Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.37 – The Knight Comes to Hate Balls (1)
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He addressed the cadets with a drained expression.
"If this instructor ever quits the Royal Academy, just know I'm living in exile."
"Exile?"
"Are you feeling okay?"
"Instructor—?"
"Just keep that in mind."
"???"
"……."
Two days had passed since the chaos in Duke Galahad's territory, and a faint sense of crisis was starting to creep in.
They say humans are animals that regret.
A cycle where his past self's blunders tormented his present self.
For two straight days, Lee Han had been chased by Galahad's soldiers in his dreams and haunted by visions of the duke drawing a sword to kill him.
'Where should I run away to...?'
Lately, exile was becoming a viable option.
The kingdom of deserts and plains ruled by the sultan was hot, but supposedly good for living...
'No, the heat's a dealbreaker.'
Then maybe a quiet rural village with valleys and the sea for a hermit life?
'That doesn't sound great either.'
Even he thought rural life wasn't for him.
If possible, he'd live in a city with proper infrastructure.
He might look like he could survive anywhere, but he was a city boy at heart.
"Sigh."
"Instructor, I don't know what's up, but cheer up. Kunta consoles you."
"You've got a delicate side despite your looks, huh?"
"...I don't want to hear that from you, Instructor."
"What's wrong with me?"
"Don't you look more barbarian than actual barbarians?"
"Is that an insult or a compliment?"
"???"
"...Why can't you understand your own words?"
This guy alone made him want to squeeze in some reading time during class.
No matter how much sword-swinging muscleheads got called musclebrains, they still needed some knowledge.
Somehow, thanks to this big lug, Lee Han forgot his worries about the duke's family and started pondering his class direction.
His habit of diligently fulfilling his duties was proving helpful in times like these.
Then.
"By the way, the ball season's coming up soon, right?"
"Oh, I'd forgotten."
"W-what do we do? I haven't found a partner yet..."
The rookies practicing the judo techniques he'd recently taught grew noisy.
It started when talk of balls came up.
"Balls?"
"Yes, the ball season really kicks off from the second semester. Especially the Royal Academy Ball that all academy students attend no matter what—it's not far off."
"I see."
"Everyone at the Royal Academy has to show their face in high society, like it or not. Skipping out means getting excluded from upper society, so it's an essential event."
"Hm."
"Hehe, Instructor, you just thought balls and high society stuff is pointless, didn't you?"
"N-no, not exactly..."
...These rookies were sharper than expected.
Was this what they called a woman's intuition?
'Is my face that easy to read?'
Everyone he met seemed to read his expressions like an open book.
"Ahem, sorry about that. I didn't mean it was pointless. It's just not something I'm familiar with. No intention of looking down on you all."
"Ufufu, I know. I could tell you didn't mean it that way."
It was a remark met with a faint smile from the rookie girl, followed by nods of agreement from the others.
"That's what we like about you, Instructor. You apologize even to us young, low-status folks."
"Right? Some young nobles and knights are so full of pride they snap before they ever apologize."
"That's lucky. Some even resort to violence—like that time with Sir Frand..."
"No way! That happened!? See, looks match personality—he's all dainty on the outside but rotten inside."
"What a shame. If he'd been in front of me, it'd be a chance to test the techniques you taught us, Instructor."
"Exactly!"
"......Can I go now?"
Maybe he shouldn't butt into girls' conversations after all.
At some point, his presence had been completely forgotten, and Lee Han wanted to bolt.
"Hehe, to sum it up, Master is a kind person."
"...I asked about balls, so how'd we end up here?"
The blue bear cub's gentle voice drifted over as she approached unnoticed, and Lee Han gained a valuable lesson.
'Don't butt into girls' conversations if you can help it.'
A lesson he'd carry with him for life.
"……."
...The red-haired woman, Juvia Pierre, silently watched the female cadets and knight mingling well.
Her expression was still unreadable as ever, but if a kind and wise old priest were there, he might have gleaned something from it.
That expression was none other than.
"...O Light, how shall I live...?"
Envy.
Lee Han told one of his collaborators about what had happened to him, and the collaborator's reaction upon hearing it was immediate.
"Y-you were summoned by the duke?!"
He looked utterly shocked, on the verge of fainting.
"Is that such a big deal?"
Taechang could be bold at times, but his timid nature made him overreact to the smallest things.
But the shocked one pushed back.
"How could it not be shocking?! Anyway, Instructor, you knew Duke Blake personally? The [Blake of the Magic Sword]—?"
"...What's that title now?"
"Duke Blake of the Magic Sword. One of the few who rival Aura Users in power. His base strength is impressive enough, but with his magic sword, it's on a natural disaster level... He could wipe out a whole nation."
"Is that guy an important character too?"
"More like an event boss. But like Grand Duke Lionel, he's not meant to be defeated."
"...Then why include him?"
"The planning team sometimes went nuts and added insane Easter eggs. Honestly, he barely does anything in the original story, but they must've loved the idea."
"That guy doesn't act at all...?"
The duke Lee Han met wasn't indifferent to the world.
Quite the opposite—he was profoundly wise and excellent.
Yet hearing he had no role puzzled him, and Taechang agreed, explaining why the duke was a bystander character.
"He's a bystander type. You know how if someone who controls everything the moment they move shows up, the story stalls? Yeah, being too much of a bystander means no real screentime, though."
"Does he ever get to shine?"
"He does."
"When?"
"When Irene Windler falls."
"...Ah."
Lee Han recalled something and nodded.
"Irene Windler was one of the three villainesses, right?"
At Lee Han's question, he nodded and elaborated.
