Rustila (1) Academy
Seti sucked on her coffee straw before speaking. “Sis, do you think there’s actually a monster out there who can solve an entire problem set the moment they see it?” She turned her head. Sitting beside her was a girl with a golden ponytail, quietly studying. Her face was pale and flawless like fresh flour, and her aquamarine eyes held a mysterious glow. Her lips were the soft pink of ripe peaches. She was beautiful—like a princess straight out of a fairy tale.
“I wonder…” the girl replied flatly. There was no energy in her voice at all.
Rustila Kersil. The only daughter of the Kersil family, a household well-known in legal circles. Rustila was always exhausted. Seti understood why. Her parents’ excessive interference, studies that didn’t suit her, and the same dull routine repeating every single day—her life had more than enough weight to crush a person into a shell of themselves. Lately, it had only gotten worse.
No matter what Seti said, Rustila’s reaction never changed. She barely moved her lips, let alone showed any real response.
‘At least she’s contracted with a constellation…’
If not for that, she might have gone mad long ago.
Seti asked worriedly, “Hey, sis. Are you okay?”
“……”
Rustila quietly nodded.
“Just four more months and it’ll get better. Let’s hang in there until then.”
Nod, nod.
Seti sighed quietly to herself. It was heartbreaking. When they first met, Rustila hadn’t been this lifeless. Somewhere along the way, she’d turned into a doll. Even so, there wasn’t much Seti could do. She had no right to interfere in the affairs of the Kersil family. Still, she wanted to help the person she thought of as both a friend and an older sister, no matter what it took.
‘I guess there’s only one way left…’
Seti bit her lower lip.
“Sis… I mean, Rustila. If you have time this week, want to come over to my place?”
“……?”
Rustila, who had been half-heartedly scribbling at a physics problem, lifted her head. A spark of intelligence returned to her hazy sea-blue eyes.
“…Your place?”
“Yeah. We can do homework together. Honestly, today’s assignment is too hard to do alone, right?”
This week’s homework consisted of thirty Korean reading passages, a hundred and fifty math questions, and two hundred physics problems. In terms of volume alone, it was manageable—top students aiming for the best universities handled this much every week. The real issue was the difficulty. It was absurdly high, and trying to tackle it alone would likely shatter anyone’s mental state.
Seti suggested they study together.
“But…” Rustila hesitated.
“Why?”
“…My parents. I need to get their permission first.”
“……”
Seti pressed her lips together. It was always “my parents, my parents, my parents!” It wasn’t Rustila’s fault. It was the overprotective Kersil couple’s doing. Seti couldn’t understand them. At sixteen, a person should already know what to be careful about and what not to do. Why go so far? Seti’s own parents had basically left her to raise herself since she was five, and she’d turned out fine. Still, she had no right to comment on the Kersil family’s private matters.
“Talk to them and let me know. If they say yes, I’ll have snacks ready and waiting.”
“O-okay…”
Rustila nodded and turned her gaze toward the window seat. An android in a formal uniform stood there blankly, its eyes fixed on Rustila.
“Haa…” Rustila sighed. The robot beyond the window gave a small nod.
I dreamed.
- Mom, I got a perfect score again this time!
- Really? My son must be a genius. We should skip you ahead right away!
In that world, all I did was study. Study, study, study, and study some more. I poured everything into academics until nothing else remained in my life.
- Mom, I passed the qualification exam!
- Of course you did. Let’s keep going straight to the college entrance exam.
The thoughts continued, but they gradually lost their color. What had once been a brilliant rainbow slowly faded into gray.
- Mom, I got a perfect score on the entrance exam.
- That’s great! Go to medical school.
- Physics department.
- Jinsu, what are you saying?
- Physics department.
- Are you sick? What kind of nonsense is that?
- Physics department.
- Jinsu! No!!
A world where only brightness remained, stripped of all color. Eventually, everything turned pitch black, like ink. In that darkened world, tentacles flickered in and out of existence.
It was a truly, truly vicious nightmare.
— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is horrified by the dream you just had.
“……”
I woke up in bed. The spot Sonia had left behind still held a faint warmth. I grabbed it like a fish snatching bait and gulped it down.
“Hoo…”
Time to study.
Clunk!
“…What was that?”
The sound of a small spaceship docking at the house echoed through the room. Someone had come visiting early in the morning.
“Sonia!”
“You called?”
The moment I called her name, Sonia came running over.
“Is someone outside?”
“I was just about to check.”
I looked over the orders I’d placed recently. The books had arrived yesterday, and I hadn’t ordered anything else. Whoever was at the dock wasn’t my guest. Still, just in case, I decided to go out and see.
At the dock stood several people in neatly pressed suits. From their attire, they looked like bodyguards.
