Fated to Die in an Academy Novel – Chapter 159

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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After handling the aftermath of the incident, Reilan Claudia was alone in her room, lost in a certain memory.

A memory that she herself found quite absurd, one she couldn’t even consult anyone about.

The scene from the previous day was still vivid in her mind.

The overwhelming presence the masked villain had shown wasn’t something that could be easily forgotten.

Although not everyone was unscathed, he had not only saved the students she thought had to be killed, but he had also played with the fairly powerful devil as if he was toying with it.

What was most shocking was the reason he had intervened in the incident.

-Don’t you think it’s pathetic?

Her heart beat a bit faster as she recalled his indifferent voice.

It was the first time such a thing had happened to her in her long life.

She tried to deny it as a misunderstanding, but the more she did, the more clearly his image came to her mind.

“…Seriously, how old am I?”

Of course, that didn’t mean that she would let her private feelings get in the way and mess up her work.

She was an S-rank hero and also the one in charge of Reilan Academy.

-You are still needed in this world. It would be a bit troublesome for me if you were to die or get injured carelessly.

…How many people had treated her, of all people, so carelessly? Even the teacher who had been in charge of her education in her very early years hadn’t treated her like that.

Such a thing became impossible by the time she had grown up a little and had to fulfill her responsibilities as a high elf.

The sensation of his gloved hand gripping her neck came to her mind.

It should have been an unpleasant sensation, but her heart had pounded fiercely at the memory.

“…I thought that this kind of feeling had no connection with me.”

Suddenly, the image of her cute friend, who had shyly confessed to her that she had fallen in love with a cadet, came to her mind.

“…No, it’s not that I like him. It’s just that I’m interested in him because of his special background and unique situation.”

It was a pathetic excuse, even for her.

“No, that’s not it. If I really thought it was nothing, I wouldn’t be moping around like this by myself.”

Although she had never experienced it herself, she had lived for a long time, so she understood what affection was, and she also had the ability to look at herself objectively.

And she was clearly beginning to harbor something more than mere interest towards the masked villain.

But why? What was it about him that drew her in so much?

She had lived a long time, but she had never thought of dating.

There was no suitable partner, and due to the characteristics of the high elf race, she couldn’t choose a partner carelessly.

She had never thought this way about other elves, let alone other heroes.

…Of course, there was a time in her foolish youth when she had been exposed to human-made culture and had a brief crush on a bad boy, but that was a story from her immature days, and she had never been attracted to villains after that.

She continued to ponder all night, unaware of the simple fact that there was a huge difference between a simple villain and a bad boy portrayed through acting.

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My body felt strangely hot and damp.

Did I have another nightmare?

I just killed someone after a long time, so it was possible.

It was a damnably persistent nightmare.

A nightmare that showed me the people I missed, so close that it felt like I could reach them if I just extended my hand.

It would have been better if they at least resented me. If they rebuked, tormented, and ridiculed me, then I could atone.

My heart ached as I looked at the people who were still smiling at me. I didn’t dare extend my hand out to them of guilt, and so we just stared at each other from an awkward distance.

It’s okay. It’s just a dream. Everything will be okay when I open my eyes.

I tried to pull myself together, but the moment I saw my mother’s face, my emotions crumbled.

I’ll protect everyone this time. I came back for that, so I’ll never give up.

So… so…

I had to say something, but my lips wouldn’t move.

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Rustle.

Something cool and pleasant touched my head.

My hair, which had been annoyingly stuck to my forehead with sweat, was lifted, and a breeze touched my forehead, making it a little cooler.

Was I still dreaming? I needed to wake up soon.

“So-hyun, are you okay? Did something happen with Ga-eul yesterday?”

…I think someone did this for me before.

Ah, right. I had been hiding that I was sick before, but my mother, who noticed, had done this for me.

I thought that I shouldn’t be coddled, but she appeared like a ghost and tried to take care of me.

Even though she was sick herself.

Is she here? That can’t be right.

Ah, right. This is a dream, right? Then it’s possible.

Hehe, this is nice. It’s been a while. There was so much I wanted to say to her.

It hurt so much. I was in so much pain.

