Chapter 343
Chapter 343
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 343
Chapter Title: 아카데미의 천재칼잡이-343화
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 343
Chapter Title: Side Story 27. Blue Spring to You (9)
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A soft woman's voice echoed in her ears.
"...Ugh."
Naviroje, who had been groaning, opened her eyes.
The impossibly lofty ceiling of the Flame Palace came into view.
The hellish inferno that had raged everywhere had vanished without a trace.
"This place is..."
Her memory was hazy, as if she'd taken a blow to the head.
Naviroje slowly pieced together the events that had transpired.
Gargarens was definitely dead.
However, in a final act of desperation, he had chosen self-destruction.
She had tried everything to prevent the explosion, but it was beyond her power. In the end, she had resolved herself to mutual destruction.
And after that...
'...!'
Naviroje's eyes widened in shock.
She finally remembered.
Right before the explosion, her two disciples had definitely come to her.
She cried out in a shriek-like scream.
"Lanse! Sechika!!"
Cold sweat trickled down her temples.
If anything had happened to the two of them, she would never forgive herself.
Naviroje, who had been about to sit up, froze.
In her daze, she hadn't noticed that something was pressing down on her body.
Her eyes widened as she looked down.
"You two."
Lanse and Sechika were hugging her tightly from both sides.
Judging by their position, they had shielded her from the explosion.
Even in unconsciousness, their four hands gripped her firmly.
There were no visible injuries.
Naviroje bit her lower lip and tilted her head back.
"...You foolish brats."
She wiped the corners of her eyes with trembling hands.
Perhaps due to her age, her emotions felt more profound.
Everything came flooding back.
No sooner had Lanse escaped the barrier than the explosion occurred.
'Saved by my disciples again—this makes the second time.'
Without the two of them, she surely wouldn't have even had bones left.
Suddenly, as she touched her face, Naviroje raised an eyebrow.
"This is?"
The sensation beneath her palm felt unfamiliar.
Her eyes were deeper-set, and her nose bridge higher.
Carefully disentangling the two, Naviroje picked up Lanse's sword.
Reflecting her face on the flat of the blade, she let out a hollow laugh.
"...Ha."
She nearly dropped the sword.
Her matured face had reverted to around her twenties.
Thick eyelashes and a sharp, upturned nose.
Her jawline, stripped of baby fat, was sharp enough to slice an apple.
And surprisingly, that wasn't the end of it.
All those countless scars had vanished completely.
"What in the world..."
Her body was draped in what remained of her mostly burned uniform.
It was so tattered that her skin was fully exposed, its function long lost.
However, the bronze skin now revealed was flawlessly smooth, without even the tiniest scratch.
Not only the burns that had melted her muscles, but even the scar on her abdomen from her battle with Zaifa—all gone.
Her ash-gray hair, which had burned to a bob, now cascaded messily down to her waist.
How was this possible?
While Naviroje was bewildered...
"What...!"
Naviroje whipped her head around.
A woman in a red dress was gazing at her.
Her hair, tinged crimson like roaring flames, framed a benevolent smile.
"You."
The woman's finger pointed directly at Naviroje.
It wasn't hard to guess her identity.
Naviroje dropped to one knee and paid her respects.
"Mortal Naviroje greets the Mother of Fire."
"No, that's not it. First off, allow me to add that those two bear no fault whatsoever. I alone slew Gargarens."
Naviroje immediately reported that she had beheaded Gargarens.
It was a point that absolutely had to be addressed.
No matter how much of a sore spot he was, that foolish lizard had been kin to the Mother of Fire.
If there was any blame to be assigned, it had to fall solely on her.
The reply came soon enough.
"Yes?"
Navardoje explained that she had witnessed the entire process.
She added that, had it not been for the molting, she would have intervened immediately.
Her voice turned melancholic as she continued.