Chapter 76 : Turning Point (3)

Chapter 76: Turning Point (3)

“Junior, excuse me, but by any chance… have you recently had some kind of realization?”

The first words Lancia spoke the moment she saw me again after a long while, with a peculiar expression, were exactly that.

When I looked at her as if asking what she was talking about, she flinched like she had frightened herself and waved both hands frantically.

Every time she moved, her blue, water-like hair shimmered like waves.

“Ah…! I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it in a weird way, I mean, what I meant was…!”

“Does it seem to you that I’ve changed somehow, Senior?”

“Th-that’s… uhm….”

Lancia hesitated for a moment, then began glancing around carefully.

Only after making sure no one was paying us any attention did she finally open her mouth as though she were revealing some great secret.

“It’s like the aura, or the atmosphere around you, has become a lot more pure and vast…? Uh, I don’t know if that’s the right way to put it… Anyway, I’m not good with words so I can’t explain it well, but it feels like you’ve changed a little from before.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, and, um… this is a bit of a different matter but…”

Lancia blushed faintly, as if embarrassed.

“…Your skin.”

“Pardon?”

“Your skin has… become really good. That’s for certain. For a moment, I even wondered if you’d put on some kind of cosmetic product.”

I closed my mouth at her words.

Not because I found her impression absurd or because I was flustered.

No—if anything, maybe “flustered” really was the most accurate description.

‘So there really has been a change noticeable enough for others to see….’

It seemed the bizarre, torture-like process I underwent at the hands of Professor Windy May had truly been effective.

To be honest, even I could faintly feel it myself.

Moving my body was easier than before, and not only handling mana but even divine power had become far smoother.

Maybe it was just in my head, but even breathing felt easier somehow—everything felt distinctly different from before.

…Though I hadn’t expected anyone to say my skin looked better.

‘Wait, does that mean what Professor Windy May said back then was true?’

When I finally regained consciousness after having fainted without realizing it, the first thing I registered was an intense stench stabbing my nose.

At first, in my hazy state, I thought it was the ointment that had been applied before. But soon I realized it was far fouler and more disgusting.

And when I fully came to, the first thing I saw was that my whole body was covered in some indescribable, sticky, revolting blackish substance.

‘Professor Windy May said it was waste like dirt and dust coming out of my body. And sebum…? Some kind of oily stuff mixed in as well, apparently.’

At first, I had no idea what she meant, but now, seeing Lancia’s reaction, maybe she had been telling the truth.

‘Come to think of it….’

Knights, priests, magicians.

I had heard that once people reached a certain level, their bodies began to change on their own, as if they had a will that matched the techniques and abilities they’d mastered.

Their bodies would no longer accumulate impurities, poisons would cease to work on them, and they would stop suffering from minor illnesses.

‘Some even said their bodies grew younger depending on the person.’

It was something I had overheard back when I was working as a mercenary in my previous life.

Like most mercenary tales, I dismissed it as exaggeration and bluff.

After all, who would believe that without any magic, an eighty-year-old man could naturally turn into a child?

But looking back now, even if not everything they said was true, there must have been at least a grain of truth to it.

“…Rather than an enlightenment, it’s more like I’ve been undergoing a certain training.”

“As I thought…!”

Lancia’s eyes sparkled with surprise, and she nodded eagerly.

Then she clenched both fists and murmured in admiration.

“It must have been an incredible training, right?”

“Well, yes…”

It was certainly something I never wanted to go through again.

My lukewarm response only deepened her misunderstanding.

“For Junior to dislike it this much… then it must truly have been an unimaginably harsh training….”

She muttered as if regretting something.

“To be honest, even though I knew it was impolite, I wanted to ask you about what kind of training it was… but seeing your reaction, it’s obvious it was such brutal training that ordinary people wouldn’t even dare attempt it.”

“Well…? If you put your mind to it, I think you could definitely handle it, Senior.”

To be frank, unlike me who fainted halfway, she probably wouldn’t even scream once.

After all, she was none other than Lancia Jintia.

The very woman of rumor who, under a curse that burned her whole body, struck directly by lightning from the heavens, didn’t even blink as she tore apart a Great Demon.

But at my answer, Lancia only shook her head humbly.

“No way! …If anything, I feel you need to be a little less modest, Junior.”

“Haha, even as mere flattery, I appreciate the compliment.”

“It’s not flattery, I really mean it….”

Muttering as if she felt wronged, Lancia stretched out her arms as if to tell me to look around.

“See here. Sister Roberta’s class is especially infamous for being harsh, yet even after that, you’re still staying behind to train like this.”