I thought I couldn’t bear it, so I denied it. I shouldn’t have, but I felt like I really couldn’t bear it otherwise.

I did a lot of bad things, and I regretted a lot of them, but even though it’s late, I came back to try again.

The things I did won’t disappear, but I can at least apologize, so even if I want to run away, I’ll try my best this time.

So, you know. Mom.

Don’t forgive me.

“…M…om.”

“…Huh? What do you mean, mom, So-hyun? I’m…”

“Hehe, I’m sorry, Mom. I know. I know I did wrong. It’s okay if you scold me later, so…”

I grabbed the hand that was trying to pull away in surprise.

“It’s okay even if this is just a dream. Please, don’t go yet. Just a moment. Just a little longer. I think I’ll be okay if it’s just a little longer. Please stay with me for a moment.”

The stiff arm slowly relaxed and gently began to stroke my forehead again.

“…Okay, So-hyun. Mom isn’t going anywhere.”

It was a gentle voice.

It seemed a little different from my mother’s, but it must be because it was a dream.

“Really? I’ll just sleep a little longer and wake up soon… You can’t go anywhere.”

“Of course. Is there anything you want to eat? Mom will get it ready.”

Haha, she couldn’t even cook, but since it was a dream, I could ask for this much, right?

If I said anything was fine, she would laugh as if she was troubled.

If I said I didn’t need anything, she would make a sad face and say that I was being mean.

“Actually, there were a lot of things I wanted to eat, but I thought I shouldn’t say it. So… I… omurice. I like… omurice.”

The first omurice I ever had was just an imitation, plain rice with a fried egg on top and ketchup drizzled over it, but it was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten.

“…Really? Mom will make it for you. Sleep well and wake up soon, son.”

“Really? You really will? Okay. That’s great. But I can’t fall asleep, again… again…”

“It’s okay. Mom’s not going anywhere, so it’s okay for you to sleep now.”

“…Lies. Liar. I know it’s not you. But thank you. I’ll just sleep a little more and wake up again.”

Ah, right. I should say I love you.

Even if she said she wouldn’t go anywhere, that couldn’t be true.

I was so sleepy.

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“What the…”

When I woke up, my body felt strangely light.

I think I had a nightmare partway through, but when I woke up, my body felt strangely light.

“…You’re up?”

“Yeah, but Han-hee. Did you cry?”

She was fine when I came back after the incident yesterday, but now her eyes were swollen as if she had suddenly cried.

“Huh?! I didn’t cry! Uh! I didn’t cry! Why would I cry!?”

“No, your eyes just looked a little swollen, so…?”

I guess so. What could have happened in that short time to make her cry?

“Today’s breakfast is omurice.”

“Oh, that’s nice, but didn’t you say that today’s breakfast was tteokgalbi? You said that the frozen ones would go bad soon.”

“…I saw that we were running out of eggs. Just eat what I give you.”

“…What are you talking about? We just bought eggs. Well, I like either way, so I don’t mind.”

When I cut into the soft, half-cooked omurice, the ketchup fried chicken rice was revealed.

“Wow, the rice is chicken rice? That must have been hard to make.”

“…You’re not the only one.”

“What are you talking about? I was sleeping like a log until just now.”

“Ah, whatever. Something like that! Anyway, let’s eat quickly!”

While I was eating omurice with a strangely red-eyed Ha-ni, every time I said it was delicious, Ha-ni vowed that she would definitely make it for me again.

No, seriously, what was with her today?

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“Ah, so that’s how it was settled yesterday?”

As I brought it up while acting as if I was curious, Lilac explained to me yesterday’s incident.

“So you couldn’t catch that masked villain?”

“…Yeah, I think he’s a really amazing person. I didn’t think that he’d be able to escape from there.”

No? He’s not that amazing. He’s right in front of you right now.

“But honestly, I don’t know if he’s that bad of a person. Last time, it was because our first impression of him was the worst, but when you think about it, if it weren’t for him this time and last time, a lot of people would have died, right?”

Ha-ni suddenly defended the villain.

Lilac seemed to be thinking about something and held his tongue, but he soon nodded his head.

“That’s true. Still, seeing as he calls himself a villain, he might not be a completely good person.”

