[Hated Hero and Childhood Friend-Saintess, Attacked]

The relationship between Melia and Kleine had unexpectedly become public, blessed by our classmates—but putting that aside, a possibility that someone was taking advantage of Barrett’s infamy to do bad deeds had surfaced. This was a serious situation.

If left as is, it may cause actual damage.

I had to do something about it before that happened.

With that in mind, I was visiting the Central Academic Building to convey that information to a certain person.

The building housed the academy’s key facilities.

They were the teachers’ room, the principal’s room—and, the student council room.

“Pardon the intrusion,” I entered upon receiving permission after a knock.

There, I found…

“Barrett?!”

…a surprised Tayte, and…

“What’s the matter? It’s so rare for you to come here.”

…my sister, Reina, the current student council president.

She had no idea of Barrett’s misdeeds.

Still, she was really popular as the student council president.

She was so talented that it made everyone look past the fact that she was Barrett’s sister.

However, none of them told her about Barrett. They were all afraid of retaliation from him.

…Just that, when I was reading the original novel, the chapters showcasing her talents, to be precise—I couldn’t help but get the suspicion that she was actually aware of Barrett’s misdeeds. That, the reason why she didn’t say anything, was because, as his sister, she was hoping that Barrett would reform.

And that decision ultimately resulted in the death of her fiancé, the Knight Abel. After that, she became a member of the Protagonist Raul’s harem, but… such a future should by no means be one that she wished for.

There was still some time until she was introduced to Sir Abel, but… when that time came, I’d support them with all my might. With Tayte, of course.

“? Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?”

“—! A-ah, no, not at all… I have something to report.”

“Something to report?” Reina made a dubious expression.

Uhh… I wondered if it would make her suspicious of me…

Anyhow, I reported the existence of a suspicious person loitering around Melia’s room.

“That is worrisome…”

“Yes…”

Reina and Tayte muttered, seemingly uneasy.

“Considering the security of Academy Homeville, I doubt the culprit is an outsider. In all likelihood… it is someone who belongs to the academy,” I said.

Our culprit was not only limited to students but also the academy’s staff.

In which case, it’d be difficult to narrow down the culprit.

“I will personally inform this matter to the academy security department and ask them to strengthen the security around the women’s dormitory from today. I have to alert the students tomorrow as well.” Reina said.

“I’m sure that will put Melia at ease.”

Kleine too, by the way.

If fact, she may be the one who’d be most pleased about it.

“Very well, then. I’ll be heading to the academy security department… Barrett.” Reina turned to me.

“Yes?”

“Escort Tayte to the women’s dormitory. With the current situation, I’m worried about letting her return by herself.”

“Ah—o-okay. Let’s go, Tayte.”

“Yes ♪”

And so, thanks to my sister’s considerate arrangement, I got to go back together with Tayte.

◇◇◇

“It’s getting pretty late.”

“I’m sorry. I must finish the tasks by today.”

“No worries. It’s admirable that you’re so enthusiastic about your tasks. You also have tasks as a member of the Horticulture Committee to take care of, so don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

“Thank you♪.”

Tayte and I were chatting on our way back as usual.

It was about a 15-minute walk from the Central Academic Building, and there were no places that could be particularly dangerous along the way. Lamps embedded with lumenstones hung at regular intervals on both sides of the road, so you could walk across it with peace of mind even at night.

As Tayte and I slowly made our way to the dormitory while formulating a plan for our date on the upcoming holiday together—at that time…

Rustle.

…there was some noise from the bushes on the side of the road.

“I-is someone there…?” Tayte was frightened by the sudden situation.

I tried to reassure her by telling her it was just her imagination, but—I actually sensed something.

This presence… it was similar to Raul’s when he had gone berserk during our first mock battle.

We have to quickly get away from here, just as I was about to hurry Tayte…

“Roooooaaaarrr!!!!”

…from the bushes jumped out a male student clad in powerful mana.

He rushed in our direction to attack us. Promptly, I knocked him back with a hard punch on the face and took Tayte into my arms.

“B-Barrett?!”

“Don’t worry! I’ll make sure to protect you!”

“A-alright…”

It appeared that my declaration managed to calm Tayte down, but… to be perfectly honest, I was actually feeling shaken inwardly.

Because—this event didn’t exist in the original storyline!