Chapter 11
The next day.
Victor arrived at the classroom riding on something.
"Good morning. It is nice to meet you all."
A smiling mask.
A morning greeting even more refreshing than that smile.
However, the Class E students couldn't bring themselves to return the greeting.
They merely stared at the clown with bewildered expressions.
""...?""
Utterly flabbergasted faces.
Their eyes seemed to question what they were even looking at.
The boy laughed as if he were satisfied with their reactions.
A bizarre resonance leaked through the mask.
"Having a ride certainly makes things comfortable! The main building for Class E is quite far from the dormitory, after all."
It wasn't a short distance.
Therefore, trams exclusively for students were placed throughout the academy.
Since its scale was comparable to a city, it had its own transportation system.
"The ride quality is great, I should use it often."
Contextually, it sounded like someone marveling at a tram they were riding for the first time.
But what he was admiring wasn't a tram or anything like that.
It was the creaking thing beneath Victor's feet.
The students who confirmed what it was all lost their words.
"A rickshaw carrying human sweat and hard work is definitely better than a tram powered by magic power."
A massive rickshaw.
It had a structure with a ceiling over a base that was at least three square meters.
Beneath the cozy shade, there was even a white bed.
It was quite an impressive design.
A spacious rickshaw, and a single bed inside.
The clown was lying peacefully inside it.
"My travels will be nice and soft from now on."
And at the spot for pulling the rickshaw.
Attached to the densely packed handles...
"Pant, pant...."
"Ugh, eek...."
Some students were standing there exhausted.
The individuals ranked from the salutatorian to eighth place in the class.
They were the ones pulling the rickshaw.
Perhaps they had overexerted themselves, as they all looked half-dead.
"Damn it, ugh... this is fucked up...."
One of them muttered curses through ragged breaths.
As if he had a ghost's hearing, the clown poked his head out.
"Oh? Do you have a complaint, perhaps?"
"Eeeek! N-No, hyungnim! We can run for another two hours!"
Swoosh, swoosh-.
He quickly turned pale and shook his head.
A desperate denial as if terrified.
The other people accompanying the rickshaw had the exact same reaction.
""....""
When Victor leaned his mask forward, they forced pretty smiles.
They clamped their mouths shut as if trying to kill even the sound of their panting.
We have absolutely no complaints.
It felt like those words could be heard beyond the silence.
Though they couldn't hide their profusely pouring sweat and twitching brows.
"Everyone, are you tired by any chance?"
""No, hyungnim!""
"This is perfect for training your strength and stamina. It's quite the workout, right? It will really help you a lot."
""Yes, hyungnim!!""
They looked strictly disciplined.
If there was any normal reaction, it was only from the salutatorian.
Because he was the only one who didn't hide his scowl.
Sweating as if he were dying, he chewed on thick curses.
"Ah, fuck.... How did he make something like this in just one day...."
"Luyan."
Of course, even he ended up swallowing a gasp when their eyes met.
He tried his best to glare at the clown, but his eyes were clearly filled with terror.
The masked boy stared at Luyan as if he found it amusing.
"Luyan?"
"...."
"Is it heavy by any chance?"
"...No."
"You'll probably feel a lot of stress while pulling the rickshaw. But that kind of stress is necessary. You'll likely think about it a lot before you go to sleep."
"...."
"You're thankful I'm training you, right?"
"...Yeah."
Fuck.
He definitely felt like he would be thinking about it a lot before falling asleep.
Luyan replied while biting his lip tightly.
The reason the situation had turned out like this was simple.
It was in the not-so-distant past, just yesterday afternoon.
'Damn it, to get caught by some crazy bastard...!'
The students of Class E had a lot of complaints.
Especially those at the top of the class.
The source of their dissatisfaction was, predictably, the incomprehensible rankings.
-No... setting everything else aside, how can an E-rank be the top student of the class?
-It makes no sense. Top student aside, it's questionable if he's even at a level to be admitted.
