Those Swept Away

The sudden catastrophe that struck the Royal Pioneer Academy—no, a man-made disaster.

The residential district was instantly transformed into something resembling a disaster zone.

Even the teaching staff, who normally kept their distance, were shaken this time and rushed out of the school building.

An emergency rescue unit made up of faculty members was hastily formed, and they began pulling students to safety.

Fortunately, the residential district had been protected by a Blessing barrier spell, and because the rescue response was swift, none of the students lost their lives.

However, the infirmary could not accommodate everyone, and the campus ended up resembling a makeshift field hospital.

Moreover, the incident did not remain confined within the academy—it spread outward as well.

The Board of Education and the PTA began making noise, demanding a full investigation into the cause.

Principal Nekodran and Vice Principal Yesman, as those responsible for the academy, were thrust into the center of the storm, but—

Cunning as they were, they struck first with an outrageous announcement.

“This incident was entirely the result of independent actions taken by Weiss of Class 1-20!”

“Yes, indeed! Weiss-kun must have panicked in his rush to recover from his recent rank drop after using the infirmary, and acted recklessly!”

“At a pioneer academy, it is a rule that students’ intentions must be respected! We, the teaching staff, merely entrusted matters to their free will! It is regrettable that the accident could not be prevented, but such things cannot be helped!”

“Yes, indeed! Monaka-san of Class 1-02 and Kotone-san of Class 1-19 foresaw the wall’s collapse and called for evacuation! However, the other students chose not to comply with the evacuation request!”

Amazingly, the principal and vice principal pinned all responsibility on Weiss and washed their hands of it…!

Naturally, Weiss protested.

“What!? You say we were instructed by you to build the base!? There is no evidence of such a thing anywhere!”

“Yes! Weiss-kun must be suffering from confused memories due to the shock of the accident!”

“Hrm, this is unacceptable—truly regrettable! To cause a major disaster involving so many students, and then show no remorse, even trying to shift the blame onto others! As punishment, Class 1-20 under Weiss-kun will be demoted by two ranks!”

Incidentally, all other classes were also demoted by one rank due to their use of the infirmary.

“Compared to the others, how wonderful are the classes of Monaka-san and Kotone-san!
In recognition of their wisdom in not being deceived by Weiss-kun, we grant them a one-rank promotion!”

A class promotion was a tremendous honor, something any normal leader would have accepted with joy—but…

Amazingly, the two girls who led those classes lodged a joint protest.

“No! We cannot accept this achievement for ourselves!”

“Indeed! We merely followed the instructions of a certain individual! Therefore, we believe that this merit should be awarded to that person!”

“That person we admire beyond measure—the name of that boy is… Leo—!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!”

However, this declaration was drowned out by the vice principal’s shrill scream and then quietly crushed through behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the principal.

Everything sent out from or brought into the Royal Pioneer Academy was subject to checks by the principal and vice principal.

As a result, in this incident, not even the first letter of Leopin’s name made it outside.

But did that not strike you as strange?

Among the sponsors, were there not some who witnessed the entire sequence of events through magical devices?

They certainly saw Leopin’s actions.

And yet, every one of them chose to ignore the truth.

Why?

Because they, like the principal and vice principal, were born elites—people who had gained their positions through pedigree, not ability.

Yes. They were people who stood to gain nothing from a commoner like Leopin receiving recognition…

People firmly on the side of “Leopin must never be acknowledged.”

Still, through this incident, Leopin’s name was undeniably etched into the minds of the sponsors.

The boy known only for his dexterity did not yet know.

That, beyond his awareness, great powers had begun to move.

Weiss stumbled through the rubble-filled residential district after leaving the school building.

Not a trace remained of his usual confident, composed expression.

Behind his slipping glasses, his eyes were vacant, his mouth hanging open.

“M-me… demoted by two ranks…?”

A muttering voice spilled from him like a fever dream.

“A Sage like me being demoted… impossible… th-this must be a bad dream…”

But the whispers of the passing schoolgirls made it painfully clear that this was reality.

“Look, it’s Weiss.”

“He’s the same D rank as us now—no need to call him ‘sir’ anymore.”

“You’re right. We followed his instructions and built that wall, and ended up demoted!”

“Disgusting! A Sage spouting nonsense—how disappointing!”

Those judgments were unbearable to Weiss, but he no longer had the strength to argue back.

Because something even harsher weighed in his clenched hand.

A crumpled piece of parchment, with a short line visible where it stuck out.

“Disgrace of the family.”

That line had been swirling through Weiss’s head in the voice of a certain person ever since.

“A-all the letters Father sent me before were filled with pages of expectations for me… Father must be furious about this two-rank demotion…! No matter what, no matter what, I have to restore my rank… At this rate, I won’t be able to remain the heir…!”

Just thinking that made Weiss’s knees tremble on their own.

Summoning the last of his strength, he staggered behind a pile of rubble and collapsed to his knees.

Then he clutched his head and screamed.

“No…! Anything but that…! I’m a Sage! I’m not like Leopin, some unemployed nobody—I’m someone with a guaranteed future! And yet… and yet…!”

Elites who have never known failure—no, who were never taught what failure was—had no resistance to it.

And while the previous failure could be blamed on Shibusu’s poisonous mushrooms, this time was clearly his own fault.

“I don’t fail! I haven’t failed! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!”

Unable to accept that truth, Weiss continued writhing on the ground for a long, long time.