I was just about to get some rest, but Kafka was eating the apple the headmaster had given me instead of returning to my shadow.
That was when the club members came to visit me in the infirmary.
Seeing how they showed no reaction at all to Kafka eating an apple beside me, it seemed they had already finished introducing themselves to one another.
But what was with bringing up the ring the moment they saw me?
I was genuinely grateful that the club members and Dante had come to visit me.
But being suddenly interrogated about a ring was giving me a headache for some reason.
If it was the ring I had given Iris, they probably meant the Holy Maiden’s Ring.
It had been given to me by that guy who had been the Holy Maiden’s knight, or something. It was a ring packed full of holy power—enough that it came with a one-time resurrection function as an option.
I had taken it off on a whim, trying to act tough for once, but I figured Iris, who would awaken as a saint, needed it more than I did, so I gave it to Haede.
But what could possibly be wrong with that ring?
Why the ring?
"Did the ring explode or something?"
It did not have an explosion function, though?
"Honestly, that might have been better for you."
Letting out a sigh, First Princess Eileen peeled a banana, took a bite, and said that to me.
Then what the hell was it about?
Was it the holy power inside the ring?
Or had Iris awakened as a saint because of the ring?
Dante gave a bitter smile and added to Eileen’s words.
"Things are a complete mess right now because of the ring you gave her."
"What do you mean—"
No, seriously. What was wrong with the ring I gave her?
Before that question could even fade, something flashed through my mind.
Wait a second.
Dolnesia, and Eileen too.
How did they even know that I had given Iris a ring?
I had asked Haede to pass it on to Iris, so Haede must have given it to her.
When I handed the ring to Haede, Dolnesia and Dante had both been too busy coughing up blood and causing a commotion.
Naturally, only Haede and Iris should have known.
Unless those two had gone around announcing it to everyone...
...Why?
Why did I suddenly have such a bad feeling about this?
It could not be, right?
I looked at Eileen, who had already finished peeling and eating one banana and was opening another, then opened my mouth.
"Whether Iris has the ring or not, how do you know that I was the one who gave it to her?"
"Apparently, Iris said so herself?"
...What?
At Eileen’s words, the back of my head suddenly went numb, as though I had been smacked viciously.
No, why was that actually true?
#
This was what had happened.
As usual, Iris and the three musketeers protecting her had been studying in the library.
It had started when Asdel noticed the ring she was carrying.
It was an ordinary silver ring without any decoration, and she was not wearing it on the ring finger of her left hand. Instead, she had threaded it onto a chain and worn it around her neck like a necklace.
Asdel saw the ring hanging around Iris’s neck and asked her about it.
Charles and Ars had not thought much of it, but the reason it caught Asdel’s attention was...
Probably because he was a cleric who handled holy power.
That ring was infused with holy power, after all.
But the problem was...
Iris’s answer had been the problem.
"Oh, this? It’s a ring Ian gave me."
That was the bombshell she dropped.
From Iris’s perspective, she had merely answered truthfully when asked who had given it to her. But the three musketeers had taken it in an entirely different sense.
Things had been so hectic then that I had not paid it much attention, but now that I thought about it, giving a ring to someone of the opposite sex could not possibly have an ordinary meaning.
And it was not as though only those guys had been in the library.
There must have been other students there, and they would have heard her.
I did not even need to see it to know the rumor had spread everywhere.
And while that rumor spread, I had been sprawled out asleep in the infirmary for three days.
You needed to clear things up early in cases like this to stop people from talking nonsense, but the very person responsible for this mess had not shown up at the academy for three days.
Naturally, the rumor must have picked up all sorts of bizarre embellishments and become completely fucked up.
So, in conclusion...
"People think I confessed to Iris?"
"Yeah."
"And now I’m some crazy bastard who disappeared for three days?"
"That’s right."
After sleeping for three days, I had woken up as a crazy bastard who had launched a confession attack on Iris and then run away for three days.
Considering that most people did not know I had been in the infirmary and the rumor had spread anyway, it seemed the dungeon incident had not been made public to the students.
Kafka, too, was said to have been caught not by the protagonist but by the professor on duty.
Well, that had been the case in the game too, so I did not find it particularly strange.
But...
That was not what mattered right now.
As I watched Eileen nod at my words, I felt the urge to slam my own forehead hard.
Fuck.
I woke up after sleeping for three days, and this was the bolt from the blue I got?
I was about to turn all three male leads into enemies.
Then had Iris not explained herself until now?
"Surely Lady Iris has not offered any explanation?"
"She probably does not know how the rumors are spreading right now. Though, if she is still going around with those three... perhaps she told them?"
Good grief.
I clutched my forehead.
She was wearing the confession gift I had given her around her neck, yet she was still going around with the three male leads?
It was practically begging them to tear me apart.
And she was already in the young ladies’ bad graces.
"The young ladies are not going to bully her again, are they?"
"My, I do not think this is the time for you to worry about someone else?"
Isabella cut in with a seemingly sarcastic tone.
But this was a little unfair.
Why were you angry?
I wanted to demand that of her, but...
A cold shadow had fallen over her face. Her mouth was smiling, but her red eyes were not.
Faced with her expression, I had no choice but to look away.
"You do not need to worry about that."
Eileen, who had pondered my words for a moment, spoke up.
I did not need to worry?
"Why not?"
"Why? Because you are the one who launched the confession attack."
"No, I did not launch a confession attack."
This was so fucking unfair.
No, I said I did not!
"Whether you launched a confession attack or not—"
"I did not."
"No, that is not what matters... Fine. In any case, it will probably be all right because the source of the rumor is you."
"...Why?"
Those chattering young ladies would not kick up a fucking fuss?
How could that possibly be true?
