Chapter 99
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Redhead and SubsidyRiceEater
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"...What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Ah, no. Uh, um, th-that, uh..."
"You think you're some great mage, so you're making fun of me right now?"
"Uh, huh?"
"You figure someone like me obviously can't catch even this thing alone. So you're looking down on me?"
"N-no, that's not it at all."
Borishutain was utterly flustered.
He'd thought she'd be thrilled if he caught the Redlight Stitch for her.
Even if she had to do it herself, that was fine.
But even the slightest intervention made her miss it.
And now she was angry at the very act of intervening.
It had to be tough for her on her own.
Did she think he was despising her? But hadn't she wanted this thing in the first place?
Borishutain wanted to open the gallery amid the Redhead's baffling reaction.
Open the gallery and ask the gallers.
Plenty of gallers had mastered 'human relations' too.
Reaching a realm meant reading the world,
and the world included human affairs.
Gallers who had ascended through human experiences understood people's hearts well.
But Borishutain was a galler of purely 'academic' realms.
Everyone had their specialties, and he had zero knack for social stuff.
Borishutain suddenly got why Kim Muggle made such a fuss in the gallery all the time.
"So, you think it's only natural that someone like me can't catch even something like this?"
Elrim spoke once more to the fidgeting Borishutain.
"Th-that's not it at all. I just wanted to make it easy for you..."
"Doing crap like that, and nobody even cares!"
Borishutain froze at Elrim's grief-stricken shout.
Borishutain could wipe her from existence with a twitch of his finger.
Not that he had any intention of doing so.
Yet for some reason, Elrim's resentful voice froze him solid, transcending their vast power gap.
"I can catch it! I challenged it because I can catch a Redlight Stitch! If it was impossible, I wouldn't have even said I'd do it—since I'd just get ignored anyway if I failed!"
"Ah, no..."
"I put in the effort! Ever since the subjugation festival announcement! I dug through past records and studied up on Redlight Stitches! I agonized over the most efficient way to catch one, how I should move!"
"Ah..."
"Of course my own power wasn't enough, so I bought mana stones! They were expensive, but I scrimped all week and got two! Sure, using ones mismatched to my level will bring massive backlash dizziness afterward! My head's pounding like hell even now! But I bought them anyway! Because then I could catch it!"
"..."
"So who the hell are you? Who are you to trample my effort again? Why steal my chance again? I can do it! Why dismiss me without even looking? What the hell does it matter? I didn't ask to be born weak! I can do it! I can do well too—so why won't anyone see that?!"
Borishutain stared down at the red-haired girl with a dumbstruck look.
Red, but on second glance, an oddly pale shade.
Those ambiguous red locks veiled her bowed face.
Her shoulders trembled intermittently—was she angry, or holding back tears?
Borishutain was a mage who had never delved into human hearts.
He'd buried himself in research since becoming a mage, so he had little experience anyway.
But he was still an archmage who had reached the pinnacle.
That meant exceptional talent, insight far beyond ordinary humans.
He'd only experienced one human so far,
only heard this one girl's rambling words,
yet Borishutain swiftly gained insight into her.
Of course, he didn't know her full backstory.
But he could figure out what to say right now.
Borishutain took a step toward Elrim.
He vaguely understood why he alone rooted so hard for the Redhead while other gallers chased the fatty.
"...I'm sorry."
Borishutain spoke without stammering, in as gentle a tone as he could muster.
Whether it actually sounded gentle to others, who knew. Anyway.
"It wasn't dismissing your effort. If anything, I knew about it—so I wanted to gift you this."
"..."
"You wouldn't know, but I've watched you sometimes. N-not in a weird way. It just happened. So, that's what I wanted to tell you."
Elrim slowly raised her head.
She sniffled hard.
Her face looked aggrieved, pained, sad.
One thing was clear: emotions Elrim never showed normally were etched there.
So. What Borishutain wanted to say was.
"So. I wanted you to know there's someone cheering for you. Even if everyone ignores and curses you, there's always at least one person out there somewhere, rooting for you."
Elrim's eyes wavered.
She wiped her tear- and snot-smeared face with her sleeve.
"Wh-what the hell, you creepy-looking old geezer. So you're a stalker!"
"Th-that's not it. I just happened to get tied to people around you..."
"You're a pervert stalker creepy old geezer!"
"N-no..."
Borishutain started stammering again amid Elrim's barrage.
And technically, she wasn't wrong.
But he couldn't exactly say he'd crossed dimensions. He just hemmed and hawed.
"Anyway! I'll catch the lech first, then settle this! Run off and I'll report you to the academy, got it, creepy old geezer!"
"Uh, even if you report me to the academy, they won't catch me..."
"Oh, cocky now that you're a bit strong? People should always stay humble!"
"..."
"Anyway, I'm off to catch it—so wait right there! Don't touch a thing!"
"A-alright."
Elrim whipped around and charged back at the Redlight Stitch.
She even used her last acceleration spell, pursuing it at full tilt.
Borishutain stood blankly for a moment, then floated up into the sky.
