Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Education (3)
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For now, one thing was crystal clear.
The human standing across from her was no ordinary person.
“-?”
No, actually.
Even calling her ‘no ordinary person’ felt like an understatement.
The moment she saw the opponent draw her weapon, the instant Gray’s hand reached for her own scabbard in response, she felt it.
...
A sensation she had never experienced since becoming the Hero.
“⋯⋯.”
A sharp tingle raced down her spine.
Gray’s pupils began to tremble.
She realized in an instant what that sensation foretold.
‘...I can’t win?’
Her instincts screamed it.
Her gut warned her.
Even the cool, unflappable part of her mind arrived at the same conclusion.
Right now, she...
Could never defeat the human standing before her.
“-”
She had felt a similar sensation exactly once before.
Back when she had witnessed the Dean of Cradle unleashing his full power.
The realization that, at her current level, she could never reach that realm.
But considering the Dean’s circumstances, it was now nearly impossible to see him like that anymore.
Which meant that, as of now, no human within mortal limits could stand against her. That was precisely why she had been granted the Holy Sword.
And yet.
...
And yet.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Gray stared down quietly at her own hand.
Her entire body was rigid. Her fingertips had gone pale, as if the blood had drained away completely.
Beyond mere tension.
Her body was on the verge of terror.
As if it were reacting instinctively to a formidable foe it hadn’t encountered in ages.
“⋯⋯Realizing that feeling ahead of time is a blessing in itself.”
Watching her like that, the masked opponent muttered bitterly.
As if relieved that her own past mistakes wouldn’t be repeated by Gray.
...
An oddly phrased remark.
“I only felt it myself a bit too late. That sensation of facing a true adversary.”
The realization that there was always a ceiling above the ceiling.
Staring at the stiff, frozen Gray, the opponent continued in a tone laced with profound regret.
“⋯⋯That’s why I was such a burden to that man. He set the perfect stage just for me, but I couldn’t even move properly on it.”
“⋯⋯.”
“Because I couldn’t get it together, one of the closest people to me died back then.”
“⋯⋯Huh?”
But even in that extreme state of tension, certain words pierced her ears clearly.
She had no idea what this woman was talking about.
It was just...
Incredibly...
Infuriating.
Utterly grating words.
“What’s your deal with that guy?”
Why was this woman...
Going out of her way, right in front of Gray, to talk about ‘that man’ like this? It had to be Carlyle she meant.
...
Why did it feel like she was flaunting some deep bond between them?
As if she and he had built a relationship so profound that someone like Gray could never wedge herself in.
“That’s why I came here—to make sure you don’t repeat the same mistake.”
“I asked what your relationship with him is.”
“It’s a deep, profound history that a brat like you could never insert yourself into.”
“Huh?”
“Meaning I’ve seen it all.”
“⋯⋯Huh?”
“Do you know he has a big mole on the upper left side of his back?”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯Hey, what the—?”
“I do.”
“⋯⋯.”
“How I know? I’ll leave that to your imagination.”
Her body relaxed from the tension.
...
No, beyond relaxation—murderous intent surged from her entire being more fiercely than when she had fought that demon earlier.
Thick veins bulged on Gray’s forehead like writhing snakes.
The killing intent gleaming in her irises felt like it could tear skin just by meeting her gaze...
“I’ve got nothing to learn from the likes of you.”
Who the hell was this nobody, barging in and bragging about being close to him like that?
Gray was at the point of consulting demons because she didn’t even know what to do.
“Worry about your own damn manners first—before you start nitpicking mine—”
“⋯⋯Maybe fix that habit of doodling self-insert comics in your diary first.”
“⋯⋯.”
“Despite that, you’re obsessed with romance novels, fantasizing full-throttle about a prince on a white horse. Do something about that. What are you, a kid? At an age when you could be married in noble society.”
The tension Gray had been building with all her might crumbled in an instant.
...
No, it felt like tension of a different kind now.
Gray frantically looked around.
Of course, there were no onlookers nearby—and even if there were, she couldn’t possibly miss them—but it was an instinctive reaction.
She was clearly more than just flustered...
“W-what are you talking about—?”
Her face flushed beet red as she trembled and opened her mouth.
No.
This woman.
How the hell did she know about that—?!
Something even her father had never found out about, something no one had ever discovered—!
“And at your age, still into unicorns, dresses, and princesses with jeweled wands? Please, just bite your tongue and die already—”
“Sh-sh-shut upppp—!”
“Hmm, in that state of mind, you’re probably fantasizing about that man right now too. What, got a sketchbook in the top drawer? Full of drawings imagining all sorts of things between you and him—?”
“Shut up, I saiddd—!”
No.
...
Nooooo—!
Gray shuddered violently, as if her whole body were convulsing, and drew the Holy Sword in a frenzy.
For someone who hadn’t flinched even against a noble-class demon, she looked like an entirely different person in her panic...
“If you wanna fight, quit the pointless chatter and fight—!”
With a voice almost breaking into sobs, Gray drew her Holy Sword and lunged forward first.
Of course, her demeanor was utterly flustered, but she was still the Hero.
The strike she unleashed still carried devastating power.
No matter how scattered her mind, her body was etched with flawless movements honed through endless repetition and innate genius.
Not even a viscount-class demon had ever properly parried it. They were simply crushed.
But.
“⋯⋯?”
The next moment.
Gray’s expression went blank.
Because.
-!
Her Holy Sword had been smacked away from her hand.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯?”
It clattered to the floor.
Gray’s unfocused eyes darted back and forth between the flying Holy Sword and her own state.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯?”
Just now, what...
Was that?
...
She hadn’t seen a thing.
No, more than not seeing it.
She hadn’t registered anything at all.
Simple as that.
The opponent had stood in place, done nothing, and deflected her strike.
...
No, beyond deflecting—it had knocked the weapon clean out of her hand.
“⋯⋯.”
For a warrior, losing your weapon was as good as death.
In other words.
...
This human.
Had just killed the Hero.
She had lost.
Completely. Without even knowing the cause.
“⋯⋯.”
Her mind couldn’t even process how such a thing had happened.
As she mulled over that thought.
“Consider it homework.”
Those words landed squarely on the dazed, silent Gray.
“Until we meet ‘next time,’ figure out what just happened.”
Gray blankly watched the opponent walk away briskly after leaving those words.
‘...Next time?’
That phrase alone lingered quietly in her mind.
◆
Carlyle was a man with an impeccable biological clock.
Which meant...
...
Someone bursting in at bedtime and shaking him by the collar was pretty damn agonizing.
“Who the hell is that bitch—!”
“⋯⋯.”
“I asked who she is—!”
“⋯⋯Lady, calm down and let go first—”
“Just answer me—!!”
“⋯⋯.”
Hmm.
It had been a while since he’d seen Gray this feral, not since the early days after his regression.
...
Was this the effect of the training—or the lack thereof?
‘Hero.’
He had a question for the Holy Sword too.
[What?]
‘...How the hell do you know about the mole on my back?’
[I saw it.]
‘⋯⋯.’
Hmm.
...
Hmm.
Setting aside why it had been scrutinizing such details so closely.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever stripped in front of you...?’
He even remembered a loop where he had tried that and nearly died. True to her history of extreme mysophobia, hadn’t she despised even looking at others’ skin?
And yet she’d stared at a mole on his back...?
[I’ll leave it to your imagination.]
‘⋯⋯.’
[Figure it out yourself.]
What the hell?
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