I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind – Chapter 402

Pleche flinched without realizing it.

That’s right. He had come here at the request of Duke Luke.

Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Pleche muttered.

“I mean, if you’re going to be out in the world, you’ll need someone watching your back.”

The outside world wasn’t like the safety of the Academy.

Bandits, thugs, monsters, dark mages, demons—none of them could be taken lightly.

Especially if Lowell ever ran into a demon from the 2nd Legion while traveling alone.

“You know it too. Even the lowest of 9th-grade demons could toy with you.”

Lowell understood that well. Even Duke Luke and Lucia never moved without protection.

And besides, it was Pleche. A close friend. Having him around would feel no different from traveling alone.

But—

“Go home. Traveling with me is pure hell.”

She was stacking up debts. To her father, and now her friend.

‘And this time… it’s something I have to stake my life on.’

A debt she’d never be able to repay would be born.

“No other house would treat me this well. Especially with the kind of achievements I’ve got.”

“It’s true I got pushed out by the juniors. At this point… I couldn’t keep calling myself a knight.”

Losing his right arm—his dominant arm—was a fatal blow.

Pleche might have looked easygoing, but at his core, he was a knight.

The kindness and pity of his comrades only wore him down further.

One day, when it all felt too heavy, Duke Luke came to him.

Asked if he’d become Lowell’s personal guard.

“A guard is still a knight, right? And since it’s you, it won’t be uncomfortable.”

“You’re seriously an idiot. Of course it’ll be uncomfortable. I could die.”

“That’s the dream. Dying in a fight with the Legion Commander? That’s badass.”

And more importantly—

“I’m not House Lucid’s knight. I’m your knight.”

Lowell’s eyes welled up slightly at his words.

That’s right. Pleche was a knight. One who had pledged his loyalty to her.

The only knight in the world who had.

There was only one thing Lowell could say to someone like that.

“…Idiot.”

“I’m not an idiot, okay? I calculated this carefully.”

“Huh?”

“They raised my salary by a whopping 15% for taking this job. And if I die, I get into House Lucid’s Hall of Honor. I mean, who wouldn’t take that deal? Hahahaha!”

“…”

He’d already been drawing a high salary—rising through the ranks from a young age, racking up achievements, and even losing an arm to a Legion Commander.

And now they raised it even more? Plus the Hall of Honor?

Even a leech wouldn’t suck this hard.

“…Your salary’s going through me now. You’ll draw what you need monthly.”

“Why!?”

“In case you bail when things get tough. Think of it as insurance.”

“No, wait! My lavish, carefree, indulgent nightlife!”

Pleche screamed in despair.

Should’ve paced yourself, huh?

There was a price to pay for killing the mood. And that price was Pleche—now the continent’s first ever “allowance-based” knight.

After pulling himself together, he asked:

“Anyway, what’s your plan now?”

“Get stronger. If I want reliable allies, I’ll need reputation, gather information…”

There was too much to do. Way too much.

After a brief moment of silence, Lowell opened her mouth.

“Well, first things first.”

“I should go see a powerhouse.”

Lowell’s first destination was set.

One of the Empire’s Eight Pillars, secluded deep in the western mountains—

The Lester family.

---

Life after that was simple for Lowell.

She sought out strong opponents, challenged them, and learned from them.

Along the way, she completed missions and gained real combat experience.

She extracted information from demons affiliated with the 2nd Legion.

The restriction of “not being able to attack” meant nothing. Pleche was always with her.

At the same time, she searched for worthy allies. Most were nobodies, but now and then, she found promising ones.

Training, fighting, intel, recruiting. Then training, fighting, intel, recruiting.

Time passed in that cycle.

“Haa…”

One day, after taking down a demon that had been hiding in a village—

Lowell collapsed onto a sofa and let out a long sigh.

“Another bust…”

It had now been five years since she’d been fired from the Academy.

Maybe it was because she’d been on the move so much. Lowell had grown significantly.

She now stood just before the threshold of 7-Star rank.

And that wasn’t all she’d gained.

