Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

32 – Midterm Assessment (7)

What came next was inevitable.

Even low-grade monsters are a struggle for the average student to overcome.

And not only did those things swarm together, but now a mid-grade monster?

Even if it’s for evaluation, isn’t this going too far?

As if agreeing with my thoughts, I could feel the injured students nearby

overflowing with complaints.

“Th-this…something’s wrong! A mid-grade monster?!”

“My arm! Heal me…quickly!”

“No…If I mess up this evaluation too…I…”

A pathetic noble, desperately shaking his head in denial.

A fragile student, clutching his arm and weeping bloody tears in pain.

A commoner, feeling powerless and unable to live up to his family’s expectations.

Their eyes reflected what looked like hell,

their whole bodies were stained with fear and bewilderment.

But who was there to blame?

They heard the information about where the monsters gathered and got greedy.

They agreed with the opinion to wipe out all the monsters in one fell swoop.

They were arrogant, believing themselves to be the predators.

Even though they were the ones being hunted.

Those who recognized their own mistakes

no longer said a word,

but naturally, such saints weren’t the only ones in the group.

There were also those who wanted to postpone the faults they’d made

and vent their current emotions somewhere.

Their complaints and resentments naturally started to

pour out onto a member of the group.

‘If only *he* hadn’t rushed ahead…’

‘I didn’t even want to come in the first place…waah…’

The student who took the lead in the monster subjugation

was being glared at with terrifying eyes by his friend, and

students were also often seen endlessly crying and worrying about their seriously injured friend.

Terribly dark emotions gathered bit by bit,

and they soon pointed at one person.

‘Didn’t… didn’t that guy run out first?’

‘He’s the leader…right…? Doesn’t he have responsibility?’

‘That guy made that decision…!’

Whispers swirled around the students’ ears,

and before long, their gazes sharpened.

I, too, noticed their gazes

and turned my eyes back to Albert, who was still downcast in front of me.

His head, always brimming with confidence,

hung low as if burdened by a heavy weight, and

his shoulders, usually broad and imposing,

were hunched inward like those of a sick man.

His lips, not just tightly closed but bitten hard,

trembled uncontrollably with an emotion that could have been either rage or guilt.

His condition seemed to be worsening, and

I was about to brew him a sedative and offer it,

when the people who sprang from the nearby thicket

froze me in place.

People who should never have been together were all there.

“Uh…what is going on here?”

“..!! Quickly, bring those who need treatment this way!!”

“Wha…what happened…? What is this…?”

It was the princess, truly bewildered by the situation;

the saintess, her eyes wild as she began treating the injured;

and Isabella, desperately trying to make sense of the scene.

*

“..Is that… really true?”

“Whether you believe it is up to you, Your Highness.”

“Ugh…you! You’re looking down on me, aren’t you?!”

“Not particularly.”

Ignoring the princess’s outburst of indignation,

I approached Isabella, who still seemed deep in thought.

“Lady Isabella,”

“Ah…yes…yes!”

“What troubles you so?”

Isabella hesitated for a moment,

her lips moving silently before she lowered her head and spoke.

“..Doesn’t it seem strange…?”

“What do you mean?”

“If a mid-level monster appeared…what were the professors doing…?”

“Ah.”

The professors must also know.

That we are no match for a mid-level monster.

But they, who must have been watching this entire situation unfold,

did not appear before Albert.

Therefore…there are only two possible explanations.

“Firstly, that this too is part of the evaluation.”

“There’s no way… for so many students to fail like this, even the professors wouldn’t want that…”

“If not that… then the professors didn’t anticipate the appearance of that beast at all.”

“…That makes even less sense, doesn’t it?”

Indeed.

Even if only common professors, they were those who had passed the Academy’s entrance exams.

Their knowledge either vast beyond measure, or exceptionally strong.

To work as a professor at the Academy was tantamount to having proven that fact,

and such beings couldn’t foresee a variable appearing precisely during the evaluation?

A mouse had a better chance of squeezing through the eye of a needle.

If so, then this too was something included within the evaluation…

“Wh-what are we going to do now?! It’s all your fault!!”

“Y-yeah, that’s right!!”

“Take responsibility, Albert!!”

“….”

The sudden burst of shouting shattered my train of thought,

and I reflexively turned my head.

Several students stood before Albert, still sitting dejectedly,

and the remaining students echoed their sentiment,

sending Albert a silent wave of pressure.

They blamed Albert without any remorse,

and Albert silently endured their resentment.

Because he was the leader of the alliance, because of his poor judgement,

because he had been the first to step forward and lead them,

Albert believed it was his responsibility to listen to their complaints.

