Amy's head was spinning. She was sure he was lying.
'There's no way a commoner could enter as a guest of a noble family.'
That was the conclusion she had reached because she did not know about Rian's knight's oath.
"You didn't tell anyone that you know me, did you?"
"I didn't. It's not even a pleasant memory, anyways."
Hearing Shirone say that, she knew he was going to stay a huge ticking time bomb. The thought of going to the same academy with such a bomb did not sit well with her.
Amy came up with an idea. She raised her head arrogantly and said.
"You are from Class 7, right? I'm from Class 4."
"I know."
"You will be my underling from today onwards."
"What? An underling?"
"I know your weakness. You'd probably get kicked out of the academy if I expose it. So be my underling from now on. You have to listen to everything I say."
Shirone made a confused face after hearing her threat.
"Why should I? Whether you hold my weakness or not, you're still my upperclassman. So if you were to tell me to do something, shouldn't I obey?"
"How naive. Do you think I'll make it that easy? I'm gonna make sure to make you cry, so look forward to it."
In Amy's head, even if she failed to get him kicked out, she could at least make sure Shirone followed her. If she locked him in sight and prodded at his self-esteem, she would be able to find out his hidden intentions.
"What are you going to make me do?"
"After class, come running with bread and coffee, 'kay? If you spill even a drop, I'll make you go back to base one."
Although Shirone was someone with a good personality, this time he was angry. Bread? Did she think he came to this academy just to deliver some bread?
"Hohoho! Alright, starting from tomorrow, wait for me in front of the First Library. I'll end it quickly if you do whatever I tell you to do competently."
Shirone was so disconcerted. Was she really the Amy who was called the goddess of Alpheas?
"Oh right. And…"
Turning around, Amy looked back at Shirone. The air around her began to spin as her hand pierced up. At the same time, Shirone's body rose into the sky.
"Heuk!"
Tornado magic controlled atmospheric pressure to create wind. It was a spell that Shirone managed to barely cast as a child, but for the current Amy, casting it was child's play.
Shirone floundered in the air. Perhaps because he was facing a crisis, the ground looked much clearer. Even the fallen leaves scattered on the ground were vivid.
Even that smirking face of Amy.
'I'll die if I fall.'
As soon as that thought passed his mind, Amy jumped up and grabbed the back of his collar. As his collar started to tighten around his neck, he could not breathe. When he came back to his senses, he was lying somewhere on the ground.
"Cough! Cough!"
Following that magic, she demonstrated the power of Schema, and she dusted off her hand, seemingly satisfied. Amy stopped her Schema training after the age of 12, but nevertheless, her movement was beyond normal human ability.
" Consider that payback. See you tomorrow. Hohoho!"
Amy laughed cheerfully and walked away. Shirone was furious, he had never met such a hateful girl before.
In his mind, she was still the thug from many years ago. Shirone, who tried to diminish his anger, lowered his head and exited the forest. The thought of meeting her from tomorrow onward made him plunge into despair.
The five o'clock bell rang for the last period.
The basic physics class was over. Shirone, who packed his bag and left the classroom, sighed deeply. He had been running around as Amy's bread shuttle for the past 10 days.
He bought bread and coffee from the school shop. It was a price that could not compare to the donations provided by the Ogent family, but the problem didn't lie within the money, but with his feelings. And that was what Amy was aiming for.
"Why is she doing this to me? She was the first to make a mistake."
Trying not to spill the coffee required a lot of concentration. Yeah, let's just think this is some kind of training. He tried to adjust his walk so that the coffee did not shake.
"As if! How long do I have to endure this!"
Shirone himself thought he was in a miserable state.
"Oh my! There he goes, the pure and innocent boy."
"He must be heading to her to confess again. I'm telling you, he has some kind of illness."
The schoolgirls whispered amongst each other, pointing to Shirone who was passing by. This was his biggest problem.
Already, a rumor had spread around the academy that Shirone had a one-sided crush on Amy. And the more that kind of rumor spread, the colder the students treated Shirone.
Shirone's fantasy about women was completely shattered by Amy's tenacity in resolving her resentment 6 years ago.
"Hey! Over there, your prince."
"What do you mean 'prince?' He's just a servant."
Amy and Sharelle were waiting for Shirone together in front of the library. The area around them was crowded with students who were curious to see the extraordinary sight.
As Shirone walked up the stairs, the schoolgirls who were watching laughed and clapped. Shirone's face flushed like a red beet.
