CH 4

“Oh, I see. But is your hand okay?”

More importantly, didn’t it hurt at all when his finger was cut off? Staring at the calm Leto, I asked worriedly. Then Leto said ah, glancing at his broken finger. It seems that he didn’t care at all. He smiled bitterly as he stared at his finger, which had yet to take its form.

“This happens pretty often ….”

I almost choked from his faint murmurs. If you said that it has often happened, then you were probably talking about the abuse during your childhood. I couldn’t imagine how badly the abuse he experienced was. I felt bad for Leto, who smiled and spoke casually, even though it must have been a painful memory. Leto glanced at me as if he had felt my gaze.

“You are weird, too.”

Suddenly?

“I can’t believe you lost your fingers.”

I thought he wasn’t listening to me, but in fact, he heard everything. 

“I was bad at magic when I was young, so I only studied it. Because I was the only hope in my family.”

I was happy to answer Leto’s question, so I spoke casually without realising.

“My grandfather left behind a huge debt and my parents couldn’t afford it. But they always tried not to pass the debt onto me.”

“……”

“The Lexley Academy had always been my goal because I grew up hearing of it every day. As long as I enter and graduate from this school, I’ll be able to pay off all the debts.”

Leto silently listened to my words. Perhaps it was because of his consideration, I brought up my family history without realising, but I felt relieved.

＊  ＊  ＊

“How the hell did this happened?”

“Ah, it was eaten by the Polmion……”

The nurse stared at Leto’s hand in astonishment. 

“I can’t believe it was eaten by a Polmion. Luckily it was a baby Polmion. Had it been a full grown one, you would’ve lost your entire hand.”

The nurse let out a terrifying remark.

“But it’s strange. Polmions have a timid personality by nature. It wouldn’t harm you unless they thought you were an enemy. Did you bother the Polmion by any chance?” 

“No.”

The nurse tilted her head at Leto’s answer. She drew a magic circle and recalled the spell to extract the poison from Leto’s finger. I could see the magic circle wrapped around Leto’s hand sucking the liquid inside. 

【Ewani!】

The poison vanished as the nurse casted the last spell.

“All good now.”

“Thank you.”

I replied, instead of Leto.

“I’ve removed all the poison, but if you ever feel sick again, come see me as soon as possible.”

“Yes. I’ll be right by her side.”

“You’re a reliable friend.”

Leto remained silent. A simple nod would have been enough. Anyway, it was fortunate that the poison was removed quickly. When we returned back to the greenhouse, it was full of ownerless Polmions and no students in sight.

“Oh, how is your hand?”

As soon as the <About Green Magic and Nature> professor noticed Leto, she approached him and asked if he was okay. Leto nodded his head silently and the professor exhaled a breath after confirming he was alright.

“Professor, what about the other students?”

The professor flinched at my question.

“Well, everyone is refusing to take this class. They don’t mind getting a failing point since they didn’t want to do this assignment…..”

As Lexely Academy students, they were all raised comfortably. In fact, after witnessing someone’s finger being eaten by a Polmion, continuing this class was not worth it, even if you received a failing score. There must also be some students who contacted their parents to immediately get rid of the Polmions in their house. I nodded inwardly, a hundred percent understanding it.

do not repost our translations. read only at droppedinks.wordpress.com

“But what should I do? Raising a Polmion is an essential task in this subject. It’s a task filled with history and tradition……”

What was unbelievable was the professor still trying to carry on this dangerous assignment, mentioning it was tradition. 

Wait, professor. Didn’t the kid next to me got his finger eaten?

“I’ll do it.”

See, I told you he wouldn’t…….

“What?”

I screamed in disbelief.

“Can I bring it to the dormitory?”

“Oh, is your finger alright?”

“Yes.”

“Then bring it back to the dorm. Oh, what about you, student? Would you like to fail? Or would you raise it?”

That sounded like a threat to me…….and a terrifying one.

I glanced at my Polmion. The Polmion, which was standing still like a plant without baring out its teeth, was meek. 

‘…….Should I raise it or not?’

I was quite troubled.

“You said you had to graduate.”

Leto came up to me and whispered softly. No, why did you mentioned that right now?

“…….”

“Isn’t failing bad?”

“…….”

“Your family, you said you’d save them, didn’t you?”

Evil!

“I’ll raise it.”

Sure, I’ve lost my fingers so what if I lost them again? It would be a good experience. Kind of……Well, other than it being very painful.

Most of all, it was a good opportunity to get close to Leto since I would raise it with him. The professor, whose face immediately shined at my words, used magic to grab a paper and pencils in front of us.

“Great, write your name and class.”

After writing our names and classes, the professor finally taught Leto and I how to raise a Polmion. After a long lecture, we were only able to return to the dormitory after lunch time.

“Look at that. Her finger is gone.”

“Just now?”

As we walked down the hallway with our Polmions, the students who had already heard of the rumour avoided us. 

Oh, if there were kids who bullied me in the future, should I threaten them with this Polmion? The Polmion, who attacked Leto earlier, was quiet. Looking at it like this, it just seemed like an ordinary plant. In the end, I thought it was not bad since it matched well with my study desk.

“Oh? Isn’t that Leah?”

I heard someone’s voice behind me. Leto and I turned our heads back and saw a violet-haired man. The man with violet hair and grey eyes had a handsome face and a tall height like an idol star.

He was so tall that I had to raise my head up. He smiled as he looked at me and Leah. Who was this? I was wondering who he was but quickly realised that he was Kazel Adelis, a character in <How to Recognise a Murderer>.

Kazen Adelis. He was the only person who knew Leto was a man and was practically his childhood friend. Thanks to their close family relationship, he has known Leto since childhood. He was also a person who assisted Leto.

do not repost our translations. read only at droppedinks.wordpress.com

I observed Kazen closely. Surprisingly he, who came from a family of scholars, entered the Lexley Academy with a violin. Certainly, there was a black violin case behind his back.

“But who’s this pretty friend?”

Leto frowned before opening his mouth.

“Don’t mind it.”

“What’s your name?”

Kazen ignored Leto’s reaction and asked me.

“Oh, my name is Brisse Pierre. Feel free to call me Bree.”

“Hi, Bree. I’m Kazen Adelis. As you can see, I’m from the Art’s Department.

As Kazen and I were greeting each other warmly, Leto turned around. He went to the cafeteria without waiting for us to greet each other properly.

“Huh? Kazen, see you later!”

It was a shame I couldn’t chat with Kazen any longer, but for me, Leto came first. I quickly walked over to Leto’s side and he glanced at me.

“You seem very happy.”

“Huh?”

“…….”

Oh, were you jealous?

“You’re the only one for me, Leah. I like you the most.”

Leto had an interesting reaction when I whispered in his ear. His face immediately turned red and he hurriedly moved away from me.

‘No, how could a child like this commit murder?’

I tilted my head, not understanding why. That didn’t mean I would let my guard down. Never. 

＊  ＊  ＊

After we left the Polmion in the dormitory, we settled down at the cafeteria. I was hoping for a nice meal with Leto, but suddenly the atmosphere at our table turned cold. 

“Can I sit here?”

Kazen came over. In an attempt to relieve the awkward atmosphere, I placed a sausage on Leto’s and Kazen’s plates. 

“It’s my favourite, so have one.”

“Thank you.”

Kazen smiled brightly and said thank you. Wow, why is your face glowing? Besides being handsome, are you also an angel?

“…….Hey.”

“Huh?”

When Leto spoke to me, I turned my head. What’s wrong?

“Give me some.”

“What?”

“What else. The sausage.”

……What, he was suddenly being scary.

You didn’t really like sausages, Leto.