Chapter: 192
Seeing Karia’s face turn bewildered, I let out a sigh internally.
I thought she was speaking more strongly because of the Evil God’s curse. But it turns out Karia’s title was just “old maid auntie.”
The fact that Karia, who regained all her memories, can’t refute that makes it seem like it’s a fact in any case…
And that’s what makes it worse.
You shouldn’t tease someone who’s genuinely got issues.
“…Uh. Daughter of Benedict. You’re Lucy, right?”
‘Yes. That’s correct.’
“Can’t you tell? Please don’t tell me you’ve hit the old maid stage? Oh dear. Do you need me to get you some glasses?”
Seeing Karia’s lips trembling, it seemed like she found this situation utterly embarrassing.
I get it. From what I heard from Alsatine, she seems to think of me as the hero who rescued her. So, hearing “auntie” and “old maid” right off the bat would be hard to keep cool about.
The one saving grace was that Karia considered me her benefactor.
No matter how unjustly I blamed her, she never got angry even once.
Not only that.
As time went by, she got used to my tone and shed off her earlier embarrassment, maintaining a polite face even in the midst of verbal assaults.
She truly is Alsatine’s teacher.
In this regard, she’s far more professional than that kid. I could see cracks forming on his face.
“Anyway, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t just have lost my life, but would have been remembered as a historical sinner.”
Seeing Karia bow her head, I unconsciously wanted to say it’s okay but zipped my mouth shut.
I felt like no words could possibly comfort her.
I might as well be shameless about it. That would probably be better.
“I’ve been thinking about how to repay you. It’s tough. I’ve lost all power, and the connections and information I used to have are scattered. No matter how much I think, I can’t come up with anything I can immediately do for you.”
I wasn’t disappointed by what she said.
That’s only natural. What would someone who’s been missing for over ten years have left?
In fact, if she had something to give me, that would have been more surprising.
“But my student told me something. You got the seal from that Kurze kid, right?”
Surely, she means Kurze Newman?
The head of the Newman family. A poor man troubled by hair loss.
To casually call him a kid means this woman should be called a grandma, not just an auntie.
“Could you lend me that for a moment?”
‘The ring?’
“You want to borrow a ring? Why? Some devious grandma?”
“I heard the Academy’s situation isn’t being properly managed? I’ll take care of it all for you.”
So Karia meant to act as a bridge between the Newman family and the Academy.
That was definitely something I needed.
I’m just satisfied being Alsatine’s assistant for now, but if the Newman family’s power extends to the Academy, I’d have a lot more I could do.
Moreover, I trusted Karia’s abilities.
She was the one who successfully raised Alsatine, an orphan from the back alleys, into a capable informant.
If she’s working alongside Alsatine, we’d surely bring back proper results.
However, the hitch is that I don’t know anything about Karia.
It’s true that this world isn’t exactly the same as the game.
There are various variables that can’t be wrapped up with just “that’s how it was in the game.”
However, the fundamentals are still the same.
Phoebe was shaken in many ways compared to the game, yet she remained a Saintess.
Frey bizarrely seems to like me, but she’s still a madwoman obsessed with swords.
Arthur has become overly passionate, but he’s still fighting his inner complexes.
There are small variables, but that’s enough to gauge a person’s core.
But Karia is a character that doesn’t appear in the game.
I know nothing about her. I only remember her as a fragmentary character from Alsatine’s stories.
That’s why I can’t hand over the ring.
I don’t know how she’ll act when she receives it.
To be honest, while establishing a connection to the Newman family line is useful, it’s not urgent.
I could do without it.
Why would I extend the crow’s seal over something I don’t absolutely need or can’t be sure of?
Even without asking the grandpa, I know this is a crazy idea.
“Are you hesitating, then?”
When I didn’t respond, Karia laughed.
It seemed she didn’t think she’d get approval from me right off the bat.
“I understand. It’s a problem when someone you just met asks for something so precious.”
Why did she even bring it up knowing it wouldn’t fly?
Is it just “If it works, good; if not, who cares” kind of thing?
Feels like it shouldn’t be that way. Hmm. I can’t grasp her intent.
“Then for the time being, I’ll stick by Alsatine and help you with whatever you ask. In turn, when I find my judgment worthy of my connections and skills, lend me the Newman family seal. Playing with that kid is really easy.”
Karia’s words held weight as she vowed to repay the life and honor I saved for the rest of her life.
Hmm. I really don’t need to refuse this, do I?
She’s someone who taught Alsatine many things and used to be called the shadow of the kingdom, so her working for me is certainly fine.
Just as I was about to voice my assent, Karia laughed softly.
“Lucy, politics doesn’t seem to be your strong suit. Your thoughts are too easily revealed.”
Huh? What’s that out of the blue?
I felt bewildered by her sudden comment, but after listening to her explanation, I easily understood.
Karia, having learned I was the one who saved her, decided to repay me.
And before that, she seemingly threw out various comments to gauge the type of person I am, keeping a mental note of my reactions.
“Working in this capacity, you can get a rough idea about someone’s tendencies just from their responses.”
