The Academy’s Doomed Young Lord Dies Ten Thousand Times

Chapter 38 - When I Came to My Senses, I Was Human Scum (2)

You might have guessed to some extent, but something did happen.

“Your permit application has been rejected.”

That was the single sentence I heard from the clerk at the Academic Support Office three days after applying for the request permit.

“……What’s the reason?”

Pushing back my complicated thoughts as much as possible, I first asked for the reason. I had to know what was going on to solve it.

“‘Involved in all sorts of gossip, improper conduct can be inferred…….’ is what’s written. You can apply again later.”

The clerk said so in a calm tone.

Improper conduct? Gossip? Me?

What kind of bullshit is this.

***

The failing knight, Yuna, had recently been having a smooth-sailing academy life. Her grades were steadily rising, and her combat power was soaring vertically.

On the day of her academy admission, she thought she would be stuck at the bottom, but now she was being treated as a highly promising prospect.

But more encouraging for Yuna than that was that she had made female friends to hang out with. Two of them, at that!

“Yuna, did you sleep well today?”

The girl with the bright voice was Shasha. She was the daughter of a noble family, but thanks to her family's affiliation with the reformist faction, she had an open-minded and easygoing personality. That part seemed to suit Yuna particularly well.

“She sometimes screams in her sleep, but she didn't today.”

The girl who threw in a chic remark with her chin cupped in her hand was named Kaylee.

She was the only daughter of a large merchant guild, and she had become friends with Yuna after becoming her roommate.

“I hardly do that these days!!”

At Kaylee's words, Yuna's face flushed as she said so. There were times she'd scream after having some embarrassing fantasy, but it had definitely decreased recently.

“Yeah, yeah, sure you don't. Completely smitten.”

“Who’s smitten!!”

Kaylee shook her head. And Shasha, who was listening to the conversation, widened her eyes as if something had come to mind and made a sound.

“Ah!”

“Huh? Shasha, what’s wrong?”

“Yuna. You know, that…… boy you hang out with.”

“Yeah, Rain? What about him?”

Yuna tilted her head at Shasha's cautious tone, as if she were beating around the bush and choosing her words.

“Well…… there are a lot of bad rumors going around.”

As Yuna saw it, Shasha was not the type of person who enjoyed slandering others. It was even visible that she would change the subject if such a topic came up.

But for such a Shasha to bring up this topic, Yuna felt it was strange. She might have thought, did I misjudge her?

Anyway, upon hearing those words, Yuna shook her head.

“Geez, everyone’s laughing at him and stuff, right? Because he’s a bastard. It’s not a one- or two-day thing, so I don't care.”

“……No, I think it’s a bit serious this time. I’m not badmouthing him, but I thought you should know.”

“Huh?”

Still in a cautious tone, Shasha relayed the rumors circulating about Rain.

And the content was so malicious it was shocking. So much so that just hearing the stories would make one think he was the axis of evil itself.

That the reason he came back with strong power after his seclusion was because he received power from a wicked religious group, that he was involved with a criminal organization rampant outside, that he had killed countless people…….

Upon hearing that story, Yuna slammed the desk.

Bang!

“Who said that? Who spread such baseless rumors……!”

“Right? They’re baseless rumors, right? You seem close to the young lord, so you would know. Right!”

“Well……”

At Shasha’s relieved question, Yuna was momentarily at a loss for words.

It was because she realized that although she had received help from Rain until now, she knew nothing about him.

***

Fuck.

While I was focused solely on studying and training for the past few days, my reputation had literally gone to shit.

What? Received power from a cult? A criminal organization did what now? Killed people…… well, that part is true, but anyway.

What I listed above was just the tip of the iceberg. I had already become human scum within the academy who had led a dissolute life and was involved in all sorts of crimes, so that said it all.

‘They believe this kind of ridiculous, crazy bullshit?’

It was absurd. When did they ever stop ignoring me, saying I was a shut-in who only stayed cooped up in his room and would still be as pathetic as in middle school, and now this?

Because of these ridiculous baseless rumors, my plans had been significantly disrupted.

Originally, I was supposed to fund myself by carrying out requests, but until these rumors were cleared up, I couldn't even dream of a request permit.

“……What should I do.”

I had already become the axis of evil among the students. It was to the point where all sorts of slander could be heard from everywhere just by passing by.

-He walks around so shamelessly after doing such things…….

I was already in a position of being despised, and malicious rumors were added on top of that. Then, like fish in water, people hurled accusations at me without a shred of hesitation.

The intensity and explicitness were even worse than at the beginning of the semester when I was treated like dirt, so that said it all.

-Why? What did he do?

-You still haven’t heard? The reason that loser suddenly got strong. He joined a cult and…….

Naturally, there was no clear basis for the rumors. Rumor became the basis for rumor, and there was only the farce of creating even bigger baseless rumors.

What they were attacking was evil, and therefore, they who condemned evil were good. This logical structure was no different from granting the students an indulgence for condemnation and slander.

I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh. To think they could still prattle on about becoming knights who protect justice and all that.

-Disgusting…… I heard he’s also involved in human trafficking.

-How can a person be like that?

After the rumors started to spread in earnest, it was a sight to behold. The usual murmuring sounds doubled, and it was a common occurrence for them to speak explicitly for me to hear.

[Human Scum]

[Cultist]

When I left my seat for a moment, notes like this were sometimes left behind.

These slanders or accusations were mostly from the children of families belonging to the prince’s faction, but the children of the princess’s faction, which I belonged to, were not particularly different.

Recently, the princess had been overtly trying to reveal to the public that I was part of her faction, and it seemed that due to this incident, the students of the princess’s faction were greatly dissatisfied, saying I had tarnished the princess's name.

It was to the point where they were the ones openly showing hostility. A prime example of that was in this afternoon’s lecture.

After the lecture ended, I was about to leave the classroom. But-.

“The princess has shown you so much magnanimity, yet you can’t even manage your own conduct properly? Aren’t you ashamed of bringing disgrace to the princess?”

A girl who seemed to be the daughter of a family from the princess’s faction stopped me and suddenly shot at me with these words.

At those rude words, I considered shooting back, but I came to the conclusion that it would only add another bizarre story about my character.

Because of this, I just approached it as rationally as possible. It was close to having no other choice.

“They are baseless rumors. The princess is also aware of that.”

“I don’t know if they are baseless rumors or not…… Ah, fine. Let’s say they are baseless rumors. In the first place, if you had acted properly, these rumors wouldn't have spread, would they? Excuses, excuses, excuses……”

I knew that just because I said that, there was no guarantee that a rational answer would come back.

‘Fucking hell.’

Putting aside the shitty feeling, it was an undeniably difficult situation.

If I backed down, the situation would worsen, and if I confronted it, there was a high possibility that the fire would spread.

But fortunately, the fire did not spread any further.

“Oh my, how savage.”

It was because Regina, who had left the classroom, came back with her usual smile and spoke to me.

“Y-Your Highness……?”

The girl looked quite flustered. Of course, she couldn't have said such things in front of Regina, so she must have waited for Regina to leave before coming to pick a fight with me.

But Regina did not react to the girl’s words.