Chapter 46
My Secret Master Record
“…….”
“…….”
Of course I stayed silent, and so did Irix. After a moment, a sound like a frog being choked came from somewhere—somewhere inside Irix’s throat.
I felt irritation and anger surge, and a stain appeared by my foot. This time, I wished Peregion would show up and hit once. Irix didn’t try to stop me either.
“Listen carefully. First, I don’t like men like you. No, I really hate them. Every time I see men like you, I want to grind them alive and feed them to pigs and chickens. You’re the kind of matter that shouldn’t exist.”
“Ah, no need to say that on purpose. You can be honest.”
Faltis was confident, even amusing. I closed my eyes briefly and put my hand in my pocket.
“It’s a snake. Don’t bite.”
I was about to respond to Faltis’s nonsense this time, but before I could, Faltis reached out and grabbed my shoulder.
“Elpini, I—”
The black hole by my foot deepened. The snake lifted its head. If these two got involved, it could lead to casualties, so I had to deal with it. But I didn’t want to. No, I had to.
I raised my hand, pinched my thumb and forefinger together, and flicked it toward Faltis’s forehead.
Snap—
Faltis’s head jerked back.
“Gah!”
Was Elpini that strong? I barely hit him, so why like that…? But no. The moment my fingers touched his forehead, Irix grabbed the back of his neck and yanked sharply. Faltis tried to resist with his legs, but Irix’s strength was overwhelming, and he flipped backward. Faltis, who had been lifted into the air, landed with a thud.
“You…!”
Faltis, now covered in dirt on his butt, screamed.
“Wh-what did you do!”
Irix shook his hands and said,
“Oh, slipped. Be careful.”
“You threw me here!”
“No way. A knight trainee being thrown by a regular student? You just slipped on your own.”
Irix held up a thick bundle of books: Advanced Epistemology, Chronicles of the Early Emperors of the Antiquitas Empire, Legends and Analysis of the God of Origins, Classification of Records…
“I only read books, so I don’t have that kind of strength,” said Irix. Judging by the weight of the books, it might be equivalent to a barbell.
Just then:
“Elpini! Elpini!”
It was Academic Headmaster Tolte.
“Why is the headmaster showing up in the street?”
“Well, this… is on school grounds?” Irix pointed at a nearby building’s sign. It didn’t say “school,” only a fruit store and a vegetable store on either side. Oh, and a cat.
“From here to here is the school grounds.” Irix gestured between the stores.
“Not even two meters?”
“Still school grounds. It’s in front of the school building. Don’t you remember?”
I shook my head. How could I remember when I didn’t even have a memory of it? Also, what a mess. A building the width of a book spine counts as a school, and this tiny area is considered the grounds. This is a serious issue—it’s the territory where the headmaster’s authority applies.
The headmaster stood in front of us and said in a clear voice:
“We received a report regarding Elpini’s actions.”
“What report?”
“Assault on a classmate.”
Irix looked at Faltis.
“Your doing!”
Faltis jumped around.
“I didn’t report it! It must be Willemina, definitely Willemina!”
“Your girlfriend?” I asked.
“No!”
“Are you trying to cause problems other than failing?” Headmaster Tolte said cheerfully. “Seems you really hate attending school.”
He wasn’t being sarcastic or accusatory, just stating an opinion. It sounded strange, but maybe that was just my mood.
“I didn’t assault anyone. I have no idea why such a report was made.” Irix said. I just nodded beside him.
But this time, the headmaster’s eyes were on me. I frantically gestured toward Irix. Not me, ask the student! He’s the student.
“You just assaulted Hainsman on school grounds.”
“It was just a flick!”
“Any physical contact intended to cause pain is considered assault.”
Ridiculous. By that logic, even pinching each other could be mutual assault.
“And school rules apply on campus. Assault between students is strictly forbidden.”
I thought of all the countless times Irix had lightly hit classmates. If that counts as assault, then Irix’s minor touches would have been punished before. I felt pity for him.
“And Irix Berkart also participated in the assault.”
Faltis panicked.
