Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Hit the Nail on the Head
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“Being a student means romance is a luxury.”
“I haven’t dated anyone.”
“Mountains of studying, mountains of assignments...! And yet romance...? How utterly slothful...!!”
“I never studied anyway.”
“Excuses always start like that.”
Carnel had crossed her arms at some point, glaring at me with an even sharper venom than usual.
“‘It’s not dating,’ ‘We’re just friends,’ ‘We happened to be together’... Do you know how many nobles have said that? I’ve seen them all.”
“......Yes.”
“Unrestrained emotions breed chaos, and chaos leads straight to plummeting grades!”
“.........”
“...To begin with, romance is utterly impossible for someone like you...!”
“?”
Her sudden words left a question mark floating over my head.
Regardless...
Carnel kept ranting.
“How dare you even think of a ‘girlfriend’...? As if you could ever have one!”
“??”
I had no idea where this conversation had gone off the rails... or how it had spiraled into this bizarre direction.
I couldn’t figure out where to even start understanding it... or how to follow along.
Not even a little.
And then—
“Argh, whatever...!!”
With that, Carnel—who had been beating her own drum—bolted off exactly like Amelia had.
“......Like mother, like daughter.”
I couldn’t help but mutter.
She’d tossed out one weird remark and vanished without a backward glance...
That behavior could only be described as like mother, like daughter.
“Hmm.”
After enduring Carnel’s interrogation-lite, I leaned against the terrace railing again and let out a sigh.
I gazed at the scenery for a moment...
Whoosh.
I vaulted over the railing.
Swish... Threads of mana wrapped around my body.
Soon, I landed lightly on the ground below.
“Ugh...”
I turned and started walking straight toward the Gray Zone.
I could have used 【Red Thread】 right there to teleport directly to Nakwol if I wanted...
But to cool my heated head... and kill two birds with one stone.
For now, I just felt like walking.
[ Please equip 【Mask of Silence】! ]
“......Already?”
It had been just over four hours since I’d used a ‘fragment of the moon’ to remove 【Mask of Silence】.
The ‘dream quality’ contained in that fragment lasted... one day, or 24 hours.
Flick—
I raised my hand.
...A purple crack visible at my fingertip.
The crack was slowly spreading along my skin.
“Haa...”
Yeah...
Even now, in this moment, my damn body was crumbling away bit by bit.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue once and brought that hand to my mouth.
My face, now devoid of even a smile—an expressionless mask with no emotion whatsoever.
Utterly indifferent... me, without a shred of feeling.
I sighed once more and pulled 【Phantasmal Mask】 from my inventory.
[ Equipped 【Phantasmal Mask】. ]
Pook...
The wall of a dead-end alley.
I pressed one particularly faded brick among them...
“.........”
The Gray Zone came into view.
Merchants closing up shop under faded awnings.
Others bustling with preparations for the dawn market.
As everyone’s day was winding down...
Mine was only just beginning.
“Hey, you there.”
“...?”
A voice that halted my steps.
I turned to see an old man crouched in a shadowy corner.
I pointed at my own face, as if to ask if he meant me.
“Yes, you.”
“......What is it?”
“First time in the Gray Zone?”
Nod.
It wasn’t exactly my first time, but I nodded anyway.
“Wandering around with a mask... best to avoid that.”
“Why?”
“Goodness... you really know nothing?”
“...”
“There are these guys called ‘Nakwol.’ They devoured the entire ‘Moonlight’ that once terrorized the Gray Zone...”
“So?”
“Their signature... they wear masks.”
“...?”
“Yours could easily cause misunderstandings... Better to stay out of sight.”
“Ah... yes.”
That was it...
And just like that, the conversation fizzled out.
“......”
I stood there blankly for a moment before wordlessly passing the old man.
The outskirts of the Gray Zone.
The instant I stepped a bit further in...
“...What the hell is this now.”
I had to stop.
