"So you came here to break my pride, Aias?"
Aias closed his mouth, unable to answer Pielott's question.
Of course, he'd come with a similar thought in mind.
To be precise, he just didn't like the new transfer student getting all the attention, so he came to pick a fight.
"......Y-Yes. I'll change your arrogant ways right here, right now."
"As expected. Someone as arrogant as me needs that kind of treatment."
......What in the world is he talking about?
And why is he making that expression?
The goal was to provoke him, but instead, his opponent stood with his eyes sparkling, full of spirit.
Did the provocation work too well?
Meanwhile, Pielott took his stance and said,
"Come. Tear my spirit from its roots, Aias."
"What are you even talking about?"
Aias, though puzzled, took his stance. They were here to fight, after all.
Pielott's eyes gleamed. A refreshing joy, unbefitting of a naive transfer student, spread across his face.
As expected, I'm still arrogant.
This time, I'll fix it properly.
Pielott's eyes flickered blue.
The genius of aura, his talent, was unleashed without a filter, filling him from his toes to the top of his head.
'I'll break with all my might.'
Pielott was ready to be shattered with all his strength. He was even prepared to be ridiculed by the surrounding students for being miserably defeated by Aias.
Certainly, Pielott had a selfish personality.
He was ready to be broken, but he didn't care if his opponent was ready to break him.
"......W-Wait, hold on."
A cold sweat ran down Aias's back at Pielott's absurd spirit.
He clearly didn't notice Aias's expression.
"Strike me down completely."
That evening, in Frondier's room.
Pielott was kneeling before Frondier. The others were gathered around, their expressions a mixture of amusement and bewilderment.
"......So you're saying you were completely struck down?"
Frondier asked incredulously after hearing Pielott's explanation.
"Not completely. Aias's collapsing form was quite impressive, even..."
"Are you serious right now?"
Pielott immediately retracted his words.
Frondier looked at Elodie.
"Clean hit to the temple. So clean there's barely a scratch. And because it was so clean..."
"He fainted on the spot and was taken straight to the infirmary?"
Aias, after fainting from Pielott's attack, was moved to the infirmary and didn't wake up until the end of the after-school activities. Aias's family found out, causing a bit of a stir.
"Aias is a noble, isn't he?"
"He is. And not just any noble. They say his family is one of the most prestigious."
"One of the most prestigious... You mean like, on par with House Roach?"
Elodie tilted her head at my naive question.
"Well, let's just say they're among the top five."
So not quite on that level then.
Lily, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"Pielott, who's currently kneeling politely, is from House Ribanche. It's said that the name Ribanche carries significant weight in the Falind Continent."
"That's quite impressive."
House Ribanche was one of the most prominent families in the eastern part of the continent. It was one of the main reasons I thought his family wouldn't have allowed him to come here.
No noble family, especially one of that stature, would allow their child to follow someone branded as a devil, even if they were their former teacher.
To put it into perspective, their standing was comparable to House Behetorio, Edwin's family, before their downfall.
"Who attacked first?"
"......That's a bit ambiguous."
"What do you mean, ambiguous?"
"Well, Aias was the one who initiated the attack after the match started. I saw his movement and aimed for a counter. Of course, I was prepared to block or evade if necessary..."
"And it just landed."
I imagined the situation based on his explanation.
Aias initiated the attack, but Pielott's counter struck Aias's temple before he could react.
Aias fainted instantly. To anyone watching, it would be difficult to tell who attacked first. Only the two who fought would know.
"Don't tell me you used your quick-draw technique?"
"......N-No, sir. It was a practice match, so we were using wooden swords. And wooden swords don't have scabbards."
"Scabbard or not, I'm asking if you took 'that' stance."
Pielott couldn't answer. The implication was clear.
"That kid... He used that on a student who's not even an adult?"
"......I'm a student too."
Although kneeling politely, Pielott seemed to feel unjustly accused and continued,
"......I heard Aias is the strongest student at Atlas. And from what I saw, it seemed true. So I wanted to use this opportunity to straighten out my lax attitude, but some unfortunate coincidences led to this..."
"Unfortunate coincidences, huh."
After teaching him for so long, I'd learned one thing: Pielott was terrible at self-awareness.
This was similar yet different from Aster. Aster tended to underestimate himself, but he wasn't unaware of opponents weaker than him. He recognized them clearly.
However, Aster simply believed that there were countless people stronger than him in this world. And it was me and Elodie who kept fueling that belief.
I couldn't read Aster's mind perfectly, but I could guess he was thinking something along the lines of, 'If there are two people in a single class who can unleash unimaginable power, imagine how many there must be in the entire continent?' That's why he considered himself average. And that mindset probably wouldn't change until the day he died.
But Pielott, both before and after becoming my student, couldn't be objective in either direction.
When he was arrogant, he overestimated himself, and now he underestimated himself. He couldn't judge his own strength compared to those around him.
'He did kill a ranked devil with Dier. Did he forget that already?'
Or did he think it was all thanks to Dier?
Who in the world raised this child...
[Hey, Frondier. Thinking about dodging responsibility?]