Of course, Lucian was just mocking Roderic again, Roderic just didn't know it, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he was too stupid to realise it? In truth, the memories of past encounters with Roderic had flooded Lucian's mind now, with the faint memories clicking into place.
The old Lucian had indeed been squeezed dry by this brute, giving up whatever allowance he'd been given by his father every month to avoid confrontation. But the old Lucian was gone now. The notion of parting with currency, of being coerced by such a pitiful child was laughable to the new Lucian.
He let out a soft chuckle, almost a giggle since it came out of his prepubescent, 12 year old mouth, before meeting Roderic's gaze directly.
"You believe you have leverage over me because of a few coins?" Lucian asked mockingly.
Roderic blinked, momentarily thrown off by the sheer audacity in Lucian's tone. He obviously wasn't expecting this rebuttal from little old Lucian.
"What—?"
"Fascinating…" Lucian stroked his chin with a snide remark.
His eyes narrowed as he regarded Roderic as one might a particular specimen under a microscope. While Roderic may seem like the typical school bully, this was exactly what interested Lucian. The similarity in behaviour between Roderic, a human from this brand new world Lucian was just beginning to experience, and bullies from his previous world, could probably created a nobel prize winning social study.
Lucian wasn't interested in sociology though, so he moved on.
"What drives you I wonder? A sense of entitlement? Power? Or perhaps just a base craving to dominate the weak?" Lucian mocked Roderic outright.
At this point Roderic's face had flushed with anger. He stepped forward, raising his fist threateningly, acting like he wanted to bash Lucian's face inwards. And Lucian had no doubt that he fully intended on following through with this act.
"You little—!"
But before he could finish, the door along the hallway behind Lucian swung open with a heavy creak. The atmosphere shifted instantly as Lucian gazed at the newcomer, and Roderic turned around to catch a glimpse of this new party. When he did, his fist, which had been halfway through its arc, froze in mid air. His face twisted into a mask of frustration and confusion.
The man who emerged was striking — a solidly built figure with a presence that seemed to command the air around him. He was dressed in a dark robe-like garment, somewhere between the simplicity of a martial arts Gi and the elegance of a scholar's robe, cinched at the waist by a broad leather belt. The garb was adorned by some faint lettering of this world's language, that spelt out the words 'Combat instructor'.
His hair, long and tied back in a simple knot, was streaked with silver despite his youthful face, and his eyes were a piercing shade of blue, the kind that seemed to see through every layer of a person.
A subtle aura of power radiated from him, nothing like what Lucian felt from Roderic's stocky, bodybuilder-like figure. Lucian could tell that he was the type of person that, when stepping into a room, brought all of the attention naturally onto himself just from his presence.
"Is there a problem here, kids?" The man spoke with confidence.
Lucian straightened, with his interest in this person piqued. He glanced at Roderic, who had immediately shrunk back, all of his intimidation vanishing as if he had been doused in cold water.
"N-no, Professor Kaldor!" He stammered when he spoke, with his face on the verge of turning pale.
"Just… having a chat with my friend Lucian here!"
"Friend?" Professor Kaldor questioned.
His gaze shifted between the two of them, settling on Lucian with a faint, almost imperceptible frown. His eyes seemed to carry a sense of questioning in them. "I wasn't aware the two of you were on such friendly terms."
Lucian offered the professor a disarmingly innocent smile, knowing that a zero tolerance policy was in place at this academy. If one went down, they both went down. It didn't matter who was on the receiving end or not. Lucian didn't intend to be punished so early into his transmigration.
Considering this place seemed to be around the middle ages in development, he didn't want to find out just how strict those punishments were.
"Oh, absolutely. Roderic here was just asking me to contribute to the welfare of the academy." Lucian stated confidently, despite knowing that he had to maintain an air of cowardice if he wanted to blend in with the original Lucian's actions. But he felt that even though this was a bit different, it still fit in with the stereotype of a quiet kid being bullied. After all, even bullied kids tend to have a moment of realisation and stick up for themselves every once in a while.
"…"
"…"
The atmosphere quickly grew awkward. It was clear neither person expected this sort of response out of Lucian. The corners of Kaldor's mouth twitched, as if suppressing a chuckle of his own.
"I see. Quite the philanthropist, aren't you, Roderic?" He turned to Roderic and questioned him, following along with Lucian's ruse.
It didn't take an idiot to figure out what was going on between the two of them, and Kaldor was no idiot. It was obvious that Roderic was in the midst of bullying Lucian before he stepped in. But with both sides denying anything had happened, what was he supposed to do? Make it up? Then that would just cause even more problems not just for the two of them, but himself as well if they decided to report it.