Chapter 246

Chapter 246

"Do you remember? In-Ah, your sister.."

Yoon-Ah nodded in response to my question.

I sighed. Yoon-Ah's condition had noticeably improved after I learned how to control the staff and became somewhat familiar with the reverse spell technique.

She was able to say things other than "be quiet,” like “yes” and “no.” Although they were all simple words, she could also say something like, "Did you wait?"

But that was her just repeating what I said, so she never said it all on her own.

However, at some point, her condition stopped improving. Instead of clear responses like nodding or shaking her head, she began to tilt her head more often.

Some of her memories returned. However, memories of In-Ah did not come back properly.

"..."

Sometimes, I would lose my composure. What was I doing? How long would I have to keep this up? Would something change if I continued?

When I thought about it, I was basically working for the Romanican Church. All I was doing, after all, was for In-Ah, a member of the Romanican Church.

Many members of Yuk Eun-Hyung's mercenary corps had been killed or injured by Romanican crusaders. I had hurt and driven many Romanican crusaders crazy myself. The Romanican Church was clearly my enemy.

And I was doing deeds for the enemy.

As I thought more about it, I suddenly got angry. I wanted to give up on everything.

That was when Yoon-Ah asked, "Did you wait?"

Her eyes, clearer than ever, looked at me. Her complexion had improved a lot. At first glance, she could pass as a slightly pale ordinary person. I took a deep breath and exhaled. Then, I smiled and nodded my head.

"I... I was waiting for you."

It was a meaningless answer, but I felt like I had to say it or I would get too tired. I shouldn't be impatient, but I kept feeling impatient.

It had been several days since I declared at the Eastern Paladin Order that I wanted to participate in the search for long-term missing persons. Han Dae-Ho had said he would organize a team and proceed with the search a few weeks after the exam. When that time came, I would ‘find’ Yoon-Ah in a suitable way.

I had to completely heal Yoon-Ah, at least until then.

Drip.

I tried to use the reverse spell technique again out of impatience, but I stopped when my nose started bleeding. It wasn’t because of the drawbacks of the reverse technique, but rather the drawbacks from the lack of sleep.

I hadn’t slept properly and had been focusing only on treating Yoon-Ah for nearly a week. I decided to cut into my own bedtime because I had no time for school and treating Yoon-Ah together.

[Exams are coming up,] Legba said as I laid down on my bed after leaving Yoon-Ah's room.

Come to think of it, the exams were creeping closer, and I hadn't studied at all. I had skipped most classes, so I wasn’t confident about this exam. Perhaps it was because all my attention was on Yoon-Ah.

Right then, the phone on the desk vibrated. It was a text from Joseph.

[I have something to talk about. When are you free?]

[Are you going to keep ignoring me?]

[I want us to resolve things so that things work out for both parties.]

Over the past few days, I received dozens of messages and calls from Joseph. He had been contacting me every day without fail, insisting that we should meet.

I chuckled. "You're too obsessed."

[It seems like things are going as planned.] Legba chimed in at my words.

I nodded. Joseph reaching out to me to this extent meant that everything was going according to my plan. The exact circumstances were unknown, but there was clearly some friction between Joseph and the members of the purification clan.

I wasn't sure how Joseph was taking it, but this was looking great on my end. This meant that there was less to worry about. Now, all I had to focus on was treating Yoon-Ah and the exams.

The problem was the exams. There was only about a week left. Even if I crammed, it didn't seem like I would be able to instill a significant change in my grades. Giving up studying for the exams altogether and focusing on treating Yoon-Ah didn’t seem like a bad idea at all.

[Do you want my help?] Legba said.

I was so startled that I sat upright in my bed.

Legba had helped me subtly many times before, but he often didn’t offer help directly. After those words, he fell silent. He seemed to be waiting for my answer.

I had never sought the help of the Loa during exams. I thought it was unfair to rely solely on the Loa for good grades while other kids studied hard for their scores. But if I took the exams without the help of the Loa for the same reason this time, I might end up with the worst score ever.

