I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind – Chapter 290

‘Something’s off…’

Normally, Caron used the window as if it were the front door, so coming through the window wasn’t particularly strange.

But today, there was one thing different.

Caron had crawled in on all fours, like a dog.

Thud!

He even tripped over the window sill and fell, failing to land properly. It was more like he tumbled forward.

And there was the overwhelming stench of alcohol. This could only mean one thing.

‘Is he… drunk?’

No way.

Caron was the Empire’s rat! He was supposed to be a terrifying character!

At that moment, Caron, lying on the floor, pointed at me and shouted.

“You insolent brat… stand up straight! Don’t lie on the floor!”

…Sir, you’re the one lying on the floor, not me!

This confirmed that Caron was drunk.

And heavily so. Completely out of it.

I handed him a glass of water and grumbled.

“Keke, drinking at a time like this. Are you giving up on Luna?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I was forced to drink with a bad adult.”

“A bad adult?”

“Yes, the worst adult in this world. Hehe! You better watch out too.”

…What on earth is he talking about? This drunkard.

Caron downed the glass of water in one go and leaned heavily against the wall, breathing hard.

A 8-star knight, getting drunk in a situation akin to war. The world really is ending.

‘Is he distressed because Luna is hurt?’

It wasn’t exactly strange. Caron cherished Luna to a suspicious degree.

Caron’s body swayed as he closed his eyes. He really looked like a typical drunk.

Maybe I could punch him now and get away with it?

How many times had he called me an insolent brat and knocked me on the head?

Yes, I should use this opportunity to give Caron a taste of his own medicine. A little payback!

Just as I raised my fist over Caron’s head.

“Ugh!”

I couldn’t help but scream. Caron suddenly stood up.

Was he pretending to be drunk to see what I would do?

Setting a trap like this, as expected of Caron. No, of a bad adult.

‘You cunning bastard!’

As I flailed my arms to block Caron’s potential strike.

Thud, thud.

“…?”

Caron passed me by and stood next to Luna’s bed.

Then, he took something out of his pocket.

It was a small round container, about the size of a fist.

When Caron opened the lid, a pleasant aroma wafted out, filling the room.

Caron poured the contents of the small container into his palm.

A round, silver stone fell out.

The aroma was wonderful, but the shape was unusual. I immediately used the information window.

‘That’s…!’

[Sun Moon Soul Pill : S]

A legendary elixir said to revive the dead.

It can’t actually bring the dead back to life, but it can heal most injuries.

It has a curious property of making the user always smell pleasant.

Upon consumption, health recovery rate +500% for three days, mana recovery rate +500% for three days.

Level +3

Charm +10

All stats permanently increase by 10.

Health and mana recovery rates permanently increase by +100%.

In this game, there are consumable items called ‘elixirs’ that can permanently increase stats.

They are mostly given as rewards for dungeon exploration but can also be obtained through serendipity.

‘Just like now.’

The Sun Moon Soul Pill was an elixir I had never seen before, even as a seasoned player.

But I could tell it was extraordinary. Its stats were among the top five I had ever seen.

The stats focused on ‘recovery.’ If I gave this to Luna, she might wake up soon.

The problem was.

‘It looks really hard.’

It was an elixir, so it might not be as hard as a stone, but Luna wasn’t in a state to chew anything.

I couldn’t just ask her to wake up and eat this.

So the only option was…

‘He’ll have to feed it to her by mouth.’

Chew the elixir into small pieces that even a sleeping Luna could swallow, then feed it to her little by little.

Mouth to mouth.

‘A cliché. There are similar storylines in this game too…’

But Caron couldn’t do it. That would be criminal(?) behavior in many ways.

So, the only one left…

‘Is me?’

I noticed Luna’s lips. Normally, I wouldn’t have noticed, but now they looked small and cute.

They didn’t seem like the lips that had bitten me.

‘Stay calm, stay calm.’

It might look like a kiss, but it’s definitely not. This is an activity to save a life… yeah, it’s part of a rescue operation!

