Chapter 19: Transfer Students
It was a spectacle.
I wouldn't be able to see such an entertaining expression for all the money in the world.
I took a moment to savor his face, then glanced at my watch. It was a quarter past five in the morning; I had been called out here at three-thirty.
'Time to wrap this up.'
I checked to make sure no one else was around, then pulled out my wand and aimed it at his forehead without hesitation. I began to chant the spell I was so tired of memorizing, the words leaving my lips:
"Enter through the narrow gate."
It was the first time I had ever cast this spell, but thanks to the perfectly established divine power property, the effect was certain.
The student, who had been staring at me in a daze, suddenly looked confused, his eyes darting around. Then, he lost consciousness and fell forward.
THUD!
"...!"
"Wh-what did you do?!" the students lying in the distance shouted.
I didn't answer. Instead, I cast the same spell on them, putting them all to sleep. The spell acted on the magic that made up their brains, corrupting their perception and memory from a certain period before the spell was cast.
The targets of the deletion were all memories that could be perceived as magic light, the color red, the act of extending an arm, and wands. It was possible that other memories were also deleted.
If my spell was classified as a "shocking event," then all the "shocking" memories from earlier would have been erased.
'I hope I haven't made these idiots even more idiotic.'
I clucked my tongue as I looked down at them. However, I didn't erase their emotions. Since we would have to live in the same space, their feelings had to remain clear.
'Expulsion would be great, but…'
If news of an assault on Lucas Ascanien were to reach home, the family would obviously have to get involved, making it a public matter. So, anything I could handle on my own had to be finished on my own.
"Ugh…"
My head began to ache from manipulating the minds of three people at once.
'Does this increase my mental strength or my physical strength…?'
Either way, it was best to raise all my stats as quickly as possible.
'Maybe I should check my scores while I'm at it.'
I needed to calculate how I could use these guys to my advantage.
I called up my status window.
Lucas René Ascanien
Title: Hunter of ???
Health: -3.4 (+0.1) [-0.4]
Mental Power: -7.7 (+0.5)
Magic Power: ?
Skill: +1.015 [+4.015]
Impression: -10
Luck: -6.485 (+0.5)
Traits: Dawn777, Divine Power
I raised an eyebrow and nodded. My mental power had increased by 0.5 points from what happened this morning.
'Not bad.'
I wondered if anyone else would pick a fight with me. I clicked my tongue and checked my skill points.
Midterms were in a month. However, since my goal was to quickly improve my magic, midterms were a nuisance. They included many liberal arts courses, not just magic.
'But I can't give up the benefits that good grades provide.'
For a student, there was no easier or more convenient way to improve their image. High grades alone would change the perception of my words. Just as my brother had said, it would be
"good to raise my grades to at least the average."
So...
'They're useful after all.'
I smiled as I looked down at them.
"That's an amazing spell."
Just then, I heard a voice. My head instinctively shot up.
Someone was looking down at me from the top of the building. I hadn't meant for someone to pick a fight with me so soon.
There had been no one here a moment ago, but now someone had appeared like a mouse. I was only planning to pretend I couldn't use magic for another two or three months, so one or two people knowing wouldn't be a huge problem... but should I deal with it anyway?
As I went to pull out my wand, the person waved their hand and shouted frantically,
"Wait! I'm coming down!"
He put his hand on the railing and jumped, imbuing his legs with magic to land on the ground.
"My apologies. I should have introduced myself first. I'm Narche Farnese. I'm from the Papal States, and I'll be attending this school as an exchange student starting next week."
An exchange student.
The novel had no mention of such a character.
Either it happened in the original story but wasn't important to the plot and was left out, or the plot was already changing. For now, the former was more likely.
But I couldn't ignore the possibility of the latter.
So, instead of erasing his memory immediately, my priority was to gather information through conversation.
I stared at the exchange student, who had no intention of leaving, and waited for him to speak.
"You're Lucas, right? It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you back in the Papal States."
"Yeah, nice to meet you, too."
I looked him over and called up his favorability window.
Narche Farnese
* Favorability: +7
'A positive favorability score?'
I couldn't believe my eyes and called up the window again.
The number was the same. It was the first time I had ever seen a positive number. He had heard a lot about me in the Papal States, and this was his score?
'What in the world did he hear...?'
As I stared at his face without saying a word, he looked a little awkward, his eyes darting around before he spoke.
