"Ehem…! Student Vallhall. Your stance on making a contract with a fae is already well known within the Royal Academy. Nevertheless, your personal feelings about the subject are not an excuse for such behavior."
"...?"
The teacher cleared her throat and scolded the bleached-blond-haired boy, making him raise his brow over the nonsense that was spoken.
"!"
Only for Rotsard to then realize that the reason he drifted off and checked the record, which he originally intended to wait for, was that the final class of this lecture was about the preparations for creating a contract with a fae.
"Please forgive me for this outburst, teacher. I… really despise those creatures that are only marginally better than deofols but are posing as our allies and yet turn completely useless when it counts the most.... with the exception of the newborn ones."
"!!!"
And so he decided to go along with the provided excuse, causing a stir amongst everyone listening.
As far as Rotsard knew, and that was with both his personal knowledge and the information from the deofol's story, he was the only person holding that kind of belief about the fae.
It wasn't a conviction he just had on a whim, and honestly, it irked him that within the deofol's story the reason for it wasn't even hinted at in the slightest… even so…
"Student Vallhall… I assure you that my own contracted fae have saved me countless times from nothing less than life-threatening situations."
The teacher, like the rest of the world known to Rotsard, held the fae in unbelievably high regard and went ahead with the attempt of changing his mind with some life story of hers.
"With all due respect, if a fae saved you, it only means that you would have survived those encounters by some other means and that fae just stepped in to reap the benefit and praise. If it truly mattered… You wouldn't be here unless another human sacrificed themselves for you."
"..."
While still holding the halves of the desk, Rotsard leaned back on his chair and delivered a dispirited, bitter speech that left the others lost for words.
"..."
Rotsard gritted his teeth.
He did it again.
Although he should shut up and put on a better show, he let too much of his real feelings slip and even hinted at his own experience.
That shouldn't have been done.
A third-rate villain should not have redeeming qualities and a backstory that others could feel bad for.
That was for actual antagonists and the main villain, not a throwaway stepping stone.
"Let me deal with this mess first… NAN!"
"...?!"
With a grimace of annoyance and disgust towards himself, Rotsard shook his head and startled everyone by shouting.
"Pardon the intrusion."
"?!"
Only a heartbeat later, when his voice was still echoing in the classroom, the door opened, and a light-haired maid entered.
She already carried a mop, a bucket, and several floor and dustcloths, as well as a trashbag... Perfectly prepared to deal with the mess her master had created.
As she approached her master, he handed her the parts of the desk and just crossed his arms with a dismissive expression as she started the clean-up.
Nan was done in a flash, and not just with the general stain removal, she even changed Rotsard shoes, taking out a new pair from who-know-where as they weren't something she carried on her way in.
"..."
Some students flinched and shifted in their seats in discomfort when they noticed a certain detail.
The beastly yellow eyes were full of disdain whenever they ended up drawn towards his maid.
For a moment, right after his shoes got changed, it really did appear that he was going to kick the woman, causing the onlookers to hold their breath in terror…
"..."
"!"
But just then, Rotsard looked over his shoulder, for the first time in a while actively seeking eye contact with Justin... and upon making the future hero flinch, the bleached-blond-haired boy looked away, seemingly no longer in the mood for violence.
In truth, Rotsard simply didn't want the future hero to pick a fight with him before the predestined one during the result announcements for the exams.
The rest of the lecture and day passed without an issue.
And the week of the end of the year examination officially began.
Rotsard was actually putting in his all. Well, as much as he could while considering how exactly he should deal with Kyle, and if Kyle was actually THE perpetrator of the murder or simply just a pawn following orders…
Not that either changed the outcome that would befall the servant in the end, but it did change the number of fresh graves that would end up getting filled.
Still, there was something bothering Rotsard quite a bit about the case.
In the middle of the exam week, he couldn't ignore it anymore.
Teacher Joshua Karlasth, who was also on record for passing through the barrier in an unofficial spot.
Was it a coincidence, and he actually exit and enter through the barrier in a completely different spot?
Or did he saw something but didn't quite realize what happened?
…there was a slim chance that he was involved…
And that was precisely what was gnawing on Rotsard's mind.
The solution for that, though, was far simpler than coming up with excuses about the inevitable disappearance of a certain servant that would inadvertently occur in the near future.
Rotsard intended to simply ask.
Well, prod and hint would be better words for what he intended to do.
Honestly, Rotsard was hoping with all his heart that teacher Karlasth had actually seen Kyle returning to the Academy grounds acting suspicious.
Having a statement like that on hand would be a perfect card to play in case Rotsard's revenge plans would end up exposed or if he was caught red-handed going at it.
After all, the bleached-blond-haired boy could not allow himself to get imprisoned or expelled from the Royal Academy before his destined death.
The deofol tormenting him was clear about that.
Rotsard selling his soul to a deofol and getting killed by Justin would be what solidifies the future of the commoner student as the hero who will save the world.
Putting down his life for such a cause?
How could there be a greater display of honor and nobility!?
That said, after the exams for the day were done, the bleached-blond-haired boy went to Karlasth's office right after having his fill in the cafeteria.