Volume 2 Chapter 29: The Continuing Chronicles of Cringe

It’s been a year since I enrolled in Nail Magic Academy.

I attended only the bare minimum of classes, keeping to myself in the corner, avoiding any connection with my classmates. Besides the two from that incident on the first day, I hardly remembered any names or faces.

Elsian—or El—hadn’t spoken to me since then either. Although I remembered her saying she’d be happy if I talked to her, I assumed it was just a formality. Naturally, I didn’t approach her either.

As for my grades, they were predictably bad, even worse than most general students. Luckily, I didn’t have any pride to bruise in that regard. I wasn’t sure how the academy viewed me, but I occasionally participated in experiments for some extra cash. So, I supposed my reputation wasn’t entirely negative.

Despite the dull routine of school life, there was one accomplishment I’d achieved over the past year.

Yes, I had finally received permission to build a fishing pond.

After a year of persistent pleas, the headmaster had finally caved, probably fed up with my endless requests, given that I barely attended classes and made no real efforts at school.

Standing on a plot of overgrown land at the edge of the academy grounds, where no one else ventured, I felt a rush of excitement. The task of clearing the area would be challenging, but my long-held wish was finally coming true. I was ready to bid farewell to the monotony of academy life. Over the year, I had secretly developed a new magical ability—Magis, a type of mage suit.

Creating a third mage suit—I was starting to think I might actually be a genius. But I’d resolved to live humbly, so I kept it to myself. Maybe it was a good thing I’d learned my lesson.

Unfortunately, though, my old habits resurfaced.

“Hm?”

In a corner of the vacant lot, under a tree slightly larger than the others, sat a girl, quietly reading a book.

She had strikingly long, sky-blue hair, almost covering her face, and wore the special student uniform. Judging by her green ribbon, she seemed to be a new student.

Yes, this girl was Fiona, who, at the time, was only twelve years old and had the misfortune of encountering me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

Thinking to myself how bold she was to skip class, I reluctantly decided to call out to her. I’d learned over the past year that special students were monsters, so I wanted to avoid any involvement with them.

Still, I had no choice. After all, I’d finally gotten permission to build my fishing pond. I needed her to vacate the area without causing a scene.

Back then, Fiona looked young, shy, and gave off a quiet, gloomy impression. Plus, as a lowerclassman, I figured I could handle her. Moving up a grade had given me a bit of confidence, though I didn’t realize I was getting slightly cocky again. I wanted to show her what it meant to be an upperclassman.

“Uh… excuse me.”

Even so, my tone was hesitant.

“Eh…?”

Startled, Fiona looked up from her book, her expression a mixture of surprise and nervousness.

“Oh, um… s-sorry…”

I hadn’t even said anything yet, but she looked more nervous than I was.

Seeing her reaction, I thought to myself, “Oh, this might actually work.”

“This is… my spot, you know?”

Faced with someone clearly weaker than me, my bad habits kicked in. Acting cool, I made my declaration like some upperclassman thug harassing a freshman. It was ridiculous.

“Ah… s-so, it is…”

“Yeah… it really is.”

I even struck a pose as I spoke—utterly ridiculous.

“S-sorry…”

“You don’t need to apologize. Just… move along, if you would.”

“… … …”

Yet, even though I said that, Fiona simply bowed her head in silence and showed no intention of moving.

There I was, holding an absurd pose, with an awkward silence hanging between us.

“Uh… what’s your name?”

“Um… F-Fiona…”

Unable to stand the silence, I asked her name. She answered timidly.

“I see. So, Fiona… why are you… here?”

With the conversation somehow continuing, I regained a bit of my misplaced confidence, asking her the question with another strange pose.

“Well… um… I don’t… really have anywhere else to go…”

I froze in place again, this time for a different reason. Her answer was a lot heavier than I expected.

I couldn’t understand her circumstances, but I didn’t have a particular place in the academy either, so I could somewhat relate. It was a sad story.

“I see…”

“Um…”

“I understand that feeling… so let’s just… enjoy the wind together…”

“?…? … …?”

“Say… no more.”

“O… okay…”

As I sat down beside her, struck by a strange sense of camaraderie, Fiona tilted her head, confused, but nodded and went back to reading without a word.

So, we spent a quiet time together, me lost in my own thoughts and Fiona absorbed in her book. As the sky began to glow with the colors of sunset, she closed her book, stood, and bowed to me.

“Um… thank you…”

“Ah—think nothing of it.”

Not quite understanding why she was thanking me, I replied with a touch of elegance.

Fiona gave a small smile, holding her book to her chest as she jogged off. I watched her go with a cool expression, then stood and stretched.

“Well, then…”

And with that, I activated my mage suit and blew up the entire area.

The next day.

I wanted to start working on the fishing pond first thing in the morning, but I got caught by the headmaster, who questioned me about the explosion from the previous day.

With no other option, I admitted to creating a third mage suit. Though he had initially been furious, the headmaster’s mood improved, and I agreed to participate in future academy experiments before finally being released.

As I headed to the vacant lot with excitement, I found Fiona standing there, staring blankly at the devastated scene left by my explosion.

“What’s wrong?”

Feigning innocence, I placed a hand on Fiona’s shoulder—the very same hand that had caused this entire mess. In other words, I was a real jerk.

Fiona shuddered, looking at me with wide eyes.

“It’s… all gone…”

“Nothing lasts forever.”

“…”

“But hey—I’ll make a place for you, Fiona.”

“…Eh?”

“So, you should—become mine.”

