[257] The Truth Revealed (2)
"Come to think of it, today's the publication date. I wonder if they covered our school's story properly?"
Olivia asked as she took the magazine.
When she said "our school," Alpheas smiled with satisfaction.
But the pleasant mood evaporated the moment they saw the cover.
The headline article contained shocking content.
Breaking! Interview with Shirone's Parents!
The student who defeated Dante — child of a mountain-dweller?
Olivia cocked her head.
Not Shirone himself, but his parents? And what was "child of a mountain-dweller" supposed to mean?
Killain had a vicious streak, but she wasn't the sort of woman stupid enough to print such a blatant fabrication.
A cold sweat ran down Alpheas's spine.
It wasn't a distortion. It was the truth.
Very few people at the school actually knew Shirone's origins.
Of course, if Killain set her mind to digging up personal information, uncovering it would be easy. Against a professional correspondent's investigative skill, Shirone's parents wouldn't have stood a chance.
Olivia opened the magazine and read quickly.
The article described in detail how Shirone had subdued Dante and even included photos.
She'd said the Obscura had been broken, but that was clearly false.
Still, the article wasn't a fabrication.
There are degrees of distortion; if this had been outright forgery, there would be no question of dismissal.
"Really? Shirone… a child of a mountain-dweller?"
Olivia turned to Alpheas, as if demanding an explanation.
Alpheas nodded with a bitter expression.
"It's true. Shirone is the child of mountain-dwellers. But he was admitted through a special recommendation from the Ozent family. Even the teachers didn't know. Sade didn't know either."
Olivia bristled.
"That doesn't matter. Why keep it from me? As the headmistress, I should have been told."
Alpheas had reason to feel wronged, too.
Olivia was the most cautious, tight-lipped person he knew. The problem was he never expected something like this to explode.
"We didn't hide it on purpose. It wasn't even stored in anyone's head. A year has already passed, and nobody asked about Shirone's background."
Alpheas said with a wry face. Olivia stopped blaming him and fell into thought.
Shirone's personality had a singular quality. Spending time with him made one less inclined to care about his origins.
But where many people gather, anything can happen.
"You've been far too naive. No matter how many allies Shirone has, there'll always be jealous students. You should always be on guard. If I'd known, this never would have happened."
Alpheas had no reply this time.
He was excellent at caring for students, but hopeless at politics.
Olivia folded her arms, thought for a moment, and then made a decision.
"Sade."
"Yes, Headmistress."
"Call Killain immediately. Tell her to come to me the instant she receives the message. If she doesn't show up within twenty-four hours, tell her I'll go find her myself."
"Understood."
Sade bowed and turned away.
@
When Shirone's origins were revealed, Alpheas School of Magic was thrown into an uproar.
The teachers were shocked, but it was the students who made the most noise.
Olivia's prediction had been correct.
Though everyone seemed to like Shirone, a small number of students had been swept up by public sentiment and kept quiet. They were the sort who envied Shirone's talent.
When this incident broke, they pounced like fish to water and began denouncing Shirone.
After classes, the school snack shop was crowded with students.
Partly because the advanced class's practical exam had ended and they had free time, but mostly because the library wasn't the place to discuss the hot-topic Shirone.
In a corner, the mid-tier group from Class Four were viciously tearing Shirone down as if they'd been paid to.
"Tch! Can you believe it? We went to school with a commoner."
"A commoner's not even the point—it's mountain-dwellers. I can't stand the lack of class."
"No wonder he looked a bit slow sometimes. You can't hide where you come from. He's only been studying magic for a year, so he couldn't even cast basic spells back then."
Of course, they were ignoring one fact.
That same Shirone rose to the top of the advanced class in just a year. Indeed, the best in the kingdom.
Everyone felt the contradiction, but no one voiced it.
What they wanted was to use this as an opportunity to completely tear Shirone down, whether he was a genius or not.
Closer, leaning against the snack machine, grumbled at their behavior.
"What a mess. They wouldn't even come close to first place without Shirone."
Sabina, tucked in the corner, didn't like the sound of someone gossiping.
Shirone wasn't someone she could ever like, but she took pride in having faced the top clique directly and refused to be compared with them.
"Dante, what do you think?"
"What about?"
Dante wasn't interested in bashing Shirone; he was staring at the menu on the vending machine.
"About Shirone. It's pretty shocking, isn't it? That he wasn't noble."
Dante blinked and looked around at his friends.
"Hey, what do you guys want to drink?"
Sabina raised her hand.
"I'll have orange juice. My skin's been dry lately; I need vitamins."
"Is that so? I'm thirsty, so iced coffee. Closer, you?"
Closer stared at Dante.
The day after losing the Two-Thousand duel, Dante had skipped class to rest. The anti-magic had landed properly, so the school had given him some leeway, but the wound was more to his pride than his body.
