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Harem Ruler
Chapter 10: An Unexpected Return

Chapter 10: An Unexpected Return

After getting taught the teleportation spell by having it literally imprinted on my mind which hurt like hell, I was finally able to cast teleportation magic. Thus, I cast it the moment I got the chance and my vision got covered by an array of purple and blue lights.

A moment later I instantly found myself standing in front of the entrance to the dungeon.

I blinked for a moment, then pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

“Ouch!”

The pain confirmed this wasn’t a dream. That meant…

“I’m free…I’M FINALLY FREE!”

Letting out a cheer, I pumped my fist in the air.

“You seem to be happy,” Nia stated. Her voice echoing from the grimoire.

“Of course I am. I’m finally out of that hell hole. After all this time! I finally escaped!”

“I mean considering how you acted before, it can't have been that long.”

“It was when you consider everything I’ve had to go through.”

“I guess that’s a fair point.”

Looking myself over, I really did look quite different. I now had a much healthier figure, I was missing a hand, and both my hair and eyes were a completely different color from how they were before.

But with all that said and done, I was finally out. Feeling my excitement growing, I pumped out my fist once more.

“Look out world! Axel is back and better than ever!”

That was right. I felt better now that I was out. And now that I was free, I was through with this stupid world's laws and rules. From now on, I’d live things my way. No more pining for a harem, no more struggling over keeping up a nice persona. From now on, I’d be myself and only myself.

“Beware Lily! The life you tried to cut short is only just getting started!”

As I said those words, I got the feeling this was the start of something great.

“Freeze!”

“...Huh?”

Out of nowhere, I found myself surrounded by several people in armor who were pointing spears at my face. And they didn’t exactly look friendly.

“...You gotta be kidding me.”

After that happened, I was brought into the school where I claimed my identity as Axel Savoncho.

The school ended up investigating me and once we went through a giant slog of DNA tests among other things, I was officially confirmed to be who I said I was. Overall, the whole thing was a really big hassle.

Not too long after that, I returned to my island.

“Intruder! Intruder!”

“Hold on Sirin! It’s me!”

Right when I was about to get attacked by Sirin who was still guarding my island, I waved my hand in the air and shouted out to her.

“Voice patterns recognized. Disarming intruder protocol.”

I let out a sigh as Sirin put the island's weapons away.

“This is certainly an advanced island.”

“Tell me about it.”

Keeping Nia’s grimoire in my hand, I made my way inside.

“I must say, Master, you look quite different from when I last saw you. Also, did you not state you’d only be gone for one to two days?”

“Well, some stuff happened. I’ll fill you in on it in a bit. But first I need to introduce you to someone.”

After saying that, I brought out Nia and once introductions were complete, I began explaining everything to Sirin.

When I finished, I left Nia with Sirin to talk with each other while I went to get a shower.

When I came back, the two were still happily chatting away. Making me glad to see them get along.

Two days later, I returned to the school dorms. Apparently, my other group members had already claimed I had died by a monster in the dungeon. And since they were caught lying thanks to some lie detector, the plan was to immediately send them expulsion papers which would get them out of the school by the end of next week.

Also, it appeared the school went on a two-week hiatus thanks to my alleged death. That thankfully was actually quite convenient as I really didn’t want to take any makeup classes. I mean even if I had them, I could just use Nia to zip through the lessons. But they still would’ve been annoying to deal with.

Before I knew it, the time to return to school had arrived. And when I made my way into school, I was already receiving plenty of curious stares.

No surprise there. I looked completely different from before. Honestly, it’d be easier to accept an excuse like I was a new student than being the boy who was "killed" during the dungeon expedition two weeks ago.

As I made my way to class, I could still hear kids murmuring and cheering about my death. What a bunch of assholes.

“Those guys really don’t like you.”

Speaking into my mind, Nia took in the words of those around us.

“Meh. That’s to be expected of a bunch of royal assholes,” I whispered in response.

But I was more mature than the likes of them. And thanks to this grimoire, I can easily stand my ground now. So I’ll let them laugh for the time being. As long as I get the last laugh, that’s all that matters.

Waltzing into my classroom, there were already a few kids there. Of course, they all immediately turned their attention towards me.

Ignoring their stares, I made my way to my seat in the back and pulled my grimoire from the pocket on the side of my bag. Nia could’ve shrunken her grimoire so that I could carry her around in my hand or on a belt, but since I wasn’t in the mood to set up anything like that, I just kept her tucked in my bag's side pocket.

Opening her up, I looked at the board in front of the class. It already listed what we were learning today. That being magic circuitry.

