Chapter 24 (1/2)

“There’s Isaac!”

Just that lone shout was enough to gather all the attention of the girls in the cafeteria. Like a swarm of locusts, they came to Isaac and that overwhelming sight was enough to cause Reisha and Kunette to disappear from his sides.

“What is going on?!”

“This is too much!”

“I haven’t had proper makeup for the past week!”

“Ha! You think that face of yours would change with just makeup?”

“What!”

“Did I say anything wrong?!”

“You b.i.t.c.h!”

“How dare you call me a b.i.t.c.h!”

All h.e.l.l broke loose in front of Isaac. There wasn’t any physical violence but the verbal abuse and the menacing sneers were more than enough to match its intensity. The girls were competing with each other to get their list of orders through first.

‘This is why I didn’t want to come.’

Isaac was generally treated as a shopkeeper by the students of the Campus. Because of that, he would sometimes receive outrageous claims or requests. But when it came to dealing with people like Reisha or Rivelia who were well beyond an average student, their unreasonable att.i.tudes changed quite dramatically.

Once enough students had gathered, Isaac coughed and began to speak.

“Now! I will start the auction at this moment.”

“Auction?”

Confusion was abounding from what Isaac had said.

“I will limit the number of partic.i.p.ants to four people. Since it’s annoying to sell the tickets individually, I will give them all to the highest bidder and that person can share with the others. You can partic.i.p.ate alone or form a team. But! Those who have partic.i.p.ated once cannot partic.i.p.ate again for the next two months. This is to allow others to have a chance because of the high demand, so please understand.”

“Wait. Doing an auction all of a sudden is one thing, but what is the product you are auctioning? Is it really something that’s worth our time?”

Isaac confidently nodded at the girl’s question.

“That’s right! I am planning to start this in ten days’ time, but the auction will happen once a week in bulk because it’d be too difficult to do this every day.”

“So what are you selling?”

“It’s a ticket for a tea party.”

“Haa?”

Many of the girls looked at Isaac as if he was insane. Who would buy a ticket to a tea party when they are struggling to even have time for such an event? What little tea parties that existed were just gatherings for friends and people whom they wish to familiarise with, and even then it usually consisted of a brief session of complaints about their lectures and lecturers and end with words of encouragement to each other.

But there were a few students who realised the opportunity in front of them and quickly made their bids.

“30 Giga!”

“70 Giga!”

“100 Giga!”

The 3 shouts came out at near identical times, and Isaac pointed at the girl who made the highest bid and congratulated her.

“Sold for 100 Giga! The next auction will happen in a fortnight considering the ten-day delay until the first tea party. To those who wish to partic.i.p.ate next time, do make the preparations!”

The losers of the auction clicked their tongue in disappointment as the girl who won was hopping about in joy. Many of the students failed to understand why the girl was so happy until the girl’s words finally brought them to speed.

“Kyaa! I can drink tea with Lady Rivelia!”

The girls finally remembered why they couldn’t make their orders. It was because of the unapproachable Rivelia, who would be accompanied by Reisha and Kunette for a makes.h.i.+ft tea party. A few students who were somewhat confident of their birth and status tried to challenge her, but their attempts crumbled like a piece of paper in front of Rivelia’s eyes.

Challenging her was out of option now. But what if you could officially join her in a social gathering, even if it cost money? Considering the time and money spent to help make connections with Rivelia, it wasn’t much of a loss at the end of the day.

“Ah! I’ve also heard that there is a daughter from the Lublé province. Are you here by any chance?”

A girl timidly raised her hand, despite the skepticism inside her head. Lublé province was famous for their potteries, and their craftsmen was widely accepted as the greatest in the entire Empire. Their goods were so well-known that they sold to commoners and donated to the Royal Family.

“I am Chainy von Lublé. Why are you asking?”

“Lady Chainy, Lady Rivelia had been complaining about some problem with the cups in the Campus as of late, and would like to use the Lublanc Sky for her tea party.”

“R, really!”

Chainy’s eyes sparkled. It’s true that they are officially the best, but that also meant there were many who challenged them for that t.i.tle. Being proud of their status as the best is understandable, but letting the pride take over and being satisfied with the current status was the quickest way to fall from the grace. Only through continuous improvement would allow one to keep the status as the best. Having one’s family’s craft favoured by Rivelia herself is sure to make a great promotion for their fame and fortune.

“If you are willing to donate the Lublanc Sky to her, I will make a special exception and allow you to join the tea party whenever you want for free.”

“I’ll do it! I’ll contact my family right away!”

No matter how few are made every year, there are always reserves kept by the family for their own use. Even if there aren’t any, forming a connection with Rivelia was more than enough to justify the cancellation and refund of one of the orders for the Lublanc Sky.

“Ah, I’m just saying this out of worry, but Lady Rivelia had been complaining that the tea in the Campus isn’t easy to get fond of. I’m sure she’ll be very glad if you can bring in more suitable tea leaves for the tea party. No matter how expensive the auction will be, I will deduct the price and transport fee of the tea leaves from the highest bidder. Of course, if the tea leaves were more expensive than the auction, it will be free. How about it?”

