Chapter 128
Chapter 128
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Eve of the Storm
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Since I've spent my whole life in the imperial palace, I get awfully curious whenever famous people come up in conversation. I guess you could say I'm a bit nosy."
The snake brothers standing behind her chimed in to back Sigrin up at the same time.
"Lady Sigrin isn't nosy at all. She's just kind-hearted."
"Exactly. Kind enough to strike up a conversation with someone first."
The two of them shot Krash and Dorma slightly displeased glances at the same time.
Krash was none other than Charlotte's little brother—Sigrin's rival.
And in a situation where everyone knew that, Dorma had approached Krash.
Naturally, the brothers couldn't help but find her grating.
Dorma flinched at their sharp stares and hunched her shoulders.
She was especially weak to pointed glares from others.
Krash casually shifted his position to block their line of sight toward Dorma.
"This was my request, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't blame Dorma too much."
"K-Krash..."
Dorma let out a startled voice from behind him.
And understandably so, since she had been the one to approach him first outside the classroom.
But Krash silenced her as he turned to Sigrin.
Sigrin met his gaze for a moment before letting out a short laugh.
"Of course. If anything, I'm grateful to Dorma for giving me a chance to talk with you, Lord Krash. I heard the rumors. You took down an erosion beast close to seven-star level on this mission, right? As a fellow student, I'm incredibly proud."
She smoothly praised Krash while flashing a haughty smile.
Unlike Karandis, who pushed with brazen physical contact, Sigrin had her own way of drawing people in.
With her imperial background and stunning beauty praising someone, countless people fell under her spell without realizing it.
But some opponents were immune to such tactics.
"No, it was all thanks to my sister. I didn't do much myself."
Sigrin's shoulders twitched.
"You mean Lady Charlotte?"
"Yeah. I've been in her debt in all sorts of ways."
Krash knew exactly what suspicion Sigrin harbored.
She was currently suspecting Charlotte of being a regressor too.
So he drove another nail into that suspicion.
"From the entrance ceremony and all, it seems you two siblings get along really well."
"Not a bad relationship."
"I'm jealous. I don't get along great with my family. It's a shame. I haven't even seen my little sister who just enrolled."
That little sister was none other than the Fourth Imperial Princess, Sizzly Epania.
"My sister nearly died. And as her older sister, I couldn't even be by her side. Our family ending up like this is all my fault."
Truly loathsome.
"Ah, I've taken up too much of your time. Sorry about that. Please be careful not to trouble Lord Krash, Miss Dorma. It was a pleasure talking with you, Lord Krash."
"Good to hear. I also had a nice time confirming you're a good person, Lady Sigrin."
To those unaware of the truth, it seemed like an ordinary conversation.
But those in the know could feel the vicious undercurrents.
"Well, until next time."
Sigrin decided to end the conversation there.
But she left behind one meaningful remark.
"Oh, right. The midterm evaluation is coming up soon. Since it's the first one at Raheln Academy, I hope you do well, Lord Krash."
What nonsense.
"Thank you for the kind words."
Krash hid his true thoughts and offered thanks.
Sigrin smiled once more before leaving.
She exited the special class classroom, still drawing gazes.
At that moment, someone flung open the door and rushed in.
"Krash."
It was none other than Haring.
Though her major was special studies in curses, her main field was martial arts.
So she had come from martial arts training.
She must have heard about Sigrin late, as she glanced at the door before approaching Krash.
"You okay?"
She reacted with worry, as if wondering if something had happened.
"What could possibly happen? We just talked."
Haring let out a short breath at Krash's nonchalant response.
"I figured you'd fight her."
"...Am I some battle maniac?"
Haring didn't answer and simply stared at Krash.
"Oh my, Krash. Bringing girls into your room all the time—what are you up to?"
Meanwhile, Darling had appeared out of nowhere, grinning mischievously.
The guy had clearly grasped the situation beforehand, which was oddly infuriating.
"And even this little lady. You were like this with Bianca too—turns out you like them small?"
Darling covered her mouth as if she'd witnessed something scandalous.
Krash could see the upturned corners peeking through, but short Dorma couldn't.
As a result, Dorma's face turned beet red in utter embarrassment.
"N-No! I came to talk about curses!"
"Teasing them with curse talk now? You're awful. I'm hurt. So you like cute ones like this? When did you say you'd take me as your girlfriend?"
"G-Girlfriend? B-But Lord Krash has a fiancée..."
"He has a fiancée, not a girlfriend. He only wanted my body and techniques. What do you want from this cute one? Her innocence? Like a lusty wolf."
Dorma floundered in confusion at Darling's words.
Krash looked at Darling with weary eyes.
"That's enough."
Darling burst into laughter with an eye smile at his warning, then ruffled Dorma's messy hair.
"Just kidding. Krash loves his fiancée way too much. No room for me."
"R-Really?"
Perhaps due to prior rumors, Dorma glanced at Krash with slight unease.
"Yeah. Everything she says is a lie, so just ignore it all."
Krash said it like it was no big deal.
But Darling didn't stop there.
"The last part was true, though? He only wants my body and techniques."
"Watch your mouth. That's because of your alchemy."
"Same difference."
Darling spent the whole time teasing people.
With that, Krash decided to introduce them to Dorma.
"Dorma, this is Darling Danphelion—the one who helped compile that list you saw. And over there is Haring Lagren. Like I mentioned, she'll help combine curses and poisons."
