Lilka Aaron, who’d shown us her tattered body, put on her clothes again. Her trembling fingertips showed just in how much pain she was.
She’d endured the pain and hadn’t gone to a priest on duty just to show them that right at that moment.
One could even see new bruises on her.
It wasn’t over after she got hit once, she was continuously beaten up.
It was a disciplinary committee meeting to decide students’ punishments.
However, the Vice-Chancellor of Temple was also present.
If the meeting was just held within the Orbis Class, Lilka Aaron’s words would have been useless. The teachers didn’t want to destroy that system either. They didn’t hit them directly, but with just a few words they made the seniors want to make the other students work harder on their own.
Far from wanting to destroy it, they even encouraged its existence.
Oscar de Gardias’s expression seemed a little strange.
While it seemed stiff, he wore a strange smile on his lips.
—As if he found the situation amusing.
Vice-Chancellor Assyria Walken looked at the Orbis Class teaching staff, whose faces were deathly pale.
New sinners to be judged had appeared.
“Is what Lilka Aaron said true?”
“……”
“As it appears, I guess it’s true.”
Just by looking at the Orbis Class teachers who couldn’t give him an answer, Assyria Walken seemed to have already gotten the answer.
Extreme violence committed among students and teachers who even encouraged it.
A new problem had come to the forefront.
“I knew the atmosphere surrounding the Orbis Class was coercive and rigid, but was it to such an extent?”
As Temple’s Vice-Chancellor, it seemed like Assyria Walken had some guesses, but it didn’t look like he expected that the level of violence the seniors inflicted on their juniors would be that high.
Mr. Epinhauser didn’t look that surprised, and Mr. Mustrang seemed startled and very worried. No, was that guy actually sniffling?
However, in that atmosphere, one of the Orbis Class teachers spoke up.
“I don’t think this is something we should discuss here. We should only talk about the matters we decided to hold the current disciplinary committee meeting about, we can hold this discussion in another place later…”
“Yes, that is right.”
Assyria Walken nodded at his words..
“It isn’t something we should discuss here. However, before we are even able to hold another disciplinary committee meeting, or mediation committee meeting, this student named Lilka Aaron… It seems obvious what the other Orbis Class students would do to her. No, I don’t think we will be able to talk about this any other time.”
Cruelty and violence is what she would receive. If Likla Aaron went back to the Orbis Class dorms like that, she might’ve been better off dead.
“It seems like we have to take immediate actions against the Orbis Class.”
Assyria Walken gathered up the report and shoved it into his desk.
“This disciplinary committee meeting is on hold.”
Will you look at that hot-blooded guy?
“I believe the Orbis Class’ issue is a far more pressing matter.”
Assyrian Walken decided to focus on that topic immediately, setting the current one aside.
“All first years of the Orbis Class are to be summoned to the main building.”
And he also predicted that, if they put off the matter for any amount of time, they might use their power against the students inside Orbis Class.
My crazy act of fighting with the Orbis Class…
It was transformed into a completely unexpected event that might blow away the whole Orbis Class.
If that was the case, what would happen next was more than obvious.
[Special Achievement – Inflection Point of History (Orbis Class)]
[History has changed dramatically due to your actions.]
[Acquired 1000 achievement points.]
My total achievement points, which had fallen to 2000 points, had recovered to around 4000.
That was why I just couldn’t stop making trouble.
* * *
The disciplinary committee meeting event ended up with no conclusion, as the meeting itself was put on hold.
As someone who knew the future to some extent, if not completely, I felt quite strange whenever I experienced the results of the butterfly effect.
When I’d first seen Erich de Lafaeri beaten up by Lilka Aaron, I didn’t think things would turn out like that.
I’d gone to the Orbis Class dorm to earn some achievement points, check on the Orbis Class’ key figures, and to fight Lilka Aaron.
And then, unable to push down his own temper, I’d fought Oscar de Gardias, who constantly acted arrogant.
What I showed those guys was that, even if they went against their seniors, they wouldn’t beat them to the point of killing them.
I was right in a way. Even though Lilka Aaron did end up passing out, she was still nearly beaten to death.
No matter what they did, they would just end up getting hit anyway.
So why didn’t they just rebel then?
While what I did could be called unnecessary meddling, it’d still brought about a reaction. That was how much they had suffered. They were just hoping for someone to make the first step.
How someone of the Royal Class could take that step, and not someone of the Orbis Class, felt like a slap to the face to them.
Anway, the disciplinary committee meeting had been put on hold, so we, as well as the teachers, left the main building.
The way the teachers were looking at Lilka Aaron was more akin to how one would look at a traitor, not a student.
I didn’t really have a proper conversation with Lilka Aaron.
To be honest, even though the situation was bad, she had no good reason to actually step up.
Was it something like, ‘We conveyed our feelings through our fists back then.’? She’d wanted to faint, so I’d made her pass out.
It was weird.
I couldn’t believe that was how I’d ended up buying someone’s favor. I really didn’t know how this world worked. Standing still in front of the main building, I asked Lilka, who stood with her head turned to me, something.
“You… are you alright?”
