By the time the entrance exam concluded, evening had already begun to fall over the city.
Rest exited the academy grounds and set off down the streets of the Royal Capital toward home. The area was deserted; students were dismissed as soon as their individual interviews finished, and since Rest’s examinee number had been near the end of the list, he was among the last to leave.
Viola and Primula are probably worried. I should head straight back without any detours... or at least, that was the plan.
"...Do you need something from me?"
"...So you noticed me, commoner."
He had sensed a presence trailing him since the moment he stepped off the academy grounds. When he turned around, a boy emerged from the shadows of a nearby building.
"You are...?"
Cedric... no, it was Seroric.
Celery Boy glared at Rest with eyes full of pure malice, as if he were staring at a mortal enemy.
"You really made a fool of me back there! Don't think a mere commoner can get away with insulting someone of the Count Brute bloodline and walk away unscathed!"
"That's quite the misplaced resentment..."
Rest hadn't intended to humiliate him. It was simply that right after Celery Boy had smugly boasted about his high score, Rest had gone and achieved one six times higher.
"I’m saying that’s why I was humiliated! Stop screwing around with me!"
"...And? Did you wait all this time just to complain?"
To put it bluntly, the guy was an idiot. Rest wanted to tell him that if he had this much free time, he should spend it studying or working.
He’s like a bargain-bin version of Cedric... It's so pathetic it's almost impressive.
"Take this!"
"...!"
With a shout, Celery Boy threw something. Rest braced himself for an attack, but it turned out to be nothing more than a glove.
"It's a duel! I'm going to kill you!"
"Talk about short-tempered... A duel over something so trivial?"
In the first place, dueling was a privilege reserved for the nobility. No matter how much he claimed to be related to a branch house of a Count, a man who was technically a commoner had no business running his mouth about duels.
"Shut up! If I say it's a duel, it's a duel! Die!"
Without waiting for Rest’s consent, Celery Boy thrust his palm forward and unleashed a spell. Rest reacted instantly, chanting a defensive counter.
"Thunder Bolt!"
"Earth Shield."
A wall of earth rose from the ground, absorbing the lightning strike.
"I'll pulverize that clump of dirt in no time!"
Seroric shouted as he unleashed a second bolt of lightning. The strike shattered the Earth Shield into fragments, but by the time the dust settled, Rest was gone.
"What!?"
"Your magical talent isn't bad... In that regard, you're just like my foolish brother."
"Gah...!?"
Using the Earth Shield to mask his movements, Rest had quickly circled behind him. In one fluid motion, he swept the boy’s legs and slammed his head into the ground.
"Gu... uuuuuu...!"
"There, match over. I win. Any objections?"
"How... How could someone of the Count's lineage lose to a mere commoner...!"
"You're a commoner too, aren't you? Honestly, you're exhausting."
Rest sighed, pinning Celery Boy to the cobblestones. He couldn't understand why these pseudo-nobles were so obsessed with their status. Pure-blooded nobles like Viola, Primula, and even Yuri—whom he’d met just today—were far more gracious toward those of lower standing.
"...The thought of being your classmate makes me genuinely worried about my time at the academy."
"Damn you... do you really think you'll get away with this!?"
"Hmm?"
"I am connected to a Count’s house! Once I report this to Count Brute, you'll be ruined!" Celery Boy looked up at Rest with sheer loathing. "I won't let you, your family, or even your lover off the hook. I'll have all of you thrown in a dungeon for Contempt of Noble!"
"Oh, Rest. So this is where you were."
Just as the boy was spitting out his threats, a third voice cut through the air. A carriage had pulled up alongside them, and a young girl poked her head out the window.
"We didn't see you on the path, so I thought we might have missed you."
"Viola? Why are you here?"
The carriage was emblazoned with the crest of the Marquis Rosemary House. Viola leaned out with a bright smile.
"We decided to have dinner at a restaurant in the city tonight. Father and Mother are with us, too. We were looking for you so we could pick you up on the way."
"Rest-sama, how was the exam?"
Primula peeked out from over Viola's shoulder, her expression full of concern.
"Yeah, it went perfectly."
"Thank goodness... I’m so relieved."
"Well, that’s only to be expected of my Rest. Anyway, who is that man?" Viola asked, her eyes finally falling on the boy Rest was pinning to the ground.
"T-The crest of the Marquis Rosemary House...!?"
Celery Boy’s face turned deathly pale, his teeth beginning to chatter. He had been boasting about his noble connections until a moment ago, but the sudden appearance of a Marquis—a rank far above a Count—clearly terrified him.
"Just some guy I met at the exam. He challenged me to a duel, so I was just finishing him off."
"A duel? That sounds rather serious."
"Master."
The sisters pulled back into the carriage, and Albert, the head of the house, stepped out.
"You there. If you spoke of a duel, then you must be a nobleman. State your house."
"He... ah... well..."
"...Be quick about it. Do not waste our time."
"Y-yes sir! I am from the Count Brute House!"
Cowed by Albert’s authoritative tone, Celery Boy scrambled to identify himself. Once Rest released his grip, the boy scrambled up and prostrated himself toward the carriage.
"Hmm. A son of Count Brute? I don't recall that house having a son your age..."
"N-no... well... I’m not exactly from the main house. I’m from a branch house..."
"I see. And what is your own family's title?"
"...We don't have one."
"In other words, you are a commoner. Why is a commoner making demands for a duel?"
The right to settle a dispute through a duel was a specific legal privilege of the nobility. Both the challenger and the challenged had to be of noble rank; while proxies could be used, the challenge itself was a formal matter of state.
"A commoner attempting to force a duel upon a member of my household... that is simply assault caught in the act."
"N-no, but... I have the blood of the Count’s house! I’m even permitted to use the Brute name...!"
"Even so, you are a commoner, are you not? Am I mistaken?"
"Ugh..."
Celery Boy fell silent. Albert’s logic was ironclad, leaving him with no room for rebuttal.
"............"
"...Fine. I shall lodge a formal protest regarding this incident with Count Brute himself."
"P-please, anything but that...!"
"We are about to have a family dinner, and I have no desire to be further distracted by trivialities. Rest-kun, get in the carriage."
"Understood."
Rest gave the dejected Celery Boy a look of brief pity before climbing into the carriage. Inside, the Marquis and Marchioness sat on one side, while Viola and Primula sat opposite them. The sisters smiled and patted the empty space between them, and Rest sat down without a word of protest.
"Let’s go."
At Albert’s command, the driver snapped the reins. Leaving Celery Boy face-down in the dirt, the carriage rolled heartlessly away into the evening.