The battle was not particularly long.
This was because the opponent showed no intention of resisting me from the start.
As soon as I appeared, some screamed and ran away, while others hesitated and knelt down obediently.
It was a sign of surrender.
I briefly considered capturing those fleeing but soon gave up.
After all, there was only one person who had directly harmed Senior Elsi.
There was no reason to capture and assault the others.
It would have been a different story if they had attacked me.
Thanks to that, I was able to peacefully resolve the issue for the first time in a long time.
It was a moment that brought back my former nickname.
The pacifist of the Percus Family.
What a wonderful title it was.
In the end, true intentions would eventually come to light.
Look at everyone kneeling down, understanding my heart that loves peace.
It was time to say goodbye to an academy life rife with blood and violence.
A satisfied smile was blooming on my lips before long.
Of course, that didn’t mean that everyone had laid down their hostility.
For example, there was the female student who appeared to be the leader of the group.
She was glaring at me while chewing her lips, and from between them escaped a faint groan. It seemed her injury from the axe was quite deep.
When our eyes met, I couldn’t help but fall into a brief contemplation.
I had seen her somewhere before. It meant she was a familiar figure.
After stroking my chin for a while, I recalled her name.
“…Rudmilla?”
The academy was wide yet narrow.
It was impossible to know the faces of all the students, but when you spent years in close quarters, you inevitably got to know some people.
They were the so-called ‘celebrities’ of the academy.
Of course, Senior Delphine and Senior Elsi were included, as well as Celin and Ceria. Additionally, Yulen, Lady Virgin Saint, Senior Neoris, and the Imperial Princess were also among them.
You couldn’t help but learn their names during your time at the academy.
The speed at which gossip spread within the academy was that quick.
Even Celin was famous as one-half of the two flowers of the second-year Swordsmanship Department.
This meant that I had also come to know some thugs who were a bit lacking to be called ‘celebrities,’ and Rudmilla was one of them.
I remembered her as someone who had gained a certain notoriety within the academy. She had calmed down at some point, though.
While she wasn’t as fierce as Senior Elsi, she had been the target of fear during her lower years.
And yet now, she was trembling before me.
How fleeting the passage of time was.
Inside, I also felt a pang of bitterness.
I wondered what difference there was between Rudmilla, who once used strength to intimidate others, and me.
I had merely gotten lucky and become slightly stronger.
Thinking this way, regret washed over me, but now was not the time to show it.
A calm voice slipped from my lips.
“So, what’s going on?”
“Um, um… that is to say…”
When it came to mentioning the ‘Disciplinary Committee,’ Rudmilla had been quite bold.
However, when I asked again, she seemed to shrink in on herself.
Her pupils were shaking violently. The way she was glancing at me showed that there was undeniable fear lurking within her.
Perhaps my nonchalant demeanor had pushed her further into terror.
Certainty breeds persuasion.
I genuinely thought that Rudmilla could report me, and I wouldn’t mind. It was a straightforward truth that didn’t need pretending.
If that were the case, the one who needed to worry now was Rudmilla.
What exactly am I trusting in?
Whatever it was, it probably fell within a category beyond her imagination.
She might be thinking that she could just kill me then and there.
Within the string of continuous doubts and fear, her confidence had likely shattered.
If Rudmilla had been resolute, the outcome would have been somewhat different.
But she was merely a typical opportunist, weak against the strong and strong against the weak. The spirit one would display before insurmountable power had never existed in the first place.
In the end, what Rudmilla chose was an excuse.
“…I, I just wanted an apology!”
My eyes subtly shifted to Senior Elsi.
Senior Elsi was hesitating and looking away from my gaze.
Was she ashamed of being bullied by Rudmilla, or did she still lack the courage to face me?
In either case, Rudmilla was leading the conversation.
She seemed even more energized when Senior Elsi kept quiet.
A gruesome scar was visible on her arm after she rolled up her sleeves.
“I, I was bullied by this girl long ago! It was school violence… So I was just trying to get an apology, you know? I mean, I heard you’ve been going around apologizing lately?”
“Hmmm,” a sound slipped from my lips.
If that was the case, there was actually no room for my intervention.
One could argue that cornering and threatening Senior Elsi was the issue, but that was violence that could leave wounds as severe as hers.
No matter how much I cared for Senior Elsi, it was hard to defend that.
“I acted in self-defense! It’s this girl who was trying to attack me while I was asking for an apology!”
“Senior Elsi.”
I softly called out the name of the maiden.
Senior Elsi flinched her body, her gaze still lowered.
To be honest, I couldn’t fully believe Rudmilla’s testimony.
The people Senior Elsi had unilaterally assaulted until now were mostly commoners or low-ranking nobles.
But now, she had casually touched a high-ranking noble like Rudmilla, which raised questions.
A straightforward question escaped my lips.
“Is it true?”
Senior Elsi scratched the ground with her toes silently.
