24. とある女子生徒の話
エミリア・トーテムは、サンザール学園の1年生―――。
そして、Aクラスに所属している。
このクラスには、四人組の天才がいる。
まずは、第三王子のベルク・リットン。
容姿端麗であり、王族にも関わらず、誰にでも気さくに接するところから、絶対な人気を誇っている。
ベルクとお近づきになりたい女子生徒が後を絶たず、教室では常に群がっている。
「......私には関係ないけどね」
エミリアはイケメンに群がってキャーキャー騒ぐような頭の悪い子にはなりたくない。
そもそもベルクに近づきたいとは思わない。
王族との付き合いは大変だ。
遠くで見ておくのが一番良い。
次に、聖女のファーレン・アントネリ。
公平公正を体現したような彼女は、まさしく正義の味方というべきか。
聖女という立場と彼女持ち前の正義感から、生徒だけでなく教師からの信頼も得ている。
「でも......ちょっと苦手なのよね」
ファーレンの清廉潔白ですよってところが好きになれない。
それに......どこか胡散臭さを感じてしまう。
そして、公爵家令嬢のナタリー・アルデラート。
天使のような外見から、男子からの人気が凄まじい。
さらに凛とした雰囲気が一段とナタリーの人気を高めている。
最後に、飛翔のオーウェン・ペッパー。
落ち目のペッパー家嫡男や無能など悪いイメージが彼にはあり、周囲からは落ちこぼれだと見られていた。
だが、武闘会を境目に彼の印象はガラッと変わった。
飛行魔法を使えることから、無能の代わりに【飛翔】の二つ名が広まり始める。
カイザフ対オーウェンの一戦は、間違いなく武闘会一の盛り上がりをみせた。
前評判が著しく悪かったオーウェンは、すぐ負けると予想されていた。
だが、それを覆した。
(あのときは......驚いた)
オーウェンが勝ったときの会場の静まりようは異常だった。
まさか、初等部最強のカイザフがオーウェンに敗れるなど......誰が予想したことだろうか?
あの一戦後に、オーウェンを無能と蔑む者はいなくなった。
「そりゃ、あの一戦を見た後に無能なんて呼べないわね。オーウェンが無能だったら、初等部のほとんどが無能になっちゃう」
そして、ファンクラブまで出来ていると聞く。
第三王子ほどの人気はないものの、オーウェンをひそかに慕っている者もいる。
実力があるのに驕らないところとか、地味な顔立ちだが......良く見ればカッコいいところとかが良いらしい。
だが、オーウェンは手の届きそうな存在ってことだ。
実際、身分的にも第三王子と違って近づきやすい。
ただ、残念なことにナタリーがいるため、オーウェンと懇意にしている女子生徒はナタリーだけだ。
「ナタリーとオーウェンはお似合いだものね」
エミリアはオーウェンを狙っているわけではないが、尊敬はしている。
それにしても、
「なんで、私の年に限って、凄い人たちが集まるのよ」
2、3年に一度現れるか否かの天才たちが、同じ年に4人集まった。
まさに―――奇跡の世代。
彼らと比べると、エミリアは自分がちっぽけな存在に思えてくる。
「この学園でやっていけるのかな?」
例年であれば、エミリアの実力は学年でトップクラスだ。
しかし、彼らがいるせいで自分の存在が霞んでしまう。
「実家にいるときは、もてはやされたんだけど」
これでもエミリアはトーテム家の天才だ、と言われてきた。
実際、同年代の他の子たちよりも優れていていた。
さらに、才能に溺れることもなく、それなりの努力を積んできたのに。
......井の中の蛙だった。
上には、上がいる。
それを肌で感じたエミリアは今日も一人、ため息をつく。
Ch 24
Emilia Totem was a first year student at Sanzar Academy--.
And she belonged to class A.
In this class, there was a quartet of geniuses.
First, there is the third prince, Berg Litton.
