I'm the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I'm not the Mastermind

Chapter 17

"Zero, what's troubling you? Speak freely."

Rodelin asked, her eyes sparkling.

With a feigned sad expression, I opened my mouth.

"Kekeke... Life without friends... is truly sad."

"Hmm? I see. Given your appearance... it's not easy to break through prejudices."

"That's right. I thought Annwood Academy would be different, but... it's just the same as outside."

"Uh, umm...! But if you try, surely there will be good results...!"

I covered my face with both hands and slightly bowed my head.

"It's hopeless. My mere existence seems to discomfort others. Perhaps it's best for someone like me to leave the academy."

"No, no...! Stay calm, Zero!"

"I should just become twisted. Sob sob, become a dark mage, befriend corpses, and create skeletons to increase my friends..."

Ruthless self-deprecation!

Befriending corpses and playing family with skeletons!

If I run out of materials, I could attack people to make new friends!

Had my thoughts really gone that far?

At that, Rodelin began to panic.

"It's only been a day! Even I am getting along with you..."

"Getting along? Really?"

"Uh, um? Yes, that's right."

Just as planned. A smile naturally formed on my lips.

Hopefully, it's not visible through the gaps in my fingers.

"Then we can call ourselves ‘friends’, right?"

"Hmm?"

"Right, friends."

"No, that's not it. I am... your senior."

"...Senior?"

"That's right. I'm the senior, you're the junior. We can't be friends."

What kind of outdated line is that.

It's not like ‘I'm the teacher, and you're the student’.

‘Self-deprecation isn't working. I need a different approach.’

I gently pushed Rodelin away and cornered her against the wall.

Then, I blocked her escape route by pressing my left arm against the wall.

The so-called wall-slam pose.

Does it seem like a strange posture?

It's a misunderstanding. Only those with a head full of lewd demons would think so.

Looking at it from any angle, it's just a very wholesome(?) posture for making friends.

"Would you please be my friend?"

"That's, that's..."

"I just need a friend. That's not too much to ask, right?"

"A, aah... that's, that's..."

Rodelin visibly panicked.

Her cheeks flushed, her lips breathing out, her ponytail slightly disheveled from hitting the wall.

Her eyes spinning wildly.

Almost there. Just a little more.

Say it.

Hurry up and agree to be my friend!

"Im, improper..."

"What?"

"Improper Behaviour Punch!!"

Thump!

My vision spun. I felt dizzy.

Had I really been punched? That proud Rodelin resorting to violence?

It was truly an incomprehensible situation.

As I groaned with my face covered, Rodelin's shout reached my ears.

"As, as the vice-student council president, I'll, I'll give you a demerit point!"

With those words, she quickly made her escape.

All I saw was the back of Rodelin, her ears red as beets.

"Keke, making friends is damn hard."

It's all because of these slit eyes.

* * *

"Really annoying!"

Luna burst out of the cafeteria, as if running away.

She was extremely angry.

Not able to make even a single friend.

Even behind Zero in the number of friends.

Misunderstood by the vice-student council president as being lovers or friends.

Truly, everything was infuriating.

"Argh!"

Unable to contain her anger, Luna kicked the ground.

The force caused a clump of grass to roll across the ground.

"Sigh..."

She tried to ignore it, but it was impossible.

Luna was essentially a kind-hearted person.

Just that her words and actions were a bit(?) rough.

After moving the uprooted grass back to its original place, she patted it down firmly with both hands.

"I'm sorry... What have you done to deserve this?"

Perhaps thanks to Luna's efforts, the grass returned perfectly to its former state.

Seeing this, Luna felt a bit better.

'Don't get excited. What's the big deal about friends? I have something I must achieve.'

She realized she had been too excited.

Too overjoyed about entering the academy, she momentarily forgot her purpose.

Revenge.

The sole reason and driving force of her life.

Luna reminded herself of her purpose.

Entering the academy was merely a means to an end for her.

Now, she needed to find a student who knew about the Lester family.

'No matter how tight-lipped they are, it's hard to hide things from their own children.'

Being in line to inherit the head of a family, they would be educated about matters relating to their families from early on.

She needed to find a child who knew about the downfall of the Lester family, or someone who was also framed.

'So, I don't need friends. I've always been alone anyway.'

Sniffle.

Crying was not an option. Tears would not help in her vengeance.

The very idea of having friends was absurd.

'I have a terrible personality.'

She wished she could speak more kindly, but it wasn't easy.

Luna had been a wanderer for a full 5 years since she was 10.

A traitor by status, a young child, and a female at that.

She had faced many hardships and learned one thing.

Those who offer kindness without reason are the ones to be most wary of.

That's why she was fierce towards children who approached her first.

Her body reacted before her mind.

Luna was more broken than she thought.

'How did it come to this?'

She sighed slightly.

"Demon! Save me! Demon!"

Luna pricked up her ears.

