♢Sumire’s POV♢
“Eugene?! You came to see me!” the president exclaimed as she threw her arms around him.
When I first saw her, I’d thought her akin to a graceful noblewoman. But now, she was latching onto Mister Eugene with a lovey-dovey look, her cheeks flushed a bright pink. Huuuuh? Are these two in a relationship?! But Mister Eugene doesn’t look too happy, Miss Teresia looks exasperated, and the guys who were trying to pick a fight with us are gritting their teeth. I thought I could guess what they were feeling.
“Sara, calm down,” Mister Eugene said.
“Oh, but it’s been so long since we last saw each other! Why don’t you stay a while? You have time, don’t you?”
“I’m still showing Miss Sumire around the school. Next time, all right?”
The president’s expression had been so soft and excited as she spoke to Mister Eugene, but at the sound of my name, it changed. After a long moment, she echoed, “Sumire?” That was when she finally noticed me staring open-mouthed at her. When our eyes met, her expression went blank. “If you’re with Eugene, that means you’re that reincarnator girl, right?”
“I-I am! My name is Sumire Sashiougi. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Sara Iglesia Lodis. I am the president of this academy’s student council.”
With a swish, she tossed her lovely black hair over her shoulder. She was acting like a stereotypical cool beauty, as opposed to the lovestruck maiden from moments before. Whoa, the gap between now and earlier is insane!
“Wait, you’re the reincarnator?!” yelled one of the boys who’d been bothering us.
“Why is she hanging out with Eugene?!” another exclaimed.
“We discussed this during one of our regular meetings. Eugene was the one who rescued Miss Sumire from that horrible fire in the dungeon, so the headmaster assigned him as her guardian,” Miss Teresia explained. So the topic of my existence had come up during a student council meeting, then.
One of the boys clicked his tongue. “Again with the favoritism!”
“Backdoor bastard!”
B-Backdoor? I glanced at Mister Eugene, who was scratching the back of his head with an uncomfortable expression.
“Excuse me? He was admitted into this school after he passed the Special Admissions Exam. How long are you going to slander him like that?!” Miss Teresia yelled.
But that didn’t stop the boys from slinging insults at Mister Eugene.
“Hah! That just means the headmaster prepared an exam specifically tailored to his skills, right?!”
“There’s no way someone who only has white mana could ever get into Lykeion on his own merits!”
“I hear your old man’s an imperial noble. You just used his connections to get in, didn’t you, Eugene?!”
“Eugene’s Barrier Magic is impressive. None of you were able to lay a finger on him during your last match, remember?” the president said, but that wasn’t enough to stop them either.
“I’m not the same guy I was back then! If we fought now, my attacks would rip right through his shields!”
“And besides, he has no offensive power. He’s a failure of a warrior!”
Mister Eugene’s expression clouded over. That was how it looked to me, anyway. What’s wrong with these people?! Why are they so mean?!
“Mister Eugene! Let’s get out of here!” Furious, I grabbed Mister Eugene by the arm and headed for the exit of the student council building.
“Yeah, you’re right.” He clearly wanted to leave as well.
“Pathetic! You’re making a girl defend you?!” a boy yelled from behind us, but I ignored him.
“Huh? Wait, are you already leaving, Eugene?” the president—Miss Sara—called, and Mister Eugene turned to look at her.
“Sorry for the disruption, Sara.”
“Will you come and visit me again?”
Mister Eugene hesitated before replying, “Yeah. See you next time.”
I could feel Miss Sara’s lingering gaze and the boys’ hateful glares on our backs as we left the student council room.
♢Eugene’s POV♢
“Ugh! What’s with those people?! How infuriating! Don’t you agree, Mister Eugene?! They were accusing you of all sorts of nonsense!” Miss Sumire ranted, her body shaking with rage. They’d annoyed me as well, but now she was saying everything I wanted to say in my stead.
“Their accusations weren’t without merit. Here, let me show you my magic.” From the sheath hanging from my belt, I took out the knife that I used when exploring. “Miss Sumire, touch this. Not the blade but the back of the knife.”
“Okay... Wow, this is a big knife,” Miss Sumire said as she tapped it.
“It’s a sturdy one that I use to chip off any gems or monster materials I come across in the dungeon,” I explained. “Now, let’s use it to slice my finger.”
“W-Wait, what? M-Mister Eugene, what are you—”
Miss Sumire panicked a little when she saw the red droplets of blood bead on my skin. But a cut this minor didn’t hurt at all.
“If I infuse this knife with my mana and turn it into a magic sword...” The blade glowed white. “Miss Sumire, touch it again.”
“O-Okay.” Miss Sumire pressed her finger against the blade and immediately noticed the difference. “Huh? It’s squishy!”
“That’s what happens to anything I channel my mana into.”
“Wow, it’s so soft! Is this something specific to your magic, Mister Eugene?”
“Yup. Not only that, but if I do this...” I cut my own finger with the knife again, and Miss Sumire screamed.
“What are you doing?! That’s so dangerous!”
“Don’t worry. Look.”
“Eww, blood is... Huh? It’s not gushing out? And the cut you made earlier is all healed up!”
“My magic sword heals whomever I attack.”
“Oh, wow.”
Miss Sumire looked surprised. I couldn’t blame her. This was the main reason I’d given up my dream of becoming a Magic Swordsman: With my white mana, I couldn’t attack anything. In fact, I would only end up healing my opponents.
“Do you understand now why they think of me as a reject swordsman?”
“U-Um...” Miss Sumire looked like she didn’t know how to respond.