Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: The Girl with Horns
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“Guh...”
Blood drops splatter onto the tiles, mixing with the stream of water and tracing a single red line.
Water continues pouring from the showerhead, and I've been vomiting blood beneath it for the better part of half an hour.
Amid the ceaseless rush of water, the blood grows fainter, more diluted.
‘Damn it.’
I raise my hand and roughly wipe my chin with my sleeve.
No matter how much I wipe, the blood won't stop, but I can't just let it keep running.
‘What a way to start the damn morning.’
My clothes are drenched as they should be, and my mood spirals down the drain along with it.
My motivation goes with it. The whole damn day goes with it.
Drip, drip...
A stream of cold water runs down the mask.
...Not that I can tell if it's cold.
Hot? Warm?
No sensation at all.
Whether the water's hitting me or I'm hitting the water.
Everything feels numb.
‘Hmm...’
Feels like at least thirty minutes have dragged by.
I'm late anyway.
Might as well take it easy getting out.
Just the difference between Veronica beating my ass quick or slow.
Splash.
I haul myself up, and my soaked clothes cling tight, sloshing with the motion.
Something went sideways right from the morning, so I'd stormed into the shower fully dressed without changing.
I drag my now even heavier body back to my room...
And there she is: Leviathan, in human form.
“Nom.”
Leviathan sprawled on my bed, munching snacks with total ease.
…I stare at her in silence.
I'll let it slide, just this once.
Hate to admit it, but she was the first to spot the weird signs in my body.
“Nom... What're you staring at, human?”
But... if we're being real, that whole ‘spotting’ thing...
Wasn't it just her accidentally noticing while sneaking a nap on my bed?
…That much, I can't let slide.
‘Levi.’
“?”
Plunk.
I open my inventory and toss her a single gold coin—practically my blood and flesh.
“Eek.”
It smacks her square in the forehead before flopping onto the bedsheets. Leviathan scowls and snatches it up.
She peers at it for a moment with suspicious eyes... then crunches down on it with her molars.
‘...Don't eat it.’
“??”
...Why the hell is she trying to shove gold in her mouth?
Does she chew up anything that glints?
“What is it, human.”
‘Buy some food.’
“Food?”
‘Food.’
Living off canned crap has her looking even rougher.
My body went haywire after barely a few words last night... yeah, definitely not normal.
“What a hassle.”
‘Grab some for yourself while you're at it.’
“Be right back, human.”
Leviathan's mouth corners quirk up slyly as she springs to her feet.
She tumbles off the bed onto the floor like a log, then heads for the dorm door.
…I pull a hoodie from the closet and toss it her way.
“?”
‘Hide the horns.’
My finger points right at the two small horns sprouting from the top of her head.
Human form or not... those horns scream inhuman no matter how you slice it.
“Hmph.”
Leviathan sticks out her lip and yanks the hoodie on haphazardly, then pulls the hood low over her head before slipping out the door.
And not long after...
Splash.
I strip off the sopping clothes, towel off roughly, and throw on fresh ones.
Zoning out for a few minutes like that, and time slips away.
“Nom.”
Leviathan kicks the door open with something crammed in her mouth.
‘...Why're you back already.’
“Hm?”
Crunch, crunch as she chews...
Her tiny arms unload a massive haul of food onto the kitchen counter.
“......”
“Oh.”
I sidle up quietly and eye what Leviathan's hauled in.
...One's a tree branch snapped off rough.
Another's a root yanked straight from the dirt, caked in mud.
Last one's a bottle of liquid shimmering an eerie purple.
‘...What the hell is this?’
“Ingredients.”
‘What kind.’
“For food.”
“......You're gonna cook it?”
“That's right, human.”
…Should I be touched?
Leviathan, lugging in a pile of bizarre ingredients, promising to cook.
‘For real?’
I give the branch in her hand a dubious once-over.
Looks like something that'd tumble around any old street... bone-dry and brittle.
‘Doesn't even look like herbs... what is this...’
I set the branch down and pick up the glass bottle beside it.
...Purple liquid sloshes inside, gleaming.
‘And what's this?’
“Water.”
‘...Looks pretty tasty.’
...The thought slips out more honest than I'd like.
I tilt the bottle, watching the liquid swirl closely.
Could pass for grape juice. Or some chemical-laden junk food.
‘This food ingredient? Or bomb makings?’
Leviathan shrugs.
I let out a sigh at that... and ease the cap off carefully.
Half-hoping for a sweet whiff or something...
‘...What is this.’
...What spreads instead is the crisp scent of the sea.
I grab the bottle and head quietly back to my room.
Straight to the fish tank.
‘......’
I hold the bottle up next to the tank for comparison.
‘...Nah, no way?’
The two liquids...
Share an uncannily similar hue.
I steady my hammering heart for now and head back to the kitchen.
...My eyes meet Leviathan's, still calmly sorting her ingredients.
‘You even know how to cook?’
“Heh... What do you take me for, human.”
‘No, so do you?’
“I'm a dragon.”
‘So do you know how to cook?’
