I Possessed a Character in an Academy Without a Protagonist – Chapter 109

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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– I’ll tell you my name. Iris.

Iris.

Yes, this was Iris’s touch.

Just a little smaller.

The warmth and gentleness were the same.

– What’s your name?

My hand moved on its own.

Unable to see or hear, relying solely on touch.

I clumsily grasped Iris’s hand and traced my index finger across her palm.

– End.

End…?

At that moment, Schlus’s emotions surged through me.

‘Ah.’

A lump formed in my throat and an inexplicable despair washed over me.

It was the same despair I felt when I… lost her…

I wanted to sob like a child.

Schlus, on top of that, had lost his sight and hearing, so he must have felt utterly helpless as well.

But Schlus endured.

Whatever had happened, he had forced himself to endure.

Now I understood the meaning of ‘End’.

At this point in time, Schlus had given up on life.

He believed this was the end.

– End?

– The conversation is over.

The brief exchange ended abruptly, Schlus didn’t seem interested in elaborating.

Nor did he seem to want to express gratitude for being saved.

He just wanted to die.

He wanted to end this painful, inconvenient existence.

– Schlus.

-?

– Your name is Schlus. End in Imperial language. Right?

My hand, or rather Schlus’s hand, trembled in surprise.

Schlus.

So that’s it, I understood now.

His name had been given to him by none other than Iris.

– Last name?

Schlus, seemingly exasperated, refused to answer, pulling his hand away from Iris.

That’s a shame.

It was a chance to learn his real last name.

Iris lingered, touching my hand a few more times before leaving.

Convinced that he was alone, Schlus began to explore his surroundings with his outstretched hands.

He was lying on a soft bed.

Ah… He wasn’t trying to get his bearings.

He was searching for something sharp, preferably a blade.

Its purpose was obvious.

“…”

Schlus reached under the bed and grasped something dangling there.

A piece of wood.

He pulled it, and it snapped off easily.

Even just by feeling it, he could tell that the end was sharp enough.

But perhaps striving for perfection, Schlus pricked his own palm with it.

The tip of the wood pierced his skin, emerging on the other side of his hand.

The sturdy piece of wood remained intact.

A faint smile appeared on his lips, it seemed he had found something suitable.

He was probably aiming for the carotid artery in his neck.

‘Oh, shit.’

No.

This bastard was even crazier than I thought.

He pressed the tip of the wood against his temple, then released the pressure.

Like marking a spot on the wall before drilling a screw, he was preparing.

Schlus’s internal circuits activated.

His body grew hot as mana surged through him.

The generated mana strengthened his fist.

He was about to drive the wood into his skull when—

“…!”

He was suddenly pushed back.

The wood, its trajectory altered, grazed his scalp and snapped in two, unable to withstand the force of Schlus’s punch.

Rage surged through him.

He was angry, angrier than the pain from the aborted attempt, angrier than the pain from the pierced hand.

A slender arm brushed against Schlus’s outstretched hand.

Without hesitation, he grabbed her shoulder and slammed her onto the bed.

His rough hand traced her collarbone, then moved upwards.

He found her neck.

He was now on top of her, his hand wrapped tightly around her throat.

It wasn’t a threat.

Even if she begged for mercy, he couldn’t hear her.

He just wanted to kill her.

He wanted to kill everything in his way, and then kill himself.

Without hesitation, with murderous intent, he tightened his grip.

He didn’t see her tear-stained, pained face, nor hear her choked sobs.

It was the perfect condition for murder.

“…?”

A soft touch brushed against his cheek.

He thought she was trying to scratch his eyes.

But the touch, a gentle touch, moved upwards, wiping away the tears that had unknowingly streamed down his face.

The hand continued upwards, then reached his temple, caressing the torn skin.

It hurt.

It hurt like hell.

The wound on his head, which he had been too agitated to notice, throbbed with pain.

But a moment later, he felt a tingling sensation as the wound began to heal, the pain fading away.

“…”

Schlus’s grip loosened, guilt suddenly overwhelmed him.

The slender hand reached for his hand again but Schlus didn’t pull away this time.

Her index finger carefully traced letters on his palm.

– It’s okay.

Something welled up inside him.

I, Schlus, turned back towards Iris, her hand still in his.

He couldn’t meet her eyes and then, like a fool, he started to cry, his voice choked with sobs.

He apologized over and over again.

He couldn’t even hear himself, unsure if he was even pronouncing the words correctly, but he continued to apologize.

Overwhelmed by Schlus’s guilt, a new doubt began to creep into my mind.

How long would this last?

It felt like ‘Original Body’s Memory’ had been activated for at least ten minutes.

It had never lasted longer than ten seconds before.

This was unprecedented.

