Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Endex (1)
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In the cypress forest a twenty-minute walk from Endex, where clear mountains and streams lay behind and the cityscape stretched out ahead, there stood one particularly lavish villa.
It was a roughly 100-square-meter residence built by pooling pocket money from five people who had grown up together since childhood—too spacious to be called a hideout, too open to be a secret lair.
"My dream is—to be Libra's guardian knight."
In the living room of that place, a man was doing an impression in a deep, affected voice.
"Kuhahaha! Wow, I'm dying laughing because of that guy."
With his reddish-brown long hair and massive build reminiscent of a half-moon bear, he was the eldest son of the Traksil family, which controlled dozens of magic stone mines across the continent—Kain Traksil.
"Still, isn't that bastard loyal? Raised on Libra Orphanage's money with Libra's funds~ Libra's guardian knight. The story's epic."
This time, it was a blond handsome man lounging in a hammock—Esher Dread.
"Loyal my ass. He's a fucking nuisance. Guys like that are bad for Libra's image."
The Traksil family, gemstone magnates with mines everywhere, and the Dread family, ranked 52nd in Edrila's business world.
They were young masters raised in luxury.
"Nah! I actually got a new respect for him!"
Of course, they couldn't compare to Rae, whose family was wealthy in its own right.
Rae Hilton, the Hilton family's precious golden child, crossed her arms as she thought of Sion.
"Sion shaved his head bald... He seems different somehow. Must've done special training during the break."
"...Pfft!"
"What good's special training for a bug like that?"
At those words, Esher quietly twisted his lips, and Kain smirked mockingly, completely ignoring it—until then.
——Rustle.
A quiet footstep, like snowflakes settling.
"...What are you talking about?"
A softly rising voice.
All three turned toward it at once.
At the railing of the second-floor stairs.
Blond hair shimmering with a white glow draped down, and luxury artifacts like rings, bracelets, and necklaces tinkled like ripples.
"Sounds fun. I could hear the laughter echoing."
Elise Petra.
Even in Endex, where all sorts of talents and wealth gathered, she stood at the absolute pinnacle—the daughter of the Petra councilor family.
"Elise~ Done studying~?"
"Go."
Rae ran to hug her but was stopped, and Esher rose from the hammock.
"Ah. Nothing much. Our friend Sion shot a comedy today. 'My dream is Libra's guardian knight,' kehuh."
"Is that funny?"
Elise asked coldly. Esher shut his mouth immediately.
Rae cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Yeah. Why do you guys keep laughing? So annoying. It's not funny~"
Esher scratched the back of his neck, making excuses.
"Ah, yeah. Uh, sorry. Don't you hate that total loser?"
"Who said I hate anyone."
For a moment, Elise's expression hardened slightly. Esher flinched, shoulders jerking.
He'd accidentally touched a sore spot.
Elise hated Sion, that loser. She hated even the fact being known. No—she wouldn't even admit her own feelings.
"Why would I hate some homeless bum?"
Fortunately, she brushed it off without reaction and thudded over to the coffee machine in her slippers. Esher glanced at her and sighed in relief.
"Elise. Get me one too."
Elise handed Rae the coffee she'd just made.
"Thanks~"
"But why the hell did that idiot apply for the College Board instead of graduating? Does he really think he can go to college?"
Kain muttered, genuinely curious.
"Don't worry about it."
Elise replied, tapping the floor with the toes of her slippers.
"They'll disappear soon enough anyway. Might get hurt or die. Dozens die every College Board season."
It was a rather vicious statement. Kain cleared his throat awkwardly, and Rae sipped her coffee thoughtlessly.
"Elise, this coffee's good. Good buy on the machine, right?"
"Instead of wasting time on weird stuff, why not study?"
After the scolding, Elise went back upstairs with her teacup.
"Study with me~"
Rae followed her, and Esher and Kain stared blankly at their backs.
"...Sigh."
Truly, their friend grew more dazzlingly beautiful with each passing day.
Personality aside.
"Hey, Kain. Hasn't Elise changed a lot since her dad became councilor?"
Esher asked, and Kain replied.
"She's always been like that, you moron?"
"Fuck off."
Endex, one week before the semester starts.
I scoured the school grounds, picking up junk and discarded furniture—chairs, drawers, desks, anything salvageable—and hauled it to my temporary shelter to disassemble.
—Today's featured skill is 'Curved Wave.' The Curved Wave technique finishes wood into curved shapes...
I borrowed all the necessary tools from Beltos Elder and made full use of the carpentry skills I'd learned via Ubity.
I dismantled broken desks and doors to reprocess them into bed frames, used discarded bricks, heat dissipators, and dirt-sand from the back mountain for a fireplace, and pried up wooden tiles from the old building to make a desk and chair.
It felt rewarding, but finding a pristine mattress at the recycling center was the highlight.
I couldn't make one with my current skills.
