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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Summer was passing, and the cooler season was naturally approaching.
Coincidentally, it was quite cloudy that day, so the students training in the massive stadium seemed lighter on their feet.
“I haven’t lived that long in this world, but…”
The refreshing coolness of the lemonade coming through the straw stimulated my tongue with a tingling sensation.
“I don’t think there’s anything more enjoyable than resting alone while others are working hard.”
At my words, Hayun, who had come to take a break and was wiping her sweat with a towel, involuntarily twisted her eyes.
It was as if she was thinking, “What kind of jerk is this?” But what could I do?
My right hand was broken, so I had no choice but to sit in the shaded seats and rest.
‘Ah, this one thing is nice and comfortable.’
To be honest, I disliked everything about the Priestess of Time, but thanks to the right hand she broke for me, I conveniently didn’t have to join the kids in their activities.
No matter how much they had lost for 13 years, it didn’t seem right for me to jump in and kick balls with them.
I didn’t want to become an invasive species in the ecosystem and plant traumas in well-growing kids.
Of course, the dean sincerely regretted it and insisted that I could win even with a broken right hand, but…
“By the way, I heard you went to the royal palace recently.”
Hayun, who I thought would just leave in annoyance, sat down in the seat next to me
She must have sprayed deodorizer, as a fragrant flower scent tickled my nose instead of sweat.
“Well, I went and resolved some things.”
“Did you see my uncle?”
Was she talking about Heaven Len?
I didn’t remember seeing him at the banquet.
“No, why?”
I wondered why she was asking about her uncle when she had shown no interest in her family, having already severed ties, but her expression looked somewhat serious.
“I hear the Len family’s movements have been strange lately. Even though I try not to pay attention, word naturally reaches me.”
“Strange movements?”
“First, all the servants working for the family were fired. Among them was someone who had taken care of me since childhood, and I met with them.”
She also mentioned things like how her uncle’s safe, which was never opened except for emergencies, had been emptied, and strange decorations had been placed in the garden and interior.
It sounded like some kind of unsettling change of heart had occurred.
I wondered if Hayun might still have some familial affection left for her uncle, but…
“I just hope it doesn’t cause any trouble for me. I’m going to make it on my own, you know.”
It seemed she didn’t care at all what happened to Heaven Len. Rather, she seemed to hope that if possible, he wouldn’t get involved with her life.
“Don’t worry too much. You just need to find your own path.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
For Hayun, Aios Academy’s representative flower beggar, living expenses were a more realistic and immediate problem than family issues.
Of course, she now had many regular customers, so it wasn’t like she needed money urgently, but no matter how much you stuff into it, wasn’t a wallet always lacking?
“How are things with Eris?”
Hayun naturally changed the subject.
My hand, which had put down the lemonade, was left hovering in the air, having lost its destination.
“How? There’s been no contact at all since we decided to keep our distance. Well, I guess that’s natural.”
I didn’t tell Hayun about seeing the future and such, just vaguely explained that we were keeping our distance and thinking things over a bit.
“Hmm, let me change the question a bit. How are you?”
“…What do you mean?”
Hayun snatched the lemonade I had been drinking and quenched her thirst.
Perhaps because she was a flower beggar, she put her mouth on the straw someone else had used without any hesitation.
“Eris felt something for you and suggested that you guys should keep your distance, right? I can’t say anything complicated, but from my perspective, it seems like you need to sort something out inside yourself.”
That was true.
I needed to accept and acknowledge that I shouldn’t view the Eris from before my regression and the current Eris as the same person, but…
“……”
To be honest, I didn’t like it.
To me, the Eris who had smiled and proposed to me in the Demon Realm Forest still seemed to appear before my eyes like a mirage.
What I needed to do now was reach out my hand and confirm that it was an illusion and accept it.
‘It’s hard.’
But I couldn’t do that.
Eris was still alive.
If I moved to meet her right now, I could go see her.
She was clearly alive, smiling, and happy.
But to say she wasn’t her?
That the Eris I remembered and the current Eris were different?
It was true, and it was a truth I had to accept, which made it even harder.
Despite Eris being there, I had to let go of Eris.
That was crueler than I could have imagined, and a sadness beyond resentment was sinking me like seawater, corroding my heart.
“It’s okay.”
As I remained silent, Hayun patted my shoulder to comfort me.
What I was worrying about wasn’t important.
She just knew I was struggling, so she was simply there for me.
“Thanks.”
Whenever we talked about romance, I felt grateful that Hayun was there.
Yet she herself didn’t seem particularly interested in the men around her.
Wanting to help Hayun a little, I was about to ask if she had any guy she liked, but an uninvited guest barged in.
“Daniel, is your hand okay?”
Sen, suddenly poked her head out next to my shoulder.
She had been half-hearted until last year, but at Hayun and Eve’s request, she was now properly preparing for the competition.
“You startled me.”
I had been feeling this lately, but I had become too immersed in the academy’s cozy atmosphere.
Sen had grown, but for me to miss her presence because my mind was relaxed…
‘Sigh, it’s not like this is a problem that can be solved overnight.’
It didn’t seem likely that a formidable opponent like the Priestess of Time would appear again soon, but still, dulled senses could definitely be fatal when dealing with such beings.
However, this wasn’t something I could train just because I wanted to.
What good would it do to try to sense presence’s and expand my senses alone in a place with nothing?
I could probably properly hone my senses only in a situation where my life was in danger at any moment, like in the Demon Realm Forest.
‘Maybe I should go back for a few days.’
I thought about maybe building a villa and living there for a while after the competition ended, since vacation would come soon anyway.
“I decided to do mana volleyball. Look at this.”
