Chapter 44- Frenzy

“Then let’s have a quick look around the room.”

“I’ve got your permission,” the dark-haired young man added as he opened the door to the room with a bang.

The room was simple, with only a table and chairs, no different from a few hours ago. But there was one thing that was different. That was the blue cloak on the table, which was torn to pieces.

Well, yeah, that’s pretty much what I expected. I knew what to expect when Daniel came out of my waiting room. But I didn’t think he was really doing it. ……

“The situation makes you the prime suspect in ruining the cloak. Do you have an excuse?”

His Royal Highness Grayson seemed to be angry as he turned and glared at Daniel.

Normally, he is so nonchalant that all the joy, anger, sadness, and sorrow have been removed. ……

It might be the first time I see His Highness angry …….

“I’m going to ask you again. Do you have an excuse? Daniel Evan Collins.”

He took a step closer to Daniel-sama as if to say, “If you have an excuse, I’ll listen.”

The second son of the Count of Collins, whose shoulders were shaking with fear, clenched his fists tightly.

The action he took in front of His Highness Grayson, who gave off a frightening aura, was ────.

“It’s not my fault. ……!”

──── He was unexpectedly in frenzy.

He forgot his honorifics and shouted like a child throwing a tantrum.

But … he’s much worse than a normal child because of his ability.

“”Firelance!””

Daniel threw a flaming spear at us, as if he had gotten desperate after coming here.

The fire lance split in three directions and flew towards me, His Highness Grayson and the management staff.

After a bit of hesitation, I rushed to the side of the management staff.

“”Water Barrier.””

Protecting the stunned staff, I hastily deployed my water magic.

The highly transparent water appeared and created a thick wall to protect us.

A spear of flame struck it, and it disappeared in a puff of white smoke. The danger of a steam explosion kept us on our toes, but we managed to prevent the attack.

“Are you all right, sir?”

“Yes, thank you…..”

I helped the management staff up from their knees on the floor and checked the damage around me.

The floor of my former location was charred, but there was no danger of fire. Also, His Highness Grayson was unharmed, as if he had played a perfect parry with his sword.

It seems that there was no need to worry about His Highness Grayson after all. It’s a good thing I moved to protect the staff.

“Huh…..! Another trick!”

A look of frustration appeared on Daniel-sama’s face, as if he still believed that my powers were bogus.

I guess he doesn’t know about it because his suspension was recently lifted…

Well, there are still a lot of students who know and suspect cheating, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that his perceptions will change….

“Phony or not, you’re going to be questioned and we’re not going to let you off the hook. If you surrender now, I won’t be rough with you. …… which do you choose?”

While preparing my stance to be able to respond at any time, I watched for Daniel’s move.

To tell you the truth, I’d like to see him surrender now, but ──── he wasn’t that good of a listener.

“I’m not going to surrender after all this! I’m going to tear you to shreds so you can’t be seen in public!”

“Where did you throw away your chivalry?” Daniel, who had made the most disgusting comment, held out his palm to me.

I look at the second son of the Count of Collins, who has fallen into disgrace, and narrow my eyes.

There seems to be no curtain for me to come out.

“Tear apart like that cloak and die!”！wind cut ……Argh!？」*

After interrupting his chanting and making a strange noise, Daniel fell with a bang.

He must have hit his face with the blow, because bright red blood poured out of his nose.

Daniel looked back in surprise, but turned his head away in panic as if he had seen a monster.

“──── You’re a man without a shred of chivalry.”

His Royal Highness Grayson, who spat this out, had a look of anger on his frighteningly well-formed face.

And his left foot was stomping hard on Daniel-sama’s back.

By the way, it was His Highness Grayson who made Daniel fall down …… or even kicked him.

“Ah….! don’t kill me……!”.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you. More importantly ────”

As he broke off there, His Highness Grayson bent down slightly to look into Daniel-sama’s face.

This put an additional burden on Daniel’s back. But I had no intention of stopping him because he deserved it.

“──── How did you get here? You didn’t come here alone, did you?”

His Highness Grayson’s eyes were stern as he asked this with a tone of voice that exuded conviction.

This is something I’ve been wondering too.

Except for the main entrance, almost everything on the first floor of the Eto World Dome was off-limits to everyone except those involved. Moreover, the players’ waiting room is located at the back of the building.

I can’t believe he didn’t meet anyone getting to that point……They must have been called off by someone ──── If it was originally…

“You’re not an athlete or a member of the discipline committee, there’s no way you could have gotten this far without help. Give me the names of your accomplices.”

Are there any accomplices among the people involved? His Highness Grayson asks.

He held his nose and tilted his head, as if the word “accomplice” didn’t feel right.

“There is no accomplice……. I came with the vice president to the waiting room. I said I needed to see Charlotte-san, but I can’t get in and she said I could come with her. She said It’s okay if I stay with her. …… Well, she left right away because she had to prepare for the semifinals. ……”

Gradually, he began to regain his composure, and Daniel-sama’s strength drained from his body.

He doesn’t seem to have the energy to rebel anymore.

This is where my sister gets involved. …… If Daniel’s testimony is correct, my sister will be the victim who was complicit in the crime for good reasons, but …… it doesn’t quite add up.

However, as for the cloak, I am sure that Daniel-sama is the sole culprit. My sister must not have known what he was capable of.

But there’s a possibility that she knew that he was going to do me some harm and let him in.

It is quite a well-known story that the second son of the Count of Collins was suspended from school for his trouble with me. Perhaps the story had reached the ears of my sister.

If that were the case, the possibility of Daniel getting even with me would have immediately come to mind. And yet, she cooperated with him. …… This is the answer to everything.

“…… Well, if she couldn’t win the match unopposed, she would.”

I was able to see through my sister’s speculation and I sighed deeply “Haa ……” and looked down at Daniel who was used.

As I struggled to swallow the word “stupid” and hold my head in my hands, a familiar figure popped up from around the corner in the hallway.

“I got a report of a burning smell… so I came over. …… This is going to be another great one.”

The person who muttered this, half in admiration and half in dismay, was the head of the public morals committee, Dina-sama.

I wondered if she had rushed over because her silky silver hair was a little disheveled.

“In the meantime, let’s hear the report.”

“Yes. Daniel Evan Collins, who trespassed, tore Charlotte-san’s cloak to shreds. We’re still in the suspect stage regarding the cloak, but I think it’s safe to say that he did it.”

After finishing his brief explanation, His Highness Grayson stepped off Daniel-sama’s back and put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Dina-sama smiled at His Highness, who silently intimidated him, saying that he could cut him down at any time.

“Thank you for your report. We’ll investigate the details here. Is that guy over there involved?”

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