Chapter 22
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Lucia is Smiling (5)
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The 'serpent' flicked its tongue.
It was hungry.
The problem was that it had let the 'wolf' escape.
It had wounded it and waited for its strength to fade...
Who would have thought it had dug an escape tunnel.
It had tracked the scent of the wolf's blood all the way to this forest, but having just awakened from hibernation and with the hunt failed, it had little strength left.
It needed food.
Normally, it wouldn't even glance at such low-grade prey, but right now it had to shove something into its stomach immediately.
"..."
The tip of its flicking tongue caught the scent of prey.
─Sss...
The serpent slithered across the ground, following the scent of its prey.
The place it arrived at, chasing the scent, held a human female with golden fur.
"Hmm hum♬"
The female was grooming her fur without a hint of caution.
...She looked like something it could swallow in one bite right then and there.
But the serpent held back.
It didn't know if serpents could smile, but if it could, it would have worn that expression now.
Up close, the scent made it clear.
No matter how hungry it was, this wasn't prey it could hunt lightly.
This was the pinnacle of prey, something you might encounter once in a lifetime.
...It would surely be a delicacy unlike anything it had tasted before.
The serpent smacked its lips in anticipation.
It absolutely couldn't let her escape like the wolf.
So it would swallow her in one go and savor her slowly inside its mouth.
Thud, crunch, drip—
Muscles tensed in excitement at the thought of the feast, its vertically slit pupils dilating wide.
The serpent coiled its body, pulling its muscles to the limit.
And...
It unleashed in a single instant, lunging stealthily and swiftly.
Shhhk—!
The moment the serpent gaped its jaws to swallow the prey's head.
"Really..."
The prey opened its eyes.
".....!"
The serpent recoiled in shock.
This was something that absolutely should not have happened.
It had mistaken predator for prey.
Her camouflage was that perfect.
"...I finally got my hair braided nicely, and it felt so good."
Seeing the 'thing' whose disguise had peeled away, every cell in its body screamed a warning.
──Run.
It was a predator on a level incomparably higher than itself.
Its reaction was swift.
This quick judgment was precisely why a lowly magical beast like this serpent had grown to advanced levels.
The serpent snapped its jaws shut and turned to flee.
...Or tried to.
「"Shatter—and crumble"」
⟨ Mirror Shatter ⟩
The princess pointed her index finger, and cracks like a shattering mirror spread from the serpent's tail, racing across its entire body in an instant.
Craaaack—!
And the serpent crumbled to dust and vanished.
...As if nothing had ever been there to begin with.
"Ah, seriously! Now I have to rebraid my hair."
The princess, having dispatched the serpent in a flash, puffed her cheeks and grumbled.
"Why do annoying things always happen together!"
As the princess turned her head, there sat a student, collapsed and clutching his mouth to stifle any sound.
"Hello."
"...P-Princess... Your Highness..."
It was Brayden, a first-year Class 1 student at Carnea Academy.
One of the few commoners in Class 1, Brayden truly admired the princess.
Even as other nobles looked down on him for being a commoner, she alone treated him without prejudice.
...Yet he couldn't understand why the princess he admired so much now filled him with shuddering fear.
Her Highness had merely slain a single magical beast.
The magic she used was unusual, but it was royal bloodline magic.
Nothing secret about it—anyone with interest in magic knew of it.
Of course, its power was incomparable to the known records.
But in the end, Her Highness had protected the students from the beast.
Not a fault in sight; she deserved praise.
...And yet, she terrified him beyond endurance.
As if gazing upon something endlessly human-like, yet unmistakably not human...
"Hmm... so... what was your name again?"
"P-Please spare me, Your Highness... P-Please. I won't tell anyone."
Brayden begged.
He couldn't comprehend it, but he begged all the same.
It was the only thing he could do.
"What exactly won't you tell?"
"Th-That’s..."
There was no way he could answer.
He didn't even know why he feared the princess.
Just an instinct that he had seen what he shouldn't have.
"Hmm... Guess you don't know."
"P-Please... Your Highness..."
As she approached the pleading Brayden, the princess whispered softly.
"You're no fun."
"...I'm alive?"
I opened my eyes with a somewhat bewildered feeling.
I knew how I'd survived—by obtaining the 'World Tree's Blessing'.
The glowing seed was gone, and there was no other way.
But after such serious injuries, not a single ache or pain anywhere was miraculous.
No, beyond that.
My body felt fresher than it ever had.
I could probably handle Professor Loreos's special training without collapsing now.
'...Nah, maybe not that much.'
