Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

151 – Open the Door

A cheerful sunlight,

bright and bold, beat down upon the gardens.

Past those gardens I strode,

straight toward the Academy itself.

I knew not why,

but Professor Oliver, I was told,

sought my presence.

Likely, he’d be found in the faculty office.

Most of the professors,

it was said, did

their work there.

“…But why are you two tagging along?”

“Professor Oliver

doesn’t often call upon a

student privately.”

“We’re just curious, so don’t mind us!!”

“….”

Albert, well, he was always

of such a temperament, but

what manner of company did

Lianna keep, that her character shifted so?

Not that the change was unwelcome, mind you,

but she was so different from

the woman I remembered

that a sense of… dissonance, perhaps,

would occasionally seize me.

And so, with an entourage

dangling about me,

I entered the Academy and made for the faculty office.

The gazes of those around us

snapped towards me in an

instant.

“Hey… isn’t that, like, Jenison?”

“He’s back, is he?”

“He won’t get on our backs for talking casually, will he…?”

I simply walked along the path,

yet all around me

whispers arose.

I hadn’t even glanced at them, hadn’t said a word.

Truly, I couldn’t see why I

The world felt different now,

the reactions around me so changed

from before I’d departed for the Great Forest.

“Isn’t it obvious?” “Of course!”

The moment I spoke these words,

the gazes around me shifted again.

Albert began to regard me

with undisguised pity,

and Rianna’s expression wasn’t much different.

“You’re a Baron now, aren’t you? Such obvious talk.”

“..But isn’t it *just* a Baron?”

Albert tried earnestly

to explain it to me,

but still,

I couldn’t quite grasp it.

Baron, the lowest

of the five noble ranks.

Hardly such a meaningful accomplishment,

receiving such a title

a little earlier than others,

was it?

After all, in the Academy, there were

Counts, Viscounts, and even

young masters from Ducal houses,

holding ranks higher than Baron.

Even if I did receive

my noble title at the youngest age—

“..No, that’s not the point.”

“Hm…?”

“Have you forgotten *who*

bestowed the title upon you?”

“….”

“It’s not that you received

a title at such a young age

that’s important.”

The fact that His Imperial Majesty himself

personally bestowed my title.

That alone was enough.

The reason so many students’

attention was focused on me.

“Why, you ask? Isn’t it obvious?!”

The Imperial Family, always

at odds with the nobles.

And at the very pinnacle

of that Imperial Family stands

none other than His Imperial Majesty.

What does it mean when such a person

bestows a title?

It’s practically a blatant

advertisement.

That the Imperial Family, that the Emperor of this Empire, has singled this one out.

A silent warning:

*He* will take this one

into *his* fold,

so don’t you dare lay a hand on them.

But even so, does such

a thing happen easily?

Absolutely not.

According to records,

the last time an Emperor

personally bestowed a title upon someone

was seventeen years past.

“And you, how about you?”

“…?”

“A fellow who, until recently,

was shunned from the family.”

“….”

“Suddenly, from one moment to the next,

you build a reputation, catch the Emperor’s eye?”

“….”

“Even a cursory glance would tell you

it’s a tale that would make the higher-ups’

eyes roll back in their heads, no?”

“I suppose…”

Even so, isn’t this a bit much?

It’s not like I’ve become some sort of

celebrity, or something.

Of course, I’m not unaccustomed

to being the focus of attention,

but the fact that the emotions in their eyes weren’t negative,

that’s what felt so very strange.

No, the fact that they were

positive…

They could almost be called feelings.

At least, no one was openly

cursing me out.

“Wait, then the things

I found in my dorm today…?”

“Yeah, most likely ordered by the students’ parents.”

“….”

“There’s no harm

in cultivating ties with nobles

who are on the Emperor’s side, after all.”

Come to think of it, there were a

suspiciously large number of letters

inviting me somewhere.

Their goal, it seems, was at least to become acquainted with me.

There’s no other reason

they’d send such long-winded

letters filled with

displays of goodwill,

even including gifts.

And all while so blatantly

attaching notes

bearing their family names.

“..This has become troublesome.”

“Now do you understand how we feel?”

“..Sorry.”

“Spare the apologies and let’s go, these stares are unsettling.”

“Right, let’s hurry…!”

And so, doing our best to

ignore the gazes

pouring in from those around us,

we bolted straight toward the faculty office.

Without noticing the

slightly different,

sticky gaze that was

fixed upon me.

*

The distance to the faculty office

wasn’t far,

but I spent a considerable amount of time wandering outside.

