"Aren't you all… ASHAMED of yourselves?"
Rotsard called out triumphantly with every single word of his just oozing with mockery.
Those looks on everyone's faces, as if he just slapped every single one of them!
Ahhh~ Truly a bliss~!
"But there is no way that it is the case, now, isn't it?"
"..."
…unfortunately, that feeling did not last nearly long enough, broken down by the arrival of Amelia Edemsowrth with Justin tagging along by her side.
"Since you are such an amazing student, young lord Vallhall, I'm sure you will not mind imparting some of your vast knowledge onto all of it and answer a few questions. Purely academic ones, of course."
And there it was…
Amelia's voice was both scornful and lined with satisfaction.
She was just like her character in the story.
No hesitation. Once she made up her mind, she acted as if every single decision of hers was final, impartial, and just.
Hence, since she was convinced that Rotsard cheated his way into top grades, she was eager to prove it all then and there.
"..."
"...!"
Rotsard's expression darkened as his eyes focused on the girl, but she quickly looked to the side, unwilling to make eye contact even for a second.
The next few moments would surely turn into torture.
Since the questions Amelia was going to ask were supposed to be the most basic ones, Rotsard would know the answer…
…but he will have to lie, purposefully getting everything wrong and shaming himself for the story to progress the way it has to for the world to be saved from the deofol's maw…
Once again, turning his moment of truth into a disaster on purpose for the good of all…
"..."
Just as Rotsard expected, the murky black figure appeared in the corner of his vision for their first-row seat of its favorite show.
The world, or his pride?
What decision will a third-rate villain, who used to always brag about the responsibilities and honor of a noble, make?
Rotsard was really close to spitting out blood just from the inner turmoil he was going through.
"...But…! Of…! Course…! ASK AWAY!"
"!!!"
The pure rage horribly twisted his face. Despite Rotsard giving his all to hold back, the words he wanted to say calmly turned into a snarl of a rabid wolf mad from hunger, startling everyone present and causing more than a dozen students to back off so fast that they tripped and fell shamefully.
…the fear did not miss Amelia, who, despite not looking at Rotsard from the start, turned pale as a ghost…
"I told you to ask away."
"...!"
That would be a perfect opportunity to leave the scene, but it would completely change the event and go against the story, so Rotsard, clenching his teeth so hard his gums were about to bleed, said with enough passive aggression to make Amelia start trembling.
It wasn't spoken, but there was an insult fitting so well into the setting that it just spontaneously came to everyone's mind.
"S-so b-be it…!"
Amelia pressed her hands to her body in a way that made one think she was being surprised right after getting out of the bathtub, and she was trying to cover herself with a towel.
"Th-then…!"
She actually sniffled, on the verge of tears, but she braved through and asked the first question…
"!"
Upon hearing it, all of Rotsard's murderous aura disappeared without a trace, leaving him standing under the announcement board with his jaw dropped and his beastly yellow eyes widened.
That reaction was completely genuine and did not go unnoticed.
"Huh? What's with him?"
"That was… just a basic question about THE most common ingredient… Why does he look so choked up?"
"Don't tell me… Young Lady Edemsworth was right about him…!?"
Only that everyone misunderstood it completely.
|Huh…!? Th-that's the question she's going with…! But…! But…!
…but with no teachers or students above the third year present, I can give them an advanced answer, and those fools will merely believe it to be wrong…!|
Those were the kind of thoughts rushing through Rotsard's head as the question he was asked was about a common alchemy ingredient so common and popular it was impossible to NOT know its name… But it also had another name that was used only in a single specific case study that only those intending to enlist to an advanced alchemy course would bother to ever look at.
…but it just so happened that Rotsarrd's fiancee, Mira Vultress, the alchemy prodigy of the century, who was a fifth-year student taking advanced exams because she wished to attend the advanced course…
…and since after tutoring Rotsard she would go to her own studies, often reading through her notes while resting her head on Rotsard's lap, he would inadvertently pick up on some things she would subconsciously read out loud while concentrating…
"..."
"!?!?"
"H-he got it wrong!?"
"Hmph, trash!"
"What the hel?!"
The correct answer that no one amongst the students present could discern from a wrong one left Rotsard's mouth, sparking voices of utter disbelief and often mockery.
"O-oh…? I-is that so? In that case…!"
Amelia Edemsworth's behavior changed completely, and with a wind of confidence blowing into her sails. Afterwards, she got bolder and bolder with each consecutive question.
As the event was playing out, Rotsard's confusion wasn't subsiding in the slightest.
It… it really felt like this was all a set-up... but a set-up in his favor… Well, at least for the sake of his sanity.
Because all the questions he was asked were ones that had a well-known basic answer, as well as an obscure, highly advanced one that only someone either trying to get into a specific field or someone already in that field would know.
Not to be ungrateful, but the fact that everything was somehow tied to alchemy, so a field Rotsard had been unintentionally involved in because of Mira, was at least a little bit suspicious.
Was that a trick?
But… what would be its purpose…!?
The uneasy feeling that Rotsard had about the situation made him look that much more troubled, which only reinforced the negative opinion that others had about him.
He looked like someone fighting for his life and failing miserably, only giving more fuel to the fires of disrespect and anger.