Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Kyriakos's Test
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4
“Sleepy….”
My body felt heavy as I left the lecture hall.
I hadn’t dozed off during class somehow, but my head just wouldn’t turn properly.
Coffee. I need coffee.
I staggered to the student cafeteria and got an Americano with an extra shot.
“Damn it, it’s all because of that Leon guy… I didn’t get enough sleep.”
Last night, I’d spent all my time fleeing from Leon.
Even after returning to the dorm, my thoughts were too tangled to let me sleep easily.
Even now, closing my eyes brings back Leon’s nonsense about wanting me to accept him.
Damn.
Of all people, you say that?
Leon Hillfenberg was born bearing the fate of a hero.
Noble birth, a destined task to fulfill, trials and tribulations that would make anyone want to give up—instead, he’s forged through them.
His life is no different from forging a sword.
Heating, hammering, cutting, shaping, sharpening the blade, until completion.
Just as a fine sword emerges only from endless strikes on the iron, Leon perfects himself by overcoming trials and adversity.
For a guy like that to ask me to accept him?
There’s a limit to character collapse.
What happens if Leon doesn’t complete his hero’s journey is obvious.
The final boss becomes unbeatable.
Just thinking about that possibility makes my stomach churn.
Of course, that’s years away.
For now… the foreseers might lump Leon and me together as enemies.
It wouldn’t be strange if they came knocking any day now, twisting my guts in worry.
This is troubling.
I wish the foreseers and demons would just fight it out somewhere I don’t know about.
All I want is to live peacefully…?
“No good.”
I need to meet Kyriakos.
I’d planned to take time building natural contact before forming a bond, but…
With Leon’s stance changed, avoiding taking on the foreseers myself means this is the only way.
I staggered toward Sotris Hall.
Thanks to the Americano, a bit of sleepiness wore off.
By the time I’d drained the cup, a staggering corpse shuffled past me.
“Hey, Noel. You look awful—what’s wrong?”
“Ah….”
Noel, pale as ever today, stopped in his tracks.
He was small to begin with, but hunching his shoulders made him look even smaller.
“In shooting class, my team lost because of me….”
“Was it a match? How’d you score?”
“Ten shots, 99 points. I should’ve hit 10 on the last one, but I got a 9….”
“…And the others?”
“Average of 65….”
Then isn’t the problem the others, not you?
How do you lose with someone hitting 99 out of 100?
No, Noel’s a severe case.
Even if it’s not his fault, he’ll shoulder the blame himself.
“Don’t blame yourself too much. It’s a shame, but on the flip side, you dragged it to a close call, right? That’s impressive.”
“Really…?”
“Of course. You’re doing plenty well enough. Got it? Let’s fight on, us existences! Fight!”
“F-Fight…!”
Swept up in the momentum, Noel thrust his clenched fist high.
Passersby glanced at us, but I didn’t care.
This is how you recharge his self-esteem.
“If you’re worried next time, tell me. I’ll always listen.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
With a bit of color returning to his face, Noel hurried toward the main building.
He doesn’t seem aware of it himself, though.
In the meantime, he’d forgotten to act tough.
5
Sotris Hall’s layout wasn’t much different from Pelleo or Abel Halls.
The difference was in the overall interior and color scheme.
Unlike the warm vibe of Pelleo Hall or the cool, intellectual feel of Abel Hall, Sotris Hall was predominantly red.
Everywhere you looked, it exuded passion and freedom—hardly matching Kyriakos.
“You summoned me.”
“Yes, I have something to say.”
Kyriakos, who’d come down to the lobby, looked no different from yesterday.
His long purple hair tied back in a single ponytail and those inscrutable violet eyes refused to blend in, creating an alien atmosphere.
“What’s your business.”
“Do one job with me, senior.”
At the sudden proposal, Kyriakos just furrowed his brow once.
“I refuse.”
“I understand. It’s hard to believe when I spring it like this.”
“You know well.”
“So here’s an additional promise. If you help me, senior… I’ll help you achieve your goal.”
I don’t know much about Kyriakos.
Whether that’s his real name, his family origins, or his past before being raised as a back-alley hound—I know nothing.
But I do know his goal.
There’s an event where he briefly crosses paths with Leon, directly tied to that goal.
Normally, he’d complete it and vanish quietly, but…
This time, I’ll keep him around until everything’s over, then let him go.
“Are you so brazen with that tongue because you know my goal?”
Kyriakos glared, eyes wide.
For the first time, emotion flickered in those murky violet depths.