Allies, networks, wealth, intel, cracks in the contract—she’d made progress on all fronts.

But—

“Where the hell is that guy hiding…”

When it came to the 2nd Legion Commander, she’d learned absolutely nothing.

His last appearance in the North was over ten years ago.

Since then, not a single trace. Not even a whisper.

No matter how strong your resolve, ten years of chasing shadows would wear anyone down. Lately, Lowell had been stuck in a serious rut.

“What if he’s dead? Maybe he got sliced by a stray holy sword or something…”

“No way. He’s not you, he’s a Legion Commander.”

Pleche tossed the words over his shoulder while cleaning.

Lowell hurled a book at him.

Pleche ducked slightly to avoid it, then bent down, picked it up, and stood again.

The motion was second nature by now.

“Haa… I just want him to show up already.”

“Don’t jinx it. He might actually show up.”

“Seriously, though. He makes some shady contract and then vanishes for ten years. What is that? Trying to drive me insane?”

That was what wore Lowell down the most.

The longer she pushed Rodelin away, the more time passed.

Even the video calls that used to happen once a week had become rare.

And of course, it was her fault for pushing her away every time.

“Ugh! Why won’t a Legion Commander just fall out of the sky!? Why can’t we have a day where Legion Commanders rain from above!?”

“You’re insane. Calm down. Be grateful you’re still alive.”

“Maybe I can’t beat him yet, but there is a way to break the contract.”

“…I told you not to bring that up.”

Pleche gave her a hard stare.

A rare expression. But understandable, once you knew the reason.

‘If any member of House Lucid dies to a 2nd Legion demon, the contract breaks.’

A demon of the 2nd Legion cannot kill someone from House Lucid.

In other words, if they do, the contract shatters.

And there were people who could serve that purpose.

Duke Luke, Lucia, Lucas, and Rodelin.

They all had too much to do.

If there were someone in House Lucid whose death wouldn’t cripple anything—

If someone had to be chosen—

“They’d all pick me.”

“Who’s this ‘everyone’? I’m clearly against it. Can’t you even do basic math now? I told you last time—say that again and…”

“Alright, alright, I get it.”

Lowell gave in with a groan.

The nagging was getting worse by the day.

Even her mom hadn’t been this bad.

‘Well… big brother did come up with another way to break the contract…’

But it was horrific. So horrific it made her go pale.

Even Duke Luke had forbidden it outright.

So Lucas’s suggestion remained tucked away as a “last resort.”

‘Ugh… just my luck.’

Life was boring. The only fun left was eating good food and bullying Pleche.

Might as well do both. She was bored.

Lowell scratched her stomach and spoke.

“Nanny, get me some food.”

“Nanny? There’s no nanny here.”

“Of course there is. You.”

“I’m a knight, you know!?”

“…Then take off the apron before you say that.”

Cooking, laundry, nagging, apron—it was the full nanny package.

After so long on the road together, someone had picked up real domestic skills. And that someone was Pleche, not her.

“This is a revolutionary invention, okay?! An apron made for housewives who get dirty from chores!”

Grumbling all the while, the nanny—no, the househusband(?)—Pleche got the meal ready.

“Seriously… who’d take you in? Just thinking about it makes me pity them.”

“Hey, nanny. Water, please.”

“What, you don’t have hands?”

“Hey! How dare you speak like that to your lord!”

“Yeah, yeah. You only pull that lord stuff when it’s convenient for you…”

Muttering, Pleche poured the water anyway.

“Working for a beautiful girl like me isn’t so bad, right?”

“Beautiful girl? Where?”

Pleche looked around with exaggerated confusion.

That did it. Time to remind him who the boss was.

Lowell reached both hands under the table, palms facing upward.

Thump!

Pleche’s hand shot out like lightning, slamming down on the table as he realized what she was about to do.

“Don’t.”

“Who told you to provoke me, then?”

Tremble, tremble.

One trying to flip the table, the other trying to stop it. The tension was real.

The table even started to crack under the pressure.

