Chapter 23

༺ The First Letter (23) ༻

Celine returned at night.

After sleeping in the dormitory all day, she seemed to have immediately rushed to me when she heard the news that I had regained consciousness. Her attire was a mess.

Naturally, her white nape caught my eyes, but I coughed in vain and turned my gaze away.

She was like a friend to me. I mustn’t have any bad intentions, otherwise Leto and Celine would be disappointed with me.

However, whether or not she knew my feelings, Celine started crying when she saw me awake. Tears were flowing down her cheeks.

She immediately ran and hugged me as if she was throwing herself in my arms. I accidentally hugged Celine’s slender body.

I was about to scream, but I managed to hold it in.

Celine’s physical abilities were beyond me. It was natural since she had more mana. As she ran with all her might and hugged me, it felt like my body, which had been in constant pain, was creaking even more.

But when I saw Celine sobbing and burying her face in my chest, I didn’t feel like blaming her.

I just stroked the back of her head and comforted her until she stopped crying.

“Sob, Sob, Ian oppa. Sob... ... .”

“Yes, yes. You must have been shocked... I’m fine.”

Celine was also overreacting. In the academy, I didn’t have to worry about most injuries. A high-ranking priest dispatched from the Holy Kingdom was always on standby in the temple, and the Saintess was attending the academy as a third-year student.

Any serious injury would not even leave any sequelae as long as it was treated in a timely manner. Even for me, who was admitted with all sorts of injuries, in the end, didn’t I regain consciousness without any after-effects?

But it wasn’t that I didn’t understand Celine’s feelings.

If my last memory is correct, she was the first to find me.

If she had followed my trail in the first place, she must have passed through the glade lined with wolf corpses. In fact, from the bloody spectacle, it was obvious that there must have been a fierce battle there.

And, at the end of all of that, what she witnessed was my completely battered body.

The duel with Seria didn’t even come close to this. The last fight I had was a bloody battle where I put my life on the line. There were no concessions, no rules.

Blood splattered and bones shattered. It was a battle that could not be stopped, even if my muscles were torn. Not to mention, my breathing was so rough that it seemed like I would collapse at any moment.

It was obvious what my face would have been like after going through such a battle.

Celine had witnessed such a grim view. Considering how long my relationship with her lasted, it would have been strange if Celine wasn’t shocked.

However, compared to Leto, I thought her reaction was a bit over the top, but I decided not to think too much about it.

As much as she seemed lively, she also had a mild personality. The shock might have been too great.

It took quite a while for her sobbing to subside. She lifted her head slowly only after my chest was drenched with her tears.

Teary brown eyes, and skin so pale and soft that it is hard to believe that she was someone who has walked the path of a swordsman her entire life. As those charming lips glistened, a scent I had never noticed before tickled the tip of my nose.

I remembered it was the scent that I had praised before. Even though she came here so fast, the scent was still there.

Strangely, my heart started pounding. After all, Celine is a pretty woman. So I obviously found her attractive, still, I tried to shake off the feelings of lust that aroused in my heart.

Celine muttered seethingly.

“Ian Oppa... You made me worry a lot.”

Her voice contained a tinge of resentment. It wasn’t too bad to have a pretty childhood friend worry about me.

I wiped the tears from her eyes without saying a word. And smugly, I laughed.

“What would you have done if I were to die?”

“I would have died as well.”

At that, not having anything to say right away, I shut my mouth. Celine’s eyes narrowed.

“Why would you ever choose to do such a dangerous thing? Whether that bitch dies or not, as long as Oppa survives, it’s fine!”

“Why? Because we are all faithful subjects of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Don’t bullshit me with that speech!”

I didn’t know how to reply to her, so I just mumbled something, but that seemed to have irked her even more.

Her eyes narrowed, and she glared at me. She pouted.

Even though traces of tears were still visible, she looked cute. I could feel how much Celine cherished me.

“...... To me, Ian Oppa is the most important.”

