Chapter: 405
A sickly child born into the Newman family. Chester Newman, who had heard that it would be better if he just died early, chuckled lightly as he took in the sights of the Academy Street.
It was a view he had seen once before, but why did it feel new every time? Locked away in a room in the mansion his whole life, any scenery looked beautiful to him.
Just a year ago, life for Chester had been nothing but pain.
Every day was a cycle of groaning in agony, closing his eyes, and screaming in pain as he tried to get up.
In that darkness, he was saved by a small girl.
The medicine brought to him by a girl so small she was nearly the same height as he was—having suffered from illness all his life—was what saved him.
Having escaped his illness and regained his life, Chester felt immense gratitude toward that girl.
His father had told him that the family was doing plenty for her, so there was no need to worry, but Chester thought differently.
Gratitude is something the receiver should return.
He thought it was absurd to pass on his debt to someone else, and decided to enroll in the Soul Academy to meet the girl again.
Most would ask if that was a place you could just want to go, but for Chester, it wasn’t.
Though he was sickly, he was quite clever.
The countless books he read to pass the time allowed him to easily pass the written exams.
The practical exams he worried about were also something he managed to overcome thanks to a year of diligent preparation.
Especially fortunate for him was that he was in the same party as the second daughter of the Kent family during the dungeon exploration exam.
Not quite up to her older sister’s standards, she was still strong enough to smash the dungeon without much trouble.
Remembering that scene, Chester felt gratitude but also thought he didn’t want to see her again.
She was a being filled with positivity, constantly chattering away, beyond what Chester’s stamina could handle.
“Chester! It’s you, right?!”
However, his wish was not to be. While wandering the streets on an errand from his father, Parnah Kent spotted him and rushed over.
“Wow! You passed too! Of course! You looked super smart! So it’s only natural?!”
“Lady Kent also…”
“Just call me Parnah! If you call me Kent, you’ll confuse me with my sister!”
“…so Parnah has also entered the academy. Congratulations.”
“Thanks for the congrats! I was super nervous thinking I’d fail the written exam because I’m such a dimwit, you know?!”
Chester broke into a cold sweat at her unsolicited admission of “I completely bombed the written exam! If it weren’t for the Kent family’s swordsmanship, I would have been crying at home!”
The endless energy radiating from her was overwhelming for someone who had spent most of his life in bed.
It was nice to have ties with the Young Lady of the Kent family, but this girl was just too much for him. He needed to find a way to bow out politely.
“Ah! By the way, Chester, have you seen my sister?!”
“Are you talking about Lady Frey Kent?”
“Yeah! My sister just vanished without a trace, leaving me behind!”
Chester, who knew nothing about the Academy Street, sensed he could not escape from her grasp.
No matter how much I act uncomfortable, she won’t care.
But directly saying I dislike it would make my conscience prick.
What should I do?
Ah. Right. I could take her to the eldest sister of the Kent family.
Then I could slip away naturally.
“You seem to be in quite a predicament. If you don’t mind, I’d like to help.”
“Really? You’ll help me find her?!”
“Yes, if it wouldn’t be a bother.”
“A bother? No way! Thank you! Chester, you’re such a good person?!”
Chester pursed his lips at Parnah, who had no suspicion of his goodwill.
I’m not a good person. I’m just trying to get away because it’s a bit tiresome and uncomfortable.
But if I play along like this, my conscience will bother me.
“But how are we going to find her? It’s been a while since she disappeared, you know?”
“The Young Lady of the Kent family is quite striking. People around the Academy Street wouldn’t have missed her.”
Having been born in a corner near the Underworld, Chester had heard many stories from his father and other family members.
From that, he learned how to naturally extract information from people.
“If it’s the Kent Young Lady, she headed towards the Academy.”
From a merchant on the street.
“Just passed by a short while ago, heading toward the dorms.”
From the academy guard.
“The Kent Young Lady? She should be at the training grounds by now. She practically lives there.”
From a senior he bumped into.
Having smoothly extracted the information, he easily guided Parnah to where Frey was.
“Wow! Chester! There’s my sister! You’re amazing!”
“…thank you.”
Exhausted from tending to Parnah’s excitement, Chester prepared to disappear upon seeing her rush toward Frey.
If I get caught again, I really won’t be able to escape this time. I must vanish before I get worn out by keeping her company.
“…Lucy!!!”
As Chester stepped back, the sound of Parnah’s scream made him halt.
Lucy… could it be?
Turning his gaze following the voice, Chester found himself momentarily speechless at the sight of the girl beside Frey Kent.
That girl is definitely my benefactor who saved me. Nothing has changed significantly enough for me to mistake her.
Yet, why does the small change within her feel so enormous?
He had heard rumors that Lady Allen was truly beautiful, but to think it was to this extent.
