Chapter: 455
Erin looked at the person who had blocked her punch.
That man had delicate features for a guy.
Anyone would have jokingly said that he looked fragile enough to break with a light touch.
However, contrary to his appearance, the man’s hand easily stopped the servant who was targeting Erin.
“I’ll have to ask the employer later if he has a method. I can’t sense anything at all.”
In contrast to the man’s nonchalant voice, the servant caught in his grip had a sour expression.
Desperately trying to escape, the servant’s veins bulged, naturally revealing the immense strength contained in that slender hand.
“It’s annoying to hear that I’m an incompetent aunt.”
“This guy!”
Unable to hold back, the servant pulled out a dagger from his pocket.
The blade, shimmering with dark energy, sent chills down Erin’s spine, even though it was a step away from her.
Yet the man remained relaxed, still calm.
“You should keep that hidden until the end. At least that way, you could make an excuse.”
The man grumbled, wondering if he had been hit by such a low-level idiot, twisting his neck to dodge the blade.
Then, he kicked the servant’s calf, destabilizing him, and followed with an upward kick to shock the servant’s brain.
Even if one could manipulate strange energies, they were ultimately human. The servant’s brain rattled, and he collapsed to the ground.
The man saw this and casually put his foot on the servant’s neck but suddenly remembered Erin was behind him and kicked the servant’s head instead.
“Hey. Long time no see.”
“…Do you know me?”
“We met last time, right? At the Allen family mansion. Ah, right. I’m disguised right now, sounds strange.”
Realizing he’d forgotten for a moment, the man tapped his neck, causing his voice to shift to a feminine tone.
Erin recognized this voice immediately.
It was definitely the one referred to as “aunt” by the young lady.
What was her name again?
…Uh. Hmm. What was it?
She couldn’t remember because the young lady called her “aunt” all the time.
She vividly recalled the face but had never heard the name before since it seemed so graceful.
“It’s Karia. Just like you, someone who works for the employer.”
Although Erin said nothing, she flinched at the unexpected response.
Did that show on my face? My face should have been the same as usual just a moment ago!
Feeling confused, Erin lowered her head.
“Thank you for saving me, Karia.”
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. This happened because I didn’t do my original job.”
Karia waved her hand dismissively and pulled out a piece of jewelry from her pocket.
It was an object Erin was familiar with.
She had seen Lina stacking similar ones not long ago.
A piece adorned with Lucy’s painting. Why is she suddenly pulling that out?
At that moment, as Erin pondered, Karia placed the necklace on the servant.
Immediately, the flesh composing the servant’s face melted away to reveal his true form.
“This is…”
“A follower of the Void. The kind who has mastered such disguises.”
“…You’re saying followers of the Evil God have entered the Academy?”
“I want to explain that the Academy folks are incompetent! But it’s difficult to say that. It’s tough for me to notice followers of the Void, too.”
“Is that… so?”
“When I saved you this time, I had a suspicion but no evidence, so I followed around until I found you.”
Even the saintess from the Jushin Church hadn’t noticed last time, so how could others have a method as Karia explained, and without realizing it, Erin nodded.
“So what now? Should we bring the professors?”
“No. That will only create more confusion. I’ll handle this. When the employer comes, just let him know to find me.”
Karia said, shouldering the follower of the Evil God, and Erin nodded.
“Oh, and tell that loser to find me, too. I think he needs to roll around a bit more.”
“Loser?”
“The maid of the employer. Don’t you know? You’ve heard about her frequently in the Allen family.”
“Oh. Are you talking about the Burrow family’s young master?”
“Yeah. That guy.”
After Karia smiled and nodded before leaving.
Left alone, Erin suddenly realized her heart was racing.
And only then did she recognize she had just come close to death.
With her legs turning to jelly, Erin instinctively sat on the ground, hugging herself.
I’m glad the young lady isn’t here.
If she saw me like this, she would be super worried.
Wanting to be of help to Lucy, she didn’t want to be a burden, desperately fought to control her fear.
*
After Joy had been thoroughly shaken by the titles issue, her friends’ arrows naturally pointed my way.
In the end, the reason Joy earned jealousy was that I called her by her name.
The way I dealt with it was simple.
“Do you really want me to call you by your name? Is being called by my cute voice that important? Haha, what to do? What could I do? You look so eager like a pet waiting for treats, it’s amusing. So no. I won’t do it. You sloppy perverts can drool for life. That suits you.”
