Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: Subtle Distances
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Cotton candy-like, fluffy and soft-looking brown hair and eyes.
Her lovely appearance, petite frame, and quiet yet gentle personality stirred protective instincts in men and women alike.
Born to high nobility from a distant foreign land, yet she possessed a warmth toward everyone.
The lady of the frigid House Kruger, so aloof it bordered on coldness. The adorable child who approached Lady Gadia Suryeon Kruger with utter sincerity and ended up becoming her closest confidante.
Even with near-strangers, she'd flash a soft smile upon eye contact, and if a classmate looked troubled, she'd fret over not being able to help even a little more.
When someone vented about frustrations or anger, she'd listen for hours without a hint of boredom or annoyance, offering comfort, crying alongside them, laughing alongside them—who could possibly dislike Vervurt?
‘But lately... I can't put my finger on it exactly... something feels off. Far fewer people coming to me with their woes.’
She'd lived like this for years now; it had become her daily routine. She noticed the subtle shift but dismissed it as no big deal.
‘It's actually more convenient.’
Not that only one or two people consulted her with their troubles.
It had started as a way to manage her image while gleaning various bits of information, but really, how valuable could the chatter from academy students—still just kids—be?
Most of it was repetitive enough to bore or exhaust the listener.
Schoolwork, careers, family, friends, lovers. Trivial anxieties about such things.
By now, unless they were children of high nobility, Vervurt welcomed the decline in such encounters with open arms.
Yes, that was how it started.
“Won't you come hang out in my dorm room today? It's been ages since we pulled an all-nighter chatting.”
“Today? Ah... I'm a bit busy today.”
“How about tea together after so long? Oh, and we never finished that story from last time.”
“Ah, that? It's fine. Don't worry about it.”
Even the high nobles she'd paid a little extra attention to—one by one, somehow.
She couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but the distance between Vervurt and them had grown ever so slightly.
They weren't openly avoiding her. Conversations were still enjoyable and informative, full of whispers as always, yet strangely, the emotional reliance on her had diminished compared to before.
‘What’s the reason?’
Vervurt glanced sidelong at the female student sitting on the sofa in her room, meticulously tending to her nails.
“Any rumors floating around the academy lately that involve me?”
The usual question.
“No. Of course not, Lady Vervurt. No rumors mentioning your name in particular.”
The usual answer.
Just like always, she'd instructed her to answer only what was asked. Unlike previous times when she'd been satisfied and moved on, Vervurt paused thoughtfully before speaking again.
“If my reputation is intact and there are no pointless rumors tying into me, what do you think is causing my tea times to dwindle lately?”
At Vervurt's question, the girl—who'd been carefully grasping her hand and trimming her nails—froze with a jolt.
“That’s... I’m not certain.”
“Not that you don’t know, but not certain?”
“...That Violet person.”
At the name, Vervurt shot to her feet and slapped the cheek of the girl who'd been tending her nails.
“What the hell. I specifically told you to handle Gadia's errands outside the academy on days I step out.”
“But, but... she never left on an errand. She was always inside the academy. I swear.”
Killing some mere servant of a noble—nothing major even if delayed. No need to report progress to Vervurt.
If that Violet truly was just a simple servant.
“Spill it.”
“It’s not certain. Really! It’s just...”
Vervurt always had her copycats. There were always people who thought her popularity stemmed from that gentle demeanor—not just her looks—and tried to emulate it by comforting others.
Most failed, of course, being nobles who inevitably questioned why they had to listen to such drivel.
“So what, you think mere commoners or lowly lowborn nobles went crawling to that servant?”
What made one a noble? So many were arrogant braggarts who treated inferiors as less than human.
Unless they were commoners or low nobles as uncouth as such folk, no one would confide personal matters in a non-noble like that servant, the way Vervurt did.
“That’s why... I said it’s not certain.”
“Right... It’s ridiculous to think high nobles would fall for some lowly servant like that. So there must be another reason.”
Mere low nobles at best. Even if dozens or hundreds flocked to that Violet servant, it wasn't on Vervurt's level.
‘But it still sours my mood.’
The mere fact that such a thing could even be fingered as a cause meant it had some influence—and that irked her.
“If I can't step out for errands... I'll have to find a way to eliminate her inside the academy.”
“Pardon? Wouldn't that be too dangerous?”
Vervurt smiled sweetly at the girl's words.
“A single servant vanishing—what catastrophe could come of it?”
* * *
“How is it?”
“Boring.”
This jerk. Can't fight himself, so Luna and Rachel are busting their asses, and he calls it boring?
I clicked my tongue and turned my head. Truth be told, it might look boring to Kane.
Luna was facing four at once, and since they coordinated their attacks, she couldn't drop or subdue them one by one right away.
Rachel, meanwhile, could smash her opponents in short order but was dragging it out on purpose—it'd been ages since her last real fight.
“How dare you, how dare you!”
