LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 34
34th Chapter. Divine Beast, Step Back! (2)
“Why are you popping up here?”
“……?”
How should I interpret this situation?
Usually, there’s an unspoken rule that if I fall asleep on a weekend, I won’t wake up until at least 9 AM. Even then, I’m often sleepy enough to doze off again.
Right now, it’s no different— I’m still drowsy. Waking up at 6:30 AM on a holiday is truly a rare exception, unless something special is happening.
But peculiarly, today, my sleepiness has diminished like a flickering candle.
“Give me more!”
“…….”
One of the final bosses from Chapter 2.
Angela Whitegreen, who will later become a saint… why is she in my room?
And why, out of the blue, is she breaking in and munching on my rice balls?
‘Good thing I left these in the fridge… oh wait, that doesn’t matter!’
Angela has devoured the rice ball in the blink of an eye.
The rice balls I had planned to have for breakfast and lunch.
And just as she asks for more, my hands began to tremble.
-Damn it. I have nothing to eat.
“I feel like giving her a whack on the head.”
At this moment, Angela’s activities seem utterly normal.
She’s just a girl living in the mountains without being caught up in any major events.
Jenny and Crona must have absolutely warned her that the bottom of the mountain is dangerous and advised her never to come down.
Since positive feelings have developed towards her, it’s only natural for Angela to trust that and remain still.
But the absurd situation arises when that trust was shattered over just one of my rice balls!
“Your name was Angela, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Didn’t the older girls say the bottom of the mountain is dangerous?”
“Yeah, they did. But I really wanted to eat!”
What she wants to eat is clear without even having to see it.
But isn’t it strange?
I met Angela for the first time yesterday. In that time, I didn’t have a chance to give her anything, let alone buy her a meal.
So, what gives her the right to suddenly approach me out of nowhere?
“Hey, have you met me before?”
“Um… when I go fishing?”
“I don’t remember seeing you while I was fishing?”
“No, I was secretly watching. Didn’t you and your big sister have fun?”
Big sister?
Ah, that’s the term she uses for Mary.
At 16, her short stature makes it fit well.
“You even threw fish for her and shared food, right?”
Threw fish? Ah, that day comes to mind quickly.
After that, Mary kept pestering me for just one rice ball.
Thinking back, I had packed those rice balls for her lunch, didn’t I?
“But your sister and brother dropped the food. I thought it would be too wasteful, so I had a taste.”
Is this…
“It was so delicious. I couldn’t help but control my strength for a moment. The taste lingered in my mind, and all I could think about was how I could eat it again.”
So it was because of me!
It lay on the ground, so I thought bugs or animals would eat it!
Not collecting it back then was a major mistake.
Why did I have to accidentally create something that matched Angela’s taste!
Still, I’m thankful she said it was delicious… but still, damn it.
‘But she managed to find her way here.’
As if she had received a tracking device.
Considering the divine beast’s keen sense of smell, it’s not that surprising.
“Is there more?”
“No.”
“Why…?”
“We’re out of ingredients.”
-That was the last one, you little runt.
With the unfortunate news, Angela slumped her shoulders with a “Ugh.”
She propped her chin on the table, turning into a dejected cat.
Whether she feels loss or not… it’s time to slowly send Angela back up the mountain.
The current time is 8 AM. Soon, the students who were dead-tired will wake up like zombies.
If they already see Angela, things will get complicated.
For now, I can simply pass her off as a girl visiting from the village, but soon enough, because of Prince Totema, her identity will be revealed.
Especially with the blood of a divine beast flowing through her.
Once the students catch sight of Angela, it throws a monkey wrench into everything.
If they see her coming out of my room, they’ll probably end up suspecting me collectively later.
“It’s time to head back.”
“Where to?”
“Where else? Back to the mountain. Get up!”
“Ugh!”
I forcibly hefted Angela onto my back.
To prevent her from having her identity revealed, I placed a large hat on her.
