The Moment Jealousy and Envy Turn into Hatred and Rage (2)

The Saintess was kind to everyone. She was an untouchable domain, sacred and inviolable, someone no one should dare approach. Vermillion Vermon had no idea what exactly that lowly commoner had done to bewitch her, but he had no intention of letting the wretch off the hook. Even if their closeness had truly been a coincidence, even if they had known each other for a long time.

A knight’s honor was the Saintess’s honor. Any act that tarnished it would not be forgiven.

‘And if I get closer to the Saintess in the process, that’s killing two birds with one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stone.’

Vermillion wore a crooked smile. If he, a well-built scion of a powerful knight family, appeared before that shabby-looking bastard, surely even the Saintess would take notice. After all, no one had ever turned him down once he invoked the Vermon name.

But…

What the hell was going on? Vermillion sensed that the situation had taken a wrong turn. Why was the Saintess treating him so coldly?

It was an insult. The Saintess was humiliating him in front of all these people. Was hanging around with a commoner really that entertaining?

“Eve. That’s enough. You’re going to kill the guy.”

What?

“Cain. This person interrupted our conversation—my fun, I mean—and even sent killing intent your way. He’s extremely ill-mannered. I need to make him apologize.”

Make him… apologize? Who the hell did that commoner trash think he was?

Even after returning to his seat, Vermillion couldn’t quell his rage. That beggar commoner called Cain had apparently gotten close to Panzy Vlad while Eve was away. Why? How? It made no sense.

Nobles stood above commoners. They protected them. In return, commoners offered up their honor, taxes—everything. Commoners were primitive beings meant to be ruled. Protecting one’s property was only natural. Knights claimed to defend the nation on the surface, but that same perception ran deep beneath it all.

“Cain…”

Vermillion ground his teeth so hard they audibly creaked. This kind of humiliation was a first for him. For an arrogant noble like him, there could be no greater disgrace. His impure intentions and his knightly spirit, steeped in supremacist ideology, began to fill with envy and jealousy toward Cain.

He didn’t even register how the entrance ceremony proceeded. Inside Vermillion’s head, only the image of that insolent, lawless thug Cain—who dared ignore noble authority—and the Saintess Eve Abraham, who had been completely fooled by his words and now followed him like a loyal dog, kept swirling around.

That’s right. As someone who would become a knight, he could not overlook injustice.

Without even realizing how absurd and illogical his own thoughts were, Vermillion left the plaza with that same crooked smile on his face.

“Huh? Class D?”

“I understand that your marker score is high and you’re dissatisfied with this placement. It’s truly unfortunate, but Student Cain’s mana indicator is scraping the bottom. We determined that you would be unable to keep up with the curriculum in a higher class.”

“Ugh…”

This was exactly why he hated the medieval era. What kind of bastards decided something was impossible without even giving it a try? The professor, noticing my failing poker face, offered some consolation—extra points, maybe I could move up next year—looking sorry as he spoke. But my heart had already been shredded to pieces, just like the clothes Silph had torn apart.

“That was one of the most fucked-up things that happened to me. What are you going to do about my money?”

“Aren’t you the reason I have to worry about clothes every single day? Who told you to rip them apart like a wild animal, huh?”

“If you’ve got a mouth, at least say something. Oh~ Is it because the Wind Spirit is part of nature that you can’t speak like that~?”

Huh? She got sulky. Did I tease her too much?

Silph flew out with her lips poked out like a duck’s bill and a teary face, then vanished straight into the distant forest.

Hmm… Now I feel a little bad.

I turned to Kasa with the gentlest expression I could muster and asked her to comfort Silph and bring her back.

“…Where did you even learn that phrase?”

So that expression existed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in this world too. Kasa let ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out a bright laugh at my dumbstruck face and flew off into the forest to find Silph.

If things went south I could just summon them with the magic circle, so it should be fine.

The building that handled the academy’s administrative affairs… what was it called again? Karm Hall?

“Ah! It’s Cain!”

“Eve?”

Who cared what the building was called. I smiled brightly at Eve and waved.

Since I was already marked by everyone, I might as well walk my own path. If Eve considered me a close friend, acting all timid would be rude. Yeah. That… sounded right?

“Hmm~ Cain, I don’t feel those two energies today?”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, I had never properly explained the two spirits to Eve. I’d just assumed she would know since she could sense their presence and brushed it off. To her, they were probably nothing more than “interesting beings.”

“I gave them the day off. They’re always stuck to my side, so I figured they might be tired.”

“Oh~ So those energies can feel fatigue too. That’s new to me.”