Right in the entrance to Nakwol.
Something shaped like a human stood towering there.
...Armor covering its entire body.
A hulking frame at least two meters tall.
“Who.”
“Are you.”
Its voice...
Was weird.
Like two people speaking at once... even the way it strung sentences together was off.
I was confused, but... I opened my mouth anyway.
“...Your boss.”
“......Gasp.”
“.........Gasp.”
Slowly.
A beat late, twin gasps erupted in unison.
“C-Come...”
“In...”
“...What the actual fuck.”
I clutched my head.
It wasn’t scary so much as bewildering.
“Hmm...”
I passed the bizarre gatekeeper and strolled through Nakwol’s corridors.
My mind a total jumble.
And the place I arrived at...
Uncle Beru’s room.
“Uncle.”
“...Hm? Adel.”
“What’s that thing... at the entrance.”
“Today it’s awfully chatty—”
“...What is it.”
“Ah... you mean the twins.”
“...Twins?”
“Yeah. Twins.”
Twins...
Inside that massive body... twins?
Maybe two souls sharing one flesh or something.
...I changed the subject.
“How many combat-ready personnel do we have right now.”
“Out of the blue?”
“Going to catch Alpaltz.”
“...Alpaltz?”
“Ah. Alpaltz.”
Alpaltz had gone radio silent after getting wrecked by Duke Delbar.
That made me think.
There’s no way he still had a home to return to in the Empire.
Which meant...
He’d holed up somewhere—and the only place for that was the Gray Zone.
“...Is that okay?”
“He probably can’t even show his face in noble society anymore.”
“...What the hell did he do.”
“Want me to tell you?”
“...No.”
“Yeah.”
“Wait in the meeting room. I’ll bring them right over.”
I thought, ‘There’s a meeting room too, huh,’ as I plopped into a chair.
And shortly after...
“Brought them.”
The door opened, and people poured in.
Some familiar faces, some new.
The first to catch my eye: Uncle Pergon, Caramel, and...
“...Gasp.”
“......Gasp.”
The hulking gatekeeper... speaking a beat slow.
...I tilted my head again and pointed.
“I’ve got a question...”
“What is it.”
“What the hell is that.”
The giant in armor.
...The bizarre gatekeeper from the entrance.
“Twins.”
“...That?”
“......”
Instead of answering, Uncle Beru approached the gatekeeper...
Tap tap.
He rapped on the armor with his fingertips.
Poof—
The gleaming armor vanished in a puff...
Leaving behind... two little girls.
“I’m the big sister.”
Striking white hair, red eyes.
She pointed at her own face and spoke clearly.
And beside her...
“I’m the little sister.”
This time, a girl with black hair and matching red eyes raised her small hand high.
...I was speechless for a moment.
“...No, more importantly, they’re kids.”
At my words—
The two girls whipped their heads toward me in unison...
“‘Kids’ we are not.”
And then...
They pointed at each other.
“This one’s the kid.”
The black-haired ‘little sister’ pointed at the white-haired big sister.
“This one’s the kid.”
The white-haired ‘big sister’ pointed at the black-haired little sister.
...I shot a sharp glare at Uncle Beru beside me.
“...This is really okay?”
“Adel... I’m just as dizzy, but their skills are guaranteed.”
“This is insane...”
He was that confident...
In the end, I used 【Laplace’s Eye】 on the twins.
First... the big sister, Seira.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Seira ]
Attribute
: 「Darkness」
Skills / Traits
: 【Disguise】
: 【Perfect Offense】
: 【...】
Unique Skill
: 【...】
Unique Traits
: 【Two as One】
: 【...】
Stats
: Stamina : 30 (A)
: Strength : 30 (A)
: Intelligence : 30 (A)
: Mentality : 30 (A)
: Mana : 30 (A)
Talents
: 【Martial Skill(A+)】
: 【Disguise(A-)】
: 【...】
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
“......”
