Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Going to Use Me?
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"Going to use me?"
"…Aren? Why her?"
"Because she asked why I recommended you."
"She's kind, diligent, and strong. I bet she'll mesh well with you too?"
Cecilia felt certain from Haribal's response.
‘…This guy has no idea Aren is a girl?’
Of course, she herself hadn't realized from appearances alone.
It only hit her after holding hands.
Only after piecing together every bit of information from his movements.
Aren was listed as male on paper, and no one at the academy seemed to think otherwise.
But it was strange that Haribal, who had shared a room with her for a full month, was clueless.
Cecilia trusted Haribal.
As a person, as a man, and above all, as a swordsman.
Sure, he was dense, but only when it came to relationships.
His senses weren't so dull that he couldn't tell genders apart.
So she could only conclude this.
For some reason, Haribal firmly believed Aren was 'male'—or rather, had to be.
‘There must be a reason he thinks that.’
And as long as he did, rashly outing her wasn't the best move.
Aren had her own circumstances, and she didn't seem to harbor romantic feelings for Haribal anyway.
An unnecessary reveal could just stir up trouble.
So the 'unseemly matters' Cecilia feared probably hadn't happened.
Haribal recommending Aren was pure goodwill.
Likely for Cecilia's sake, even.
"That gu… guy. Any discomfort living with him?"
"Discomfort? Not really…?"
But that was that, and this was this.
Sharing a room with some outsider girl?
For a whole month, no less?
"Ah."
"See? There was! I knew it!"
And until the mansion was complete, even longer?
"Hardly talks to me at all? Gets along fine with the others, but avoids me specifically. Mind asking him why for me?"
If it were his own room, maybe—but Cecilia couldn't tolerate it.
"…Fine. Leave it to me."
"Thanks. I'm counting on you."
"Yeah. I'll dig into that guy's ulterior motives thoroughly…"
"? No need to go that far."
A sword already drawn and aimed.
No thought of sheathing it now.
‘Even better. At this distance, it works perfectly.’
Any interference from the side? She'd cut it down.
‘Now that Aren's my follower, adjusting their distance is easy enough.’
With her resolve set, light returned to her darkened eyes.
"Oh! If it's okay, can I drop by your room sometimes? I got Aren's permission, but it's your shared space too."
"Anytime. I'm not the room owner, so if Aren approved, no reason to block it."
With her usual smile, Cecilia swung her sword without hesitation.
"Settled, then."
Having smoothly secured visitation rights, the two resumed their usual chatter.
The topic soon shifted to Mine.
"Speaking of, how's Mine? She seemed super tense when you picked her."
"She'll improve bit by bit."
"You two heading into the dungeon together?"
Cecilia inwardly thought it fortunate he'd chosen Mine.
This puppet dungeon raid had made it crystal clear.
The mana dungeons harbored.
Dungeon mana amplified human emotions and drew out inner desires.
So entering a dungeon alone with Haribal meant more chances for a new rival to emerge—at least for her.
But with Mine's dungeon phobia, that seemed unlikely.
At Cecilia's question, Haribal scratched his cheek with a troubled look.
"…Not just us two."
"Huh? Follower classes are pairs by default, right?"
"Guess I'm marked as a problem child. The board assigned me a senior. Probably for surveillance."
"A senior? Who?"
"Princess Alicia."
"Ugh."
Cecilia's face crumpled.
The Ren family was one of the imperial faction's pillars.
With frequent imperial ties, she'd met Alicia often since returning home.
In her eyes, Princess Alicia was… well.
A black-hearted beast.
Something like that.
Staring into those eyes, if you didn't keep your wits, you'd turn into her puppet in an instant. Eerie.
No wonder she bore the infamous moniker "Red Scales" at such a young age.
‘It came to this after all.’
For some reason, Alicia had shown intense interest in Haribal for years now.
Come to think of it, she'd hounded Cecilia and Senia about him too.
From Alicia's demeanor, Cecilia instinctively knew: she wanted a leash on Haribal's neck.
"Watch out not to get used by Her Highness. She's got that 'imperial monster' reputation."
"Monster, huh…"
Haribal sank into deep thought with a complicated expression.
The guy was hopelessly lax at times like this.
‘Yeah. No choice. I have to protect him.’
With that vow, Cecilia glanced up at the sky.
Facts she'd barely noticed before suddenly bubbled up.
Herself, Senia, Mine, Aren.
And now Princess Alicia too.
‘…Isn't there way too many girls around him?’
⁎⁎⁎
‘Monster.’
Cecilia's words echoed in his head the whole way to his meeting with Alicia.
Bubbles were still going strong, huh.
‘To me, it's just luck.’
But calling it pure bubbles wasn't quite right either.
Original Alicia wasn't talentless.
Just brilliant yet somehow sloppy.
This world's version had bet on him long ago.
Far before she invested in Aren in the original.
And he'd delivered results.
So maybe he'd fueled her public image himself.
Arriving at the spot, the cafe interior was pitch black despite broad daylight.
As he glanced around, a light flicked on over a small stage in one corner.
*Duuun.*
With grand classical music, Alicia appeared under the spotlight.
"I've been waiting."
He nodded automatically.
Anyone could see she'd been waiting.
"Did you rent out the whole cafe?"
"It's our first private junior-senior meet, so this much care is natural, no?"
