It's like letting my family know that I'm still in a bad place at school.
Since school uniforms are made to order directly from each family, if the uniforms are damaged, the news has to be relayed home.
At this point, Lucus wouldn't tell her why her clothes were ruined. Of course, I would do the same. There's no need to make her leave the house for no reason.
'… Of course, if you have even a modicum of common sense, you would know right away why the clothes were ruined.'
Even so, there is no need to worry about honor.
If you think that bullying a member of the Askanien family is an insult to the family and that they will go on a rampage at home, you are mistaken.
I'm not really a part of it, and everyone knows that.
The explanation is simply that Askanien's image improved because he 'did not give up on the demon-possessed child, but steadily treated him, fed him, clothed him, and sent him to a good school – even though there was no cure.'
In short, everyone in the empire thinks of Lucus and Ascanien as separate entities.
Even while they were biting and tearing at Lucus, there were still many people who would bow their heads if they met the 'real' Askanien.
So I don't have to think about things like leaving the house, and I only have to think about news that reaches my brother's ears.
If you find out about this, my brother… .
'I'm going to laugh so hard my mouth is going to burst.'
Should I make my brother happy for a moment?
I took off my jacket.
"Hey, you threw it on the floor for me to step on?"
Bam!
Someone stomped on the jacket. The careless kick raised a cloud of dust.
"Hahahaha!"
"Hey, make sure you do this."
The other students giggled and cheered.
'… Ugh… .'
I felt uneasy somewhere. I was kicking someone else's clothes and seeing them all being so happy, and I started to feel a little dizzy, wondering where I was.
Above all, Lucus, who grew up in that house, can be certain that nothing will happen to the family unless this story spreads widely.
Even though people may think of Askanien and Lucus as separate entities and treat Lucus like a bug, it is a whole other level of problem for them to physically cause trouble.
The reason Lucus had not been openly bullied until now was because, as long as Lucus bore the family name, the family could 'nominally' punish or pressure him.
'So, these guys… .'
These are guys who can't even see what will happen one step further.
It was surprising in itself that these guys who moved around so thoughtlessly had not hit Lucus until now.
"No, but when I look at it, this kid is still not responding."
Perhaps buoyed by the cheers, he strode over to me and grabbed me by the collar.
"You did as I said, now you want me to react?"
"…What…."
A look of confusion crossed the face of the student who had grabbed him by the collar.
No matter how they looked at it, it wasn't what they knew.
If it had been last year, when I called you here, you would have turned pale and made an expression as if you were going to die at any moment.
'…I thought you were just pretending to be strong.'
Can you keep your cool in this situation?
If he had grabbed me by the collar, I would have thought he would naturally drop his pretense and reveal his true nature.
The student's hand holding the shirt was tense.
I opened my eyes wide and brought my face closer.
"I guess I'll feel like I've won if I shed some tears here, right?"
"This kid…."
"Then I will never win in my life."
The student's eyes crinkled in laughter.
His hand moved to the wand at his waist.
Bam!
"Ugh!"
"Hey, I told you not to make any noise!"
The bastard's attack sent me crashing into a far wall.
The surrounding students shouted in bewildered voices, not knowing that magic would come out.
"Okay, it's too far away to hear."
The guy spat nervously on the floor and stood in front of me.
Following the shoulder pain, my head started ringing more and more.
I grabbed my head and glared at the guy.
'You don't know how to do it properly.'
The fact that they're worried about the rumors spreading in this situation means that the rest of them aren't normal either.
Should I just use magic? I can shut her mouth with divine power anyway, so it shouldn't be a big problem.
'no.'
That's a last resort.
I slowly got up, trying to find my bearings.
The bastard must have thought he had cornered me with his previous attack, because he regained his initial composure and a big smile spread across his face.
"Look at the color of your eyes. Don't you know that something happened on your side a few days ago? Take after Leon and that blue-something hunter. Oh, no. Take after me first, you punk."
I tilted my head, doubting my ears.
Unfortunately, he didn't tell me again.
'XX… What did I hear… .'
The students around me burst into laughter, oblivious to my reaction.
"This kid just blurts out whatever he wants."
"Hahaha, if he follows suit like you, his eyes will rot, XX."
The guy chuckled at his friends' words and pushed them aside.
"I'm telling you. Hey, if you're going to do it, why don't you learn from their example and reform yourself? Actually, we all noticed."
"what."
"You want to be like Leonna and those other kids, right?"
'hmm?'
Externally, Leon and I have no connection at all. It's just a stupid inference based on arbitrary judgment from beginning to end without any solid evidence.
'I guess he didn't want anyone to be higher in rank than him.'
If I come to my senses and live properly, since I've already surpassed them by a long way in terms of family, even if I can't use magic, there will be enough room for a change in the hierarchy.
Ultimately, this was done to somehow prevent me from falling into the category of 'normal'.
"While you were trying to act normal, Leon was out with another wizard, beating up demon bros. That's the least you'll have to do to become normal, okay?"
"Hey, come to think of it, the fact that Leon and this guy go to the same school just doesn't match up."
"Of course not, this kid can't even use magic."
Laughter shook my ears.
I lowered my head and clenched my hands, my fingernails digging into my palms.
'I never thought of that.'
I don't know how I should model myself. At this moment, I miss my long hair that I cut off. I sighed and frowned, unable to control my expression.
"…While I was doing things that were not relevant to the topic, he was contributing to society, that's what I'm saying."