“Right, right. If he has that kind of power and still acts as a villain, he must have something to hide.”

I nodded, casually agreeing with Lilac’s words.

“…Still, I wonder if a day will come when we can fight on the same side? With his power, we could definitely save a lot more people.”

Well, the day when I would stand on the same side as the Masked Villain won’t come, but I’ll try my best to make sure as few people as possible die.

“So now we just have to find out what organization was behind this, right?”

“That’s right. They said that since we defeated the devil, we can consider it pretty much over.”

No, it wasn’t over yet. We got rid of that devil bastard, but now that he failed, the devil king bastard would send other guys up.

In the end, if all the devils failed, that bastard would come up himself.

Belphegor, the King of Sloth.

The boss of the first year of the academy, and also the starting point of my original sin that had completely ruined everything before I regressed.

It would be different this time.

I held onto all the connections I had rejected before. I didn’t abandon a single person this time.

As if the brief silence was uncomfortable, Ga-eul smiled brightly and opened her mouth.

“Ah, but now that our final exams are almost over, it’s summer vacation, right!?”

Ah, right. I had to take the final exams now.

But unlike me, who was focused on the final exams, the other guys seemed to be interested in the keyword “summer vacation.”

“Ah, that’s right. It’s already summer vacation. Time flies.”

“Flies!? I think it’s going too slow!”

When Lilac answered with a smile, Ga-eul shook her head as if she was fed up.

“Hehe, what’s everyone doing for summer vacation?”

“I plan to return to my family’s home and focus on training.”

“I’m going to join Yoo-hak too.”

Well, for Cheon Yoo-hak and Joo-ri, that was to be expected. You guys should make some progress during the summer vacation.

“I’ll stop by my family’s home, but I think I’ll be back at the academy soon after.”

“I don’t have any special plans other than greeting Lilac’s mother and father.”

Hmm, that was to be expected from everyone.

“I don’t have anything special going on either. I’m just planning to go to the sea for a bit due to some circumstances.”

To be precise, I was going to a dungeon in the sea, but would the kids even react if I said that?

“…The sea!?”

Ga-eul took the bait.

“Huh? What? Who are you going with?”

“Hmm? Ah, I was planning on going alone. I won’t be gone for that long.”

“Huh!? You can’t do that! If you’re going to have fun, let’s all go together!”

“That’s right, So-hyun. It would be nice if we all went together. Or is it something serious?”

“It’s not that, but I thought you’d find it annoying if I asked you all to go together with me.”

Mhm, it was going smoothly. Seeing as they obediently bit the bait, I think that they would be hooked soon.

No take-backs, right? We’re going together until the end, right?

“The sea. It would be good for me to go there sometimes.”

If Cheon Yoo-hak went, Joo-ri was a set, of course.

“…If Lilac is okay with it, I am too.”

Yoo-na was a given, so the problem was Ha-ni…

“If everyone’s going, I’ll go too.”

…You really haven’t been hesitating at all about going on trips lately, have you?

“It seems like everyone has something to do in the first week, so should we go in the second week?”

“Oh my, that sounds good. I have some free time then too.”

“Really? Then… huh? What?”

At the voice that suddenly cut in, the group shifted their gazes to see Aisha standing there.

Yoo-na glared at her with eyes full of suspicion.

“…What is it? You.”

“Ah, don’t be so wary. I’m not here for Mr. Lilac today.”

Aisha ignored everyone’s gazes and strode towards me.

“You got away nicely last time, didn’t you? You didn’t think it would turn out like this at the academy, did you?”

She used her finger to lift my chin, as if to lift it up, and began to scan my face.

“…What are you doing right now?”

“You’re going to be my property from now on, so shouldn’t I examine you carefully?”

…Ah.

Shit.

The temperature in the classroom seemed to have dropped by about 2 degrees.

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T/N – So, those people saying that Cathy was the best girl. You guys have anything to say now? Hehehe. Told you guys, Ha-ni is the best girl out of all of them. Sword girl ftw! 😁

Also, here comes the latest heroine. I feel like Aisha is hilarious as a character. I still think she’s perfect to be the villain MC’s subordinate, but her joining the main cast is fine too.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.