It may look like I’m kidnapping her, but the opposite is true. I’m trying to return Angela to where she belongs and rushed out of the dormitory.
There weren’t many people to notice me just yet.
However, some servants were beginning to clean around the academy, and a few early birds were jogging in the morning.
I tried to move while avoiding their gazes as much as possible.
I was passing through the student plaza to reach the eastern mountain from the three-star building.
‘There’s more people than I thought. I hope no one saw her face on the way over.’
Of course, it was dawn then, so no one should have been around.
I ran with all my might before it got any later.
“Where are you going?”
“Shut up! You’re going to get us caught!”
As I was about to cross the plaza fountain, I lifted my head to reveal my face.
But I dashed across the plaza so fast that they barely noticed.
Finally, I reached the entrance of the mountain.
I could breathe a sigh of relief as I barely reached a safe boundary. Then I trekked up the mountain with Angela on my back until we reached the lakeside.
“You need to remember what I’m about to say. You must never go down to the bottom of the mountain again.”
“Sounds similar to what the older girls said? Why is that?”
“Why? It’s because something very dangerous is about to happen. You shouldn’t show your face as much as possible. Got it?”
“Uh-huh.”
Hearing the same words from me triggered Angela to recall the trust she had for them.
These girls had taken care of her and even named her during this short time.
Disregarding their request would be a violation of gratitude. However, the aroma of the rice balls made her forget that trust.
“Such precious rice balls.”
Just how delicious could they have been for her to still think about it?
I grabbed the nape of my neck, lamenting.
“I can bring you rice balls when I come back up, okay?”
“Really?”
“If that’s the case, then you don’t need to come all the way to my dorm.”
Angela’s expression brightened as she felt greatly relieved. She looked just like Mary when she was daydreaming doing something quirky.
However, having built a connection with her brings no losses. After all, once Chapter 2 ends, she’ll provide one of the best healing roles in the game.
Moreover, given her experience dealing with the chapter’s boss, her power won’t just vanish.
And there’s another perk of getting closer to Angela.
No one knows yet, but Angela and Luska share an important connection.
This way, I can build a friendly relationship with Luska who has rehabilitated.
Since I already gave away the rice balls, I have no way out.
“Rice balls! Rice balls!~”
She’s ecstatic.
What a girl who’s holed up in the mountains, only thinking about rice balls… no wait, girl?
It’s just switched from dumplings to rice balls.
“Goodbye~”
I waved my farewell as I headed down the mountain.
When I came back down to the plaza, it was already bustling with activity. That was a close call indeed.
Having promised to bring rice balls, I sincerely hoped she wouldn’t come back down again.
‘Wait, thinking about it, Angela probably never had proper food since she was born.’
Having lived as a test subject, Angela didn’t receive humane treatment. Her sense of taste had deviated to the point where she would consider discarded trash left behind by researchers as delicacies.
Even rice would be nothing more than a fantasy to her.
‘If it turns out that the rice balls I tossed gave her taste buds a wake-up call…’
Then it explains why she ventured all the way to my dorm.
Because that would have been her first ever “food.”
Like a dog getting a taste for blood, it’s highly likely Angela has become addicted to the rice balls.
Thinking back, should I have made tuna rice balls instead of ham? That might’ve lessened her cravings.
“Good morning!”
“Yes. Good morning.”
I made brief eye contact with a servant cleaning around the student hall. He greeted me with a bright smile the moment he saw me. He seemed very friendly, so responding in kind seemed courteous.
As I was about to walk past, someone else also approached to greet me.
“Nice to see you.”
It was Luska, whom I had been wishing to avoid.
Her outfit—a pair of shorts and a blue jacket typically favored by female students—made her seem a tad less troublesome.
“Where are you off to?”
“I’m heading to the Information Integration Hall to check if my suspension will be lifted soon.”
The staff would be minimal since it’s the weekend, but the Information Integration Hall runs itself smoothly without people around.
The archival system is continuously processing all records within the academy even as we speak.
“Sorry.”
“What?”