He had thought it was impossible for her to become more beautiful than the last time he had seen her. He felt foolish for thinking so.
He nearly gasped in awe but restrained his voice, remembering it wouldn’t be polite and followed Parnah from behind.
“Lucy! Tell Frey something for me! She just abandoned me and disappeared!”
“Not abandoned. I had important things to attend to, so I moved quickly.”
“Isn’t that abandoning me?!”
While the Kent sisters were bickering noisily, Chester approached Lucy cautiously.
“It’s been a while, Lady Allen.”
I don’t know if she remembers me. It was just a very brief encounter after all.
But I felt I must mention our past meeting to express my gratitude to her.
“Yeah. It has been a while.”
Seeing Lucy’s smile, Chester instinctively brightened his own, but…
“Look at this weakling from a shoddy family. Still looks like he’d break if you just poke him, huh?”
Upon hearing her next words, he blinked in surprise.
“…I’m a male, though.”
“Come on, with that height and lack of muscles? You expect me to believe you’re a guy? Hahaha, good joke.”
Chester’s face flushed red at Lucy’s blunt remarks.
“If you want to be treated as a man, at least grow a bit taller. Heh… Sloppy.”
As Chester, who was not used to such insults, didn’t know how to react, Parnah jumped in between them.
“Lucy! You know Chester?!”
“Yeah, he’s the weakling I helped before.”
“Of course! You’re way cooler than Frey!”
“…You’re such a silly brat. Can you please tone it down? Your chatter is deafening me.”
“It’s because Lucy is just too cool! Right, Frey?!”
“Yeah, Lucy’s cool. And cute.”
“Cute?”
“Yep. Totally.”
Lucy, who had easily toyed with Chester, found herself overwhelmed by the two sisters, who were as obstinate as they come.
No matter what she said, the Kent sisters only spoke as they liked, making her awkwardly excuse herself claiming she had business to attend to.
*
[It’s quite amusing to see you awkward like that.]
‘I’m not amused! Being around you two feels draining!’
When it was just Frey, everything was fine. That girl was indifferent and self-focused.
But having Parnah wedged in makes things different. Her constant positivity was overwhelming for Chester.
Seriously, why is she sticking to me?
It hasn’t even been a few days! Why is she latched onto me more than her real sister, Frey?!
I haven’t done anything for her! So why does she act like I’ve saved her life?!
[But, looking at it, isn’t that Parnah kid similar to your bodyguard? If you think so, maybe it won't be so uncomfortable.]
‘My guard is wary of me! Parnah isn’t even mindful of me!’
While the guard fears being dismissed, the cheerful Parnah doesn’t even consider the possibility of being disliked.
Being the ultimate optimist, she interprets everything I say in her own way, laughing happily.
To someone like Chester, who was used to hostility from others, Parnah’s unabashed approach was itself a burden.
If I were to classify my feelings, it would be leaning positively, but there’s such a thing as limits!
[Get used to it. As you traverse through your fate, you'll find plenty more like her. Actually, if you think about it, there are likely already many similar people around you. You simply don’t realize it since they’re all holding back. But if you consider it that way, there’s probably quite a number.]
Huh?
Wait… is that so?
Halted by his grandfather’s words, Chester began to recall one by one the people around him and realized that his grandfather was right.
Despite the directness of her expressions, Parnah wasn’t all that unusual.
Wow.
Thanks to that, when I meet other people aside from Parnah, it’s going to be super stressful!
‘Don’t tell me these realities!’
[Why suddenly shout? I merely stated the facts!]
‘Anyway, it’s your grandfather’s fault! Apologize!’
[It’s my fault?!]
While whining about the realization forced upon him by his grandfather, Chester suddenly sensed a discord in the Academy Street and frowned.
While usually noting the imperfections in aesthetic sensibilities here and there was common, today felt rather off.
<...Why did you suddenly go silent? Are you angry? >
‘Grandfather, don’t you feel something strange?’
[Strange? What do you mean... huh? ]
The moment his grandfather spoke in a voice laced with confusion, a blue window appeared before Chester.
[Eradicate the corruption!]
[Eliminate the corruption present in the Academy Street before the Academy begins its session.]
Just as expected. This energy is coming from the Followers of the Evil God.
Hehe. I detected it quicker than grandfather today! I’m totally going to have fun teasing him with this!
As he chuckled at finding some amusing information, Chester caught sight of a detail below that reminded him of something he had forgotten.
[Reward: Increase in Reputation]
[Failure: Full Makeup Prayer!!!!]
Ah, right. I was so busy that I forgot I’ll need to pray to the Shoddy God.
…But was it really that resentful?
So much so that it warranted four exclamation marks?
Shoddy God, you truly are a petty one, aren’t you?
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