Chapter 58
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Tomorrow (2)
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I took sick leave.
No matter how hard I tried, my body wouldn't budge, and my head was spinning like I was on a rollercoaster.
I was prepared for the grade deduction, but fortunately, Gioli knew I'd been directly caught up in the Recor Dak incident last night.
Thanks to that, I got "special leave." It meant no penalties for missing class.
"...The side effects are brutal."
This was probably Perion's doing again. It seemed fine at first, then suddenly crashed hard.
Anyway.
Current time: 11:45 PM.
I'm sitting by the lake behind the old building, staring at the water's surface.
For the record, my hospital appointment is already booked.
Reservation Complete: Libra Medical Center, Aden Edshila Hospital
Wednesday, March 28th, 3:00 PM
Libra Medical Center, Aden Edshila Hospital. The last Wednesday of March.
Today's the 21st, so exactly one week from now—two weeks earlier than in my previous life.
Back then, I got the tests done early, but the treatment schedule was backed up for ages.
"...Life fucking sucks."
I muttered under my breath at the thought of starting chemo again.
Rustle—
Out from the bushes came a figure draped in a burlap sack.
It was Soliet.
She trudged over and sat on the stone bench, gazing at the lake just like me.
"Swordsmanship Studies week three assignment is the Three Sword Forms."
"...Ah, yeah?"
Week three's theme was sword forms, apparently.
Linking three or more basic sword strikes turns them into a sword form. If the strikes are raw materials, the form is the pillar holding up the building of swordsmanship.
The Three Sword Forms here refer to the most common ones using the Five Basic Strikes.
The "Five Basic Strikes Three Sword Forms" are the foundation of Swordsmanship Studies.
"And here."
Soliet handed over a thick envelope. I peeked inside.
Twenty 1,000-ren bills.
Exactly 20,000 ren.
"Thanks for the paycheck."
"How do you plan to proceed with the investigation?"
Soliet got straight to it.
Obviously, she wasn't worried about me. Not the slightest interest in my condition.
Not that I felt slighted or bitter about it.
That's just Soliet. And we're meeting for work right now.
"Simple. Reconstruction."
The Nightmare is definitely alive, but knowing that alone won't track it down. I still don't know the Nightmare's identity.
Like I said, I'm just Soliet's minor helper, and she ended it with her own hands.
"...Reconstruction?"
"Yeah. Go to the scenes where it killed people, reconstruct the incidents, retrace the timeline."
Her face hardened coldly for a moment.
I pressed on regardless.
"Solved cases, unsolved ones—all of them. Trace back through everything to follow its footsteps."
With that, I handed her the pre-prepared case file. The "Nightmare Case File" she'd read hundreds, thousands of times more than me.
"You pick the order."
The Nightmare's official death toll: 17.
Few compared to Mi-nae’s demon, but it targeted knights only, so the societal impact was on another level.
I told her,
"But you can't avoid what you want to dodge. Can't cherry-pick the investigation."
"...Fuck. Got it."
Soliet muttered low. Her trembling hand pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The tip glowed red.
I leaned back on the stone bench, staring at the night sky. A old memory surfaced in the cold stone's feel.
Soliet had two precious people. One was family, the other a close friend of that family.
Javed and Felix.
Still unfamiliar names to me, but to her, bonds from birth. More days together than apart.
Javed was her big brother, three years older. From him, she learned how to face the world and mindset.
Felix was Javed's best friend, the man she loved. They bickered over trivial things because they cared for each other. Because they couldn't confirm their feelings.
Maybe she and Felix became lovers. Maybe pledged eternity with Javed's blessing.
That future drowned in blood in an instant.
Only when her loved ones died did she realize her feelings were love.
In my past life, I wanted to be their stand-in for her.
Of course.
Impossible.
When she killed herself, I realized I couldn't even try to replace them.
When she abandoned this world, I finally let go of my lingering attachment to her. Shed all regrets, affections.
Still the same now.
I just don't want to miss the chance to save her.
I just want her to live longer.
I just want her to find her own value in this life.
No matter how much you love someone, they're not more precious than yourself.
"...Yes. Understood."
Soliet exhaled smoke. The colored sigh bloomed thick in the night sky. She stubbed out the cigarette in her personal ashtray and said,
"I'll let you know soon. Which case to start with."
"Yeah."
She stood.
I didn't see her off as she retraced her steps.
Ding—
Just as I tried to sink into some quiet reflection alone, my smartphone blared obliviously.