“Alright, Nia. Give me everything you can about magic circuitry.”

“Understood.”

Instantly, the pages that were blank before were filled up with information. The minute I read them all, the stuff within the book began getting imprinted on my mind. There was a light stinging in my brain as I did so, but considering the result, it was worth it. Thus, I saw a lot of high test scores in my future.

More students began piling into the room as I continued flipping through the book. Several took glances at me and began whispering among themselves what I was doing sitting there. Honestly, I couldn’t wait for the terror on their faces during roll call.

A few minutes later, the teacher entered the class and didn’t say anything. The others appeared to be waiting for him to speak up about me. But since he didn’t, it was putting them all on edge. How adorable.

Pulling out a sheet of paper, the teacher began taking roll call.

People tried to listen and respond to the best of their abilities, but most of their attention was still on me instead of the teacher.

Then, it finally came up.

“Axel Savoncho.”

The looks on my classmate's faces were priceless. They all looked utterly confused.

Closing up my grimoire with a thudding clap, I put it on the table and stood up.

“Right here Teach,” I said as my voice echoed throughout the classroom.

At that moment, everyone froze like time had completely stopped. But since I wanted to keep it moving, I re-announced my presence.

“Axel Savoncho. Present.”

Once those words left my mouth, shouts of shock and disbelief filled the room. All the while, a big grin spread across my face. And eventually, since I was done taking all this in, I returned to reading the grimoire.

Before I knew it, first period breezed by and I walked out of the classroom without giving anyone a chance to talk to me about my change in appearance. I didn’t have time for that. After all, there was someone I had to find before it was too late.

Making my way to the old meet-up spot, I heard a voice screaming.

“Don’t feed me such lies! There’s no way he survived! That person’s probably a fake!”

Their voice was a little far away, but I recognized it.

Using wind magic, I silently jump up to the old meeting spot.

There I found Lily glaring at someone. More than likely they were delivering the news of my return.

“But…but it’s true! He’s somehow alive!”

“Cut the dribble! That peasant’s dead!”

Deciding it was time, I spoke up.

“Harsh words Lily. Can’t say I blame your anger though.”

Lily instantly froze. I’d understand that reaction.

“I must say, that little stunt you pulled wasn’t too bad. Kinda sad it ended up failing in the end, huh?”

I couldn’t help but tease her. She did try to kill me after all.

“N-No way!”

It was clear she couldn’t believe her eyes as she turned around and looked at me.

Seeing that expression on her face caused my grin to grow even bigger than before.

“Now then, perhaps it’s about time I deliver what I promised you all that time ago.”

Using wind magic, I made a gust swirl around us. The air felt intense.

Stolen story; please report.

“W-What’re you gonna do?”

I stared at her silently for a moment before letting out a chuckle.

“Nothing actually.”

As if on command, which it was, the wind around me and Lily began to vanish.

“H-Huh!?”

The look of terror on her face truly was hilarious.

“I already heard you’re being expelled from the school. That’s good enough for me.”

I wasn’t lying about that. From what the school told me, she was completely gone and never coming back. If I never had to see her face again then I was completely fine with that.

Leaving things there, I began walking toward the stairs leading down from the roof.

“Here’s a single piece of advice. If you’re gonna try something as dumb as killing someone again, make sure they're dead before leaving them to rot.”

With those words, I left her behind me. I could hear her crying but I didn’t care. People like her don’t deserve sympathy.

After that, I headed to one of the school's many gardens and looked up at the bright blue sky. Thinking about everything that led me up to this point. It truly was a horrible experience. Something I’d never want to go through again. But it was over now. I was finally free from that hell hole and able to move on with my life.

And thus, my real life in this world had officially begun.

“Hey. Do you have a minute?”

As I was returning to class, I was pulled over by none other than Dianne. What did she want?

Following her, I tried to get a read on what she was planning.

Judging by her personality, it probably isn’t anything bad. Maybe she just wants to ask me what happened?

That might be it. But there was only one way to find out. Thus, the two of us walked side by side until we found ourselves behind the school. Clenching her fists tightly, Dianne looked me in the eye.

“Tell me. Are you the real Axel Savoncho?”

“Of course I am. Who else would I be?”

Dianne looked me up and down.

“If that’s true, why do you look and act so different from when we first met?”

“Because I don’t care how people think of me anymore. If they’re gonna try and kill me no matter how I act, I might as well just be myself.”

“So the you I met before wasn’t your true self?”

“Nope. Completely made up persona to appease the masses.”

Dianne didn’t seem entirely convinced.

“If you feel like you have to know, just check with the school. I’m sure they’ll easily provide the proof I’m the real deal.”

