Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Irritations and Ambitions
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“Annoying. So annoying. Annoyingannoyingannoying.”
Verbut muttered irritably while chewing on his nails.
Both Gadia and Adelian. They had seemed right within his grasp, only to slip away like slime.
Humiliation. Shame.
How dare those lowly things.
“What do they say at headquarters?”
“They say to lay low for now… Your mission, Lord Verbut, is this academy anyway…….”
A sharp slap echoed through the room. Because he’d struck her cheek with a ring on his finger, a long red line appeared on the cheek of the girl attending him in the academy uniform, soon followed by trickles of blood.
“Ha. You think I’d be satisfied with just this academy? Opportunities to rack up more achievements kept coming! What went wrong?”
Verbut grabbed fistfuls of his fluffy hair, grinding his teeth in frustration before scowling and opening his mouth.
“And what’s with that wench? Violet?”
He scoffed.
When he first heard about her, he’d brushed it off. Copycats of Verbut had always existed.
No, not just him—plenty of people had imitated popular students or professors over the years.
Small accessories, hairstyles, speech patterns, dresses worn outside the academy. Even the type of riding attire or preferred jewelry.
And among the more extreme ones, there were those who even mimicked traits through effort.
So naturally, there were many who acted as harmless as he did to gain favor.
‘Most were nobles who couldn’t contain their true nature and quit soon enough.’
But this time was different.
Someone who seemed as harmless, sweet, and gentle as Verbut himself. A junior, peer, or senior.
Someone so kind and good that you felt safe sharing everything with her.
And crucially, it wasn’t forced—it felt genuine.
“Tell me what you’ve learned about that woman.”
Verbut took a sip of his cold tea to soothe his nerves, and the man standing in the corner of the room bowed his head before speaking.
“She seems to be a replacement for Gadia’s maid, who lost trust after the doppelganger incident. Her name is Violet. She’s a commoner from a fallen noble family that has served the Kruger household for generations.”
Verbut listened to the report while accepting and reading a neatly organized document.
“She was a last-minute substitute because the original maid fell ill. So she wasn’t deliberately brought in. Yet this random girl ends up sniping me?”
That made him even moodier.
Verbut pouted his lips.
If Gadia had brought her in targeting him specifically, he might have gotten fired up, thinking, *Fine, let’s see what you’ve got.*
But Gadia was simply ignoring him outright, which made digging traps on his own a bit boring.
Not that he wouldn’t do it.
“Still, I’m cuter.”
Verbut lightly tapped his fluffy hair.
He was cuter, purer, more harmless.
How much would those picky academy kids open up to a mere maid who wasn’t even a noble?
“If worst comes to worst, on a day Gadia sends her out of the academy on an errand, I’ll just take care of it.”
Verbut’s eyes curved as he smiled brightly.
* * *
“Haa, huu.”
Sweat trickled down his dark skin. His tawny eyes gleamed red, like flames flickering to life.
Like a sunset blazing in the sky.
Blood slowly dripped from the pommel of the sword he gripped, falling with soft plops onto the training ground’s stone floor.
“Swinging a sword for so long tears up your hands, huh.”
“Lord Shahad. Here’s a potion.”
Shahad shook his head, staring at his hand—which trembled and refused to fully open no matter how hard he tried, due to how tightly he’d gripped—before chuckling.
“Until now, I’d always collapsed before my hands went numb or tore open.”
This damn body had shattered his mind time and again, gnawed at his heart, broken his will.
But Shahad fully opened his rigid hand, dropped the sword to the ground, and laughed.
He’d swung the sword countless times; blisters had burst, skin peeled away, leaving his hand a bloody mess. He covered his face with it and let out a scream-like laugh.
“If they contact me to use me, let them have everything.”
He had to repay favors.
And grudges.
Shahad slowly pulled away his bloodied hand, revealing a red-smeared face. As if wiping it away, clear liquid streamed from his eyes down to his chin.
“If I’m to be used, I’d better be worth it.”
Rejecting the potion, Shahad’s hand shimmered with faint white light.
The torn and peeled flesh began regenerating, very slowly.
Sacred healing, paid for with the unpleasant crawling sensation of ants and pain.
Shahad panted as he thought.
And to embed that resentment, he needed to build his own faction.
“Whether they admit it or not, everyone’s probably seeing Seria as the next emperor.”
He would shatter that dynamic and aim for the throne.
Shahad smiled slowly.
* * *
“Innocent.”
[Innocent? Sure.]
The game was called Innocent Saga anyway—they wouldn’t mind if he borrowed it.
“Yeah.”
When Fian asked what he’d name the faction independent of the Kruger family—just for Adelian—a private force of their own—Adelian fiddled with Siren as he replied.
[Great. In a few months, Innocent’s power will pacify the underworld of the Tateリア capital. Don’t worry about the boss or the academy.]
Even if heads rolled in key positions, the organizations ruling the imperial capital—one of the continent’s top powers—weren’t just one or two.
Adelian didn’t know the details, but the turf wars seemed fierce.
