CHAPTER 50…..
If Mellin had simply been bullied, she would have come to me and given some small sign.
From the situation, her behavior pointed to only one conclusion:
They’ve got something on her.
That was their usual method from the start.
Those three were repeat offenders who picked out students from weak families or otherwise easy targets and bullied them.
“Hurry up and tell me.”
At my prodding, Mion hesitated before finally beginning to speak.
After hearing him out, I told him:
“Mion, don’t leave Mellin’s dorm tomorrow.”
“…Okay.”
Mion nodded with a suddenly dejected expression. Maybe he thought I was punishing him, because he didn’t even ask why. But this wasn’t a punishment.
The ones who deserved punishment were elsewhere.
The next day, I walked into class with a stack of papers.
“Alright, quiet.”
In the back, Mellin sat with a dark expression.
When our eyes met, she forced a bright smile, and my chest ached slightly.
But without showing it, I spoke up.
“We’ll be having a pop quiz tomorrow.”
“Huh? You never said anything about that!”
The sudden announcement caused the students to murmur.
“This will count toward your grades, so do your best. The range for the test is—”
As I finished explaining the details, I noticed Emily, Glena, and Nea exchange glances.
“If anyone wants to ask questions about the quiz, come by my lab.”
Then I left the classroom.
Just before exiting, I caught sight of Emily’s group saying something to Mellin.
A short while later, Mellin came into the lab.
I already knew why she was here, but I feigned ignorance.
“Mellin? What is it?”
“Uh-huh! I had something to ask…”
“Alright.”
I nodded and subtly examined her up close. She looked unusually anxious, which made my heart sink further.
Just a little longer, Mellin.
Contrary to my thoughts, I began to act as if nothing were amiss.
“Oh, someone left the quiz questions here.”
I spoke loudly enough for her to hear as I slipped the test papers into the right-hand desk drawer.
I saw her gaze follow my hand, but I pretended not to notice and asked:
“So what did you want to ask?”
“Uh… What I wanted to ask is…”
Forcing her eyes away from the drawer, Mellin continued:
“Sis, are you going to have lunch?”
“Lunch?”
“Yeah! I wanted to eat together.”
“If it’s lunch… I suppose I’ll eat at lunchtime.”
“So you’ll eat in the dining hall?”
“Yes, probably.”
After a few odd questions, Mellin left.
She was planning to steal the quiz paper when I stepped out.
That was the method of Emily Ruspina, Glena Shuren, and Nea Siedel.
Recalling their relatively high grades, I glanced at the clock.
11 a.m. — an hour until lunch.
Can’t focus on work like this.
A question I hadn’t managed to get out of Mion yesterday rose in my mind:
Who lent her that notebook?
Mellin’s “cheating notebook” showed signs that someone else had completed assignments for her.
If that got exposed, she and the helper would be punished together.
Who would take that risk?
Either someone with special feelings for Mellin, or someone who had something to gain from her. One of the two.
—Knock, knock.
Thirty minutes before lunch, someone knocked on the lab door.
Not Alfeo, then.
If it were him, he wouldn’t knock so politely.
As expected, it was Lenox who entered.
He had desserts in hand again today.
Since I hadn’t been eating sweets lately because of Mellin’s situation, perhaps thinking I didn’t like the previous ones, he’d even started changing shops.
“Sorry, I don’t have much of an appetite again today.”
Feeling bad for his needless effort, I said:
“You don’t have to go out of your way anymore.”
Lenox stared at me for a moment before speaking.
“Do you have something on your mind?”
“Mm… No.”
In truth, I did want to share this burden with someone, even just a little.
If I had other family, I could discuss or vent about it.
But since Mellin was partly at fault here, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.
“Ren, could you not come to the lab for a while?”
At my sudden request, Lenox closed his mouth with a confused look.
And then I realized — why am I the one asking this?
Shouldn’t he be the one asking me such a thing?
The only thing he did here was run errands for me. My theory was that no student would willingly do such things.
Lenox was the one exception to that theory.
He also had swordsmanship training to do, and as the class president, he must have had plenty of other tasks.
I knew that well from watching Callisto when he held that position.
Has he always had an interest in this kind of research?
Otherwise, this situation made no sense.
“Is it bad if I come here?”
Lenox looked a little down, and I gave a vague answer.
“You’ll understand once this is over.”
Even that was a poor explanation.
I certainly couldn’t tell him it was so Mellin could sneak in and steal the quiz paper.
“If that’s the case… alright.”
He nodded.
But the reluctance in his expression was so obvious that I accidentally let out a small laugh.
Seriously, a student who actually wants to come to the lab?
Maybe finding my sudden smile strange, Lenox looked at me questioningly.
A glance at the clock showed it was nearly lunchtime.
Alfeo probably won’t come today either.
It was about time to make sure Mellin had a chance to sneak in.
Thinking of her situation wiped the smile from my face.
Looking at Lenox as he organized some materials, I cleared my throat.
“Ahem… Ren. Would you like to have lunch with me today?”
Even as I said it, I was doubtful.
What student would be happy to eat with a professor?
If there was one, they’d surely be the type who enjoyed suffering.
As expected, Lenox seemed momentarily taken aback and closed his mouth.
“If you don’t want to, you can—”
Before I could finish, Lenox replied immediately:
“I’d like that.”
I looked at him seriously as he smiled happily.
He really must be the type who enjoys suffering.
It seemed Renox was… that kind of person.
Following their orders, Mellin had stolen the quiz paper, but their next demand shocked her.
“Stop it! I brought you the test paper, isn’t that enough…?”
“Friend, is barking like a dog really that hard?”
“If you got on all fours, I think you could do it. Want to try?”
Telling her to imitate a dog on the spot, they made Mellin bite her lip.
Otherwise, she feared she might cry.
If my sister found out about this…
How pathetic would she think I am?
Recently, the bullying had been getting worse.
Tripping her while she carried her lunch tray was nothing. Yesterday, they had poured milk over her head during lunch, pretending it was an accident.
In a moment of panic, Mellin had almost used the spirit’s power to get out of it, but she’d remembered her sister’s warning.
Since then, she had been at their mercy, reduced to their plaything.
The thought of meeting her sister in such a mess after lunch made her heart pound all through class.
Luckily, she hadn’t run into her since the morning lessons, but if they crossed paths in the hall—
“Now give me back that notebook!”
Mellin cried urgently.
“Hmm, should I? Or maybe not?”
“You guys… don’t you think this is too much? This is wrong!”
Seeing no sign they would return it, Mellin’s face flushed red.
At her words, Glena burst out laughing.
“‘This is wrong!’ — did you hear that?”
“Oh my, who said our puppy could speak like a human?”
Emily, who had been sitting cross-legged in a chair, stood and approached Mellin.
To control her emotions, Mellin squeezed her eyes shut.
If she lost control, the spirits might act out with her feelings.
Just one more year…
She just had to endure without being found out until her sister left.