He was absolutely popular because of his good looks and the fact that he treated everyone nicely without hesitation despite being royalty.
There was no end to the number of girls who wanted to get close to him, and he was always mobbed in the classroom.
"It's none of my business, though."
I was not going to be the dumb kid who crowded around handsome guys and made a fuss about them.
I didn't think I wanted to get close to Berg in the first place.
It was hard to keep up with the royals.
It was best to keep a distance.
Then there was the saint, Farren Antonelli.
She was the embodiment of fairness and justice, or should I say, the ally of justice...
Her position as a saint and her natural sense of justice had earned her the trust of her students and teachers alike.
"But I'm not very good at it ......."
I didn't like the fact that Farren is so pure and innocent.
And...... I felt there was something fishy about it.
And then there was Natalie Alderath, the duchess.
From the appearance of an angel, popularity from men was exceptionally high.
In addition, her dignified atmosphere made her even more popular.
Last but not least, Owen Pepper of Flight.
Owen Pepper, the eldest son of the failing Pepper family, had a bad image of incompetence and was seen as a failure by those around him.
However, after the Martial Arts Tournament, his impression completely changed.
Since he could use flight magic, the nickname of "flight" started to spread instead of incompetence.
The battle between Kaisaf and Owen was undoubtedly the most exciting of the martial arts tournament.
Owen, who had a remarkably bad reputation before, was expected to quickly lose.
But he turned that around.
"At that time, I was...... surprised."
The silence in the hall when Owen won was extraordinary.
Who would have thought that the strongest player in the primary school, Kaisaf, would be defeated by Owen? ......
After that battle, no one despised Owen for his incompetence.
"I'm not sure I'd call him incompetent after watching that fight. If Owen was incompetent, then most of the primary school would be incompetent."
And I heard there was even an 'Owen' fan club.
Although he was not as popular as the third prince, some people secretly adored Owen.
They liked the fact that he was not conceited despite his ability, and the fact that he looked cool if you look closely at his...... face, despite his plain appearance.
They said that the third prince was like an idol, but Owen was within reach.
In fact, unlike the third prince, Owen's status made him easy to approach.
Unfortunately, Natalie was the only female student who was close to Owen.
"Natalie and Owen are a perfect match."
Emilia was not aiming at Owen, but she did respect him. His attitude towards class showed that he was a person who could work hard without relying on his family background or talent.
But still...
"Why is it that only in my year do all these amazing people gather?"
Four geniuses who only appear once every two or three years gathered in the same year.
It was truly a generation of miracles.
Compared to them, Emilia felt like a small person.
" I wonder if I can make it at this school."
In any other year, Emilia's ability would be at the top of the class.
But because of their presence, her own existence was blurred.
"When I was at home, I was treated well."
Even so, Emilia had been told that she was the genius of the Totem family.
In fact, she was better than the other children of her age.
In addition, she didn't dwell on her talent, even though she had put in a good amount of effort.
I was a frog in a well.
There are people above you.
Emilia, who felt it with her skin, sighed alone today.
Reincarnated as the Son of a Vicious Lord! ~When I Was Having Fun Learning Magic, I Had to Get Rid of My Stigma~!
悪徳領主の息子に転生！？～楽しく魔法を学んでいたら、汚名を返上してました～
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/reincarnated-as-the-son-of-a-vicious-lord-when-i-was-having-fun-learning-magic-i-had-to-get-rid-of-my-stigma/
Adventure Fantasy Romance School Life Shounen
Academy Adapted to Manga Age Progression Battle Competition Character Growth Cheats Child Protagonist Dense Protagonist Depictions of Cruelty Elemental Magic Fat to Fit Female Master Friendship Harem-seeking Protagonist Harsh Training Hated Protagonist Late Romance Loyal Subordinates Male Protagonist Modern Knowledge Naive Protagonist Nobles Reincarnated in Another World Saints Strength-based Social Hierarchy Sword And Magic Underestimated Protagonist
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n6812gh/
米津