Celine grumbled and confessed that. Her cheeks reddened slightly, as if she was barely holding on to her embarrassment.Fịndd new updates on n(o)v/e/lbin(.)com

70 gold, an amount that a family of four commoners could live off for more than five years. It was clear that it was an enormous sum. That must have meant that the demonic beast I defeated had a high value.

But before I could burst into amazement, someone slipped between Leto and me. Needless to say, it was Celine.

“Se-Seventy gold coins?!”

Her eyes twinkled. Although she was also a noble, like all rural nobles, she did not lead a rich life. After paying the expensive academy tuition, the only thing she could afford to pay was the cost to maintain her ‘beauty.’

Even though our average standard of living was higher than those of ordinary people. But for me, Leto, and Celine, it was clear that 70 gold was an unusually large amount of money.

As if she had already forgotten the accident that happened just before, Celine was already getting excited and started making plans with her index finger up.

“Let’s go to the demonic beast diner in the downtown restaurant district! I heard that the Drake meat there is so delicious.......”

“Hey, why would you choose a place that tastes so bad... No, we are going to the bar. There is a new place that Mr. Van has opened, and it’s said that the taste of the wine is worth dying for.”

“No, why! The beast meat is more delicious!”

I didn’t really think much of it, but Leto and Celine were already debating where to go with my 70 golden coins. It was a really refreshing sight.

I said with a smile.

“It’s money I earned by risking my life. What are you two doing?”

“You have to be precise. Money earned by mindlessly trying to ‘throw’ your life away.”

When Leto clicked his tongue, I burst into tears inwardly.

Throwing my life away? Is it okay to denigrate that unforgettable battle of that day like that?

I cursed, as always, when the three of us got together.

“Hey, it’s because you didn’t know the situation back then... all right? Are you telling me I should have just let it slide? That bastard was holding a ripped piece of cloth in his mouth and then spat it out. That piece was a part of Emma’s clothes. How could I stay patient in that kind of situation?”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yes, you should have endured it~”

However, the response I got back to my ardent speech was blunt.

These ungrateful bastards, even though I was thinking so, a smile appeared on my lips before I knew it.

It was our daily routine. Until Leto’s words continued.

“Still, the biggest beast, it can be said that you were lucky that he didn’t grow up more. If he had a little more time, he would have become a named class, huh....You should have killed it at the Hunting Festival! If that happened, then you would have gotten the winning prize.”

“No, after all, now there should be no other beasts of that size in the forest anymore... I prefer Ian Oppa to be safer.”

With a bitter smile, the gears in my head which were spinning after having listened to those words, stopped for a moment.

Yes, there shouldn’t be any more demonic beasts of that level in the forest.

The gap between each Hunting Festival was only a year or so. In the meantime, there was no way that a demonic beast stronger than that would appear. If it did, many students would be killed or injured during this year’s hunting festival.

If it was a beast stronger than that, it ought to be said that it deserved to classify as a named class.

The demonic beasts that were called the ‘named’, couldn’t even be compared with other beasts in the realm of their strength or intelligence. These demonice beasts truly were the ‘Enemy of mankind’.

Naturally, the number of such beasts was small. Since they rarely appear, the assumption that one was born in the forest within one year at most was ridiculous.

But what went through my head right now was one of the sentences of the letter.

‘Even now, I still have doubts. How did you know that the demonic beast’s weakness was its horns?’

The smile on my lips slowly faded.

“...... Horns.”

As I muttered blankly, Leto and Celine’s curious gaze turned to me.

“Horns? Did any horn fragments come out of that wolf’s carcass?”

“What kind of bullshit are you saying? You don’t even remember the demonic beast you fought? He didn’t even have horns in the first place, let alone horn fragments... Hey, are you all right? Your complexion seems pale.”

Leto and Celine said so with concern. But at this moment, I felt alienated, as if I was floating alone in space.

It was only through luck I was able to injure him. I replayed that grueling battle in my mind. He was such a strong opponent. A demonic beast stronger than that is lurking in the forest?

My eyes looked beyond the temple wall. To the south of the academy, towards the quiet forest.

There, that beast was lurking.

At the annual festival, where the most beautiful crimson flowers bloom.

There was still work left for me to do.

****

And the next day, Seria visited me.