-Isn't it actually some kind of admissions corruption?
-Something definitely seems to have gone terribly wrong....
Bewilderment, doubt, suspicion.
They couldn't help but furrow their brows.
-On top of that... do you know what those bastards from the other classes said earlier?
-They said Class E is the kind of place where even a piece of trash like that can enter as the top student.
-If something like that is the top student of the class, it's obvious what the level of the kids below him is like.
Of course, that statement was far from the truth.
Even the students belonging to Class E were people who grew up being called prodigies somewhere.
They were kids who had worked to death, hit walls, and finally broken through to pass.
Just by gaining admission to the Grandia Academy, they deserved to be evaluated as an excellent next generation.
-Damn it, those guys....
-It's only a single gap in difference....
However, the circumstances were different for the individuals involved.
By nature, a gap in rank makes people arrogant, but also makes them miserable.
Because the world of numbers is cruel.
Upper class students looked down on those below them as if it were natural, while lower class students looked up and suffered from inferiority complexes.
It was a common phenomenon in a competitive society.
The Class E students were also merely victims of the system.
The inferiority complex of having their potential and efforts denied.
-Why did something like that have to get the top student label...!
-It's fucked up enough as it is, what would the other classes think!
Their sharp, protruding feelings ended up directed at the wrong place.
That target happened to be Victor.
They were glaring at the easiest target.
If they had thought about it carefully, they would have realized how cowardly it was....
-Are you going to leave it like that? Are we going to let an E-rank be above us?
-None of us like it. Don't we all agree?
-I don't know if it's admissions corruption or what, but he's met his match.
They were still unbloomed buds.
Immature sprouts that were currently growing.
Those who had never even discarded a flower couldn't possibly know how to bear fruit.
-Can't we just teach him a lesson?
-He's just a commoner from the countryside anyway. There's nothing to test out.
-Why touch him carelessly? We can just threaten him a bit.
Opinions swayed by emotions.
Those opinions exploded due to Victor's provocation.
-What did that bastard say earlier?
-What? He could beat the shit out of us? Some nobody who popped out of nowhere....
-I didn't like him from the moment he walked around wearing that weird mask.
-He doesn't seem like the type to listen to words, so should we rough him up a bit?
So after the schedule ended, they surrounded Victor.
A threatening atmosphere.
Honestly, they thought the clown would be scared or run away.
An E-rank in all stats excluding theory. What could this mean?
It meant he was a nerd who only knew how to sit and twirl a pen.
There was no way he wouldn't be intimidated when the top ranks, including the class salutatorian, gathered to pressure him.
-You were blabbering well earlier, weren't you? That you could beat the shit out of us?
-But... why are you leaving so hastily? Are you scared?
-We still have business left.
Even if it wasn't the boy, it was a situation where anyone would cower.
Seven sturdy boys and girls surrounding him.
So they intended to scare him appropriately and finish establishing the hierarchy, but....
-Should I beat you all right here?
-Since we're doing this, how about a bet? It would be a shame to just end it like this.
The boy's reaction was somewhat different.
It missed the students' expectations by a mile.
-The losing side will do everything the winning side wants for the next year.
They didn't remember what happened after that very well.
Because it was hard to even know what had been done to them.
They were just beaten to an absolute pulp.
At the end, they seemed to have begged for mercy, rubbing their hands together.
-Hmm... Are you surrendering already? This is a shame.
The bizarrely twisted mask.
That seemed to be the only thing they could barely remember.
-You remember the conditions, right?
-You'll listen obediently to what I say from now on, correct?
Hehe.
The voice behind the mask that laughed unpleasantly.
""....""
And now, it was the present.
"You all must be getting massive muscle growth. This is really helping a lot."
The clown said as he lightly stepped off the rickshaw.
He lightly patted the students' shoulders.
'Fuck....'
The students cleaned up the rickshaw with resigned curses.
