I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind – Chapter 440

Lowell giggled like she was finding this all very entertaining.

Noticing what was going on, Luna stared straight at Rodelin.

“Even if you’re my senior, I’m not letting this slide.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re aiming for Zero, aren’t you?”

“Snatching up excellent talent in advance is only natural. From the start, I’ve never understood why you’re dissatisfied, Luna. Being together with Zero—that was your only condition, wasn’t it?”

“Are you saying…”

“That’s right. When you graduate, you come join our family too.”

The mastermind behind this whole incident.

Lowell said that as she walked toward us with steady, echoing steps.

“T-this can’t be! I never imagined the plot would go this way!”

“The rival’s family inviting her to join them! Are they saying they can steal him even while they’re together? That confidence is overwhelming!”

A shocking development that put Korean-dramas to shame.

Yuridia and Victoria’s eyes sparkled as they eagerly waited for the next lines.

But that was as far as their little viewing went.

“My sister will explain the rest. It’s better to hear it directly from the person with more authority than me.”

“N-no, wait!”

“How can you cut it off when it’s just getting good! This should be a crime!”

The two of them were dragged away by Rodelin, shouting that she had to reenact the whole scene for them later.

Maybe because the noisy onlookers were gone, the atmosphere grew noticeably heavier.

“I know my own ability. I’m not someone the Lucid family would be interested in, am I?”

“Is this really the time to act proud? You were just saying you’d rather die than be separated from him.”

“I hate the idea of going in like this even more.”

“Just accept it first and think later. With our family’s support, you’ll have more than enough power by graduation. All the other houses raise kids with potential too, you know. There’s nothing strange about it.”

And then.

“You’ll be able to achieve your goal too.”

Luna’s shoulders flinched.

Revealing the injustice done to the Lester family and getting revenge. She was saying she’d help with that.

“…It sounds to me like you’re planning to use me to keep Zero tied down.”

“Oh my, you’re quicker on the uptake than I thought. I like you even more now.”

Right now, I’m known as the kid who dreamed of becoming the Lester family’s rat.

If they got a hold of Luna, the heir of the Lester family, I’d have no choice but to follow. That’s probably the calculation she made.

‘Smart. She really isn’t someone you can look down on.’

She might look like a kid, but inside she’s an adult. Compared to the small-time political games I saw back when I was an instructor, this is nothing.

“…”

Luna’s gaze slid to the side, and Lowell’s eyes followed right after.

“H-hiik?”

Rezé was there.

She’d been hiding inside a box, peeking out nervously, and now she shrank down bit by bit until she turned into something limp and jellylike.

Turning into a slime just from being looked at. Her future as a rabbit worried me.

Lowell shifted her gaze again, having seen through what Luna was thinking.

“If you want, we can take that one too.”

“…She’s not ‘that one.’ She’s Rezé.”

“Right, Rezé. Do you think that girl could work in a place like the Lucid family after she graduates? You know it too. It’d be tough.”

Lowell didn’t bother to hide her intentions. She was determined to get her hands on me somehow.

Luna had lost her family, and the one she cherished most now—

‘Even if she had to use that “friend” of hers to do it.’

“I can’t shackle my friend because of my personal business.”

“It wouldn’t be shackles. It’d be giving you wings. For you, for Rezé, and for Zero.”

Lowell wasn’t exactly wrong.

Among the eight great houses known as the Empire’s Eight Pillars, there’s one most people name first.

That’s the Lucid family.

It’s also the house that people who finish their instructor posts and gain free choice pick most often, right after the Imperial Knight Order.

“Don’t think about it so hard. Good things are just good things, you know? Both sides… no, everyone here comes out ahead. Is there really a reason to turn that down?”

“…I’ll think about it.”

“Good. Give me your answer before I leave.”

Whistling a tune, Lowell walked past Luna. Then she spun on her heel and whispered in Luna’s ear.

“Oh, and for the record, this is your first and last chance.”

“…Huh?”

“You and Rezé. I’m saying an offer like this will never come to you two again.”

“…!”

After the sweet persuasion came the pressure that this was a one-time chance she absolutely had to seize.

She was smooth. Smooth enough to make me doubt she was really the Mad Lion I knew.

Maybe, like Baron Kelven, she’d made a contract with a Demon and changed her looks?

I was seriously wondering if I should grab her cheek and stretch it out when—

“Of course, that doesn’t apply to you. I’ll keep giving you chances until you graduate, so take your time.”

For the Lowell known as the Mad Lion to be this generous.

It had to be that “Affection Increased Significantly” reward causing trouble.

“Keke, you’re a wicked older sister, making your little sister do all the seducing.”

“It’s not seduction, it’s a recommendation. And…”

Lowell strode right up to me, grabbed me by the collar, and pulled me down.

Her hand wasn’t rough at all. It was unbelievably gentle.

“The fact I’d have Delin do something like this means I rate you very highly. You, of all people, should understand that, right?”

That was true. Lowell was ready to kill a Legion Commander for Rodelin’s sake.

And that same Lowell was using Rodelin?

That could only mean she valued me that much.

‘Well, she’s probably planning to use me as a meat shield to kill the Second Legion Commander.’

Maybe she’d read my mind. Lowell gave a small laugh and flicked my arm.

“Don’t be such a scaredy-cat. You won’t grow any taller.”

“Keke, I feel like I’m already taller than most people though.”