Of course, the students watching took that as him having nothing to say, and

began to spout whatever came to mind.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Of course, there was no way she’d let this pass.

For her, this probably looked completely wrong.

Right now, she probably has the idea that it isn’t right for many people to oppress one person.

The students blaming him couldn’t bring themselves to say anything rash, perhaps because of her status.

How many people would dare to say something like, ‘Why don’t you mind your own business?’ to an Imperial Princess.

“P-Princess… that’s not it.”

“Do you even realize how cowardly you’re being?”

“No… That boy was commanding *us*…!”

“Didn’t you all agree with him?”

A cadet, finding courage, attempted to retort, but

the Empress’s casually dropped words, thrown out like bait,

caused their expressions to sour profoundly.

Clearly, the majority had wanted to subdue the monsters swiftly,

and they themselves had been among the consenting.

They knew this fact themselves and had tried to ignore it, but

they hadn’t realized the Empress knew it too.

“You all agreed, saying it was a good idea, and now you shift the blame…”

“Th-that’s…”

“Isn’t that rather brazen?”

“….”

“It makes one doubt whether you are truly honorable members of the Empire.”

As she continued, her tone seemingly questioning their very honor,

a look of bewilderment was clearly visible in their eyes.

Finishing her words, the Empress, appearing thoroughly disappointed,

turned and walked leisurely away, and

in her wake remained the boys wearing expressions of injustice, ready to cry,

and cadets who looked relieved that they hadn’t stepped forward.

Observing their dazed faces, while

I was searching for a snack, the Empress began to slowly approach me, and

instinctively, I stepped backwards, retreating.

“…? Why are you avoiding me?”

“…Do you have some business with me?”

“Yes. I do. With you.”

Saying that, she stepped right in front of me, and

the next thing she did rendered me speechless with astonishment.

“…I’m…sorry.”

She lowered her head and apologized to me.

…The Empress of the Empire, to a commoner.

“Wh-what?!?!”

“H-Her Highness is bowing her head?”

“Uh… Err… Wha?”

Exclamations of shock and awe erupted from a few, including myself,

and Isabella and the Saintess were no exception.

“…Did Her Highness just apologize…now?”

“I didn’t think she’d go this far…”

Isabella’s large eyes were even wider than before, and

The Saintess was holding her forehead, sighing, as if she knew something I didn’t.

And I… I was speechless.

No matter how I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of anything I’d done to warrant an apology.

If anything, I should be the one punished, for somehow injuring the Imperial Princess.

Yet here she was, apologizing to me publicly, in front of all these cadets, and perhaps even before the eyes of observing professors.

I truly couldn’t fathom why she would go this far…?

“…What… are you apologizing for…?”

“…Are you really asking that?”

“Yes.”

“Hah… It’s about my words and actions towards you that day.”

“…Was there anything you said or did that needed apologizing for?”

Being looked at with a ‘What kind of guy is this?’ expression stung a little.

I wasn’t used to a girl like her looking at me that way.

“It’s true that I held some animosity towards you…”

“And because of that, I treated you too harshly…”

“I also apologize for judging you rashly based on rumors.”

“I am… truly sorry.”

For her, this apology must have taken a great deal of agonizing…

But to be honest, I was just bewildered.

Suddenly? What reason could there be for such a sudden shift in attitude?

“…Um… At least give me a response…”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“Y-yes… so…!?”

“Could I ask you one thing?”

“Uh… Sure…?”

“What’s the reason for the sudden apology?”

“W-well…”

She nervously twisted a strand of hair near her ear,

and didn’t continue. My curiosity grew,

At that moment, the sound of soft footsteps approached us,

and before we knew it, the Saintess, Hildegard, had come to stand beside us,

ready to explain the reason.

“It’s nothing much, but I spoke about your condition.”

“H-Hilde!”

“There’s no shame in it, Princess.”

“Exactly… what did you say…?”

What could she have said that would make her swallow her pride

and apologize first?

The only thing the Saintess could tell about my condition was… uh…

“Have you forgotten already, about how your shoulders were completely scorched back then?”

“Ah.”

“That, wasn’t that injury from sparring with Her Highness? You just mentioned in passing how it must have been unbelievably painful.”

I glanced back towards the Princess. Perhaps feeling apologetic, or perhaps embarrassed, she struggled to meet my gaze. Still, she seemed to resent having to apologize, looking ever so slightly sulky…

Even so, I considered it polite to acknowledge her apology. I approached her, raised the corner of my lip ever so slightly, and spoke, “Couldn’t I receive…coin, or something else, in return?”

The Saintess next to me wore an expression of utter dismay, the complete opposite of my own.