“Do any of you know what a kiss tastes like?!”
“Answer meeeeeeeeee—!”
“Hey, you! What the hell is the ‘flavor of first love’?! What flavor is it?!”
“Is it tastier than a monster?! I don’t get it, so tell me!”
In the video, my past self trampled over the teachers while screaming those nonsense lines.
Technically, it wasn't exactly a gore-fest. At the time, cleaning up was a pain, so I’d focused on killing them as cleanly as possible—snapping their necks or crushing their hearts and ribcages in one go.
Standing a short distance away from the crowd of students glued to the footage, Alicia fixed me with a cold, judgmental stare.
“What on earth is this?”
“I was attacked just before summer vacation. It was the night Mariana came over for a sleepover.”
“There you go again, casually dropping something horrifying...”
While everyone else had been busy exterminating bugs, I had apparently been busy exterminating the mages who’d broken in.
“They’re dressed like teachers, but they’re clearly not, right?”
“Apparently, they were mages from the Royal Capital’s Dark Section.”
“I’ve never heard of such an organization.”
“With a name like ‘Dark Section,’ it’s probably a secret, right?”
“And yet they attacked you in broad daylight.”
“That they did.”
It had been a massive, high-profile brawl in the middle of the day. I’m sure it made plenty of noise, but considering no one had mentioned it until this footage leaked, they must have set up some kind of soundproofing magic beforehand.
There were also Anti-magic Barriers designed to strip an opponent of their spells, but mages who were confident in their own power rarely bothered with those.
Of course, when it came to barriers, I was an expert. Those tricks didn't work on me, and even without magic, I hadn't had the slightest intention of losing. To me, that fight was just a bit of pre-vacation exercise.
“I made sure not to leave so much as a bone behind—turned the lot of them to ash. I wasn't negligent in that department, at least.”
It was a stroke of luck that an incinerator was nearby. I imagine the leftovers were used as fertilizer for the fields and spread across the farmlands surrounding the capital.
“That is not the point...”
Well, she was right. That wasn't the point.
I didn't know when they’d recorded me, but I’d never forgive them for putting my "black history" on public display like this.
...Actually, that wasn’t the point either. If I said that out loud, Alicia would only get angrier, so I kept my mouth shut.
The real issue was that, to an uninformed observer, the video showed me massacring a large group of teachers. Since the Academy’s faculty had been completely replaced recently, someone could potentially argue that my "massacre" was the reason. They might use that as leverage to make demands of the Student Council.
Hmm, what should I do?
These guys were just small-fry who claimed to be from the Dark Section, likely hired by House Ignite, but I wondered if I could provide a convincing explanation. If I talked to Volsea, he could probably smooth it over somehow.
“Alicia, let’s go see the Headmaster.”
“Unfortunately, he’s not here right now.”
“Eh, why?”
“He has a lot of moving parts to manage regarding the Castor incident. Only the Headmaster is in a position to explain things directly to House Pentagram.”
After the duel scandal, meetings were being held between the school and House Pentagram to determine where the blame lay, but negotiations were apparently at a standstill. It wasn't as if the matter could be settled by simply stating that the son of a Marquis started a duel on a whim and died.
The fact that I wasn't being summoned to these talks suggested that Volsea intended to shoulder the entire burden himself. As a bit of support, I’d handed over documents regarding their near-embezzlement levels of financial corruption, so I just hoped he’d hold his own.
I was leaving it in his hands.
Ideally, I wanted to leave this video nonsense to him too, but if I piled any more on his plate, the man might actually die of overwork. Still, even if I tried to address it, what could I even do?
“For now, I think we should just ignore it,” I decided after weighing my options.
“The footage is real, and I don't think anyone would understand even if I explained the context. If this leads to me being kicked off the Student Council, then so be it.”
“You... well, I suppose it’s too late to worry about your reputation anyway.”
Seeing that I was genuinely unfazed, Alicia let out a heavy sigh.
“If we check with every teacher who was on staff during the first semester, we can prove those people weren't faculty. Honestly, what a petty harassment tactic.”
“Well, I’ve got plenty of enemies among the students. It was bound to happen.”
Alicia was right; this was just petty harassment. They probably broadcast it to cause me psychological distress, but given that I’d already become a "Symbol of Terror" after the Castor incident, it didn't change much.
Actually, wait.
To someone who didn't know the context, it might look like I was just so desperate to know what a kiss tasted like that I was taking my frustrations out on them.
Guh. That actually stung a little. Not bad, whoever did this... not bad.
Whether she realized my internal struggle or not, Alicia spoke up again.
“The Sage Festival is right around the corner, yet everyone has so much free time on their hands.”
“Probably because they aren't hosting their tea parties anymore.”
They weren't the type to spend their idle hours studying. Humans are creatures of habit; they don't change that easily.
