Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Past
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“When I was little, that man who saved me from the kidnappers—I’m definitely going to find him and take him as my mate. He’s the only human worthy of being my partner.”
Dreania already had someone she liked.
And it wasn’t the protagonist.
“I still can’t forget those wild blue eyes of his.”
Wild blue eyes.
At first, I wondered if Ruin had some connection to Dreania from childhood, but the mention of ‘blue eyes’ shattered that possibility instantly.
Ruin’s eyes were wild, sure, but they were blood-red—not blue, the complete opposite.
No chance it was Ruin at all.
But if you asked whether she could be replaced like Prelia or Ariana in the protagonist’s party, even without being there? The answer’s no.
Those two overlapped in the ‘support’ role, so one could cover for the other, but Dreania was pure offense—massive AoE burst damage.
No way a knight like Adel or a mage like Prelia could fill that gap.
That’s why conquering her wasn’t all that hard.
But Dreania liking someone else? A guy with blue eyes, no less?
This was another world, so blue-eyed people were a dime a dozen everywhere.
Wild blue eyes? I’d seen at least three just in my own class, and that was the academy—who knows about outside?
Hell, my eyes were originally blue too; I’d just disguised them as yellow for now.
This is bad.
No matter how close I got her to Ruin and bridged that gap, Conquering her was impossible if she already had her heart set on someone.
Once someone’s in the picture, no amount of affinity would get her into the party.
I need to find a way. Some method.
A way for Ruin to take that blue-eyed guy’s place in Dreania’s heart.
Ah, got it.
I found the solution right away.
She’d said those blue eyes belonged to the guy who saved her as a kid. And she was determined to track him down.
“So, finding him means you haven’t seen him since then?”
“Exactly. I have no idea where he went...”
Which meant she didn’t even know where he was now—no way to find him.
This was the key.
“What was he like, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Like a beast of a man. I met him in the slums, and as an orphan, he looked every bit the wild animal.”
Slum orphan!
A slum orphan? Good luck tracking one down.
I’d been one myself, and in this world, nobody gave a damn if a slum kid vanished.
Blind was an exception—a saintly outlier who actively sought out orphans—but the average person here didn’t spare them a glance.
The church folk were the only ones who took them in, somewhat.
Following the Goddess’s will, they never ignored those begging for help right in front of them.
Stella Nun only took me in because I showed up on her doorstep.
Without her, I’d either be dead or the King of Thieves by now.
And that meant...
The guy Dreania fell for could be dead or a thief king. Or, by some miracle like mine, scooped up by the church—or if he had magic talent, by a mage.
Four possibilities total.
Which one was she betting on?
“A slum orphan—”
“If you’re worried about me, don’t be. A man like that would’ve survived and become someone great by now.”
“...You trust him that much?”
“Of course. He received the favor of Dreania, the great dragon. No need to worry. Someday, I’ll meet him and hold the most splendid, grand wedding.”
“I... see.”
This was serious.
I thought I could just make her let go, but her faith in him was unshakable—no cracks I could pry open.
That level of trust was on par with what Ariana had for me.
What if I told her he was probably dead?
...No, that’d be cruel.
Sure, I needed her to move on, but dropping that bomb could sever ties with her entirely.
You had to ease someone out of an obsession like that.
Still, I’ve got time.
Ruin wasn’t even at the academy yet—plenty of buildup there.
As long as she let go before the finale and fell for him, we’d be golden.
Yeah, still some leeway.
Unless that blue-eyed guy popped up in front of her out of nowhere—which wasn’t happening—getting her to move on would let Ruin swoop in easy once he started training.
After prying a bit more about her crush and her wedding plans over lunch, we finished eating and headed back to the classroom.
-Scraaaape.
Dreania opened the back door.
The moment she did, frantic footsteps echoed from inside—like someone bolting away.
I glanced at the front door and saw a bunch of students rushing out in a panic.
“Haa... They’re at it again.”
Dreania sighed like this was a regular thing.
I already knew, but played dumb and asked her anyway.
“What’s going on?”
“Those idiots are dragging ‘that kid’ off again. Probably to beat her senseless.”
“What?”
“Don’t even think about stepping in. That kid’s a witch.”
“A witch?”
“Yeah, a witch. There’s no rule saying she can’t attend the academy, but the shameless pest snuck into our stepfather’s school and causes nothing but trouble.”
Dreania scowled in disgust.
“Still, I don’t think she deserves a beating like that... Guess there aren’t many with a generous heart like mine. Every time I catch them, they just drag her out of sight. I told them not to bully her in front of me, so now they do this.”
“...If it bothers you, why not stop them?”
“You think someone of my stature hasn’t tried? She refused. Said bad luck spreads if you get close to a witch.”
“Ah...”
In the game, too, the witch always pushed away anyone who tried to help her.
Bad luck rubs off on those who get close.
That’s why her ending was...
So yeah, the witch was at the absolute bottom of the academy’s social ladder.
Later, when ‘that guy’ showed up, she ended up as monster bait.
That’s why I’d save her too—while sorting out Dreania.
Witch = enemy of Holy Knights? Half right, half wrong.
Our Goddess’s faith judged solely by good and evil, regardless of race.
Bad witches got purged; good ones got redeemed.
And this academy’s witch? Pure-hearted enough to rival Ariana.
No reason not to save her.
Plus, there was even a hidden item route in the game to rescue her—staying on the main path.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“To help the witch.”
“Haa... Didn’t I just say that witch—”
“In our Holy Kingdom, we don’t ignore those in peril.”
“...So they refuse the help.”
“In our Holy Kingdom, we don’t ignore those in peril.”
“...Are you even listening?”
“I am. And that’s my answer.”
I turned and stared in the direction the students had fled.
Dreania sighed behind me in exasperation.
“Bad luck spreads, right? If misfortune’s coming, let it come.”
I strode forward, step by resolute step.
Bad luck keeping me from helping? That didn’t fly with me.
“My life was nothing but misfortune. But in the end, a huge stroke of luck came along that overshadowed it all.”
I woke up transmigrated as a slum orphan.
Being a slum orphan meant doing anything to survive.
I ate moldy bread off the ground.
Fought tooth and nail against thieves trying to steal my stuff.
Stood up to kids bigger than me without flinching.
Hid from slave traders scouting rejects.
Kept the other orphans in line so they wouldn’t look down on me.
And all the while, stayed vigilant against sneak attacks—never let my guard down, not even for a second.
In that hell of endless misfortune, the luck that found me was...
“Stella Nun took me in, so now I’ll go take in the witch.”
Stella Nun.
Even after she saved me, the Monster Wave nearly wiped everything out again.
My body torn to shreds by goblins, trembling at the thought of those behind me suffering worse—I had to endure somehow.
In that misfortune, what gave me strength was the Goddess herself.
“The Goddess gave me power, so I’ll be the witch’s power.”
Grateful to survive, I honed that power—then came the Saintess, Ariana.
She was the Goddess’s reward for my efforts.
Better keep that last bit to myself.
I couldn’t mention Ariana, so I swallowed those words and bolted ahead.
“...Where have I seen him before?”
I didn’t catch whatever Dreania muttered.