"Hey, did you know Victoria White just posted something new?"
Gundolf lifted his head at the sound of a voice directed toward him. A boy about his age — eighteen, to be exact — leaned forward with an excited gleam.
He frowned.
The classroom buzzed with chatter, a typical scene for the early morning before lectures began. Students filled the air with laughter and idle talk, free to do as they pleased. But what bothered him wasn't the noise itself, it was the subject of their conversation.
Victoria White
Anyone who spent enough time on the internet would have come across that name sooner or later. She was widely known as a popular Vtuber, boasting over a million subscribers on her channel. With her striking design, charming voice, and uncanny ability to keep her audience entertained for hours, she had cemented herself as one of the rising stars of the streaming world.
Whether through viral clips, trending collaborations, or fan-made content flooding social media, her presence was hard to ignore. Even those who weren't interested in Vtubers had probably stumbled across her name at least once.
However, the Vtuber was also known for something else. She ran an OnlyFans account with nearly five times as many subscribers. It certainly helped that her figure was strikingly voluptuous, paired with facial features that were nothing short of breathtaking.
"What exactly did she post?"
Marcus shifted in his seat. Since he was sitting ahead of Gundolf, he had turned to face him, expression thoughtful.
"Hmm. I haven't watched it myself, but from what I've heard, it's a collab stream with Nightingale."
"Nightingale?"
The blue-haired boy blinked, surprised. "You don't know Nightingale? Wait, why am I even surprised? You're the kind of guy who lives under a rock."
"Why would I live under a rock? It'd just be cold."
"Are you making fun of me?"
Gundolf grinned.
"Who, me? I wouldn't dare. After all, this noble cockroach lives under a rock, so he doesn't know anything about the world. How could I possibly be mocking you?"
"Tsk. Spout whatever crap you want. Anyway, there's still some time left, we can watch it real quick."
"Then wipe that perverted smile off your face. You're scaring away the girls."
"What girls, I wonder? Your imaginary girlfriend?"
"It's better than being delusional."
"Who the hell are you calling delusional, you son of a bitch! Do you want to smell like peanut butter for the rest of your life?"
Marcus glared at Gundolf who was wearing a victorious smirk. It seemed like his pride had been hurt.
"What are you perverts talking about so early in the morning?"
The two boys turned their heads in unison.
Someone had approached their table, her voice tinged with annoyance.
A young woman, though "lady" hardly seemed fitting for her. Her tanned skin carried a reddish glow, and her ivory-white hair was tied at the back — not its natural color, but dyed for effect. She wore the academy's blazer casually tied around her waist, completing the look she had clearly planned. Moreover, her perfume was almost overpowering, yet it carried a distinctly sweet fragrance.
Of course, they knew the young delinquent. She was, after all, the core member of their group. Though one of them didn't seem particularly pleased to see her.
"Oh, it's you,"
Chloe turned her head and narrowed her eyes at Marcus.
"What's that supposed to mean, you prick?"
Gundolf chuckled, then added wittily, keeping his smile in place:
"It's not like he'd be particularly thrilled to see you, considering you completely beat his ass last time."
Marcus hissed.
"What the hell are you talking about? The only reason she managed that was because I let her! Got it?"
A dangerous smile tugged at Chloe's lips in response.
"Oh, really? Then… how about round two?"
"Get lost, you harlot! Aren't you supposed to be off sucking up to the football team?"
"What did you just call me, you damn degenerate?!"
A murderous glint in her eyes, Chloe slammed a devastating blow into Marcus's stomach. Despite her slender frame, her strength was absurdly overwhelming. On top of that, she was a trained Karate practitioner.
With all these factors combined, she was a truly formidable opponent. Marcus, by contrast, was her polar opposite. It was no surprise when he crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain.
His face twisted with both pain and disbelief.
"How's that? Want seconds? Because I can happily deliver," Chloe exclaimed with her hands planted firmly on her wide hips.
Marcus struggled to his knees, gasping for precious air. He really got the wind knocked out of him.
"Cough! Cough! Alright, you win! I'm sorry, okay! G-Geez… how the hell are you this freakishly strong? Did you eat a bunch of gorillas or something?"
"What was that?" Chloe asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing! Nothing! You're… really awesome! Did you know I've always wanted to be like you?"
"Ew! Do you want to get punched again?" Chloe's expression twisted with visible disgust.
Watching the exchange between the two childhood friends, Gundolf wasn't sure whether to laugh or stay silent.
Actually, laughing might be a bad idea. They could easily gang up on him, and he wasn't exactly in the mood to take the brunt of their combined wrath. Staying quiet was probably the safest option.
'What a bunch of weirdos.'
Come to think of it, weren't all three of them a little strange?
Chloe was the school's delinquent, though the girls had a habit of calling her far harsher names like "slut" or "harlot." In reality, these claims were wildly exaggerated. She hadn't slept with that many guys; in fact, she had only ever dated the captain of the football team until they broke up.
Of course, the popular girls weren't pleased with the attention she drew and saw her as a threat. One day she was the football captain's girlfriend, and the next she was suddenly painted as a promiscuous whore that slept with anyone.
That was the gist of it. Though it had happened back when they were still freshers, Chloe remained sensitive to the words "slut" and "harlot."
Marcus, on the other hand, was just as wretched in his own way. His reputation as a pervert preceded him, causing girls to avoid him as if he were a walking plague. Under normal circumstances, being a little perverted wouldn't necessarily lead to complete isolation.
The problem began when he confessed to one of the popular seniors, unaware of her status as the school's so-called Goddess. It was a mistake any oblivious teenager could make. In high school hierarchies, some people were simply untouchable; not because they were frightening or unusually powerful, but because they had countless admirers.
What was even more surprising was that the guys were even more resentful than the girls. The senior boys, especially the upperclassmen, saw Marcus' declaration of love as nothing short of blasphemy against their Goddess. Surprisingly, the girl in question rejected him politely for her own reasons. Maybe she already knew about the situation and rejected him to save him from the unnecessary attention but it was already too late.
Rumors spread like wildfire. Marcus quickly became marked as a pervert and a degenerate, giving bullies ample excuse to torment him at every opportunity.
As for Gundolf, people avoided him for entirely different reasons.
In the end, the three of them earned a reputation as the "Defiled," with Gundolf being the leader.
Recalling a particular memory, Gundolf's expression soured, twisting like a rotting fruit, before he let out a brief, heavy frown. He sighed and let his gaze drift toward the world beyond the window.
"That was a long time ago… I shouldn't dwell on the past."
He closed his eyes, forcing the dreadful memory down, burying it as deep as he could into the bottomless recesses of his mind.
And then, in the next instant, a close, yet impossibly distant sound reached echoed. It felt like someone was whispering into his ears, yet there was no one.
A murmur.
[You have been infected by the Black Mire.]