Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: I'll Cross Any Line ☆ (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
We were on our way back to the academy, having picked up a stray cat in a tattered school uniform. After a long moment of hesitation, she had finally agreed to accept a ride in our vehicle.
“…”
“…”
“…”
From the corner of my eye, I glanced at the intimidated Freyja.
Like the Unique Aether user she was, the dirty, smelly stray cat had tried to size me up the moment she saw me. Unfortunately for her, my aether tank was truly empty this time, so there was nothing to hide.
“…!”
The void of aether within my body.
Freyja flinched upon sensing it.
Her ears twitched sluggishly as she broke into a cold sweat.
“Ugh… To think it’d be the pink… r-ruffian… And so awkwardly, too…”
Then, as if she had touched upon a subject she’d rather avoid, she averted her eyes and sat hunched in a corner of the vehicle. Her timid nature, so at odds with her arrogance, seemed unchanged.
I looked at Freyja’s droopy purple cat ears.
“…”
“What are you… what are you staring at, you… you ruffian…”
Honestly, they were ugly cat ears.
No matter how I tried to soften the image with a pretty filter, it was no use.
Freyja’s cat ears weren’t plumply folded like a Scottish Fold’s; they were droopy and patchy, as if they’d been waterlogged. While Freyja herself was quite beautiful, her cat ears were truly ugly.
‘Those are really not my type of cat ears.’
I gazed with pity at those creatively ugly cat ears.
What came to mind was our first meeting—arrogant and aggressive.
But even if she was a dirty, smelly cat that seemed like it would piss anywhere—and even if she was one of the five strongest in Academy City—it wouldn’t be right to abandon someone asking for help in the middle of the wasteland.
I nodded to myself, mulling over a thought that had just occurred to me.
‘Freyja… with her passion for arcane studies and having the ugliest cat ears among all the cat beastkin… she’s just like Pang Tong.’
The meeting of the Crouching Dragon and the Fledgling Phoenix.
If this cat beastkin with the creatively ugly ears was the Fledgling Phoenix, did that make me, this pink Zhuge Liang, the Crouching Dragon?
Even now, with my knowledge of the future unstable, the fact that Academy City remained so stable was surely thanks to my intellect and schemes.
‘Compared to my stratagem that even thwarted Ratatoskr's unexpected move, the arcane arts are a slightly less practical field of study. But Freyja is one of the few practical-type arcane aether users in Academy City.’
At the Public Vana Boarding School, dominated by the children of nobles, someone like Freyja—called a genius of the arcane arts on her own merit… she could probably stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my practical and brilliant mind.
This, too, was fate.
I was deeply moved by this sudden meeting of the Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix.
In any case…
We had picked up a stray.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The ride back was filled with nothing but silence.
Maya, as always, wasn’t particularly interested, so she didn’t ask.
And to be honest, I wasn’t that close with Freyja either, so I kept my mouth shut.
Rustle.
Rustle.
Freyja, seemingly uncomfortable with the silence, kept fidgeting and glancing around nervously.
‘Ah… I guess she’s uncomfortable being with strangers.’
My thinking had been shortsighted.
Of course she would be uncomfortable around strangers.
I had to quickly befriend Freyja so she wouldn’t feel awkward.
The best way was to get to know each other.
‘I won’t repeat the mistake I regret, of not talking to Hilde.’
I looked at the rustling stray cat in the back seat and spoke.
“Hey, hey—☆ Why was our little peeing cat traveling the wasteland all by herself? Did you maybe run away from school to wander alone? Wow, how romantic☆ It’s quite a ways from here to the Public Vana Boarding School♪ Hehe, how far were you planning to run away? Oh, is it a secret~☆ But tell me! We’re not strangers, we’re friends who haven’t seen each other in a while—☆”
“D-Don’t call me a peeing cat…! What is that! And… it’s… uh, uhh… I didn’t run away… that’s not it… W-Why are you acting so friendly… We’re not even friends yet…”
“Alright, I’m sorry, ahaha—☆ But saying, ‘W-W-W-We’re not even friends yet…!’ is hilarious♪ Are you the type who takes relationships and stuff really seriously? I see~ Yup♪ Just as expected from a girl who runs away from home alone, you’re a romantic type~ You totally seem like an INFP, Freyja—♪ I’m right, aren’t I? Yup~ I’m right—☆ Haha, anyway, I just want to know why you left, so please tell me—♪”
“I-I… never… s-s-s-stuttered… that much…!”
Gasp.
Gasp.
Freyja’s face crumpled, and she suddenly began to breathe heavily, her hands trembling. The color rapidly drained from her grubby face.
I found it deeply regrettable.
‘Ah… it’s because we haven’t broken the ice yet. I just want to be friends…’
Just as I was about to say something more,
Maya’s warm hand touched my knee.
“…?”
I looked at Maya with a bewildered expression.
Maya was shaking her head with a mournful look.
Her eyes, uncharacteristically, were filled with pity.
“Stop… poking her. The opponent is an introvert. She’s already dead.”
“Oh my—♪”
As I tried to understand what she meant,
“Uu… sob…”
a quiet sobbing sound came from the back seat.
Freyja was crying, her grimy face scrunched up.
Even if I didn’t know her well, it pained my heart to see someone cry so sorrowfully.