Haring stepped a bit away from the unfamiliar Dorma to stand by Krash, keeping her distance.
With Darling, the girl had closed the gap so quickly there was no chance to pull away.
But Dorma wasn't the type, so Haring naturally created some space.
"Krash."
Haring tugged at Krash's collar after sidling up to him.
When he turned, she whispered in his ear.
"There are people in the imperial faction who don't like you."
Krash glanced at her upon hearing that.
"You're imperial faction too. You okay with that?"
The Lagren family belonged to the imperial faction.
Haring was no exception.
At his question, she tilted her head.
"You're safer than strangers I've never met."
Perhaps thanks to bonding during the mission.
She was looking out for him quite a bit.
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
Krash said that, then flicked Darling's forehead as she continued teasing Dorma.
He quietly gazed out the window.
Imperial faction members who didn't welcome him.
He had a rough idea who they were.
'The midterm evaluation should be fun.'
If they annoyed him as much as before, he could pay them back tenfold.
Click-clack-
The sound of high heels echoed down the hallway.
The owner was Sigrin, her sea-blue hair swaying as she walked.
Her half-lidded eyes showed she wasn't thrilled with the situation.
'Krash already has ties with Beltua Rackroad?'
The world's greatest curse master.
Beltua Rackroad.
Even she didn't know where the woman was.
So when had Krash met her?
'Did Charlotte know that much?'
Her mind raced.
But she only felt her lack of information more acutely.
And facing Krash up close, she had sensed it.
He had grown stronger than she'd imagined.
'And now this curse bait shows up as a variable.'
Sigrin bit her lip lightly and brushed back her bangs.
'Mary won't be enough.'
Her plan to use Mary to break Krash, make him feel his talent's limits, then extend her hand— it seemed doomed to fail.
Mary had essentially outlived her usefulness.
'She was never much help beyond her body anyway.'
Watching Krash changed her thinking bit by bit.
'Maybe it's a waste to use the curse bait only for that role.'
Her eyes spun slyly.
She vaguely recalled how Krash had ended up by Arthur's side.
In a crisis, offering help could firmly make someone yours.
Sigrin remembered Krash showing interest in Dorma's curses.
Maybe she could guide things right.
"Hm."
With a short hum, her steps lightened.
She might come up with a good plan after all.
In Krash's room.
Krash sat on the floor with his eyes closed, focusing on the power of Knox dwelling within him.
He was practicing based on the memory of overlaying Heavenly Killing Star onto Knox during the Decarabia fight.
"Ugh!"
Krash swallowed a groan and slowly opened his eyes.
His body was soaked in cold sweat.
The surging murderous intent of Heavenly Killing Star had finally begun to subside through the awakened Evil Eye.
After a deep breath, he brushed back his bangs.
'It was practically a miracle.'
Back then, cornered to his limits, he'd desperately used it.
But trying now, he realized anew how insane it had been.
"Yeah, need more training."
Handling the full Heavenly Killing Star against Decarabia had been pure luck.
'Though if I were lucky, I wouldn't have ended up in that mess.'
Freely wielding Heavenly Killing Star was still beyond him for now.
But he was seeing a path forward, bit by bit.
Thanks to Knox, he could easily benefit from his Lunar Yin Physique even during the day.
'Lunch first, then to the martial arts training grounds.'
With personal training in the morning, Krash planned to join martial arts training today.
"Ah, finished training, my lord?"
As Krash opened the door, Alicia—who'd been waiting in a chair—rushed over.
She handed him a damp cloth, and he wiped his face.
"What's this? No Lilina today."
"She's cleaning Lord Aslan's room today."
Lilina often chatted with him here, but she hadn't forgotten her duties as personal maid.
"Alicia, I'm grabbing lunch and heading to the training grounds."
"Then I'll tidy the room in the meantime."
"Thanks."
With Alicia seeing him off, Krash headed straight to the dorm cafeteria for lunch.
'The instant enhancement elixir seems to be progressing well on its own.'
Lately, Darling and Dorma had practically been living in the alchemy lab.
Darling had long been writing papers on curse neutralization, and Dorma was a curse expert, so they clicked perfectly.
Thanks to that, research on the instant enhancement elixir was steadily advancing.
They said a first prototype would be ready soon.
'Sigrin hasn't made a move yet.'
Quite some time had passed since meeting Sigrin, but she remained quiet.
She seemed to have something brewing, but nothing immediate.
'Well, Charlotte hasn't returned yet.'
With Charlotte and several other first-years still on missions, the academy felt sparse overall.
With first-years absent, only the second-years' training shouts echoed daily.
For some reason, Krash felt like the calm before the storm.
'What happened around this time before?'
The world had changed so much it wouldn't unfold the same way.
Still, he could roughly infer as he pondered various things.
Before he knew it, he'd arrived at the cafeteria.
Opening the door, he saw several kids ordering food.
It was peak lunchtime, so it was crowded.
"Hey, over there."
"It's Lord Krash Valheim."
And with so many people, Krash immediately drew stares.
If he were with others, it might be different, but alone, the attention piled on.
'Maybe grab something simple and eat outside.'
As he moved to buy a sandwich or whatever, he spotted a familiar hair color and slowly turned.
The other side flinched upon noticing him and slyly averted her eyes.
"Astria?"
At his call, she finally looked back with slightly sullen eyes.
"Looks like you're doing fine."
Astria Stigma Freeman.
Her Saintess-ness.