TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 159
*
It is raining.
-Swooshhhh.
From the once clear sky, a downpour began, and the ground, which had been resting during winter, started to soak in the spring breeze carried by the rain.
-Swooooshhh…
The students, who had been conducting field training, were grumbling as they ran under the trees.
-Why is it raining all of a sudden?
-Exactly. Just a little more, and we would’ve caught ten.
-Looks like today’s field training is over.
-Ah, damn. What a shame!
Watching the students create small shadows with their palms to shield themselves from the rain as they approached, I began rummaging through the bundle on my back to find an umbrella.
“Hmm…”
One by one, the students came closer to me.
When I found the umbrella, the students swarmed toward me like a pack of dogs. Smiling, I started waving my hand.
“Over here! There’s an umbrella here!”
The first to arrive was the associate professor from the Swordsmanship Department. I couldn’t recall his name.
All I remembered was his shiny bald head and his notoriously bad temper. I remembered him as an Educator who experienced early baldness at a young age.
He had no exceptional martial techniques.
He was just someone who knew how to get angry.
Still, I didn’t dislike him. People can be like this or that, after all.
I looked at the Octopus approaching me with a small smile.
“Welcome.”
The professor didn’t say a word and extended his hand.
With a flick of his fingers, the professor gestured for the umbrella. His arrogant gesture made me smile as I kept my mouth shut.
-…
A brief silence passed.
The professor, standing in the rain, looked displeased with the disciple’s hesitation, while my gaze, treating the professor like seafood, intersected with his.
‘What.’
‘What.’
‘What are you going to do about it.’
‘This little brat.’
Unable to endure the silence, the Octopus finally spoke. It seemed he needed the umbrella I was holding to protect his remaining hair.
“Umbrella.”
Almost clapping at his effort to preserve his species, I nodded and replied.
“One Hundred Gold.”
“What?”
“The price has gone up. Three Hundred Gold.”
Raindrops began to slide down the professor’s bald head as he stared at me with a stern expression.
As droplets formed on his long mustache, I muttered to myself as if talking to no one.
“I heard rain accelerates baldness.”
“…”
“Your remaining hair might fall out completely.”
“…”
“I’m sorry. The rain just reminded me of it, that’s all. I wasn’t directing it at you, Professor.”
“…”
The professor, with a stern expression, looked at me and spoke.
“Is that true?”
With a cruel smile, I answered.
“Yes, it’s true. I read it in a medical book once. Rain accelerates baldness…”
The professor rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a shiny gold coin.
“One coin. I’ll give you the rest of the money tomorrow.”
With a genuine smile, I handed over the umbrella.
“A wise choice.”
“Huhuhu…”
“Hehe…”
As expected, push-overs are easy to reel in.
*
Under the rainy sky.
Separated from the group, Mikhail, Yuria, and Histania Hanna hid under a tree to avoid the drenching downpour.
“Ah…! I wanted to share an umbrella with the Butler!”
Hanna stomped her feet, expressing her disappointment.
Mikhail clicked his tongue at Hanna’s behavior, while Yuria perked up her ears at Hanna’s words and let out a sigh of regret.
“Me too…”
“Hmm? Yuria, did you call me?”
“No, I was just talking to myself.”
No demonic beast in this place could handle the three of them, given their exceptional skills.
A regular Orc couldn’t withstand Mikhail’s sword imbued with aura, nor could it keep up with the swift swordsmanship of Hanna.
Thinking they might cause trouble for their peers if they stayed in the same area, Mikhail had led the two of them to a place away from Ricardo for their field training.
Of course, leaving the area designated by Ricardo was an obvious violation. But the two were confident in their skills, and Yuria thought it would be fine. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
-Swooshhhh.
The fierce sound of the rain continued relentlessly.
In a secluded place where no one passed by, and no students were present, the three quietly took shelter from the rain.
An awkward breeze blew through.
The person they admired.
The person who was admired.
And Yuria.
The three of them waited silently for the rain to stop.
After what seemed like an eternity of silence.
Mikhail cautiously spoke, realizing the rain showed no signs of stopping.
“The rain keeps falling.”
“Yeah…”
“It does.”
“I wish it would stop soon.”
There was no response.
Mikhail glanced at Hanna’s indifferent face and gave up on continuing the conversation.