“I said I’m sorry.”
Luska unexpectedly offered an apology.
Why the sudden shift?
“What do you mean out of nowhere? I recall hearing that same apology in the Unique Hall.”
“I didn’t mean it back then. I thought it needed to be said while we’re face to face like this.”
I already knew her apology wasn’t sincere.
But why would she apologize again now is beyond me.
“Isn’t it a bit too late to apologize after you’ve already been suspended?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s just my personal feelings. Before the headmaster punishes me, I thought I should clear up the misunderstanding I had about you.”
It seems she’s reflecting on misunderstanding me as part of the Shadow Brigade. If it’s a misunderstanding about me, nothing else comes to mind.
I didn’t press her for details.
She’s not the type to answer even if I asked.
“And you go often to fish at the lake in the eastern mountain, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You’d better not go in and out anymore. It’s going to get dangerous soon.”
It seems Luska has picked up on the situation too. The divine beast’s incursion into the eastern mountain has certainly been communicated.
Perhaps an ally of hers sent her a warning.
Luska didn’t enter the academy empty-handed.
A benefactor within a position of power who provides her with a scholarship has been backing her. That person is Elder Enviel of the Magic Guild.
“How odd that you wanted to bite me before, and now you’re worried.”
“Think what you like. I’ve never cared what others say.”
Betrayed by her comrades and then by her superiors, Luska’s emotions had already turned desolate.
She’d lost her senses for anything other than revenge, and at this point, doesn’t care about much else.
Plus, given she’s destined to be betrayed by her only ally—the Elder—her life is a roller coaster of chaos.
“I do not care about the means to achieve my goal. If you’re caught up in it, I won’t hesitate. So it’s better you listen to my warning now.”
“Why go that far to say it?”
“As an apology. So that the person hurt by my misunderstanding won’t get caught up in the same issue. It may sound complicated, but there’s no harm in listening to me.”
Leaving that piece of advice behind, Luska turned back toward the Information Integration Hall. She didn’t need to tell me that’s where she was heading.
“Oh, and one last thing…”
Suddenly stopping in her tracks, she turned her head back to me.
Then asked.
“Do you know the angle of the sandstorm in inches?”
Asking me for a password that no one would know unless they were affiliated with the Papias Kingdom.
By saying it’s the last question, it implied a final check.
My answer was needless to say.
“Why would you look for a sandstorm in such a sunny place?”
“…….”
It was easy for me to feign ignorance with my superior concealment skill.
“Right.”
Upon hearing that, Luska displayed a significantly more relaxed expression. Considering her usual sharp gaze, the difference was striking.
I too headed on my way after parting from her.
However, we had no idea that someone was watching us closely.
The servant cleaning around the student hall had folded away his friendly expression and now wore a sharp one.
Accompanied by an encroaching shadow-like presence.
*
The next morning. Since it was the weekend again, sleeping late was a given. Jenny occasionally encourages me to train early in the morning, but I lacked the energy for that.
Having worked late into the afternoon processing Newspaper Department tasks, I genuinely needed to catch up on sleep.
So I intended to sleep until around 11 AM again today.
Knock, knock, knock-
It was barely 7 AM. Who could it be? So irritating.
Though it’s improper to greet a guest with a tired face, I had no choice given my sleep-deprived condition.
It was perfectly understandable for the one waking a sleeping person in the early morning hours to be given some consideration.
As I opened the door wondering who it could be…
“Give me rice balls!”
“…….”
I was once again plunged into a state of shock. She’s truly an incredible girl.
Thank goodness her face was covered with a cloak and mask. It must have been something Crona and Jenny gifted her.
She seemed to recognize my request for her to please not reveal her face.
As far as that goes, I’m somewhat proud of her… but I’m also quite miffed right now.
“Rice balls…”
“I’ll make them for you!!”
“Ugh!”
After yelling for the first time in ages, Angela jumped in surprise.
I wonder if my spine is straightening out nicely.
Surviving as an Academy Scammer.