Chapter 83

It wasn't just the rank slit.

Cheesia's chest, where a white name tag had always been, now shone with a gold badge.

"What, what is this? Doss?"

"Wasn't he 6th rank?"

"Hey, him. It must feel bad. Speak quietly."

The surroundings buzzed.

The atmosphere was even more shocked than when I received my 4th rank badge.

‘Phew, almost got into big trouble.’

After quickly assessing the situation, I hurriedly stood up and hid behind Cheesia.

Then I stuck my tongue out at Bruce.

"Wh, what, how…."

The color had completely drained from Bruce's face.

He pointed at Cheesia with a trembling finger, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Why, why…."

"Finger."

Cheesia said.

"Want to break it?"

"Huh."

Bruce quickly lowered the hand he had been pointing with and hid it behind his back.

I looked around again.

Cheesia hadn't done anything yet, but all the kids were trembling in fear.

The only thing that had changed was just one thing.

The white name tag had turned into a gold badge.

"..."

Cheesia walked steadily towards Bruce. I quickly followed behind, peeking out.

"Ah, um, th-that... Cheesia."

"..."

Bruce gave an awkward laugh. Cheesia remained silent.

I glanced up at Cheesia.

‘Oh, so scary.’

And immediately lowered my eyes again.

Her eyes were terrifying, as if she was really angry.

Cheesia seemed to be thinking about what to do with Bruce. Whether to let him off or to scare him as I had been scared.

Bruce is despicable, but if he gets hit by Doss, it will hurt a lot... He might even die if he makes a wrong move...

"Cheesia."

Thinking it was wrong to stop her, I tried to intervene—

"Hey, kids! Let's go!"

"We, we, we're done!"

Gem and Rom came out with their white badges after the measurement.

Unaware of the argument that had just taken place in the hallway, they approached us and were startled.

"What, what's going on? Did you two swap badges?"

Gem tilted her head, looking at my and Cheesia's badges.

Then, sensing the tense atmosphere between Cheesia and Bruce, she closed her mouth.

"Do you want to do something you like?"

Cheesia asked, her voice chillingly low.

"Uh, yeah?"

She pulled me from behind and placed me in front of Bruce.

Then she said,

"Kneel."

The kids watching from various spots gasped.

I was also surprised and turned to look at Cheesia.

"Why the face? It's something you like."

"..."

"Didn't you always make Rom kneel and crawl when you were upset?"

Really? I was flabbergasted and looked back and forth between Bruce and Rom.

Bruce was sweating profusely, and Rom was fidgeting, not knowing what to do.

Cheesia even placed Rom next to me.

"Kneel."

At the urging, Bruce looked around. Everyone avoided his gaze.

Finally, Bruce hesitantly knelt in front of me and Rom.

"..."

Despite being a proud person, Bruce's face showed no sign of annoyance. Instead, he was smiling.

He didn't want to show any displeasure, as it might anger Cheesia.

‘I really don’t fit in here.’

Even making Bruce kneel, who had tried to attack me, didn't make me feel any better.

"Open your mouth."

Cheesia commanded.

I felt strange and tried to stop her.

"Hey, Cheesia. I'm... now..."

"I'm sorry, Lirris. I'm sorry, Rom. I was wrong."

Bruce opened his mouth as ordered.

I swallowed and turned to look at Bruce again.

* * *

"Really, what's going on? Is this even possible?"

"R, r, really impressive. But, I, I didn't think Cheesia was 6th rank. She's so, so strong."

In the school courtyard, under the pergola.

Gem and Rom were repeatedly amazed by Cheesia's unexpected rank.

The other kids walking around were whispering, glancing at us with our badges.

Specifically, at Cheesia with the gold badge and me with the green badge.

"Did you see Bruce's face? He was smiling even as he knelt? He always grumbled when Lirris said something!"

Gem added, sounding relieved.

"Really, the badge is great!"

"J, Gem. S, stop, s, speaking."

"Huh? Oh!"

Rom poked Gem in the side and gave her a look, and Gem quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

I laughed.

"Ha ha, what. Why do you keep looking at me? I'm fine."

"R, really, a, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Rom. I'm really fine."

"B, but, y, you haven't said a word since... earlier..."

"Oh, that's just because."

After getting the badge, I felt a renewed sense of the class system, and a sense of doubt.

"Lirris."

At that moment, the quiet Cheesia called me.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"Bruce. Making him kneel in front of you."

