DBCR 37

 Chapter 37

“Eirix, I’m fine, so just go in and pick what you need. I’ll pay it back soon anyway—what’s the problem?”

Eirix hesitated before speaking.
“Um… I need to buy a few more outfits.”

“What for? Do you have someone to give them to?”

“Well… I need to change clothes, don’t I?” he said, as if making an excuse.

“All my clothes are custom-made, so if I place an order, it takes a few days.”

“……”

“And I need to find someone to place the order too.”

In other words, he had to find someone to submit the order and then wait until the clothes were finished.

Impressive.

Is that how it works for nobles here? Then again, maybe rich or high-status people in my world were like that too—I just never knew.

“You’re not planning to just wear ready-made clothes?”

“No.”

Right. Let’s give up. How could a commoner from a republic like me understand the mindset of nobles in a class-based society?

“Do whatever you want.”

I handed my wallet to Meimon.

“Go in with Eirix and buy what he needs. You probably know better than anyone how much is reasonable.”

“Yes. I will.”

Meimon’s bargaining style worked like this:

No matter what price the shop owner suggested, he only repeated the price he believed was right.

“I’ll give it cheap. Twenty.”

“Three.”

“What? I won’t make anything at that price! Fine—seventeen.”

“Three.”

“Alright, I’m being generous—eleven!”

“Three.”

“How about seven? I’ll throw this in for free.”

“Three.”

Eventually, the owner gave up and sold the clothes at the proper price.

As expected—no matter how innocent he seemed, he came from the back alleys. He looked like someone who could easily be scammed anywhere—and even acted like it—but in reality, he was a boy trained in survival there.

He knew the streets better than anyone here.

Thanks to Meimon’s efforts, Eirix now looked like a street kid who wouldn’t seem out of place selling cabbages nearby. Even if we tried to choose something better, there wasn’t anything to choose from in the first place.

Perhaps even the snake felt sorry for him. It wrapped its long body around Eirix’s neck and began to sparkle.

It was trying to decorate him in its own way, but he just looked like a bar employee promoting late-night business.

“Poison snake, off.”

Eirix spoke quietly.

The dejected snake turned dull and dark before returning to my pocket.

Once we finished buying clothes, I remembered something important—something that absolutely needed to be considered.

From what I’d seen so far, Eirix wasn’t the type to think of such basic matters.

I looked around before approaching him.

I could feel his tension.

“What now?”

I spoke quietly.
“Hey, Eirix.”

“I can’t hear you.”

“I mean…”

“I said I can’t hear you.”

He lowered his head and brought his ear close to my mouth.

“Say it.”

“Don’t misunderstand.”

“Alright, hurry up. My ear tickles.”

You came closer yourself.

“Do you… have underwear?”

“……”

Eirix, whose face had turned red all the way to his forehead, suddenly raised his head and shouted,

“Why are you asking something like that?!”

“I’m not curious—I’m worried…”

“There’s nothing to worry about!”

…So he doesn’t.

At the center of the capital was the deep, narrow Pia River, and the city’s major facilities were built around the bridges crossing it.

The academy stood beside the last bridge—almost at the edge of the city.

The gate was so small you wouldn’t even think it was a school entrance. Anyone would assume it was a side gate leading into a garden.

Next to the bronze door hung a sign with the school’s name:

“Academy at the Center of the World.”

“……”

Just looking at it was embarrassing.

When we opened the ornate door and stepped inside, a neat and pretty courtyard appeared.

It looked like something a skillful fairy grandmother had decorated. Several fruit trees were heavy with red apples, and there was a small pond surrounded by flowerbeds and benches.

A man in a formal suit ran toward us.

Everyone except me stiffened.

When he stopped in front of us, Zephyr and Meimon bowed.

Zephyr stopped there, but the more socially capable Meimon spoke.

“It’s been a while, Head Academic Tolt.”

That’s right—this man managed student credits and determined punishments for rule violations.

Everyone had to bow to him.

Even graduates instinctively felt their knees weaken when they saw him.

Tolt smiled brightly.

