Chapter: 455
Erin looked at the person who had blocked the attack with his fist.
The guy had delicate features that could easily break with a light poke.
You could joke about him shattering at a mere touch.
But despite his appearance, his hand easily restrained the servant who had been targeting Erin.
“I’ll have to ask the employer later if he has a way. This guy’s giving off zero vibes.”
In contrast to the man’s nonchalant tone, the servant whose hand was caught had a distressed look on his face.
As he struggled to escape the man’s grip, the veins in his neck bulged, revealing just how immensely strong that delicate hand was.
“It’s infuriating to be called useless, though.”
“This punk!”
Frustrated, the servant pulled a dagger from his pocket.
The dark aura swirling around the blade sent shivers down Erin’s spine, even from a step back.
Yet, the man remained unfazed.
“You should really keep that hidden until the end. It gives you at least a little room for excuses.”
With a slight grimace, he dodged the blade by twisting his neck, then delivered a kick to the servant’s calf to knock him off balance.
Following that, he delivered an uppercut that rattled the poor guy’s brain.
No matter how specialized one is in dark magic, they’re still human. The servant collapsed to the ground, out cold.
The man casually placed his foot on the servant’s neck but then remembered Erin was right behind him and instead opted for a kick to the head.
“Hey there. Long time no see.”
“…Do I know you?”
“Didn’t we see each other last time at the Alrn mansion? Oh, right. I’m in disguise right now.”
As the man casually chatted, he tapped his neck, causing his voice to switch to a feminine one.
Erin instantly recognized who was speaking.
It was the same person her Young Lady referred to as ‘Aunt.’
The name was…
Hmm. What was it again?
Oh right! She only referred to her as ‘Aunt,’ so she never caught the actual name.
Hearing ‘Aunt’ was odd given how graceful the woman was, so Erin could picture the face but never bothered to remember the name.
“It’s Karia. Just someone who works for the employer, like you.”
Erin flinched at the response that came, despite her saying nothing.
Did my expression show that? My face shouldn’t have looked different from usual!
Feeling puzzled, Erin lowered her head.
“Thank you for saving me, Karia.”
“No worries. This happened because I didn’t do my job properly.”
Karia waved her hand dismissively, pulling out a trinket from her pocket.
It was a familiar piece of jewelry to Erin.
Just recently, she had seen Rina with a bunch of similar stuff piled up.
A piece adorned with Lucy’s picture. Why is she pulling this out now?
In the moment Erin was questioning, Karia placed the necklace on top of the fallen servant.
The flesh on the servant’s face started to melt away, revealing his true form.
“This is…”
“A follower of the Void. This guy is a master of disguises.”
“…You’re saying there are followers of the Evil God at the Academy?”
“I want to yell at the Academy staff for being incompetent! But it’s not that easy. Even I have trouble spotting followers of the Void.”
“Is…that so?”
“I have my suspicions about saving you, but with no evidence, I kept following and finally found this.”
Even the Saint of the Lord’s Church failed to notice last time—what chance do others have? Karia’s explanation made Erin nod unconsciously.
“So, what now? Should we get the professors?”
“No, that would just create a bigger mess. I’ll handle this. Just tell the employer to look for me when he arrives.”
Karia said this while hoisting the Evil God’s follower over one shoulder, and Erin nodded in understanding.
“Oh, and tell that loser to come find me too. He might need to roll around a bit more.”
“Loser?”
“The maid of the employer. You should know, being from the Alrn family.”
“Oh, are you talking about the Prince of the Burrow family?”
“Yeah, that brat.”
After Karia left with a smile and a nod, Erin was left standing there, heart racing.
It dawned on her then that she had just narrowly escaped death.
Her legs buckled, and she naturally sank to the ground, hugging her shoulders.
So glad the Young Lady wasn’t here.
If she had seen me like this, she would have worried sick.
Even though she wanted to help Lucy, Erin didn’t want to be a burden, so she desperately tried to push her fears aside.
*
After Joy had been thoroughly roasted over the title issue, the arrows of my friends naturally turned toward me.
Ultimately, the reason Joy attracted jealousy was that I had called her by her name.
My response was simple.
“Do you really wanna be called by my cute voice that much? Does it mean that much to you? Heh, what should I do? How about I give you puppy eyes like an eager pet with a snack in front of it? No way! You pathetic perverts can keep drooling for all I care. That suits you just fine.”