“……I don’t want to hear that from someone in your condition.”
While Lilka Aaron was also in tatters, I was walking on crutches, still limping. It seemed rather ridiculous for me to ask her if she was okay.
“If nothing changes even after I did this much, I’ll drop out or move to one of the regular classes.”
She seemed to have been prepared for everything. She had to sacrifice too much and was subject to too many obligations just for the privilege of being in the Orbis Class.
——————
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Lilka Aaron seemed to have realized that it would be much better to just give up on all that than try to bear with it any longer.
All those students held on because they didn’t want to be stigmatized as someone who dropped out of a special class. However, she had finally decided to not put up with it any longer.
“I’m not the only one who wants to drop out. We all think alike.”
Lilka Aaron wasn’t alone in her mindset.
She didn’t just do things on her own accord, but Lilka was the one who decided to take the lead.
So I could somewhat understand why that event turned into an inflection point in history.
This incident might lead to a mass dropout of all Orbis Class first-years if nothing changes.
“Anyway, I didn’t really want to say it, but…”
Lilka Aaron, whose stature was rather short, looked up at me.
“I’m grateful to you.”
A lot of things had changed because of that single fight between us.
All of them came together and were determined to change the system.
Hopefully, with that, Ender Wilton’s incident would disappear as well.
There shouldn’t be a need for him to get involved with black magic and turn into a monster if history changed.
If that guy’s desire for power came from the abuse and coercion of his seniors, if that case was resolved successfully, then that incident would disappear quite easily.
However, if Ender Wilton involved himself with black magic out of his personal desire for power and sense of inferiority, then it still might happen.
It was still up in the air.
I had to take action as soon as things were clear. If he got involved in it because of someone else or inevitably got in contact with it somehow, I had to do something about that.
And…
“……”
Oscar de Gardias, who left the building a little bit later than us, looked at the two of us.
Then he passed us by without saying a single word.
He wore a strange smile on his face.
The teachers and seniors of the Orbis Class were literally about to get kicked out…
So, why was he smiling?
An unfamiliar chill ran down my spine.
* * *
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* * *
On my way back to Royal Class’ dormitory after splitting up with Lilka Aaron…
I was on the tram with the Royal Class teachers who’d attended the disciplinary committee meeting.
“Really, how could they do that? How could the teachers condone those seniors’ actions…”
Mr. Mustrang let out a sigh in anger as he felt sorry for the Orbis Class students who were exposed to such a coercive and violent environment.
“Reinhardt. The disciplinary committee meeting isn’t over yet, it’s just put on hold, so don’t cause any more trouble, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Mr. Mustrang warned me quite a lot…
Mr. Mustrang, the teacher in charge of Class B, was a very compassionate teacher. I’d set him up as someone who was nice, good-hearted, and good to his students—he was a teacher who fit right in with Class B’s atmosphere.
Most of the kids who were part of Class A were rude and arrogant, so I’d set their teacher up to be cold and distant as well—he also fit very well to the Class’ atmosphere.
However, I was able to witness a different facet of Mr. Epinhauser that I hadn’t been familiar with.
He’d defended me in a cold and collected tone.
It was more than certain that my conduct was bad, but my relationships were very healthy.
Temple’s purpose was to cultivate excellent talents, and Reinhardt, me, was the most excellent power in Temple. There was no reason to kick someone like that to the curb.
His way of defending me was very much like him. Mr. Epinhauser was still looking out of the tram’s window, no matter what Mr. Mustrang mumbled, as if nothing had happened.
However, I had to say what I had to say.
“Teacher, thank you for today.”
I didn’t expect Mr. Epinhauser to defend me that much and even exaggerate my worth to such an extent. Temple’s greatest talent… He hadn’t meant Ellen Artorius with that.
“What do you mean?”
“…Huh?”
“You have no reason to thank me.”
Mr. Epinhauser kept his eyes fixed on the window as he spoke to me.
It seemed like he didn’t even think that it was something to be grateful for.
He didn’t praise me or wish me good luck for the future—he said nothing like that.
It is a teacher’s job to protect their students, that was all I did.
That was how he seemed to think. Mr. Epinhauser didn’t even want me to thank him.
The more I looked at that guy, the stranger he seemed. Was he embarrassed?
“Well, I can’t really believe that I’m supposed to be the most talented. Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?”
So I tried to subtly ask him why he’d deliberately used such a forced lie to shield me. To be honest, I didn’t think that much of it.
At that moment, Mr. Epinhauser turned to look at me.
“Opinions may vary from person to person, but I certainly think that you are.”
“……What?”
No.
Was that guy serious?
Seeing that I didn’t seem to understand what he meant, Mr. Epinhauser continued to speak quietly, still looking at me.
“Number two entered the school already completely trained, but you are reaching your completion in Temple.”
Unlike Ellen, I had been growing at a frightening pace after I’d entered the school without any previous training. Mr. Epinhauser seemed to evaluate me by the speed I had reached my strength, not by how much strength I possessed.
No, but I still was very flustered.
What should I say to that? It felt really weird to be praised by someone wearing that kind of expression.
