CHAPTER 19
The Star Cluster Assembly, a gathering of uncivilized This-worlders who might as well call it the Transferee Discrimination Assembly.
I stared at her, wondering what I had just heard.
But regardless of my reaction, Babiyen wore an expression as if she had just stated the obvious.
It was true that Shishiroka had not achieved greatness as a Holy Mage.
Her body was naturally weak, so no matter how much she tried to study holy magic, she would collapse first.
Naturally, she wouldn’t have participated in the Star Cluster Assembly.
Shishiroka would have spent that time studying instead.
Rumors travel fast.
Everyone here must have known that the reclusive Shishiroka was below their standards.
“Oh, and I’d like to offer you a piece of advice, Lord Harua.”
Babiyen smiled brightly, seemingly thinking our short conversation had made us close.
It was the smile of a noble lady whose head was full of flowers.
An elite who had grown up coddled, never having experienced the hardships of the world.
A position where she didn't even need to choose her words carefully.
I could feel that she was a woman who had lived such a life.
“It would be best for you not to associate too closely with Lady Aranseol.”
Babiyen’s eyes were filled with sincerity.
This time, Aranseol was mentioned out of the blue.
Was she planning on badmouthing everyone I was associated with?
“Aranseol doesn’t like Transferees. The fact that she pretends not to makes her even more malicious. You’ll be in for a nasty surprise if you stay by her side, Lord Harua.”
I already knew that.
But from an outsider’s perspective, a Transferee being by Aranseol’s side must have looked strange.
“Many Transferees have been deceived by her face, only to have their hearts broken. Lord Harua, you deserve to be with someone outstanding, not a discriminatory person like Lady Aranseol.”
I could feel her blatant disapproval of Aranseol.
It seemed she and Aranseol were not on good terms.
“Well, she was raised without parents, so it’s only natural she would have her shortcomings.”
Babiyen Asteria.
Her appearance was reminiscent of a bleeding heart flower, shaped like a red heart.
But just as the bleeding heart is poisonous, Babiyen possessed a very potent poison.
The poison of being a complete bitch.
“What did you just say?”
I asked again.
“My, are you hard of hearing?”
The problem is that you’re too bright, you bitch.
A bee flitting about in a flower garden.
And this bee was baring its stinger.
It had dared to brandish its stinger thoughtlessly.
If that’s the case, it would have no room to complain if an omnipotent human were to pull that stinger out.
Pointing a finger and shouting here would be the work of a third-rate amateur.
“Yes, I’m not quite used to the language of this world.”
“Oh my, I was under the impression that all Transferees had a translation ability.”
“Then it must be that your sentence composition skills are so poor that my translation ability can’t function properly.”
“...Excuse me?”
Feeling like my hearing was getting worse, I dug into my ear with my middle finger.
“My translation ability is only half-decent, you see. Especially when people have poor pronunciation, I find it quite hard to understand. Ah, by any chance, do you have a lisp or poor pronunciation?”
In truth, I don't know a thing about pronunciation.
Everything just gets translated for me.
All I’m doing right now is fucking with her.
I pulled the middle finger out of my ear, inspected it, and showed it to her.
“Thankfully, it seems there’s no earwax. How does it look? Seems pretty clean, doesn’t it?”
As I thrust my middle finger toward her face, her eyes narrowed sharply.
Originally, the middle finger isn't an insult to This-worlders.
But with so many Transferees having come over, curses are the first things to spread.
Babiyen’s hand swung towards me.
“How filthy!”
The moment her hand struck mine.
I went flying.
I literally flew through the air.
CRASH!
I smashed through the food-laden table and rolled across the floor.
Food scattered everywhere, creating a huge mess, and the sound of shattering plates echoed through the hall.
The hall fell silent in an instant.
In the quiet space, everyone’s eyes darted between me and Babiyen.
“Wh-what.”
Babiyen stammered, unable to comprehend the situation.
She had only lightly slapped my hand.
There was barely any force behind it.
So, for a person to go flying like that was undoubtedly a baffling sight.
Of course it was.
I had flown entirely of my own volition.
“Aigo… ugh… uhh.”
In the silent space, my groans echoed.
My clothes were smeared with food, and blood dripped from my head.
“Harua!”
Aranseol, who had been talking with the other disciples, shouted and ran over.

She quickly cleared away the nearby tableware and helped me up.
“...What are you doing?”
She whispered so that only I could hear.
So sharp.
Aranseol had realized I was putting on a show.
After spending some time together, she must have figured out my personality.
I was just grateful she didn't interfere.
The kids started murmuring.
Among them, the most bewildered was Babiyen.
“Good heavens, you’re trying to kill me! Are you allowed to hit people like this?”

