"Chaos doesn't even cover it. That was chaos on top of chaos."

With the donations cut off in an instant, every operation ground to a halt.

Actually, the fact that a lack of donations could paralyze operations was ridiculous in itself.

There was official government operating funding—so why had this happened?—it turned out it was because of corruption that had been secretly going on inside the Academy.

"Half the faculty got replaced over embezzlement, and financial authorities came by every single day to investigate……"

That year, the Academy ended up not even running half the first semester properly.

"And because of that, we couldn't even go home for summer break—we had to take makeup classes! During break! We didn't even get to play!"

"But they refunded the first-semester tuition, though," Sonia countered.

The Academy had apologized for failing to properly run the semester due to this whole mess and had refunded the students' first-semester tuition.

On top of that, the Academy had covered the entire cost of the summer makeup semester.

"……That's exactly why it's terrifying."

The senior shuddered, thoroughly rattled.

"The Duchess destroys anyone who falls out of her good graces—so if Arphina ends up hitting someone again over this, what do you think she'll do?"

The Duchess, famous throughout the empire for her nastiest temper, had one distinctive trait.

She took ferociously good care of anyone within her own fence.

She'd driven the Academy—which had failed to properly protect her sponsored student—to that extreme, and had given them a thorough scolding for it.

If Arphina, unable to bear people's whispering and stares this time either, ended up causing another disturbance……

"Next time, it might be us."

It was the kind of thing that, if you heard it from someone, you'd say, "Come on, even so, is there really someone that crazy out there?"

But the students were genuinely dead serious.

Because the Duchess really was someone who would do exactly that, and more.

"Still, thanks to Arphina, our Technical Department's gotten pretty well-off."

The Boreotti family, who had steadily sponsored the Technical Department for years already, had drastically increased their funding after the incident.

That was how the Duchess protected Arphina.

She made it plainly, openly known that she stood behind Arphina, that House Boreotti stood behind her.

That touching Arphina was the same as making an enemy of her.

That was how Arphina became the number one hazardous individual within the Technical Department.

The survival of the Technical Department hinged on her peaceful school life.

"I just hope it stays peaceful at least until I graduate."

"Wow, senior……"

"Kids, that right there—that's what integrity looks like."

"Boo! Think about the juniors you're leaving behind too!"

"Shut up! My graduation and getting a job matter more!"

In the middle of it, jeers rained down briefly over one senior's selfish display of character, but there was a single conclusion everyone agreed on.

For the Technical Department's peace, they had to protect Arphina.

"Hm."

Sonia lightly ran a hand over the back of her neck.

"What?" a friend beside her asked.

"It's a little funny and amusing that the whole department gathered together just to protect one Arphina."

"I guess that's true, when you put it that way."

"The strongest person in the Technical Department is Arphina."

"The unbeatable lunatic nobody can touch."

Arphina looked outwardly meek and fragile, and in truth, she really did have a timid personality and low self-esteem to match her looks.

But not a single Technical Department student underestimated Arphina.

"To begin with, it's not exactly normal to sit through class holding a monkey wrench because you're scared and shaking."

At her friend's remark, Sonia burst out laughing.

"Ha! That's fair! That's exactly why it's funny."

"Right. But isn't that also part of our Arphina's charm?"

The Technical Department dining hall was noisy in an instant. Everyone happily threw out opinions on how best to help Arphina. There was more good cheer than seriousness to it.

Arphina herself had no idea.

Given the nature of the Technical Department, individual craft and job assignment were the whole point, so it was fairly rare for them to band together and cooperate on anything.

"Hey, so what should we do?"

"Should we walk around all sharp and formal, like knights?"

"Should we go around threatening any students who get close to her?"

"But if it's a noble student, that could get annoying……"

"Won't it be fine since the Duchess is already watching over us?"

But right now, the Technical Department was more united and harmonious than it had ever been, banding together around Arphina.

"Only she doesn't know it."