“…”

There wasn’t much to think about at this point. Having Rivelia even remember their names would more than make up the drop on their grades.

“Come again tomorrow! No, tonight! I will contact my family and order the tea leaves right away!”

“My family is from the province of Effrin, one of the three leading provinces when it comes to black tea! I can prepare the tea leaves of the highest quality in an instant!”

“Has she said anything about any other tea sets? My family also boasts of products that never pale in comparison to any others.”

“You can’t forget snacks to go along with the tea! My uncle is a chef who used to serve desserts for the Royal Family!”

The students began forming groups and debating about which snacks would suit which tea best. Isaac just watched it unfold in silence.

‘I can’t tell if she’s just innocent or simple…’

Isaac muttered to himself as he thought of Rivelia. He never thought of buying those goods with his money in the first place. Rivelia may have ordered those goods to put Isaac in a corner, but this was the Campus. There was bound to be at least one or two people from those famous provinces who are attending this place.

It was clearly obvious that they would bring crates of their family’s specialties to gain Rivelia’s attention, and even if they weren’t able to produce one, they would use their own money to procure any goods that could help gain Rivelia’s attention. All Isaac had to do was do what he usually did and just hand over the goods when they arrived from Gonzales’ s.h.i.+p.

“I see the money rolling straight into my lap already. I swear, she must be the goose that lays golden eggs.”

Rivelia stood alone in the duel arena of the College. Her sword cut the air as she performed her techniques. They had been repeated tens of thousands of times already, and her body now reacted accordingly without a thought.

The sword is honest – unlike the spineless and greedy, who would praise her beauty and her family, who would as if they would sacrifice everything for her. None of it mattered at this moment. She liked the sword which only answered to her efforts, and she liked this time because she could empty her mind and focus on the sword alone.

But this time, rather than joy, there was a wave of unspeakable, unimaginable anger boiling inside her, waiting to be released.

Isaac that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!

Just thinking of him enraged her further.

He brought a group of students all of a sudden. The tea party somehow became official amongst the students and she had no way to deny this fact. It was beyond her control. If she were to deny it now, it was now her duty to deal with the disappointment and the insults that would arise from that decision.

Her grip tightened when she imagined Isaac snickering as he counted all the money he made from the auctions. At the same time, she remembered what the girls spoke during the tea party.

“You don’t know how much of an honour it is for me to join you here.”

‘Ha! You are just like the others. People who approach me because of the power my family holds.’

“Did you know you’ve changed significantly since you’ve been fighting against Isaac?”

‘Changed? Me?’

“When we first saw you, you had this look that made it impossible for us to even think of speaking to you. Back then, we had to build our courage to even look in your direction.”

‘That’s right. Because that’s what I intended.’

“Lady Rivelia, you were… very difficult to approach. We respected you but didn’t want to know you as a person. You seemed to live in a different world to us.”

‘I am the sole heir to the t.i.tle of Duke Pendleton. I must act in a way that matches my status. If it’s for the honour of my family, I can gladly throw away friends and acquaintances.’

“But you are now… how to say, still difficult to approach, but you aren’t as scary as before.”

‘Don’t make me laugh. You still want me for one reason. To use my family’s power for your own profit.’

“In truth, I was planning on dropping out from the Campus. But watching you change helped me gain the courage that I can change as well.”

‘Don’t lie! I’m sick and tired of those empty praises!’

‘Man, can’t you just accept those praises with a smile? What are you embarra.s.sed about?’

‘No!’

Rivelia strongly denied what Isaac’s image had said.

Isaac! What she wouldn’t do to punch that face of his!

Swis.h.!.+

The mana that was released from Rivelia’s sword cut through the arena. The spectral mana danced in all directions as it cut grooves onto the floor of the arena.

‘You really make things difficult for yourself.’

‘That’s not something you have the right to say!’

As Isaac’s image looked pathetically at her with pitying eyes, Rivelia shouted within her mind.

‘What do you know?! How dare you look over all I’ve been through? I have cast away the safety and luxuries that my family provided, and proved my worth with the sword!’

‘Is it fun to live like that?’

‘It may seem stupid to a lazy man like you. Don’t make me laugh! I care not about the look that others give me! I am Rivelia el Pendleton! I will walk my own path!’

Rivelia put all her strength as she swung down at the image of Isaac with her sword.

Slas.h.!.+

Isaac’s image was cut in half, but Rivelia used the momentum to spin around for another strike.

Clang!

Rivelia’s sword stopped as it hit something, and Isaac’s image shattered like gla.s.s. In his place was someone she didn’t expect to see.

“M, master?”

“Calm yourself, and look around you.”

Rivelia followed her master’s words and looked around to realise what had happened around her. The arena looked like it had just been through an intense battle. Students of the College gathered at the edges, watching in astonishment and disbelief at what Rivelia had done.

“To surpa.s.s the wall and reach the rank of Master at your age. Huhu, you are indeed the Queen of the Sword.”

“…Master? Me?”