In any case, having gained a new trait, I checked my status window for the first time in ages.
📛 Name:Eugene Calliope
💼 Job:Unique Ability User
🏆 Title:None
📊 Stats
🧬 Skills
• Telekinesis (Rank E)
• Wind─Blade (Low-level Wind Element Magic) - [Generated as Tamer from 'Lucia', Power 60%]
⭐ Traits
• World Tree's Blessing (Rank C)◀ New!
• Prince on the Bed (Rank B)
• Tamer (Rank EX)
I was shocked looking at the stats.
In a good way.
I'd expected some rise from acquiring the World Tree's Blessing, but the gains far exceeded my predictions.
"...Jackpot."
Was this the super regeneration from comics? The kind where you come back stronger from death.
Even so, I never wanted to brush death that closely again.
Truth be told, overall, I'd just climbed from the academy's absolute bottom to lower mid-tier.
But after weeks of special training barely netting +1 each, this surge was an enormous win.
'Traits...'
Next, I checked the World Tree's Blessing.
World Tree's Blessing (Rank C)
-A seed made from the World Tree's Blessing. Raise it well, and something good might happen?
-All stats slightly increase.
-Recovery ability moderately increases.
-Receive the World Tree's Blessing.
This matched the game pretty closely.
The description was about the same there too.
'Not bad.'
It had rewarded my efforts.
I'd checked everything worth checking.
I didn't know how long I'd been out, but I had to hurry before nightfall.
"Let's get out first."
The boosted stats made a real difference.
Getting out took less than half the time it took to come in.
Stepping outside, I stretched and checked my condition, letting out a chuckle.
"What a mess..."
My body was caked in a mix of my blood and goblin gore, and my uniform was shredded from using it as bandages.
But no time for grooming.
In 'Academy Tamer', the wolf starts seriously hunting after full sunset.
I'd told Lucia to fetch professors by dusk.
And dusk was falling now.
The wolf would move within hours.
Let me be clear: I had no intention of facing the wolf myself.
No trait or item for killing it, and I'd got what I needed.
World Tree's Blessing for me, professors handle the hunt—perfect plan.
I brushed off the dirt roughly and headed out of the forest.
How long had I walked?
In the distance, I spotted familiar silver hair.
Lucia.
She seemed to be heading to call the professors as ordered.
I scanned around quickly and softly called her name.
"...Lucia."
I'd called quietly, but she heard and turned.
"...Eug... Master!"
Her feigned cold expression for show shattered instantly.
...Good thing no one was around, or getting caught calling me 'Master' would've been disastrous.
"A-ah... M-Master... Are you okay? Wh-what do we do... Did you already fight the wolf?!"
"No. Don't worry about it."
"Then... what did you fight... Why... alone again..."
Lucia, in full panic, groped my body frantically searching for wounds.
"..."
She seemed convinced I'd battled something epic.
...Couldn't exactly say I nearly died to goblins in this mess.
"...Master... You're hurt like this... Why... again... kill..."
Lucia's eyes lost focus as she muttered, and it was a bit creepy.
I tried shrugging her off her shoulders, but she wouldn't budge.
"Lucia."
"...Must... kill..."
"Lucia!"
"...Yes... Master."
Only after I called sharply did she snap to, looking at my face.
Her blue eyes welled up again.
"Master... blood on your face too..."
"I said I'm fine. More importantly, you handled what I asked properly, right?"
"Sniff... Yes... I burned every crow nest I saw, sob... And handed out the beads to other students as I found them, sent them back."
"...Good, well done."
Everything per plan.
Now just exit the forest and call professors.
Then it was perfect.
...As long as nothing else happened.
Chirp chirp chirp chirp!
Suddenly, birds burst into the sky en masse, sounding the alarm.
The signal for the wolf's full hunt.
'...Why?'
I looked skyward, but the sun hadn't fully set.
Time left.
──KyaAAAAAAAH!
A woman's scream echoed.
...Damn it all.
Damn it all, such a familiar voice.
'...Vivian!'
Vivian had to survive no matter what.
I'd chosen Unique Ability User assuming her route.
Without her, all my plans crumbled.
I bolted toward the scream, ordering Lucia.
"Lucia! Evacuate students out of the forest NOW and get the professors! Emergency!"
"M-Master! Let me go with you..."
"Just follow orders, you idiot! Or do you want me dead?!"
Harsh words, but no choice.
No time for debate or persuasion.
"...Yes... Master... Please stay safe."
The moment I saw Lucia, biting her lip till it bled, leave, I sprinted again.
'Please...! Not too late!'
──I must.
I must save Vivian.