So what if they’re upset?
What can they do to me in front of my mesugaki skill?
What can those weaklings, who will just get beaten down by my force, do?
This mesugaki won’t get proper education!
Easily subduing my friends, I gave Karl one last kick before returning to the Academy.
The weekend atmosphere in the Academy streets was bustling as usual.
Having not been long since the semester started, and with a bit of time left until midterms, everyone was enjoying the new term.
Of course, most of the people on the street were freshmen.
The sophomores were busy pushing into dungeons to gain external dungeon exploration rights, and the seniors were drowning in an avalanche of assignments, which made sense.
While chatting with my friends, I also scanned the crowd to see if there were any familiar faces.
There were certainly some good folks to greet.
Unfortunately, my observation yielded no results.
No matter where I looked, all I saw were unfamiliar faces.
Could it be the influence of stepping into this world?
Having that question in mind, I returned to the Academy, parting ways with my friends to head to the administrative office.
To report that we had successfully explored the dungeon.
“Lady Allen. Welcome back.”
There was Luca, though I didn’t know why. Why would someone so busy with the Combat Studies professor’s duties be here?
“You chose a secluded spot. I thought a lady like you would choose a more grand dungeon.”
“That’s why you’re a sloppy perverted professor. With that little brain of yours, I wonder how you became a professor.”
“Haha, true that.”
Just as questions kept piling up, I felt a familiar energy from afar.
Someone chosen by the God of Beauty and Art to observe me.
Thus, unknowingly, they had harbored the special energy of the Arts Church.
Erin’s energy.
“Sloppy Erin… What happened to your face? You look even more haggard than usual?”
At first, I wanted to greet her warmly, but upon seeing her expression, my thoughts changed.
Erin’s face was marked with deep fatigue and fear. Something had definitely happened.
“Oh. That’s…”
“Speak the truth, sloppy Erin. You think I won’t notice if you hide it?”
Erin wavered her lips, glancing around for others.
Is it not a story to share with others? Noticing that Karia was catching on, I threw her a paper.
“Perverted professor. Handle it. Even a beast brain could handle this much, right?”
“Of course. Leave it to me.”
With a hand marked by the oath, Luca received the paper, nodding with a smile.
Then, when I stepped out of the administrative office, I was able to hear the detailed story from Erin.
An ambush by the followers of the Void. And how Karia helped her at the crisis moment.
The fact that the followers of the Void had set foot here again made me frown involuntarily, but it was somewhat expected.
If they relentlessly dug in, there would be limits from the Academy’s side.
Karia calling me was likely for strategies against this.
Understanding the situation, I was about to rush to where Karia was when I noticed Erin’s trembling hand.
Erin was still unable to shake off the fear from the ambush.
“…Lady?”
So I held her hand. My small hand, compared to Erin’s, couldn’t even wrap around her slender wrist properly, but I stubbornly held it.
“Shush. Sloppy Erin.”
“Y-yes.”
“What? Can’t you stand my hand being unpleasant? Huh. You cling this much because I treat you kindly.”
“It’s not that! I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude!”
“Then keep your mouth shut and just follow quietly.”
Feeling I couldn’t leave her alone, I tempted her to walk alongside me, and without asking, the Sloppy Fox provided her ability to Erin.
The Sloppy Fox’s aura calms Erin’s mind. Noticing Erin’s trembling had slightly ceased, I let out an ahhh of relief in my mind yet didn’t let go of her hand.
“Loser. I told you to work while I was studying. Is it that hard?”
“No!”
“If it’s not hard, why did something happen when I entered?”
“I’m sorry!”
“Does ‘I’m sorry’ end it?”
“No!”
“Is that all you can say, ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘no’?”
As I arrived in a back alley of the Academy streets, the scene I witnessed triggered my long-standing PTSD.
The young master of the dukedom, one of only five in the Kingdom, was being scolded by Karia.
The sight was so shocking I blinked in disbelief, causing Karia to turn her head toward us.
“Did you come? Employer?”
“Aunt? Is this how you relieve your hysterics as a single woman?”
“Not like that! It’s education. Training.”
Training? It looked like Jack had a lot to say about that.
“By the way, employer. I want to make a suggestion.”
“Hmm?”
“Can we just throw those jewelry pieces with your drawing scattered around the Academy?”
“…Huh?”
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