Episode 12
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 12
“No one’s here.”
“They will be, soon.”
Adrian questioned Elysia, who was muttering with her ears pressed shut.
“What is that sound?”
“You can hear the footsteps, can’t you?”
Barely managing to catch her breath, she pressed her hands against her eyes and mumbled, “Sounds like a woman. Judging by the stride of her footsteps, she’s shorter than me.”
“Sister, you seem very startled. For now…”
Adrian trailed off, frozen. He, too, had begun to hear the sound of someone running toward them from far away, their heels clicking urgently.
The faint noise from down the hall grew louder and louder, finally stopping right in front of the lab door. How on earth did she pick out just those footsteps from the cacophony of sounds coming from every direction?
Is she some kind of animal? There’s no way that’s human hearing.
While he stood there, dumbfounded, an irritated Elysia shot up from her seat and threw the door open. Her cold, silver-gray eyes looked down at a young girl who had her hand raised, about to knock. The moment the door opened, a fresh wave of noise washed over them, bringing with it a pounding headache.
Elysia rubbed her throbbing forehead with the back of her hand. No matter how annoyed she was, it wasn't the other person's fault. Her sensitivity was caused by the environment, not the girl standing in front of her. So she shouldn't get angry…
Taking a deep breath, she resolved to be as kind as possible and spoke.
“What is it?”
…Of course, the words that came out were anything but kind. As they say, making a resolution and actually following through are two different things. Swallowing hard, seemingly terrified by Elysia’s fearsome expression, the girl cried out, her eyes welling with tears.
“Someone… someone’s fighting!!!”
“Ah… so it’s started.”
Adrian walked out of the lab with a troubled smile. Elysia narrowed her eyes, noticing that the loudest of the noises that had been filling the hallway had vanished. With a slight wink, Adrian sighed and said, “This is the time when fights break out most often at Minerva.”
*
When a bunch of lunatics with an art complex—the kind who are way too in love with their “artistic selves”—get crammed into one space to prepare for something, it’s only natural for all hell to break loose.
Moreover, this Art Festival was supposedly incredibly important for the freshmen studying art at Minerva. They said that the work a student presented at their first festival could define their entire life, so it was only natural for them to pour their heart and soul into it.
…Or so they said. To be honest, even though it had nothing to do with her, she couldn’t understand why she had to suffer through this noise pollution.
“It’ll probably be like this for the next few days.”
At Adrian’s words, Elysia, who had been pressing her fingers into her throbbing temples against the barrage of noise, was horrified.
They’re all insane. If they’re going to throw a fit, they should just do it amongst themselves…
Following the sniffling girl, they soon arrived at a room where a crowd of students had gathered, murmuring amongst themselves. A sign reading ‘Classroom-14’ dangled from the door.
The girl shrank back, too afraid to enter. Adrian and Elysia opened the door in her stead and stepped inside.
Pushing through the crowd of onlookers, they saw a red-faced man panting with rage and a familiar face with an indifferent expression.
“Huh? Isn’t that…”
“Oh? It’s the classmate you almost hit on the first day, Sister.”
Elysia frowned, bewildered by the unexpected appearance. She got into it with me, and now she’s at it again over here.
Siene Reve’s silver hair, which had previously cascaded down her back, was now tied up high.
The paint stains on the dark blue apron she wore over her school uniform were vivid. Elysia could tell they weren't from a single day’s work, but had accumulated over several years.
The male student looked down at Siene crookedly and sneered.
“Just be honest. You’re jealous, aren’t you?”
“You seem to be mistaken. I have never been jealous.”
Unlike when she had argued with Elysia, her tone was polite. Elysia’s mouth fell open without her realizing it. Whoa, whoa. What’s this? She was a total menace to me, so why is she being so gentle with this bastard?
A smirk on his face, the male student raised his voice as if to intimidate her.
“Are you jealous that I can afford a project of this scale? I sympathize with the Reve Viscounty’s financial situation. But if you’re going to interfere with someone else’s work because of it, I can only see that as simple jealousy.”
He seemed to be the one largely responsible for the noise pollution echoing throughout the school. That fact alone, despite him fighting with a girl she wasn't on good terms with, sent her opinion of him plummeting.
He’s not just installing lights, he’s cutting a new window? What a goddamn bastard with no consideration for others!
“I fail to see how telling you that your project is pointless connects to jealousy. The only thing I envy and feel jealous of is talent, so the Little Count does not fall within the scope of my jealousy.”
…She took back the part about being polite. Elysia clicked her tongue at Siene’s attitude—her eyes held daggers, and her tongue expertly shredded the man’s pride.
Wow, she’s just as unhinged as I am.
Just as the man, incensed, was about to shout with the veins in his neck bulging, Adrian stepped in.
“That’s enough. Both of you, calm down and let’s talk. Lucian Violante, stop.”
“Well, if it isn’t Campbellton’s youngest rat.”
Did that bastard just lose his mind? Hey, if anyone’s going to insult my puppy, it’s me!
As Elysia surged forward in anger, Adrian frantically waved his hands to stop her, then laughed as if nothing was wrong.
