Chapter 24: Prince Kurobuta Goes to School After a Long Absence

Brad von Pistel.

In "Final Quest", he was corrupted by the "Four Demon Generals" and killed his father, King Pistel. He is a villainous character who tries to sacrifice his people to the Demon King.

And as I found out after being reincarnated as him, the signs of being such a villainous character – and the reason for the distortion of his personality - were seen long before the start of the main story.

The main cause is bullying

Brad was always compared to his younger brother, Albert, who was superior in every aspect. And because his abilities and appearance were inferior to his brother's, he was looked down on and talked about behind his back by those around him. Such disdain from the people around him eventually developed into bullying behavior such as verbal abuse and violence towards Brad.

The fact that his father and most of the aristocrats were on Albert's side and ignored him was probably a big factor. There was no one in the palace or in the academy who did not know that Brad was being mistreated and yet no one wanted to help him.

As a result, without protection from the people around him, Brad had to change into a person with a vile personality in order to protect himself.

The result was the proud Brad before he regained the memories of his previous life.

He was a "black pig prince" who always acted threatening to others and took revenge on those who turned on him by working behind the scenes.

However, revenge is still revenge.

He only harmed those who mistreated and harmed him and basically did not touch anyone else. Those who were harmed by him were generally receiving retribution for their actions against him. If you think about it, before the start of Final Quest, Brad was not really a villain and more of a normal character.

However, it can't be denied that Brad went too far against some people. In particular, he sent bribes to demote aristocrats who served the court and falsified the evaluations of students at the academy to make them fail.

For such matters, after Brad regained his memories of his previous life, with the help of Rosie and his trusted servants, he made up for what he judged to be his excesses.

At the very least, he has paid for his actions.

However, that doesn't mean that he can get rid of the bad image that has taken root in those around him. Aside from those close to him in the palace, the rest of the servants and students at the academy still regarded him as the troublesome, fat and ugly prince.

And that's why Brad couldn't be bothered to go to the academy because he didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to get rid of that bad image he created for himself.

(I can feel many intense...... eyes on me.)

The next morning, after fighting off the werewolf lord,

the courtyard of the Royal Academy of Magic, Windstar.

As usual, countless carriages were parked there, with attendants and maids seeing off the children of nobles who attended the academy.

Carriages are often extravagant because they show their status as noblemen - just like wristwatches and cars in my previous life.

The children of the nobles disembarked one after the other from their lavish carriages and walked into the school building through the beautiful tree-lined streets while chatting and laughing. It was in one of these courtyards that a buzz started.

"Who is that beautiful Lord?”

“I've never seen such a beautiful man since Albert.”

"The carriage he’s riding in is beautifully sculpted, he must be a noble right?

The person at the center of all this buzz was of course Brad himself.

As soon as he got off the carriage, he was noticed and whispers spread like wildfire.

I somehow understand the reason.

In an aristocratic society, connections between nobles are directly linked to their status in the royal court. And in order to build those connections, it is essential to know who has what status and power. That's why the nobles know the names and faces of all the other nobles in the kingdom and their children usually know the names and faces of the students in the academy as well.

In the midst of such a background peculiar to aristocratic society, an unfamiliar Brad came out of a conspicuously luxurious carriage that stood out from other ones. It's no wonder there was a small commotion.

(I mean...... no matter how much I've changed, to think they don’t recognize me.)

I'm surprised they didn't recognize me at first glance.

It’s true that Brad’s appearance has changed.

But aside from the knights of yesterday, he had been seeing the students frequently. He thought that someone would notice, but no one seemed to.

But suddenly, he heard a voice saying, "Isn't that the black pig?

"Oh… that's the black pig?”

“There was a rumor that while the black pig was absent from the academy, he became a disciple of Glace one of the “seven heroes” and became a different person.”　　

“I also heard from an acquaintance of mine who works at the court that he had changed and began to invest his personal fortune in projects for the poor and the commoners and had begun to ‘reform’ himself. His manner became softer and he lost a lot of weight.”

“There was a story going around that he was the one who defeated the terrible monster that appeared in the square yesterday. Even Albert was at the scene but was defeated and he took the monster down with a single blow.”

In noble society, information is vital.

The information gathering ability of noblemen is not something to be made light of, Brad thought to himself.

“No, no, no… that’s impossible." A mocking voice reached Brad’s ears.