With that, I began to walk away.

“Wait!”

I stopped and turned back to Dianne who had her hand out.

“If you really are the same person…can you tell me what the first words I said to you were?”

I thought for a moment before speaking.

“You mean how you asked if I was Axel Savoncho and if I was the commoner everyone was talking about?”

“I..guess that’s somewhat accurate.”

“Good. So I guess we’re done here. See ya.”

Waving goodbye, I began to make my departure when-

“Oof!”

-I nearly lost balance as something slammed into my back.

“I’m so sorry!”

“What the-!?”

For some reason, Dianne was hugging me tightly.

“All this time…you were suffering down in those dungeons because those nobles hated you. I’m so sorry! That never should’ve happened! I should’ve helped protect you from them!”

Tears streamed down her face and I wasn’t sure if she looked cute or weird right now.

“Er…Well, I’m fine with it. After all, I already heard those guys were getting expelled. You really don’t need to apologize.”

“But…but I’m one of those people! I’m a noble just like those who tried to kill you and for that I’m sorry!”

This was getting a little uncomfortable.

“Uhh…You’re forgiven?”

I didn’t mean to phrase it like a question, I just didn’t know how to respond to this situation. Was Dianne really this emotional in the game?

A few more minutes of crying later, Dianne had finally calmed down.

“You good?”

Wiping a tear from her eye, Dianne nodded.

“Yes. I’m fine now.”

“Good. Now it’s about time we get back to cl-”

As I was saying that, the bell began to ring.

“Crap! We’re gonna be late!”

Not even thinking about it, I picked Dianne up into a princess-carrying position and activated my wind magic.

“Wha-!?”

Dianne seemed unable to process the situation. But that wasn’t important right now.

Jumping into the air, I reached the roof of the school and began running towards the classroom.

I still had a minute before the bell would ring again and clarify our tardiness. If I could make it in a minute then I’d be good.

Weirdly enough, Dianne had gone completely silent.

Looking down, I saw her face was beet red. No surprise there. I really did just kinda snatch her up and start moving.

Before I knew it, the classroom was right below us. With only fifteen seconds to spare, I dropped down as I felt some wind hit me in the face.

Landing on the ground, I dashed toward the classroom door. We only had five seconds left.

I put Dianne down and opened the door before dashing inside. Dianne dizzily followed behind me and we both got in right before the bell rang.

Some students looked at us with expressions of both confusion and disbelief.

Ignoring their stares, I plopped down in my seat and let out a sigh of relief. Talk about a close one.

It was probably a dumb idea trying to carry Dianne like that since I still wasn’t that strong physically meaning that I had to carry a person using wind magic as a form of extra boost. But even so, doing that got us here on time so I won't complain.

Moving past that, I looked up what we were learning in class before flipping out my grimoire.

“Did you really need to do all that? You could’ve easily just teleported both you and the girl to the front door of the classroom,” Nia pointed out.

“...Oh yeah.”

I’d forgotten that was an option. Well, whatever.

In the end, my school life simply continued onward.

Once class was over, I saw Dianne walking up to me. Staying silent for a moment, Dianne cleared her throat.

“About what happened before…”

She was probably referring to the princess carry.

“Oh. Sorry about that. I was just kinda in a rush and didn’t really think about it.”

“N-No! It’s fine! I just…would prefer you didn’t do that again.”

“Duly noted.”

After that, we ended up talking with each other for a while. We were getting stares from the other students, which Dianne quickly took notice of. She gave me a look as if to say “Are you bothered by this?” which was sweet and all, but I just shrugged it off and went on with talking to her. Now that I was done with the idea of pursuing her as a love interest, I was cool with just talking to her normally. Princess or not.

Soon enough the school day officially came to an end. In all honesty, I was kinda disappointed it was over so quickly. The shocked faces of the other students when they learned the truth was such an amusing sight.

Making my way back to my dorm, I heard something behind me.

Footsteps….Lots of them.

Sensing the people following me, I began walking behind the school toward the area Dianne brought me to earlier.

Finally stopping in my tracks, I looked behind me to find no one there.

“Could you all come out already? You’re not fooling me by hiding behind the walls.”

Things were silent for a moment before the people following me revealed themselves.

Before I knew it, I was surrounded by a few familiar faces.

“I see. So it's you guys.”

Standing before me was none other than the group that left me to die down there.

“You…You’re gonna pay for getting us expelled!”

The boy who took over as leader during our expedition stood in front as he pointed his finger at me. Hearing him say that, all I could do was sigh.

“Wah-! What’s with that sigh!?”

