Volume 1 Chapter 2.4
Secrets Told at the Fountain, Parties
Won't Save Anyone Part 4
Translator : PolterGlast
It was not a
good idea to run into her this early, but Jin had already missed his chance to
leave this place.
He decided to
hide behind the fountain for the time being, and there was no sign that the
other party had noticed him. Nina sat down on the bench where Jin had been
sitting earlier.
A ray of light
from her moonlit eyes caught Jin's attention.
─Is she crying, by any
chance? Why?
She hugged her
knees while staring dazedly at the fountain.
Her eyes,
which had shone so sarcastically when she was in the front row of the
auditorium and in the classroom, were now completely dull.
Nina pulled
out a glittering object out of somewhere.
It was an
expressionless frog doll, forcibly dressed in a gaudy suit decorated with
sequins. Jin could not read much of the design intentions.
Nina, as
expected, started talking to the doll.
"A~, I'm
exhausted ....... I wonder why those bunch of elites love to party so much.
Isn't it just a farce of social pleasantries with no substance? I was smiling
so much I thought my facial muscles would cramp up."
Huh? Is she talking to someone?
Jin sneakily
looked around, but as expected, Nina was the only one sitting on the bench.
"A~,
gosh, I'm getting so fed up with all this nonsense. I'd rather be in my room
reading a book than attending such a pointless gathering."
Perhaps
feeling bad eavesdropping on this, he involuntarily backed away, which was so
unusual of him to do so.
Nina reacted
to the slightest noise and turned her head toward him.
"Hyah~!?"
Nina's eyes
widened and she let out a small squeal. Her slender body was so bent over that
she almost fell off the bench.
Feeling the
need to explain himself, Jin emerged from the shadows of the fountain with the
most cautious movements possible.
"......
Well, umm, I didn't mean to startle you."
"How, how
long have you been there!?"
"I've
been here since a while ago. You showed up out of the blue, so I hid myself on
the spur of the moment."
"............Did
you see?"
A dangerous
girl appeared with tears in her eyes, talking to herself to an emotionless frog
doll. No matter how one looks at it, this is an unbecoming appearance for a
person with psychic abilities who is feared throughout the empire.
It was an
incomprehensible situation, but at the very least, it was certain that there
was no way that a half-baked lie would work.
"I saw it
...... but, don't worry. I won't tell anyone."
"Do you
expect me to trust you?"
That being said, did Nina ever talk like this in the
classroom?
Her current tone of voice is more befitting of a young
lady from a prominent family.......
However,
that's not what one should be thinking about right now.
No matter how
weird things might be, it was a fact that Nina was among those who were
exempted from the entrance exam. Clashing with her right now was not part of
Jin's plan.
"What can
I say, if you're having a hard time, you should talk to someone about it."
"......
it's none of your business."
"Well,
that's for sure."
Should I just leave her be and go back to the
dormitory?
Suddenly, such
a thought came to his mind.
To begin with,
he had not liked this girl from the first time he met her in front of the
classroom building.
She was born
with everything she should have, and she has a promising future ahead of her,
but she walked with a downcast expression on her face, as if she was in a great
deal of distress.
Her appearance
seemed as if she was mocking the life that Jin had led up to this point in his
life.
Jin was about
to leave peacefully, but Nina's mutterings stopped him in his tracks.
"......Haa,
why this guy of all people."
"What?"
"......It's
nothing."
"If you
have something to say, say it clearly."
I should make up a good reason and quickly walk away
from this place.
I understand why my heart is frayed. But now I must
remain calm.
"An
ordinary person like you has nothing to do with this. What are you trying to do
by getting involved with my affairs? If you are trying to win money from me,
you are wasting your time and effort. So it would be wise for you to
stop."
Before Jin
knew it, Nina had returned to her usual overly polite tone.
As it was, she
went on with a mechanical smile plastered on her face.
"Enough
about this, may I ask for this poor man to quickly disappear? Come on,
shoo-shoo~."
If it were the
usual Jin, he would have been able to brush it off nicely.
He would
simply shrug his shoulders lightly, then turn on his heel and walk back to the
dormitory. It's a simple move that even a three-year-old could do.
But Nina's
words touched a sensitive part of his inner being.
The dusty
street, the stares of unknown adults, the freezing night to the core - memories
that should have been erased from his brain began to come back to him vividly.
Once this happens,
he can't hold back any longer.
"I'm just
worried about you. You know, people often say that the Stingray family is full
of monsters who don't have a human heart. I can imagine how hard it must be for
you."
"What do
you know about us Stingrays?"
"I've
heard a lot of bad rumors about your brothers in the <White Knights>. Oh,
by the way, is it true that your family uses the skulls of the people you kill
as plates?"
"Instead
of prying into my family environment, wouldn't it be better for you to think about
your own life? Surely, you support your family with the monthly allowance that
is provided to students here, right?
"That's
exactly the kind of needless prying you are just talking about. Did I ever tell
you such a private matter?"