It was a habit that emerged when she had nothing to say or hesitated.
I waited patiently for her answer.
Then, it was Rudmilla who grew anxious.
She tried to raise her voice in frustration.
“Of course it’s true…!”
“…What if it isn’t?”
If Senior Elsi hadn’t cautiously countered before that, things might have turned out differently.
I silently looked at Senior Elsi.
She still hadn’t met my gaze, and with a timid tone, she asked again.
“What will you do if it isn’t?”
It was a rare sight to see her looking weak.
Having gone around apologizing to victims for days, she had likely endured all sorts of humiliation.
It was probably the first time she experienced her self-esteem crashing to the ground.
It must have been painful.
Yet, the victims wouldn’t give her forgiveness. Moreover, they couldn’t even fathom the pain they had endured with such a trivial apology.
Thus, it wasn’t surprising that she had discarded her previously confident demeanor.
In that voice tinged with subtle anxiety, my gaze quietly turned to Rudmilla.
She cried out desperately.
“Do you really believe her…? Look at my scar…!”
“Yes.”
And then, with a swift kick, my foot struck Rudmilla’s solar plexus.
Rudmilla gasped and collapsed to the floor, her trembling hands pounding on her chest.
Before her disbelieving stare could turn toward me,
I lightly stepped on the hands of Rudmilla, who was on the ground.
“Ugh, ugh… Aaaaah!”
Hearing that, I casually remarked.
“I believe her.”
At the very least, Senior Elsi had never lied to me, not even once.
Let alone that her opponent’s testimony came from a thug, needless to say.
I decided to stand on the side of Senior Elsi.
Just as I had promised before.
A short while later, Rudmilla had to confess the truth of that day.
To summarize, it went like this.
The groups of Senior Elsi and Rudmilla had frequently clashed in the past.
It could be called a typical power struggle.
Especially since Rudmilla had seemingly managed her victims far more persistently than Senior Elsi did.
She would often call them like useful workers.
Senior Elsi despised Rudmilla, who tried to act like a queen without realizing her place, and continuously picked fights.
Rudmilla would usually threaten the victims that she had summoned to send them back.
Whenever Rudmilla would say something to the victim, Senior Elsi would step in.
Then one day, this prompted the conflict to explode.
As a result, Rudmilla suffered a humiliating defeat against Senior Elsi, who said she had gained an ‘honorable scar’ on her arm.
It was like this, metaphorically speaking.
“…Was it just a gang fight?”
“W-well, it wasn’t just that…”
Senior Elsi, feeling awkward, reddened her face and averted her gaze.
Rudmilla’s group had let them go.
The degree of violence wasn’t severe, and I didn’t want to needlessly torment a defenseless opponent, which suited my taste as well.
If they didn’t bother Senior Elsi going forward, I would not cross their paths again.
In return, I held a bit of gratitude toward Rudmilla.
Although it felt a little awkward, she provided an opportunity for me to be alone with Senior Elsi.
I was wrapping a bandage around Senior Elsi’s shoulder.
It was over her clothes, but this much would be enough to stitch up the fractured wound for a while.
As I was lost in thought for a moment, I burst into a hollow laugh.
“Then why weren’t you doing any counterattacks? They weren’t innocent bystanders either; it ended well since no further victims would arise.”
To my question, Senior Elsi was only hesitating for a while.
But after a while, the girl finally spoke with a voice full of hesitation.
“Because… the Master doesn’t like that…”
I halted my hand that was wrapping the bandages.
Then I looked into Senior Elsi’s face.
The redness of her flushed earlobes stood out even more.
“Because the Master doesn’t like… people hitting others.”
“…So you were going around apologizing?”
A sigh escaped my lips involuntarily.
The words I had thoughtlessly uttered in search of an excuse had ultimately pushed Senior Elsi into this situation.
In truth, it was a matter that had to be resolved sooner or later.
Senior Elsi’s sins could only be paid by her.
If I didn’t address it now, the victims would have lived on forever with their wounds, never receiving an apology.
That’s why I needed to sincerely point out Senior Elsi’s mistakes.
“Senior Elsi, do you really think you were apologizing because you realized it was wrong?”
There was no answer coming back from Senior Elsi.
I had hoped she would lie, but after hearing my words, it seemed like a sense of obligation had settled over her.
She merely trembled, avoiding my gaze.
I let out another deep sigh.
“Senior Elsi, that’s not an apology. It’s just a form of self-justification for you. For convenience, using others… The victims will surely tremble at just seeing you. How can you talk about sincere apologies when you have no true intentions?”
That was another form of violence.
At least, that’s how I saw it.
But despite my scolding, Senior Elsi remained silent for a long time.
She merely trembled, and from her eyes, a single tear rolled down.
All the humiliation and contempt she had endured till now fell like dew.
“Then… what should I do…?”
Senior Elsi’s voice was especially frail.
She had forcibly swallowed back her tears.