“I understand that disagreements can happen, but it’s problematic to raise your voices like this on campus.”
“Why don’t you lecture her instead? She’s the one who started it.”
“You seem to have great faith in the power of money, seeing as you think you can’t achieve a satisfactory result without the funds from your family.”
As soon as he heard Siene’s sarcastic muttering, a look of desperation flashed across Adrian’s face, as if to say, ‘Please, just shut your mouth.’
Elysia understood his feelings all too well. He was in the middle of trying to gently coax the Little Count, and she had just poured gasoline on the fire.
Every word that came from her prim face was laced with venom.
“That’s enough. Just because you’ve been called a genius a few times, you’ve gotten arrogant—”
“Perhaps the Little Count, who brings money to confront a genius, should be the one to stop.”
By now, Lucian’s face was beet red, like a bomb about to explode. As the one who had grabbed Siene by the collar the moment they met, Elysia could only shake her head.
That tongue of hers was forged in hell…
The man shoved Adrian, who was holding him back, and stomped over to loom over Siene.
One might expect her to be intimidated by a man of his comparatively large build, but far from looking scared, she gritted her teeth and glared right back at him.
“Right. Money isn’t everything. But you can’t deny that art requires money, can you? So stop getting in my way. This kind of overreaction is a foolish act that only confirms the rumors about the Reve family’s financial difficulties, don’t you think?”
Hearing the crowd begin to murmur, Siene’s pink eyes dropped to the floor. But it was only for a moment. Glaring at Lucian with blazing eyes, Siene asked, almost screaming, “Please refrain from making baseless assumptions about my family. The Reve family is by no means struggling. If you continue to attack me like this, Little Count, I can just as easily make you a laughingstock right here. Is that what you want?”
Elysia, who had been watching the fight with great interest, suddenly met the eyes of a familiar face across the room.
“…Look at that bastard.”
An awkward face, plain features, and hair the color of shit. It was one of the male students who had tried to drug Crea and Voluet in the garden.
The drug addict’s expression, which had been one of amusement as he watched the fight, hardened. The moment he saw Elysia’s face—a look that promised to tear him limb from limb—he spun around and fled.
This crazy bastard is running? Without a second thought, she immediately strode forward.
Violante, hearing Elysia’s footsteps as she suddenly emerged from the crowd, slowly turned around.
“And what are you?”
An interfering busybody, butting into his argument with Siene—a woman who had the audacity to critique his art when she had effortlessly gained with talent alone the fame he had worked himself to death to achieve. That was his first impression of Elysia.
In reality, he was simply an obstacle in the path she was trying to take.
Meanwhile, Elysia had all but lost her reason at the sight of the drug addict’s back as he quickly exited the room. I have to catch him!
…Should I just punch him?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, she caught sight of Adrian frantically shaking his head.
Dammit. I have to hold back, is that it?
She could feel her brow furrowing, but she managed to suppress her boiling anger and said quietly, “You’re in my way. Move.”
But instead of moving, Violante grabbed Elysia’s arm and refused to let go. Seeing the tense atmosphere, Adrian squeezed his eyes shut and gestured wildly at her, as if telling her to run away.
Ignoring him, Elysia stared at the exit with a cold expression. A man two heads taller than her was glaring down with a menacing look, but more than scary, it was just annoying.
I’m running out of time, I don’t know why he’s being such a pain.
“Let go.”
Her straight, dark eyebrows were knitted in a frown of irritation and anger. A handsome, straight nose, and a sharply defined jaw…
Lucian, who had nearly been mesmerized by her striking features, so different from the women he was used to seeing, belatedly came to his senses and sneered.
“Never seen you before. Are you a commoner? You’ve got some nerve, butting into our conversation.”
At those words, her simmering anger finally exploded.
“Well, look at you. Your social skills are seriously lacking. You call this a conversation? I didn’t realize a one-sided shit-fit counted as a conversation. Let go of me, you crazy bastard.”
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“I’m not buying it, you crazy bastards!!! To hell with favorability! Get lost! Who do you think you are, grabbing people like that? How would you like it if I did this to you?”
Elysia shoved the man’s shoulder hard, fuming. She could feel Siene’s startled gaze on her, but she didn’t have time to look her way. The exit she had been heading for was now empty.
Elysia gritted her teeth, her fists clenching at the fact that she had let the drug addict get away.
Ah, I had him, and I lost him because of this asshole!
“What’s your name? I haven’t seen you before.”
“What do you need my name for?”
“Campbellton, I asked for this woman’s name.”
“First, let’s just calm—”
“The fact that you can’t answer must mean you’re a commoner.”
A rough hand seized her shoulder and shoved her away, as if casting something dirty aside. Distracted by looking in the other direction, she tumbled to the floor.
And then, remembering something she had forgotten, Elysia muttered a short curse.
“Fuck.”
SYSTEM: HP -1000
SYSTEM: Remaining HP 0! Entering ‘Faint’ state!
It was a shitty sense of déjà vu. The moment her butt hit the floor, she passed out.