I could sense quite a few people lurking in the shadows, plotting ways to mess with us after school. If it were just gossip or insults, I could brush it off, but if they were planning something that might cause real harm, I wouldn't mind pushing things to the point where the Sage Festival had to be canceled entirely.
Actually, that was a brilliant idea.
If the festival were called off this year, it might serve as a deterrent against Patricia and Jelasis. I would push for the "It's too dangerous, so we're canceling" route.
Based on Edward’s behavior, the original logic of this world was already falling apart. In fact, a massive gathering like the Sage Festival was just a liability.
“Alicia, let’s use this video as an excuse to shut down the Sage Festival. If the Headmaster is already swamped with the duel fallout, all the better.”
In the game’s original timeline, the event where the Brave Territory was wiped out occurred right about now. Reports would reach the Heroine and the others—who were busy enjoying the festival—that a powerful demon had been born in the frontier and the territory had vanished.
The Kingdom would declare an emergency. Because the lands surrounding the Brave Territory had no military defenses, everyone would flee to the capital, and the Royal Capital Defense Battle would begin.
During that chaos, the Heroine would be relentlessly targeted, and the capture targets who’d distinguished themselves during the Sage Festival would end up fighting the demons alongside Alicia. By defeating the strongest demons, the capital would be saved from major damage, and the capture targets and Heroine would be honored by the King.
The Heroine would also go around desperately healing wounded soldiers, winning over the public with her "kindness." The demon attack would even affect the students, shifting their opinion of her. It was the major turning point of the story, where support for a romance between a commoner and a noble became widespread.
And then... right.
With the surviving, demon-possessed Alicia acting as a catalyst to destroy the capital’s barrier, the neighboring country would launch their invasion. Since House Brave—the kingdom’s shield—was gone, and the obstructive barrier was destroyed, they would declare war with total confidence.
That was the endgame, just before winter. The soldiers of the neighboring country somehow had higher stats than the demons and were incredibly powerful, but that made sense given they’d spent centuries skirmishing with House Brave.
In that case, we were better off without the Sage Festival.
I’d already killed the troublesome operative from the neighboring country before he could enroll, and Onyx was guarding the Yudaina Mountains where the demon was supposed to be born. If anything was going to go wrong, it would be at the Sage Festival. It was truly at a level where cancellation was the only logical choice.
“Let’s just cancel it. Let’s go all the way.”
“There is no way first-years can decide something of that scale.”
“Hmm. True.”
It was a national event, not just a school one. I suppose it couldn't be stopped just because a few problems popped up. But if there were a valid reason, I wanted to force it. Was there really nothing?
“Come on, let’s go. We have to confiscate that video crystal while we’re at it.”
“Right.”
As if I were Moses parting the Red Sea, the students split cleanly to both sides as we walked through. I collected the crystal broadcasting the footage while the "mob" students whispered.
“Hey, is that video... the real deal?”
“He showed zero mercy to Lord Castor, so it has to be, right?”
“Wait, were those actually teachers? But if the faculty was replaced...”
“Idiot, don't say that where he can hear you! You’ll be killed!”
“Why was he asking teachers about the taste of a kiss...?”
“No idea, but apparently the Watchdog is desperate to know.”
“He doesn't know? Honestly, I kind of feel for the guy now.”
“A student like you attending this Academy—”
“—Woof!”
“Hieee?!”
Since they were saying annoying things, I barked as a prank, and the students scattered like baby spiders. One guy looked like he wanted to protest, but he was swallowed by the fleeing crowd and vanished.
Maybe I overdid it. Oh well, if they have a complaint, they can come to the Student Council Room.
“Hey! Stop doing stupid things!”
“Sorry.”
Scolded, I acted dejected and fell into line. Then, Alicia spoke up, her voice small.
“D-Does... does Ragna really want to know what a kiss tastes like that badly?”
“Eh?”
“So you don't care after all? Fine, I get it, that’s how it is.”
“Wait! I care! I’m extremely curious!”
“Then... just make sure you don't cause any more trouble, alright?”
“Understood!”
“In that case... well, once things settle down... let’s go on another date, okay?”
“Yes! I’d love to!”
Alicia started walking a bit faster, her ears tinged red. The "Heart-pounding Demon Summoning Event" Sebas and I had planned hadn't done much, so I’d been looking for a chance to invite her out again anyway.
Back then, Sebas and Mariana were hovering around, so of course there was no "Suspension Bridge Effect." A girl won't be happy unless it’s romantic and just the two of you.
I don’t know who leaked that video, but thank you for giving me the opening for a date—and whatever follows. Whoever you are, thank you!
“—Ugh, ugh... Suddenly trampling over everyone... Damn it, I won't accept this. I won't... Just like Big Sister said, they’re going to destroy this Academy. They’re really going to destroy it...”