The Sage’s Disgrace

“I… I won’t fail… This isn’t my fault…”

Weiss muttered to himself as he staggered back toward the grounds of Class 1-20 with a zombie-like gait.

There, his classmates were clearing away rubble.

When they noticed Weiss, everyone stopped working and turned needle-sharp gazes on him.

No one said anything, but their attitudes clearly blamed Weiss.

Feeling sharp, prickling pain all over his body, Weiss finally screamed.

“S-Stop it! Don’t look at me like that! The wall collapsing wasn’t my fault!”

“So now you’re blaming us again?”

Monsoon said sharply, driving in the nail.

Weiss had intended to do just that, but being beaten to it made him grind his teeth with a “Ghk.”

“I-It’s not your fault…”

“Then whose fault is it supposed to be?”

“Th-That’s…”

Cornered, Weiss felt an unfamiliar tightness in his chest.

Desperate to escape that suffocating feeling, he blurted out a certain name.

“R-Right, it was Leopin. Leopin was jealous of my success, so he secretly destroyed the wall…!”

It was a lie he made up on the spot, but the moment he said it, the tightness in his chest vanished as if it had never existed.

Yes—placing blame on someone else had already become as natural to him as breathing.

“What!?”

Every classmate reacted at once.

Weiss thought, “Got it,” and pressed his advantage.

“Is that true, Weiss!?”

“Yes. I definitely saw it—the moment the wall collapsed by his hand.”

“Damn it! That bastard—I’ll beat him senseless!”

By turning Leopin into the enemy, Weiss erased his own failure and even reunited the class’s hearts once more.

Seizing the moment, he spoke with fervor.

“Wait, Monsoon. A simple beating would be too mild for him. Let’s make him experience the same suffering we did.”

“What do you mean? You got a plan?”

“Yes.”

Weiss said, glancing toward a girl with flashy features who was sulking.

She had curly hair and a loosely worn uniform, and even though she barely had a place to live, her makeup was done perfectly.

“Cyaruru, now’s the time for your magic. Unleash your proud Fireball on Leopin’s house.”

“Oooh.”

Monsoon growled.

“If we burn down his house, he’ll finally understand our pain! Cyaruru! Burn Leopin’s house down spectacularly! And when he comes running out, I’ll beat him until he can’t stand!”

“That’s perfect!”

The classmates shouted excitedly.

But Cyaruru alone kept her sullen expression.

“I’m not doing it.”

Weiss frowned.

“What?”

“You’re telling me you won’t obey the orders of a Sage—and the class leader? Then you must have a reason worthy of that, no?”

Cyaruru averted her eyes, puffed out her lips, and spoke.

“…Leopin wouldn’t destroy someone else’s things.”

“What did you say?”

“I know it. Leopin’s a useless idiot who’s only good for dexterity, sure, but… When it came to making things, he was serious. He never mocked what other people worked hard to create. So there’s no way Leopin destroyed the wall.”

“Hmph. Cyaruru, you were always teasing Leopin. What could someone like you possibly know about him?”

Cyaruru had been acting aloof, but her eye-shadowed eyes snapped wide open.

“I know him way better than you! I even gave Leopin handmade choco—!”

Realizing what she’d said, Cyaruru clapped a hand over her mouth.

Her cheeks, already rosy with blush, reddened even more as she hurriedly backtracked.

“A-Anyway! I believe in Leopin…! N-No, that’s not it! I just won’t ever set his house on fire! If you want to do it, Weiss, then do it yourself!”

Weiss’s brow twitched.

“You… believe in Leopin? More than me…?”

That single line was the greatest humiliation imaginable for him.

The thin veneer of composure he had maintained peeled away with an audible crack.

“Believing in Leopin over me—that can never be allowed! Leopin must remain alone for his entire life! Do it, Cyaruru! Burn his house down!”

“No way! Why would I ever listen to your orders!?”

“Ggh…! Then I’ll do this…!”

With a snap, Weiss raised his fist.

It was the first time he had ever brandished violence against a classmate.

Cyaruru flinched as the fist came down, her shoulders jerking.

She timidly opened her eyes—and there…

Weiss stood trembling, his arm firmly grabbed.

“L-Let go, Monsoon! I’m about to give this woman some iron-fisted discipline—!”

Still holding Weiss’s arm, Monsoon spoke calmly.

“I believe in you, Weiss. That’s why I followed what you said until now. But hitting a woman? That’s crossing the line. A man’s fists are meant for smashing men he doesn’t like. If you lay a hand on Cyaruru, I’ll dump you in the trash heap myself.”

“Ggh…!”

Weiss’s eyes were bloodshot.

‘—You piece of trash! You’re going to throw me away…!? Trash can be thrown away by humans, but trash can’t throw humans away! The one who chooses is always a human—me! Garbage like you doesn’t get to choose!!’

“Let go!”

Weiss shouted, shaking off Monsoon’s grip and backing away.

He pointed a finger as if confronting the entire class.

“I am a Sage! And I am the class representative! Have you forgotten that the representative has the authority to punish!?”

…With a snap, Weiss thrust both hands toward the horizon.

“…O heavens, o earth! Make these arrogant fools realize their place!”

…The air shuddered with a roaring vibration.

The classmates recoiled in shock.

“N-No way… a grand spell…!?”

“S-Stop it, Weiss!”

“I-I ain’t got nothing to do with this! Please spare me, boss!”

“Then kneel! Or be blown awayyyyyy!”

Weiss raised both hands toward the sky.

At last, he was about to unleash the tyranny of a Sage upon the entire class.

Not only Cyaruru, but every classmate flinched and shrank back.

They cautiously opened their eyes—and there…

…Doguwa—shaaaAAAAAAA—!!

Weiss was sent flying as if erased, struck by a powerful horizontal full swing.

He crashed headfirst into a pile of garbage that had become a temporary dump.

Buried under collapsing food waste, only his rear stuck out, twitching and convulsing.

It was a pitiful sight—but no one was looking at Weiss anymore.

Who in the world did that…!?

Their eyes turned to the spot where Weiss had been standing.

And there was—

“L-Leopiiiiiiiiiin!?!?”

At that moment, Leopin had a log slung over his shoulder, his back to the class.

Hearing his name, he turned around with a confused “Huh?”

With a blank expression, he glanced between the stunned classmates and the pitiful class representative, then said,

“Oh, sorry about that. I thought I hit something—guess it was Weiss.”

And with that, the boy walked away.

The members of Class 1-20 remained dumbfounded, until one girl was compelled to step forward.

“Ah…! Leo… th-thank… pin…!”

Another attempt at gratitude from a girl who couldn’t be honest.

It should have been just five letters, yet for her, it was far harder than casting a grand spell.

The boy turned back.

“…‘Thank-pin’? What’s that supposed to be?”

Unable to even look at his face, the girl quickly turned away.

“I-It’s nothing!

You’re not part of our class anymore, so don’t talk to me like we’re friends!”

“Yeah, yeah, got it. See ya.”

The boy turned his back on her once more.

The girl no longer had the courage left to squeeze out another word.