Since Hanna, who was close to Ricardo, made him feel awkward, Mikhail turned to the crouched Yuria and started some light small talk.
The weather has been warming up lately.
This year, there was a lot of snow, and so on. As they exchanged lighthearted remarks, the conversation drifted to their first night at the lodging.
“Yuria, what did you do yesterday?”
“I was just resting at the lodging.”
“Really?”
“What about you, Mikhail?”
“Me…”
As Ricardo’s face briefly flashed in his mind, Mikhail frowned slightly before forcing an awkward smile and answering.
“I was resting too.”
“I see.”
Yuria turned her head to look at Hanna, who was drawing on the ground with a tree branch.
Hanna was sketching the familiar figure of The Man. Though curious, Yuria held back and redirected Mikhail’s question to Hanna.
“Hanna, what about you? Were you also resting at the lodging?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
Hanna answered Yuria’s question, shaking her head.
“I went to see Lady Olivia.”
“Huh?”
“I thought she might be bored, so I visited her after a long time.”
Hanna burst into laughter as she drew on the ground with a tree branch, recalling what happened last night.
-Did you bring chocolate?
-Yes!
-Oh…! Good. I will praise you.
-Instead of praise, can’t you adore me?
-No.
-Why not?
-Just because. It’s bothersome.
Olivia, who had been so bothersome.
Now, Hanna somewhat understood why the Butler served Olivia.
At Hanna’s words, the two kept their mouths shut. Olivia’s existence was like a nightmare to them.
Evil and selfish.
The two, victims of the selfish villainess’s evil deeds, kept their mouths shut and said nothing.
Mikhail spoke to Hanna in a cold voice.
“How do you know Olivia?”
“I got to know her when I went to deliver the reenrollment application last time.”
“You got close to Olivia?”
“Yes, she’s not exactly good… but she’s fun.”
Hanna smiled pleasantly, feeling herself becoming more like Ricardo.
Mikhail, with a stern expression, spoke to Hanna. Just as he opened his mouth to advise her not to associate with dangerous people—
-Rumble…!
“Don’t associate with Olivia…”
-Crash!!!!
With a blinding flash,
A black shadow appeared in front of Mikhail.
“Found you.”
It was The Man, exuding chilling killing intent.
Wearing a white cleric robe,
With a deep scar on his eye,
And sharp eyes, The Man.
The Man laughed as he looked at Mikhail.
With thick killing intent and a chilling smile that made one’s entire body shudder, The Man continued to stare intently at Mikhail.
Hanna instinctively grabbed the sword hilt.
Reacting to the thick killing intent emanating from him, she reflexively assumed a stance and began gathering aura.
Gripping her sword tightly, Hanna swallowed nervously, thinking that carelessness could mean death.
Yuria, likewise, began drawing mana to cast buffs.
And Mikhail.
From the moment he saw The Man’s face until now, his body had frozen coldly in place.
The Man ignored Hanna and Yuria, focusing solely on Mikhail.
Taking out a photograph from his pocket, The Man compared it to Mikhail’s face, carefully observing his eyes, nose, and mouth before nodding.
“No wonder your face looked familiar.”
The Man let out a sneering smile and dropped the photograph to the ground.
A photograph getting soaked in the rain.
It was a picture of Mikhail, awarded for an incident in the dungeon last time.
The Man spoke to Mikhail.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
With a cruel smile, he spoke chillingly.
“The one who killed your friend to save yourself.”
Mikhail’s expression began to harden coldly.
*
It was a very old memory.
No.
It was an old nightmare.
What had happened when he encountered the disaster known as a villain in the dark slums.
That day, too, it had rained just like this.
And that Man had stood there.
-I told you to run away when you had the chance. Now, because of you, this Kid is going to die.
-N…No…!
-What do you mean, no?
He had been terrified.
The Big-Bodied Person swinging his fist, being hit by someone for the first time in his life—everything had been terrifying because it was all new to him.
That day, The Man had spoken with a smile, just like now.
-Ah, I just thought of something fun.
He had offered cruel choices.
-Fight each other. I’ll let the one who survives live.
-…
-Why are you just standing there? Move.
And that day, he had made a choice.
A choice he would regret for the rest of his life.
He had done it with his own hands.