“Who are you…?”
At my question, a tall man with a dandy haircut approached and bowed his head.
“Are you from the Rheinland family?”
“I am, but…”
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Jermel, head of security for the Kersil family. We’re escorting Lady Rustila, who received an invitation from the Rheinland family.”
“……Rustila?”
Wait a second. If it’s Rustila, then surely…
“Ah, just a moment!”
Seti burst in with a loud clatter, her shiny silver hair whipping past my eyes.
“I—I invited her!”
Seti clicked her tongue at me before turning to speak with Jermel.
“You…!”
Jermel seemed to recognize Seti’s background and bent at the waist in a perfect right angle. Seti waved her hands dismissively at the sight. She was beaming, her expression completely different from when she spoke to me.
“My lady, you may come down now.”
The moment Jermel spoke, another person stepped out of the spaceship. She looked about my age. Her hair was golden like a wheat field, tied back in a ponytail that reached her waist. Her eyes were blue. Her expression was blank, devoid of energy.
Suddenly, our eyes met.
“……!”
The girl’s eyes widened into circles. Her complexion looked poor.
“…Ha.”
As I searched my memories, I felt a jolt of shock. Something had clearly gone wrong. Just then, Seti gestured toward me. Was she telling me to come over or to leave? Probably the latter. Perfect timing.
I nodded and turned around.
“Let’s go, Sonia.”
“Yes, young master.”
Sonia followed me back to my room without complaint.
“It’s wonderful to see you studying the moment you wake up.”
While I opened my problem set, Sonia brought down snacks as usual.
“I thought it would be just another three-day resolution, but you’re working harder than I expected. Impressive.”
“I’m going to pass, after all.”
Sonia nodded and clapped her hands.
“This Sonia is deeply moved by your determination, young master.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
It had already been three weeks since I completed the first Outer Deity quest. In that time, I’d used the Thought Acceleration skill to clear a hundred problem sets. Still thinking it wasn’t enough, I’d ordered even more past exam papers.
That was when this maid android’s attitude had completely changed.
“I hope you achieve good results. Who knows? Perhaps this experience will lead you to reflect, enter the academy, and lay the foundation for restoring the Rheinland name.”
“You shouldn’t trust people too easily.”
“In truth, I would be perfectly satisfied if you simply continued as you are now.”
I nodded and picked up my pen. But today, I couldn’t focus as well as usual. Why? It wasn’t hard to figure out. It was because of the golden-haired ponytail beauty I’d seen earlier.
Her name was Rustila Kersil. One of the important supporting characters in Outer Deity Slayer. Rustila had contracted with a constellation, which allowed her to read people’s intentions. In other words, she could tell whether someone harbored good or bad thoughts toward her.
“Ha, damn it.”
To me right now, she was nothing short of poison. Dangerous. If I slipped up and met her eyes, she might discover the Outer Deity residing in my head. Anyone contracted with an Outer Deity was classified as a monster by the government. They were dragged off to containment facilities without question or trial.
Of course, aside from that one detail, she was also the character I wanted to meet more than anyone else. At the same time, she was a pitiful child.
“…She really is kind, though.”
I muttered to myself as I flipped through my social studies problem set. Fewer than ten volumes remained. I had no intention of leaving my room today.
‘Ah, shit… Why the hell did that guy leave when I waved him over?’
Seti stomped her foot and grumbled inwardly. She had two main reasons for inviting Rustila to her house. One was to give the overprotected girl a chance to breathe. The other was to use Rustila’s constellation power to subtly gauge the changes in Eidel’s psyche.
The latter wasn’t difficult. All it took was one look from Rustila. Eidel’s violent personality had softened considerably since he got hit in the head, so Seti didn’t expect any problems. Ideally, she had planned to simply introduce Eidel and Rustila and be done with it.
But.
‘That womanizer just ran away like that…?’
Eidel had been known for gambling and chasing women. You could say he was simply honest with his instincts. And yet, even when faced with a peerless beauty like Rustila, he hadn’t so much as glanced her way—he’d just gone back to his room with Sonia!
‘…No way.’
Could he really have changed after getting hit in the head? No interest in women, no more gambling, just a model student who only studies?
‘Nah…’
She still didn’t know for sure. Even if it were true, Seti had no intention of forgiving Eidel as long as he kept wasting money. Besides, the resentment built up over the years hadn’t melted away.
“Haa.”
Seti sighed and turned her head.
“Rustila, let’s go to my room……”
…She stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes narrowed. The bodyguards, focused solely on Rustila’s safety, hadn’t noticed—but Seti, who had known her for years, could tell.
“A-ah…”
Rustila was trembling in fear, as if she had seen a monster.