At first, she thought I had come to the wrong place, but after talking, her opinion shifted, she laughed.
“With your speaking habits and expressions rough, you’re actually quite a decent person.”
‘You can deduce that just from watching?!’
“Do you think I’d believe that? A sloppy old maid auntie swayed by the Evil God wouldn’t have such abilities.”
“Really. Do you want me to explain the basis?”
The slightly upward gaze when in thought. A slight downward nod when positive. Toes that curl up slightly when angry.
Karia presented various examples as she discerned my thoughts and feelings.
Her arguments were so overly detailed that it felt absurd.
No matter how much I think about it, is she trying to make a fool out of me?
If I seriously believed it, I can almost picture her mockingly laughing at me.
[Oh? How fascinating. There’s some resemblance.]
‘…Is grandpa also messing with me?’
[Why would he tease you? ]
‘I’m not that foolish to fall for such obvious lies?!’
Grandpa. If you’ve aged, stop acting immature.
Is it rational to interject just because you see a potential setup for a joke?!
[Look now. Haven't your toes curled up? ]
…Ugh. It’s true.
Oh.
Huh?!
Was everything Karia just explained really true?!
Karia, observing my bewildered state, stifled a laugh and stood up.
“Well, I’ve gathered what I wanted, so I’ll be leaving now. I’m counting on you. Oh, by the way. Most of what I said today was just to see your reactions, so don’t worry about it.”
After Karia left, I spent a long time verifying her words.
Surprisingly, everything Karia outlined was true.
‘…I really can’t handle politics or negotiations.’
Thinking about someone like her sitting on the opposite side is truly terrifying.
I feel like I’d unknowingly spill out a mountain of information.
[Don’t worry. That’s her exceptional skill. She can see things even I can’t.]
Is this the ability of the legendary thief known as the shadow of the kingdom?
…Glad she’s on our side.
*
After finishing my business in Menestel and returning to the Allen family, I was forced into a kind of rest.
I couldn’t help it.
No matter how much time passed, my condition just wouldn’t improve.
According to the Sloppy Fox’s diagnosis, I wouldn’t be fully recovered until the vacation ended.
Naturally, it was crucial that I keep absolute physical stability.
Because of that, I hadn’t been able to participate even once in the training of the Allen family knights.
Even though my stats were increasing, it didn’t matter much, but for some reason, I couldn’t shake off my feelings of regret.
I initially trained to survive, but now I’ve become someone who longs for training.
It’s terrifying.
Feels like I’m becoming a brain muscle.
So, while I spent most of my time on the bed, I didn’t skip training with grandpa.
Since in practice mode, I didn’t need to worry about my physical condition in reality.
I moved even more aggressively than I could in reality.
And I learned that the reward from Armadi for clearing the Menestel dungeon was even greater than I had expected.
Firstly, I’ve increased the amount of divine energy and improved my proficiency in handling the divine energy!
It wasn’t just an increase in numbers.
The quality of the divine energy I possess has improved.
Should I say it’s become more refined?
Thanks to this, even if I perform the same actions as before, I can derive much better results.
The same goes for the increase in proficiency.
Previously, when using divine magic, I had to recite prayers diligently, but now that’s no longer necessary.
As long as I simply think about wanting to use a divine magic spell, the results come forth immediately.
“Wow. How deeply does Armadi love you?”
That’s how absurdly amazing the results were that even grandpa said this while confirming it alongside me.
On top of that, I discovered that Divine Technique was unexpectedly astonishing.
“Technique is a superior form of fist-fighting. It’s not just about wrapping around your body and your weapon, but opens up many more possibilities.”
For example, wrapping divine energy around my shield was a feat I overcame due to my skill, which wasn’t possible through fist-fighting.
Though it worked, it couldn’t be called effective.
However, now I no longer need to endure inefficiency.
By mastering the technique, I can naturally unfold all those abilities.
Moreover, grandpa sprayed saliva while explaining this; he said there are many other latent capabilities.
Hmm. Honestly, I barely understood any of it.
It can’t be helped!
It was just too early for me!
Grandpa will also slowly understand, so he said it’s okay if I don’t get it right away!
Anyway, the important thing is that all the gifts from the great Armadi are useful.
Ahh. Amen.
I didn’t believe it at all!
Thank you!
“Young Lady, it’s finished.”
I snapped back to reality upon hearing Erin’s words.
Looking in the mirror on the vanity, I see my hair neatly arranged.
It’s truly amazing. Clearly, I tidy my hair the same way, but why does it look so much cleaner when Erin does it?
Is this the difference in experience?
‘Looks great! As expected of Erin.’
“Hmm. You put in quite an effort, Sloppy Erin? Not bad.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Young Lady.”
Checking my hair, I finally wore the outing outfit of the Allen family instead of the school uniform after what felt like an eternity.
The time has come to end my leisurely and comfortable month-long seclusion.
I’m not fully recovered, but I have a place I must go.
The auction house.
I need to obtain some items from there to pass the test given by Armadi!
I don’t want to wear Lucy’s hand-me-downs!
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