Chapter 100

Chapter 101: Freira (2)

*

“Ugh…”

My head is throbbing.

Even with Sung Yoo-rang’s memories included, this is the worst hangover I’ve felt in ages.

And it’s my body’s first time experiencing it.

‘Come to think of it…’

I had answered that I had drank before, but upon reflection, that was a wrong answer.

That was Sung Yoo-rang’s memory; my body has never had alcohol until now.

So, I probably didn’t even grasp my drinking capacity properly.

‘What happened?’

I remember the first glass of alcohol that Freira poured for me.

But all I recall is that it was pretty strong; I can’t remember anything after that.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on the sofa in Freira’s office.

‘What a mistake.’

Regardless of anything, Freira is still someone I can’t fully trust.

Actually, it’s not so much that I can’t trust her; it’s more accurate to say that I can’t understand her.

Even if she’s not a Demon King, she’s likely lived a life close to one, developing values different from ordinary humans.

I forced my sluggish body to rise and began assessing my situation.

Then I turned my head.

That’s when I noticed Freira, fast asleep on the opposite sofa.

‘Wow, she’s totally out cold.’

Her limbs were sprawled everywhere, and she was even snoring.

In that moment, I caught sight of the empty liquor bottles stacked in front of her.

Not a single drop was left in any of them.

‘She really drank quite a bit at the barbecue, didn’t she?’

Was this always her drinking capacity, or has it increased over time?

I was curious, but not enough to wake her up and ask.

Calmly, I stood up, checking if my body felt okay and if I was missing any belongings.

‘My body feels fine after the hangover, and I didn’t have anything missing since everything was stored in my inventory, so it seems alright.’

It appears that nothing happened during the night after all.

I sighed in relief and began gathering my coat draped on the sofa.

“Yawn…”

Freira stirred awake.

“You’re up early.”

“Yeah.”

Early? The sun was already high in the sky, but whatever.

As I observed her, stretching out her stiff limbs, I tidied up my disheveled attire from the night before.

She watched me as I did so and said, “But are you really planning to go out looking like that?”

Looking like what?

I glanced toward the mirror in the office.

There, my hungover self stared back.

But that wasn’t what really mattered.

‘Oh no…’

My Optical Modulation was undone.

It had never been undone while I slept, but I guess the alcohol-induced blackout took its toll.

At least, discovering it before Freira, who already knows my identity, was a stroke of luck.

“What I said about your appearance was a joke. It’s a pity to see such a handsome face looking all grungy.”

A grungy face?

She was referring to the fake face I created by combining images of Libero and Sung Yoo-rang.

I thought I had done well enough for myself, but it stung a little.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

At least I expressed my gratitude for her pointing out the Optical Modulation being undone.

“It’s nothing. I told you before, I’m your fan.”

That fan thing is still something I can’t wrap my head around.

From my perspective, my actions up to now have been filled with mistakes and are far from something to be proud of.

“Thanks to you, I enjoyed my drink last night using that face as my snack.”

Since she hadn’t done anything to me directly, I decided not to press the issue.

But I was curious about something I’d thought of earlier.

“So, what’s your drinking capacity like? Are you really not a Demon King?”

Demon Kings like Libero don’t get drunk at all.

On the other hand, she wasn’t a Demon King. I wasn’t sure if she was an ordinary human either.

However, her drinking capacity made me question everything I thought I knew about her.

“Well, I always could drink a lot, but unlike Demon Kings, I can get drunk. So, to avoid being caught drunk by those guys, I forced myself to increase my capacity over the years.”

It seems like it was half natural constitution, half effort.

‘Come to think of it, her sleeping habits really do seem more human.’

It was only natural; she wasn’t a Demon King.

But still, her ordinary traits felt oddly out of place.

“Ugh, this hangover. Even if my capacity went up, this hangover remains the same.”

She started picking up the empty bottles.

I approached her to help, but she waved me off.

“I’ll take care of it, so you go ahead. They’re all bottles I drank anyway, so I should clean up. Drinking shouldn’t be my main life goal anyway.”

“Well, it seems you still remember the assignment. I wondered if you’d remember anything since you were quite drunk yesterday.”

She chuckled lightly at that.

“Of course I remember. But you, shouldn’t you head back soon? I noticed you caught the attention of two people yesterday.”

Two people?

She must be referring to Elsie and Yusera.

I’m not sure what it meant to catch their attention, but I could guess the intention behind her words.

‘If those two catch wind of me spending the night in Freira’s office, it wouldn’t end well.’