"I can
tell without asking. Just look at those cheap shoes you're wearing. It seems
that you are forced to live a very poor life even though you have psychic
abilities. Poor you."
"I'm not
interested in fashion. Do you have a problem with it?"
"Hee.
That kind of excuse is popular among the commoners, huh? I'm learning a
lot."
"As I
expected, the Stingray family's young lady is mentally strong. Normally, it
would be too embarrassing to buy branded goods with the money earned from
conflicts and assassinations."
There was no
consideration for the other party, no roundabout metaphorical expressions.
Both sides'
sharp words were relentlessly thrust at the places the other wanted to be
touched the least.
"......Ah,
geez! What does this have to do with my family?"
"Same
goes for you. You have no right to tell me anything about my family."
"That's
because you lashed out at me ......"
"You were
the one who started it though."
"Haa? It
all started because you were stalking me, remember?"
"Haa?
Don't you dare insult my taste about women."
"Cut the
crap, and just admit it. I won't report you."
"How
overconfident can you be? As I explained to you earlier. It just happened to be
here......."
"Then,
explain to me what business you had in such a remote place."
"My
father designed this fountain here. So I thought I'd come and check it
out."
"Do you
really think such a made-up story is going to work?"
"......Tsk,
you're the one who followed me here in the first place, aren't you? You didn't
want to admit that you are the stalker, so you panicked and framed me."
"Don't
suddenly distort the truth on me. There's no way I would do something like
that."
"Look,
your breathing is getting faster. It's a sign that you're agitated. And you've
been glancing your eyes down a lot, which is a classic sign of someone who's
hiding something."
"Haaa~~!?
That's nothing more than an accusation."
"There
you go, [That's nothing more than an accusation]. This line is frequently used
when someone with a guilty conscience is pressed for the facts. There's a
recent research report by a professor at Livingstone University, would you like
to hear more about it?"
"I've
never heard of such a university though."
"It's
natural since it's a foreign university. It's a pretty well-known thesis in the
psychology community, so anyone with an ear for research usually knows about
it."
"......Even
if such a thesis really exists, I'm still not a stalker."
"Oh,
really? So the young lady of the Stingray family is denying a noble field of
science?"
"Wait a
minute! Why has the subject suddenly changed!?"
"Come on,
just apologize. You won't have to pay me any compensation if you apologize
now."
"Gosh,
you're the one who should apologize! Do you think you'll be okay if I raise my
voice here?"
"......This
bastard is finally resorting to her last resort."
"Come on,
hurry up. And make sure to take out all the photos you took."
"Damn it,
don't fuck with me, you heretic."
"Don't
use such foul language on me. Besides, you're a psychic, as well, aren't
you?"
"You're
noisy ...... Besides, I'm not interested in you at all. I don't even want
anything to do with you ever again."
"What an
unusual thing for me to agree with you. I found you an eyesore, as well."
"That's
good to hear. If you see me in class, could you please not talk to me?"
"No-no,
that would be too lenient for you."
Nina went on with
the coldest smile on her face.
"There
are ways to expel either one of us from the school, you know?"
A <duel>
with all their points on the line ────.
Nina's words
were tantamount to a declaration of war.
Of course, no
matter how he looked at it, Jin had no chance of winning. Nina, who was exempted
from the entrance exam, had 1000 points, whereas Jin had only 95 points,
including the points he earned from Tedd in the <Screening Test>.
In this case,
it would be impossible to make even a proper wager.
"You got
a really short fuse, huh? This is why your Stingray family is poorly regarded,
you guys are so eager to get into a fight like this. ......"
"Are you
scared?"
Nina smiled
the kind of smile she would give to an impertinent child and continued.
"I don't
mind if calling it off, you know? Even if my opponent is a creepy stalker, it
would be a little unbearable to kill someone without a second thought."
If he backed
down now, Jin's reputation would plummet to the ground.
Jin no longer
had the option of retreating.
"......All
right, bring it on."
"Are you
sure you won't regret it? If you want to quit, now is the time."
"Thank
you for your concern. But don't worry, I've got a plan to defeat you."
"Hee~......
Well, I won't go easy on you."
"That's
my line. Let's do the <duel> in two days."
"I'm
ready to go right now."
"No, no,
don't act tough on me. You actually need to prepare yourself, don't you?"
"Well, if
you say so. It can't be helped then, I'll give you two days."
Their gazes
collided with each other's, and their anger and frustration created a chemical
reaction that produced sparks. By the time such a vision appeared, Jin already
wanted to yell at himself for his thoughtlessness.
He could no
longer back away now.
Several
students who had heard their quarrel had surrounded the fountain before they
knew it.
Word of the
duel between Nina, one of the most famous students in the school, and an
unknown person from the East would spread throughout the school in no time.
With onlookers
beginning to make noise in the background, Nina Stingray turned to Jin with a
smile as if she were confident of victory.
End of Chapter 2
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