Chapter 14

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 14

Chapter Title: Memories (3)

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"...Sigh."

When I wiped the drool from my mouth and opened my eyes, the break was already over.

I blankly scanned the classroom.

-Wanna come chill at my villa this weekend?

-Your family's yacht is awesome. Let's go sailing sometime.

-We're having a ball at the mansion tonight. Want an invite?

The noble young masters and ladies from prestigious families chattered away with elegant gestures and refined tones.

"Hey. You really don't have the textbook?"

That's when Rae called out to me.

"No textbook?"

She asked, propping her chin on her hand.

"..."

I lightly ignored her. Instead, I glanced at the seat two spots over. The textbook lay open on the desk, but the person was gone.

Probably in the bathroom.

"Ahem."

I checked my surroundings and stealthily picked up the textbook. Flip flip—I skimmed through it, then placed my hand on the cover.

I had no spare 1,000 Ren to blow on a textbook like this, no matter what. So I figured I'd give Memory a shot on it with the Notebook.

"...Memory."

I didn't have to say it out loud—it was just simple self-suggestion. Like psyching yourself up during training.

"Kuh!"

But the instant I did, my mana got sucked away in a rush. An unexpected headache surged up. Heat flared in my temples, and a trickle of nosebleed dripped down.

I pinched my nose. While wiping the blood with my sleeve, I opened Notebook.

Just one book took up 9 capacity. And the mana drain just now was pretty severe too.

"What the hell."

Does the pricier it is, the more it costs? Come on.

No, even so, 1,000 Ren isn't that expensive.

I rubbed my temples and renamed 'Untitled' to 'Latynel I'.

"Hey, Sion. Why'd you even sign up for Latynel?"

...But there was this guy in the back row who'd been yapping at me nonstop. Even without a single reply from me, stubbornly persistent.

"Hey. Why'd you sign up?"

I gave Rae a curt response.

"You dumb?"

"What'd you say?!"

Rae furrowed her brow.

"'Don't bother with such a pitiful human.'"

That's when Elise's voice suddenly seeped into my ear.

The language wasn't Edsil Common, but I understood it instantly.

I whipped around in surprise.

Rae smirked.

"'Sion. That guy's. Our. Toy. What're. You. Looking at. Dude. You don't. Know Latynel.'"

No doubt about it.

Latynel.

Rae's sentences were choppy and spotty, but I could still make them out.

Why was this happening?

I tilted my head, but it clicked soon enough.

...No wonder it guzzled 9 capacity.

Had to be the effect of Memory-ing the textbook. Elise's Latynel didn't have any alterations beyond what was in the book, after all.

Ding dong dang—

Break time ended right on cue.

The absent students returned, and Lady Beache floated in through the front door.

"Oh, student. Sleep well?"

She smiled brightly at me first thing.

"Pardon? Ah—"

"It's fine. You can sleep. But."

She held out a sheet of paper. I was a bit thrown. The document title was brutally ominous.

"Hand it in after class, dear."

"..."

I looked up at her. Her expression was kindly, but her temple seemed to twitch faintly.

She said:

—This class doesn't suit a crude human like you, student.

I startled a bit then. My eyes went wide, ears perking up like a rabbit's.

I was impressed.

The way she intoned her Latynel was like singing. The cadence was no different from harmonious melody. Like a bird's trill.

Beautiful pronunciation.

"...Wow."

They say ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you see as much as you know. Before Memory-ing the textbook, it sounded like alien gibberish. But now that I understood some Latynel, I could see why it was a noble pursuit.

"Make sure to submit it by the end of class?"

I stayed silent.

Beache raised her eyebrows stiffly, pressing.

"You will, right?"

Sorry, but no dice. Waiving is basically the same as failing—huge hit to my GPA.

"..."

I just worked my mouth quietly.

Just now, when the lady spoke Latynel—turning aggressive words into lyrics like that—I'd watched her mouth closely.

A crucial observation.

Pronunciation comes from interactions of tongue, lips, vocal cords, and more inside the mouth—all parts of the body.

