Chapter 24: Promise

Chapter 24: Promise

After seeing that the person that had stepped forward was Minori, I slowly lowered my head, focusing my attention back on eating. However, this seemed to spur her on even harder.

"How dare you pretend to be a good person! I know what you've done to Natan! I bet the moment anybody sits down to eat with you they'll be poisoned!"

The butler next to me furrowed his brow, taking offense at that statement.

"Preposterous! How could the food be poisoned when Lord Bryson personally steps down and eats commoner food to show you that it is edible!"

Minori pointed accusingly.

"See? It's that high and mighty attitude you nobles always have! I bet you're just pretending to eat the food to get some unsuspecting victim! You must have specific bowls laced with the poison, and then you'll take their body to use for experiments!"

The butler looked appalled. His face flushed with anger, and he couldn't even find the words to speak.

I spoke in a quiet voice.

"Don't worry about it."

The butler looked at me with a bit of sadness.

"But Lord Bryson..."

I did not respond. Instead, I focused on eating the meal in front of me. Minori continued her speech, emboldened by the fact that the butler stood down.

"I know what happened on the first day of school! You beat up Natan just because he was a commoner and couldn't do anything back! His head was bleeding, and he even had trouble moving his arm!"

...Dammit Nathan, I knew it was a bad idea to beat yourself up.

Minori was absolutely livid.

"And then on the very same day, you kidnapped him against his will, torturing him for your own experiments and only sending him back after he was entirely broken! I... I can't even recognize him anymore! He's so different from what he once was!"

Well, at least there's a good excuse for Nathan's sudden change in behavior.

The murmurs from the crowd grew even louder.

"I-Is that right? Thank god I was smart enough not to be tempted by the smell."

"That's true! I heard that a commoner desperately tried to escape his carriage, but he forcefully pulled him back in!"

"That man is truly a monster! Does he not even see us as anything more than cattle?"

My hearing was better than average, so it wasn't really hard to pick up on what they were saying once they began talking a bit louder. However, I just tuned all of it out. A guard tapped me on the shoulder and whispered to me.

"Do you need me to drive her away?"

I discreetly shook my head while taking another mouthful of pottage. All of the servants with me seemingly wanted to do something. However, most of them found it too awkward to speak up, while the ones that were brave enough were shot down by me.

Minori balled both of her hands into fists as she shouted at me.

"Leave! Get out of here, you demon! Nobody wants you here!"

My left ear began to faintly ring. If you couldn't tell, that was because Minori was to my left, yelling over and over again. I began to tune out to the world and began thinking about the situation.

...Maybe this solution wasn't going to work. It wasn't just Minori, but rather it appeared my reputation among the commoners was far worse than I had imagined. From all the murmurs, I knew that my image in their eyes was practically irredeemable. Trying to correct them would probably just lead to even more rumors that would get worse.

Well, it was only a temporary solution in the first place.

It was at this point I realized something fascinating. While lifting up the spoon to eat some pottage, I could sense the mana flowing through my body rather clearly. Despite the fact I was actively moving, I was still able to meditate.

I wasn't exactly sure what had brought it on, but it felt like so many possibilities were suddenly opened up to me.

Nathan did say that he was going to try and contact Bernie, so maybe I could count on him for the Peasant Rebellion. In the meantime, maybe I could use the fact I could meditate while doing other things to become quite powerful.

Minori stamped her foot on the ground several times, as though she still couldn't vent out her frustrations.

"I can't even believe people like you exist! The world would be better off if you were just de-"

"Um!"

To my surprise, someone from the crowd called out. What's more, that person was Arianne.

For context, she was one of the capture targets in the game. She was also in Class A, and got in because of her high magical talent and passable grades. Her circumstances were quite similar to Natan's as she was also a commoner, but I guess to make the protagonist more special her powers were a notch below.

Her general characteristic was her shy persona. To be honest, while it was surprising Minori was so aggressive like this, it wasn't as though she never does something like this in the story.

However, Arianne was a true person of inaction. Although she may fight for the sake of the kingdom, she could only really show her true ability if it was with someone else. As such, it was extremely strange for her to step up now.

The future was changing in ways that I didn't understand.

It made me feel a bit unsettled, but this was what I had signed up for.

