Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Six-Step Argument
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“…….”
It was a refreshing morning.
…Or at least, it should have been.
“Grrrng…….”
But far from refreshing, my body felt heavy.
It wasn’t just my imagination.
Right now… something else was sprawled atop me at an odd angle.
“Grng…….”
I tried to throw off the blanket and failed. I tried to lift my arm and failed.
All I could do was roll my eyes.
When I glanced downward, a glimpse of abyss-dark hair peeked out from between the sheets, like a dagger plunged into the depths.
‘Haa…….’
I looked down again.
And there, sleeping with the most peaceful expression in the world, snoring away with mouth agape, was Leviathan.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Leviathan ]
Favorability: 【Owner】
Status: 【Positive(100%)】, 【Negative(0%)】
■■■■■■■■■■□ (95/100)
Affiliation: 『Adel』
Info:
[Sleeping soundly stuck to Adel's side.]
Thoughts:
「Zzzz….」
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
‘What should I do with this thing?’
Judging by the look of it, this wasn’t her first or second time pulling this off.
Just last night, I’d been drilling lessons into Bahamut with chopsticks, and I’d confirmed she’d fallen asleep on the tissue.
‘No… but why is she sleeping on tissue in the first place?’
I truly couldn’t comprehend it.
A fish that doesn’t soak itself in the tank like a normal fish…
But lays out tissue next to the tank like a mattress, then rips off another sheet to use as a blanket.
Was there another lunatic fish like this in the world?
“…….”
And that lunatic fish was now in human form…
Sprawled right in front of me, squashing my body in a bizarre pose as she slept.
“Grrrng….”
Her breath brushed against my mask.
As chilly as the morning air was, her warm exhalations brought the reality crashing in.
…It was just another everyday occurrence, nothing more.
‘Haa…….’
I simply closed my eyes.
Freshly awake… I didn’t have the strength to shove her off, nor the mental fortitude.
One conclusion.
No refreshing morning for me today, either.
And…
“…….”
Flutter, flutter.
Leviathan’s eyes fluttered open.
Her violet pupils turned toward my golden ones…
And slowly, very slowly, she raised her body.
Without a word, she twisted around…
Poof!
In an instant, she reverted to her mini-Leviathan form.
Then, patter patter… she quietly walked toward the desk.
‘What’s she doing?’
Still lying in bed, I rolled my eyes to follow.
Hop.
The mini-Leviathan stepped on the desk leg and leaped up onto the surface…
And the next scene was both familiar and alien.
Splash.
Not diving straight into the tank…
She lay down on the tissue she’d prepped beside it.
Splash.
She ripped off another sheet and draped it over herself like a blanket.
“Grrrng…….”
…And fell asleep again.
I let out a sigh and buried my face in the pillow.
‘Just what the hell is she doing….’
Even so, no particular emotions welled up.
Not anger… not amusement.
Just… a familiar, profound resignation.
The real problem was how accustomed I’d grown to this bizarre routine.
【…….】
And apparently, I wasn’t the only one feeling that way.
Bahamut, who’d been drilled with chopsticks by the mini-Leviathan last night…
Licked at his still-tingling spot with his long tongue, staring at her in utter disbelief.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Bahamut ]
Favorability: 【Owner】
Status: 【Positive(100%)】, 【Negative(0%)】
■■■■■■■■■■□ (91/100)
Affiliation: 『Adel』
Info:
[Watching Leviathan's deranged antics in disbelief that's not quite admiration.]
Thoughts:
「...Crazy fish.」
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
For even the Spirit King to think ‘crazy fish,’ just how far had the mini-Leviathan’s antics escalated?
Maybe she’d gone even madder than me.
“Grrrng…….”
What reached my ears was, as always, her peaceful breathing.
The mini-Leviathan, wrapped in tissue beside the tank, deep in slumber.
‘Sigh…….’
Matching the rhythm of her grrrngs that heralded the day’s start.
I had a hunch today would be another eventful one.
***
“Infidel… today I’ll kill you for sure…!!”
Boom…!!
With Erwin’s shout, a complex magic circle unfurled.
“Wow… is Erwin sparring or fighting for real?”
“What’s the difference, idiot?”
“Yeah, true. Char-seok… oh right! You’re Third Place now?”
“…….”
“Dialogue isn’t conducted with fists, Third Place. So how about putting that fist down?”
Ignoring the sound of Seros collapsing from a hit in the corner of the training grounds, I quietly attuned my mana.
“…….”
Just another repetitive day, as usual.
Most of the second semester’s assignments and evaluations were built around ‘spars.’
Veronica’s one-on-one lessons had decreased, replaced by spars with Class S students.
“Die…!!”
Erwin was still relentlessly firing malice-laced spells at me.
All because I was on very, very good terms with Carnel. A lunatic cursing me over that alone.
Seemed like it irked him to no end.
Whoosh!
I swung my hand through the air once.
The mana attuned at my fingertips was infused with the 「Illusion」 attribute, spreading a curtain across the void.
《Illusion / Intermediate Magic》
「Dreamscape Verity」
The curtain of dreams unfurled.
As Erwin’s spell passed through it…
“Tch…!”
The magic vanished, replaced by a swarm of illusory butterflies drifting through the air.
At the same time, the second hand on the wall clock completed another lap.
Who knew how many laps it had been now—easily over ten…
“That’s enough.”
