Chapter 19 — The Girl Seeks a Savior

1

It was a coincidence.

An event that flowed naturally, without Manus particularly intending it.

He needed time to think, so he deliberately took a longer route.

From the campus to the dormitory.

The content of his thoughts wasn’t much.

How to provide a foundation for Kael and her companions to grow.

What advice to give, and what path to guide them on.

‘When would be a good time to teach black magic… Hm?’

He saw three students.

One was cornered and trembling, while the other two were surrounding and intimidating one person.

It was a terrible sight that made his head hurt.

It also reminded him of his old self.

That body hadn’t lived as a tyrant like the original Manus.

He had been on the dominated side.

Though he wasn’t severely bullied, he had no presence either.

‘Right, there was that child.’

He was planning to make contact soon anyway.

A character with hair that starts pink and shimmers in multiple colors.

When the first illustration was revealed, it was heavily criticized with comments like “What kind of human hair is this!”

But when seen in-game, it turned out to be a quite well-designed character.

Born and raised in a merchant family, she’s a genius skilled in profit calculations and contracted with spirits.

She’s also known as the black sheep of the ‘Harry’ family, the largest merchant family in the East.

‘The family had quite a few enemies, didn’t they?’

The Harry family is cold and calculating.

They were famous for showing no mercy.

For merchants, trust is life.

This is important not only when giving out goods, but also the opposite.

They’re a family known for their merciless actions if payment isn’t made on time.

‘Harry Melanie’, a character suffering due to this background in the very early stages.

‘Interesting.’

What a natural encounter, as if someone had set it up.

Isn’t this a very good opportunity?

Leaving a strong impression is a very important task.

That’s how you make people remember you more and seek you out more.

“Stop it, please stop-.”

“Shut up, you trash. You still haven’t come to your senses-.”

“Because of your family, my brother’s dream was crushed. And my mother still won’t come out of her room-!”

How is that her fault-?

Melanie was becoming more and more worn down by the endless criticism, blame, and oppression.

She wanted to fire off magic and kill them right away.

But a thread of reason was holding her back.

Unlike the cold-blooded members of her family, she was timid and introverted.

Because she was very sensitive, she could see things that ordinary people couldn’t.

For example-.

Shall I sweep them all away for you? Hm?

Just say the word, I’ll kill them all for you.

Do we have time to mess around with this trash? Just kill them-.

‘No-.’

The terrible voices whispering in her ear.

She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, her nails digging into her flesh, but their incitement didn’t stop.

Kill them, torment them, inflict pain on them, they’re looking down on you, you can do it, why are you just standing there, ignoring you is ignoring us, so gouge out their eyes right now, split their tongues, rip out what’s in their bellies, break their knees so they can never look up at you again, prove your worth,

“Vermin making a fuss, I see.”

Amidst the painful whispers that seemed to brainwash her, a voice pulled her out.

Melanie opened her tightly closed eyes.

The maddening voices were gone, as were the touches of her classmates inflicting physical pain.

There stood a man exuding presence with his enormous mana.

The beings that always hovered around Melanie, encouraging murder and violence, cowered in fear.

The classmates who were bullying her swallowed hard.

“S-Senior Manus-.”

“Senior! Listen, she’s from that notorious Harry family!”

The blue eyes of Manus, which had been staring into space, moved.

Those cold, emotionless pupils mercilessly stared at them.

-So what?

This emotion was so blatantly evident that the ones who had raised their voices felt embarrassed.

A suffocating silence followed, one by one.

Then his pink lips slowly parted.

“Isn’t this Mythos Academy?”

“…”

His words were daggers tearing apart their actions and mindset.

This is Mythos Academy.

Whatever status or past one had outside, here they are called and treated by one title.

Mythos Academy student.

There is no identity simpler and clearer than this.

This was Mythos Academy, a place where one could be free from the past and not have to worry about status.

Isn’t this a place where one is evaluated solely on their abilities as a student?

“Don’t do things you’ll regret. In the end, it’s you who becomes ugly.”

“…Let’s go.”

They left gritting their teeth in the face of unavoidable power.

It’s not that he doesn’t understand their feelings.

Everyone has their own motivations and reasons.

However, those motivations and reasons are not the standard for judging right and wrong in actions.

They probably have their own circumstances too.

He knew that considering each circumstance individually was the quickest way to turn the situation into a mess.

Disappear, she’s not a child for you to covet.

Who are you!

Don’t bully our friend!

This time I’ll really help you!

We’ll help you, we’ll help you!

“Stooop-! Go away, all of you-!”

Melanie covered her ears and shouted in frustration.

The malicious voices tormenting her disappeared.

Huff-, huff-, her labored breathing was pitiful.

Manus waited for her to calm down.

