The Only Male Student in the Academy

024. Follower (5)

My mind went blank for a moment.

Because an unexpected person, in an unexpected place, is saying an unexpected thing.

“…Did I mistake the room?”

“No? You’re right? This is Ariel’s room.”

“Yes, I guess…”

There’s no way I’m confused. In the first place, I was the only one living on the first floor of the dormitory.

Why?

Why is Claire in my room….

“Ariel doesn’t usually pay much attention to locking the door? The window was open~.”

Claire smiled and pointed to the window.

When I leave the dormitory, I deliberately opened the window to ventilate.

‘… Who would think it would come in through the window?’

I am the only male student who is hated by all students.

Which student would try to enter my room just because the window was slightly open?

… I never thought Claire would do this.

“Claire, it seems you don’t know much about the dorm rules.”

It’s embarrassing, but somehow it plays arrogance.

You have to pretend to be calm.

I must never reveal to Claire that I am feeling threatened.

“Huh? Did you know? The dormitory supervisor explained to me on the first day of moving in~”

“Then you know very well that trespassing is a felony. If caught, you will be punished.”

“Oh, what’s wrong with friends~. We just came here to hang out~.”

“…Do you think that would work?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay~. I won’t be punished if I get caught~? If you’re really worried, just say that Ariel invited me?”

I’ll sell myself if I have to. Claire said so.

What would other people think if they saw this situation now?

Do you think Claire broke into my room?

Or do you think I forced Claire into the room?

‘Yes. They’re going to keep driving me into a corner.’

He also tried to drive me away during the class assignment test.

Even when I was training, he suddenly came and interrupted me.

In response to Henrik’s question, he brought up the story of the engagement.

Encouraging Alex to put me in trouble.

This time, he broke into my room and created a situation that others would misunderstand.

The purpose is clear.

It is trying to isolate me.

“…….”

“Why are you looking at me with such a scary face, Ariel? Are you sick?”

Claire giggles.

During the placement test, they tried to isolate me by forming public opinion.

Ruining my image by bringing up the story of an unscheduled engagement.

I made my bad reputation by moving Alex.

So, Claire’s invasion of my room must also be for the purpose of isolating me.

‘… If I showed this to others, I would really be taken to the disciplinary committee.’

And what happened after that…… I don’t want to imagine too much.

It seems like I’ve been f*cked.

‘Should I shout?’

I looked at Claire’s left arm.

To be precise, the epaulette on Claire’s left arm.

That is Claire’s wrath, and my last resort.

If you touch it when nothing is prepared, it will only irritate Claire.

Still, there was no other way to come to mind in this situation.

I am.

“Excuse me, Ariel Beheritt!”

The moment I was about to open my mouth, the door suddenly opened from behind.

I glanced back and saw Alex entering my room.

“I’m requesting a duel, Ariel Beheritt! I’m preparing a special meal for you this time… Hey, aren’t you Claire-sama?”

Alex, who casually entered my room, stopped when he saw Claire.

Claire also opened his eyes wide, unexpectedly.

“Oh, Alex. What are you doing here?”

“Claire-sama, why are you here…? Why are you in this guy’s room…”

“Claire broke into my room.”

I took advantage of this opportunity to speak.

“While I was out, Claire entered my room through the window.”

“Is that true, Claire?”

“Isn’t it? Ariel stopped by the room for a while and asked to go, so I came here~.”

With a nonchalant expression, Claire tells lies.

Then, Alex shook his head slowly.

“You’re playing too much, Claire. I’ve been with Ariel Beheritt the whole time.”

“……What is it?”

Claire’s eyes narrowed. His reaction was unexpected.

Not realizing Claire’s expression, Alex continues to speak.

“Actually, I challenged Ariel Beheritt to a duel all day today. But this man didn’t accept the fight at all.”

“……Really?”

“That’s why it’s a pretty awkward situation. But don’t worry, Claire-sama. I’ll make sure to kick this guy out of the academy!”

Alex shouted with hot eyes.

Claire looked at Alex with a strange expression and shrugged his shoulders.

“Ah~, this doesn’t work~. Sorry, I’m sorry, wasn’t I playing a little too hard?”

As if it was a joke, Claire made a slightly exaggerated gesture.

Those eyes weren’t laughing.

“How did you know?”

It’s two o’clock in the morning. Time when all students are asleep.

There was someone knocking on the window, so when I went out, Alex was waiting for me.

“What do you mean?”

“That Claire is going to break into your room.”

Alex said with a slightly cornered look on his face.

“…I was watching Claire-sama as you ordered. I saw you break in through the window.”

“Is that so?”

I nodded.

A week ago, I won Alex’s duel.

-“As the winner of the duel, there is only one thing I ask of you. It doesn’t matter if it’s just once. Don’t trust Claire.”

-“Don’t believe me… After all, are you asking me to betray Claire?”

-“It’s a little different from betrayal.”

– “Claire is going to lie in front of me sooner or later. He’s just telling me not to take that lie as the truth.”