Eve’s eyes sparkled as she filed the information away in the vast library inside her head. If she hadn’t become the Saintess, she probably would have turned into a mad scientist with an insane criminal record. In a way, the Holy Kingdom’s strict management might have been what allowed her to grow into such a lively girl.

When I let out a sigh of relief, Eve, who had been watching me curiously, suddenly puffed out her cheeks as if something had just occurred to her.

“Cain. By the way, who was that girl at the entrance ceremony?”

“Hmm? Oh… you mean Panzy Vlad? She gave a speech with me last time.”

“Hmm… Ah~ That… pink-haired… girl…”

She frowned like something displeased her, then pretended to only just remember. If I had known she was this emotionally expressive, I would have used her more often in the game. Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, she glared at me with sharp eyes.

“Why did she grab your hand? Do you two already know each other?”

“Ah, no, it’s not like that… I wasn’t feeling well, so she just helped support me.”

I had no idea why I had to explain this to her. I just felt like something bad would happen if I didn’t.

Eve rolled her eyes, thinking about what to say, then suddenly grabbed my arm.

“If you’re in pain, you should have told me. I’m hundreds of times better than any healer in the academy.”

“I’ll ask you next time it happens.”

When I smiled awkwardly, Eve poured a bit of holy power into my arm, then snorted and let go. The warm energy flowing through my body restored my life force.

Just what part of me did she like so much that she kept approaching me like this? We had no points of contact. I had thought it was simple curiosity. At this point, I even wondered if she was just upset that her toy was breaking. The time we had spent together wasn’t all that long.

Maybe my complicated expression showed, because Eve widened her eyes and asked,

“Cain, is something wrong?”

“Ah… No. I just have a lot on my mind.”

There had been a favorability system in the game. But raising Eve Abraham’s favorability was extremely difficult, and much of it was shrouded in mystery. She was a character the developers had hidden so thoroughly that there was even a dedicated forum board for her favorability. I had no idea what trigger had made her get this close to me so quickly. Was there some hidden condition?

“Still, take care of yourself. Your body really is weak.”

“Wow… I didn’t expect you to say it so bluntly~”

“Hehe… It’s just the truth. How about doing some training?”

“Training?”

“Yeah. Training sounds a bit grand, so maybe practice? Should we call it practice?”

Eve pointed at one of the buildings. That was… Herat Hall, I think? Why were all the names like this? From what I remembered, it was a place where you could train characters to raise their stats. As expected of a game world, the system applied directly here too.

“Herat Hall?”

“Yep. You can train in all sorts of ways there. Physical training, magic training, swordsmanship—everything.”

The massive dome-shaped training facility could raise the game’s stats: vitality, mana, strength, agility, and intelligence. Intelligence was useless, and since I only needed to raise vitality, I didn’t have to carefully divide up my training plan.

“Ugh… I really hate exercising. But if I want to survive here, I guess I have no choice.”

“Hehehe… You sound like someone who just entered a survival-of-the-fittest world.”

“Just like you said, I really am a weakling. I have no mana, no strength, no agility. So I’m struggling with everything I’ve got just to survive.”

“Hmm~ So that’s why you travel with those interesting friends of yours.”

Eve nodded in understanding, then smiled brightly, pushed my back, and spoke with clear anticipation.

“Come on~ Go train! You have to get stronger so those kids can use their power too!”

“Uh… I was actually planning to rest in my dorm…”

“There’s no time for that~”

The Saintess’s whining was dangerously effective on me, the one hearing it directly. Even more so for the students passing by. Knowing how burdensome those stares were, Eve stuck even closer to me as she pleaded.

Fine. Fuck it… I had to go. If I didn’t, I’d be the bad guy.

Leaving Eve’s cheerful goodbye behind, I trudged toward the training hall like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.

Once inside, the building—which had already looked huge—seemed even larger thanks to some magical spatial distortion. The wide-open interior, like a massive sports complex, was divided into areas for magic training and martial arts and weapon training, with the main training ground in the center. Around it, like a track, were the specialized training facilities for raising vitality, strength, agility, and intelligence.

The vitality training area I needed was simple in structure. You just ran like hell. You ran like hell along a path that looped like a track. In this world, doing a shit-ton of cardio increased your vitality. There seemed to be other methods too, but this one was the most efficient.

I hadn’t even properly looked at my dorm yet… and it was all Eve’s fault.

Grumbling inwardly at the imaginary Eve, I started doing warm-ups before training. Just some basic stretching like I used to do in my previous life.