Sen suddenly jumped in front of the seat and showed a spiking pose.
It naturally reminded me of a mermaid leaping above the sea surface.
Although I knew nothing about volleyball, I could tell that her form was quite clean.
“You’re covering for your short height with jumping power, huh?”
“Yeah, the volleyball team captain likes it as a secret weapon.”
Seeing her satisfied expression with a slight smile, I felt moved without realizing it.
Was this really the same assassin whose emotions had been deadened by drugs?
This brother is proud of you.
I got up for no reason, patted Sen’s head, and sat back down as students entered the stadium.
There were about the same number as our academy students, but their uniforms were different, and the professors leading them were people I had never seen before.
“It’s Pales Academy.”
“I heard they were coming today.”
At Sen and Hayun’s words, I stretched my neck while sitting to look over those guys.
Even from a distance, there seemed to be quite a few intimidating ones.
Even though they must have known that Aios had arrived in Bairn first to train, Pales Academy arrived as originally scheduled without rushing.
This meant they were that confident, and it was a sign that they were looking down on us.
Amanda, the E-class professor who was also instructing running, stepped forward to exchange words with the opposing professor, then hysterically turned around and told the kids to go back.
“What’s this? We’re finishing early today?”
I thought we had only done morning practice, but Hayun, who had already experienced the competition twice, explained.
“The rental fee for Bairn’s large stadium is expensive, so the two academies split it half and half. So around this time, we start sharing the time.”
Ah, I see.
So now we, who had been using it continuously, had to inevitably give way.
Since all I had brought was lemonade anyway, I grabbed the remaining drink and slurped it as I joined the group.
Eve and Tana, who were sweating profusely, approached me and proudly said,
“Daniel! I came in second in running! The hellish dawn runs are paying off!”
“I’m also a cricket reserve! The exercise you made us do, which I thought was because you wanted to see girls breathing hot and heavy, is paying off!”
“Right, I’m sure you know how to say it more nicely, but the fact that you’re deliberately being sarcastic shows you really hated it.”
Next time, I’ll make it even tougher.
As I chatted with them like that, we left the stadium.
As we passed by the Pales Academy students, they glared at us quite fiercely.
‘These guys seem to be clearly divided into factions.’
About half of them were glaring at us with openly delinquent looks, like May.
The other half were looking down on us with faces like model students completely immersed in studying.
“Aios is full of idiots, but their girls are pretty.”
“Hehe, empty-headed girls are usually pretty, you know.”
“That blue-haired girl’s body is insane. Her breasts…”
“Did you see that black-haired girl earlier? I didn’t see her last year, but she was really something. A goddess.”
“Ah, why don’t we have girls like that?”
Low-class conversations could be heard.
They weren’t accidentally leaking them out, but deliberately talking loudly for us to hear.
As I was drinking my lemonade, I glanced at Eve and Tana and asked,
“Should I go beat them up?”
“No, it’s okay. Daniel, your right hand is injured too.”
“That’s right! Fighting here would only cause trouble.”
“Hmm? Alright then.”
Nodding, I threw the lemonade bottle with the little that remained at the guy who had been whispering about Eve earlier.
“Ah! What the hell!”
The guy with artificially yellow hair, not natural blonde like Tana and Elise but dyed or magically altered, got angry and rushed at me.
“Are you crazy? Why did you suddenly throw this! I’m all wet, you bastard!”
The foul-mouthed guy, matching his appearance, was holding the bottle I had thrown and looked about to throw it back.
The stirred-up students gathered around me and him.
Tana and Eve were startled and tried to stop me, but this didn’t concern the two of them.
“Aish, why are you drinking someone else’s lemonade without permission?”
“…What?”
The guy glared at me as if I was talking nonsense, but my hand was already moving forward, catching his chin with my middle finger and thumb.
“Ugh, urk!”
His waist bent backwards involuntarily, seemingly surprised by the unexpected grip strength.
I had only talked about it to Ares, but I didn’t expect to demonstrate here that I could kill someone with two fingers.
“How could you drink the lemonade I was saving for later like that, friend? What’s your name?”
“Uurgh, urk!”
As I pressed down firmly with my thumb under his chin and my middle finger on top of his tongue, the guy made a pitiful face and struggled to remove my hand, but to no avail.
His friends tried to intervene from the side, but I, possessed by Yggdrasil, didn’t budge an inch and continued to press down on the guy.
“If you have kleptomania, you should say so. Or were you just too thirsty? Is that why you drank my drink without permission?”
“Uuurgh! Aaargh!”
As the guy tried to say something, I looked down at him and whispered softly.
“Think carefully and try speaking again.”
I smiled and released my hand, and the guy covered his mouth with both hands and whimpered.
“I-I’m sorry…!”
Thud!
The apologetic face of the guy who was about to apologize flew away.
One of his molars popped out and decorated the stadium as he rolled on the ground.
Short, closely cropped hair.
Not particularly bigger than other students, but well-defined muscles like a wild horse of the plains, visible even through the uniform.
Slanted eyes and a rough appearance that looked ready to pounce at any moment.
The guy who had kicked his fellow academy student’s face as if practicing looked at me with his hands in his pockets.
“Are you scared of a cripple and apologizing? That’s pathetic.”
To the surrounding students, it seemed like a tense situation, but…
“Pfft.”
I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
How could I not?
Humans were creatures of comparison.
Are you better, or am I better?
Is their land better, or is my horse more excellent?
Is the crazy fanatic I fought before more threatening, or is the frog in the well croaking at the academy scarier?
“You’re laughing?”
I felt sorry for the guy, but compared to the woman who had charged at me with clock hands…
This delinquent boy seemed so pure and cute.
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