“Yeah? Pretty confident, huh?”
[Not quite up to Cain’s level, but I did recruit some strong subordinates this time. Turns out, my other self is surprisingly useful?]
“No need to treat yourself like a tool. Even if you don’t push so hard, I plan to use you right where it counts.”
Adelian replied lazily to Fian’s words.
Working too hard was fine, but types like him needed to be reined in forcibly sometimes. Speaking coldly in a commanding tone drew giggles from beyond Siren.
[The boss can be so sweet. Use me up, hard. Later. Like an object. Anyway, no flashy results yet. Like water—it doesn’t boil until it suddenly does. A little more effort, and I’ll control more people than that kid.]
“Yeah?”
Adelian smiled leisurely at Fian’s words. Reducing Verbut’s influence would create a butterfly effect, weakening the Heretic Cult’s sway later.
Even if Verbut moved just to bask in popularity, those years of built-up goodwill would hold real value eventually.
People were creatures like that.
But countering with Fian to even slightly reduce psychological dependence on Verbut would pay off big later.
[Then you’ll make us executives some special insignia only we’d recognize, right?]
“Insignia? The crest we have now isn’t enough?”
[Anyone could copy and wear it if it leaked.]
Fair point. Adelian tapped the desk with his fingertips, pondering.
He’d soon head to the Southern Isles anyway, and check out the merfolk.
“Later, I’ll have rings made and distribute them.”
[Oh, rings?]
“No chit-chat.”
[Tch.]
Tch what. Adelian ended the call, saying they’d talk next report. Now his faction had a name, and with expansion ahead, they needed ways to distinguish members.
He still couldn’t fully trust Alkaido. So he hadn’t entrusted him with his seal or ring production—and this info was no different.
‘The one he’s loyal to isn’t me, but the Kruger family, which grows stronger through me.’
Alkaido suspected Kaiman was odd and believed Adelian had foresight, so he cooperated.
But if—just a slim chance—someone else could definitively make Kruger supreme, he might turn.
‘Even then, without Gadia-level legitimacy, bloodline issues would make it fall flat.’
“Let’s see.”
He needed to send some to Hula, Gamur, Reinhardt, Fian. Shahad too, and more later.
Better make plenty. Merfolk could craft them. Enchant with magic: look like normal patterns usually, reveal true one with special method. Double security.
“Call ended?”
Lost in thought, Adelian was approached by Luna.
Looking up, he saw her pink eyes and a comb, ready to brush his hair, with a soft smile.
“More or less?”
Siren was only in the capital for now, so he couldn’t tell Hula, Gamur, or Reinhardt yet.
Luna positioned herself behind him and began slowly brushing.
It made a bit of sense.
“We’ll be busy again soon after leaving the capital, right? Tough journeys, monsters, missions. Grabbing the chances you’ve set up for us to grow stronger.”
Adelian lowered his eyes slightly, pulled out pen and paper from subspace, jotted notes, hummed lowly, and replied.
“…Yeah. You struggling a lot, Luna?”
If it was just his greed holding her…
Now Luna didn’t stutter timidly or act weak.
She could go anywhere freely, challenge whatever she wanted.
After a moment’s thought, he added,
“If you want…….”
“Young master.”
“Yeah?”
Hair done, Luna moved to sit beside him.
Her deep pink eyes filled his vision.
“We’re fine. You always forget—you’re the most important to us, but also the one we must protect most.”
Her words pricked his heart.
True, with his trait, he was basically baggage they had to guard.
“I know.”
As he replied, Luna’s eyes curved up oddly.
“…Feels like you don’t.”
“No, I do. That’s why after the Southern Isles—to pick up a proper healer—we’re heading to the Fairy Lake.”
Items to boost his speed were there. With those, no more embarrassing piggyback rides.
“Then back to the capital. Something fun’s brewing underneath.”
Adelian grinned as he spoke, and Luna stared before turning her head with a sigh.
Why?
“Preparations for the Southern Isles are done. Just say when.”
“Hm? Yeah. Rest today.”
Need to organize plans too. He shook the paper, and Luna smiled brightly, bowed, and left.
What… Felt like he’d misread the mood due to his floaty sense.
What?
Outside, Rachel’s pealing laughter felt like she was mocking him.
Too awkward to check now, so he scratched his cheek and picked up the quill again.
Gotta work. He began sorting today’s plans and what Fian reported, plus his new short daily journal.
‘Before memories of Kang Su-ho fade too much.’
Some had great recall, but his floatiness often made reality feel unreal.
In that state, how clear were Kang Su-ho memories?
He knew the novel and original plot cold from over-immersion, but daily life blurred.
Concrete buildings, variety shows, work, subways, taxis, buses—replaced by wooden/stone structures, street performers, monsters.
Amid jotting Earth events and moods, he sensed a presence.
He quickly shoved paper and quill into subspace and spoke.
“Cain, what.”
Cain, gazing indifferently down at him, pointed outside with a finger.
“The envoy from First Princess Seria has arrived.”
…No, why?