Her ponytail was impeccably coiled without a single strand out of place, and her armband was cut at a sharp angle.
Even her school uniform was without a wrinkle, just like usual.
“…What’s going on? It was torn up quite a bit during the fight.”
Not a scratch or a speck of dust in sight.
Could her clothes have the ability to repair themselves?
If such a technology existed, it would surely break many men’s hearts.
Of course, I’m not one of them. Because I’m not a pervert.
“She changed her clothes earlier. Did you know that? Even the armband is new.”
“Really?”
“She carries three of each to prepare for situations like this.”
Hmm, that’s so like Rodelin. A perfectionist indeed.
Anyway, Rodelin looked down at Lucia with a stern gaze.
“Get up immediately! The forest of the academy is off-limits to outsiders, and eating here is strictly forbidden!”
“Rodelin! How could you say that! I’m your sister! Your beloved family!”
“In public duties, it’s even more important to be strict with family.”
“Does that mean you do love me?”
Lucia’s sly smile.
Rodelin shuddered.
“Say you love me! Hurry up!”
“Ah, ah! Don’t cling to me!”
“Oh, our cute youngest! Let’s see how much you’ve grown!”
Fondle, fondle.
Lucia’s hands roamed all over Rodelin.
Hmm, what a sight. What do you mean, what sight?
Of course, the deep love between family members. What else could it be?
Such perverted kids.
“Kyaa, kyaaa!”
Oh, to hear such a girlish scream from Rodelin.
This is precious. I’ll make a mental note of it.
“…Perverted kid.”
Luna muttered that under her breath.
Hmm, she couldn’t possibly be talking about me, right?
No way. Because I’m not a pervert.
“Sit down! How can you be so lax! Didn’t I clearly tell you over the break!”
As Lucia kneeled down, Rodelin’s lecture began.
“Really, big sister! Don’t you have any sense of duty as a soldier?”
“Hehe, sorry.”
“A soldier should always…”
Rodelin’s lengthy speech commenced.
It was odd to see Rodelin, who wasn’t even a recruit, lecturing Lucia, who defended the frontier, on the spirit of a soldier.
But Lucia just grinned, seeming to have wanted the scolding. Or maybe I’m mistaken?
It must be. To think Lucia could be a pervert.
Lucia is one of my favorite characters.
She couldn’t possibly be like that.
“Do you understand? Always maintain proper conduct and behavior.”
“But our Delin is too cute. Just makes me want to hug her.”
“Wh-who are you calling cute! And I told you not to call me that! I am an adult!”
Rodelin glanced around, clearly embarrassed.
Aha, so she’s called Delin? That’s adorable.
Too cute. I must call her that next time. Our cute Delin~.
“Zero, you’ve earned yourself a demerit point!”
Why on earth! Is it a crime to think now?
And how did she know what I was thinking!?
Luna clicked her tongue as she watched.
“It’s pretty obvious when you’re having perverted thoughts.”
“Keke, I’ve never had such thoughts.”
“Yeah~ sure, whatever you say. Anyway…”
Luna leaned slightly and rested on my shoulder.
“From now on, think of me first before you proceed with any thoughts. Whatever they may be.”
“Cough!”
Blood dripped from Yuridia’s nose as she quickly began to scribble something down.
Zero and Luna’s romance quotes, perhaps?
Snore, snore-.
Luna fell asleep in an instant.
Feeling her warmth, I was lost in thought, understanding the meaning behind her words.
Before thinking, consider me first.
I was the one willing to sacrifice everything and take all the risks alone.
Luna was scolding me for that.
Don’t make decisions alone without discussing them.
If it happens again, she’ll kill me.
That must be what she meant.
Being not so articulate, her expression came out that way.
Others might not understand, but I did.
Click!
Yuridia managed to stop her nosebleed and gave a thumbs up.
It seemed like she was supporting our love.
Yuridia, it’s not like that.
She’s not craving my love but attention.
A lunatic obsessed with attention!
Alex, Raymon, and the sleeping Luna.
It was while I was looking at the peacefully sleeping children.
Ding-.
[You have cleared the Hidden Quest, ‘Defeat the 4th grade demon, ‘Bineus”.]
[You have been awarded 300exp and 30 gold.]
[You have been awarded ‘Demon’s Blood (A)’.]
[You have acquired the title, ‘Scorching Alert’.]
[Scorching Alert]
Fire attribute resistance +30
[Demon’s Blood: A]
You can feel the demonic energy.
Penalties received from an opponent’s demonic energy -50%.
Effect of demonic energy-related skills +25%.
Effect of holy energy-related skills -25%.
The flood of information windows dazzled my eyes.
But only two things were important.
I turned off all other information windows except for those two.
‘A title, too?’
A title that increases fire attribute resistance by 30.
It’s a stackable title, so having it can’t be bad.
Next, [Demon’s Blood].
A passive skill that amplifies the effect of demonic energy and reduces the effect of holy energy.
This is thrilling. Why?
Because now I can also participate. In what?
‘Ugh! Demonic energy, huh!’
…Not joking, I was genuinely thrilled.