Alicia clapped lightly, and course meals began filing out from inside.
"Didn't know your tastes, so I got the best chefs I know. Eat up."
This was the sloppiness they meant.
Not even dinnertime yet, and this was a cafe.
Why the sudden full course?
"Thank you."
No reason to refuse good food, though.
As he dug in, Alicia propped her chin, gazing at him meaningfully.
‘Ugh, intense. No wonder people misunderstand.’
A princess staring like that.
Anyone would think something shady was up.
But he knew.
Behind those sharp eyes lurked not a three-headed beast, but a clueless kitten.
That oddly cool demeanor? Just a mask.
Alicia was vying with the prince for succession.
She'd faced assassination attempts multiple times, and those close to her got eliminated or pressured.
So she decided no weaknesses.
All her relationships designed to look like disposable cards to outsiders.
No one left to share her heart with as a result, but it didn't matter.
Getting close to anyone made them a target.
Her occasional original slips? Just mishaps from overpreparing.
Try to cover everything, and gaps appear.
Inevitably.
They just always snowballed into disasters.
"Why'd I call you out alone?"
"Not sure."
Her current attitude toward him was the same.
Every word and action meticulously calculated.
Alicia sipped her coffee, then placed a Tier 2 shard on the table.
"Made it yesterday with that Alicia Machine thing."
"…"
"Naming sense is iffy. I'd go with Shard Converter."
Tell me about it.
"Heard about you from Ellie Walker. You've gotten lots of quiet help. Gaining fame beyond my sight too, so I called to say thanks."
"Just did my job."
"Your job, huh…"
Alicia pondered, gazing intently before speaking.
"Why go so hard? Aiming to be the empire's sword? Or some other motive?"
"Nothing like that. As an imperial citizen, I can't ignore threats to the empire."
"As an imperial citizen?"
She leaned forward.
"What should the emperor do right now?"
Her golden eyes flashed.
A question that'd make any noble sweat.
Perfect hook for whatever answer.
Especially from the "Red Scales" princess.
‘I know this one.’
It didn't faze him, though.
She thought it a masterstroke, but he knew the answer.
‘Problem is, she asked Aren this in the original.’
Why Alicia obsessed over succession. What she truly wanted.
Simple.
‘Defeat the Evil God and bring peace to the empire.’
She'd pursued that plain, obvious goal forever—just didn't look like it.
The empire had muddled through ignoring the Evil God's abyss.
Frontlines bled soldiers blocking demonic energy, monsters claimed lives now and then, but the core stayed peaceful.
In that fake peace, court, nobles, church fattened themselves for ages. Status quo sufficed.
But Alicia knew it wouldn't last.
To break the Evil God's chain in her generation, she needed absolute power.
He knew her heart, so his answer was set.
"Station builders and soldiers around the Ronwood Mountains."
"…Why?"
"To build a base camp for assaulting the third Evil God abyss."
Alicia's face went blank.
"…Junior. Right? Second abyss barely cleared, and you're jumping to the third?"
Undead Dungeon was vast; long haul expected.
Farming included, original timeline was tight even at two months.
Hence, base camp to cut travel—needed ASAP.
He nodded instead of answering. Alicia, who'd been staring blankly, twitched a smile.
"No. The emperor's immediate task isn't that."
Intense fervor lit her eyes.
*Bang!!*
She slapped a small certificate on the table.
Nevil Bank seal, his name, and a ridiculous string of zeros.
"Money you should've gotten originally. Recovered from greasing those vermin."
Called it. Mid-process skimming confirmed.
Even adjusted, the sum was insane.
"The rest is compensation for the second abyss. Laughably short of your merits, still."
Alicia inhaled deeply, adding,
"The emperor's job now: reward empire's heroes properly. And… stand at the forefront with that hero, leading the rest."
She chuckled "kuhuhu," drawing her waist fan.
"No qualification for those who can't. Right?"
Whip of wind, red mana rose like haze, resonating with the abyss core.
"Cyrus Empire's princess, Alicia Cyrus, hereby bets her life on this stage."
"…"
"For this two-month special training, I pledge full effort to conquer the Evil God's third abyss alongside the empire's sword, Sir Haribal Belder."
"…You sure?"
"Kuhuhu."
She scoffed.
"Truth is, I bet long ago. Too late to pull out now."
"Ah, got it."
Then why say it?
"Steel yourself, junior. From now on, I'll use you thoroughly in dungeon raids."
Spotlight narrowed as she finished.
Rising, Alicia flashed a seductive smile, ascending the stage.
As the cafe plunged into dark, her voice echoed.
"By the way, junior. Know the term 'son-in-law'?"
No reply. "Kuhuhu" laughter swirled like shadows in the black.
Confirming her presence gone, he leaned back, eyeing the table.
Come on, don't kill the lights mid-meal.
Glancing at her empty seat opposite, a smile tugged his lips.
‘Going to use me? That's my line.’
He'd been shocked when Alicia first said she'd join the party.
Flustered, at a loss.
Not bad shock, though.
Thrilled, even.
Hadn't expected her so soon.
Alicia's mana paled next to Cecilia or Luna.
Attack power lagged far behind Aren, Ran, him, or Senia.
No healing or tanking like Mine or Eugene either.
Yet.
Why she joined late in the original.
Why she still claimed heroine spot.
Because she was Terminus Academy's top buffer.