“You’ve got to be at least as big as a Legion Commander if you want to fight one, right? I’ve got business, so I’ll go on ahead. Don’t slack off too much.”

Legion Commanders are at least three meters tall, up to twenty at the biggest.

Was she planning to remodel me into some kind of monster?

Scratching my head, I walked over to Luna. Her face couldn’t have looked more troubled.

“Keke, are you alright?”

“It’s nothing. I’m just in a bind. It’s good to have an opportunity, but… I should think it over slowly and… huh?”

Luna brushed her bangs aside and stared at me. Or, more precisely—

She stared at the cloak in my hand like she wanted to burn a hole through it.

“Come to think of it, when did you even meet Senior? I don’t remember you having time for that.”

“We just ran into each other while I was walking at dawn. Nothing happened. We talked for maybe five… no, about one minute.”

You’re wondering why I sound like I’m making excuses when nothing even happened?

Because with the vibe she was giving off, it felt like she might bite me to death if I didn’t.

“Next time, wake me up and take me with you.”

“I don’t really see why that’s nec—”

Zap-!

“Walks are better with company anyway. I’ll be sure to wake you next time.”

“Hand that over too.”

Luna snatched my cloak and started sniffing it.

“…It smells.”

Then she draped the cloak over herself and rubbed against it this way and that.

I had no idea why she was putting it on if it supposedly smelled.

No, more importantly—

‘My cloak… just got mugged.’

Annwood Academy only issued two sets of uniforms. Lose any after that and you had to pay for replacements.

Since Annwood only used top-quality products, the price was dozens of times that of a normal cloak.

For poor little me, that kind of expense would be brutal.

“Got a problem with it?”

“Of course not. It looks fantastic on you.”

I was just giving Luna a thumbs up when a commotion erupted on the other side.

“It’s a monster beast! A beast has appeared!”

“Sort out the formation!”

“Pair up with whoever’s beside you and form a defensive line!”

A monster beast, appearing out of nowhere.

“Let’s go!”

Luna took off, cloak billowing, and Rezé hurriedly started folding up her box to follow.

“H-hiiiiiik! I-I’m going to get eaten by the beast!”

“Keke, it’ll be a very delicious meal.”

“H-hiiiiiieeek!”

Was she imagining herself getting devoured? Or was it because I’d just gone crunch-crunch with my mouth?

Rezé practically had a seizure. But that wasn’t going to happen.

Not with Caron, Lowell, and the instructor all here.

‘Because this is a bonus stage.’

A level-up stage prepared for players who chose the wrong path in the last battle.

That’s right. It was just another part of the story.

“Please assist Luna. If you support her like usual, that’ll be more than enough.”

“Y-yes? W-what about you, Zero…?”

“I’ve got something I need to do. Tell Luna she doesn’t have to worry about me.”

“E-eh? W-where are you going?”

Where am I going? Well…

“Keke, that’s a secret.”

I pressed my index finger to Rezé’s lips as I said that, then slipped away.

The rabbit’s cursing echoed behind me.

---

‘There it is.’

After about five minutes of running, I reached my destination.

Sparkle, sparkle!

About halfway up the mine wall, something glittering was embedded there.

It was a sword hilt. The weird part was that it was made of wood, yet it shone.

“Nrgh!”

I braced and yanked on it with all my strength, but as expected, it didn’t come out.

It had hardened together with the wall under the power of a top-grade magic stone. Of course it wouldn’t.

“Keke, as expected of the legendary weapon that killed a monster beast… it’s not going to yield easily.”

I recalled information I’d picked up back when I was doing intel-gathering work.

— This is something a miner told me a few years back, but apparently there’s a shining sword in a rest area inside the mine.

— To be precise, it’s the shining hilt of a sword.

— The miners tried everything, but no matter what they did, they couldn’t pull it out.

— A shining piece of wood shaped like a sword hilt. Isn’t that strange? If that’s not mystery, what is?

That’s right. The thing right in front of my eyes.

The object a woodcutter once used to slay a monster beast, the one that marked the beginning of the fairy tale “Hero of Trash.” And—

‘A solid, pure, 100% top-grade magic stone!’

Of course, with so much time having passed, its purity had dropped a lot.

‘No, it’d be more accurate to say it’s turned into something else.’

I picked up a wooden club lying on the ground. Just a leftover scrap from making support beams.

I grabbed it by the end and raised it over my shoulder.

— You have to be careful handling top-grade magic stones. Their purity is so high they easily blend into their surroundings. I’ve heard they can even fuse with people. Once that happens, you can’t separate them, so be careful.

— How hard are they?

— Hard to say. They’re too expensive to experiment on but… I’d say breaking one is basically impossible. If it fuses with your body, your only option is to cut that part off.

That was something I’d heard in a lecture at the academy.

They said it was impossible to break. But that info was wrong.

There’s a saying that’s been passed down from long ago. There’s something similar in the modern era too.

Maybe you’d call it a famous quote. In the future, they might call it a proverb.

What kind of quote?

If there’s something you can’t do with strength—

‘Then maybe the problem is that you’re not using enough strength!’

Crackle-!

As I shifted into a throwing stance, lightning swirled thickly around my hand.

Once the wooden club was completely saturated with lightning, I hurled it at the wall.

Adonis’s third original secret technique.

Gae Bolg.

–TL Notes–
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