“It’s a sign of boredom. Also, I find myself blown away by your complete stupidity.”

“What did you say!?”

The leader walked up in front of me and grabbed my shirt. Lifting me into the air a moment later.

I rubbed my eyes. This was turning out to be quite a dull situation. I thought maybe I was gonna face off against someone who actually had a reason to have a gripe with me. But instead, it was a bunch of idiots who blamed me for their mistakes.

“Look. You have no one to blame but yourselves. You guys tried killing me and that got you expelled. What part of that is my fault?”

“Wha-!”

The leader was at a loss for words. He must’ve been processing what I said. Did he even think rationally about his punishment for even a moment?

“Th-That doesn’t matter! The only important thing was you were the reason behind it! That’s all there is to it!”

What an absolute dunderhead.

Releasing his grip on my shirt, the boy pushed me back. He was around twice my size. Crazy considering we were in the same grade. The other students around him weren’t as macho. One of them was even a pudgy guy who if I were to guess, probably loved sweets too much.

But anyway, the leader formed his hand into a fist and began hitting it into his other hand in a threatening motion. Like that of a school bully.

“So as being the reason behind our punishment, we’re gonna teach you a lesson.”

The boy looked me in the eyes with a grin on his face. He was expecting to enjoy this. Leading me to let out another sigh.

“Wha-! Why are you sighing like that again!?”

I couldn’t help but shake my head.

“I’m just astounded that you all can be so narcissistic. The royal assholes in this world really are corrupt.”

The leader’s face grew red with rage. My only response to that was a roll of the eyes.

Now that I’ve seen what real danger is, these guys just looked like a bunch of narcissistic brats who got cuddled and pampered by their mommas.

“Listen here. If you try to lay even a single hand on me, I’m not just gonna take it. I’ll trap you here behind the school and report you to the teachers. Is that something you want?”

“You’re gonna tattle to the teachers? Even if you could do everything you said, that’s a rather pathetic move.”

It may be pathetic, but it’s effective. Though it seems they weren’t gonna heed my warning.

“Now then, it’s about time for you to get what you deserve!”

Glancing behind the group's leader, it seemed they were all ready to be beaten to a pulp.

Perfect. Just what I’d been hoping for.

Ready to fight, I turned my attention toward the group's leader who aimed his fist at my face.

As the fist drew close, however, I vanished.

“What the-!?”

The leader looked around confused.

“Look! He’s in the sky!” shouted the pudgy guy.

The leader looked up at me with an expression of both confusion and surprise.

“How’d he do that!? He didn’t even cast an incantation!”

Ignoring their surprise, I jumped off the school wall and floated over the group as they watched me in complete and utter shock.

Finally landing behind them, I slammed my hand into the ground.

As I did so, four stone walls rose up from in front of me and sealed the group in a thick, sturdy cage.

“There. That should do it.”

Within the cage, I could hear everyones confused voices. Some had even already begun preparing spells to break the wall.

“Good luck with that. The walls I make aren't so easily broken,” I muttered.

They were designed to withstand quite a bit, so those guys weren’t getting out of there any time soon.

So with that, I went off and told a teacher about that group's shenanigans. After that, everyone involved was expelled immediately instead of holding off for next week.

Now before you say anything about sealing them up being cowardly, you gotta understand that I still wasn’t that strong.

Sure I could cast spells without incantations and I was a bit stronger physically than I was before. But if I actually tried fighting that many people at once without preparation, I’d be beaten down in a matter of minutes. I’m not some overpowered protagonist so stuff like that wasn’t what I was interested in doing.

But with that out of the way, the first week of school after a two-week hiatus had officially begun. And with me finally being free, I was ready to show those royal assholes just how much they screwed up trying to cast me out.

“Attachment is almost complete,” stated Sirin as she continued working on my newly installed robotic hand. And before you ask how she knew how to make one of these, I legitimately have no idea. Something about her and this island seemed way too advanced for a game called Medieval Fantasy.

It was so futuristic that I wouldn’t be surprised if Sirin could make a mech. Not that’d ask her to. They’ve never really been my style personally.

But I am willing to make an exception for this robotic hand since only having one hand was starting to be a real pain.

“Attachment completed successfully.”

Getting up from the seat Sirin had me sitting in, I tried out my new hand. It was quite a weird position to be in. She designed it to look exactly like my old one, but there was the odd sensation where I wasn’t able to actually feel stuff with it. A bit strange, but that was something I was willing to sacrifice for having a new hand.

So with everything said and done, it was finally time to face whatever this world had in store for me. And hopefully one day, I can look back on all this and say that I enjoyed my life here.