LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 26
Stella Behrhaigen.
Today, she felt like she could fly high in the sky. It was because she won the third prize in the lottery she had bought not long ago.
A whopping 5 million Sel!
With that money, she could have a proper lunch—none of that whole grain bread nonsense—1000 times at the Academy she was starting in two days!
Of course, she’d need dinner too, so that would drop to 500 times, but if she saved a little and bought a diet meal, she could stretch it even longer.
At least she was lucky to have been accepted as a special student due to her second ranking.
No, it was thanks to Eliaernes Eustetia that she got that scholarship and maintenance costs.
She had already spent it all except for the scholarship.
New staffs. And she even bought not one, not two, but three necklace-type artifacts with defensive magic!
Not a waste.
She needed to prepare for her trip to the Demon Realm during the break. This was part of that preparation.
In fact, she was only planning to buy one artifact, but when she heard that buying two got her one free, she jumped at the chance.
But! It was definitely not a loss.
This shield artifact could block magic up to the fifth circle, making it a great deal for a price when it comes to saving her life.
“Hmph, hrumph.”
Having completed her rationalization, Stella giggled and hummed a little tune.
Unaware that that bracelet was defective.
With light footsteps, the hem of her hood swaying gently.
Her steps led her to a secluded area.
The back alleys of the system. A place buzzing with all sorts of backdoor deals and black markets.
But it was a familiar alley to Stella.
For someone without money like her, it was the best place to be. A place where she could buy all sorts of magical materials (at inflated prices), defective artifacts, and disposable scrolls (cheap) at bargain prices—there was no reason for Stella not to come.
However, today’s purpose was different from usual.
This lottery. Since she was still a minor, Stella couldn’t collect her lottery winnings.
Thus, she was making her way to ask her closest auntie (a scammer) in the back alley to collect it for her.
“Still… I should at least give her a commission, right?”
That auntie changed her name often but had been kind to her over time, so Stella thought she should offer a commission.
10%? No, a little more, 15%?
Yeah. That would be fine.
A smile crept onto Stella’s face.
Then that smile faded away.
She felt that she should only give her 10%.
Eliaernes. The macarons she had received from that girl were a total of eight. And they were the top quality macarons. The price of one macaron could buy a full meal.
Anyway, since she had been treated, she needed to return the favor.
Her already tight finances were even tighter, but she wouldn’t create any debts. That was Stella’s principle, so she felt she should repay the cost of the macarons.
Eight, so approximately 60,000 Sel.
Oh my. To think she had to spend money for 12 meals just like that.
“Crazy… crazy, crazy. How could I possibly eat such a thing…?”
Her body shook, but it was from the thought of the macarons’ sweetness.
“They were… delicious. They melted in my mouth…”
gulp
It might be because Eliaernes kept calling them fake. Or maybe because she had witnessed that small body defeat a basilisk.
Now, she couldn’t even tell what was real or fake in the labyrinth of her own thoughts, and imagining the macarons eaten in that terrifying circumstance made her saliva flow.
But hey, with 5 million Sel—well, 4.44 million Sel left, couldn’t she buy one with her own money?
Yeah. She could afford it. Just one. Just one.
Nodding her head, Stella took another look at the lottery ticket she was carefully cradling in her arms.
It was definite. 5 million Sel.
“Hehe.”
Today was truly a lucky day.
As she wore a smile that seemed like it could melt away, she stopped in front of the house of the auntie who would help her.
“…ugh!”
She felt a blade pressed against her nape. Immediately, she unleashed her mana. She carefully tucked the prized lottery ticket into her pocket and drew out the newly acquired staff.
At that moment—pash!—she heard the sound of ice crystals forming above her head. Feeling the flow of mana, she recognized it was from the fourth circle. No need to block it.
Ice crystals. Icicle. Awl.
A blackened awl shot toward Stella’s thigh.
Trusting her defensive artifact, Stella readied an offensive spell immediately. But that was her mistake.
clang! The barrier summoned by the artifact shattered. It had to be fourth circle at best—why?
Before she could resolve that doubt.
thud—
“Ugh…!”
An awl pierced her thigh.
Stella’s body weakened. Drops of blood splattered. They flowed out. But the drops didn’t touch the ground; they rose into the air and converged in one direction.
Finally, when her body completely collapsed.
She watched her blood collecting at the end of the alley. What it formed was a bow.
Dark magic.
She hastily tried to cast defensive magic.
shadow lance. The calculation racing in her mind.
It wasn’t working.
Her head was spinning. Thoughts weren’t connecting. The horrifying stabbing pain made her body tremble. The blood flowing didn’t scatter on the ground but kept rising, and that blood turned into arrows.
One, two, three, four.
Four arrows were formed. They notched on the bow. The bowstring pulled back, and the arrows were shot.
