Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Let's Fulfill Our Duties as Students
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“Rose Orphanage is that way.”
“Thank you for letting me know.”
“Um… please don’t pay too much attention to what other people think. You’ve merely lifted the veil. It’s just that the stench is starting to emanate from something that was already rotting away.”
It was mature advice.
After giving a light bow to the soldier, I headed straight to the place he had indicated.
Walking through Erandar’s streets, I could hear murmurs from people here and there who recognized me.
Most of them were priests of the Divine Church.
The gazes from ordinary citizens were actually rather favorable.
‘They’re doing it even though they don’t really know me. They should’ve just done a good job from the start.’
When I arrived at the location the soldier had pointed out, there stood a church in place of the orphanage.
Seeing the priests blocking the way suggested someone important was inside.
‘Looks like they’ve already arrived.’
The priests who recognized me offered greetings.
There was no disgust in their eyes.
They didn’t block me from entering the church either.
In the chapel, Mine was the only one there, dressed in modest prayer attire.
Her purple hair, reflected in the stained glass, was vividly visible even from behind.
As I sat down beside her, she spoke with her eyes closed.
“Did you have any trouble getting here?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary.”
“That’s a relief.”
A few days after the Genie Dungeon incident.
When I called her because I wanted to tell her about my conversation with Instructor Adelin, Mine said she had something to say as well and suggested meeting at Rose Orphanage.
“This used to be the orphanage I lived in. After I received the title of Saintess, it was turned into a church like this.”
“It’s become a holy site, I suppose.”
“They didn’t even ask for my permission. It was all for show.”
Mine finished her prayer and opened her eyes.
There was a sense of relief in her half-lidded gaze.
“Shall we take a short walk?”
Following her words, we began strolling around the church grounds.
We stopped in front of an empty flower bed on one side of the church property.
“Look at this. Back when it was an orphanage, this flower bed was full of flowers. But now that it’s a church, no one even bothers to maintain it properly.”
Mine pulled out seeds of various colors from her bosom.
“By the way, this is something I’m telling myself as well. I’ve neglected this place too.”
“So now you’re going to take care of it?”
“Yes. It’s not really that hard, actually. Just watering it once a day should be enough.”
Mine began planting the seeds in the flower bed, not minding the dirt getting on her hands.
“Now that I think about it, I forgot to bring rose seeds. It’s Rose Orphanage, after all.”
Toward her, I held out the blue rose seeds I had bought with Cecilia long ago.
It felt like the right moment to give them to her.
“What’s that…?”
Mine’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting rose seeds to come from my pocket.
She soon narrowed her eyes and added,
“I thought you’d bring violas, Halibal.”
“Why?”
“Because you said I resembled violas when we first met.”
It was something I had carelessly said at our first meeting.
She had remembered it all this time.
“You said you’d come here every day. No need to plant violas then.”
“Th-that’s not what…!”
I could see Mine’s cheeks and ear tips turning tomato red.
She shook her head twice and hurriedly changed the subject.
“Uh, so… why did you want to meet today?”
“I had a consultation with Instructor Adelin recently.”
“…”
“And the story that came out of it…”
Just then, Mine interrupted me.
“Halibal.”
“Yeah?”
“Before I hear your story, Halibal, can I say something first?”
Her face no longer showed the flushed expression from moments ago.
“For the past month, I’ve been hiding from the things I needed to face by propping up a false persona named Logia. But… I’m done with that now.”
“…”
“I won’t rely on Logia anymore. And I won’t take jaunchweed either.”
Her gaze turned toward the distant mountain range beyond the garden.
The Ronwood Mountains, where the Undead Dungeon lay.
“I have a request for you. Can you take me to the Undead Dungeon?”
“You sure that’s okay?”
“I made a promise with Pasha. And… I don’t want to run away anymore.”
She extended her hand toward me.
“So, will you help me? Train me so I can be of help to you there, Halibal.”
“It’s baggage you threw away already. You okay picking it back up?”
“It was my baggage to begin with. That’s only natural.”
“It’ll be pretty tough. Even Cecilia complained.”
“It’s fine. I’m not Cecilia.”