Sonia propped her chin on a hand set up on the table and gave a lazy little laugh.

The whole Technical Department knew.

Only Arphina didn't.

That she was loved by this many people.

While the Technical Department students earnestly discussed their plan to protect Arphina, half in sincerity and half in jest—

"……"

Arphina was alone in her dorm room, hard at work studying.

Though the studying she was doing was somewhat removed from her coursework.

Books borrowed from the library were scattered here and there across her desk and the floor.

Difficult, dense content was written on every open page.

'Here, like this……'

And based on all the information she'd pulled from those books, Arphina was drawing something, quick strokes of the pen.

On the worn, hand-softened leather cover of her notebook, several drawings of an unidentifiable object had been sketched.

It looked like a hand with only the thumb and index finger spread out, turned upside down.

"……"

The hand that had been sketching without rest suddenly stopped.

"Ha……"

No longer able to concentrate, Arphina collapsed straight onto her bed.

For the past few days, one voice endlessly circling in her head had been making things difficult for Arphina.

'From now on, it's my turn to work at it.'

'Conveying my feelings for you until my sincerity reaches you, senior, and until you can trust and believe in me completely!'

'I like you, senior!'

She couldn't understand it.

'Why?'

Several days had already passed since she'd rejected Del's confession.

Since that day, Del hadn't come looking for her, and the commotion seemed to be settling down for good.

The curious stares of people coming to sneak glances at her were still there, but since the root cause of the whole affair hadn't come around anymore, Arphina figured it was practically over now.

So why did Del's voice keep circling through her head?

While eating a meal, without warning. While looking in the mirror after washing up. While basking in the warm sunlight coming through the classroom window. While strolling in the garden with friends.

Even when closing her eyes to sleep.

Even when waking up in the morning.

Even now, taking a brief breather in the middle of her work.

Even when doing absolutely nothing at all.

'I like you, senior!'

The voice that kept surfacing was so contrary. The confession from her junior—one she'd assumed was simply troublesome, a distasteful joke—was as gentle as a lullaby whispered in one's sleep.

'……This is strange.'

Arphina stared blankly at the plain, unmarked ceiling.

"This is strange."

This time she even said it out loud.

"Why do you like me?"

What was there to like.

Arphina's muttering was close to self-hypnosis.

Her family had always looked away from her existence, always underestimated her as someone who couldn't do anything properly.

Whatever moments of pure, genuine liking she'd had for someone had been trampled flat, right in front of her.

'……I want to see the Duchess.'

Whenever her heart wavered and grew unsettled like this, Arphina reached for the Duchess the way one reaches for indigestion medicine. She was the only adult Arphina trusted and relied upon.

'She treats me well because there's something she wants from me.'

A relationship where each side gave only what the other needed.

Arphina liked that theirs was a contractual relationship—one where, because there was something to exchange, she didn't need to nurse any hopes beyond that exchange.

'I like you, senior!'

That was exactly why Del's confession felt so much more uncomfortable.

A pure sincerity she'd never experienced before. A clean, upright feeling with not a single trace of deception in it.

Arphina had never once experienced……

'…No.'

No.

Just once.

Arphina recalled the one instance of affection she had received, back as a child.

'Whoa, what's that? Did you make that, Sis?'

'Sis, you're amazing! I can't do this. Mom and Dad can't do it either, or grandma and gramps!'

'So that means you're even more amazing. So cool! Like, this cool!'

The face of the boy who'd smiled shyly at her had grown hazy by now, but the warm fondness he'd shown her was still vivid.

'He was just a little kid who didn't know anything……'

That was why he'd been able to say, so naively, that he liked her.

But so much time had passed since then that that innocent child would have heard the rumors about her by now.

'He'll know I'm the defect, the mutant.'

It was too terrible a word to apply to herself, but Arphina felt no hesitation calling that word to mind and attaching it to herself.

She'd been called it more often than her own name.

Because in House Tonide, famed for its magic, she was the only mutant who couldn't use magic at all.