“There are others besides us here too, Senior.”

At that, Lancia let out a startled gasp as though I had struck a sore spot.

“T-that’s because we’re second-years. And more importantly, we’re Holy Knight cadets… at least among the first-years, there’s no one like you, Junior.”

“Hmm….”

“And honestly, anyone who has built up even a little training would probably look at you and think, ‘He’s extraordinary~.’”

“Haha.”

“Ah, you’re definitely thinking I’m joking again…! I-I’m serious! Really! There are even whispers among us about it.”

When I looked at Lancia in surprise, she pulled a guilty expression.

She immediately began to mumble excuses.

“I-it’s not like I started the talk or anything, really….”

“…Are you saying those whispers are coming from the student council, by any chance?”

“Y-yes… huh? You knew already?”

“Roughly.”

I nodded in response to her question.

‘The student council, huh.’

At Arpentia Academy, there were two kinds of student councils.

The student councils of each dormitory and year, which represented and managed their own members.

And above them, the general student council that united and oversaw them.

The former was relatively free and loose, while the latter was rigid and felt much more like an actual organization.

The one Lancia mentioned was clearly the former.

Among their duties was identifying students who required close attention, or those who had excellent grades or exceptional talents.

‘It felt like self-consciousness, but I guess I really did end up on that list.’

A strange mix of emotions welled up inside me.

Unlike in my past life, this was clear evidence that external evaluations of me had definitely changed.

But then, I tilted my head slightly.

‘But I haven’t really done anything that should’ve drawn attention, have I?’

Perhaps my thoughts showed plainly on my face, because Lancia answered as if she had read my mind.

“I know you’re trying to keep it hidden… but divine power isn’t something you can cover up just because you want to, is it? I think some of the more sensitive upperclassmen have started to pick up on it little by little.”

“Well, yes, that would be true.”

I quietly nodded.

Because she was right.

Even if I had intended to hide my divine power, I had never expected to conceal it completely.

It was not something that could be truly hidden in the first place.

There were some ways to do so, if one really wanted… but none of them were options I could use right now.

The most likely method was using a “magic tool that concealed divine power,” the same kind Lancia herself might be using—but since those were strictly regulated by the Holy Sun Church, it was virtually impossible for me.

“You know, there’s that saying. Paper that wraps incense will smell fragrant even if the incense is gone, and straw rope that tied up fish will still stink even after the fish is gone….”

Lancia watched me carefully as she spoke.

“Um, Junior. I really didn’t bring it up myself or anything. I just happened to hear it being talked about by the student council, passed along.”

“Yes, I know.”

At my reply, Lancia looked even more surprised.

“Ah, um… thank you for believing me.”

“Not at all. It hasn’t been long, but from the times I’ve met you, I know you’re not the type of person to do that.”

“U-um.”

Lancia muttered something and turned her head away.

Her face was flushed bright red, and seeing that reminded me again that even in my past life, she would get terribly embarrassed whenever someone expressed gratitude to her.

“Phew….”

She let out a small sigh, placed a hand on her forehead, and looked as though she were deliberating something.

Then, as if having reached a decision, she gave a small nod, looked at me with a cautious expression, and spoke.

“T-this is only something I’m telling you so you’ll be careful.”

The words that followed forced me to harden my expression.

“Oh my, isn’t that Lian?”

“Hello, Amaruah.”

When I stepped into the library, Amaruah rose from her seat and greeted me with a smile.

I no longer needed to research the Brand, but for various reasons I still often visited the library.

In Amaruah’s case, when we first met, she had said she would be very grateful if I came often. And it seemed she hadn’t been joking, because every time she saw me, she welcomed me with unusual warmth.

“I’d like to borrow these, please.”

“Lian, you’re still so diligent. Unlike most kids these days. I wish other students were even half as earnest as you and that child….”

As I set the books I had brought down, she muttered with a sigh, almost like a complaint.

Then she covered her mouth with one hand and burst into laughter.

“Oh dear, how awful. Didn’t I just sound so old just now?”

“Not at all. In fact, when I first met you, I even wondered if I should call you Senior.”

“Oh, oh! You can flatter me all you want, but you won’t get anything out of it!”

Even so, perhaps because she was in a good mood, she laughed heartily.

Then she began processing the loan approval much faster than usual.

Watching her with a smile, I recalled the conversation I had just had with Lancia.

― Allen Amiel. He’s your friend, right? There are bad rumors about that student going around among the upperclassmen these days.

