Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: I Won't Give Up Just Yet
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Isn't it ridiculous?
In the Demon Realm Forest, I'd spent a full ten years surviving as a sherpa, guiding others through its depths. For them to come at me using the abilities of the beasts that lived there...
No joke— I'd grilled dopple slimes, boiled them, steamed them, even soaked them in liquor. Hell, I'd once tried raising one because it looked so damn cute.
Whoosh.
I set fire to the body of the guy who'd already passed out cold.
He'd shrunk down so small that he went up in flames quick, without so much as a scream.
"......"
It felt like the old sherpa days for the first time in ages. I let out a breath, my chilled emotions slowly settling as I loosened up my body.
For starters, these guys called themselves the "Pit Dogs."
The kind of shadowy outfit you figure exists somewhere to handle the dirty work for corrupt high nobles.
Were they rivals to Sen's Extermination Squad?
Anyway, this whole incident could be summed up simply.
First off, it was the Pit Dogs' own little test run.
To experiment with the tricky cockatrice's curse in real combat, they'd stirred up all this chaos— and it worked.
They'd confirmed it reached not just the professors at this so-called prestigious academy, but even the Dean herself.
They'd tried to erase all memory and record of Hare, slipping away clean to become a ghost... but we threw a wrench in that.
Of course, in the end, they still snagged the Former King's treasure.
Second, the Leiros Family.
They'd hired the Pit Dogs to crush me— the commoner who humiliated them by knocking out the Dean and Penil Leiros.
This part felt like an afterthought, but Penil Leiros's green moves cost him his life.
"Monster."
As he lay dying, all he could do was repeat that word at me.
Lately, I'd been enjoying academy life with these fresh-faced students, forgetting my past a bit.
Truth be told, I didn't see myself as all that different from them. But you can't call ten years surviving in a forest people see as hell "normal," can you?
"Ngh."
I glanced toward the academy, catching sight of the sun rising.
Time to play student again.
*
"......"
With Penil Leiros assassinated in his room, all classes today were turned into self-study.
The culprits were the Pit Dogs, but that was for Haini to sort out— not me.
Now she was stuck with the false charge of killing the Leiros Family's eldest son during his arrest.
'Handle it yourself.'
She'd tried to arrest and execute us without a proper investigation. Time she learned the shoe could be on the other foot.
Here's hoping she's as capable as she thinks.
"......"
More than that, the piercing stares from these two girls watching me were getting unbearable.
Self-study or not, with no professor overseeing, the classroom was a noisy mess.
Tana and Eve looked like they had something to say but held back.
"Sigh, what's with the looks?"
I broke first, and they pounced in unison, like they'd been waiting.
"Is stalking your kink or something?"
"Do you like Rin?"
Different questions, same topic. I sighed and shook my head.
"Neither."
They looked ready for more explanation, so I hesitated, then spoke up.
"I just judged it necessary. That's why the Dean helped me too. Can't tell you more than that."
The Dean actually had no clue why, but dropping her name made them both furrow their brows in thought.
After that, a barrage of awkward questions, and my image dropped from trash to just "weird tastes."
'She knew Rin was surveilling her, huh.'
That explained the oddly revealing, flattering shots.
"......"
Thinking about it again gave me a headache.
I figured I needed to sort things out with her too, so I got moving.
Student chatter echoed through the empty halls.
Every classroom was in self-study, but the noise spilling out was business as usual.
I cracked open Class A's door and scanned around, but they were too busy chattering among themselves to notice me.
"What?"
Two who did spot me.
May and Rin.
May ambled over, candy stick in her mouth, hands in her pockets.
"Here to stalk again?"
"Go ask Tana and Eve. Already explained to them."
I waved her off lazily, and she scowled, feeling sidelined.
"That's how you talk to someone who fought all day for you?"
"......Fine. What do you want?"
She'd timed her moves perfectly this time, keeping me from getting nabbed, so I asked. But she didn't seem to have anything specific in mind.
"Uh, um. I'll think of something later."
"Time limit."
"Ugh, come on!"
I ignored her grumbling and walked past. Her posse glared daggers from behind, but whatever.
They just didn't know who the real power player was yet.
"Wanna talk for a sec?"
Rin, who'd been staring me down with puffed cheeks while I chatted with May, smiled brightly and nodded.
We headed to the school rooftop.
I'd suggested an empty classroom nearby, but she insisted on here.
A cool breeze blew through.
With all the incidents, things weren't fully resolved, but stability had finally returned— at least for now.
"You okay?"
I was asking her, but also myself. The pain in my chest had dulled to a sting.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Her best friend Hare was gone, which had to hurt, yet she wore a casual expression.
Sure, she had other friends, but scars lingered.
What to say?
As I fidgeted with my hands, she smiled faintly and prompted me.
"Didn't you call me out here for something?"
"Yeah."
I took a deep breath.
Somehow, this felt more nerve-wracking than fighting.
"I've got someone I like already."
"......What?"
Her face changed.
Her voice chilled, sending shivers down my spine.
The spark faded from her eyes, turning the chest sting into a sharp jab that crushed down on me.
'As I thought.'
I'd tested her by recalling how she'd acted when she snapped before. And there it was.
When her emotions flared, she gave off the same vibe as the Army of Death's master. Milder than before, but unmistakable.
'In that case.'
I'd have to kill her.
If her feelings could doom humanity, there was no choice.
"......"
But Rin took slow, deep breaths, closed her eyes briefly, clenched her fists tight, and looked at me.
"Just to confirm... it's not me, right?"
"......Yeah."
Her emotions churned again.
But she held back. She was clearly suppressing the dark aura, controlling herself.
Forcing her words out, she continued.
"Lately, I've been feeling off. When you're with someone else, I get this hate bubbling up. Bad mood, anger. Sometimes... dark thoughts."
"......"
"One night, those impulses took over, and I hurt you."
She remembered lunging at me when Hayun went to confess to Ares. Her trembling hands grabbed mine.
"I'm sorry. I said it then, but sorry again. I get it— you like someone else. You don't like me."
"......"
"But can I ask one thing?"
Back to her normal self, tears streamed down her face.
She pleaded with me.
"Do you hate me?"
Her lips parted slightly.
No need to agonize over the answer. It slipped out on its own.
"I've never hated you."
The girl who'd stabbed my heart and doomed humanity creeped me out, weighed on me, and yeah, I thought about killing her often. But hate? Never.
That was my honest truth.
Rin beamed through her tears.
"That's a relief."
There'd been so many misunderstandings.
I'd deliberately avoided her, cut ties one-sidedly.
And bit by bit, she'd broken down— yet held onto her sanity.
"When we were kids, I really did like you."
That was the most I could give.
She wiped her tears, smile unwavering.
"I've liked you since we were kids, right up to now."
"......"
"And from here on out too."
The girl smiled as she slowly pulled me into a hug, and I let myself melt into her arms.
To her, this was a confession of long-held unrequited love.
To me, it was potential.
If she could control whatever unknown force lurked inside her, like she just had...
With that in mind, I hugged her back, gently.
'It's still too early to give up on you.'