I Became an Outcast in the Academy

6. Stand out (4)

“… So? “What brings us all here?”

A rest area provided in Lutra’s female dormitory.

There, Ellie was encountering the familiar faces of her ‘sisters’ for the first time in a long time.

“So… “Is this the first time all four of you have been together like this since you decided to gift the sword to her brother?”

To Leticia’s words, Sepia gave her answer with her arms crossed.

“Well, that’s right. To be more precise, I came out that day only to give you Leticia and her damn sword.”

After saying that, Sephia tilted her head, this time looking in her direction.

“But I’m also curious. “That’s why you called us out in such a hurry, as if your soles were on fire, when you acted like you’d never see each other again after that day.”

“That…” I have something to tell you guys. Also, there is something we all want to discuss together.”

“Oh, let’s all discuss it together. This is a story full of friendship and sensitivity. “Except for one thing: we are actually worse off than others.”

Sepia said that as if she was provoking Ellie.

“No matter how much you think about it, aren’t we close enough to have a friendly conversation? “You’re not trying to tell me that you’ve brought us together to strengthen the friendship between sisters, right?”

When Sepia said that in her haunting voice, the other two people nodded as if they agreed with her words.

Sure, that was it.

Ellie, Lobelia, Leticia, and Sephia were all Sian’s younger sisters, but at the same time, even if it was a lie, they couldn’t be said to be close to each other.

When they were younger, there were times when they were close to each other because of the sense of kinship as street orphans, but after they grew up, the four of them never once considered the other ‘family’.

At least they pretended to be friendly with each other in front of their older brother, Xian, but at the same time, that was all.

“… I’m sorry, but it’s not like I wanted to see your faces now or anything. But… That’s because I want to make one thing clear. And there is something I want to ask.”

If she had been like Ellie’s usual personality, she would have fired something at Sepia, if not upset the situation, but the current Ellie was just maintaining her strangely calm attitude.

Sepia, who was looking at Ellie in silence, soon uncrossed her arms and rested her hands on the table, making a sullen expression.

“… Well, that’s good. One of the roles of a priest is to listen to the concerns of lost lambs, so let’s volunteer for free this time.”

“Yes, I am so grateful that it brings tears to my eyes. “Then what about you?”

“I came here in the first place because I was interested in what you would say, so I have no intention of interrupting you.”

“Me too. So, go ahead and start fluttering.”

Leticia and Lobelia just shrugged their shoulders and, like Sephia, seemed to have no intention of arguing with Ellie.

And looking at them like that, Eli thought he could finally get to the point.

“First of all… There are a lot of things I want to ask you, but let me ask you this first. Have you ever heard any rumors about your brother recently?”

It is quite obvious, but among these four, there was only one person who could be referred to as ‘brother’.

“Well… “My brother has been such a hot topic lately that I don’t know what the rumor is talking about.”

“I’ve been busy with personal issues recently.”

While Leticia and Lobelia had expressions of confusion, Sephia smiled as if something occurred to her.

“If it’s a rumor related to your brother… Ah, you mean that rumor that Ellie was showing off to your brother during a practical class recently and got ripped off like a dog?”

“… Who is squeezing it like a dog and bursting out? Just… “The record you set just surpassed the record I set?”

When Ellie responded angrily to Sepia’s words, Sepia just giggled as if she was having fun.

“That’s funny. I know what your personality is like. Ellie, you have a very damn personality who can’t stand other people standing in front of you. So it’s obvious without even looking at it. It is clear that you provoked your brother first, and as a result, you were trampled like a dog in practical training. “Right?”

At Sephia’s words, Ellie could only bite her lip, but she could not say anything else.

Whatever the circumstances, Sian and Cartesia far exceeded the record that Ellie had set for her.

Although there was an excuse that Ellie’s condition was not so good recently, that was just an ugly excuse.

But at the same time, she was not without much to say to Ellie.

“… Okay, I’ll admit it. It was clear that I was behind my brother at that time. But, don’t you think there’s something strange?”

“What?”

“The fact that my brother actually had such great skills.”

That was the mystery itself that could not be resolved for Eli.

The Xian that Ellie knew was just a good person, but she was never someone who had overwhelming talent or exceptional skills compared to others.

Because she knew full well that there was nothing special about her for Sian, Elie eventually gave up all hope and left him, determined to become the full successor to Duke Orphega.

“… What?”

However, the other three people looked at her in complete astonishment at Ellie’s words.

“That’s a very funny thing to say, Ellie. “Don’t you remember who taught you the basics of swordsmanship when you were young?”

Ellie immediately refutes Leticia’s words.

“That was just the basics at best. “A humble basic that anyone who holds a sword can teach!”

“But thanks to that foundation, you are where you are today. “You’re not trying to say nonsense that your brother’s training was of no value to you, are you?”

“… Tsk.”

Of course, Leticia was right. Didn’t Duke Orphea also praise Eli like this?

I don’t know where you learned it, but the basics are very well laid, so you are absorbing my teachings so well now.

“The reason my brother was able to teach you the basics so well is because he had excellent skills. Surely you’ve never thought about that before? Huh?”

“…..”

Actually, I never thought about it like that.

Until now, Ellie had never once felt that Xian’s abilities were great or extraordinary.

… No, maybe she was desperately pretending not to know.

Because for Ellie, her entire environment surrounding her, including her Xian, was just something she was sick of and needed to escape as soon as possible.

“And I don’t understand something… “Even if my brother had great abilities, what does it matter?”

And at Lobelia’s next words, Ellie flinched.

“… “What does that mean?”

“So, no matter how much I think about it, I don’t understand what you’re saying. We are, objectively speaking, b*tches. “No matter what excuse or reason we give, we are all b*tches who threw away our older brother who raised us and raised us.”

In Lobelia’s words, there was something mixed with self-deprecation, as if she was belittling herself.

“But didn’t we ultimately lose my brother because we all had something we wanted to achieve, even if it meant putting us at risk? To be more precise, he is desperate to make that wish come true even if it means abandoning his only family.”

“… That.”

“Now, don’t act like you were nice and didn’t know anything. So, if her brother had great abilities, did she try to remain a good sister until the end? In my opinion, that is the most disgusting thought. “It would be proof that I thought of my brother not as my only family, but as someone I could depend on.”

What Lobelia said was definitely right. At least Ellie had no right to refute a single word she said.

Ellie also knew it well. She simply chose.

Will you stay by his side while playing family games with Xian until the end, or will you let go of your past and soar to the plane you longed for so much?

And in the process, Sian, who loved her younger sisters dearly, would not just sit back and watch everything happen with her arms crossed. Of course, it was obvious that it would become an obstacle for them.

So I threw it away. And he tried to kick Sian out of Luthra.

She rationalizes to herself that if she becomes Duke Orphega’s successor and rises to the top of the nobles who looked down on her so much, she can then repay everything to her brother.

“So, if you’re a trash b*tch, let’s go like trash b*tches. At least I don’t have regrets like you. I don’t regret abandoning her brother and choosing Ricardo. No, you can never regret it.”

If she regrets abandoning her brother now, it will make all the years she spent with him meaningless.

“So, don’t ever call someone out here by saying you regret your past actions or anything like that. If you’re going to say something like that, you shouldn’t have even started in the first place. Is not it?”

Listening to Lobelia’s extremely cold words, Ellie recognized her in her heart.

Now for Ellie, her Sian is no longer family, and the same goes for Sian.

So in the end, Ellie had no choice but to believe in the choices she made in the past and go on until the end.

… Anyway, other than that, there was no other path she could choose right now.