“I wasn’t hit. Nothing happened!”
“You fell. Wasn’t that caused by Irix?”
“Well, I….”
“Yes, you hit him.”
It was Irix. I had to look at him again. Hey, why are you like this? Irix answered with his eyes: Stay calm. I have a plan.
What plan? Don’t think anything!
“Why did you hit a senior again, Berkart?”
‘Again’.
“He was being annoying.”
“Can you explain specifically why he was annoying?”
“He was harassing my friend. So he was annoying.”
Hmm? I had to watch more. Irix stood confidently with his arms crossed, facing Headmaster Tolte.
“How?”
“Anyone blocking the way looking like that would be annoying to everyone.” Irix pointed at Faltis.
“So I hit him.”
“Well… Hainsman’s face causing Elpini’s displeasure isn’t Hainsman’s fault, right?”
“Being born looking like that is definitely a fault.”
“But he wasn’t born on purpose like that. And if we must assign responsibility, it’s Faltis’s parents and ancestors…”
“Who cares. And not knowing you look like that is definitely a crime.”
“….”
He was confident. Showing how a powerful person’s son lives in a rigid social hierarchy.
“Irix, in my opinion, that reason isn’t valid.”
“Why? You always wrote it that way.”
‘Always’.
“Back then, the victims helped me. This time, they won’t.”
“Why? The guy says he’s wronged?”
“No, the victim claims they weren’t harmed.”
“Then, what should we change it to? Tell me.” Headmaster Tolte rifled through papers.
“Well… Ah, Elpini. You were accused last year. I wasn’t here then, so I just found out.”
What now? Irix looked at me.
“What did you do behind my back?”
“Irix, until last month, we didn’t know each other. Most of what I did was without you knowing, right?”
And I don’t remember it either. Irix’s eyes hardened. He turned to Headmaster Tolte and said:
“What happened?”
He was annoyed but still calm.
“ Theft.”
“Theft?”
“What did I steal?” I asked.
“Willemina Olgos’s jewels. You received 10 penalty points.”
Irix suddenly shouted.
“Dummy senior! You almost got expelled!”
“How many points for expulsion?”
“11!”
“Ah… that was close.” One more point and I’d be gone. Tch.
“Don’t act like it’s someone else’s problem! Penalty points aren’t erased without good deeds! This isn’t like failing a class!”
“But it’s only 10 points for now.” Could be expelled with a little more effort.
“That’s not something to say, you idiot!”
I asked the headmaster,
“So what happened next?”
“Willemina pleaded for leniency.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because even as the victim, she begged for forgiveness, so she received bonus merit points.”
What? She reported and forgave at the same time? And bonus points? Ridiculous. My distrust in this world’s rigid social hierarchy and the schooling system grew.
“So I only got penalty points?”
“No. You were also assigned cleaning the library’s books and the entrance for a year.”
Feeling more ominous, I asked,
“…Is it over?”
“No. Three months left. You’ll clean today before leaving.”
Irix groaned.
“You did all this, you idiot!”
“….” I felt wronged. I had to listen to that from someone who did all the chaos, but now that I think about it, the chaos I know is from the future. The current Irix is innocent. Only I was the one causing trouble.
“Can’t we ask Maimon to do it?”
“What nonsense. Why would Maimon—”
“Since Maimon does everything, wouldn’t he do this too?”
He does anything, just because no one else will. The problem is, he only makes poisons both physically and chemically harmful. Anyway, maybe he could clean instead.
“You need a conscience, senior. Why should Maimon do that? And you did this foolishness and hid it?”
“I didn’t hide it. I forgot. Naturally.”
Irix’s expression darkened.
“Ah… wait, this way, who knows what else will come up. How did you forget everything?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t have amnesia. I have amnesia because I don’t know.”
Typically, amnesia erases all memory before the incident, including the cause. In this dire situation, Irix finally put a hand to his forehead.
I hurriedly asked the teacher,
“But what jewel did I steal?”
“Don’t you remember?”
I tried to smile.
“It’s trivial.”
“Not trivial at all!”
It was Irix.