So, broadly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠speaking, 'foreign language conversation' falls under Look-See-Do's domain.

I could remember with my eyes and mimic with my body...

—No.

I recycled the phonemes she'd used and mimicked her.

—I am a student suited for this class.

It burned through my dantian mana, but I didn't care.

"...Oh my."

Her eyes went wide.

I added with a small smile:

—Your voice is truly beautiful, Lady Beache.

Her stern face softened in bewilderment, and a small stir rippled through the classroom.

Rae muttered from the back.

"...What the heck was that pronunciation."

For some reason, it grated on me.

After Latynel class ended, 1 PM in the hallway.

Rae walked along with pursed lips.

"Argh~ Why's the first class piling on homework already..."

The Latynel teacher had assigned some composition task right from week one.

"This is ridiculous. Week one should be chill! Right, Elise?"

Seeking agreement, Rae grumbled—then puffed her cheeks like she'd remembered something.

"But where'd Sion learn Latynel?"

Sion Askal. The suspiciously fluent guy who'd hogged Lady Beache's favor all class.

"Right, Elise?"

But Elise was quiet. She'd been silently smacking her lips for a while now. Like fidgeting, or chewing.

Rae was curious.

Why no answer?

"Weird! How's he so good at Latynel? Right, Elise?"

"..."

She prodded, but still zipped lips. Only then did Rae sense Elise's mood was off.

"...Super weird~"

"..."

Rae glanced out the window.

First- and second-years munching bentos on the stands, kids running laps on the field, and... flyers?

"Huh?"

A paper was wedged in the window frame. Rae reached out and grabbed it.

"What's this?"

"..."

Elise glanced over with interest. Rae didn't miss it.

"Elise, check this out."

"...It's trash."

"Stuff like this on the street, now in Endex~ Weird, huh?"

"Toss it."

Elise shook her head sharply, but Rae got oddly intrigued.

Not just simple errands—complex tasks too. Like doing homework for you...

"Gotta toss it~"

Rae pocketed it. Elise furrowed her brow.

"What're you doing?"

"Tossed it. In my pocket."

"..."

Elise's eyes narrowed.

"You never know~ Latynel's boring anyway. Time for electives could be—"

"You think people handing out flyers like that know Latynel?"

"Oh. Yeah."

Rae fiddled with her earlobe.

"Still, just in case... Huh? There's Sean."

A buzzcut caught her eye outside.

That bright yellow buzzcut was unique to Sion at Endex.

Elise looked too.

"Elise. Think he hired a private Latynel tutor?"

Sion. The suspiciously fluent guy.

Elise and Rae eyed him heading out the school gate with narrowed, puzzled gazes.

"Good work, Sion."

11 PM, Endex's smash-hit joint [The Wayward Grill] closing for the day.

The owner patted my shoulder and handed over my weekly pay plus a bag of meat.

Like they say, full barn, full heart: 500 Ren weekly, plus 3kg of meat daily. Thanks to that, I'm chowing down 3kg of quality protein a day.

Worlds apart from my pre-regression start. Back then, hospital slop and sweet potatoes weren't enough—I was scavenging scraps and weeds, nearly dying from food poisoning.

"Thanks. See ya."

"Yeah. Tomorrow."

I stepped out. The world was dark, stars gone AWOL.

"Man, why no texts yet."

I turned on my phone while walking the tree-lined path to Endex.

"Flyer's a dud, huh."

I pulled the [I'll Handle It] flyer from my inner pocket.

Ideally, start chemo by April or May. Need at least 20-30k Ren in hand to even consider treatment...

[Endex ENDEX]

Lost in thought, I reached Endex's main gate. But the entrance was coldly shut.

Past 11 PM, no entry for outsiders—or even students.

Of course, I had a plan.

The roughly 3m wall encircling the Endex grounds.

Just hop it. Quietly, carefully, no getting caught.

"Lemme see..."

I walked along the wall, hopped at a good spot, then climbed like a pro and dropped inside.