With blood dripping down my forehead, I posed my question, and Babiyen’s shoulders flinched.
Then, her face turned bright red.
Her head might be full of flowers, but she wasn't stupid.
She must have realized she’d been had.
“This girl did not send you flying! How dare you lie?”
“Oh? Then why would I go flying on my own?”
Babiyen’s face hardened.
Of course, she couldn’t explain the reason.
Her badmouthing of Aranseol was a conversation between just the two of us.
She could simply deny it.
However, if she explained the reason here and now, she would become someone who openly disparaged Aranseol.
There were many This-worlders here who held Aranseol in high regard.
If she did that, Babiyen would be the one to earn their animosity.
Babiyen could not explain the reason.
The only one who could speak here was me.
“Ughh, you hit me so hard, I think my arm is broken.”
“Th-That’s impossible!”
“Are you saying I’m lying? Please, Lady Babiyen, check for yourself.”
I held out my cradled arm.
‘Go on, touch it.’
‘I’ll cry like I’m dying.’
I may not be able to cry for others, but I am a man who can cry for myself at any time.
Babiyen must have sensed this, which is why she couldn’t bring herself to touch it.
If I started wailing that I was dying, she would become the woman who laid a hand on an already injured arm.
“N-No matter what, there’s no way you’d fly like that.”
“It’s because I’m an apprentice Holy Mage.”
I can say with certainty that the weakest thing in the world is an apprentice Holy Mage.
An apprentice mage can burn down an entire house.
But an apprentice Holy Mage can get beaten up by a common thug and still not be able to heal themselves.
That is an apprentice Holy Mage, and that is me.
My unusually pale skin further emphasized my frailty.
Babiyen had just become the person who struck a pathetically weak apprentice Holy Mage with all her might.
“Lady Babiyen, to think you would hate me so much just because I’m a Transferee… I wanted to become friends with you. I’m truly saddened.”
And with that, I branded her with the image of a Transferee discriminator.
“Th-This girl would never do something so discriminatory!”
“But I was hit by you, Lady Babiyen, and went flying.”
Babiyen’s lips trembled.
The disciples’ gazes all turned to her.
These were the children of elites, people who cared about their image.
Even if they discriminated against Transferees, they couldn't do it openly.
They had to discriminate elegantly, behind their backs.
Thus, none of them came to Babiyen’s defense.
It would be a loss for them to get dragged into this and be criticized as well.
Thanks to them, I was reminded once again that this was a group driven purely by self-interest.
“It hurts. I can’t stand any longer. Aranseol, can you take me to a hospital?”
“Alright.”
Aranseol cooperated without a word.
Until I left, Babiyen couldn't say a single thing.
She just stood there, trembling with rage.
This was the price for baring her stinger at me, someone who survived in a nation teeming with scammers.
‘Head full of flowers.’
‘Remember well not to show your stinger so carelessly from now on.’
“So, are you going to the hospital?”
Aranseol asked as she helped me outside.
“What for? I’m a Holy Mage.”
To be honest, the fact that my head was bleeding was an unexpected variable for me too.
Maybe it’s because I died from my head exploding recently.
I found myself throwing my body around with less hesitation than I expected.
But it still wasn't serious enough to go to a hospital.
“I’d like to sue for damages, but Gladion doesn’t have laws like that.”
Cases of compensation with money for inflicting injury were rare.
This was especially true for nobles.
That sort of thing was only possible in a world run by democracy.
Of course, in a society like this, injuring someone often led to the other party being killed or immediately executed.
In any case, what a savage world.
“But I definitely trashed her image.”
“Babiyen is from the Baron Asteria family. This incident will blow over soon enough.”
“That doesn’t matter. More than anything, she herself will feel it.”

My actions were, from start to finish, aimed at hurting her feelings.
There was nothing but pure malice behind it.
“Why did you do it? You’re not someone who does things without a reason, Harua.”
Aranseol asked as I healed my forehead with holy magic.
I wondered if there was any need to make Aranseol feel bad by telling her.
But judging by the look in Aranseol's eyes, she was determined to hear it.
“She was badmouthing Shishiroka, and you too.”
“Haaah.”
A disbelieving sigh escaped Aranseol’s lips.
“I’m sorry. Babiyen probably picked a fight with you because of me.”
“Because of you?”
“That girl, she hates me.”
“Looks like something must have happened.”
Aranseol pressed her cheeks with her hands and exhaled.
“I don’t know either. She’s hated me from the first moment we met.”
Aranseol was pretending not to, but she was telling me the reason. She glanced at me, the corners of her lips turning up slightly.
What a cunning girl.
Babiyen seemed to have a lot of pride in her appearance.
From the expensive accessories she wore to her clothes and her every action.
An attitude overflowing with pride in her looks was obvious.
But even with all that effort, Aranseol’s beauty surpassed hers.
In modern terms, Babiyen would be a fairly successful influencer.
But Aranseol had the looks to stand out even among movie stars.
That gap was not something that could be easily closed.
She was outmatched in looks.
That fact must have been more humiliating to Babiyen than anything else in the world.
That’s why she harassed me, a Transferee who appeared alongside Aranseol.
“Anyway, Aranseol, you’ve got quite the personality yourself.”
“Let me tell you in advance, I don’t show it to other people. I actually hide it.”
It’s human psychology to feel some antipathy towards people with strong self-love.
Aranseol knew this, so she didn't go around boasting about her looks to others.
“But in front of you, Harua, I’ve already revealed something much worse, so it feels silly to hide it.”
After revealing that she was a racist, hiding the fact that she was proud of her looks did seem rather ridiculous.
“Must be nice to be pretty. What does it feel like, living so beautifully?”
“It can be annoying at times, but right now, it’s kind of fun. I enjoy being pretty.”
Aranseol leaned in close and grinned.
So, a woman who knows she’s pretty doesn’t come off as hateful, but rather makes you just acknowledge that she is, in fact, pretty.
I learned something new.
“More importantly, are we going back in?”
Aranseol gestured towards the Star Cluster Assembly.
Thanks to Babiyen’s words, her mood seemed to have soured as well.
“Did you hear anything useful?”
At my question, Aranseol flinched.
Her eyes darted slightly as she turned her head away.
‘She’s got something.’
As I urged her with my eyes, Aranseol finally spoke reluctantly.
“...It’s about the Grace Magic Tower.”
“The Grace Magic Tower?”
“The Gladion Imperial Family is said to be investigating the Grace Magic Tower directly.”
What in the world was this now?
“Tell me in detail.”
Aranseol hesitated to speak, but she eventually opened her mouth.
“There’s word that the Grace Magic Tower is connected to Black Dawn.”
Our house is burning down.