It’s a troublesome situation, but if it’s to save Luna, I have no choice.

I must sacrifice myself!

“…Stop just watching and help me.”

“Just give me a moment. I’m not ready yet. I need to brush my teeth.”

“…”

But is this morally okay? Kissing a child I consider like a daughter?

‘It’s because she’s like a daughter!’ wouldn’t that excuse work?

No, that’s just a common excuse used by criminals!

But if I can save Luna, becoming a criminal is…

“Possible!”

Whack!

The moment I made up my mind, my head suddenly dropped forward. Caron had knocked me on the head.

Why, what did I do wrong now!

“Do you really not know? It’s obvious you were having dirty thoughts!”

“Keke, are you reading minds now? But if not, how am I supposed to help?”

“Just hold Luna’s mouth open. Normally, I wouldn’t even allow that, but I’ll make an exception this time.”

Just hold her mouth open?

I wasn’t sure what he was planning, but I decided to follow Caron’s instructions.

The most important thing now was to save Luna’s life.

Using both hands, I pried Luna’s mouth open.

Caron then placed his hands together horizontally and closed his eyes.

Whoosh!

A blue flame rose from his hands. Mana.

Sizzle…

I heard something melting from between Caron’s hands. I finally understood his intention.

‘He’s melting the elixir with mana.’

Incredible mana control. Not just raising flames with mana, but maintaining an appropriate temperature to gradually melt the elixir was even more impressive.

Silver droplets formed under Caron’s hands.

Gravity prevailed, and the droplets fell into Luna’s waiting mouth below.

One drop, two drops… about thirty drops fell.

Was it human instinct, or the survival instinct?

Luna’s throat moved slightly, swallowing the elixir droplets.

The process repeated several times until all the elixir melted from Caron’s hands.

“Phew… It’s done.”

It took a full thirty minutes to finish.

Feeding the elixir slowly to avoid Luna throwing up took longer than expected.

Maybe thanks to the elixir, Luna’s breathing became much more relaxed. Of course.

‘You cliché destroyer. Give me back my kiss… no, my CPR moment!’

At the cost of losing a cliché moment I had once wanted to experience.

‘Well, I did have an issue with it being Luna. It felt like committing a crime. So next time, I’ll look for a cool adult woman and seize the chance… huh?’

Just as I was imagining that I must experience this cliché moment before clearing the game.

Caron, who met my eyes, flinched. His hand was reaching toward Luna’s head.

He had been caught trying to stroke Luna’s head.

“…What’s with that look?”

“It’s to stop you from becoming a criminal, Mr. Caron.”

“Insolent brat. You’re still full of nonsense.”

“More importantly… what did you give her?”

“Hmph, it’s nothing special. Looks like an elixir but it’s not. Yeah… it’s a candy.”

“Keke, then can I have one too?”

“There’s something better than candy. Come here.”

Something better than candy. No reason to refuse. I approached Caron.

Whack!

Stars spun in my vision as a sharp pain hit the top of my head.

“How about it. Better than candy, right?”

“…So good I want to share it with Luna.”

“You have a death wish, don’t you.”

Caron glared at me fiercely.

But it didn’t matter. I’d make sure Luna experienced it too when she woke up.

Even if I get bitten all over, so what.

I could afford to lose an ear or a finger. Of course.

‘This only works if Luna wakes up.’

Despite the priests’ treatments and Caron’s elixir, I couldn’t be sure if Luna would wake up.

I’d never encountered this kind of storyline before.

“Don’t look so defeated. Is there a problem?”

“…I’m not sure if I’m doing the right thing.”

“A serious worry… You’re not Zero. Who are you!”

Caron drew a dagger and pointed it at my neck.

Caron, you bastard. Are you pretending to be drunk to kill me? What kind of person does that?

I pushed away Caron’s hand holding the dagger and grumbled.

“If a student has a problem, isn’t it a teacher’s duty to help?”

“I was trying to help. If you die, you won’t have any worries.”