“You insulting dragons right now?”
I ditch any hope of actual ‘food’ coming out of this.
Figures... same dragon breed as Veronica.
No communicating with her.
‘Just make it edible, please.’
“Heh... Trust only me, human.”
Fine.
I'll trust you and you alone—just give me normal-ass ‘food’.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Leviathan ]
Favorability : 【Master】
Status : 【Positive(100%)】 , 【Negative(0%)】
■■■■■■■■■■□ (95/100)
Faction : 『Adel』
Info:
[Grinning ear to ear at the thought of cooking for Adel with ingredients scavenged from the roadside.]
Psychology :
「Kit.」
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
“......”
***
“......”
My body, slumped limp over the desk.
One shadow creeping quietly over it.
【Why's Mask Uncle looking so glum?】
Poke, poke.
Lamenta pokes her head between the eyeholes of my mask.
Followed by...
【Something good happen?】
Sentence structure makes zero sense.
How do ‘glum’ and ‘something good’ even fit in the same convo...
I just slowly turn my head, dodging her gaze.
Drip...
Blood's still trickling from the corner of my mouth.
‘Shit.’
Shouldn't have eaten what Leviathan made.
She swore it was ‘porridge’...
But it was this bitter-salty tongue-stabbing nightmare that only had the name in common.
I forced it all down out of gratitude for the effort...
But now my body's even more trashed.
‘Potion... maybe?’
That rainbow potion Caramel whipped up.
Frankenstein mashup of ten effects crammed into one.
It worked, sure.
Or... had an effect, anyway.
‘Tsk...’
Didn't erase the 【Brand】 pain—just shoved it off for later.
Not the half-measure I wanted.
I wanted the pain gone for good... not this delayed bullshit.
‘Still...’
Gotta be content with the win.
A 【Brand】 I couldn't even comprehend...
Neutralized on zero intel with nothing but a single potion.
Madness-level talent, even thinking about it now.
What the hell's crammed in Caramel's skull?
And...
Swoosh...
“......?”
“......”
A shadow blotting my view.
Vertical slit pupils.
...Veronica.
“What the hell do you have to do to only drag your ass to class after lunch.”
“...”
“Anyone'd think you dropped dead.”
[Fortunately still kicking]
“Keep it up, and my hand's gonna fix that.”
[What a shame]
Thwack!
Veronica flicks my crown hard and saunters off.
…I clutch my head and trudge quietly across campus.
Crown's still throbbing... but I've got something to check.
Creak.
The auditorium doors swing open to reveal a massive screen up front, surrounded by neat rows of tables and chairs.
‘This the assignment?’
Can you even call this an ‘assignment’...
Cognitive dissonance slams me.
‘Tch.’
I shake my head and claim a seat in the far corner.
Glance up at the screen: Delphine mid-spar with Professor Alberto.
Mock battle to test safety protocols before the real student bouts.
Scene I could skip...
‘...Nope.’
Gotta give it my all.
And for results beyond my all...
I've gotta clock Delphine's fighting style... down to the tiniest detail.
“......”
Scribble, scribble.
I jot quick notes in my prepared notebook: her moves, habits, stances.
The mock battle drags on...
“Hey~ Top seat! There you are!”
“?”
S Class kids start trickling in one by one.
Next lecture must be free—they're killing time here.
“Top seat, this spot taken next to ya?”
Serosa drops into the seat beside me.
The others follow suit, filling in naturally.
And...
Pat pat pat.
Rev shuffles right up next to me, toes tucked together.
A familiar shadow trickles down her shoulder...
【Glum but happy Mask Uncle!】
Lamenta leaps onto the top of my head.
Streeetch...
Eek—letting out a weird giggle as she tugs my hair, playing around.
“......”
Plop.
As usual, Rev hooks Lamenta like a fish and sets her back on her shoulder.
And...
“Adel. Why'd you show up so late today?”
Klaus butts in.
I'm usually right on the edge of tardy, but today I blew right past it.
He looks curious.
[Cold]
...Can't exactly say it's the 【Brand】. Or Leviathan's so-called porridge.
And the ingredients in that porridge? Still a total mystery.
Mind's sharp, but body's more wrecked than ever.
Cold's the best cover.
“Oh... yeah, speaking of, I saw this girl with horns outside the dorm today.”
And then...
Klaus props his chin, something clicking.
[Girl with horns?]
“Yeah. But... she looked kinda familiar? Like I'd seen her before.”
“Yeah? You saw her too? I did.”
“Agree. Spotted her heading out for lunch.”
...Girl with horns.
Only one face pops into my head.
Or... one critter?
“But damn, she must be loaded. Dropped a single gold coin on a mountain of chicken skewers and scarfed 'em all.”
Klaus piles on, face full of awe.
…I grip my pen a little too hard for no reason.
“Then she just yanks up a tree branch and some root and vanishes off somewhere.”
I slowly bow my head.
Ears shut, eyes glued to the notebook...
Silently scratching words onto the page.
‘......’
...One loose end to tie up.
Thoroughly.