Arianne came from my right and took a few steps forward, but nearly tripped on herself while doing so. It was clear that she was nervous. n.-OvelB1n

"I don't think that Bryson is that kind of person!"

Minori was rather shocked at first, before glaring at me once more.

"You forced one of us to speak on your behalf? What did you blackmail her with? I bet you raped her, didn't you?!"

Arianne stomped her foot on the ground.

"No! That's not true! I-I'm still a virgin!"

...That's the part you wanted to clear up?

Minori looked at Arianne with concern, clearly still believing she was forced to say those words.

"You can't let him ruin your life! I don't know what he has done, but if you keep listening to him it will only get worse!"

Arianne grit her teeth and clenched her fist. She shouted rather loudly.

"NO!"

Minori jumped, momentarily shocked. Arianne used that time to say what she wanted to without being interrupted.

"I-I've never talked with Bryson personally, but I think he is a very kind person."

She lowered her head and began to shiver.

"I also heard all of the rumors about him and was so scared when I saw that he was also in my class. Because I was so scared, I tried my best to not get noticed by him at any cost, and felt dread even when he looked in my general direction."

...What? I'm not that ugly, am I?

Arianne raised her head, and her eyes looked a little glossy.

"But he never spoke rudely. When a commoner was getting bullied by the teacher, he was the one that stood up for them and personally vouched for them. After that, he even invited them to eat lunch together."

She began to smile, probably without even knowing.

"Then, just to make the commoner feel more involved, he also ordered commoner food even if it must've been distasteful!"

Hey, the pottage they make isn't bad.

Arianne took a deep breath.

"He didn't buy food for the other so that they didn't feel indebted so that they could speak together as equals!"

What? Did I do that? I just remember being afraid of the prices...

She then spoke shyly. But while her voice was far softer, it was still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I'm so jealous of their friendship. So many times I wanted to try to approach... but I was still too scared."

Minori seemingly lost most of her strength, but still pointed a trembling finger at Arianne.

"That... that can't be true..."

A small frown formed on Arianne's face as she looked Minori directly in the eyes.

"Even if it wasn't true, even if all those things you said about him were right."

Tears began to well up in her eyes as her frown deepened.

"How could you say that he would be better off dead? That's just too cruel!"

She then began to cry uncontrollably, like it was actually her that was insulted and not me. Her hands proceeded to wipe away the tears from her face, but with how hard she was crying, they were going to have their work cut out for them.

Minori was rendered speechless, leaving the only sounds of Arianne weeping and my spoon moving.

It was then that I finished all of the pottage. I then stood up, bringing everyone's attention to me.

There was a sheathed sword affixed to my belt, and I pulled it out without hesitation. From there, I began walking in Minori's direction. The crowd nearby her immediately parted, faster than Moses parting the red sea.

Arianne looked rather shocked by my actions.

"Th-That."

As for Minori, she froze up in fear, with her eyes widening. The closer I got, the rougher her breath became. I could see in her eyes how scared she was and the regret of all her actions earlier.

When I had gotten next to her, she closed her eyes, waiting for what she thought was inevitable. As for Arianne, she had reached her hand out toward me.

"W-Wait, stop!"

The people out in the crowd all also directly exclaimed in fear, with some directly fainting. In fact, even the servants I had brought along began whispering to themselves while their eyes widened in trepidation.

Then, I walked past Minori.

The entire time, while everyone's gazes were on me, I was also meditating, sensing the mana in my body. While meditating did do part in blocking out the surrounding world, that didn't mean I didn't notice what was happening.

It wasn't as though I could just turn off all my senses just from meditating.

I just didn't care about anything that was happening. Sure, Arianne was supporting me, but I wasn't going to go with her to try and clear up my reputation or listen to what else she had to say. Neither did I explain my actions to them.

If you didn't remember, I told Nathan that if he wasn't at the table by the time I finished my first bowl, then I would come looking for him.

It didn't matter what was happening, because it was a promise I had made to a friend.

Even if hell itself would descend onto Earth right now, I was going to fulfill that promise. Nathan knew that was the kind of person I am, which is why he asked me to come look for him instead of saving or helping him.

And so, I walked and counted the houses as I went.

I did not look back.