Weren’t they the very people who had not stopped chattering even though I came from a ducal family and had this big mug?
"Why else? Have you already forgotten that you stomped Owein?"
When I looked at Eileen as though she were ridiculous, Eileen answered in a tone that said I was the ridiculous one.
By Owein, did she mean that womanizing secondary male lead?
The crazy bastard who had suddenly blocked my way, grabbed my shoulder, and said he was not done talking.
So I had tried to stomp him once, and because of that, the Owein family had fallen out of favor with the imperial family, while I had earned the nickname Honey Badger in high society.
"Dolnesia did tell me that the nobles call me the Honey Badger because of that."
"Exactly. You stomped Owein, and my little brother took your side rather than Owein’s, right? He effectively showed everyone that the Second Prince is on your side. And there is one more thing."
"One more thing?"
"The fact that you are acquainted with me."
Eileen puffed out her chest proudly.
...Was that such a big deal?
For a moment, I nearly failed to keep my expression under control.
How should I put it?
Hearing that from the First Princess, the biggest loner among loners, made it hard to feel just how impressive it was.
"You just had a very disrespectful thought, did you not?"
"I did not."
She was perceptive, though.
But how did she have no friends besides us?
Eileen’s gaze narrowed further and further.
To avoid those eyes, I turned my head away.
How many times had I turned my head today?
This was a decent workout.
"That is the biggest reason, really. My little brother choosing you over Owein in front of everyone must have had a major impact."
"But is that not only natural?"
What was so surprising about that?
No matter how much Owein was from a renowned swordsmanship family and had long supported the Crown Prince, receiving his favor...
Logres was one of the Five Dukes.
They may have stepped away from politics and shut themselves up in the North, but they were a family that had helped found Astoria and one of the five ducal houses.
In status, power, and history alike...
They stood in a position Owein could never dare share a table with.
Even if I was illegitimate, was it not common sense that even a child knew whom to choose in that binary choice?
"Yes. But there are more people than you would think with nothing but flowers in their heads—enough to forget such obvious common sense. That young lord who opposed you was likely one of them."
Isabella crossed her arms and answered with a scornful laugh, resolving my question.
Well, this was a romance fantasy world.
It was not as though I had failed to expect idiots like that.
So it was not particularly surprising.
"Still, my little brother showed everyone that he knows you. On top of that, you are acquainted with Dante and me. And you are a Honey Badger who does not hold back."
That damn Honey Badger again...
"In short, they do not want to needlessly stir up trouble with someone like you, who has close ties with the imperial family. That is why they are keeping their mouths shut."
Was that so?
All because I stomped that crazy bastard once?
As I stood there looking utterly confused...
"Ian, I do not think you realize just how impressive the connections you have right now are."
Dolnesia continued, pressing a hand to her forehead as though she had a headache.
"The Second Prince took Ian’s side in front of everyone, and you are acquainted with First Princess Eileen and Third Prince Dante as well, are you not? On top of that, there is Lady Isabella of Eterna, and even Lady Angelica, the top student despite being from the Karl Kingdom. Honestly, among the academy students, there cannot be many with connections comparable to yours, Ian."
Was it really that much?
Well, the Second Prince was one thing, since I had cracked his skull.
Eileen was my club president.
Dante was just my roommate.
Isabella was... ambiguous, but we were from the same club, at any rate.
And Angelica used me as a punching bag...
We had not even known one another for more than a few days. Could that really be called connections?
I did not know about this.
Either way, did that mean Iris was safe?
Well, then was that enough?
#
The discharge process was not particularly difficult.
My body had ached when I first woke up, but by the time they finished visiting and left, I was more than full of energy.
By the time I left the infirmary, the sun was beginning to set.
Thank goodness the weekend had fallen in between.
Missing three full days of attendance would have been a pretty big deal.
Though that was not what mattered.
I woke up after sleeping to find that I was now a complete asshole who had confessed and then disappeared for three days.
Was that why?
Everyone started avoiding me.
Anyone in the direction I looked turned their head away.
Anyone in my path stepped aside.
It was practically the miracle of Moses.
Well, I had long since put on a face of steel.
As long as they were not openly running their mouths in front of me...
This might not be so bad?
First, I checked the rewards from the Oath of Chivalry.
When I opened my inventory, rectangular slots unfurled in a row.
What was this?
Among the newly added items that were sparkling, I spotted one familiar silhouette.
[Dreamland Invitation]
A ticket that allows entry into Dreamland.
◈ Consumable item.
A Dreamland Invitation?
It was the second Dreamland Invitation I had received.
I quietly stared at the Dreamland Invitation in my hand.
Hmm.
I should think about this later, just in case.
I put the ticket back into my inventory.
It would be one thing if it sent me into the past like it had with Dolnesia, but if it teleported me to a dungeon, that would become troublesome.
Next was [Stars of Knights], was it?
When I reached into the sparkling slot, what came out of the inventory was a single strange, shining crystal.
[Stars of Knights]
A crystal containing the chivalry once envisioned by those distant stars.
◈ Grade: ??
◈ Upon fulfilling the conditions, you may reenact a story you have used before.
◈ May only be used once per day.
◈ Currently recorded stories: 1.
This was another item I had neither seen nor heard of before.
But it was incredibly vague.
Was the description not too abstract?
I had no idea what it meant.
Grumbling as I read the item description, I pressed the bottommost glowing line.
Another notification window appeared.
[Blancart]
◈ User: [the peerless knight].
◈ Condition: Both you and your opponent must be mounted.
I froze for a moment as I stared at the notification window.
Blancart?
Did that mean that ridiculously overpowered technique?
The technique that had allowed me to take down the lion even when I was at a sliver of health and completely out of mana.
I could use that technique once more?
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