Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

Zach was about to take a lap and look for the members of his club when he realized that it wouldn't be that simple. Before he could fulfill his obligations to the city, he had to fulfill his obligations to the Academy. He had classes to attend.

So, he instead took a lap around the Academy until he found the classroom he was supposed to be in. Everyone in the class was present except Rierdan, Nessa, and Julius.

As Zach arrived, a realization dawned on his classmates.

All of those who were missing had gotten close to Zach in some way. Even in the first year, during the field trip, Rierdan and Nessa had been part of that initial tiger-hunting expedition. And Julius was one of Zach's best buddies.

The only thing that set them apart from Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina was the strength of their familiars. Considering they were the only three A-ranks in the class, it was understandable they remained.

But that also meant people who weren't A-ranks wouldn't last long next to Zach.

Zach felt his classmates' gazes shift as they looked at him when he quickly apologized to Jarron before walking over to his seat. Unfortunately, he couldn't say he wasn't used to it.

His classmates looked at him with suspicion and wariness.

It was the same kind of change as when he had first become unlucky.

After his fifth birthday and things started happening, it didn't take long for rumors to spread.

The good servants of the household kept their expressions and behavior in check. The others, the not so good servants, only hid their displeasure about having to serve him when other members of his family was nearby.

Of course, there was a limit to what lowly servants could hide from the Evandiels, so in a way, it helped weed out the bad ones. But he still ended up alone at times.

And that was without mentioning the residents of the Duchy. As a son of the Duke, Zach had to attend official businesses and be in public. But his parents stopped forcing him when they noticed how much it wore down his spirit to see the vassals, townspeople, and merchants gossip and avoid him whenever he made an appearance.

That didn't help his reputation, especially when unfortunate incidents kept happening to and around him. But it was better than suffering under the weight of everyone's judgemental gazes.

Zach had been prepared for it to happen at the Academy, too. Fortunately, the rumors weren't as bad in the capital, and it was mostly the other noble children who had heard about him. The commoner students, lesser nobles, and distant nobles hadn't heard anything or didn't believe what they had heard. Some of his classmates were even smart enough to realize that such a reputation was bullshit.

Of course, it wasn't bullshit since a lot of what was rumored to have happened to Zach in his youth had happened. But people like Violina and Anerias, who should have access to something close to the truth, ignored it.

And people like Dukiel, Julius, Nessa, and Rierdan didn't know enough to avoid Zach. If they knew or had enough information, they chose to ignore it in favor of what they could see with their own eyes.

But now, everything he had done so far for the class was outweighed by the fact that he had been present when two of their classmates suffered tragic fates and close to a third.

Zach could feel it in their gazes.

During their first year at the Academy, he had helped many of his classmates with figuring out their familiars' natures and what they might like or want to evolve. He hadn't helped everyone since not everyone wanted it. Many hadn't been able to offer much, either. But Zach didn't ask for outrageous things.

Smuggle some monsters, books, candy, or entertainment into the school since he couldn't leave the campus. Tell an embarrassing story. Write a promise note.

He had also helped everyone's grades. Of course, since he helped almost everyone, the rankings didn't change much. But historically, his class was one of the highest-performing classes at the Academy.

It was all thanks to his special access to the library, but he could have chosen to keep it all to himself. He hadn't. That had earned him respect.

It hadn't been enough to override his reputation entirely. But people didn't shy away from him in shock and horror. They politely came up with excuses or made sure they were busy. They also entertained conversations with him when he wanted.

The fact that he had also died hadn't gone unnoticed. He died protecting his friends. That was something.

Granted, he didn't stay dead, but that hadn't been up to Zach.

But now, instead of being hailed as the one who saved his friends, Zach was shouldering the responsibility of Rierdan's coma, Nessa's injury, and Julius' disappearance and possible death. All because he had a reputation for getting into accidents or causing trouble.

Zach couldn't help but feel resentful. But he couldn't blame them.

How could he when he also held himself responsible? It was his fault, after all.

After the classes for the day ended, the club members gathered in the club room. They wanted to check on Nessa, but she hadn't shown any signs of moving or waking up earlier in the day. They could check on her after the meeting.

During the day, they had all heard about what was happening in the city. It was undoubtedly related to their, mostly Zach's since he dropped the potion, activities. Even if that weren't the case, it was related to the Underworld. Thus, it was their assignment to deal with it.

The only problem was how.

But Zach was already working on that. To be more specific, Alzara was working on it. So, he split the club in two. Anerias and Violina checked on the city and the residents' conditions. Meanwhile, Zach and Dukiel would inspect the forest and see if it was recovering, getting worse, or not showing any change.

They also had to record how the monsters were behaving and prepare possible measures to protect the roads and evacuees from the city.

With that decided, they could check on Nessa before leaving.