This is effectively notifying the family that I still have a bad standing at school.
Since school uniforms are made by direct order from the family, if the uniform is damaged, there's no choice but to let home know about it.
If it were Luka, he wouldn't explain why the clothes were ruined. I wouldn't either, of course. There's no need to make the family step in unnecessarily.
'…Of course, if they have even the bare minimum of awareness, they'll figure out the reason right away.'
Even so, there's no need to worry about honor.
If you think the family would fly into a rage because harassing a member of Askanian is an insult to the family, you're mistaken.
I don't actually belong to that family, and everyone knows it.
'The fact that they didn't abandon a demon-possessed child, continued treatment steadily—even though there was no improvement—and fed him, clothed him, and sent him to a good school' is enough to explain why Askanian's image improved even more.
In short, everyone in the Empire thinks of Luka and Askanian as separate.
While they chew Luka to pieces, the moment they meet a 'real' Askanian, there are plenty who would bow their heads without thinking.
So there's no need to consider the family stepping in. I only need to think about what news will reach my older brother's ears.
If he finds out about this…
'He'll grin so wide his mouth might tear.'
Should I make my older brother happy for a moment?
I threw off my jacket.
"Wow, you threw it on the floor so we could step on it, right?"
Kwaang—!
Someone stomped hard on the jacket. Dust rose from the ground with the vulgar kick.
"Hahahaha!"
"Hey, do it properly."
The other students snickered and cheered.
'…Sigh….'
Somehow, I didn't feel good. Watching them kick someone else's clothes and rejoice with full sincerity made me suddenly wonder where exactly I was.
More than anything… the certainty that the family wouldn't intervene at all unless this spread widely is something only Luka, who grew up in that household, could have.
People can look down on Luka like an insect because they separate Askanian and Luka, but causing physical trouble goes to a completely different level.
The reason Luka hadn't been openly beaten until now was that as long as he bore the family name, the family could apply 'nominal' punishment or pressure.
'So these guys….'
They can't even see one move ahead.
That people who act this thoughtlessly hadn't beaten Luka until now was surprising in itself.
"No, but looking at him, this bastard isn't reacting at all."
Gaining confidence from the cheers, the guy strode forward and grabbed me by the collar.
"I did what you told me to. You expect a reaction on top of that?"
"…What…."
A flicker of confusion crossed the student's face.
This wasn't how I was supposed to be.
If it were last year, I would have turned pale the moment I was called here, looking like I'd drop dead at any second.
'…I thought he was just acting tough.'
Can he keep that up even in this situation?
If he'd grabbed my collar, I expected him to drop the act and reveal his pathetic nature.
The student gripping my shirt tightened his hold.
I widened my eyes and leaned my face closer.
"If I shed some tears here, you'd feel like you won, right?"
"You bastard…."
"Then you'll never win for the rest of your life."
At the mockery, the student's eyes crumpled viciously.
His hand moved to the wand at his waist.
Kwaang—!
"Ugh!"
"Hey! You said we'd keep it quiet!"
I was slammed into a distant wall by his attack.
The surrounding students shouted in panic, apparently not expecting magic to come out.
"It's fine. It's far enough that no one'll hear."
Spitting irritably onto the ground, he stood in front of me.
After the pain in my shoulder, my head began to throb more and more.
Clutching my head, I glared at him.
'He doesn't know when to stop.'
Judging by how the others were worried about the sound carrying, they weren't normal either.
Should I just use magic? I could shut their mouths with Holy Power anyway, so it wouldn't be a big problem.
'No.'
That's a last resort.
I slowly found my sense of direction and pushed myself up.
Thinking he'd driven me into a corner enough with that attack, he regained his earlier leisure and spread a broad smile.
"Look at the color of your eyes. Don't you even know something went down on your side a few days ago? Learn something from Leo and those blue-whatever hunters. Ah, no—learn from me first, punk."
I doubted my ears and tilted my head.
Unfortunately, he didn't repeat himself.
'XX… what the hell did I just hear….'
The surrounding students didn't notice my reaction and burst into laughter.
"This bastard just spouts nonsense."
"Hahaha, if he learns from you, his eyes'll rot, XX."
The guy snorted at his friends' words and shoved them aside.
"I'm talking. Hey, while you're at it, copy some actions too and try to reform yourself. Honestly, we all figured it out."
"Figured what."
"You want to be like Leo or whatever, right?"
'Huh?'
Publicly, Leo and I have no connection whatsoever. It was a stupid conclusion based entirely on arbitrary judgment without a single solid basis.
'They didn't want me rising above them.'
If I came to my senses and lived properly, even without being able to use magic, there'd be plenty of room for a shift in the hierarchy.
In the end, this mess happened to stop me from entering the category of 'normal.'
"While you were trying to pretend to be normal, Leo was out there with other mages beating up demon bastards in some backwater. If you want to be a normal person, you should at least do that much, huh?"
"Hey, come to think of it, the fact that Leo and this guy even attend the same school is just totally mismatched in rank, XX."
"Of course. This bastard can't even use magic."
Laughter shook my ears.
I lowered my head and clenched my fist. My nails dug into my palm.
'Didn't expect this.'
I don't even know how I'm supposed to learn from myself. At this moment, I missed my long hair that I'd cut off. Unable to manage my expression, I frowned and let out a sigh.
"…So while I was doing things beyond my station, he was contributing to society, is that it."
At that, one student twisted his eyebrows as if pitying me and snickered.