Her expression was filled with resolve.
When I didn’t answer right away, Mine continued.
“Then, will you tell me the story you wanted to share now, Halibal?”
For a while, I couldn’t tear my gaze from her face.
‘The Mine I see is someone who can overcome her trauma on her own.’
Adelin’s judgment was correct.
My initial judgment was correct too.
She was someone who could stand on her own.
Was this change in her because I had pushed her back?
If Mine was saying this much, would it really be for her own good to push my opinion and say she didn’t need to go into the dungeon?
No, it wouldn’t.
“I forgot.”
I took her hand in mine.
[Mine Rose’s Affection Level has increased.]
[Affection Level: 3]
⁎⁎⁎
During our usual daily routine, Alicia, whose外出 ban had been lifted, rejoined the party.
“Ku huhut! The perfect Alicia has made a full comeback!”
“Wow…”
“Hmm…”
In her hand was the same plain folding fan from when we first met.
“What happened to the weapon you used last time?”
“Ah…”
It was because Hyperion had been taken away.
Dejected, Alicia squatted down in her seat.
“Useless Alicia is back…”
“Why did you recklessly take an imperial item like that?”
“Tch… You sound just like Kaizel. You survived thanks to me… You praised me so much back then…!”
As she glared at me with puffed-up cheeks, Mine quietly patted her shoulder.
“Hm…? Something’s different.”
“Y-yes?”
Alicia scanned Mine up and down, then smiled as if intrigued.
“Your aura has changed. It’s completely different from before.”
“Mine has steeled her resolve. She plans to challenge the Undead Dungeon on her own.”
“Oh ho. Not bad, Mine. Hard to believe you’re the same scaredy-cat from back then.”
“It’s thanks to the two of you.”
“Ku hut. Of course. With guidance from the perfect Alicia!”
As if nothing had happened, she puffed out her chest proudly again.
Guidance… Was there any?
“Tch. If only I had Hyperion, it would’ve been so much easier. Why do those damn old fogeys have to make it unusable?”
Mine swallowed hard at the princess’s irreverent words.
Of course, I agreed.
“So, what’s the junior’s plan? How do you intend to lead our party to victory without the Red Scales’ Blessing?”
“The Red Scales’ Blessing is still here, isn’t it?”
I pointed at Alicia.
We hadn’t included Hyperion in the Undead Dungeon strategy to begin with.
It wouldn’t need a strategy if we had that.
“Sweet-talker.”
“It’s just the truth. I never imagined you’d have something like that, Senior.”
“So you’re saying we have a chance?”
I hadn’t neglected my own growth while helping Mine improve.
After all, I had to be the core of this party.
Over the past days, I had completed enough shard crafting through the Alicia machine.
Thanks to experiencing dozens, hundreds of defeats in Halibal Dungeon, I even succeeded in solo-defeating Rose and Lirian.
‘Still couldn’t handle Elevair, though.’
It didn’t work alone without Self-Love, but even setting that aside, Elevair was ridiculously strong.
Still, the gains were definite. The experience with Stampede had brought real growth.
The process of racking my brain to somehow twist and conquer a boss that normally required a group.
Thanks to that, I now stood before a new wall.
Not a frustrating one.
An experience point cap reached, just one step away, ready to surpass at any moment.
What did that mean?
“I think I’ll be able to learn a new Art before entering the Undead Dungeon.”
It was a sign that a new Art would unlock, stagnant since Stormwind Path.
“Really?”
“Oh ho! Is that true? Congratulations!”
I glanced at Mine.
Truth be told, I hadn’t expected to grasp the key to a new Art this easily.
If this world had levels like I thought, it meant my level had caught up to around Mine’s.
Somehow, ever since teaming up with Mine, my thinking had broadened, and insights came more frequently.
Mentally maturing, perhaps.
‘Maybe party member bonuses apply to Mine too. Probably experience-related.’
With Cecilia, except for the day we toured Neivil, we grinded dungeons non-stop.
Yet I couldn’t unlock the next Art.
In just over a month, despite entering dungeons far less, it felt like I was gaining much more.