At those words, one student furrowed his eyebrows as if he felt sorry, then let out a sly laugh.
"I get it. Know your place, please. I'm just saying this because I feel bad for you. Of course you want to be like Leon, but you can never keep up. Just at that time…."
I waved my hand in annoyance.
"Yeah, I'm just saying to live like before. Let's say you're right. I might not have the same abilities as Leon."
"It's not that I don't know, it's just that it doesn't exist."
"Well, that's right. But…."
I smiled at those words and nodded.
"That doesn't mean we can go back to the way things were. Especially not after hearing this from you guys."
"…okay?"
At those words, the student made a threatening face and took a step closer.
"I guess you don't understand."
"Hey, hold on. It's so empty here that it rings a lot, so don't make any noise."
"Oh, okay. I'll finish it now."
He made another student bring me my bag, which I had left far away.
"We can't help it since you want to change so badly. Try to live hard. But in return… let's help each other with just one thing."
"No, I don't think that will help."
At those words, a student standing behind him looked up at the sky and sighed.
"This kid really hits the nail on the head…."
"Okay. Lucus, you know that your magic is powered by blood, right?"
"Do you believe that again?"
"The first week, you were casting spells like crazy. After that, you just stood there like an idiot… Do you know how much our hearts were broken? Now, unlike the other Pleromas, you can't use magic because you don't drink blood."
"The width of the field is wide."
"No, I'm not being a bother. I'm just worried as a classmate."
"No need. No matter what you do, I can't use magic."
I shook my head to try to finish it properly.
At that moment, the three students standing around him grabbed my arm. In an instant, I lost my balance.
"…!"
"No need? That's funny. I don't know. How can I know without even trying?"
I bit my lips in the unexpected situation.
'Should I use magic to make it fall?'
Actually, there is a countermeasure, so using magic isn't really a problem. Just yell at them and keep their mouths shut?
No. It's better to just get through it without using magic.
But….
'It depends on what they do.'
If it's just a moderate amount of damage, then you should just wait. If it's more than that, then I don't know.
Then the guy smiled and took something out of his bag.
"What do you mean you can't use magic no matter what you do? We'll help you somehow. We're just trying to help you in your own way. But if you can only use crappy magic, then that's your fate."
The guy was laughing and talking nonsense. He was holding a squishy lump in his hand.
I frowned and observed the lump.
"What is this…."
The moment I saw what it was, I was speechless.
An animal, whether a rat or a rabbit, was hanging limply in his hands.
"I see you figured it out."
I looked at the animal with questioning eyes.
Why this? I don't think you brought it here for me to observe this unidentified animal.
At that moment, an absurd hypothesis flashed through my mind. I slowly looked away from the rat and towards the thing.
The student sat up, met my gaze, smiled wickedly, and thrust a limp rat in front of me.
I could hear those holding my limbs giggling, but I quickly lost consciousness.
"Eat."
"...."
"I kindly caught it for you. There was a rat running around the dormitory hallway."
I'm out of my mind. I wonder how anyone can think like this about people.
As you can see, the rat-like creature wasn't even contaminated. It seemed like they just caught a healthy animal that was wandering around.
It looked clean, but It didn't move at all. No matter how long I watched, the rat didn't move at all.
"I didn't kill him."
The guy shrugged his shoulders as if to show his displeasure and raised the corners of his mouth.
"You should kill him. Just like you did last year."
"…Last year? That's funny. Did you forget that that was just a rumor you spread?"
"It's true anyway. Just change the color of your eyes and say it."
The claim that your magic color will turn red when you absorb other people's magic is nothing more than Pleroma's nonsense. I glared at them with cold eyes.
The student now thrust the rat right in front of his nose.
"I feel so sorry for you. People should know their place. That way, they won't have unnecessary expectations. The wisest person is the one who gives up first and accepts reality. Why don't you know that?"
"Just do it in moderation."
"You don't like it?"
The bastard grabbed my jaw in an instant. His weight was also transferred to my held arm.
"Why, are you afraid that you'll find out that you really can't use magic? Don't worry too much. If you eat them alive, it might be different. Who knows? You might suddenly become good at using magic."
"It would be fun if it came true."
"town…!"
'Are you crazy?'
These little guys really want to eat this. My heart started beating like crazy. One of the students got his leg crushed by my kick. Meanwhile, the animal's body heat was transferred to the skin around my mouth.
"You said you could help me use magic? Let's just check out the rumors ourselves."
A mean smile appeared on the student's lips.
At that moment, a red flash appeared as if a light had been turned on.
Kwaaaaang―!
"Ahh!"
"what?!"
The student shouted, clutching his face covered in dust. The flash of light left an afterimage, blurring his vision. The students who had been holding onto his arms groaned and rolled on the floor as the magic splashed onto their hands.
I took a deep breath, trying to get out of my seat and keep my blurry vision still.
"…I really don't know who those guys like Pleroma are. Who's looking at who…."
"What, now?!"
"Is this what it means to help someone use magic? It definitely works, yes…."
I burst out in laughter and grabbed a handful of the rocks and dirt rolling around on the floor.
Then he grabbed the student holding the rat by the collar.
"Raise your head. You might want to open your mouth before I open it."
"What, what…."
The student stammered, looking back and forth between my face and the dirt on my hands. His face seemed to not understand why I was holding dirt in this situation.
The student hurriedly turned his gaze to his friends around him. I followed his gaze and looked around, then pressed down on the student's chin as if I was going to crush it.
"Don't give up. You have to become a human and go out today."