Clarence was not only quick to respond, but he was also quick to take action.
Three days after their correspondence, Renatus received a summons from Clarence. Clarence asked him to come to the lounge on the second floor of the cafeteria, near the center of the academy.
This was the first time he had been in the lounge.
When he opened the door, many students from the knight department were there. Even though the floor was spacious since it is on the second floor of the cafeteria but there were too many people and it felt oppressive.
When he looked around, he saw Clarence standing at the front of the room. Bradley Wolf was also there, along with several male students who were restrained.
He hesitated to enter the room.
The students in the knight department had such a large build, even though their age difference should not be very large. The feeble and short Renatus was nervous. As he was trembling, a voice called out to him.
âCome here, Rena. I am sorry, you must be scared with so many big people around, right?â
Clarence welcomed him with open arms.
Renatus made up his mind and walked over to Clarence with a quick, elegant pace. He passed by his open arms and hid diagonally behind him.
It would indeed be embarrassing to be hugged in a room full of people. The office worker in Renatus could read between the lines so he conducted himself like a noble outside of the house.
âYouâre as shy as ever.â
âOlder brother, I am sorry to have kept you waiting. About what we talked about.â
He decided not to address the shyness part.
Indeed, he was feeble, but he had a manâs pride. It was uncool to be teased while surrounded by highly masculine men so he didnât like it.
âIâve got the whole situation figured out. Iâve also secured the people who were harassing Bradley and investigated why they gave out Renaâs name.â
Clarence had a carefree smile on his face. Renatusâ eyes could see sparkles flying around him. A capable foster brother was a must-have.
âThank you. I donât know anything about the knight department, so I appreciate your help.â
âHaha. You can thank me by doubling the frequency of our communication, okay?â
Doubling the frequency of communication meant sending letters twice a week. Clarence was too modest with his demands, even though he was his foster brother.
Renatus unintentionally burst into laughter.
He should have laughed softly, and for some reason, the place became noisy. Renatus got scared of the small commotion and hid directly behind Clarence.
(I wonder if it raises some kind of flag when the villain laughs after allâŠScary. I wonder why it got so noisy?)
âBe quiet. Rena is scared.â
Just with Clarence saying that the place instantly fell silent.
He was the firstborn of the duke, on top of that, he was an alumnus, so he was older than anyone here. His statement must be absolute. Renatus felt like he was presented with a stark view of the hierarchical society of the knight department.
âIâll explain in order. When Rena entered the academy, I asked Dan, âMy younger brother was admitted to the magic department, please take care of him.â Isnât that right, Dan?â
âYes.â
The man who replied was a fine man, taller and bigger than Clarence. Renatus recognized him because he gave a speech as a representative of the current student body at the entrance ceremony.
Come to think of it, Renatus remembered that before he had entered the academy, Clarence had been rather worried about him. It was typical behavior of his overprotective foster brother.
âDan is in his senior year. First-year students do joint exercises with other first-year students, so he canât watch over Rena. Thatâs why Dan asked the freshmen to âprotectâ Renatus Ashfield of the magic department.â
âProtectâŠâ
âThe freshmen who had heard that began to harass Bradley Wolf over there under the justification of âprotecting Renaâ.â
He could understand it up to Dan handing it down to freshmen, but he didnât understand it after that. He felt like some of the steps had been skipped over in this âbutterfly effectâ type of occurrence.
âUmm, older brother, I honestly have no idea how âprotecting meâ became harassment against himâŠâ
When Renatus questioned him, Clarence looked back at his juniors. He snickered slightly.
âBefore the end of the first semester, there will be the first joint exercise. The pairings of the knight and magic departments are in order of performance. The top student of the Knight department â in other words, Bradley Wolf â would be paired with Rena.
âThe freshmen restrained over there didnât like Bradley in the first place. So they tried to eliminate him by claiming him as âunfit to be Renaâs partnerâ.
âThey distorted the request from the upperclassman to suit their convenience, and then proceeded to bully him.â
âErrâŠâ
He looked at the restrained first-year students, with only his face out from behind Clarenceâs back. Ten students. They all looked dissatisfied. They did not seem to be remorseful at all.
Renatus scowled.
They probably didnât have much understanding of what it meant to bully Bradley through the extension of Clarenceâs kind feelings, using a senior student who was friendly with Clarence and Renatusâ existence as a pretext.
The Knight Order was a hierarchical society.
If they were going to be knights after graduation, they would receive initiation accordingly once they joined the order, and even if they didnât end up becoming knights and entered high society instead, they would still be affected.
The Ashfield family had a strong influence on the noble society.
It was such a powerful family that it gave birth to âthe strongest last boss villain prime ministerâ of the original story. Clarence, who had a good memory, would not forget the names of those who had used Renatus as a pretext.
âClarence-sama! Bradley grew up in a filthy slum! It is unacceptable that such a person will be by the side of Renatus-sama!â
One of the restrained first-year students shouted. Looking at him, you could see he had a smug look on his face as if he had just exposed the truth. He looked arrogant and unsightly, with confidence that his actions were justified.
Renatusâ temples twitched with anger.
(This guy is trying to make Bradley a laughing stock in this place, where only nobles are present. Oneâs origin is not something one can control. UnforgivableâŠ)
Renatus stopped hiding behind Clarenceâs back.
He briskly walked toward the student who had made the remark. Renatus stood right in front of him and glared at him sternly.
âWhether it is acceptable or not is not up to you, is it?â
âUh, ahâŠâ
The voice that came out of Renatusâ mouth was so cold and piercing, to the point that he was surprised at himself. His ability to overwhelm the opponent was intense.
As expected of Renatus, who had the potential to be the villainous prime minister.
The face of the student who had been denounced turned pale.
âI would even like to ask him to partner up with me if he is truly such an excellent student.â
Renatus snorted as if to say âHow was that?â.
If he could pair up with the protagonist, Bradley, he would kowtow and thank God for it. After all, he might be able to experience one of the famous scenes from âThe Legend of the Wolf Kingâ.
Renatus then walked over to Bradley and stood in front of him.
TN: Rena was such a badass in this chapter. Enjoy reading.