"It's all a baseless rumor. It's impossible for that black pig to become this handsome, much less defeat a powerful monster with a single blow. I'm sure he's just scared after Dino Schwarzer turned him into a roast pig in class, so he's holed up in his room half-crying. You all have the wrong person."

　When I heard that rough tone and thought of the name, I looked over and saw a huge male student there.

--Dino Schwarzer--

He was Brad’s classmate who had blown him away with a fireball in the middle of practical class at the Royal Academy, helping him regain his memories of his past life.

Dino is the second son of the Count's family and a close associate of Albert and behind his back, he has been bullying Brad to an extreme degree. It was Dino who suggested that they pair up in the first place, so the fireball attack was probably intentional.

I'm not going to take revenge now, but I think it's going to be tough to get along with him.

"Dino, it's been two months.”

Brad smiled at him and Dino narrowed his eyes as if he was thinking. Then he looked at Brad as if he was sizing him up.

"You're not really the black pig, are you?”

"It's not that strange, is it? I just worked out a little and lost some weight.”

Brad shrugged his shoulders feeling amused.

"It's not just a matter of losing a little weight. No matter how hard one tries, they can’t just believe that that stupid, exceedingly ugly, black pig is the same person as you.”

That’s a very terrible thing to hear about yourself.

"It's not a big deal… Don't be rude to Brad-sama!”

But even if Brad himself was not bothered with it, his maidservant Rosie, who had become quite a Brad fanatic, couldn't stand it any longer.

“What… what?”

Dino was horrified by Rosie's fury.

But Rosie didn't let up her momentum, pointing firmly at Brad.

"This is truly the first prince of the kingdom of Pistel, Brad von Pistel desu!　　Don't you see this carriage and the royal crest shining on his shoulder?”

“How dare you!” She shouted at the top of her voice.

She may have been seriously offended by his ridiculing me, but it was embarrassing for me to listen to because she sounded like she was in some kind of historical drama.

Moreover, the fact that she was unnecessarily loud attracted even more attention to us, which was the worst part. This is exactly what I mean when I say something is a drag.

"Rosie… calm down."

Brad hurriedly pulled Rosie's arm and covered her mouth to silence her.

"Brad-sama! What are you doing so boldly In a public place.”

"… Just be quiet."

“If you continue like this, it’s going to be a pain.” Brad whispered in her ears and she nodded with an ecstatic expression. 

Brad's first reaction was to be taken aback, but he took a deep breath, thinking that it would be better if he kept things quiet.

"I'm sorry if my maid was being rude.”

He then turned to Dino who was scowling at him but then growled.

“It’s true, you really are the black pig. I didn’t think it was really you, your highness because you changed so much.” 

"I'm glad you understand.”

Although Dino deliberately kept calling Brad a black pig, he was willing to overlook it and smiled widely.

Perhaps, Dino didn’t like the calm attitude Brad was taking at him.

“But… as expected like master like maid. There’s no way I’m keeping my voice down. So it’s true that a stupid master would have a stupid maid.”*

After hearing the words of ridicule from Dino, Brad narrows his eyes intensely at that moment

“It’s true isn’t it, what's with that glare?”

"You can rant at me all you want. But I'm not going to allow you talk that way about my maid. It's true that she was rude, but please don't embarrass her by saying false words.”

Dino maintains a fearless smile and speaks clearly.

"Oh what If I say No?”

He continued to provoke him.

But at that moment…

"----"

Brad’s body overflowed with power.

The magic power density increased at an unimaginable speed and as soon as the magical pressure and murderous intent washed over him, Dino screamed and fell flat on his ass.

"You won’t dare to say no."

Brat looked down at Dino with icy cold eyes and said plainly

The students around stared in awe at Brad’s extraordinary magic power. Rosie raised her voice and said “Brad-sama is so cool desu!”

(Hmmm. I've always wanted to try this, to scare someone with just my spirit.)

However, Brad was just happy he was able to reproduce the chuunibyo scene from that he was aiming for. {TN: Chuunibyo means 8th grader syndrome}

Dino looked up at Brad with his mouth wide open for a moment, but when he notices the sounds of those around laughing at him. He glares at Brad.

“Kuh… you! I can’t be humiliated by a black pig like you! I’ll never forgive you!”

Dino clearly having murderous intent draws his sword without hesitation.