‘Is she sick somewhere? Even Unique Aether users get sick…’
Worried, I turned around and said,
“Why is our little stray cat crying—☆ Oh, could she be hungry? Or… m-maybe… if you have to go, we can stop for a moment, so you don’t have to hold it in—♪”
“Sob… H-Hwaaaaah…!”
“Oh my—☆”
Freyja wailed, her mouth wide open in sorrow.
I was so taken aback that I could only stare.
“Sigh… This is why… extroverts…”
Seeing this, Maya just shook her head.
***
Back at the academy.
We decided to gather in the student council room for a moment to talk.
Alvitt and Kara were out on errands in the shopping district, so they weren’t present.
“Ah…!”
Lotha was horrified the moment she saw the filthy Freyja. But it wasn’t the fear of a stray cat stealing her place.
Reflected in her two orange eyes was reverence.
For Lotha, who still spent her nights poring over books and research,
The Violet Spindle was nothing short of a role model.
‘Freyja is a rare self-made genius at the Public Vana Boarding School, not from a noble family…’
I had a few guesses as to why she was abandoned on the road, but the timing was much earlier than expected, so I wanted to hear the exact reason.
Lotha’s two cat ears perked up as she spoke in a trembling voice.
“The Sage of the Arcane Arts—?! Why is The Violet Spindle here?!”
“Uu… And what are you… Judging by your ears… are y-you also from the Public Vana Boarding School…”
“Eh? Ah… no. I dropped out.”
“I-I see… Well… if you have the… a-ability… you don’t need to… attend… A-Anyway, most of the second-years are… i-idiots… who can’t even… f-fully understand… *Arcane Aether Applications* left by The Golden Witch.”
Freyja spoke, rubbing her tear-streaked face. With a drop of snot hanging from her nose like an icicle, her face, covered in dirt and dust, was a comical sight. But that same face also held a hint of pride.
I let out a dry laugh at her words.
‘You were the only one who understood it all in your first year… And the kids who only understood half of it by their second year were considered strong characters in the game.’
For reference, the grimoire left by The Golden Witch… *Arcane Aether Applications* is divided into five spells. In the game, they were the basic attacks for mage-type characters, and Freyja was the only one who had mastered all five.
‘To think it’s impossible to just use magic as your heart commands…’
This was why I felt sorry for magic users.
Kids with magic-casting type skills might have decent firepower and versatility, but didn't that mean they ultimately had to learn twice as much as everyone else?
Just imagining it gave me a headache.
‘A hero shouldn’t be concerned with things like studying…’
Contrary to my thoughts,
Lotha bowed her head slightly, as if embarrassed, and said,
“I still… only understand the first spell.”
“Hmph… I-Is that so. Well… I don’t… u-understand it, but. They did say… s-such slow people exist.”
“It’s just, I somehow feel like *Arcane Aether Applications* isn’t meant to be used as written… Uh… that was bothering me, so I tried to modify it my own way, but then it didn’t make sense…”
“…!”
Her confidence and voice dwindled.
But upon hearing those words, Freyja’s eyes widened.
Twitch.
Even her droopy, ugly cat ears perked up.
Those cat ears, which looked like a barren, drought-stricken mountain, moved.
Freyja approached Lotha and said,
“P-Perhaps… anything else… you… y-you… understood… Tell me, kid…”
“Huh? Ah… well.”
Lotha moved her short arms in a dance-like motion as she spoke about *Arcane Aether Applications*. Although it should have been an academic and theoretical discussion, words like ’emotion’ and ‘fairy tale’ appeared frequently for some reason.
Even I, a complete layman, could tell it was a rather unconventional interpretation.
But Freyja didn’t interrupt her, listening quietly.
“…”
I watched them with pride.
Seeing this, Maya came over to my side, tilted her head, and asked,
“Did you understand that? I took *Arcane Aether Applications* as an elective, but I’ve never heard such an in-depth discussion…”
“Nope, no idea—☆”
“Then why are you looking at them with such a proud expression?”
“Because our Lotha is cute—♪”
“…”
Maya gave me a disrespectful look.
I don’t know.
What do you want me to do? She’s just cute.
Screech.
The door to the student council room opened.
Alvitt and Kara entered, dressed in training clothes.
“We’re ba—?!”
“We have returned… But this student council room smells like the stables from my childhood.”
Alvitt pinched her nose and turned toward the source of the smell. Freyja flinched at her sharp gaze and stared back.
“What… is it… How rude…”
“…”
Alvitt walked over to me. Then, in a supposed attempt to be considerate, she kept her nose pinched as she whispered.
“Senior…! Who in the world is that person, coming in here in that state—?! I mean, she reeks of toilet water…!”
“A stray cat—♪”
“I can’t really argue with that. Seriously, this is too much…”
Alvitt turned back to Freyja, smiled, and said,
“Um… You’re welcome to use our school’s washroom… Would you like to?”
“…”
As a Unique Aether user, Freyja had heard every word of Alvitt’s insult. She lowered her head and began to tremble.
At that moment, a grating sound was heard.
Creeak—
When we turned toward the sound,
Lotha, who had been in the middle of opening a window, looked back at us with an awkward expression.
“Ah… uh, that is… um… It felt a little stuffy, so I thought I’d get some air… haha…”
It was Lotha’s way of trying to spare Freyja any embarrassment.
“…Sob.”
But it seemed that act of consideration struck Freyja painfully. She finally burst into tears.