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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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“Ah…! Prion Colson is meeting with the Headmaster and the Archmage!”
Prion, about to retort to those who had barged in, sprang to his feet.
Seeing their faces, he immediately erased his angry expression, bowed his head deeply, and offered a greeting.
He received no response to his courteous greeting.
Prion felt a flicker of confusion.
‘Even if the Professor ignores me, the Headmaster isn’t the type to disregard a greeting…?’
Sola often ignored the cadets or dismissed them with a sniff, so her silence wasn’t surprising.
But Rain was different.
She was known for acknowledging the cadets’ greetings.
Not with a smile, but always with the same reassuring, neutral expression, replying with a polite, if somewhat lengthy, “Hello.”
Something felt different today.
The atmosphere was frigid.
Both Rain and Sola remained silent, their lips sealed.
“Hmm…”
Prion racked his brain, trying to assess the situation.
He was talented in magic, but possessed a self-centered perspective, lacking in judgment, to put it mildly.
His conclusion, based on his own behavior during lectures, was predictably self-serving.
‘Are they here to give me an award? Or perhaps…’
His next thought was even more absurd.
‘Or perhaps… the Headmaster and the Professor are interested in me…?’
The idea that the original Hero, Rain Garden, and the Archmage, Al Sola, were interested in him was ludicrous.
Even a child would scoff at such a delusion.
But, what if there was a sliver of possibility?
Prion dreamed of becoming a successful adventurer.
Adventurers, in his mind, were showered with wealth, fame, and the attention of beautiful women, basking in the admiration of all.
Such a preposterous fantasy wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
‘Maybe they’ve recognized my potential. Maybe they saw me practicing my combat skills or magic.’
He recalled the image of himself overpowering the bandaged guy in a sparring match.
He couldn’t see his own reflection at the time, but he must have looked quite impressive.
In reality, he hadn’t been overpowering anyone.
Lately, he’d been losing to Ron, the one with the small, worn dagger!
But reality and perception were two different things.
Prion pictured Rain and Sola blushing at his prowess.
Objectively, both women were beyond beautiful, captivating enough to stir the hearts of men.
Naturally, many men had tried to win their affections, but all had failed.
Merchants, nobles, royalty… countless men confident in their appearance had pursued them, but to no avail.
Paralyzing poisons?
Love potions?
Aphrodisiacs?
Sola’s protective magic shielded even her internal organs, rendering such attempts useless.
Rain possessed an absurdly resilient physique, immune to all known poisons.
Overpower them with brute force?
It was common knowledge that no one on the continent, or even in the Demon Realm, could surpass Rain’s strength.
Even if someone were physically stronger than Sola, breaking through her protective magic, woven from her immense magical power, was near impossible.
Win their hearts with charm and affection?
Many had tried that route.
Countless men had showered them with attention, but all had failed.
Weaknesses?
Did they even have any?
Their affections, unattainable by any means, only fueled the desires of countless men.
Prion was no exception.
His self-centered nature allowed a single spark of hope to ignite a chain reaction of wishful thinking.
‘Could it be… they came here because they like me? And then they happened to run into each other in front of my door… It’s a bit annoying, but they had no choice but to come in.’
The existence of Prieresil, who had once occupied a corner of his heart, had long since vanished.
A mere academy cadet couldn’t possibly compare to a Hero and an Archmage.
Lost in his inflated fantasy, Prion failed to notice Rain and Sola slowly stepping into his room.
Entering without permission, after throwing the door open, was rude, but Prion was too preoccupied to notice.
“I… I…”
His voice trembled as he prepared to deliver a response worthy of his imagined situation.
He had already decided.
‘There’s no need to choose just one.’
Most heroes were philanderers, unable to be satisfied with a single woman.
“I… I like both of you…”
“Prion Colson.”
Rain’s cold voice snapped Prion out of his daydream.
“Second-rank.”
Sola’s following words were like a bucket of cold water.
While they hadn’t interacted much, Prion had never heard Sola speak so coldly.
Her fiery red hair and eyes usually matched her fiery temper.
