Chapter 125

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Translator: Ebonarch

Chapter: 125

Chapter Title: Pink & Pink (1)

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Inside the carriage heading toward Carnea Academy, I checked the status window.

'...This is weird.'

Vivian's taming degree was rising on its own.

It had clearly been stuck at 95%, but it broke through to 96% and somehow climbed all the way to 99% before I knew it.

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'..Why the hell is it going up? Neglect play?'

There was nothing bad about the taming degree increasing, but I thought conquering Bianca was an essential condition for pushing Vivian's past 95%...

'Was there another method I didn't know about?'

To begin with, 'Academy Tamer' was a game full of variables, so it wouldn't be all that strange if there was a攻略 method I was unaware of.

This was the first time I'd seen the taming degree rise in real time like this.

Until now, I'd only checked the status window after finishing taming sessions.

'Oh.'

I let out a gasp of admiration upon checking Vivian's stats.

As expected, Vivian overwhelmingly dominated in magical talent.

'Looks like I should put in a request to get Vivian into Class 1 now.'

It had been a bit ambiguous before, but now there wouldn't be any issues placing her in Class 1.

As I tried to close the status window with a satisfied expression, something odd caught my eye.

-Tamed Heroines-

"....?"

Vivian made sense, but why had Bianca been tamed all by herself?

"Is something wrong?"

I shook my head at Lucia's question.

"No, just bored."

"Hee hee. Master. Then say ahh~."

I chewed on the fruit Lucia fed me while checking Bianca's status window.

Bianca's stats were a bit lacking to be considered top-tier at Carnea Academy.

However, her true power emerged when activating her unique ability.

Unique Ability: [Body Enhancement (Rank A)]

A whopping Rank A unique ability.

Considering my telekinesis had only recently reached C-rank, an A-rank unique ability was nothing short of overwhelming.

If asked why Bianca, with such a unique ability, hadn't claimed the top spot in her second-year class...

It was because body enhancement abilities grew easily but were simplistic, with clear limitations.

'...But I'm different.'

As someone who could wield multiple spells and unique abilities simultaneously through Tamer, there was no downside to having an ability that boosted my stats.

Bzzz—

'Holy shit...'

I tested Body Enhancement just to check its power, and every stat except magic power and luck shot up by a full 8 points.

'Too bad it doesn't boost physical durability...'

Still, this was more than enough as a trump card.

"We're arriving at Carnea soon."

I released Body Enhancement, and Marjan's voice rang out. The carriage came to a stop shortly after.

"Hoo..."

As expected, with a few days' grace period before classes started, not a soul was in sight at the entrance.

"Please go on ahead. I'll park the carriage and follow."

I double-checked at Marjan's words.

"...Can't escorts enter together?"

While attendants could, escorts capable of wielding force had strictly limited access to Carnea Academy.

"Ah, sorry, Eugene. I forgot to mention—I'm enrolling at Carnea Academy this year too."

"....?"

I widened my eyes in surprise, and Lucia added an explanation.

"Master, Marjan's enrolling as the Saintess's surveillance officer."

"Ah..."

I generally preferred not to interfere with the main story, but there were two exceptions.

The first went without saying: Her Highness the Princess. The other was the Saintess.

The reason being...

"The Saintess is a bit... pure, you know? I figured we needed at least some safety measures..."

Lucia was beating around the bush, but plainly put, she was an airhead.

A serious one, at that...

...But that wasn't why I was surprised.

"...Marjan's younger than me?"

"Oh my."

Lucia covered her mouth and widened her eyes at my words, while Marjan's face trembled as if in immense shock.

"...S-Sorry... Eugene... I-I'm... presbyopic."

"No.... That's not what I meant..."

Seeing Marjan's expression made me feel terribly guilty.

'Now that I think about it...'

Taking a closer look at Marjan's face, her confident demeanor and aura had kept me from noticing, but there were definitely youthful traces left.

"...Sorry."

"No need... Eugene. You don't have to apologize... This is all my fault for failing to escape the ravages of time... Haha..."

...It was exactly that speech and attitude that was the problem.

Marjan shook her head vigorously after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a moment of gloom, returning to her usual refreshing self.

"Anyway! Eugene, Lady Lucia. This Marjan shall heed your commands and monitor the Saintess to the best of my ability."

I nodded.

"Got it. And once inside Carnea, you're not an escort anymore, so no need for that."

"What should I call you, then?"

After pondering Marjan's question, I replied.

"Sunbae. Call me sunbae."

It was the only fitting title for a junior at the academy.

"H-How could I possibly call Lucia's future husband..."

"...Marjan?"

As Marjan tried to refuse with some excuse, Lucia stepped forward and cut her off.

"Master told you to, didn't he?"

"...Ugh... Yes, Lady Lucia."

Buckling under Lucia's pressure, Marjan spoke meekly.

"...P-Please take care of me, Eugene sunbae."

Albus Singledoors.

He looked like your average middle-aged guy passed out drunk at some local pub, but in summary, he was the man right below the pinnacle of Carnea Academy's hierarchy...

In other words, Carnea's vice principal.

"Are you... sure about this?"

Even Singledoors couldn't speak casually to the girl before him.

"Of course."

The brown-haired girl beamed as she answered.

"...To reiterate, living while hiding your identity won't be easy."

"Hee hee. I'm grateful for your concern. But who do you think I am?"

"...Well, obviously the Saintess..."

Bam—!

At that moment, the Saintess, Lilith, slammed the desk and shot to her feet.

"That's right! I, Saintess Lilith! Top of all Parthenon! Servant who attends the Goddess up close! There's no way someone like me gets found out!"

At the same time, her unique ability activated, and a refreshing breeze brushed Singledoors's nose.

'Haa...'

...The problem was that her hair, dyed brown due to her unique ability, had reverted to its original vivid pink.

With slip-ups like this from now on, could she really keep her identity hidden until the purification was complete?

Singledoors rubbed his throbbing forehead.

"...I know of Your Holiness's greatness, but... Parthenon and Carnea have completely different atmospheres. Just in case living here proves inconvenient..."

"Hee hee! I've anticipated that much! So Vice Principal, no worries—just stamp the enrollment papers!"

Lilith leaned in with sparkling eyes.

Those eyes told him further persuasion was pointless.

Singledoors let out a deep sigh as he stamped the papers on the desk.

"...Here you go. Submit this to admissions."

"Hee hee! Thank you!"

Lilith clutched the papers to her chest with a grin and dashed out.

"...!"

Singledoors shouted after her.

"...Saintess!"

"W-What's wrong...?"

Mistaking it for an attempt to snatch the papers, Lilith hid them behind her back as she replied.

Swallowing a sigh, Singledoors pointed to his own half-bald head.

"...Your hair is pink."

"Hee hee. No way. I confirmed the dye myse—Eek! Wh-When did it wear off..."

Shh—

Lilith poured mana into the magic tool again, turning her hair brown.

"Ahem... Looks like there was a glitch with the magic tool. Anyway, thanks for your concern! I'll be off now!... Huh? The door's locked..."

"...It's a pull door, not push."

"Eek...! I-I knew that! Bye for real!"

As Lilith fled to hide her flushed face, Singledoors let out yet another sigh—who knew what number it was.

"...What a worry... really..."