"Irene becomes a villainess because she's like the final boss in the academy arc. In the original, she even becomes Duke Galahad's adopted daughter. People who enter a power family split into two types—do you know them?"
"Grateful for the opportunity and working hard, or ungrateful and twisted."
"You get it."
"I've read enough comics. ...From your tone, the rookie chick..."
"Yeah, in the original, she twists hard."
To an extreme degree.
Bullying as a baseline, despising the lower classes despite being a commoner orphan herself, eventually using Galahad's power to reign as queen of high society.
After entering the Royal Academy, she focuses solely on building her power base, neglecting her innate magic talent and letting it rot.
Later...
"In her second year, she ends up opposing the 'heroine' who appears, playing the role to make her shine. Eventually, she commits such deplorable acts that threaten the heroine, gets expelled from the academy, and abandoned by the duke—that's her original storyline."
"...She deserved to be abandoned."
Just hearing it pissed him off.
A clichéd villainess through and through, frustrating enough for even that duke to cut ties.
'He doesn't show affection because she resembles his wife.'
In the original story, he probably took her in as an adopted daughter upon seeing the resemblance, but when her villainy crossed the line, the duke severed her without hesitation.
The reason he kept her until her second year was likely...
'Suspicion.'
As he'd heard recently, the original Irene Windler was probably kept around due to suspicions she was something created by the temple.
Once confirmed useless and only troublesome, she lost all value.
And sure enough.
"In the original, there's a line about 'a nameless grave where a blonde woman is buried.' That's probably..."
"...Tch."
Though he knew the original villainess and his current rookie were different people, Lee Han felt bitter anyway.
Spellcaster or not, she was a member—no, a cadet—he'd taught.
"Not pleasant to hear."
"D-did I say something unnecessary?"
"No. Just weighing on my mind a bit. Thanks for telling me."
"Haha... Glad to hear that."
"...Hm, but you coward."
"Yes?"
"...What's that on your neck?"
"Huh? Oh, this...!"
Like a blister from a bug bite, there was a red welt on his neck, and the guy gave a wry smile.
"It's nothing. The other day, some female cadet from the faculty gave me an invitation or something, and Lady Karin got mad when she saw it. Then she suddenly bit my neck. It's just..."
"……."
"Felt like I was dying. Why was she so angry?"
"...That's a territory mark, you idiot."
"Huh? What mark?"
"...Just go die, you punk."
"???"
"...Shit."
Lee Han wanted to beat the crap out of this guy.
In Lee Han's front yard stood a doghouse—a boarding room.
Handmade by the landlord himself, solidly built to withstand even a storm.
And fitting such a fine abode, the resident assistant intern No. 1 had teary eyes as she bowed her head.
- Life's a joke, seriously...!
She probably felt unworthy of such a good place.
Anyway, this precious boarding facility had recently gained nine more.
New interns hoping to board.
This increased the snoring chorus, but thankfully not enough to bother the landlord's ears.
Even as a front yard setup, it felt like independent space from the owner.
However.
Swoosh.
One person rose and slipped out of the space.
Slowly standing, shuffling along, openly announcing her presence—yet the other residents slept soundly.
No matter how tired, interns wouldn't miss another's presence... but there was reason they didn't sense her.
Shaaa...
She—it, she—made no footsteps, gliding through the air like a ghost, so it wasn't odd they missed her presence.
Anyone seeing this would rub their eyes and scream, but unfortunately, no one was awake.
Suddenly.
Flash!
Her body passed through the wall, not the door.
Was she a real ghost?
"—Haa."
Exuding an eerily sinister aura as she passed through the wall, her eyes soon fixed on Lee Han, asleep in his hammock.
He slept deeply, and she gradually reached out toward his body.
Was she threatening him? Or trying to kill him?
Shoooo!
Suddenly, a chilling, eerie energy poured from her toward Lee Han.
A misty aura.
Thick, sticky, with a hypnotic quality that entranced just by sight.
And so.
"……."
"Will you open your eyes?"
"……."
"If you do, look at me. I am your master."
"……."
She—Juvia Pierre—wore a completely different expression and voice from usual.
Splash!
Everything had changed.
Her atmosphere, her short hair now cascading to her waist, and changes throughout her body.
Stated nicely, healthier; bluntly, more feminine and voluptuous.
And to such a her.
"...Yin Ghost."
Evoking the name of the mystical Yin Ghost race, also called succubus, Juvia Pierre shook her head with a seductive smile.
"No, I'm a Dream Demon. Not some lowly creature like that. So accept me. I'll bring you happiness."
"……."
"Come on. If you become my servant, I can give you endless pleasure..."
"Done yapping?"
"...Why isn't it working?"
"Hey, I'm asking."
"B-but it should work? Why... Do you have some male dysfunction or...?"
"...You cheeky bitch!"
Bam!!
"Aaaah!!"
The sound of Juvia Pierre's skull cracking rang out.
It hadn't actually cracked, but the thud was that heavy, and she writhed in agony.
An immense impact, pain too much even for a Dream Demon's body.
But whether she hurt or not.
"You bitch! Not driving nails into my chest or anything! And now the damn status window salted the wound before leaving...!!!"
Lee Han was in 'maximum rage'.
This wench had touched his reverse scale, was rude, and trespassed illegally.
This was now self-defense.
"Think about your life choices today!"
"...Huh?"
Lee Han grabbed the massive axe in the corner of the room.
And then.
"You know axes can beat people without killing, right?"
"N-no?"
"I'll show you. You'll get it after I beat you till dawn."
"!!!"
That night, Lee Han kept his word.
He demonstrated various ways to beat someone with an axe without killing, truly until dawn.
A full seven hours.
The time Juvia Pierre got beaten.