"No? It felt good! Phew, that bad guy! He wanted to kill me, you know?"

"..."

Even though I tried to sound cheerful, Cheesia's eyes seemed to see through everything.

"Um."

So I told the truth.

"Bruce needs to be taught a lesson. So it's not that I don't like it... But it feels a bit strange. This kind of thing."

All the kids were watching me.

"Until yesterday, everyone ignored Cheesia, but today they tremble and avoid her just by seeing her face."

I looked up at the kids walking around the courtyard.

Most of them were both amazed and scared by Cheesia's rank.

They must be thinking, 'What if they get revenge for bullying the white name tag?'

"Actually, until now, I didn't really... feel scared by ranks."

I was the daughter of a noble, and everyone thought I was Doss. So I never got ignored.

And after becoming a noble, almost everyone I met was on the protagonist's side.

Good guys who didn't look down on people based on their rank.

"The butlers and maids who work at our house are all non-magicians and commoners, but my grandfather, aunt, and father are all kind to them."

I added, grabbing Cheesia's arm.

"The twin brothers are the same, right? Among our brothers' friends, there are 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ranks, but our brothers treat them all the same."

"Right."

When Cheesia agreed, Gem and Rom nodded in amazement.

"But when I came here... and got a rank... I realized that our family is special."

"..."

"It would be nice if everyone was like our family."

"Lirris."

"Huh?"

Cheesia called me.

"It's not special. I thought so at first, too."

He looked straight ahead and continued.

"My father said that this country, which crushes people by rank, is the one that's wrong, and that I should never get used to it."

"Right. My dad is always right."

"Yeah. And someday, there will be a day when everyone doesn't think your family is strange."

Cheesia looked at me.

Did my father already talk to Cheesia about something? Or does Cheesia believe that my father will achieve something?

Either way, the conclusion was already set, with the protagonist's victory.

I nodded and smiled.

"If you're worried about making Bruce kneel, I'm sorry."

"Eh, no? It's not that. Honestly, Bruce deserved it! Right, guys?"

"Right, right!"

"I, I, I know it's wrong, but it felt so good. Thanks, Cheesia…."

Gem and Rom chimed in.

Cheesia, who smiled, looked up at the sky and said,

"Maybe he realized something today. By kneeling just because of a badge."

"Yeah, that's right."

I agreed.

"That this is wrong. Bruce must have felt it too."

We looked up at the piercingly blue sky in silence for a while.

"Lirris Rubinstein?"

At that moment, researchers in white coats came rushing in, looking for me.

"What? Why are they looking for Lirris?"

"Eh, eh?"

I stood up calmly amidst the confused kids.

"Come on, guys."

As the daughter of Enoch Rubinstein, getting a 4th rank without a retest was unlikely.

So I had already expected it.

I'll get a 4th rank again, no matter how many times.

* * *

Emperor Nicholas von Pavillion was, as always, looking at the map of the continent hanging on the wall in his study.

A kingdom, like a bug, attached to the edge of the continent, would disappear before the year was over.

By the hands of his loyal subject, Enoch Rubinstein.

"Sire, it's Lamont."

It was his advisor, who had brought the awaited report.

"Come in!"

Nicholas welcomed him happily.

Enoch's daughter, who had graduated from the training facility in just a month, was a remarkable achievement.

How long had he been waiting for the day he would receive the report of her rank?

"Sire..."

"So, did we get any good ones this month?"

As he sat down and asked, the advisor approached, bowed, and reported.

"This month, twenty-one people received ranks. Nine D's, one N..."

"Lamont."

Nicholas cut off the advisor and gestured towards the file in his hand.

"There's no need to report every single one of the commoners. Just show me the front page."

Nicholas then noticed something odd.

If it were his advisor, he would have started with Enoch's daughter as soon as he entered.

"How many Dosses did we get?"

"T, two."

The expected answer made Nicholas relax for a moment.

There was no unexpected change.

Two Dosses.

The youngest son of the Schmidt family and Enoch's daughter, most likely.

"What?"

However.

Nicholas's face hardened as he looked at the list of the two Dosses.

His reaction was fierce.

The advisor turned pale, bowed his head, and trembled.

After a while, Nicholas's head, which had been looking at the list, slowly lifted.

"Lirris Rubinstein is."

"S, Sire..."

A voice like ice.

The advisor hurriedly prostrated himself before the furious emperor.