Because I was always left out of their fun.
Only those who know the sadness of not sharing the same experiences in group activities can understand.
Anyway, that’s not the only important thing.
The reduction of penalties from an opponent’s demonic energy. That’s significant.
For mid-level demons and above, and for eroded lands.
Penalties occur due to demonic energy, but their effect is reduced by as much as 50%.
‘Of course, there are penalties.’
The reduction in the effect of holy energy means that the effect of potions is 25% less on me than on others. Some might say it’s a disadvantage, but this is truly a great skill. It’s a skill every veteran player would want.
At the start of the game, many tried to obtain the [Demon’s Blood] skill through early potential gambling.
This alone shows how valuable the skill is.
To think I got [Demon’s Blood] after defeating Teacher Lérang and receiving the [Fleur Family Style].
“Well, considering the difficulty, it might seem a bit stingy… But it looks like my luck is finally turning.”
The skills [Clean] and [Hyper Sense] I got through potential gambling are truly exceptional.
And now, I feel like my luck is starting to open up.
I’m looking forward to the next potential gambling.
“And the reward time isn’t over yet.”
It seems I’ve fully recovered. It’s time to move. If I delay any further, I might miss out on rewards.
Snore, snore-.
Luna, sound asleep.
After rolling up an outer garment to make a pillow, I carefully laid Luna down next to it.
Sniff, sniff-.
“Zero… smell…”
…Perhaps our Luna is really a beast.
Apart from Lucia and Rodelin, everyone else was passed out.
The tension had eased, and sleep poured in. It was a testament to how fierce the battle had been.
“This is the best situation for me.”
Lucia’s nanny was busy preparing food in a frenzy.
Being able to cook even in the forest. That’s an incredible skill.
I moved carefully to the back and headed towards a building.
Lérang’s personal training room.
The place where Rodelin’s party entered to tackle Lérang, the first boss.
The entrance was half-collapsed, but there was enough space to enter.
After descending about two floors, I arrived at the personal training area.
And in the center of the training area…
Lay Teacher Lérang’s body.
“…”
As I cautiously approached, I could see it.
The gentle smile on Lérang’s face.
“Keke, it seems you’ve lifted a burden off your heart. I’m glad.”
I’ve already received a lot, but let’s receive one more.
I am the successor of the Fleur family’s will, am I not?
I placed my hand on Lérang’s body and cast a skill.
The [Predation] skill, obtained from the Transparent Slime’s hidden piece.
[You have acquired the ‘Sword Defense’ skill through the power of Predation. Its grade has been lowered to F.]
I was worried since some time had passed, but it’s a relief it worked.
‘Sword Defense.’
A passive skill that automatically blocks incoming attacks.
When an enemy attacks, the phrase ‘GUARD!’ occasionally appears above the character, indicating the success of Sword Defense.
Though it’s an F-grade with a low success rate, it’s much better than not having it at all.
It’s a skill that can trigger in critical moments when both parties are down to their last strike.
‘The satisfaction when it succeeds is something else.’
A lottery passive skill that could trigger at any moment.
I received a wonderful gift.
“Keke, rest in peace.”
After giving my last respects to Lérang, I left the training area.
Rest peacefully. My first teacher.
The next place I headed to was where Bineus lay dead.
Hmm, the body was cleanly cut in half.
It was a somewhat grotesque sight, but I endured and raised my hand.
Bineus was also an S-grade named monster.
Meaning it met the conditions to use the [Predation] skill.
‘I hope something good comes out.’
Being a fourth-level demon, it possessed an endless array of skills.
Not all were good, of course. Some were as simple as [Hit].
[Predation] randomly takes one of the possessed skills.
As the game progresses, this issue becomes more pronounced.
‘It’s only the first act. There’s plenty of time to level up the skill, so I hope something good comes out.’
That was as far as my thoughts went before someone arrived, and I immediately used [Predation].
[You have acquired the ‘Demon’s Skin’ skill through the power of Predation. Its grade has been lowered to F.]
“Hmm.”
A passive skill that reduces physical and magical damage.
It’s a skill that’s good to have.
Similar to [Sword Defense] in its utility.
In the game context, it would receive such an evaluation. However,
‘It’s good, isn’t it?’
Reducing damage means lessening the pain felt.
Even if hit by the same attack, it would hurt less than before.
‘I remember it hurt terribly when I was hit by Bineus.’
Even though I reduced the damage with the Barrier of Order, the pain was unbearable.
Pain to the point of not being able to breathe.
If I increase the grade of this skill, I might not have to endure such pain.
Feeling satisfied, I removed my hand from Bineus’s body.
‘Phew, finally, it’s all over.’
From Lérang to Bineus, and the arrival of Lucia.
What a truly eventful day.
If I wrote a novel about the battle with Bineus, would it span about 8 episodes?
If so, that would be insane.
Writing 8 episodes about such an uninteresting battle.
Definitely insane.
It was when I was about to leave.
“Hello? What are you doing here right now?”
I turned around in surprise.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a demon.
Rodelin’s sister and the eldest of the Lucid family.
Lucia was looking at me.
–TL Notes–
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