Truthfully, I just needed someone to help me build the fishing pond. Asking outright felt too blunt, so I went for something a little more dramatic.

“Together, let’s build a paradise just for the two of us.”

“…”

Spreading my arms wide, I made my grand offer. After a moment’s hesitation, Fiona gave a small nod, and I silently celebrated my newfound helper.

The next day…

I was giving Fiona a lecture.

Even though I had told her we’d start work first thing in the morning, she’d shown up late. When I asked why, she explained she’d been attending her classes as usual. This made me furious. I demanded to know which was more important: class or the fishing pond.

I told her that just attending the bare minimum of classes would be enough and scolded her for her “disrespect.”

“I… I’m s-s-sorry…”

Soon enough, Fiona started to cry, and that snapped me out of my foolishness. Seeing her trembling and repeatedly apologizing through tears made my heart ache.

I ended up spending the entire day comforting her, saying, “It’s not your fault; I was the one in the wrong.” She finally stopped crying, and somehow, I ended up with a reputation as a “kind person.” The guilt I felt was overwhelming, and I vowed from then on to be gentler with girls.

Time passed…

“Um, senpai… here.”

“Thanks.”

Enjoying the lunch Fiona had prepared, we spent a peaceful time together. The cleanup from that initial explosion was progressing nicely. Fiona, who’d started off so quiet and reserved, now spoke to me more openly.

“But really, Fiona, you don’t have to come every day, you know?”

“It’s… okay. I want to be here.”

“I see…”

Almost every day, Fiona helped with the work. She was now only attending the bare minimum of classes. I had a sneaking suspicion I’d led her astray. But, unlike me, Fiona’s grades remained excellent, even without developing a mage suit. So, despite my guilt, I figured it was probably fine. Yes, I was a jerk.

“Um…”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I’m thinking… maybe I should cut my hair.”

“I think it’s a good idea. Fiona, you’re probably really cute, after all.”

“Eh… ah… hehe… hehe…”

At the time, Fiona’s face was mostly hidden behind her overly long hair, but from the glimpses I caught, I thought she was beautiful. It was a shame to keep it hidden.

“So, um… what style do you think would look good, senpai?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Y-yes…!”

“Well, I guess… you could show your face, and maybe braid it a bit or something… I dunno, I think that might… suit you?”

It was a half-hearted answer. I didn’t know much about girls’ hairstyles, but braids seemed fancy and stylish, so I figured that was a good enough suggestion.

Even now, I don’t have much of an eye for these things.

“Okay! I’ll do it!”

Fiona looked thrilled, so I thought that was fine.

“What’s this? What are you two doing here?”

Just then, a haughty voice called out to us.

Fiona flinched.

Looking up, I saw a girl with voluminous hair, accompanied by a group of her followers, all of whom seemed to be sneering at us.

“What a filthy place. Well, it suits you just fine.”

I don’t remember much about those girls—something about them being noble daughters, I think. In my school memories, only Fiona, Elsian, Mina (a half-beast girl), and the headmaster stand out clearly. It’s kind of sad, really.

Anyway, those girls were bullying Fiona because she was a special student.

Special students tend to attract envy. Nail Magic Academy is mostly meritocratic, selecting special students regardless of status.

For people like me, who could disappear in the shadows, this wasn’t an issue, but not everyone could avoid the academy’s high-society attention.

Fiona had caught their attention early on, leading her to take refuge in this secluded spot when we first met. Being rather timid, she’d ended up on their radar, making her an easy target.

Although Fiona was the granddaughter of the headmaster and her parents worked at the academy, she kept this hidden out of a desire to avoid attention. I later learned this from the headmaster, who, over the years, became something of a tea-drinking friend and shared stories about his granddaughter.

Though I didn’t know any of this at the time, I couldn’t stand by and let them intimidate her—she was my precious fishing-pond partner, after all. My labor force was invaluable.

So, I decided to show them what it meant to be an upperclassman.

“What do you want with my dear Fiona?”

Honestly, I was terrified, but I pretended to be someone important.

“Who… what’s with you? So creepy.”

“…I’m a second-year, you know?”

Her words stung, but I couldn’t back down.

“So? I’m—”

She began to rattle off her own importance, her followers echoing, “Yeah, that’s right!” in agreement, but I was too tense to remember much of it.

“…I can handle three mage suits.”

“Wh-what?”

“One of them… is this.”

I activated my mage suit, summoning a magic bottle that glowed like the sun—a magic bomb.

“Wh-what’s that supposed to mean…?”

“Watch closely.”

With a cool smile, I tossed the magic bottle into the spot where we planned to dig our fishing pond.

The magic bottle hit the ground, erupting into a massive explosion, leaving a deep crater.

“W-w-wha—?!”

“So, have you understood?”

“…”

“Don’t mess with Fiona. Got it?”

I was actually almost out of mana, but I struck a confident pose as I delivered my warning.

The girls mumbled something under their breath before leaving. I remember feeling immense relief.

“Senpai, that was amazing… you were so cool…”

“Of course… let’s call it a day… shall we?”

I walked toward the dorms with as much composure as I could muster, though I was practically shaking from exhaustion and nerves. My legs were trembling, but Fiona didn’t notice. Through her bangs, I caught a glimpse of her sparkling eyes, watching me with admiration.

The next day…

As I arrived at the vacant lot, I saw an unfamiliar beauty standing there. But… her vibrant, sky-blue hair was unmistakable.

“Could it be… Fiona?”

“Yes! It’s me, your Fiona Mabel, senpai!”

With a smile as bright as blooming flowers, Fiona gazed at me, her hair now cut short.