“…Wh-What? What’s going on…?”
Prion finally began to grasp the situation, but it was too late.
If he hadn’t been in his room, if he had run away, he might have prolonged his life, however briefly.
Rain began to chant.
The short incantation ended, and two metal skewers materialized in her hand.
Prion’s eyes flickered.
He didn’t understand what was happening, but the combination of their expressions and the skewers was unsettling.
She grasped the ends of the skewers and bent them.
Two U-shaped skewers now rested in her hand, clinking softly.
Before he could process what she was doing, Rain grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall.
His feeble attempts at resistance were futile against her overwhelming strength.
Prion could only stare at her with bewildered eyes, mouthing the word “Why?”
Thwack—
The skewers pierced the wall beside his wrists, pinning his arms.
He wasn’t directly impaled, but the pressure and restriction were immense.
“Wh-What are you doing?!”
Prion glared at Rain, his body trapped.
“Was it you?”
It was Rain who spoke, not Sola.
Prion stared at her, bewildered by her informal tone, as if speaking to a comrade.
In this situation, he didn’t entertain the foolish notion that she was accepting him as a comrade.
Rain’s demeanor conveyed only one message:
He’d been caught.
It didn’t matter who had ratted him out.
Survival was his priority.
“It… it wasn’t me…”
“If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll pull one out.”
Rain grasped one of Prion’s slightly long fingernails.
Was it a threat?
Or was she serious?
Her usual flat tone made it difficult to tell.
He was about to risk a lie when she continued.
“If I find out you’re lying… I’ll break them. Two at a time.”
Even without explicitly stating what she meant, he knew.
Rain’s gaze was fixed on his joints.
The word “break” wasn’t a mere threat.
Her calm tone implied, “Your life is in my hands.”
Prion’s throat constricted.
“Gasp… gasp… It… it…”
His airway closing, he struggled to speak.
Even though only two pairs of eyes were watching him, it felt like a thousand were staring, judging.
“Don’t… Don’t come closer!! Stay back!!”
“…Annoying…”
Sola’s cold voice stopped his frantic struggles.
“My foot is numb, isn’t it?”
“Gulp… sob…”
Prion desperately shook his head, his throat choked with fear and tension.
But even that faint denial was a lie.
Sola pulled a small, red orb from her pocket.
A lie-detecting magical tool she had crafted a few days ago, borrowing Merlin’s alchemical knowledge.
The orb glowed crimson, matching her hair.
“A lie.”
“Uh… no… My heart… it’s beating too fast…”
“Nonsense. This has nothing to do with your heart rate. Another lie.”
“Please… Damn it..!! Stop it!!”
“Stop? You should have stopped sooner. …Rain.”
Sola stepped back with a look of disgust – a distaste for collaboration.
Rain approached him again.
Prion thrashed his feet, trying to push her away, but Rain ignored his struggles and, without hesitation, ripped out his fingernail.
The nail tore away with sickening ease, like a weed being uprooted, nerves screaming.
Prion let out an animalistic wail.
“We need to do another one, don’t we? Don’t give up so easily.”
“Hic… hic… ugh… ugh… Sorry… sorry…”
“You should be apologizing to someone else, shouldn’t you?”
“Haa… Aaaaagh!!! Aaagh!!!”
Another nail was ripped out.
Prion hated that even this excruciating pain couldn’t make him lose consciousness.
An eternity passed in a single moment.
Rain tossed the two fingernails aside as if they were garbage, not even glancing at them.
“Next.”
Her emotionless voice sent a shiver down his spine.
He knew what came next: broken joints.
Tears and snot streamed down Prion’s face as he struggled to speak.
“It… it…”
Just then, the door to his room swung open.
“Ugh… The dorm master is so strict… Isn’t this discrimination against Silver ranks?”
And the bandaged man, grumbling about something trivial, walked into the chaotic scene.
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[Your Text Here]
Bruh Ron let them cook, it seemed so good
Ron acting like this isn’t his fault. They’re going to kill this guy cuz he wants to act all emo