Snap.
With the sound of Veronica flicking her finger, the spar ended.
“Erwin… so much malice?”
“Just my imagination, Dean.”
“Tut….”
Veronica’s lips quirked up ambiguously.
But beside her, Erwin openly ground his teeth, glaring at me.
I met his gaze leisurely, then slowly raised my hand.
“Urk….”
Seeing my middle finger…
Erwin trembled as if rage surged through him at the sight of that single digit.
But he did nothing more.
No, couldn’t, perhaps.
Maybe he’d judged it pointless even if he tried.
In the end, Erwin clenched his teeth and whipped his head away.
“Hey, Adel.”
[Yes]
Veronica glanced at Erwin curiously for a moment before turning back to me.
“Come to my office later?”
[Why]
“Come if I say come.”
[Why]
“I said come.”
[Why]
“Just come, alright?”
Veronica repeating ‘come’ like a broken record.
Thanks to that, I didn’t even need to bother erasing the ‘Why’ on my whiteboard.
Just holding it up was enough; it answered for me like a good little board.
“Gasp, Top Seat and the Dean are at it again.”
“Let’s bounce.”
“Ditching your friend? Real trash personality, Third Place.”
“…….”
“I think it’s a great idea too, so put that fist down?”
The Class S students, seeing Veronica and me bickering, scattered without a second thought.
Even Klaus muttered, “Uh… good luck?” before quietly fleeing.
“Just come.”
[Why]
“Wanna die?”
[Please outline in six-step logic why I need to go]
I got that she wanted me in the dean’s office.
But that was it?
Didn’t that agenda need a clear rationale?
Repeating ‘come’ held no persuasive power for why I should.
Rational explanation, presentation of reasoning… that’s what conversation is.
From my standpoint, a perfectly reasonable demand.
[Yes]
“Yeah. Come by later?”
Pop.
As if by magic, the marker from my whiteboard was now in Veronica’s hand.
And then…
Click.
She capped it and placed it back on my hand.
“?”
I blankly looked down at the whiteboard.
Sometime in the interim, ‘Yes’ had been written there.
Whoosh.
When I looked up again…
Veronica had already vanished.
***
“…….”
Feeling the bitter taste of defeat, I stood before the dean’s office door.
Clunk.
The moment I reached for the handle, the door swung open on its own.
…Veronica’s usual prank, every time.
Her wicked dragonkin nature never changed.
“Oh, you came?”
[Thanks to you]
Never imagined she’d write my response on the whiteboard herself.
Was even that stroke of genius born from her wicked dragonkin mind?
[So why’d you call me? I’m busy]
“Busy? What’re you busy with, lazing around all day.”
Me, always lazing?
That was unfair.
Hours of hellish classes where I doodled or banged my head on the desk.
Had to eat lunch, nap in the clubroom.
How packed and intense was my schedule?
“Bullshit.”
…As if reading my mind again.
I hadn’t even opened my mouth or lifted the whiteboard, yet Veronica spat out the retort.
“It’s all over your eyes?”
She glared piercingly into my eyes.
I subtly turned my head… then snuck a glance back…
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Veronica ]
Favorability: 【Possessiveness】
Status: 【Positive(100%)】, 【Negative(0%)】
■■■■■■■■■■□ (95/100)
Affiliation: 『Cradle』
Info:
[Waiting for the Emperor to arrive.]
Thoughts:
「Staring again?」
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
Tsk.
I smacked my lips and averted my gaze.
‘But hold on…….’
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Veronica ]
Favorability: 【Possessiveness】
Status: 【Positive(100%)】, 【Negative(0%)】
■■■■■■■■■■□ (95/100)
Affiliation: 『Cradle』
Info:
[Waiting for the Emperor to arrive.]
Thoughts:
「Keep staring and I’ll eat you?」
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
‘Waiting for the Emperor?’
That was one issue…
But that line, ‘Keep staring and I’ll eat you,’ made me hurriedly look away.
The mask hid my expression, so maybe it was my eyes.
Or perhaps… my entirely transparent existence was the problem.
“Why the hell isn’t this guy coming already.”
[Dean]
“What.”
[Are you waiting for someone by any chance?]
“Didn’t I tell you?”
[No, not at all]
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly, awaiting Veronica’s answer.
And… the name that popped from her mouth was…
“Taurus.”
“…….”
“Oh. The Emperor, I guess?”
I knew he was the Emperor…
But why?
Should I not have come after all?
‘Ah.’
Yeah, I shouldn’t have come.
I was the fool for obediently following.
Should’ve shoved the whiteboard in her face with the six-step logic.
‘Present a valid reason why I must go.’
‘Tsk….’
Yeah…
My mistake for trusting a wicked dragonkin who couldn’t even muster a single six-step argument.
“You just had a weird thought, didn’t you.”
[No]
“Feels like you did.”
[I didn’t]
Could she read my expression through the mask?
Or pick up brainwaves maybe.
Fitting for a wicked dragonkin…
She must be using some nefarious trick to read my mind.
“What’re you thinking?”
[Please explain in six-step logic the valid grounds for sharing my private thoughts]
“I could rattle off in six-step logic why you need a beating right now.”
“…….”
I clamped my mouth shut and lowered the whiteboard.
…Gotta survive first.
Fighting’s a choice, but survival’s instinct.