-“That Claire-sama would lie? That’s not even funny.”

-“Alex Falto, Claire isn’t a nice person like you think.”

-“You can bet. Claire will definitely lie to get me into a corner.”

-“If I’m wrong, I can leave the academy.”

-“See with your own eyes what kind of person Claire is.”

That day, I shared that promise with Alex.

I never thought that Alex would be following Claire.

Thanks to that, I was able to save my life.

“Claire is a horse. He hates peace and loves stimulation.”

I said so.

Someone must have imagined it at least once.

The repetitive boring daily life.

Classes I don’t want to take.

In such a boring time,

What if terrorists suddenly take over the school?

Or the power sealed in the right hand is released.

Or going to another world.

Such a delusion.

“I want to be stimulated every day. I seek a different kind of fun every day.”

He is a common human being.

Searching for interesting web novels. Looking for new comics. Every three months, I check what’s coming out as a new anime.

Search for works that have not yet been seen but are known to be interesting, and get new fun from them.

And sometimes I am disappointed because the work is not as interesting as I thought.

I have no choice but to spend the day quenching my thirst by going straight through the works I have seen before.

He is a common human being.

But Claire has two problems.

One is that there are not that many kinds of entertainment in this world.

Another problem is that Claire is making fun of other people’s destruction.

“…There is one thing I don’t understand in that explanation. If it was Claire-sama, I could easily kick you out, so why bother using such a cumbersome method?”

“Claire doesn’t want me to leave the academy. He wants me to be destroyed.”

“Isn’t that what…?”

“It’s a little different. They want to see me lose everything.”

At least the position and honor you have. All that.

For example, if I go to prison with a false accusation of being a s*xual molester, then I will fall into a worse situation than a commoner.

In the end, I think Claire wants me to make an extreme choice.

“……Isn’t Claire looking at you favorably?”

“You’re looking at it like a steak.”

“Steak…?”

“Claire is a horse. It is said that he prefers steak to live cows.”

No, I said a little wrong.

Live cattle being slaughtered and turned into steaks.

You must be hoping that I will be that kind of steak.

I’m sure Claire doesn’t think he’s equal to me.

You should treat it like a toy.

“What do you plan to do next, Ariel Beheritt?”

After hearing the story, Alex asks in a serious voice.

“According to what you said, it sounds like you’re in a very dangerous position. Are you going to accept destruction as it is?”

“Of course, I’m not going to be hurt. Fortunately, I still have time to spare, so I’ll have to prepare.”

Claire seeks new stimulation every day.

Because of this, Claire can’t raise the level of stimulation too much at once.

If you eat 7 steaks from the beginning, you will need 8 steaks to experience greater happiness.

Then nine, ten, eleven… ….

As time goes on, the number of steaks required will increase.

That’s why Claire starts with one piece of steak.

2 Pieces, 3 pieces, 4 pieces…. Increase the amount very little by little and enjoy the stimulation for a very long time.

When the time comes when you can’t stand it, you’ll eat it all up.

‘If you think about it that way, it’s still marginally safe.’

Do you feel like you’ve only just begun to act in earnest?

At least it won’t destroy me as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.

Claire wouldn’t want me to be ruined any time soon either.

What Claire fears the most is losing the fun.

Perhaps it is a similar feeling to being afraid of the completion of a work you love.

Thanks to that, I still have time.

“Alex Falto, you have come to know Claire’s true nature. What are you going to do next?”

I ask.

Then the answer came back as expected.

“……I don’t know. What to do for Claire-sama?”

It seemed so.

Now I’m tying up Alex as a reward for winning the confrontation, but Alex wasn’t my person in the first place.

You can’t expect it, and you can’t rely on it.

He is not my ally.

“Then do it yourself. It doesn’t matter if you join Claire.”

“…….”

Alex nodded after hesitation.

Then Monday comes again.

“Ariel Beheritt, I’m here to challenge you!”

Alex came again.

“This is an invisibility cloak. It is an item that can only be obtained in dungeons. If you win the battle, I will give you this.”

That’s what he said while pulling out his cloak.

I was curious to see how Alex would turn out, but for now, it seems that he intends to keep fitting in the skits.

‘If they act normally, then this side should behave normally as well.’

I cross my arms and act arrogant.

“I would have told you. I have no intention of competing with you.”

“Then I’ll bring you another item. If you have something you’d like, let me know, Ariel Beheritt.”

“I won’t accept any item you bring me, Alex Falto. Don’t bother and go home.”

“Oh, then will you accept it if I bet something other than an item?”

There was an intrusive voice.

“Claire-sama…?”

Sometimes Claire was standing behind Alex.

Claire looks at me with an alluring smile somewhere.

“Even if it’s not an item, there are many things. For example…”

Claire puts her hand on my desk and leans over to me sitting in the chair.

Their faces are close.

“If Ariel beats Alex, what if I drop out?”

And that’s what they say.