Thud.

Landed fine, but a flyer slipped from my inner pocket. It fluttered down, landing at someone's feet.

I looked over.

My whole body froze solid.

"...Uh."

About ten steps away, a person stood.

Her unbound long hair blazed red like flames, a tiny ember and acrid smoke hovering before her lips.

"Hmm."

Endex's sole S+ tier noble.

Soliet Arkne.

She said nothing, just smoked and stared at me.

"..."

Too sudden. Facing her head-on like this stirred old memories unbidden.

Certain Memories exploded in my brain like fireworks.

Made it hard to breathe a bit.

She's exactly the same as back then.

Her wild hair, her listless eyes, her firmly pressed lips—unchanged down to the detail.

Maybe that's why.

I blurted out a greeting without thinking.

"Long time no see."

Soliet's brow furrowed faintly. She exhaled mouth-smoke and asked:

"Hmmm... What is it? This is the girls' dorm."

"Oh, yeah. Girls' dorm."

I chuckled blankly. I'd hopped the wrong damn wall by mistake.

Soliet eyed me steadily, then pointed to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠woodland path between girls' dorms.

"Five minutes that way's the boys' dorm. No guards this late."

"...Thanks."

My thanks came out shaky—weirdly so.

Soliet shrugged nonchalantly.

"No problem. But keep it secret. Me too."

She tapped ash off her cig not on the ground, but into a portable ashtray.

I stared; she flicked out her cigarette case.

"Smoke?"

"...Huh?"

"Good stuff. 30 Ren a stick, worth it."

I chuckled and shook my head.

"Quit. Thanks to someone."

There was a time smokes and cigs were my life's joy.

Body doomed to die anyway.

One cig, one coffee, one pill, one booster shot—do it or don't, gonna die regardless.

No matter the effort, body that wouldn't last.

...But then.

On a clear-skied day, in time long gone, I did something stupid. Made a promise with someone to 'live healthy'.

Way too impulsive.

"Is that so? Quitting. Lucky you."

Of course, promises are made to break. With Perion already in me, maybe I broke it already.

Even so, 'as much as possible'.

I'll stick to regular habits and healthy eating 'as much as possible'.

"Hmph."

Soliet knelt on one knee, picked up the flyer, skimmed it, and handed it back.

"Here."

"Ah, but this—"

"Yeah. Know. Seems scattered everywhere. Saw one nearby myself."

Scattered everywhere.

That word from Soliet gave me a hint.

'Scattered everywhere' wouldn't cut it.

Endex crowd needed premium service; my flyer was too cheapo...

"Well, then."

"Seems capable."

I hurriedly added as she turned. Soliet tilted her head.

"...This flyer?"

"Yeah. Claims to be a pro."

True.

I am a pro.

Tailing, background checks, driving, delivery, construction, cleaning, organizing, tracking, sleuthing, inspections, searches—you name it, I've done it.

"Rolled in the gutters for years."

True.

I survived five whole years in the 'underworld' where murder's legal and freaks run wild.

"You buy that?"

Soliet gave me a pitying look, but she probably needed someone right now.

"No harm in trying?"

We had an unexpected commonality.

Both have an 'enemy' we wanna burn our souls to kill. Both live for revenge. We're alike that way.

"Got an errand? Give it a shot."

I offered her the flyer. She waved it off.

Rejection.

"Suit yourself."

I let the flyer drop into the air.

It fluttered down lazily. Soliet looked utterly uninterested.

"But you. Those smokes..."

Watching her puff away, I started to say something but hesitated.

I knew.

Around now, she needed no one, nothing.

Whatever I said would just be unwanted meddling.

"Don't overdo it. Before you regret it later."

But hey, you said it to me first.

You begged me once to live healthier.

"...Do I know you? Why the sudden attitude?"

Soliet glared; I laughed and turned away.

I walked the woodland path she'd pointed out. Tall weeds rustled. Owls hooted somewhere.

Strangely, I felt good.