Sharelle smiled pitifully and said.
"But I kind of feel sorry for him. He's going this far, why not just accept him?"
"What? What nonsense are you spouting? Why would I accept him?"
"Oh stop pretending to be shy. For someone who doesn't glimpse at a guy, you sure do take all the bread and coffee from Shirone. There are even rumors about the goddess of Alpheas finally getting a partner."
It was ridiculous. This was a strategy to provoke Shirone, but it seemed like things were flowing unexpectedly.
Actually, she was only thinking of keeping it going for a week. But somehow, Shirone never expressed any displeasure and had regularly brought her the food.
'Urk! At this point, I'll end up associated with a really strange rumor. I should stop now.'
When Shirone handed Amy the bread and coffee, people cheered. They were deeply moved by him, who spent much effort not to spill a drop of coffee for the woman he loved.
"Here's your coffee."
"Gosh! So annoying!"
Amy raised her hand. The best way to reverse this ridiculous misunderstanding was through embarrassment.
She was going to hit his arm and spill the coffee. Then Shirone would be just like the other countless boys who had been dumped by her so far, and the strange rumor would subside.
"Who told you to bring something like this?"
As Amy swung her hand, the students' eyes grew bigger. However, the expected tragedy did not occur.
Amy's hand trembled as she glared daggers at the coffee.
'At least act like you dislike it. Are you stupid? A fool? Do you have no guts or what?'
Unexpected guilty conscience. But that was Shirone's strength.
His mindset went something like this.
'Isn't it better to think positively about the things I have to do?'
And that attitude made Amy feel guilty.
"Um… Excuse me, here's your coffee."
She knew because Amy herself was someone who studied harder than anyone else.
Thinking back on it, she felt quite sorry. Nevertheless, she didn't avoid men because she was afraid of attention, it was simply annoying. The arrogant kids with no talent who called themselves nobles did not really suit her tastes.
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'Whatever. Let them think whatever they want. As long as the rumor isn't about me.'
Amy accepted the bread and coffee. And as if they were watching a show, applause broke out from all sides.
"I don't need this from now on, so don't buy it! Okay?"
"Yes? Oh, okay."
So now, did her anger disappear with just this? Thinking he would never have to see her again, Shirone let out a deep sigh of relief.
However, as a result, Amy's remark aroused more misunderstanding by the students.
"She accepted it! Amy accepted Shirone's feelings!"
"She said she doesn't need coffee. Doesn't that mean he can just come without buying anything?"
Amy went into the library as if to show that she had no intention to answer. Sharelle followed behind quickly. She couldn't hide her excitement.
"Hey! What are you thinking of doing? If it's actually true, that's great and all, but is that really what you were trying to say?"
"I don't know! Just let them think however they like. Do they have nothing better to do? Whatever, I don't have to worry about it after I enter the Advanced Class. Let them enjoy their childish jokes among themselves. It won't matter to me soon enough."
Shirone was so happy he felt lighter as he came down the library stairs. The ten days of torture were over. Honestly, he didn't think things would end so soon. Starting tomorrow, he could go straight to the library without wasting time.
"Yay! I can read one more book!"
Shirone captured Amy's heart. Such deluded schoolboys were looking at Shirone enviously as he hopped away in happiness.
11 P.M.
Amy closed the book and sighed.
She never thought studying was fun, but she liked it as much as she liked the library. Rather than hanging out with those who gossip about other people's love affairs, or those who thought themselves more important than others, the library was a much better place.
Even though it neared midnight, the library was still packed with students. They didn't care who dated who. They were racehorses running madly to achieve their dreams.
Through observing them, one would realize that indulging in miscellaneous thoughts was nothing but a waste of time.
But despite the fact Amy was not as much of a bookworm as them, she still ranked 1st in Class 4 and never even considered the possibility of being overthrown.
Sharelle, who was sitting next to her, turned her head.
"Huh? Why did you close the book? Are you leaving already?"
"Yeah. I have a lot on my mind today. I'll just have a good night's rest and get up about an hour early tomorrow."
"Really? Then let's go together."
"No. You don't have to leave early because of me. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay, then. See you. Make sure to get up early tomorrow."
Amy smiled and packed her bag. During her 6 years in the academy, Sharelle Portrisse was her one and only friend. She was a chatterbox no different than any other kid her age, but she did her job as a student better than most. Her ranking in Class 4 was 6th from the top, so being placed in the Advanced class would not pose a problem.
