Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Misunderstanding (3)

I did read the materials Iona gave me, but that was barely half a day’s work.

It was hardly enough time to catch up with the other students’ week of learning.

Yet, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

The growth buff from being titled a Talented Freshman was gone.

But in its place, I had the rewards from defeating Edmerek and the effects of the Elixir, which significantly boosted my specs.

Plus, the elemental combination training I received from Iris on the way back also advanced my magic manipulation skills.

At least, I had enough ability to deter anyone who thoughtlessly spoke against me.

If I kept this up for a few days, students, just as Carla and Elisha said, would start wondering if it was okay to keep gossiping like this.

Around that time, if I borrow a little power from my sponsors at the Church of Righteous Radiance, I should be able to prevent the spread of false rumors.

…That’s what I thought, at least until lunchtime.

“Brother, is it true that you enjoy ‘Juicy Forest’ at your mansion near the Academy every weekend?”

“Ju… what?”

Helena approached me with a question, being extra cautious, while I was eating.

As I blinked and asked her to repeat, she tapped her lips and corrected herself.

“Sorry, I slipped up… So, is it true that you enjoy ‘Juicy Forest’ every weekend?”

“I’m not sure when the rumor about me buying a mansion spread, but I just bought it yesterday.”

“Phew… so it was just a false rumor. Then the ‘Juicy Forest’ part must be false too.”

“…….”

“…Brother?”

Helena looked at me with a questioning gaze.

Seeing her innocent golden eyes start to twist in shock, I quickly shook my head.

“I don’t drink! I don’t drink alcohol!”

“Ah? Alcohol… but the rest about you being promiscuous is true, right?! I should have realized when you asked for a nun’s dress!”

“How can you leave those two alone?”

She cautiously pointed at the two dining.

Originally, sharing a table with servants was deemed undignified, but now that there was no dignity left to lose, they just ate together.

As the two awkwardly nodded under Helena’s gaze, she finally snapped out of it.

“They look quite normal, don’t they?”

“Should I have ruined them or something?”

“Well… expensive things should be used carefully.”

Her response seemed a bit far off.

Helena was a devoted follower of the Church of Righteous Radiance, and a candidate for sainthood.

For her, two who became slaves due to summoning spirits as members of a cultist family weren’t subjects of sympathy.

After a moment of thought, Helena continued in a serious tone.

“Brother, the truth is, we don’t care about your personal life. After all, you’re not a clergyman like us, halfway detached from the secular world.”

“That’s true. So, why did you come to see me so suddenly, Priestess Helena?”

The Church of Righteous Radiance might be a bit off, but a priestess is still a priestess.

She wouldn’t have come just for idle curiosity, like others.

Waiting quietly for her next words, Helena let out a long sigh.

“…The rumors about you are spreading too quickly, and in a distorted form.”

“Huh? It’s only been half a day, hasn’t it?”

“Yes. Only the morning has passed, but there are rumors that you are the heir to a criminal underworld, that any woman you fancy ends up on her knees as your slave, and that your next target is the second-year top student of the Magic Department.”

“…That’s completely baseless. Besides, isn’t the second-year top student of the Magic Department a guy?”

This wasn’t good. At this rate, the secret organization I was trying to push would be seen as just a common gang.

Nodding seriously, Helena sympathetically agreed.

“Exactly. The stories are so absurd… On my way to the cafeteria, I even heard that if one locks eyes with you for more than three seconds, one might become a slave.”

“If that were true, then Helena would definitely become my slave.”

“Yes, although that’s unlikely.”

After giggling together for a while, Helena nodded and stood up from her seat.

“Anyway, I understand that you, Brother, are suffering from excessive slander.”

“Are you going to help me?”

“Of course. However, as much as it concerns you, Brother, we can’t use the Church’s power for mere Academy rumors…”

“That’s understandable. Just going around saying it’s a false rumor is enough for me.”