Thanks to that, the temporary shelter became somewhat livable.
A bed patched together from mismatched materials like rags, a boiler-substitute fireplace with firewood, chair and desk—nothing fancy.
But free rent? Good enough.
Oh, and I got a new phone. Only 50 ren left, all on installments.
With housing and communication sorted, the bigger issue was food.
Insane hunger.
My body demanded six meals a day.
I considered hunting mountain beasts but gave up. Tracking, hunting, butchering, processing, grilling... I'd starve first.
So I turned to job postings.
The highest hourly wage: a booming BBQ joint near Endex.
I rushed over for an interview.
"This might be too much for you. You're too scrawny. Know how much work we have?"
Tasks: dishwashing and odd jobs.
The owner sounded skeptical, but I said confidently,
"So?"
"...Huh?"
"Just feed me plenty."
The owner hired me for my guts.
The work was plentiful.
Insanely so.
Hundreds of plates and countless griddles per hour, but it was a breeze for me.
No need for Look-See-Do.
I'd done everything; manual labor and dishwashing were beyond expert—master level.
"Piece of cake."
7 PM. I shrugged, sucking on chocolate milk.
Peak hours with crowds, but the kitchen—at least the sink—was relaxed.
Why?
Because I'm a human dishwasher.
"Taking out the trash."
"...Huh? Oh, yeah. Go ahead."
The owner, watching from the kitchen corner, replied dazedly.
I headed out with food waste bags in both hands.
As I tossed them in the bin, suddenly,
"What the? Sion?"
A somewhat familiar voice called me. I turned.
Elise's crew.
Kain, Esher, Rae, and Elise.
Endex's most famous, envied golden cartel.
"Ugh, the smell. What are you doing here?"
Kain wrinkled his nose.
He acted like he'd seen me yesterday.
Making me the awkward one.
Their youthful faces were hard to get used to, and face-to-face chats? Years since.
"Asked what you're doing, punk."
Kain growled.
I answered shortly.
"Working, you fuck. Blind, you retarded pig?"
"...W-What? Hey, what did you just—"
"Pfft."
Kain blinked in shock, Rae couldn't hold back laughter.
The blond Esher grinned.
"Whoa~ Sion, your mouth got sharp while we weren't looking? Apron and stink suit you. Stick to this, not College Board."
Esher's always been a rude, disgusting prick. Class-dividing snobbery, slimy parasite face—all of it.
"... ."
But the coldest, most grating gaze—Elise.
Elise Petra.
She looked at me with contempt. More than the food waste I tossed—far dirtier. At my very existence.
"Y-You fucking punk. Hey. What did you call me? Fuck? M-Mountain pig?!"
Face red, Kain stomped forward.
"Hey hey! Don't mess with Sion!"
But Rae suddenly intervened.
"He's working hard, and you can't help but pick on him! Come on, let's go! Somewhere else!"
She gritted her teeth, resolute, grabbing and dragging her group.
What's her deal?
Esher pointed at the sign, baffled.
"Wait, we came for meat—"
"Hurry! We can eat elsewhere! I'll pay!"
Why this crazy girl acts nice... I think I get it now.
My Secret Santa?
"Y-You fucking Sion, watch your back later."
"Kain, why so foul-mouthed!"
"Get ready to get beat, huh?!"
I flipped off Kain as he retreated, pointing at me.
——That bastard!
Ignoring his freakout, I returned to the kitchen.
"Guys. Check this out. Super clean, right? Can't believe it's hand-washed. Not expecting this from you, but..."
The owner was training staff with my cleaned dishes.
11 PM.
"...How am I supposed to save money like this."
Back at the shelter, I sat on the bed, gazing at the night sky through the window.
"Nothing to do."
Seniors like Elise's crew were swamped with elite mana training and physical regimens at famous dojos or academies.
Some had already mastered Mana Body.
Freely wielding mana circuits too.
Not me.
Anyone with talent here awakens Mana Body eventually.
I can't even accept it.
Because of the sealed dantian.
Same for mana circuits... Well, not entirely the dantian.
I lack mana talent, and my studies sucked.
To realize mana circuits, you need Mana Studies—I'm practically illiterate there.
Without Notebook cheating, I'd have been expelled long ago.
Anyway, priority one: money. Survive first.
"... ."
I eyed the sword leaning against the wall corner.
Askal Family Sword.
A famed blade of rune-steel, ground and mixed.
Before regression, it paid my surgery—50,000 ren even rushed.
Not this time. Never sell my roots.
"...No more puzzles like that."
Suddenly recalled the puzzle Elder got.
Where does he find those gigs? Kinda curious...
"Wait."
A flash hit me. I bolted up.
Endex.
Endex Mana High School.
Where rich young ladies pay 700 ren for an 8,000-piece puzzle.
Past me: driver, delivery, cleaner, detective, porter.
"...This might work."
I can do whatever they want.
For money.