“Yes. So in the meantime, it’ll be important for us to train and sync our teamwork.”
“I agree. We kinda bulldozed Elevair with brute force last time.”
As Mine nodded, Alicia unfurled her fan and declared.
“Good! Then every day after classes, we’ll meet at the training grounds for an hour to practice coordination.”
“One hour…?”
Mine was the one voicing doubt.
Over the past month, she and I had been in and out of dungeons until sunset.
One hour fell far short, so Mine looked up at me with a ‘Is that right?’ expression.
Normally, I would’ve said something like ‘Don’t talk nonsense, let’s grind dungeons 6 hours a day!’
“But after training, we get free time?”
“As if!”
Alicia laughed ku huhu at my question.
“Halibal Belder.”
“Yes.”
“We’re all students, aren’t we?”
“…That’s true.”
“Luidel has rules. But for you, me, and Mine, it’d be easier without them.”
Fair point.
As a soldier, I’d move more freely; as a princess, she would too; as a Saintess, Mine as well.
“But we’ve all put ourselves in the framework of students. Then we have a duty to enjoy student life.”
“…”
“So one hour of training is enough. Concentrating for that hour might even be better for breakthroughs. We’re all growing students, after all.”
Alicia’s expression turned serious.
“That’s also why I prefer being called Senior over Princess.”
“Princess…”
“After graduation, I’ll live as a princess my whole life. I only have about a year left where someone can call me Senior, so I want to enjoy it as much as possible.”
She looked at me and added,
“Preferably with the junior I chose.”
For a moment, I was speechless.
The time I’d spent proved her words right.
My skills never skyrocketed from training alone.
Always steadily, step by step.
Only when it became routine did it manifest as real strength.
And ultimately, the decisive results came from the relationships I’d built.
My bond with Cecilia led to victory in the Doll Dungeon, and Mine’s own resolve was leading her to the dungeon.
‘The key is the trigger, huh.’
I nodded.
“You’re right, Senior. So what do we do after training?”
“Ku huhut! A camaraderie meeting, of course!”
“Camaraderie… meeting.”
I shook my head.
“Truly understanding and trusting each other is the real essence of teamwork! So, starting today, we’ll hold our party’s first camaraderie meeting!”
Overwhelmed by the mood, Mine unwittingly clapped.
“Wow… ah?”
“First, time to get to know each other. There’s a great theater in Neivil city. Let’s start there!”
“Why a theater of all places?”
“Because I love plays!”
Alicia shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing and took the lead.
“…Shouldn’t training come first?”
“Whatever. Skipping one day is fine.”
“?”
What was with this person.
As I started to freak out, Mine grabbed my sleeve.
“Um…”
“What’s up?”
“…It’s my first time at a theater. Have you been to one before, Halibal, by any chance?”
I had gone with Cecilia.
Surprisingly, it was like a movie theater where you could pick what you wanted to see, and we watched some action-packed play.
I turned to Mine and asked,
“Any genre you like?”
“Hmm… I think…”
Mine pondered briefly before answering.
“Romance would be nice.”
“You two, quit dawdling!”
Just then, Alicia grabbed one of my arms.
“Let’s go fulfill our duties as students!”
⁎⁎⁎
Cecilia liked Halibal as a member of the opposite sex.
She had also resolved to believe everything he said.
But right now, she was thinking this.
‘Hilibrar. This time, your judgment is wrong.’
Cecilia’s gaze was fixed on Aren, who was laughing in front of the snake monster the two had just defeated.
“Phew. Let’s do a few more rounds and call it. We’ve got the Demon God’s Dungeon coming up soon.”
“Aren Bright.”
“For the next challenge, maybe sync up once more? Feels like our balance is a bit off…”
“Sorry, but let’s end it here. I’m sitting out the Demon God’s Dungeon this time.”
Aren’s face hardened instantly.
“Why?”
Before she knew it, Aren was staring at Cecilia with an emotionless expression.
A chilling sensation.
“A month of trying to match your style.”
But Cecilia was no pushover either, so she met the gaze without backing down.
“You’re definitely different from Halibal, aren’t you?”