A day passed, and Dante showed up the next day as if nothing had happened.
Of course the students' attention was on him, but he attended class with the same indifferent air as always.
'Dante, are you really okay?'
No one knew what he was thinking.
If he planned revenge, he would prepare a rematch; if he acknowledged Shirone, he might as well leave the school. The semester was almost over; it was about time to pack up.
But Dante said nothing about future plans.
"Um, Dante senior…"
A girl from Class Five approached Dante with a blush.
"Yes?"
Dante removed the straw from his iced coffee and turned to her.
"I… I found that duel really impressive."
Closer and Sabina felt their hearts drop.
How oblivious could she be—speaking about something the person involved was keeping quiet about.
But the naive girl seemed to believe that sincere words were always allowed.
"Even though you lost, I don't think you actually lost, Dante senior. You know, eternal rivals and all that. In the next match, I'm sure you can win."
Sabina sneaked a look at Dante.
To her surprise, Dante showed no particular emotion, blinked, and said casually,
"Thanks."
His friends were stunned.
They'd thought a single loss would crush Dante. Such calmness seemed abnormal.
'No way his head's gone soft from the shock of defeat?'
The girl, thrilled to hear Dante's thanks, ran back to her friends. Everyone in the snack shop was watching. Conversation stopped and the place fell quiet.
Dante realized all eyes were on him and finally glanced around. He then sat at an empty table and sipped his coffee as if nothing mattered.
Closer brought over the same coffee Dante had ordered and slammed it onto the table. Sitting opposite, he asked in a low voice,
"What's wrong with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"About Shirone. It's weird that you aren't saying anything."
"Then what do you want me to say?"
"Fine—say it's Shirone. But the duel's over, so you should at least comment. Are you really going to just sit here? Don't you want to reclaim your title as the kingdom's best student?"
Dante snorted—a self-mocking laugh.
"The kingdom's best student? I don't know…"
Closer, frustrated by Dante's lukewarm response, thumped his chest.
Clearly he was in a slump.
The shock of losing to Shirone had drained his will and fire.
"You really—!"
Just as Closer was about to raise his voice, the snack shop door opened and two people walked in.
By coincidence it was Nade and Iruki.
All eyes naturally turned to them.
They were the two who'd clashed fiercely over the past three weeks.
It was a pity Shirone wasn't there; after all, what face could he plaster on in public now?
In the school's social hierarchy, every student was above Shirone.
They were nobles; Shirone was a commoner.
By social norms, Shirone would have no choice but to swallow his pride and obey, even if asked to lick someone's toes.
Of course, as intellectuals they knew that was unjust, but none were willing to give up the advantages they were born into.
Iruki looked around at the odd atmosphere in the snack shop and spotted Dante.
Dante didn't look away and met her gaze.
The students held their breath, waiting for their encounter, but Iruki's greeting was anticlimactic.
"So you came? Funny. I thought you didn't go to places like this."
Dante lifted his coffee.
"Was thirsty. What's your business?"
Iruki had unusual tastes since childhood and didn't buy food unless it was something special—she believed it dulled the brain.
At the time she was young and classmates found it odd, but Dante had thought she had a point.
He remembered her eating habits even after a long time.
Iruki shrugged and walked to the vending machine.
"Shirone hasn't eaten dinner. I came to get him something."
Dante nodded.
"Right. How's Shirone?"
"Uh… he's okay. But he's a bit shocked by all this."
"Is that so? That's unexpected."
Dante was sincere.
From exchanging ultra-fast information during the Two-Thousand duel, he'd seen just how vast Shirone's mind was. He didn't think Shirone would shut himself away over something so trivial.
"It's… that Shirone is fiercely protective of his family. He's angry Killain interviewed his parents without permission."
Dante thought of Killain. She would absolutely do that. If Shirone's parents learned the school had been turned upside down because of that interview, their guilt would be unbearable.
Shirone didn't like that, and he'd likely be waiting for the whole thing to blow over as soon as possible.
"Hey, Iruki, you really going to hang out with Shirone in a situation like this?"
James—one of the boys who'd been badmouthing Shirone—stood up and pointed at Iruki.
The mid-tier group wanted Dante's and Shirone's factions to clash. If the feud dragged on until they destroyed each other, the mid-tiers might have a chance to rise.
But when the expected clash didn't happen, James decided to provoke Iruki himself.
"The Mercodine family is the kingdom's top house. Don't you feel betrayed? Shirone's way beneath you, yet he pretended to be your equal. And you're running errands for that brat?"
Iruki waved a finger, as if proud.
"What's wrong with that? First, Shirone's my friend. Second, he's hungry. And most of all, we already knew Shirone's origin—he told us. Friends do that, don't they?"
"What—what?"
James gaped in disbelief.
They stuck together like the three musketeers every day; Shirone might have told them. But even if he did, how could they still be friends with him?