**Chapter 45: Harvesting Celery**
By the time the entrance exam concluded, evening had already fallen.
Rest stepped out of the academy grounds, making his way home through the streets of the royal capital. There was no one around him. Since the candidates dispersed and returned home in the order their interviews concluded, Rest, having drawn a later number, found himself walking alone.
(Viola and Primula must be worried about me. I should head straight home without any detours…)
“…Do you need something from me?”
“…You noticed, commoner?”
Since leaving the academy, Rest had felt a presence trailing behind him. When he turned around, a boy emerged from the shadows of a nearby building.
“Are you…?”
Cedric… no, Celoric, that was it. The boy glared at Rest with the kind of hatred one might reserve for a sworn enemy.
“You really embarrassed me earlier! Don’t think you can mock someone of the House of Brute just because you’re a commoner!”
“What a ridiculous grudge…”
Rest hadn’t intended to embarrass him at all. Celoric had merely boasted about his high score, only for Rest to achieve six times that amount.
“That’s what I’m talking about! You think it’s okay for a commoner to humiliate me like that!?”
“…So? Did you wait just to complain?”
What a remarkably foolish boy he was. If he had that much time on his hands, he should be studying or working instead.
(He feels like a downgraded version of Cedric… it’s almost impressive how pathetic he is…)
“Take this!”
“…!”
With a shout, Celoric hurled something at Rest. He braced himself for a moment, but it turned out to be a glove.
“A duel! I’ll kill you!”
“Short-tempered, aren’t you? To challenge someone to a duel over something so trivial…”
Dueling was a privilege reserved for nobles. What was this commoner babbling about, even if he was from a branch of a count’s family?
“Shut up! If I say it’s a duel, then it’s a duel! Die!”
Before Rest could even respond, Celoric unleashed a spell, palm facing him. Reacting quickly, Rest cast a defensive spell.
“Thunder Bolt!”
“Earth Shield!”
A wall of earth surged from the ground, absorbing the lightning strike Celoric had unleashed.
“That pile of dirt won’t hold for long!”
Celoric shouted as he launched another bolt of lightning. The second spell shattered the earth wall into pieces, but Rest was nowhere to be found.
“What!?”
“Your magical skills aren’t bad… you’re just like your foolish brother in that regard.”
“Gah…!?”
Using the earth wall to distract him, Rest swiftly maneuvered behind Celoric. With a sharp sweep of his leg, he knocked the boy down and grabbed his head, slamming it into the ground.
“Ugh…!”
“Game over. I win, right?”
“How could… someone like me, of noble blood, be defeated by a commoner…!”
“You’re a commoner too. How ridiculous…”
Rest sighed as he held Celoric down. Why were these wannabe nobles so obsessed with their status and lineage? Pure nobles like Viola and Primula, as well as Yuri whom he met today, were all so generous toward those beneath them.
“…Thinking I’ll be classmates with you makes me anxious about school life.”
“Damn it… do you think you can get away with this…!?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m connected to the House of Brute… if I tell Count Brute about this, you’ll be finished…!”
Lying on the ground, Celoric glared up at Rest with venomous eyes.
“Your family, your loved ones… none of them will be safe either. I’ll have you all imprisoned for insulting a noble…!”
“Oh, Rest. What are you doing here?”
As Celoric spat out his curses, a third voice interrupted. A carriage had stopped on the road, and a girl peeked out.
“I thought we might have missed each other since it’s been a while since we last met.”
“Viola? What are you doing here?”
The carriage bore the emblem of the House of Marquis Rosemary. Viola leaned out of the window, smiling as she spoke to Rest.
“We decided to have dinner at a restaurant in town. My father and mother are with me. I was looking for you to pick you up.”
“Rest-sama, how did the exam go?”
Peering over Viola’s shoulder, Primula’s worried face came into view.
“Ah, it went perfectly.”
“Thank goodness… I’m relieved.”
“Of course, it would be fine for my Rest… By the way, who is that boy?”
Viola’s gaze shifted to the boy pinned beneath Rest.
“W-What!? The emblem of the House of Rosemary…!?”
Celoric’s face turned pale, his teeth chattering. Just moments ago, he had been boasting about his noble lineage, but the appearance of a marquis’s family had clearly rattled him.
“A stranger I met during the exam. He challenged me to a duel, so I took him down.”
“Well, a duel is quite serious.”
“Sir.”
As the sisters stepped back, the head of the marquis family, Albert, emerged.
“You there. If you’re talking about a duel, you must be of noble blood, yes? State your house.”
“Huh… um… that is…”
“…Hurry up. Don’t waste my time!”
“Y-Yes! I’m from the House of Brute!”
Under Albert’s intimidating gaze, Celoric hurriedly introduced himself. Once Rest released him, he scrambled to his feet and bowed toward the carriage.
“Hm, the son of Count Brute, is it? I don’t recall any boys of your age in that household…”
“N-No… well… I’m a member of the count’s family, but from a branch…”
“Oh? Then what is your family’s title?”
“…None.”
“So you’re saying you’re a commoner? How is it that a commoner dared to challenge a member of my household to a duel?”
The right to demonstrate justice through dueling was reserved for nobles. The challenged party must also be noble, and while they could appoint a representative, they could not refuse.
“A commoner forcing a duel upon a member of my household means you’re committing assault in plain sight.”
“N-No, but… I’m of noble blood, and I’m allowed to use the name Brute…”
“Even so, you’re still a commoner, aren’t you? Is that incorrect?”
“Ugh…”
Celoric fell silent. Albert’s words were completely logical, leaving him with no retort.
“…”
“Well, fine. I shall lodge a formal complaint with Count Brute regarding this matter.”
“W-What…?”
“I’m going to dinner with my family now. I don’t want to be bothered any further. Rest-kun, get in the carriage quickly.”
“Understood.”
Rest cast a sympathetic glance at the dejected Celoric before climbing into the carriage. Inside, the Rosemary couple sat side by side, while Viola and Primula occupied the seats opposite them. The two smiled and patted the seat between them, and Rest took his place without resistance.
“Now, let’s go.”
Albert instructed the driver, and the carriage began to move. Leaving Celoric sprawled on the ground, the carriage rolled away mercilessly.