But before he could fully draw out the sword, Brad stepped in quickly and kicked the sword out of his hands.

“….?”

The sword soars high, while still in its scabbard.

“Isn’t it illegal to draw your sword at the academy?”   

As Brad says this, the sword soared towards the direction of those laughing, and a noble girl who was there screamed.

However, before the sword reached her, Brad moved in front of her and brilliantly caught the sword swirling in the air.

Then he smiled and reached out his hand to reassure the girl who was scared.

“It would have been a big issue if this beautiful young lady had gotten injured. That’s why it is important to keep the rules.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

The nobleman’s daughter girl took Brad’s hand and stood up, staring at him as if she was enchanted by him. Before he knew it, she kissed him while being as red as an apple.

“Too fast! Did anyone see that just now?”

“How… that movement was scary fast, I would have missed it if I blinked...”

“Ye ye (No no)… you were looking at Dino until a while ago. Don’t lie!”

“Well, he’s not just good-looking that’s for sure...”

As the students were astonished by Brad’s incredible actions,

(That was dangerous…)

He had a cold feeling in his heart.

Even though I had braced myself properly, if the young lady was injured by the sword I kicked, it would have really turned into an awkward situation.

“Why don’t you have this back”

After a while, he threw Dino’s sword back at him who at this point had blue lines on his forehead.

He was humiliated again by Brad and was about to explode in anger, it looked like he was exploding already. He was dying to attack Brad and looked around for anything he could use. This guy was a real pain in the ass.

But when Dino was about to take another action…

A voice called from the side.

“Dino, that’s enough!”

When I turned around, there was a beautiful boy.

In contrast to Brad’s brown skin, his skin was white, he was Brad’s younger brother and the second prince of the country. Albert von Pistel himself.

He walked towards us, over the cackling of the girls and secret murmurs of the boys.

“But Albert-sama… this guy!”

“I’m telling you to stop. The shame of my aides is my shame as well. Don’t embarrass me any further.”

Dino looked dissatisfied, but Albert had already told him with a commanding tone and while regretfully biting his teeth, he said “…Yes.”

“Older brother, my aide has caused trouble.”

Albert bows immediately, but Brad hurriedly raised him up.

“No, there’s also the fact that my maid talked rudely too. I’m glad you’re safe. I heard you were pretty injured in the square yesterday.”

“That’s… aren’t you just glad that you defeated the monster that I failed to kill?”

Brad shakes his head and smiled and Albert’s eyes sharpened.

“No, I was just worried about you. The werewolf lord is a really dangerous monster. So you’re really not hurt, right? Let me see.”

He checks Albert’s entire body from top to bottom with both hands as if he were doing a physical examination.

“Stop! Don’t touch me like that again. It’s annoying and gross.”

“It’s fine right, we used to play naked together in the water when we were kids.”

“When was that?” Albert cried out in an annoyed voice.

“Why are you saying this now. You’ve always ignored me. Now you’re trying to get close to me so I can lower my guard. I won’t do that. Watch out! This time, I’m going to win the sword dance festival. You seem to have started aspiring for the throne, but I have no intention of giving it up.”

“The throne?”

I felt that my actions were misunderstood.

Brad was about to clear the misunderstanding, but Albert started walking away and said.

“Dino, let’s go!”

And he didn’t stop until he was gone.

(Well… there’ll still be a lot of chances to see each other. I wonder, what would be a good time to clear the misunderstanding?)

Brad shrugged his shoulders.

Like that—

Brad had already spent a lot of time that morning, but he realizes that class hasn’t even begun yet and heads to the school building while feeling tired.

---Brad didn’t know.

“Is this a fight between the brothers to succeed the throne?”

“Albert has always been the more reasonable choice, but now, I’m not so sure.”

“That’s right. Considering the overwhelming strength that he just revealed now and if the rumors that have been circulating about his “Persona Reform’ are true… he may as well be chosen.”

“The result of the sword dance festival will have a big role to play. I can’t miss such an important scene!”

From the perspective of those watching Brad’s exchange with Albert, it looked like Brad was aiming for the throne.

“–This is big news! The next king will be decided at this year’s sword dance festival!! !!”

The conversation was thus extended and then spread quickly throughout the academy and even the kingdom.

And among the onlookers in the courtyard…

Was the figure in a gray cloak.  

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