“I’m grateful you understand. Sorry for interrupting your meal. I’ll be leaving now.”

“No, not at all. You could have joined us.”

Shrugging nonchalantly, I made the offer, and Helena smiled, shaking her head.

“I’ve already eaten, so I’ll have to decline your offer for now, Brother Yandel.”

“It can’t be helped then. See you next time, Priestess Helena.”

After a brief exchange of goodbyes, Helena walked away.

Watching her retreating figure, I whispered in a small, urgent voice.

“Do we really have to wait until it dies down on its own? Really?”

“I’m… I’m sorry, Master!”

“We didn’t expect it to spread throughout the Academy in less than a day, Yandel.”

Even amidst this, Elisha’s ears perked up as if trying to catch every sound around us.

Suppressing the urge to hold her still, I nodded.

“That’s true. Even I thought this situation was abnormal.”

“Ah, about that, Master. There’s something I’ve been thinking about.”

“What’s that?”

Carla, about to wipe sauce from her mouth, leaned towards me instead.

Smiling, I wiped it off with a handkerchief, and she continued with a giggle.

“A series of notable events have occurred one after another in the Academy.”

“Oh?”

“First, the dungeon practice itself was a big deal, but then you, a first-year, defeated an archbishop-level cultist. As I mentioned before, it was serious enough to warrant a ten-day school closure.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Parents’ complaints about their children’s safety, distrust towards the Academy, and the significance of the cultist’s attack being more than just simple terrorism.

The Academy was in chaos for a while. I remember being treated like a hero as soon as I woke up, which felt awkward.

“Then there was the Sylvan Magic Tower’s spirit summoning. Normally, people would just think it’s typical for an elf, but…”

“Wait a minute! What do you mean by ‘typical for an elf,’ Carla!”

Ignoring Elisha’s indignant outcry, Carla continued.

“It was right after the cultists made their first open attack. Naturally, the failed attempt to summon an otherworldly being was highlighted more.”

“I get it. People were already interested, and then this happened?”

“Exactly. And you, Master, were at the center of it all.”

Throwing a spark into dry tinder would naturally cause a fire.

But Elisha seemed to have a different thought. She shook her head, still fuming.

“I don’t think so. The speed at which the rumors spread, maybe, but the extent of the distortion can’t be explained just by that.”

She then sharply scanned the surroundings.

“Someone is spreading rumors about you, Yandel. And they’re deliberately distorting them.”

Elisha made a very significant conjecture, but right now, we can neither prove anything nor find the culprit.

So, in the end, all we could do was walk around with an authoritative presence.

I intended it as a warning, to tell them to behave since I was watching.

“Eek! Our eyes met! He must be thinking of making me a slave, too!”

“…….”

It seemed to have the opposite effect, so I stopped.

If someone was deliberately spreading rumors, as Elisha suggested, what did they hope to gain by tarnishing my image?

Sighing internally, I finished the afternoon classes and decided to stop by Faye’s workshop before returning to the dormitory.

I hadn’t greeted her since my return yesterday, and I was also concerned the current rumors might worry her unnecessarily.

Arriving at Faye’s workshop, Elisha, who was visiting for the first time, gasped in surprise.

“Th-there’s a workshop even in a place like this.”

“The location might not be ideal, but the skills are assured.”

Elisha nodded, recalling the potion I distributed during the last dungeon practice and the Elixir made using Iona’s blood crystal a few days ago.

“Indeed. That’s beyond the skill of most alchemists in the first district. I don’t know how she ended up here, though.”

“There’s a complicated story behind that… but you’ll understand once you see.”

Arriving, I shrugged and knocked on the workshop’s door, which also served as a magical doorbell.

Knock, knock, knock.

…….

No answer.

Just as I wondered if Faye might not be in today and was about to knock again.

-Junior…?

“Oh. You’re here. Please open the door, Senior Faye. I have something to discuss.”

-No, I don’t want to!

“???”

The sponsoree… was talking back?!