Chapter 134

Chapter 134

When I awoke from my trance, it was about two hours after the duel in Dalian.

{TN: Training center iirc}

Thanks to the Academy’s emergency medical staff, I was safely transported to the medical center, and the tests showed that there was nothing wrong with me.

It’s just the trait [Nuisance] that pops up once in a while.

It’s just something that’s bothering me again.

But.......

‘It’s crazy...... why did it happen at that time.......’

The timing of the collapse was as bad as always.

Or should I say, it was especially bad this time.

‘There was something ominous about that.......’

For some reason, my collapse in the sword duel with Penelope is bothering me.

To be honest, I was a little nervous when the Princess suddenly called out to me, but I thought I could get over it somehow.

At this rate, I’m afraid I’m going to be in for another nasty surprise.

Because I’m miserable in almost every situation except buffing and crafting.

It’s a shame, but I can’t deny it.

Damn it.

‘Repeat after me, I’m fxcked.’

(x-bal)

The second arc of the main story is at hand.

I remember to memorize the mantra before I go into the episode.

Why?

Because if something really urgent happens, I won’t have time to memorize the spell.

I’m going to have to face the situation, deal with it, and survive it somehow. That’s my most important goal right now.

“Huh.......”

I exhaled lightly.

Suddenly, I heard a disgruntled woman’s voice in my head.

[Dude! You’ve been sleeping so long, I thought you were going to die!]

A familiar angry voice.

But it was much smaller than before, and its overwhelming authority and power had been dwarfed.

As for his identity, there’s no question.

Gremory, the demon recently abducted from the Great Ruins with Kushan.

One of the 72 demons, and now my demon radar.

[Shut up, don’t make my head ring].

I replied simply, and Gremory gritted her teeth.

[How dare you...! It’s bad enough you kidnapped this Gremory, but now you have this weak body...! I offered to help you catch demons!]

[A weak body is not what I asked for, and if you have a complaint, isn’t it common sense that you should complain about being ’embarrassingly’ defeated by an angel?]

[Ouch! Don’t jab me where it hurts... Damn it! Why do I have to be like this.......]

Gremory quickly became upset.

But it was none of my business anyway.

I gave myself a quick check and finally breathed out a sigh of relief.

“......You seem to have recovered quite a bit, though.”

[...This?]

She was making a lot of noise, so I took a moment to pull out a mirror.

When I checked, Gremory was staring at me in the mirror with a questioning look.

[This is you recovered? Seriously?]

“I’m sorry, but this is pretty good for me. I’m usually worse.”

[......I mean, you were a monster when we fought earlier, why did you suddenly become this way? What the hell happened in between.......]

Like I said.

Gremory had come to terms with the fact that she was now a demon radar. There are no deep bonds between demons anyway.

There is only loyalty and obedience through force. With nothing but instinctual destruction, it’s no wonder they lack respect for one another.

I had brought her here to take advantage of that.

“It’s no big deal, just the occasional [nuisance].”

I said confidently.

No one’s going to hear me talk to her anyway.

[What!? What the...!]

Ignoring her next words, I put the mirror back. I propped up the pillows on my bed and leaned back, thinking for a moment.

‘Something about the cadets’ misunderstanding earlier is bothering me. No matter how much I think about it, it’s.......’

-I see... He still loves the Princess, even if it means he’ll fall to the sword as part of it!

-Well, she’s so beautiful, it can’t be helped.

-But... if you look at it that way, Nox, that kid is insanely handsome too.......

“......I’m sorry.”

That was my conclusion from this brief flashback.

There was more to it than just the way I looked to others.

Like.

Tsurrr!

(chwaleuleu!)

“Nox von Reinhaber. I’ve been informed that you have awakened.”

...that a self-respecting Princess would pay me an unexpected visit.

Something like that.

My betrothal to Talia. It was always going to happen, but it would be an act of rebellion against the imperial family.

It could be dangerous in more ways than one.

“I understand.”

But what came out of the princess’s mouth was not at all what I expected.

Penelope clasped her hands together as she spoke.

A small wrinkle formed in her skirt.

She averted her gaze from me and looked at my hands, a long silence dripping from between her drooping head and her knees.

“I know, I only approached you to use you anyway, so I have no intention of blabbering about your true love, because I’m past the age to believe in such things anyway... and you can’t be the Empress with such innocence.”

“......Good to know.”

I don’t know what true love is, and I don’t know how she understood my situation. But she did.

You don’t expect the Empress of a nation to be ambivalent, or to believe in naïve stories about love blossoming in the face of worldly opposition......, do you?

‘......I don’t know what’s going on.’

I decided to take her at her word for now.

She’s trying to take care of herself, and if she doesn’t take care of herself now, she might die.

“All I ask is that... in the presence of others, you consider me, the Princess, as a possible wife, but not as blatantly as this.”

“......As a result, I’ve inconvenienced the Princess.”

“No, no. It’s not like that, it’s just... well.”

Penelope paused, then seemed to decide.

“Anyway, it was...... nice of you to do it today, even if you’ll never look out for me again, because you were looking out for me, the Princess.”

I ignored the nagging feeling in my stomach and watched her rise from her seat. Walking out of the hospital room with Echidna.

Her every move is dignified.

She didn’t forget to add one last word.

“Well, since you’ve come all this way... I hope you’re feeling well, though I don’t think you’re in any particular pain.”

She shrugs and disappears.

But.

I was actually thinking something else.

‘No, it really hurts, but there is no pain...... What the hell is this?’

Honestly, I was pretending I wasn’t sick, but really.

I was really, really hurting.

Thanks to Penelope’s own [Psychic Attack].

* * *

After the Princess had finished reprimanding me. I was quickly discharged from the clinic.

It wasn’t a major illness, so I quickly returned to fulfill the rest of my schedule.

The story that I had lost the swordsmanship duel on purpose for the Princess circulated, but I didn’t feel the need to correct it.

I figured it was better this way.

But the real trouble was to come.

“Next class is... [Basic Imperial Magic].”

For some reason, I felt like I remembered a subject.

“Ohhhhhh! I’ve been waiting for you, my chief apprentice, Nox-kun! I heard you had a love fever, are you okay? This is it, what a lover you are, hahaha!”

I’ll be your next subject, you already know that, don’t you?

Lars added as he came running from the end of the hallway.

Fxck

(x-bal)

“Professor. Please shut your trap.”

{Nox uses the least formal version}

I couldn’t take it anymore.

There was no way I was going to release my stress without swearing, but Lars just chuckled and gave me a shoulder to lean on.

“Haha, you’re a good swearer. You must be popular with a lot of different kinds of girls!”

“......?”

Crazy bastard.

(michin saekki.)

I thought he was just crazy about his research, but now it looks like his brain is getting weird.

Haha, I sighed but it didn’t go away. I felt a vibration from the robes in my inventory, and a chill ran down my spine.

‘Is it finally starting?’

Doubt, which quickly turned to certainty.

The second arc.

The time for it to begin was slowly approaching.

Head of the Lunatics.

The proof was in the fact that Luna had contacted me again.

‘You must learn the Bojutsu [Step of Light] and a few more black arts as soon as possible.’

In the second main story, I also have to face one of the 72 demons.

I reminded myself of this and calmed myself. I need to increase the number of hands I can handle as much as possible before the episode.

Before that.

‘Though I shouldn’t forget to go to the gambling house for some money.’

I decided to go to the gambling house despite Zitri’s best wishes. Of course, this is only for the sake of the episode’s smooth progression.

It’s never just for fun, but for the sake of the grand plan.......

“Hmmm.”

Is that...... Anyway, not quite.

{sic}