"I was so angry, but you handled everything so well that I feel so relieved. Thank you. That animal those guys were carrying, he's a friend I'm raising."
"Is that so?" I said, handing the animal I was holding over to him.
"Yeah. He was the only one I could rely on, and I was so surprised when he disappeared." He touched the animal's heart and sighed in relief.
Then, he pulled out his wand. "Honestly, they're still repulsive, but... I can't exactly report them to the school."
"Why not?"
"I can't let them find out that you used magic to defend yourself, right? So I was thinking of giving them a little payback in a different way."
He smiled and lightly flicked his wand, then murmured a spell over the fallen students, casting another spell on them.
'Hmm…'
Now this was interesting.
'Can't let them find out you used magic to defend yourself?'
A faint smile appeared on my face as I stared at him.
Yeah, I should have known something was up when he had a positive favorability score. I had a good reason to be wary of him. I needed to figure out what kind of person he was.
'Status window.'
DING!
However, what appeared wasn't the status window. I furrowed my brow and read the words.
Chapter 3. The Constant Drip Wears Away the Stone (1)
Prompt 1: Make the optimal choice. (0/1)
* Route 1—Prompt 2
* Route 2—Chapter 4. Slow and Steady Wins the Race
'Optimal choice.'
It appeared again.
The optimal choice right now would be... to decide my attitude toward him. Whether to make him an ally or to minimize contact and remain on guard.
Unlike before, there were no death routes in either choice.
That meant neither option would cause a major problem. I looked into his eyes and called up his status window.
'Status window.'
Narche Farnese
* Favorability: +7
* Title: ?
* Health: +8
* Mental Power: +9
* Magic Power: +10
* Skill: +7
* Impression: ?
* Luck: +4
* Traits: Divine Power, Premonition (Lv.1), Insight (Lv.2)
'...Wow.'
I felt a similar emotion to when I saw Leo's status window. Was it even possible to have these stats at this age? I quickly scanned the stats and looked at his traits.
'He has Insight.'
Insight Lv.2
Points to Next Level: 3.0
Application of God's Blessing
Did he know that I shouldn't be using magic because of this? It was a useful ability.
No, it was more than just useful; it was an ability I would want to have if I could. And with Premonition…
Premonition Lv.1
Points to Next Level: 2.0
Application of God's Blessing
My lips twisted into a smirk.
'Make the optimal choice.'
Of course, I should make him an ally. Was there a law that said I shouldn't be wary of an ally? The person you should be most wary of should always be kept in the most visible place.
DING!
Congratulations!
'Prompt 1: Make the optimal choice.' is complete!
'Route 1—Prompt 2' is confirmed.
I immediately brought up the Dawn window.
Dawn777
Remaining Time to Final Ending 'Chapter X. Death': 757 days, 5 hours, 1 minute, 35 seconds
Probability of Change: 6.4% (+1.0%p)
This decision increased my chances of survival by 1.0%p.
When I checked last, it was 5.3%, so it must have already increased by 0.1%p before this.
In any case, this decision wasn't unfavorable.
Let's keep him in the most visible place and see how he moves from here on out.
"That should be enough."
He stood up and put his wand back in his belt.
"What did you do?"
"Just something similar to the divine power you used. It won't be obvious."
He laughed openly. That meant he had also manipulated their minds. Of course, it wouldn't be obvious. I looked at him, laughing as if nothing had happened, and followed suit.
Then, he looked at the students and asked, "I'm fine with ending it here, but it looks like you took a hit. Are you going to just let it go like it never happened?"
"No," I muttered, looking at their peaceful faces.
"Not a chance."
This was a golden opportunity, and I was going to make good use of it.
"Ah…"
The pleasant chirping of birds harmonized with the distant chatter of students. A warm light fell upon his skin, and a cool breeze gently brushed against his body.
The student, who had just opened his eyes, closed them again. It was a perfect situation for a deep sleep, and waking up felt like a shame.
'Hmm… Huh?'
Breeze? Brushing against his body?
The student's eyes shot open.
"...!"
He was lying on the empty lot where he had called out Lucas. He jumped to his feet and kicked his friends.
"Hey! Get up!"
"Agh!"
"Ugh…"
"What happened earlier?!"
They had called Lucas out to mess with him, but now they were all just peacefully sleeping. He tried to remember, but his mind felt hazy.
Thankfully, a few fragmented scenes came to mind.
'...I think I ate dirt.'