If you’ve got a problem with it, what are you gonna do?
What can you gang of losers even do before my Mesugaki skills?
You punks are getting wrecked by me!
This Mesugaki doesn’t get schooled!
Having easily dominated my friends, I landed one last kick to a clearly defeated Karl before heading back to the Academy.
As the familiar ambiance of the Academy street on a weekend buzzed around me, it was as lively as ever.
It had only been a short time since the semester started, and there was still some time before midterms, so everyone was enjoying the new semester.
Of course, most of the crowd was made up of first years.
The second years were busy plunging their heads into the dungeon to earn external dungeon exploration rights, while the third years were drowning in mounting assignments, so it made sense.
While chatting with my friends, I also kept an eye out for any familiar faces among the crowd.
Unfortunately, my search yielded no success.
Everywhere I looked, I only saw unfamiliar faces.
Could this be the influence of my presence in this world?
With that thought in mind, I returned to the Academy and parted ways with my friends to head toward the administration office.
We needed to report our dungeon exploration success.
“Lady Alrn, welcome back,” came a voice.
For some reason, Luca was there. Why was this busy guy, the professor of Combat Studies, here?
“You’ve picked quite a secluded spot. I thought someone of your stature would choose a more grand dungeon.”
“Exactly why you’re a pathetic pervert of a professor. How did you even become a professor, thinking like that?”
“Haha, you got me there.”
Just as my suspicions were spiraling, I sensed a familiar aura in the distance.
It was the person chosen by the God of Beauty and Art to spy on me.
A person unwittingly imbued with the distinct aura of the Art Guild.
It was Erin’s aura.
“Hey, Erin… Why does your face look like that? You look more rundown than usual?”
I intended to greet her cheerfully at first, but upon seeing her expression, my tone quickly shifted.
Erin’s face was stained with visible exhaustion and fear. Clearly, something had happened.
“Ah, well…”
“Just tell me. You think I won’t notice if you hide it from me?”
Erin’s lips quivered as she glanced around, checking to see if anyone was listening.
Seems like it’s a story not meant for others, so I passed her a note to Luca.
“Pathetic professor. Handle this! Even a simpleton can manage this.”
“Of course. Leave it to me.”
With a pledge etched on his hand, Luca nodded with a smile.
After stepping out of the administration office, I finally got the chance to hear Erin’s detailed situation.
The attack of the followers of the Void. And Karia, who helped her in that moment of crisis.
The fact that followers of the Void have also ventured into this place made me frown unintentionally, though it also felt somewhat expected.
If they persisted, the Academy’s defences would likely reach their limit.
Karia had called me for countermeasures, after all.
Coming to terms with the situation, I prepared to dash toward Karia, only to notice Erin’s trembling hand.
She was still in the grip of fear from the attack.
“…Young Lady?”
So, I grabbed that hand. My small hand barely encompassed Erin’s thin wrist, but I held on tight.
“Silent, pathetic Erin.”
“B-but…”
“Or what? Can’t handle it because my hand’s unpleasant? Hmph! You’re just clinging onto me because of that.”
“No, it’s just an honor!”
“Then keep quiet and follow me.”
Feeling like leaving her alone was unthinkable, I began to walk forward, while the Clumsy Fox applied her abilities to Erin.
The Clumsy Fox’s magic calmed Erin’s mind. As I observed the slight easing of her tremors, I let out a silent sigh of relief, still not letting go of her hand.
“Hey, Loser. Didn’t I tell you to keep working while I was studying? Is that so hard?”
“No, it isn’t!”
“Then why did something happen when I got involved?”
“I’m sorry!”
“Is ‘sorry’ all you got?”
“No, it isn’t!”
“You can only say ‘sorry’ and ‘no’?”
Arriving in a back alley on the Academy street triggered my long-standing PTSD with a gruesome sight.
The Prince of one of the five Duke families was being bullied by Karia.
The absurdity of the scene left me blinking in disbelief until Karia turned toward us.
“Did you arrive, employer?”
“Aunt, is this how you deal with spinster hysteria?”
“Not even close! This is education. Just education.”
Education? That guy certainly seems to have a lot to say for someone being taught a lesson.
“By the way, employer, I have a suggestion.”
“Yeah?”
“Couldn’t your jewelry, featuring your image, be scattered all around the Academy?”
“…Huh?”
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