***
A few days passed like that.
Days spent playing excitedly with his underlings.
It was exactly two days before the freshman welcoming exam.
'No... taking an exam just a week after the entrance ceremony seems a bit crazy, but.'
This was to be expected for a gathering place of elites.
Was this what it meant to be the continent's best educational institution?
Wiggle, wiggle-.
As he was lost in thought for a moment, the front pocket of his school uniform poked out again.
[Victor!]
"Yes, Princess."
[It seems you aren't hanging out with those children today.]
"Are you talking about Luyan's gang? I let them rest for a bit. We had fun playing all day yesterday, after all."
[Ah, that's right. You did torment them exceptionally harshly yesterday.]
"Torment? There's no such thing among kids. It's all just playing around."
[Is that so? Human culture is difficult to understand no matter how many times I hear about it.]
A lightly shared conversation.
Soon, Carmilla asked as if she remembered something.
[Come to think of it... didn't you say you were going to meet someone in Class E?]
"I did."
[You said you purposely came to the lowest class to meet that child.]
"That is correct. But they haven't caught my eye at all. I don't know if they're hiding, or skipping classes...."
[How fascinating. To think there is something Victor doesn't know.]
"What do you take me for?"
[A very competent retainer?]
"That is an overestimation, but thank you anyway."
[No! I'm saying Victor is amazing! Even yesterday, you pulled out the kid who submerged in the lake trying to escape with a single hand gesture....]
The bat with her eyes shining brightly.
It was true that I was weak, but she didn't seem to believe me at all.
Still, she was cute, so I guess it's fine.
I gently stroked her head with my finger.
[Gah... h-how insolent! Do not stroke my head!]
Despite scolding me like that, the Princess was melting softly.
As if she had quickly become drowsy, a purring sound leaked out.
Her fur was also soft, so it felt nice.
As I was walking like that, I suddenly felt someone's presence.
Rustle-.
"...?"
The bushes shook unnaturally.
I stared in the direction of the sound.
'Is someone watching me...?'
Actually, rather than feeling a presence, I just saw someone behind the tree.
How could I possibly feel a presence?
An E-rank can't do something like that.
There was even a head peeking out from a fairly close position.
'Who could it be, acting like that?'
Should I go check?
Tap, tap-.
I took some steps.
A few consistent false steps, and then the space crackled.
Stepping on that haze, I dashed forward as if leaping.
The next moment.
I had moved behind the bushes.
At the same time, my eyes met with a pair of blue eyes.
'Huh?'
Black hair flowed down following the turned head.
Gloomily drooping hair, and between it, deep and transparent blue eyes.
As if startled, she fell right backwards.
"Hyaak...!"
Her body buried itself into the bushes.
I stared down at her blankly.
A little bit of moisture had pooled damply around her eyes.
"I-I'm sorry for peeking...!"
"...."
Even her timidly trembling voice.
It was the girl I remembered.
'Why is she...?'
Her identity was none other than the person we had been looking for until just now.
She was the reason why I purposely enrolled in the Lower Class.
The seed of disaster.
Exactly two years from now, the Monster that would half-destroy the Academy.
Also, the meat grinder that would murder countless supporting characters.
'And.'
Neugeume.
(Ranne & Grandia Academy: The Märchen)
The supporting character I cherished the most in the original game.
My absolute favorite original character who made me cry several times.
A child of tragedy.
A girl soaked in dreams.
'Alice.'
She looked exactly as she did in the illustrations.
Quivering pupils and terribly disheveled hair.
As I looked down at the girl, a mechanical sound faintly rang out.
Ding-!
[Story 'Alice's Nightmare' in progress.]
[Main Quest has started.]
A Status Window popped up before my eyes.
[Main Quest]
-Prevent the corruption and rampage of the third ruin, 'Alice'.
-Time remaining until Alice is consumed by the Nightmare: 2 years and 1 month.
I was standing before the ruin I had loved the most.
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