I hadn’t even dropped those two off yesterday.

If I ended up drinking in Freira’s office after failing to take them home, that wouldn’t be something I’d want to explain.

I’d better get back to the dormitory before they come looking for me.

“Then I’ll head back first.”

“Alright, I’ll pray you get back safely.”

After being prayed for by the fake Demon King for some reason, I left her office.

And not long after walking out, I ran into someone.

“There you are, Sung Yoo-rang Candidate.”

It was Sigritt, the professor of Swordsmanship Class 1.

His gaze quickly shifted from me to Freira’s office.

“Looks like it’s already too late then?”

What does he mean by too late?

Before I could ponder that question, he spoke to me.

“I know your identity; can we have a talk?”

*

‘Did I push it too hard during the last mock battle?’

The words from Sigritt about knowing my identity.

If he figured it out, the only possible explanation would be the mock battle we had yesterday.

But I wasn’t sure if he had pinpointed my identity exactly.

“What do you mean, you know my identity?”

I needed to clarify that first.

If his basis for that was simply a guess, I might still have a chance to deny it.

I still had a hangover, but I did my best to focus.

“Your calm and skilled performance in the last mock battle. That’s not something an ordinary candidate could achieve. Unless you had abundant real combat experience, it’s impossible.”

“Sure, I caught quite a few Chaos Beasts before coming here. But what’s the issue with that?”

“For someone from Sakh, you registered as a hero candidate just this spring, right? Records show you’re from Sakh, but isn’t it true that people without hero candidate qualifications can’t step outside the barrier?”

He seemed to have thoroughly investigated me from last night until this morning.

“While my birthplace is Sakh, I’ve been in Basilium for the past few years. There, you can step outside the barrier even if you aren’t a hero candidate.”

“Why not obtain the hero candidate qualification? With your skill, it shouldn’t be that difficult.”

“Honestly, I just didn’t know.”

It might sound somewhat vague, but thankfully, Sigritt moved onto the next topic.

“Then how do you explain deflecting an arrow with a sword?”

“I just blocked it out of reflex.”

“Sure, to a layperson, it might look like an instinctive block. But having watched it several times over, I realized all of that was an act.”

I didn’t dismiss his insight.

I just hadn’t expected him to analyze that moment so thoroughly.

During that brief moment, I had indeed struggled with the decision.

Should I go for the slim chance of victory by deflecting the arrow, or should I give up and hide my identity more thoroughly?

Yet, after seeing Bell, who threw herself to buy time, and the trio, who had trained to fulfill their roles under my orders, I knew I couldn’t throw in the towel.

So, I had chosen acting for that moment.

I intentionally made it look like a last-minute block, even taking a bit of damage to deflect his attack.

However, Sigritt caught on to my unusual behavior and discovered the traces of my swordsmanship.

“Additionally, given that you avoided fighting with a sword and preferred to use a spear, I can deduce that you’ve been gaining a reputation as a swordsman lately.”

His statement was accurate.

It proved that my true self was not the archer, Sung Yoo-rang.

However, he still wouldn’t be able to confidently pin me as Allen Pleuk.

Or even if he was sure, I still had to flip the situation.

“You’re right, I’m not Sung Yoo-rang.”

So, I decided to strike first.

“I’m the second-ranked hero…”

“Wait a moment.”

Sigritt chuckled.

“You’ve got a strong sense of both swordsmanship and strategy, not to mention your talent for deceit.”

“If you can’t bring yourself to believe it, so be it.”

“Right, I don’t believe it. After all, those guys have already settled. They probably won’t be returning to this school for a second chance. But you are different, aren’t you?”

His eyes looked sad.

“Allen Pleuk, the rising saint of humanity. It’s an honor to meet you like this.”

An honor to meet, he said.

And he extended his hand for a handshake.

But there was no way I could easily trust him.

‘I still don’t have enough information on this guy.’

As I maintained my cautious demeanor, he eventually withdrew his hand and said.

“Being cautious isn’t a bad thing. But, it’s alright. I didn’t take your precious time to confirm your identity; I have something I want to ask.”

Something he wants to ask?

‘Is he finally getting to the point?’

At that moment, Sigritt held all the cards.

He had information about my identity, while I was the one who lacked information about him.

So, it would be best to negotiate terms for whatever he proposed.

“What is it?”

However, that question caught me off guard.

“Did Freira… die happily?”

As he spoke, he wore the saddest expression I’d ever seen.

*