“Ellen already knows how to use Magic Body Reinforcement, though?”
“You managed to use it recently as well:”
No, but the side effects we suffered from were vastly different, right?
With that, I was completely sure that the guy really thought that I was the most talented person in Temple.
—Because he spoke so seriously when he said it…
Still, this is a bit…
* * *
My work involving the Orbis Class had finished, but that was only the beginning.
The Temple Headquarters had realized that the circle of abuse spreading inside of the Orbis Class could never be resolved from within. They seemed to have decided to take reasonable and immediate action to start with.
Because, if they waited just a little bit, it was certain that the students would be internally silenced. It seemed like they decided to first put the Orbis Class first-years, who were merely victims, under the protection of the Temple headquarters.
Soon, the entire Orbis Class was issued an emergency order to immediately close down the school.
Additionally, that school closure was not to be lifted until all of the Class’ internal problems were completely resolved. A significant number of students as well as teachers were also at risk of expulsion.
Those who were part of special classes were treated like special entities, both in Temple and the Imperial Capital.
However, as long as there had been internal problems and their degree was severe enough, some might even be sentenced to serve time in prison.
To be honest, the marks engraved on Lilka Aaron’s body seemed terrifying, even to me.
How could someone beat another person up like that just because they’d lost a fight? It was quite appalling.
Because I could finally move around again, I could go to classes again with crutches.
Friday. We were on our way back after our Demon Ecology class.
Ellen, Liana, Harriet, and I all took part in that class.
“You destroyed the whole Orbis Class with just a single fight.”
“It’s the disciplinary committee who did all that. I didn’t even say anything, you know?”
I mumbled nervously at Harriet’s half-teasing remark. Honestly, I didn’t expect the incident to get that big.
I wasn’t the one who’d talked to the disciplinary committee about that. It was Lilka Aaron and the other first-year kids who’d set the stage to F*ck over their seniors.
With that being said, I couldn’t say that I didn’t have any influence on them, though.
In the end, it was true that I was the one that’d pushed over the first domino in the chain. If I’d left them alone, the Orbis Class would have just gotten worse. Harriet, in a slightly sulky voice, asked me if I felt good about myself.
“The scale of the trouble you cause is getting bigger and bigger, you know? Honestly, what are you going to do next? Destroy Temple?”
Wow, I had gotten used to being teased, so I tried not to lose it anymore during those kinds of debates.
That’s right, my tolerance had grown.
My temper really evolved…
“Harriet, I’m afraid that bastard might actually do that.”
Liana looked at me, seeming a little scared that Harriet’s teasing words might actually come true.
“I knew that this nut job was on a totally different level, but to barge into the Orbis Class on his own, fight their students, and even put hands on a senior in his fourth year…”
Even Liana, who was quite cool-headed, seemed to have been genuinely shocked by my deeds that time. In my head, I could see that my career as a crazy bastard had advanced several levels.
Ellen, who was also with us, just quietly walked next to me, not reacting no matter what we talked about.
“Slower.”
However, Ellen then suddenly opened her mouth.
“…Huh?”
“Let’s walk slower.”
She pointed at me. Only then did they realize that they had been walking a bit too fast for me, who had to walk with crutches, so they slowed down a bit.
Harriet’s face was slightly red, and Liana scratched her cheek slightly.
“Oh, did you now realize that you’ve been cursing out a patient, you devil spawns?”
No…
I mean, the spawn of the devil would be a demon, right? So I was the actual devil spawn there.
Both of them seemed to feel a bit apologetic towards me after they heard that, so they didn’t complain.
As expected, the only one on my side was Ellen! I looked towards her.
“While you’re at it, could you carry me on your back?”
Give me a piggyback ride! You fed me last time! Take care of me more!
“…I don’t want to do that.”
Ellen distanced herself from me slightly, put off by my blatant shamelessness. Liana and Harriet both looked at me in astonishment.
“Wow, you’re totally acting like a baby.”
Liana’s venomous words left me completely speechless. No, but If one was sick, wasn’t it normal to regress just a little bit?!
Of course, with the way I was acting, one might suspect that I had dementia!
Those crutches.,,
They were really F*cking annoying. Actually, the pain hadn’t completely faded away yet, so my whole body was still tingling.
-Trip!
“Urg!”
I was walking rather well until I was about to trip over my crutches. Ellen caught me at lightning speed.
When she helped me up, she anxiously asked me something.
“Are you okay?”
What the hell?
I couldn’t believe how quickly she’d caught me as soon as I was about to fall.
Did my heart skip a beat just then? I trembled, unable to figure out what to do.
“Should I give you a piggyback ride?”
“!”
Ellen actually was ready to give me a piggyback ride because she thought that I was having a hard time.
Harriet, Liana, and I felt as if our hearts had just stopped at Ellen’s serious proposal.
“I-I was just kidding, man… I can walk…”
What Liana said while we were in her villa on the Edina Islands was right…
I would talk big, but when it turned out that the other person was actually serious, I would chicken out.
Ultimately, I was similar to Olivia Lanze in that way.
____
Chapter end