“Hmm?”

“If you want me to stop, chant ‘Glory to the Great Lord and Beautiful Girl, Lowell!’ three times!”

“This is not the time! Stop! If you flip this, I’m seriously running away!”

Lowell raised her hands in the air. Because if the housekeeper left home, the breadwinner(?)—herself—would be in big trouble.

Pleche dug through his coat and pulled something out.

A one-way communication artifact was glowing yellow.

“Level 3 emergency? Where from?”

“…It’s the family’s direct line.”

Lowell frowned.

Level 3. It meant something had happened, but it was over now—get in contact within the day to receive details.

The problem was that it came through the family’s direct line.

‘If it was a problem, it’s probably not Father. Lucia would be too busy trying to enjoy her vacation. Which means…!’

Either Lucas—or something to do with Rodelin.

Lowell rolled into action and snatched up the communicator.

Pouring mana into it, she instantly connected to House Lucid.

“Oh, Second Young Lady! I hope you’ve been well—”

“Skip it! What happened? Report!”

“P-Please calm down! You know how it is. Level 3 means it’s already over.”

Judging by the staff’s reaction, no one had died.

And since Rodelin was at the Academy, it had to be about Lucas.

“What, is big brother planning to take in a mistress or something?”

“Eh? No. This is about the youngest lady.”

Ah. Of course. It’s about our little Delin.

“…”

Lowell inhaled deeply. Pleche quickly clamped a hand over his ear.

The issue? He only had one arm, so the other ear was left exposed.

Lowell’s roar tore through his eardrum.

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!? GET ME YOUR SUPERIOR! YOU’RE FIRED! FIRED, I SAID!”

Craack—!

The communicator split with a loud crack.

---

A little later—

“…That’s what happened.”

The senior staffer in the communication division wiped sweat from his brow as he finished the report.

Lowell sat in stunned silence.

The report had been too shocking.

“A Demon Shard? A prototype of Erosion?”

“That’s incredible! It’ll need research, sure, but… we might finally get a lead! The little lady’s done something huge!”

As Lowell glared at him, Pleche immediately clamped his mouth shut.

Lowell didn’t want Rodelin to become a soldier.

She didn’t even want her going near weapons.

“It’s not even confirmed yet. And you think Erosion’s some kind of playground game? She fought it without backup? She should be expelled. Expelled!”

Of course, inwardly—

‘Amazing. That’s my Delin. She didn’t get hurt, right? No contact with the Erosion, right?’

Lowell glared at the communicator. The crack made it hard to see the face properly.

The response came immediately.

“T-The youngest lady is unharmed! S-She sustained minor injuries, but her life isn’t in danger.”

“And how would you know that? What if the wound is how Erosion got in?”

“A-As of now, she seems perfectly healthy—”

“It’s a prototype! What if it’s nothing like the Erosion we know?! Dispatch medical teams immediately!”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

Buzz, crackle…

“What’s wrong with this damn communicator? You call this working?! Does no one here take their job seriously? I swear, you’ll all be—!”

“E-Eeeek…!”

Crack!

The struggling communicator finally went dark.

Lowell hurled the broken device, but Pleche leapt up and caught it mid-air.

“C-Calm down! They said she’s okay!”

“Who said anything?! I’m perfectly fine! Ugh! Why is this table still in my sight!?”

CRASH!!

The table went flying.

As Lowell looked around for something else to destroy, Pleche clung to her for dear life.

“Beautiful Lady Lord! Please, calm down! You know the Academy’s safe! It’s the safest place on the continent! This won’t happen again!”

Pleche wasn’t wrong. Between the security of the Academy and the fact that both Elester and Caron were among the students this year—

There was no way an incident like this would repeat itself.

‘Yeah, I mean… what are the chances something really bad happens?’

Unless some crazy demon drops out of the sky—

The odds were about the same as a storm of Legion Commanders falling like rain.

About a month later.

News broke that a high-level demon had attacked the Academy.

That day, Pleche stood outside and watched as their home collapsed.

–TL Notes–
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