It wasn’t that I’d gotten lost

or forgotten the faculty office’s location.

I still remembered the location, clear as day.

Just a few flights of stairs up and down, and I’d be there in a flash.

Except, climbing those stairs,

I ran into quite a few

Academy classmates,

and underclassmen too.

‘Oh… it’s Jennison?!’

‘…Who are you to—’

‘Hello!! Jennison-senpai, my name is—’

‘Seriously, who even are you…?’

And then, well… it was predictable.

Those guys kept

creeping towards me,

so I just took off running with Albert and

Lianna,

which is why we arrived later than expected.

It wasn’t that big

of a deal.

*Creak—*

Finally arrived,

I opened

the faculty office door

and a blast of aged wood

perfumed the air.

Wood dried until it was

tight as a drum, devoid of any moisture.

The kind of scent

you might catch splitting firewood

at an old country home.

That’s the smell

that wafted from the faculty office,

and at that very moment,

Professor Oliver appeared.

As always, his hair immaculate.

“Professor Oliver, you wanted to see me…”

“Ah, you’re here? Just a moment…”

He was always rather lenient

when it came to tardiness,

so, as expected, he didn’t

get angry.

“Well, it seemed he’d grown weary of waiting

and lit his pipe, but

he extinguished it the moment

we entered, so

it hardly mattered.

Unlike myself, who was once

a smoker,

these two weren’t yet initiated.

“Apologies, it seems you were

delayed longer than expected, so I

briefly lit up… ahem.”

“Not at all, it’s my fault for being late.”

“Ahem… Do you happen

to know why I’ve called you here?”

“…I’m afraid I don’t.”

It wasn’t a lie.

On the way here,

I’d asked Albert so

many times.

Professor Oliver, who oversees class B instead of my class A,

why he’d summoned me

the moment I returned

to the academy,

whether he knew

anything about

it.

Of course, the answer that came from him was always, “I don’t know.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll have to

explain everything.”

“…?”

“Firstly, while you were away in the Great Forest, I became your class’s professor.”

“…Pardon?”

“Ah, only

temporarily, though.”

“….”

“Your A class professor

had some sudden circumstances…”

…Even if it wasn’t temporary, it wouldn’t matter.

Professor Oliver was

“He is, after all, quite the

reputable figure even within the Academy.”

One might almost feel a touch of regret that his position was only temporary.

“And one more thing…

You’ve really arrived at just the right time.”

“…?”

“You, do some assisting.”

Assisting.

That was a word he hadn’t anticipated at all.

To receive such a request

from none other than an Academy

Professor.

“They say they need a capable student

to help tutor the cadets.”

“…Why me, though?”

“It’s just a rumor, but

with your skills, you’d be

more than helpful to the lower years.”

“Am I allowed to refuse?”

“Of course, but it’s not without compensation.

Grant me one request, in return.”

“….”

“Within what I’m capable of, of course.”

*

Meanwhile, at the Reinhardt Estate.

There, even still,

the servants were busily

moving about,

the cause of their flurry being the half-demolished manor.

“Qu-Quickly now, the mages should start here…!”

“No, we can do that later, can’t we!”

“Couldn’t we perhaps, rebuild

the washrooms first and then think…?”

Nearly more than half

of the manor’s outer wall had been blown away.

As a result, the manor’s

essential facilities were also paralyzed,

to the point that professional contractors needed to be called in.

The servants were simply

dealt a bolt from the blue,

It felt like a blow.

Just yesterday,

the manor had been perfectly fine,

but now it was shattered beyond recognition.

And to add to it, the young

Master Allen, whom they served, had perished…

Naturally, the manor’s

atmosphere was bound to be utter chaos.

“Ah… when will the manor

be rebuilt, I wonder?”

“I haven’t a clue. By the way…

what became of young Master Allen’s funeral?”

“The Duke ordered it to proceed

as planned, I heard.”

“…Huh, even with his head missing?”

“Aye, well.”

“Heh… truly, he has neither

blood nor tears…

Even if he *is* his kin—”

“Excuse me.”

Midday, with the manor’s reconstruction

still far from complete,

just like yesterday,

figures cloaked in black robes appeared

before the guards watching over the grounds.

At least twenty,

or perhaps even more.

“…Halt!!”

“This is the Reinhardt family manor, no further—”

“W-wait, that’s?!”

And in their hands they held

a small crest.

A crest bearing the

crimson insignia of the Imperial family.

“Open the gates, we have business with the Duke.”