The story the deofol told Rotsard didn't have details about his activities outside of the encounters with the future hero, so it couldn't be said that anything changed.
If anything, Rotsard was fairly certain that Justin's story was going exactly as it should.
That was also the reason why he decided to attend the lectures again. He wasn't healed. His body was sore, his internal organs still felt as if they were being continuously stabbed with thousands of needless, and despite being able to complete circulating the mana in a pattern of the joy of first snow, he would spit out blood if he did it too fast. But, according to the story he could not forget, today was the day of another encounter.
One in which Justin puts the shameless third-rate villain back in his place and beats him up, this time in front of the entire Academy.
Will he even need to actually do something, or would Justin, fueled by his righteous spirit, just approach him on his own?
"..."
For a moment, the fountain pen in Rotsard's hand stopped, and he glanced to the side.
There… actually was something he should have approached Amelia Edemsworth for.
A bad choice that had to be corrected and, at the same time, one of the meaningful moments in the story the deofol read to him.
Now that he remembered the detail, Rotsard could not believe how he could forget about it in the first place.
"..."
"!"
Since it was something to do with the platinum-haired girl, the bleached-blond-haired boy inadvertently ended up glancing in her direction - that simple action, though, seemed to cause the classroom to erupt with murmurs and hushed whispers, as if everyone waited just for something like that to happen.
The lecture ended, and Rotsard was about to approach the student in the first row and ask him to switch paces when someone else came straight for him.
*WHAM*
"Do you have no shame?! We both agreed on the stakes for the duel, but you don't have enough decency to honor the result!?"
Justin slammed his hands on the Rotsard's desk and called out.
Even without him causing a scene, eyes of everyone were focused on them as if everyone already expected what was coming.
"...tsk…"
Rotsard leaned away from the spirited future hero and clicked his tongue, not hiding his distaste.
"Answer me! Rotsard Vallhall!"
Justin tensed up at the reaction he was served and demanded, slamming his hands on the desk one more time for dramatic effect.
"As if you have the right to address me by my full name without any honorifics, filthy peasant."
"...!"
The bleached-blond-haired boy scoffed at his classmate with disgust, leaving him speechless for a good few seconds.
Justin was supposed to be the future hero who would save the kingdom and world, but sure as hel, something in his face certainly irked Rotsard.
"And don't you know? I don't recall any duel in the first place, much less any stakes, so how about you get that ugly peasant mug out of my sight? Don't you have some shit to fling across the fields?"
It felt good to insult him in the face and see it twist in disdain.
A good insult didn't need to be extremely convoluted, or even well thought, it just had to stab the target where it hurt them~
Rotsard didn't have to stir up Justin anymore, but he definitely enjoyed doing it.
"Hmm? Oh? Maybe you're already done with that? It seems that some shit ended up getting in your ears and blocking your hearing. Out of my sight, peasant filth. Go roll in sand or whatever you peasants do instead of bathing. You can do whatever you want with young lady Edemsworth after I'm done with her."
"ROTSARD VALLHALL! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!"
The bleached-blond-haired boy hummed and chuckled, mocking his exasperated opponent, confidently throwing a boulder even though a single straw would have been enough to break Justin's remaining composure, causing him to scream in fury.
"The stakes?"
"THE SAME AS BEFORE! IF I WIN, YOU WILL STAY AWAY FROM YOUNG LADY EDEMSWORTH, AND IF YOU SCOUNDREL SOMEHOW MANAGE TO WIN, I WILL QUIT THE ROYAL ACADEMY ON THE SPOT!"
Rotsard smirked and asked, which was enough to make Justin keep screaming his lungs off.
"Look at this. If that supposed duel happened, then why would we have the same stakes again? Are you telling me that it actually didn't happen after all…!?"
The bleached-blond-haired boy mocked his classmate, unashamedly acting as if he caught Justin in the middle of committing a crime.
"You…!"
Justin's face turned red, but he somehow managed to calm himself down.
"This time, we will duel in front of the entire Academy! Tomorrow, right after lectures, I will make sure that everything will happen as it should. And this time, when you lose in front of everyone, even someone like you won't be able to lie your way out of a promise without shaming your entire family!"
"~!"
The future hero declared in front of the entire class, and he received almost unanimous praise and applause.
"...?"
But Justin's words caused Rotsard to flinch.
In the story the deofol read to him, the duel should happen on the day of the challenge!
Where did the delay come from?
Did he do something wrong?
Could it be that because he did not directly creep on Amelia, he couldn't make Justin angry enough to want the swiftest possible revenge and satisfaction…?
Although the word of the deofol couldn't be followed blindly with an unknown amount of facts it didn't tell him, the requirement for him, Rotsard, to lose an exact number of times at specific moments within the first two volumes seemed to be crucial in the development of Justin's future moral code and making a foundation of his battle tactics.
Why risk changing something that didn't require that much effort to achieve in the first place…?
"Pfft…! Tomorrow? Are you telling me that your position in the Academy is so worthless that you have to wait a whole day to be approved for something as simple as a duel? Should I make the arrangements?"
The bleached-blond-haired boy whose expression turned bothered for a fraction of a second was now smiling mockingly, bursting into laughter at the cost of the peasant on a scholarship.
"..."
And there it was, the expression of cold righteous fury that was depicted in the story, finally appeared on Justin's face!
"I never in my life expected there would be someone so eager to get beaten up so much…! So be it! Everyone, you've heard it straight from young lord Vallhall's mouth! Today, he and I will have a duel after the lectures! Please excuse me as I have to see to some formalities regarding the event."
Justin declared in a low voice brimming with seemingly boundless fury and walked away from the classroom, stopping briefly by the door, turning around, and looking around to make brief eye contact with everyone... except for Rotsard, of course.
"I may be too forward with this request, but please be sure to come see this wannabe tyrant learn his actual place! If you can, pass the invite to everyone you know in the Academy!"
He asked and bowed his head deeply, immediately getting cheers and calls of encouragement.
When Justin left the classroom, everyone kept sending mocking smiles and disgusted glances towards Rotsard, talking behind his back, well, more like badmouthing him right next to him.
"Young Lady Edemsworth."
"!?!?"
Because everyone was already looking at him, once Rotsard unexpectedly spoke up, the classroom went completely silent as if no one could believe their ears.
Was… was he actually trying to force himself onto Amelia the moment Justin was away!?
But no matter what others thought of him, the result had to be assured…
"It might be better for you to bring the ring."
"...?"
"...!"
As if enjoying the attention, Rotsard said in a stern voice, and although others couldn't figure out what kind of ring he had in mind, Amelia ended up flinching. Even began to sweat, going as far as to turn sideways just to not even have Rotsard in the corner of her vision by accident.