บท 21: Second Step [10]
*Click*
"...what are you doing Ray?"
Somehow we had once again found ourselves in similar positions as before, with Cerus appearing like a hero to save the princess (Me) from the big bad guy (Wyll). Kind of. Because Cerus' eyes weren't quite the same as when he had chased away Wyll last time.
I remained silent for a bit, despite having a long time to react due to my sped-up synapses. Since I didn't want to accidentally ruin the reunion of the two men, and allow myself a bit more information about the hierarchy between them.
"Cerus! What do you want?"
Just as I expected, Wyll reacted quite harshly, likely frustrated that his attempt at showing me my place might once again get derailed as a result of Cerus' intervention. However, based on how Cerus had looked at me, I wasn't so sure if that would have been the case at all.
Cerus still turned to Wyll with tired eyes and answered him curtly.
"I don't want anything. I was just asking my classmate here what he was doing."
Although Wyll was clearly on guard, he did seem to relax a bit when he noticed that Cerus didn't appear like he was in the mood for fighting, maybe even realizing that my dear classmate might not back me up this time.
"Is that so? Well, I have some business with this guy so we are going to talk for a bit."
Therefore Wyll signaled to his entourage and me to keep walking, assuming that Cerus would let him go. But that was a mistake on Wyll's part.
Even if a lion was sleeping, it was still a mistake to step over its tail and assume that it wouldn't react.
In response, Cerus' eyes instantly sparked to life in reaction to Wyll's obvious overstep as he took a step forward as a way of showing that he wasn't about to let us go just yet.
"Stop. I was talking to Ray. So, Ray, what are you..."
*Click*
"Huh? What's going on?"
Another challenger appeared as a green-haired man walked out of the classroom, his face full of confusion as he saw the spectacle in the corridor. Very casually Cerus turned to Jacob and explained what was happening.
"These guys say that they want to talk with Ray. But as I was waiting for Ray to say something, I didn't let them leave."
*Pok!*
Lightly tapping his right fist into his left palm like a hammer, Jacob quickly understood what was going on but funnily enough his face didn't tense up at all, looking a lot more relaxed than one would think in regards to the context.
"Oh! I see! But hey, isn't that Wyll? Isn't he the heir of the Lawson family? Isn't that kind of a big deal?"
"I suppose. But that stuff doesn't really matter to me."
"Of course, it doesn't matter to you! But it's a pretty big deal to us commoners! Isn't that why Ray isn't beating all of them up?"
Both of them suddenly turned their eyes to me, looking for an answer to Jacob's speculation, to which I had honestly no idea what to answer. For I had still no idea what he was talking about.
'Commoners? Is that like... normal folks? Then what is the corresponding social status? Nobles? Royalty?'
In the end, I shrugged my shoulders as a way of signaling that I had no idea how to respond but...
*BOM!*
A loud sound rang out in response to a certain ill-tempered young man who couldn't stop himself from stomping the ground in frustration, a stomp that likely had enough power to easily crush bones.
"You... you fuckers! Stop playing around!"
'Ah, he lost it.'
With a twisted face, Wyll just couldn't handle the disrespect any longer as he shouted at us, spitting out curses in anger.
"What do you mean that this bastard would beat us up?! Are you stupid?! I could beat his ass with one hand if I wanted to! He is just some bastard who doesn't know his place!"
"Alright. Then, go ahead."
"So even if you... huh?"
'Huh? Cerus?'
"So, Ray, I ask of you one more time. What are you doing?"
For some reason, Cerus had chosen not to be even close to a hero this time, instead encouraging Wyll to fight me, and I had a hard time comprehending his motives. Was it in spite because I made Celine upset? Very unlikely. Had his personality changed completely from one day to another? Even more unlikely.
The only reasonable explanation that I could come up with was that he either wanted to test me or he for some reason thought that I was strong enough to take care of myself.
'But I guess he has a point. It's not like I was ever expecting someone to save me anyway.'
More importantly, even though I found this circus a bit amusing, was the fact that I honestly didn't have time to fool around anymore. So finally, I chose to act.
****
[Cerus' POV]
"So, Ray, I ask of you one more time. What are you doing?"
The black-haired man was truly a mystery to me. It just didn't make sense that he would bow down to Wyll and his goons with his level of strength.
Maybe it was like Jacob said that he was a commoner and therefore felt the need to be extra careful, but if that was the case...
'Then he wouldn't have tried to punch me earlier, even if it could be said to be self-defense. Or was he just that riled up? No... if he was, he wouldn't have been able to calm down that quickly...'
Right now I didn't even care about how he had acted when he fought against Celine, partly due to me getting some perspective after talking to her in the forest, but mostly due to me wanting to know more about what kind of person Ray actually was.
Because looking at him right now, acting like a fool while surrounded by Wyll's classmates, I couldn't think of him as anything else but a snake.
'Now, show me what you will do...'
And finally, Ray opened his mouth!
However...
"Would you guys mind letting me through? It's been fun and all but I really need to get going, you know?"
*Clench!*
Scratching his head, he looked nothing like someone who was scared to offend someone from a powerful family. No, he looked like someone who didn't give a single fuck about that and that was enough to make anyone furious, including me.
'This guy...!'
How many people was he going to make a fool out of before he was content?! Or was he honestly just that socially handicapped?
Then again, while I got a bit heated as a result of his nonchalant acting, there was someone else who got a lot more upset than me.
"YOU... YOU FUCKER!"
Like a bull, Wyll rushed toward Ray, his fist high in the air already prepared to swing. And that, he did. With his whole body shining in an orange hue, clearly utilizing mana to empower himself, Wyll didn't seem to care at all about holding back. And somehow, I didn't feel bad about it... not that it would matter anyway.
"...why is everyone so impatient in this academy?"
Just like always, Ray's eyes were fully opened and without even the slightest ounce of fear.
"TAKE THIS!"
A full right swing was now flying at Ray's face, threatening to not only remove some teeth but threatening to completely demolish any bone that stood in its way. Yet, Ray didn't even blink as he simply...
*Zoom!*
...appeared on the other side of his enemy in an instant. Similarly to before, coherent hadn't been a single sign of him using a skill. He just.. appeared at another location?
"Anyway, I'll see you guys later."
And with that, he was off, taking advantage of the fact that Wyll and his friends were too shocked to react before he had left the corridor, casually walking away as if nothing happened. He didn't carry a single hint of hesitation to show his back to his enemies as if he knew that no matter what they did, it wouldn't matter.
At some point, Wyll finally woke up from his trance, staring at the fist that didn't manage to reach its target.
"...what the fuck?"
Meanwhile, I turned my body to show Jacob that we were done here, as I also began my walk away from our homeroom.
"Ah...! Wait for me!"
Walking in silence, with Jacob diagonally behind me, I was struggling to contain the frustration that I had with Ray.
I had been taught that everyone had different sides to them and that it was important to give everyone a chance. But right now that felt impossible.
"Hey, Cerus..."
There was no way I could accept someone like him, who pretended to be something he wasn't, who didn't use his strength in an honorable manner.
"Ceeeruuus."
'He is a snake! Nothing more than a snake!'
No matter what my mother had told me about helping people in need, I wouldn't help him out anymore. Not only was he strong enough to fend for himself, but I also refused to fall for his charades any longer.
"Cerus! Weren't we supposed to wait for Rose and Celine?!"
"Ah... "
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