“It’s been a while, Meimon—and Zephyr. Ah, no… I suppose I should call you Mr. Zephyr now. You’ve grown quite impressive.”

I glanced at Eirix.

From experience, someone in this position never came to the school gate for good reasons.

“Why are you looking at me?” Eirix asked.

“Did you cause trouble?”

“It’s all resolved.”

So he did cause trouble.

Well, someone who causes problems for the entire world wouldn’t stay quiet in school either.

“Welcome, Eirix. I’ve been waiting for you,” Tolt said gently.

Eirix looked tense.

Even a future hidden villain must fear the academic disciplinarian.

“The Duke has come to the academy.”

That was unexpected.

If someone was simply called the Duke, there was almost no chance it wasn’t Duke Berkart.

There were several dukes in this country, but when people said “the Duke,” they always meant him.

Tolt adjusted his glasses and looked at me.

Why me?

Did Elpini cause trouble too?

I didn’t know—because I didn’t remember anything.

I was just someone from another world assigned to manage a future hidden villain. This body merely happened to belong to Elpini.

“Elpini Sienira.”

Just hearing my name made me feel like I was being scolded.

Maybe the body’s instincts were reacting.

Like how, if you were given a rabbit’s body, you’d instinctively fear eagles and foxes.

Still, at least I finally confirmed the body’s full name.

Elpini Sienira.
Good. Elpini really was the name.

But when an academic officer knows a student personally—that’s never a good sign.

Tolt smiled brightly.

“You’re the student who failed every subject last semester and received academic suspension, correct? You’ve come to formally withdraw. I’ll process it immediately.”

…What?

Eirix looked at me like he’d just seen a cockroach with ten legs.

I thought:

Please. Let me die right now.

“Failed?” Eirix smirked.

“Wow—failed!”

“……”

“Failed!”

“I know what that means, so stop enjoying this.”

And technically, it wasn’t me—it was Elpini.

What on earth had she been doing to fail every subject?

“How did that even happen?”

I’d like to know too.

“Don’t you know what failing means? It means scoring below the standard. I must’ve scored below the standard.”

“That’s what I don’t understand. You just need to write the correct answers. Why didn’t you?”

“You can’t write them if you don’t know them.”

“Why wouldn’t you know them? If you see the questions, the answers should be obvious.”

“……”

Now I understand why he has no friends.

Still… failing every subject.

At this rate, we might even find out Elpini secretly murdered someone and buried the body.

Eirix grabbed my arm quickly.

“Calm down. Your Aether is leaking again.”

This body really was inconvenient.

Did the original Elpini know how to control it? If she did, I wish she’d appear in my dreams and teach me.

At last, Tolt returned and placed documents in front of me.

“Here they are. Please sign.”

I looked at the withdrawal form.

Yes, leaving was probably the right choice. Failing every subject wasn’t something ordinary talent could accomplish.

If I had neither the ability nor the motivation to attend school, leaving made sense.

And most importantly—if I signed this, I wouldn’t have to go to school.

Well done, Elpini.
Thank you, Elpini.
Escaping school on day one—perfect.

I picked up the pen—

—but Eirix immediately snatched it away.

“You’re not going to apply for academic relief? There are remedies for failing—why sign already?”

“For failing?” Is failing common here?

Without asking me further, he turned to Tolt.

“How many times has she failed?”

“Ah—this is the first.”

Eirix’s expression hardened.

“Then you should recommend academic relief first, not hand her a withdrawal form. That’s negligence.”

You don’t need to argue that strongly—I’m fine leaving.

I looked at the subjects listed on the report card.

Just reading the course names made me want to fail again.

What kind of terrifying subjects are these?

“Elpini did not apply for relief at the end of the semester,” Tolt said. “So I assumed there was no intention.”

“But the academic term hasn’t started yet. Since she came here, it’s the school’s duty to ask.”

It sounded reasonable—but I didn’t want to attend school.

I looked at Tolt.

Please say there are a hundred reasons why it’s impossible.

“Elpini, is that what you want?”

…Damn.

So it is possible.