In-Ah looked up. In front of the first-year building, Yu-Hyun was picking up trash with a pair of tongs. His friends teased him as they circled him.

"Wow. His trash-picking skills are exceptional. Is this the gleaner [1]">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gleaners[/ref] of Florence Academy?"

"Doesn't your back hurt from bending like that all the time? Yu-Hyun, by the time you've cleared all your demerits, you'll be a hunchback."

"Notre Dame... No, with hair like that, he’d be a notre-damed hunchback."

"Hey, shut up before I tear your mouth apart with this pair of tongs."

"Such wise words! Heeey, shu upu..."

"It sounds wise when you say it while picking up trash, wouldn’t you say?"

“...”

They joked back and forth, laughing.

Although he was initially angry, Yu-Hyun couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

In-Ah and her friend looked at them disapprovingly. Not long ago, there was a rumor that Yu-Hyun had hit Sun-Woo. Sun-Woo's lips and cheeks had burst and torn, and he also suffered a big wound on his head.

However, at Sun-Woo's request, Yu-Hyun did not receive any punishment. Instead, he received demerits, and in order to reduce them, Yu-Hyun had been doing volunteer work around the school.

"How annoying. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't even be allowed to come to school for what they did,” the friend said as they climbed the stairs.

In-Ah didn't respond and just smiled.

The friend clicked their tongue. "Why hasn't the disciplinary committee taken any action? Did they get paid off or something?"

"Maybe they just didn't want to escalate the situation."

"Well, even so... Oh, right. Have you been talking to Sun-Woo?" the friend asked.

In-Ah shook her head.

"No, we haven't been in touch lately."

"Really? That's a shame. I wanted to ask why they got into a fight, but when I went to school, he just sat there without saying a word, so I didn't get a chance to ask."

"He seemed busy. He doesn’t call or message me, nor does he greet me."

In-Ah had sent texts to Sun-Woo recently. However, she never received a reply.

Eventually, In-Ah’s texts piled up to more than a dozen. Looking at them made her feel pathetic.

Since then, whenever someone asked about Sun-Woo, In-Ah always claimed to be oblivious. When asked if she had contacted him, she always replied that she hadn't.

"Well, anyway... at least he comes to school," the friend said nonchalantly, nodding slowly.

They parted ways at the exam hall because they had tests in different rooms. In-Ah continued to read her notes on the way to the exam hall. Just before the exam started in the exam halls, the proctor instructed them to put everything except the necessary writing materials into their bags. Only then did In-Ah close her notes.

The bell rang, marking the start of the exams. The proctor distributed the exam papers.

"..."

In-Ah looked at the test paper. At first glance, there were no difficult questions. They were all questions she could answer if she didn't make any mistakes. In-Ah confidently picked up her pen and started solving the problems swiftly. Sometimes, her concentration would break, and her mind would wander off to Sun-Woo and Yu-Hyun.

Various rumors were circulating about why Sun-Woo hit Yu-Hyun. Rumors like Sun-Woo had insulted Yu-Hyun's parents, Sun-Woo had stolen Yu-Hyun's girlfriend, and there was even a rumor involving Jin-Seo, saying that they got into a love affair that had broken out in a brawl.

In-Ah resented Sun-Woo after hearing such rumors. When she heard the rumor about the love affair, she felt a strange sense of jealousy. She should have been more concerned about Sun-Woo, but she instead felt hatred towards him first.

"The minutes before the end of the exam. Start wrapping up your answers," the proctor said.

While other kids were still struggling to solve the problems, In-Ah had already finished all the questions and was reviewing her answers. She was determined to beat Yu-Hyun on this exam. Not only because she needed to beat Yu-Hyun to become the top student in the school, but more so because she wanted to seek revenge for what he had done to Sun-Woo.

Instead of worrying about Sun-Woo after hearing the rumors, she wanted to repent for resenting him. After finishing her review, she picked up a pen for marking.

Thud.

At that moment, In-Ah lost consciousness and hit her head on the desk.

Blood seeped and spread across her test paper.

1. ☜