No, that couldn't be right? He gagged, his face turning sickly. He thought he was just going insane, but the fact that he could taste salt inside his lips made his stomach churn even more.
'...It couldn't have happened. It couldn't have.'
And... he remembered grabbing Lucas by the collar. He remembered his friends lying on the ground.
When he tried to remember anything more, the circuits in his brain felt like they were shorting out.
But no matter what, the conclusion was clear.
Putting together what he could vaguely remember...
'Did we just get played?'
A vague feeling of repulsion and fear washed over him whenever he thought of Lucas. For some reason, he felt like he shouldn't get involved with him anymore.
No, he didn't want to get involved. He didn't know why, but he wished he could turn back time to before he had called Lucas out.
He even felt a desperate need to silence Lucas.
Given all this, it was clear they had been completely outmatched by Lucas.
A friend who was staring blankly into space seemed to reach the same conclusion and muttered in a hollow voice,
"...Did we just lose to a guy who can't even use magic?"
"..."
The atmosphere grew heavy.
"No... that can't be. How can a common person beat three mages? What happened? Hey, you're smart. Try to remember what happened."
"What do you mean, smart?! Don't you know I was 36th in our class last year? I don't remember a thing!" another student retorted.
"You're better than us, though! I don't remember anything!"
As they argued, another student waved his hand.
"Shut up. This isn't about grades. First, we called Lucas out. Then you pushed him against the wall, and... um, you tried to feed him that rat. After that..."
"..."
"When we opened our eyes, we were all on the floor. It looks like Lucas stomped on his school uniform because there's a footprint on the back..."
The students' faces grew even darker.
"We definitely don't remember him using magic, right?"
"If he used it, we'd definitely remember. Especially if it was Lucas."
"Right? And... I think we passed out after that. I don't remember anything else."
A silence followed.
One of the students sitting weakly on the ground spoke up,
"Is our magic that pathetic? Easy enough for a common person to break through with their bare hands?"
No one dared to say no. Everyone in this group was a student who had barely passed the entrance exam, so they had nothing to say if their skills were questioned.
Then, one student shook his head decisively.
"Snap out of it. We didn't actually hit him, did we? Remember? We were just trying to scare him, not physically hurt him."
At that, the students exchanged glances. Another student pressed him.
"Speak clearly."
"What did we do? The note was vague, we didn't actually make him eat anything, and besides that one first-year, no one knows we called him out. And even he left before we could do anything."
The student looked at his friends, who were listening intently, and continued.
"In short, even if Lucas reports us, there's no evidence we'll be punished. There's no need to be scared yet."
"...Good point. That makes sense. Then what about us reporting Lucas first? We might be able to flip the script."
"No, that's too risky. We have no evidence other than the footprint on his back. And since we stomped on his jacket, we're not exactly innocent. The best thing is to keep our mouths shut."
And there was no reason for them to be intimidated by a report.
Considering that Lucas knocked them out and left on his own, he couldn't be completely innocent, either.
It was a card that was too risky for them to play first, but if he came after them, it would be a useful one.
Their honor would be ruined since they got played by a guy who couldn't even use magic, but was honor important right now?
They just had to avoid expulsion.
Just expulsion.
The student desperately forced a smile.
'Shit… we're screwed.'
He was starting to think he might not be able to avoid expulsion after all.
The student's eyes widened in horror at the sight that greeted him, and he frantically looked around.
"What is that?"
Leon, who was sitting on the other side of the classroom, muttered to himself in disbelief. While they didn't speak aloud, the reactions of the other students were similar.
"Hey, you said you didn't hit him…!" his friend whispered to him.
"You left me behind, but I came back just fine on my own," Lucas said, sneering as he walked past him with his hands in his pockets.
The student's vision went white, and he desperately tried to avoid Lucas's gaze.
There was a bruise on Lucas's face. It was covered with medical tape, but that alone made it obvious that a physical fight had taken place.
Why would a guy who was perfectly fine yesterday look like he had been beaten up?
It was obvious who was responsible.
He felt cold sweat breaking out. The sight of the clear evidence of school violence made him feel dizzy.
'Did we really hit him? That obviously? Are we crazy…?'
"Hey."
Lucas, who had thrown his bag at his desk, came back and grabbed his shoulder.
My vision began to shake wildly. I slowly turned my head. Lucas, who was looking down at me, made eye contact and gave me a smile I couldn't understand.