“…You’re joking, right?”

“Who knows… but I’m not wrong. So tell me whenever. I’ll personally help.”

Promising to kill his student with his own hands. What a teacher.

Did Caron sense my displeasure? He chuckled.

“I confirmed Lizbeth’s existence. Stronger than I thought. Pure combat power-wise, the strongest I’ve met so far.”

“That much?”

“Yes. She had multiple demonic powers mixed in. The toughest enemy yet. Didn’t seem to use all his power either. Even when retreating, she used a mysterious force.”

Lizbeth’s escape was something even Adonis couldn’t stop. It wasn’t just spatial movement but ‘spacetime’ movement.

Adonis and Caron couldn’t have dealt with a technique that troubled even experienced players.

“What happened on your end?”

“…Didn’t you get the report from the rats?”

“It’s part of information gathering. And…”

Caron looked at Luna lying on the bed and continued.

“I don’t blame you. I just want to hear what happened.”

The night in Carpathia was long. I slowly told Caron what happened.

The demon attacks starting from Area 1.

The children’s efforts and the continuous battles.

The appearance of the high-ranking demon Benius after killing Mabelga.

Dwener’s performance and how Luna got critically injured.

I told him everything.

Was it just my imagination? Caron seemed pleased.

“Blood doesn’t lie.”

“Pardon?”

“It means it wasn’t your fault. It’s because Luna has strong blood. If anything, we should blame this side more.”

Caron looked at Luna and continued.

“That child… is the pride of the Lester family.”

I knew it, but Caron wasn’t normal either.

What’s so important about pride? More important than life? And even if it were.

“It doesn’t change the fact that Luna got hurt because of me.”

And this would keep happening.

Because of my mistakes. Because of my wrong judgments.

You shouldn’t get emotionally attached to characters. That’s the first rule for clearing the game.

But, strangely, it seemed impossible for me.

“In that case, maybe…”

Wouldn’t it be better to stop here? Leave Luna and the others and continue alone?

Wouldn’t that be the way for everyone to be happy?

Just as I was thinking that.

“Overthinking.”

“What?”

“It’s impossible to always make the right judgment. Especially in battles where you have to make decisions in real-time.”

“But…”

“No, how could you do what even I can’t? You’re still just a baby rat!”

“…I remember refusing the offer to become a rat.”

“Quiet!”

Whack!

Oh, come on! Stop hitting me!

“I didn’t go to save Luna either. I could have, but removing the erosion was the priority. In terms of proportion, it’s more my fault that Luna ended up like this.”

“…”

“Not running from a high-ranking demon and fighting it was an amazing feat in itself.”

“But…”

“Enough! You think too much. That’s your biggest problem.”

Sure, I had been thinking more than before.

I had been thrown into a world where I only had one life, but I was also in the best condition for success.

Of all my countless playthroughs, I was the strongest now at this stage.

Maybe that’s why. I wanted to do everything perfectly, and naturally, I thought more.

Had I developed some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder without realizing it?

“Those who always run toward their goals. They’re great people. But those people also need time to rest.”

Many people lived that way.

Living without realizing their body and mind were being worn out.

People who fall over unknowingly while running toward their goals.

“I don’t know what your goal is… but you haven’t lost that heart, have you?”

No way. It wasn’t a big flame like the first moment I was possessed, but it was still burning bright.

I was gathering fuel, logs to make a bigger fire than then.

Clearing this game. That’s my goal.

I had stumbled due to an unexpected event. But such a thing couldn’t extinguish my passion, my desire.

Yes, I will never give up on this game.

If I fall, I’ll get back up. If I collapse, I’ll push myself up from the ground.

Slowly, step by step. Moving forward. Until I clear this game.

To gather strength, or perhaps because I felt like I might cry at any moment.

I buried my head between my legs without realizing it.

Yes, Luna is just taking a break. She’ll soon get up and shake it off.

Let’s believe and wait patiently.

Until Luna.

Gets back on her feet.

–TL Notes–
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