Wariness, anger, hostility—all negative feelings blending into passionate fervor.
One wrong word, and he’d try to kill me.
My survival instincts blared warnings nonstop.
Ironically, those passionate eyes and the sharp voice stripped of emotion both proved I’d hit the mark.
“Wipera.”
With certainty of the right answer, there’s no need to fear.
I answered casually, and Kyriakos’s face twisted further.
“Avenging Wipera is your goal, right, senior?”
“How did you know that?”
“I have my ways. Not important, though… what’ll you do?”
No need to explain.
The negotiation table is open.
Kyriakos just has to pick one of two options.
“…….”
His sharp eyes scrutinize me meticulously.
At last, he clicked his tongue in a voice thin on emotion.
“How I learned your goal is unclear, but irrelevant, as you say. The issue is whether you can truly help achieve it.”
“And if I say I can?”
“Prove it. Show you can provide meaningful aid.”
I knew it’d come to this.
Who bites on a baseless offer?
It’s within expectations.
“Fine. How do I prove it?”
As long as it’s not too much hassle.
At my question, Kyriakos smirked for the first time.
“Procure a Blue Pearl Aphrenbru.”
6
“Aphrenbru, huh.”
I sprawled out starfish-style on my dorm bed.
Aphrenbru, also known as the Blue Pearl.
A blue pearl, literally.
A sea treasure so rare even seafolk might never see one in a lifetime.
Its beauty is said to be like a fragment of the ocean itself, but its low hardness makes it impossible to work.
A finicky gem that can only be kept in its natural state.
“Getting one isn’t hard in itself….”
Aphrenbru was a material findable even in game days.
So there are ways to farm it.
The problem is why Kyriakos tasked me with it—his intent.
Impossible to craft, just for display.
Sellable for cash, sure… but rare on the market, tricky to fence as stolen goods.
It’s too far-fetched to just test my resourcefulness by picking Aphrenbru.
“No idea. You know?”
I lifted Choco, lying beside me.
Choco shook his head at the height.
Then he twisted his whole body like he wanted down, so I set him beside me.
“Well, just need to get the Aphrenbru, so whatever.”
Things went smoothly enough.
Next, help Kyriakos take down Wipera.
Sweeping a massive crime syndicate—annoying as hell, but I have ways.
Everything’s just a hassle.
Man, the world’s full of hassles.
“So annoying, so annoying, so annooooying.”
All I want is a peaceful, ordinary life like everyone else—why’s it packed with hassles?
Please just leave me alone.
If only this were a grand musical where one song fixes everything.
Or a sitcom jumping ‘three years later~’ to start at the airport.
I rolled right to left, then left to right on the bed.
My wriggling to vent frustration must’ve looked fun—Choco started rolling too.
When I stopped face-down, Choco rammed my side hard.
“No good. Choco, from now on, I need my rest rights guaranteed.”
Eight-day weeks have no mercy, so Fri-Sat-Sun off strict.
Four-day workweek forever! At least three days off mandatory!
“Gotta keep the promise with Kyriakos, though….”
Finish this, then live that four-day life for sure.
As I vowed, Choco shook his head side to side.
“Kim Choco, why’re your eyes so wide?”
Choco slyly averted his gaze.
Showing the whites.
This guy’s definitely mocking me.
“You rascal, you insolent thing.”
I poked his side with my index finger.
Twitching and flailing from the tickles, Choco bolted to my back.
I twisted my arm back to grab him, but he dodged nimbly.
Each time, his weight pressed on my back.
Not heavy, but the jiggling tickles.
Can’t see behind, so hard to catch a fleeing Choco.
After flailing my arm awhile, I just went limp.
“Give up, give up. You win.”
Only then did Choco settle on my shoulder.
Like he was aiming for my nape.
Not realizing it was my trap.
“Naive guy.”
Chin-chin—before he could flee again, I snatched the fluffy furball with both hands.
I flipped over to face the ceiling; Choco looked betrayed.
I flew him high like an airplane, and he thrashed to get down.
“Yeah yeah, sorry for tricking you. Want ice cream?”
As if his struggles were a lie, Choco nodded nonstop.
Nod nod nod nod—like headbanging hard enough to snap his neck.
With Choco on my shoulder, I left the dorm.
Heading to the student cafeteria, I roughly sorted this week’s schedule.
“Take Choco along this weekend…?”
At his name, Choco tilted his head.
Wondering where, probably.
Choco, you’re so innocent.
At this timing, the destination’s already set, right?