Wasn’t it a reality that even the Academy, which was said to be the safest place on the continent after the imperial family’s domain, could be invaded by demons?
They had even corrupted one of the cadets, persuading them to join their ranks. Outside of the Academy, it was unthinkable that there would be no demon spies in the realm of mankind.
“… Maybe so. I was careless,” I admitted.
“Yeah—3-star Summoners are powerful, but not invincible. And above all… our strength comes entirely from the power of our summons.”
I nodded in agreement.
Summons were formidable beings, but they weren’t invincible. They bore the glaring weakness of being entirely dependent on their summoners. If the summoner was incapacitated, no matter how powerful the summon, it could not function. It wasn’t without reason that summons followed orders from beings who were sometimes weaker than even the most insignificant insects.
An incomprehensible symbiotic relationship lay at the core of it.
“Be more careful next time,” he warned.
“Yes,” I replied.
“If you make a mistake, you deserve punishment. Both of you—clean the bathroom for one week.”
“Oh.”
“Ah…,” the other groaned.
Apparently, the bathroom was the only place where magic wasn’t used. It seemed this was to preserve some semblance of privacy. Thus, cleaning was done by the cadets themselves using magical tools.
To be honest, whether you cleaned with magic or magic tools, I never understood the difference.
“All right,” I conceded.
Punishment had to be accepted.
***
“Whew… Dirty b*stards.”
After coming out of the bathroom, I bent over and stretched, straightening my stiff back. A series of popping sounds echoed through my body. Once I had warmed up, I placed the cleaning tools in the storage room.
After reporting to the homeroom teacher, I headed to my room.
In the brief moments I passed by, cadets who saw me would stop and whisper among themselves.
“Look over there…”
“It’s Ian…”
In particular, the female cadets reacted even more strongly, though their reactions weren’t exactly positive.
“Last time, I saw him having dinner with a certain pr0stitute at a restaurant.”
“There’s talk that he made a girl cry and left her behind.”
“I heard he’s been flirting with more than eight w0men.”
Most of their comments were gossip or insults directed at me.
Though none of it was true, I glared at them cautiously. Those who noticed quickly dispersed.
‘Tsk.’
This was how rumors spread. But what if these rumors reached someone important?
What if they got to Noah Stella or Dinua…
‘That would be terrible.’
The thought of Dinua hearing about it, in particular, sent a chill down my spine.
‘She’s quite a dangerous figure…’
In the original story, Dinua was like a ticking time b0mb. She had been persuaded by demons and had betrayed humanity.
Recently, I’d been trying to stop her by appealing to her emotionally. But as the saying went, “Those who live by their words shall perish by their words.” The goodwill I had built might just as easily backfire.
‘This must not reach her ears.’
In this cramped Academy, staying hidden wasn’t easy. Of course, Dinua didn’t seem to have any close friends, but rumors didn’t need much to gain traction. Even a passing whisper could spark them.
For someone like me—who had achieved the top spot in both midterms and special exams—rumors about flirting with multiple w0men were bound to spread.
So…
“Hey, Ian…”
“… Senior?”
It was inevitable that something like this would eventually happen.
My body trembled slightly as I turned to see Dinua standing in front of me.
Her hands were shaking, clearly affected by some shocking rumor she had heard.
“Is it… true?” she asked hesitantly.
“What… is true?”
“About you. The rumors about making a junior cry and dating some girl no one’s ever seen…”
“What…?”
At first, she spoke sharply, but I quickly pieced together who she was referring to.
The “junior” was likely Noah, while the unfamiliar girl must have been the Empress who had fled afterward.
It was clear that this mess stemmed from my summon not being helpful when it appeared.
“I haven’t done anything like that. You must have picked up some strange gossip, Senior.”
“… Ian.”
Dinua grabbed my hand and pulled out a parchment from her pocket—a magical scroll inscribed with ominous runes.
“Really… did nothing happen?”
“… Nothing happened.”
“I’ll believe you… because I trust you, Ian.”
With those words, she tore the scroll apart.
And my vision turned black.
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Check out my other projects: Rehabilitating the Villainess, Pushover Extra Trains the Villainesses, I Picked Up an Amnesiac Witch, My Wife is the Devil, Transmigrated as the Butler of a Defeated Heroine