It was a human voice, but with a uniquely irritating sound.

But that wasn't all she heard.

"Ah, so noisy."

"Hehe, this is the punishment for disrupting the class earlier."

"Let's pluck out all its feathers."

The laughter of children who found it amusing reached her ears.

Was someone being bullied?

As soon as Luna turned the corner, she grasped the situation instantly.

'A parrot?'

Three children were tormenting an old parrot.

Already a few feathers had been plucked.

Each time a feather was pulled, the parrot screamed.

"Let's pluck one more."

Judging by their appearance, they were freshmen like herself.

Luna kicked one of the laughing children in the back.

Thump!

"Cough!"

"What, what the!"

"Who is this guy!"

Typical third-rate villain dialogue.

Luna chuckled, feeling anger at the same time.

Seeing those who bullied the weak made her feel sick.

"What are you doing with a speechless beast?"

"Huh? Speak properly. Look, it's a talking beast."

"Demon! Demon!"

"...Haah."

Luna was frustrated, watching the parrot cry out for help without realizing what it was doing.

"What? She's just a commoner. We'll show mercy this time, so beat it."

"We won't let it go next time."

"Walk with your head down from now on."

These people are of the same noble class as her?

Lacking pride and honor, these pigs?

Luna was appalled.

But she couldn't reveal her family.

The Lester family was currently branded as traitors.

Luna flicked her fingers.

"Shut up and come at me. I was already stressed, but this is perfect."

"Turns out she's crazy. Let's just go. It's not good to get involved with a crazy woman."

"Eat this."

Luna raised her middle finger.

One on each hand, two tall mountains.

Perhaps the two high mountains were too hard to look at.

A boy slowly approached her.

"It seems like you need to be hit to come to your senses. I don't enjoy hitting a lady but... Urgh!?"

It was when the boy reached out his hand.

Luna easily dodged his attack and threw a punch.

"Kuk!"

Luna's fist hit his jaw squarely.

The boy fell, landing hard on his buttocks.

Luna smacked her lips, watching him.

'Che, he didn't faint. But that's to be expected from an academy freshman, right?'

Luna was small in stature.

It was uncertain whether she could subdue three boys, especially those who had passed the entrance exam, without a sword.

But she had no intention of losing to such thugs.

'Especially not to those who bully the weak!'

Luna charged in, and the fight began.

Throwing punches, kicking at vital spots, biting.

However, the difference in body weight was significant.

Luna rolled on the ground after taking a solid hit to her side.

"Cough!"

"Ha, she really is crazy. This is why commoners are trash."

"Maybe she's even a serf. That's why she doesn't know her place, attacking nobles who should be revered like the heavens."

"Let's teach her what the heavens are really like."

One of the boys harshly grabbed Luna's hair.

Disgusting creatures. To think such people were of the same noble class as her.

Unbelievable.

These self-proclaimed 'heavens' were not the traitors, but her family was.

"Haah, haah... Consider yourself lucky. If I had a sword, you all would be dead."

"Oh, is that so? I'm shaking in my boots."

"Puhaha! Let's end this quickly!"

The boy raised his fist high in the air.

As Luna braced for the impending blow, she closed her eyes.

"Keke, what are you doing now?"

"Huh?"

"And who are you?"

A familiar laugh and voice.

Luna opened her eyes slightly and saw him.

A boy with eyes so small they were almost invisible. Zero.

"Can't you see we're just having fun? Beat it."

"Keke, that would be troublesome. She there is my friend."

"She's your friend?"

"Hmm... It seems I'm the only one who thinks so... but let's just say that for now."

Zero's unique way of speaking and an air of nonchalance that could be called strange.

The children seemed to sense the oddity as well.

"Why is he so relaxed?"

"Is he a skilled fighter? But he's not a face we recognize... Ah!"

"What? You know him?"

"That's him, the one who got third place in the entrance..."

"What? Him?"

Third place?

Luna couldn't believe it.

The academy hadn't publicized rankings beyond the first and second place.

'Zero... in third place?'

Annwood Academy is the empire's most prestigious institution.

While the average skill level of its students is high, the top ranks are on a different level.

But Zero in third place.

She knew he had been hiding his skills, but to this extent?

The boys huddled together, whispering.

"He's a target for recruitment. What should we do?"

"Let's let go of this crazy girl for now. No need to make an enemy unnecessarily."

"Che! No choice then."

Thump!

The boy relaxed his grip, and Luna fell to the ground.

The boys left her side and stood in front of Zero.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Godner, the eldest son of the Jepherin Count family."

"Pleased to meet you as well. It's an honor."

"The vice-head of the Vyuern Duke family, Teron, is looking for you. You know why, right?"

"Keke, I'm not sure, actually?"

Godner sighed deeply.

"What. I thought you'd be smart for being third... Let's be direct. Join Teron's faction."

--TL Notes--

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