What state was my real body in?

Was I flailing around like an idiot, my hand grasping at empty air?

I was starting to get worried, but there was nothing I could do…

‘Ah.’

There was something.

The ability had been triggered by holding Iris’s hand, then all I had to do was release her hand in reality.

The problem was, with my senses completely synced with Schlus’s past self, would my real body move according to my will?

I tried to move my left hand, the hand that Iris was holding.

‘Damn it.’

It didn’t work.

I was trapped inside Schlus’s memories.

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To my utter astonishment, the damn ability remained active for over a day.

How did I know, when I couldn’t see or hear anything?

Because Iris brought me every meal, this was my fourth meal.

Of course, I hadn’t given up on trying to open my eyes.

In reality, I could see and hear by observing the flow of mana but it didn’t work here.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t sense the flow of mana.

Was it because Schlus’s mana sensitivity was lower in the past?

But the most frustrating part was my inability to control my own body.

I could feel everything, but I couldn’t move according to my will.

I had never imagined that experiencing someone else’s memories could be this agonizing.

– Let’s walk.

Iris conveyed her message through our linked hands.

Schlus hesitated for a moment, then, grasping both of Iris’s hands, he stood up.

His legs trembled.

It wasn’t from lack of energy, since he had been lying in bed for at least a day.

It seemed he had injured his legs.

“…”

Holding Iris’s hands, he left the bed, taking one step at a time.

Into the pitch black darkness.

He walked cautiously, his feet probing the unseen floor.

At first, he was hesitant, his feet tapping the ground tentatively.

He felt Iris trembling through their linked hands.

Even though it had only been a short time, I knew her well enough to understand.

She was trembling with laughter.

As if sensing this, Schlus, seemingly annoyed, started to walk more confidently.

He brushed against the stone walls as he walked down the hallway.

He touched a wooden door and then he stepped outside, feeling the fresh air on his skin.

At that moment, Schlus didn’t feel despair, guilt, or any other emotion.

He was simply alive.

He reveled in the sensation of being alive.

Suddenly, Iris’s hand slipped from his.

“…!”

Schlus panicked at the loss of her touch.

He frantically searched for her, his hands grasping at empty air.

As if his lifeline had been severed.

It was obvious that Iris was just playing a prank on him.

What a pathetic fool.

“…?!”

Something bumped against his chest.

He stumbled backwards, landing on his butt.

But it didn’t hurt.

It was soft.

He realized he was lying in a field of flowers.

As soon as he felt Iris approaching, he grabbed her hand.

He held it tightly, as if determined to never let go again.

Perhaps I was crying at that moment…

But I wasn’t sure.

I didn’t know anymore.

“…”

To be honest, at that point, I had given up.

I couldn’t find a way to return to reality and there was nothing I could do here.

All I could do was watch this incredibly immersive 5D movie.

Around that time, Schlus had also resigned himself to his fate.

He had initially rejected Iris’s attempts to decorate him with flowers, but now he didn’t even flinch when she placed them on his head.

Iris was treating him like a dress-up doll.

Well, ten years ago, Iris would have been a child.

Unable to see or hear, only able to sense Iris’s boundless kindness, I had mistakenly assumed she was an adult.

Even Iris had been a carefree child once…

Growing tired of her game, Iris sat down next to him.

Still holding his hand tightly.

Did you know? Some people can see and hear with mana.

There’s no such thing.

There is. Really.

Even if there is, it doesn’t apply to me. I’m terrible at reading mana.

You can practice.

…

You can do anything if you practice.

It was easy to guess what Schlus was thinking.

‘What nonsense.’

He must have been thinking that.

Can you do it, Iris? See with mana with your eyes closed?

No.

Then why are you saying that?

Let’s do it together then. I’ll practice too, starting today.

I was exasperated.

Why was she so devoted to this ungrateful bastard?

She was so kind, it rendered all my previous struggles with her meaningless.

People often said that there was no clear distinction between good and evil, but Iris was an exception.

She was unbelievably kind, willing to help even those who intended to harm her.

I was reminded of that once again.

– Shall we start by focusing on the mana right in front of us? I’ll draw a simple formula. Let’s try to read it together…

Iris had saved Schlus’s life and she had pulled him from the depths of despair.

Now she was trying to help him regain his lost sight and hearing.

So this was the part where Schlus started training to see again.

I thought it would take a long time when—

“Gasp…!”

“Whoa!”

My vision suddenly cleared.

The vibrations of mana instantly transformed into sounds.

I turned around and saw that Iris’s hand had slipped from mine.

“Ha… Ha…”

I was back in reality.

But I couldn’t separate Schlus’s emotions from my own.

A wave of inexplicable emotions surged through me.

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