Script coming along? Everyone but you seems to know how it'll turn out.
It was Elise. I shot back a casual reply.
Yeah, working on it.
Good. Do that. Curious though—when's the script done, and when're you recruiting actors? Low-IQ kid can't grasp reality or self-reflect. Why live? Just die.
"..."
Did this girl suddenly lose it?
"Wants to be the protagonist so bad."
The lead's a woman anyway, so you'll get it.
Psycho? You be the lead, recruit whoever you want. I'll make the script solid, so chill.
I once watched a musical reinterpreting "The Minstrel."
No need for Notebook's help; the memory's vivid not just because I went with Theia and Gerkken.
It was just fun.
Me, hating the world from cancer; Gerkken, seeming indifferent to all but success—we both got lost in the play at some point.
The Minstrel's story, simplified:
The protagonist minstrel is the kingdom's top storyteller and singer—a bard.
Performing on the streets as usual, he's invited to the palace one day. Stays a week preparing shows, but then...
Horrific murders start happening in a chain.
First the head maid, then the chancellor, a baron, even the prince—swept into the storm of serial killings...
(Spoiler warning)
The minstrel was the culprit.
He had a birth secret: bastard son of the king and a maid—royal blood.
But the queen, fearing succession disputes, along with in-laws and the head maid, pressured his mother. She fled the palace, settling in a remote village with young bard.
The queen wouldn't let it go. Sent assassins; killed his mother. Tried for the boy too, but he hid under the floorboards.
Watched his mother die from under there.
So it's a revenge tale. Flips the original "romance" genre on its head.
But love existed within. A tragedy born purely of love.
Fine, per your word, I'll line up the cast. I'll take lead. Deadline's three days. If it's no fun or reeks of your trash personality, you're cut.
"Man, wanna pad roast her."
I held back. Don't wanna make Yael curse too.
Got it, now scram.
Elise's replies stopped there.
Friday in Cleaum Hall. Elise headed in with Kain, Esher, and Rae as usual.
The moment she sat, she started humming without realizing. The lead role got her feeling good.
Truth was, she'd already drafted a script based on "The Crafty King." Sion Askal's was bound to suck anyway.
"Something good happen?"
Kain asked. He and Esher both looked beat.
Hit a club last night, they said.
"Who knows."
Elise put on a prim face.
"Hmph. Gonna be the star, huh~ Lucky you~ So lucky~ Won't even let me in~"
Sharp catch. Rae crossed her arms, pouting hard.
Elise quietly defended herself.
"...You said you didn't wanna."
"Nooo! Who wants to be background?!"
Elise had suggested she play a tree. Tree panel with Rae's face in the cutout. Like a theme park photo spot.
"I think talking tree's not bad."
She replied innocently.
It was for Sermones Aeterini invites. Couldn't risk ruining it by forcing Rae in.
"Wow... You're the worst, Elise. Fine. I'll ask Sion."
This time Kain and Esher frowned.
"Ask that Sion prick what? He's getting axed soon."
"Exactly."
Rae gave them a pitiful look.
"You two been saying that for three weeks now?"
"...Fucker’s hanging on like a champ. Right?"
Esher glanced at Kain, who chuckled in disbelief.
"Yeah. How—or why—is that guy still alive... Ugh, hangover's kicking in."
"Oh, Sion."
Speak of the devil.
Sion shuffled in right then, plopping in the back row. Rae snuck glances his way...
"Good day."
The front door opened with the instructor's voice. Rae hurried back to her seat.
"Second time?"
This week's Friday instructor was Shelton again.
A magic tower mage and chief researcher—specs topping even Jedric and Asilen.
"Today's task isn't just Endex—every College Board senior from mana high schools joins. Might be tough, folks."
Tension gripped Cleaum Hall.
Instructor calling it tough meant it was gonna be brutal.
"You'll enter a 'mana space.'"
The air's tension spiked beyond oxygen levels.
Mana space: space made of mana, simply put.
A cramped cabin outside but stadium-sized inside; underwater yet breathable—all mana spaces.
Fifty years ago, only natural ones existed, but tech advanced; now artificial ones too.
"Stay sharp. Everything in mana space is real. Can hurt you, even kill. Because the medium sustaining it is a mana core."
Mana core: upgraded mana core. Holds way more info per mass, processes more mana—pricier, higher-spec, rarer all around.
Thus, mana core spaces are near-reality, dangers just as real.
"One goal."
Shelton smiled brightly.
"Survive 30 hours. As long as you can."