She wiped away her cold sweat and raised her head.

She felt he was a mysterious person.

‘This person…’

Tyrant.

That’s what people called the person in front of her.

They said he was merciless and ruthless, the epitome of nobility.

He was arrogant and treated others like insects, but his skills alone made him untouchable.

For a fleeting moment, she thought:

If I were as strong as him, those kids wouldn’t have bullied me.

She felt both envious and jealous.

“Spirits, I see.”

“Can you see them?”

Manus nodded slightly.

Melanie bowed her head deeply.

She was born and raised in a merchant family, living a life sensitive to favor and grudge relationships.

Regardless of her innate personality, such an environment had changed Melanie.

“I will definitely repay this favor. Thank you so much.”

“It was nothing, but I should receive payment.”

“I’m more comfortable with that too.”

Manus thought for a moment.

Unlike her delicate appearance, Harry Melanie was treated like a tank.

She’s also excellent at dealing damage using spirits, truly a top-tier staple character.

And one more thing.

She also served as an NPC for sub-quests that could further develop character stats.

She was a medium that allowed players to escape the extremely limited space of the school.

“Then now, can you return as a member of the Harry family?”

“Pardon?”

“Pay the price not as a magician, but as a merchant.”

Melanie stared blankly at Manus.

What could he be asking for?

Does he know that she dislikes her family?

No, how could he know that?

Still, debts must be repaid.

She nodded heavily.

“If not as a magician… do you want to borrow the family’s power?”

“No, your power.”

She couldn’t understand.

She hadn’t properly learned the merchant’s trade.

She had nothing that could be called power.

What could a young student with no knowledge, power, or funds do?

She moved her lips.

Before she could object, Manus’s voice was heard first.

“You just need to be a bridge. The outside world needs a lot of talent.”

“Ah-.”

She was smart.

If she couldn’t understand this, she wouldn’t have been admitted to Mythos Academy in the first place.

Melanie.

No, as a member of the Harry family, there was one thing to be proud of.

-Connections.

As a merchant family, they had overwhelming connections.

Manus decided to break through the sub-quest line first and receive her help for the mission he had his eye on this time.

Melanie’s gaze turned to the small paper Manus was holding.

The external mission request that second-year students were supposed to do.

Manus probably wanted help with that job.

She could certainly do that much.

“I’ll help you. I just need to contact the family.”

“Thank you. Come find me if you need help in the future.”

Manus left those words and vanished.

This was as far as it went for now.

If he intervened more, it would disrupt the stage for her to exert her true power.

-Regrettably, Manus was strictly an outsider.

Melanie listened to the sound of footsteps heard in the silence.

Had the sound she wanted to hear ever been so precious?

“Haah-.”

She too trudged along the path.

Their whispers were no longer heard.

It was a peace that had come after a long time.

2

Returning to the dormitory, Manus examined the note.

What was written there was a familiar family crest.

The external missions, what users called sub-quests, had grades.

From copper missions to silver, gold, platinum, ruby, diamond, mithril.

For second-year students, the missions usually assigned to the top A class ranged from gold to platinum.

Even this was a mission that only someone at Alano’s level could take on, considering the entire year.

‘Was it even a side mission at that level?’

Even in such missions, the role of Mythos Academy students was to assist or observe.

Because it was truly a place to see talent.

But this…

“A diamond mission, should I say it’s befitting of a Caesar?”

What could this mean?

A diamond grade mission among those available to second-year students.

It means they wouldn’t even consider it unless you had the skill to take down an adult ogre alone.

The handwriting felt quite familiar.

Was it a remnant of the memory this body originally had, or because it was handwriting he had seen often on screen?

Either way, it was quite absurd.

“I guess I’ll be able to see the faces of family members that were shrouded in mystery.”

[Investigation Request]

[Go to find clues about missing knights in the Caesar territory]

[Mission: Escort the Knights]

[Affiliation: Caesar Magician Corps]

[Time Required: Two days]

Something seems to be happening in the family.

Manus was curious.

What the Caesar family, hailed as the strongest, would look like.

How those who should be called family would greet him.

What expression his father, who told him to do nothing, would make when he saw him.

That’s why he chose this request.

Soon, he would finish learning [High Restio].

An essential passive that refills HP/MP once per turn.

Now there was no need to fear long battles.

‘I should absorb magic stones intensively until then.’

Although departure was tomorrow, there was plenty of time.

He planned to climb the tower again today to imprint the brilliant image of that family he had never seen in the original work.

‘Should I… try taking on the boss?’

He wouldn’t climb the tower while Alano was absent.

Today, the tower would be Manus’s solo stage.

His body was itching with anticipation.

He headed towards the tower with a light step.

–TL Notes–
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