He truly offered no help, just watched her struggle from above.
Elrim tripped, endured quakes from the Rank-2 beast, dodged charging beasts, all while chasing the Redlight Stitch.
She'd reach out at it now and then during the pursuit.
Always just barely missing.
She really had studied Redlight Stitches hard.
Amateurish, but she predicted its movements bit by bit,
maxed out the acceleration stone's effect, hurling her body forward.
Still, the Redlight Stitch eluded her grasp.
Elrim's clothes tore, wounds multiplied.
But Elrim pressed on undaunted.
No trace of giving up on her face.
Seeing Elrim's resolute expression, Borishutain felt a memory stir.
A memory from before he became a mage, so ancient he'd thought it gone.
Over a millennium as a mage, an archmage.
Compared to that long life, those days were mere grains of sand.
Yet strangely, that brief childhood memory resurfaced vividly.
'Study? Quit the nonsense and get to work! Born weak, and you can't even be grateful for a meal a day.'
'B-but I discovered something amazing!'
'And does that feed you?'
A scene from a primitive era, absent in the age Borishutain had forged.
Yet those old days remained strangely clear.
"It was... lonely."
Defying the village to pursue scholarship had been lonely.
No one believed him; he'd shut his heart away, conversing only with letters.
Eventually, it became normal. A near-millennium life, after all.
But still.
Running from the factory to the city back then—
Was it abandoning family? Proving himself?
Probably neither.
He didn't know the answer yet. But maybe this girl would find it.
No paper in a lab could reveal that.
And that was probably why Borishutain rooted for the Redhead.
"I got it! Got it! See that! You all watching?!"
Elrim's voice snapped Borishutain from his reverie.
Battered and bruised, she'd finally caught the Redlight Stitch.
He sensed countless recording spells aimed at her.
Likely, crowds were cheering her feat.
Borishutain smiled warmly at Elrim's joy.
Kurung... Gu-gu-gung...
Around then, the cadets' Rank-2 beast assault neared its end.
Looking skyward, Kim Muggle was joining the fray with the fatty.
The Rank-2 beast seemed poised for its final spasm.
Borishutain descended to Elrim, who clutched her prize.
"Heh! See that, creepy old geezer! Didn't need help from a loser like you!"
"Well done. But your team's situation doesn't look good right now."
"Oh crap! I ditched the creepy and Hisenna! What do I do?!"
Elrim belatedly checked the scoreboard and field.
Glancing up, she spotted the broom-riding duo in battle.
"You did well, so maybe a hint's in order?"
"What?"
"That Rank-2 beast is about to make its last stand, and all cadets will drop out. Probably."
"For real?"
"From its patterns so far, something big's left. Luck might save some, but exhausted like that? They'll all fail."
"So what do I do?!"
"Use that to your advantage."
Borishutain explained the Redlight Stitch's usage to Elrim.
Hearing it, she tested it nearby.
"Ooh! Awesome, lech!"
"Three teleports per day max. Use the last two to go up and come down."
Gu-woong-!
Then, the Giant Footprint Brachio leaped.
Cadets flew amid the massive gust.
"Kyaaaaak!"
Elrim on the ground fared no better.
But Borishutain was at her side.
"Wh-what?!"
"Handle this much. Drop out now, and you can't save your teammates or steal the finale. Not ignoring you—wanting to see your skill."
"Hmph... Fine! I'll save Ian and land all cool from the sky!"
The Giant Footprint Brachio soon landed,
knocking out all remaining cadets with the shockwave.
Elrim, shielded by Borishutain, endured.
"Heh. That creepy. Can't do shit without me!"
And Kim Muggle was plummeting from the sky.
Seemed he'd lost his broom to the wind.
"Go on."
"Don't think I forgot the stalking, creepy old geezer! Finish this, and I'll grill you proper—wait up!"
"A-alright."
Paat-
Elrim teleported via Redlight Stitch straight to Ian.
Anywhere in sight range worked, of course.
Teleporting up there must terrify.
"Truly... a redhead."
Borishutain felt proud of his redhead allegiance once more.
But separately, this had to be the last.
Elrim, meeting Ian aloft, was handling it well.
Teleported atop the Rank-2 beast to finish it—not flee.
"Maybe it was my greed."
Borishutain reflected, watching her bravery.
The Redhead from Kim Muggle's posts was dishonest, immature.
True enough—but no call for his meddling.
He'd still cheer as a redhead stan.
Intervening was greed.
Kiyaaaa-
Then the Giant Footprint Brachio fell for good.
The pair bounced off its body, plummeting.
Yet the Redhead grinned excitedly.
"No need to worry, then."
Kim Muggle seemed fine.
No more need to meet the Redhead.
A shame the pervert-stalker-creepy-geezer misunderstanding lingered.
But she'd apparently accepted him as some archmage.
"Hm. Truly amusing."
He almost regretted only 24 hours in this dimension.
Still, his meetup with Kim Muggle awaited.
The Giant Footprint Brachio toppled,
Ian and Elrim dropping out via fall, bringing the subjugation festival to a close.