“How dare? How dare? That’s all you got? Mermaid folk, my ass—your head’s as fishy as below the waist? No, why can’t you even talk right? Earlier you just flapped your gums, wouldn’t deny it, just glared—didn’t they teach you proper speech?”
Rachel was flailing punches with eyes blazing, but to me, her verbal beatdown seemed to hit as hard as her fists.
“Grrraaah!”
Every attack of his blocked by Rachel, taking her hits in turn, the mermaid royalty suddenly roared and fell back.
“Everyone, into the sea!”
“Where do you think you’re going!”
“This bastard, right when it’s getting fun!”
In the end, the outnumbered merfolk dove into the ocean, with Luna and Rachel hot on their tails, leaping in after them.
Water columns erupted like bombs going off mid-chase, and a nearby boulder split in half with a massive crack.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I finished it?”
Watching that, Kane murmured lowly.
Merfolk got stronger in water, so not wrong. Should I drop Kane in and end it here?
―Admin, I’m back.
Just as I was about to reply to Kane, Riph approached, wet hair twisted up in one hand and wrung out.
“Good work. We’ll change on the ship.”
The moment I smiled and welcomed Riph back.
Boom!
“Hm.”
“Huh?”
“Argh! The ship!”
A bang from our ship afloat on the sea, and it began slowly tilting to one side.
“Wait, what the hell.”
No way—I sent Riph to guard the ship, and now it’s exploding?
“Kane!”
At my signal, Kane dashed across the water’s surface.
Chaos erupted on the ship too—screams as they scrambled for gear, leaping overboard and swimming our way.
Kane fished out most; Luna and Rachel got a few. Mercifully, no casualties...
“...Explain what happened.”
I eyed the drowned-rat crew and the captain staring vacantly in despair, then lit a fire and spoke.
“Sorry, young master.”
“No helping it. We were winning, so they ignored their dead pals and rammed the ship. Had to be deliberate to screw us over.”
“We grabbed two at the helm...”
“But in the water, it’s hard to... I nabbed a couple, but the worst one ended up blowing it.”
Aigoo.
I clutched my forehead like smacking it.
“Change out of those wet clothes first.”
Accident’s done. I pulled magic tent and personal bags from my subspace, handed them out, then slumped in a chair with a groan.
“Checked already?”
“No intact ships.”
Just in case, I’d sent Kane to scour the island for any boats the natives used, but whether the evil cult smashed them or lack of caretakers let waves and storms wreck them, nothing seaworthy remained.
“What’s your take?”
“Escaping alone? Just a matter of time. Doable.”
Yeah, everyone but me could cross open sea. Mana totals and control would vary the time, but no ship didn’t mean totally immobile.
Walk till an island, land briefly to rest.
Repeat for days if needed—eventually hit a populated one.
Some way out would exist.
“But what about them?”
“What do you expect?”
I glanced at the crew huddled by the fire a ways off, drying wet clothes, and the captain wearing a look like he’d lost everything with the ship.
“Our responsibility.”
They’d sneak peeks at us now and then before whipping their eyes away—like they wanted to beg but were too terrified after seeing us battle the merfolk.
Fair enough. Elitist nobles or powerhouses often cleaved to chosen-folk bullshit; lucky if they didn’t lop heads for being nuisances.
“To take them all, we need a ship.”
Kane was right. Yeah, no way on rafts.
Remote spot, cult offering grounds to begin with.
Waiting for a passerby vessel? Absurd.
Ditch them first, send a ship back? Knowing exact coords? Taking one who knows the spot as guide? Extra baggage.
Minus Kane, hours on water was pushing it for them.
Plus food woes. No ship, no proper fishing gear, meager garden, scant fruit trees.
Leave ’em, and even if not all, some’d starve—who knew.
“...Kane, you go solo.”
“No.”
What the?
“Why not?”
“Frankly, sea’s nature means I can’t pinpoint this spot by aura alone.”
Locals who know the routes and terrain—that’s who finds this island. Kane heading to mainland for aid, returning solo? Practically impossible.
Issue was trusting a guide even if taken along.
“Battle bred fear of us. From this deserted rock, not escaping on a ship but me taking one out—think they’d wanna come back?”
They’d figure only water-walkers survive; never set foot on sea again.
Plus, we’d hijacked a report-worthy cult site on our own whim.
Kane couldn’t stomach the time: contracting a return ship, trusting the guide’s word to sail back here.
‘And though his human aversion’s eased some, him solo-haggling with rough seafarers for a vessel?’
...Yeah. Tough sell.
Luna wouldn’t leave me behind; obvious she’d push Kane instead. Riph out on language.
Rachel...
“Water mana’s bad matchup for me. Short bursts ok, but days swimming or water-walking? No go.”
Staring at Rachel mouthing ‘Send Kane, Kane!’ while I tore at my hair—
[Lord Adelrian. Where are you?]
The siren chimed suddenly. I looked up.
Zero?