What is this.
All stats A-rank.
Even the talents were insane.
...I calmed my rattled mind for a moment and looked at the little sister beside her... Aira.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Aira ]
Attribute
: 「Light」
Skills / Traits
: 【Disguise】
: 【Perfect Defense】
: 【...】
Unique Skill
: 【...】
Unique Traits
: 【Two as One】
: 【...】
Stats
: Stamina : 30 (A)
: Strength : 30 (A)
: Intelligence : 30 (A)
: Mentality : 30 (A)
: Mana : 30 (A)
Talents
: 【Defensive Art(A+)】
: 【Disguise(A-)】
: 【...】
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
“......”
Something’s definitely off.
...How could kids not even fully grown have stats like this.
Higher than even the protagonist, Klaus...
‘...Two as One?’
Something caught my eye.
The unique trait both girls shared.
I focused on it.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Two as One】
You and me, stuck together—that’s what makes us whole.
: The closer they are to each other, the stronger they become.
One heartbeat resounding from two hearts.
The trust they share is stronger than any fate.
Their existence has always been together,
And it will be, forevermore.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
I stared blankly at the status window.
Then, reading the text, I let out a hollow chuckle.
...Insane ability.
Together, they’re practically invincible—the ultimate power.
“Adel? So, what’s the plan.”
Uncle Beru’s voice snapped me back.
I dismissed the status window and shook my head.
“What else? We drag Alpaltz out.”
My words plunged the room into silence.
Uncle Beru and everyone else in the meeting room tilted their heads at me.
“......Is that even possible.”
And in that silence...
Uncle Pergon spoke up as representative.
“It is.”
“That’s not what I—”
“Alpaltz is half-dead right now.”
“Half-dead?”
“Even noble society’s turned its back on him... He won’t show his face again.”
“Then...”
“No one will even notice if he vanishes without a trace.”
The issue... was Alpaltz’s location.
But...
That wouldn’t be a problem for long.
“You know where he is, right? Uncle Beru.”
“Yeah. Already scoped it out.”
“Good.”
Slide...
I propped my elbows on the table and rested my chin.
“I’ll infiltrate alone... Everyone else waits until I call.”
“...You sure, Adel?”
Uncle Beru’s words carried worry...
But I countered.
“What if I asked you the reverse? Can you sneak in without anyone noticing?”
“......”
Without anyone noticing.
Easy to say, near impossible to pull off.
But...
I could make the impossible possible.
“Fine... if you say so, Adel.”
Uncle Beru nodded slowly.
And with that one nod, the others in the room began nodding in turn.
“Yeah.”
I smirked wickedly as I removed 【Phantasmal Mask】 and set it on the table.
And tossed in one more line.
“But... should we bury him in the ground, or make use of him.”
Two options clashed inside me.
Bury Alpaltz six feet under... or bind him with a slave contract and wield him as I pleased.
“Does he even have any real skills?”
All I’d seen so far was bluff and bluster.
But if by some chance...
If he shed that false shell and proved his worth...
If there was even one useful speck inside...
I’d gladly put him to work.
“......”
“Hm?”
...They all stared at me blankly.
Uncle Beru bowed his head silently, fiddling with his chin in distress.
Uncle Pergon furrowed his brow deeply but held his tongue.
And...
Caramel had paused mid-scoop of ice cream, while even the twins gawked up at me with wide eyes.
“What.”
“Adel... Sometimes you scare me.”
“......I wasn’t thinking anything.”
“M-Me too, Mask Lady!”
And then...
The twins shot their hands up in unison.
“This isn’t mere fear...!”
“It’s an overwhelming terror bursting from the depths of the soul!”
Seira’s cry.
Aira nodded furiously in agreement.
“Terror incarnate!”
And then...
Slap!
They high-fived perfectly, in perfect sync.
“‘Really hit the nail on the head...!’”
I pinched my forehead.