After finishing my preparations and getting ready to run hard, a familiar voice came from behind me.

“Cain… right? Fancy seeing you here.”

“Ah. Panzy.”

It was Panzy Vlad. Her usual side-tail was tied back into a tight ponytail, and instead of her neat uniform she wore tight training clothes that showed off her figure. Why did all the girls here have to appeal so aggressively? With nowhere safe to look, I could only stare at her face. She gave a small smile and stood beside me, loosening up her body.

“I’ve been hearing a lot of people asking who the guy next to the Saintess is that she’s so friendly with.”

“Ahahaha… Yeah. We only entered through the gate together, that’s all.”

“Still, if the Vessel of God herself is that open with you, she must have judged you to be quite decent. Especially since her position as Saintess means she doesn’t have many close people to begin with.”

Is that how it is? Honestly, if a classmate I met for the first time responded to me normally and kept the conversation going, I’d probably get close to them too. Plus, the Saintess had that insane detection skill, so she must have been able to gauge my true nature to some extent.

“Well, maybe she just thinks I’m fun to be around.”

“Hahaha! Just saying that is proof enough that you’re close. The Saintess has a good eye for people.”

Does she? Hmm…

“Let’s run together. I need to break a sweat before my actual training anyway.”

“I’ll be in your care. I’m a pretty serious weakling, after all.”

“Hehe.”

She gave a short laugh and immediately dashed off. She glanced back as if telling me to follow and slowed down, clearly planning to guide me.

I started running after Panzy. The moment I tried to catch up as she gradually reduced her speed—

“Cain, right? I’m Vermillion Vermon.”

A muscular guy suddenly stuck to my side and spoke.

Vermillion Vermon. The bastard who got completely shut down by the Saintess at the entrance ceremony. This was exactly why people shouldn’t act on their lower halves.

“Yeah. What do you want?”

“……”

When I answered curtly, his expression hardened instantly. Guess a commoner speaking so casually was shocking. His ears turned red, proving my guess right. How could such a simple-minded character exist? Spirit Savior was an open-world game with countless NPCs. Even someone like me who had played it for ages couldn’t know every single one.

Vermillion Vermon. From what I remembered, he was the type who would grunt and train hard whenever he entered the training hall. Later, in the sub-event about noble-commoner conflict, he stood on the nobles’ side and spouted that disgusting supremacist nonsense. Seeing how he was acting now, it was obvious. He didn’t like me one bit and was trying to do something about it.

“I asked why. You called me over, so say something.”

“I want to apologize for what happened last time.”

“Huh?”

What kind of new script was this? As I stared at him in genuine confusion, Vermillion let out a deep sigh.

“Follow me for a moment.”

“No, there’s really no need…”

“If you don’t want things to get bigger, follow quietly.”

Were all these kids the same? The way he revealed his true colors the moment I pushed back was honestly pathetic. Panzy Vlad must have noticed something was off because she was quickly approaching.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, Panzy Vlad. I am Vermillion Vermon.”

“Vermon. I’ve heard the knights of the Vermon family have passed down excellent shield techniques for generations. Nice to meet you.”

“You flatter me. By the way, may I borrow this common— I mean, this person named Cain for a moment? I have something to discuss with him.”

“Hmm? Is it urgent?”

Panzy looked doubtful. Vermillion simply nodded with a friendly smile.

“This kid is weak. If you’re planning to harm him in any way…”

For a brief moment, a pink aura rose around her body and vanished. While I was still stunned by the overwhelming pressure, Panzy spoke in a cold voice.

“Then it will be time for you to seriously reconsider your knightly honor.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind. Let’s go, Cain.”

It was obvious something bad was about to happen. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I hurriedly tried to call Silph and Kasa. But there was no response from the summoning circle, and my plan to force-summon them fell apart. I only realized it now, but even forced summoning required them to respond. That’s not forcing anything, you assholes.

The place I was dragged to was some lounge inside the building. As if they had been waiting, several people were already gathered.

“This the bastard? The vulgar piece of shit who dared speak with Her Holiness the Saintess?”

Harsh words. A group of guys who clearly only ever did bad things approached with gleaming eyes. I tried to step back, but Vermillion blocked me from behind, cutting off any escape.

Vermillion wore a twisted smile, convinced that his blatantly obvious scheme had worked perfectly.

“You primitive mutt. I’ll slowly teach you exactly what kind of sin you’ve committed.”

“Fuck off. Seriously. Why the hell are you doing this to me?”

Fuck off. I’m the victim here too, damn it!!!!