― It seems to be spreading mostly among the Crowns and the Hilts… As you know, Holy Knight cadets often interact with the Hilt students, so I suppose that’s why the rumors reached us too.

― The main source seems to be the third-years… but since it’s spread enough that it’s reached my ears as a second-year, you can say that most students active in academy life have heard it at least once.

― It doesn’t feel like a simple idle rumor—it feels unusually malicious. I thought you should know….

‘Now that I think about it, I did notice that Allen’s usual group was absent recently, and I saw students whispering… so that was all because of the rumors?’

Maybe because it was something that had never happened in my previous life, it hadn’t even crossed my mind.

Which is why I couldn’t help but think deeply on it.

‘The first difference from my past life is that the indiscriminate attack incident didn’t happen….’

But to say the rumors spread because of that would be too much of a leap.

First, I had to figure out what exactly the rumor was, and where it originated.

Of course, the simple guess would be that Allen’s half-brother, Kyren Amiel, who hated him the most, was the one spreading it….

‘No, that’s too shallow.’

I shook my head immediately.

From the conversations I had with him before, I knew he wasn’t the kind of man with such shallow schemes.

More than that, he was the type who would rather confront someone head-on and crush them, instead of resorting to petty plots.

‘Then it must mean someone else is slandering Allen.’

But why…?

Lost in thought, I was brought back by the sound of books being placed on the desk with a soft thud.

“There, all done. Be sure to return them within the loan period.”

“Yes, thank you as always, Amaruah.”

Instead of reaching for the books, I slipped my hand into my pocket.

It was time to take out what I had actually come here for.

“…By the way, do you know anything about this?”

“Hmm? About what?”

Fumbling inside my robes, I pulled out the brooch I had received in a letter.

It was the very brooch my stepmother, the Countess of Gwendil, had sent me, telling me to show it to Amaruah Atillipel, the librarian before me.

“That is….”

“The Countes—hm.”

Coughing awkwardly, I spoke as I saw Amaruah narrow her eyes at the brooch.

“My mother sent it in a letter. She said you two were close senior and junior back in the academy days. And that if I ever found myself in trouble, I should seek you out, saying she had never met anyone wiser and more prudent than you…?”

Midway through, I noticed something strange in the atmosphere and stopped to look at her.

Amaruah Atillipel.

The middle-aged librarian was staring, not at me, but at the brooch in my hand, silently.

“That.”

After a moment, she spoke quietly.

“Show me that.”

“Ah, yes.”

As if it were the most natural thing, she held out her hand, and I—almost entranced—handed it over.

It was only moments later that I realized her tone and demeanor were completely different from just before.

“Yes… it’s certain this is the one I gave to that child.”

Looking over the brooch with pained eyes, Amaruah let out a faint sigh.

Then she set it down and gazed at me with an unreadable look.

Eyes that seemed to pierce into the depths of me.

I knew a few people who looked at me with such eyes.

Windy May Maddown.

Talia Poas.

The woman in the fox mask I had once met in the streets.

And lastly, the dragon, Airos, who guarded the mausoleum.

Every one of them had a strength I couldn’t hope to reach.

And now, she had the same eyes.

“I thought, since her two elder sons didn’t bring it, she must have set it aside for her own sake in the future. But I never imagined her youngest son, who doesn’t share her blood, would be the one to bring it. That child always did surprise me with actions I could never predict.”

Muttering cryptically, she suddenly snapped her fingers.

At once, I felt something like an invisible veil surround us.

“I only set it so sound won’t escape. Don’t panic.”

Seeing me flinch, she muttered as if telling me not to make a fuss.

I could only sit there dumbfounded, unable to keep up with what was happening.

‘…What is this?’

Truly, I had no idea what was going on.

I had only come to the library with a letter and a brooch.

‘Just what is happening right now?’

Why had her warm, gentle demeanor suddenly shifted?

Why was she looking at me with eyes that made my skin crawl?

And how could she so easily cast high-level magic with just a snap of her fingers?

I had no idea.

“So… you’ve brought this to me because you want something, haven’t you?”

Regardless, Amaruah continued calmly.

Leaning back in her chair with a relaxed posture, she slowly removed her glasses with one hand.

“If a vow was made, then it must be kept. And since you’ve brought me an item bound by oath, you are entitled to receive its reward.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Go on, tell me. And be proud, as much as you like.”

As her glasses came fully off, her bare face and eyes were revealed.

And those eyes were certainly not human.

Her pupils were vertical, like those of a reptile.

They gleamed eerily at me.

The very same eyes as Airos.

“After all, opportunities to make a wish to a dragon are not so common.”

What in the world.