"You got it right. Know your place. It's because we feel sorry for you. Of course you want to be like Leo, but you'll never catch up. Instead, use that time to—"
Annoyed, I waved my hand.
"Yeah, you're telling me to live like before. Fine, let's say you're right. Maybe I don't have abilities like Leo."
"You don't maybe not have them. You just don't."
"Well, that's true. But…."
I smiled, nodded, and continued.
"That doesn't mean I'm going back to how things were. Especially not after hearing something like this from you."
"…Is that so?"
The student made a threatening face and stepped closer.
"Guess you don't get it."
"Hey, hold it in. This place echoes since it's empty, so keep it quiet."
"Ah, whatever. I'm ending it now."
He had another student bring his bag from where he'd left it far away.
"You say you want to change that badly, so it can't be helped. Try living hard. Instead… let us help you with just one thing."
"No, I don't think that'll help."
At that, a student standing behind looked up at the sky and sighed.
"This bastard really pushes it to the end…."
"Enough. Lukas, you know your magic's driving force is blood, right?"
"You still believe that?"
"You were using magic a little during the first week. After that, you just stood there like an idiot again…. Do you know how heartbroken we were? Maybe you stopped drinking blood again, because unlike other Pleromas, you can't use magic."
"You're awfully nosy."
"No, I'm just worried as a classmate."
"No need. No matter what you do, I can't use magic."
I shook my head, trying to wrap things up.
At that moment, three students around him grabbed my arms. My balance collapsed instantly.
"…!"
"No need? That's funny. You never know. How can you tell without even trying?"
Biting my lip at the unexpected situation, I thought,
'Should I knock them away with magic?'
I do have countermeasures, so using magic wouldn't be a huge problem. Should I just go all out and shut their mouths?
No. If possible, it's better to get through this without using magic.
But….
'That depends on what those bastards do.'
If it's just beating me up to a reasonable degree, I should wait it out. If it goes beyond that, then it's another matter.
At that moment, the guy smiled and took something out of his bag.
"What do you mean you can't use magic no matter what you do? We'll make you use it somehow. We're just trying to help you in your own way. If only some shabby magic comes out, well, that's just your fate."
He spouted nonsense and snickered. In his hand was a soft, squishy mass.
I frowned and examined it.
"What is that…."
The moment I realized what it was, I was left speechless.
An animal that was hard to tell whether it was a rat or a rabbit hung limply from his hand.
"Looks like you figured it out."
I stared at the animal with suspicious eyes.
Why this? There was no way they brought it just for me to observe some unidentified animal.
At that moment, an absurd hypothesis flashed through my mind. I took my eyes off the rat and slowly looked at him.
The student met my gaze, then shoved the limp rat right in front of my eyes with a vile smile.
I heard the others giggling as they held my limbs, but the sound quickly faded from my awareness.
"Eat it."
"...."
"I caught it kindly just for you. A rat bastard was wandering around the dorm hallway."
They weren't sane. I genuinely wondered how someone could come up with something like this against another person.
From what I could see, the rat-like animal wasn't contaminated. It looked like they'd just caught a perfectly normal animal that had been roaming around.
It looked clean, but it didn't move at all. No matter how long I watched, the rat showed no sign of moving.
"I didn't kill it."
He shrugged as if playing innocent and curled the corner of his lips.
"You have to kill it. Like you did last year."
"…Last year? That's funny. Did you forget that was a baseless rumor you guys spread?"
"It's basically true anyway. Try changing your eye color first before talking."
The claim that absorbing someone else's magical power turns your own magic color red was nothing more than Pleroma nonsense. I stared at them coldly.
Now the student pushed the rat right up to my face.
"I just feel so sorry for you. People need to know their place. That way, they don't have pointless expectations. The smartest ones are those who give up first and accept reality—why don't you get that?"
"Why don't you stop already."
"Don't want to."
In an instant, he grabbed my jaw. More weight pressed down on the arms holding me.
"What, are you scared you'll find out you really can't use magic? Don't worry too much. If you eat it alive, it might be different. Who knows? You might suddenly become great at magic."
"It'd be hilarious if it worked."
"Mmgh…!"
'Are they insane?'
These bastards really intend to make me eat it. My heart started pounding like crazy. When I kicked out, one student pinned my leg down. In the middle of it all, the animal's body heat touched the skin near my mouth.
"We're helping you use magic, aren't we? Let's just personally check that rumor first."
A vile smile hung on the student's lips.
At that moment, a red flash burst out as if a light had been switched on.
Kwaaaang—!
"Aaagh!"
"What the hell?!"
The student screamed, clutching his dirt-splattered face. The brief flash left an afterimage, blurring my vision. The students who had been holding my arms groaned as magic splashed onto them, rolling on the ground.
I broke free and gasped for breath, struggling to steady my violently shaking vision.
"…I don't know who the real Pleroma bastards are anymore. Who's looking at who…."
"What was that just now?!"
"So this is how you 'help' someone use magic? It definitely works, I'll give you that…."
I let out a wheezing laugh and grabbed a handful of rocks and dirt rolling on the ground.
Then I seized the collar of the student who had been holding the rat.
"Lift your head. It'd be better if you opened your mouth before I pry it open."
"W-what…."
The student stammered, glancing back and forth between my face and the dirt in my hand. He clearly didn't understand why I was holding dirt in this situation.
He hurriedly looked toward his friends. Following his gaze, I scanned the surroundings, then crushed his jaw as if I were about to break it.
"Don't back out. You should leave here as a human today."