Amy liked Sharelle, who was a respectful competitor who could enjoy and share a mature rivalry.
After encouraging her friend for a bit, Amy left the reading room.
Everyone except those on night duty got off work, so the hallway was quiet. Students came to the academy to achieve their dreams, but employees were just here for the job and to make money.
Amy descended down the stairs, stretching out her day's fatigue. But suddenly, she saw someone standing in the dark stairway.
Pale face with large dark circles. Black hair covering the cheeks. Amy's face wrinkled once when she identified who the person was.
It was Jake Ardius.
He was 2nd-class nobility, and the family head was the financial executor of the royal castle. It was known that the power his family held was no less than that of a 1st-class noble family. Perhaps it was because of the family head's job.
Jake was arrogant and had a rough personality. But the main reason why Amy didn't like him was because he was a student who had little to no talent. He never even put in any effort to try and compensate for it.
Although he was taking the same class as her, Jake had a long way to go before he could be placed in the Advanced class. Furthermore, there had been rumors that he was the president of a research group called 'Black Magician'.
In Amy's opinion, Black Magician was a group that researched how to bully students who were better than them.
Since they were not a research group approved by the school, they were not financially supported. Essentially, it was a dark circle in which kids who had an inferiority complex harassed students.
Of course, they did not openly pick a fight or extort money. Since most were children of high-class nobles, if they were to act like snotty, back alley kids, they would be immediately expelled.
Nevertheless, it was clear that some students in the group were active, seeing that rumors of students being attacked by Black Magician still existed.
"Amy, you finished early today. I was going to wait until midnight."
"Why were you waiting for me? Don't you have anything better to do?"
"Don't be like that. I heard a rumor about you. You accepted a lowerclassman way below your level… Shirone was his name, right?"
Amy sighed, rubbing her forehead.
'Is he sane? Out of all the places, he came to talk about such a pathetic thing in front of a library?'
Jake put forward his coffee with an overly cheesy smile. Amy could tell just by the smell. It was the civet coffee that was popular among the nobles.
"I even warmed it up. The Amy I know deserves this much. I can't dirty your mouth with substandard coffee, right?"
Amy looked at the coffee and raised her head in absurdity.
"What are you doing?"
"As you can see, I'm courting you. You already know of my family's power, and I'll be the next in charge of the finances of the royal family after my father. Am I not the perfect man for you?"
"Sorry, but I don't have private chats in the library. So you're wrong to court me in such a place and time. Oh, but you forgot the most important thing… The fact that I hate you. Something like this better not happen again."
Amy stepped aside and walked down the stairs. However, Jake placed his hand against the wall and blocked her way.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I guess I've been too soft. I also have to consider my family's reputation, so you coming out like this puts me in a very difficult position. Isn't it the same for you? Aren't you studying that much harder so as not to disgrace the Karmis family? Look, we're concerned about the same thing."
Amy snorted. No matter how prosperous the Ardius family was, the Karmis family was not one to be pushed around by small fry either. Most of all, she did not like Jake's way of talking.
"Says the cheapskate that only counts money."
"What?"
"To live while doing the things you want to do, that's what my family always says. We are qualitatively different from people like you, who simply take great pride in counting money while acting as if it's a big deal."
His veins popped. A normal 1st-class noble would never insult him like this.
His father was a royal financial executor. The whole world begins and ends with money. It was Amy who was being immature.
"You think the Karmis family is that prestigious? Think about it. You're only 1st-class in name only. How many people actually hold strong authority among those on active duty? My family can run circles around yours in terms of money. What do you think? Should we test it out if you don't believe me?"
Amy felt Jake's unpleasant energy and shuddered. He was the kind of man who would torment others forever if it was for his own sake. She finally realized why she was so uneasy and disturbed throughout the day. She let out a breath.
"Thanks to you I understand. I understand why I accepted that coffee."
"What?"
"You're different from Shirone. Simply put, you're a coward."
"HAHA! I'm more of a coward than that lousy bastard? Should we confirm that right now and see if it's true or not?"
"You must be dying to do something, but if you're going to do it, get on with it. Don't waste my precious time just flapping your lips. You thought I'd get scared if you tensed your eyes a little and acted all scary? By you? A coward?"
Amy smacked away Jake's mug. Expensive coffee splashed all over the wall, while the mug crashed down the stairs and shattered into pieces.