Chapter 43
"............?"
Unable to comprehend the situation, Vincent stopped in his tracks.
(Uh... why am I...?)
The shock was so great that a few minutes of memory were wiped from his mind.
Standing frozen in the hallway with one hand still raised, he tried to make sense of what had just happened.
(I was walking down the hallway... then I heard people around me talking about that not-so-cute girl...)
So then... what happened?
His thoughts were unusually hazy, but then a voice from behind snapped him back to reality.
"Yes. I used to live in the town of Eggbell... but I didn't have any siblings. I wasn't very close with my foster parents either."
"............!"
He remembered.
From the other end of the hallway, the "not-so-cute girl"... that is, Reina, had been walking toward him, and he had tried to speak to her.
But Reina walked right past Vincent, chatting amiably with her friend, without even looking at him.
"Hey...!"
The moment he understood what had happened, Vincent's head boiled over.
She looked down on him. She made a fool of him.
A junior girl had completely ignored him.
"H-hey! You! Stop right there!"
"Speaking of which, the next class's homeroom teacher is..."
"I told you to stop! Hey!"
Enraged, Vincent stomped toward Reina with big strides, reaching out to grab her arm.
"............"
"Tch...!?"
But Reina casually lifted her hand, dodging Vincent's grasp.
"......Do you need something?"
"You... if you can hear me, then stop already!"
"Even if you say that... I didn't realize you were talking to me."
Reina narrowed her eyes suspiciously and looked up at the taller Vincent from below.
"Being called 'you' by a stranger doesn't make me think you're talking to me. If you have business with me, could you please call my name?"
"A stranger...?"
"............Right?"
Reina tilted her head curiously.
She didn't seem to be pretending—she genuinely appeared not to know who Vincent was.
(She doesn't know who I am... You've got to be kidding me.)
Vincent felt like he'd been struck in the head.
It was true—they had only exchanged a few words and hadn't even introduced themselves.
But... he had cared about Reina, worried about her well-being... and yet she didn't even recognize him. That realization hit him hard.
"L-Lady Reina... that person is Vincent Flame-senpai."
"He's the son of the Knight Captain and a grade above us."
One of Reina's classmates standing beside her added an explanation.
Reina nodded at her friend's words and turned back to face Vincent.
"So you're Flame-senpai. I'm Reina Laurel. So... do you need something from me?"
"............!"
Now being formally introduced again, Vincent's forehead throbbed with a pulsing vein.
He clenched his back teeth tightly, desperately suppressing the urge to shout.
(C-calm down... A guy getting worked up over a girl is pathetic... Stay cool. Stay cool...!)
"Y-you... I heard you were attacked by some strange people recently."
"It was only an attempt, though?"
Reina slightly furrowed her brow and corrected him.
For a woman, the difference between "was attacked" and "was almost attacked" was significant. It was not something she could overlook.
"That's not the point! You got into that situation because you let your guard down, didn't you?"
"Huh? Is that so?"
"W-well, even if you're not-so-cute, you're still a junior. If you really insist, I could be your bodyguard from now on, you know?"
"No, thank you. I'll just accept the sentiment."
"............Huh?"
"Well then, if that's all, I'll be going. The next class is in a different room."
Reina gave a slight bow, turned her back on Vincent, and briskly walked away.
Her two friends glanced at Vincent and followed after her.
"W-wait a second!"
Vincent's face turned bright red as he chased after Reina.
"I'm the son of the Knight Captain, and I said I'd protect you! How can you just reject me like that!?"
"Even if you put it that way... I don't see why I should be receiving such concern from a senior I barely know."
"Don't screw with me! Hey, just stop already!"
Frustrated by Reina continuing to walk down the hallway without stopping, Vincent grabbed her shoulder to forcibly stop her.
'Pompokorin'
But just before that, a small figure leapt out of Reina's school uniform pocket.
A small plushie, palm-sized... it was a tanuki.
The tanuki plushie dashed forward and delivered an uppercut to Vincent's chin from below.
"Gah...!"
A completely unexpected blow.
The uppercut rattled his brain, and Vincent staggered.
"Ah, senpai..."
The last thing he heard was someone calling out to him... and then Vincent collapsed in the hallway, losing consciousness.