At the same time.
“What is happening today? Why are so many incidents happening?!”
Cherry blossoms. Two streams of cherry blossoms. The messy, rippling pink hair blocked her path.
A pure white hand grasped the four arrows.
Those pink eyes reflected her pale face as they curved prettily.
A smile that bloomed like flowers.
“Hey, you. Didn’t I tell you to stop doing bad things?”
Those tiny lips that had something on them parted.
“When an adult speaks, you should listen. Tsk.”
With strawberries and sugar pieces smeared at the corners of her mouth, the girl held a corpse skewered on a wooden stick in her other hand.
*
The red arrow in her hand disappears. What remains is thick, congealed blood.
She lowered her gaze. Stella’s tear-streaked face stared at her, and a blackened awl was lodged in her white thigh.
Dark magic.
Is there really a good dark mage in this world?
“That’s enough nonsense.”
She clicked her tongue and looked straight ahead.
The remaining one had already vanished.
Shifting her gaze down to Stella, who was trembling.
If she chased right now, she could catch it.
But another dark mage might target Stella.
There was no choice.
She approached Stella.
As she did, Stella shrank back, recoiling from the corpse that’s bleeding from its neck.
“Scared?”
She tossed the corpse to one corner and crouched before her, lifting her chin to meet her gaze.
Her eyes were a bit glassy, but she wasn’t at the point of collapsing just yet. Shock from the pain. Blood loss.
She should be okay for another 15 minutes or so.
The problem was the awl stuck in her thigh.
“Does it hurt?”
“No… it… it doesn’t hurt!”
“Really? Should I just go back then?”
“Ugh, no… it doesn’t hurt…!”
Crawling closer, her white hand gripped her sleeve.
Smirking, she pulled her hood down.
No, wouldn’t tearing this would mean she couldn’t buy anything else?
That’s probably it.
Shaking her head, she tore off a part of her hood.
It might be a little short, but it should be enough to tie around Stella’s thigh.
“Alright. Try to stretch your leg.”
“Ugh… okay… Ugh… it hurts..!”
She was trying to stretch, but her legs weren’t moving quickly; her actions were slow.
“I’ll help you stretch. Just endure the pain. We’ll do it on three.”
She grasped her calves and thighs.
“One!”
“Ugh!”
Simultaneously, she pulled.
Stella’s arms wrapped around her, and her hands pinched her ribs tightly, but it didn’t hurt.
But she felt quite weak.
“Three… three… it’s going to stretch…!”
“That’s how it should be to avoid pain. Keep your mouth shut.”
Releasing Stella’s tight grip around her, she placed the torn cloth against her thigh.
A little below the groin.
She secured the cloth tightly above the bleeding area.
“Now, I’m going to pull this out, okay?”
“Uh… um?”
“It’s dark magic. If I don’t pull it out, it could seep into your body and make you addicted to the demon. So hold on tight.”
“No, wait. I’m really okay. Just leave it… let’s go to the hospital…”
“There’s only two days left before the entrance ceremony. What do you mean a hospital? Just go to the priest, and it’ll be quick. Hold on. I’ll pull it out in one go.”
spit-spit, she wetted her hands and firmly gripped Stella’s thigh.
“Aah! Please… please, just leave it… if it goes wrong…?!”
“I’ve pulled this kind of thing out so many times. There’s no way it’ll go wrong. Now, bite on this.”
She crammed a part of her discarded hood into Stella’s mouth.
Mmm! Nnngh! Mmm!
Stella trembled, gripping her hand tightly with both hands.
But it couldn’t be stopped. She had already enhanced herself with mana.
“One more time, I’ll count to three. If you move, you’ll have to live your life partially disabled, so be careful.”
Ugh!
“One…”
“C cuck!”
“Two…”
“ugh!! Gah!”
“Two and a half…”
“Huh?”
“Two and a half of half…”
“Huh, huh?!”
“Three!”
fwash!
She pulled out the awl. The instant it came out, it vaporized into the air as a demon.
Meanwhile, beside her, Stella, no longer able to scream, thrashed around weakly, hitting her body against her. It didn’t hurt her either.
“See that? If you had been any slower, it would have been serious.”
Stella’s face was already smeared with tears and snot.
“Ugh, gross.”
She stretched her sleeve and carefully wiped her face, then took the hood out of her mouth. Transparent threads hung down as saliva dripped from her chin.
Blood was oozing from her open wound in her thigh.
The pressure was of little use.
“Looks like I have no choice.”
“…ugh.”
As she stood up, she felt Stella’s trembling hand grip her clothing tightly.
“Ah, so you’re not leaving; instead, you’re hiding that. Good, then I’ll look for you later.”
She grasped Stella’s trembling hand.
“Do I look like the kind of person who would abandon you here?”
nod-nod
“Right. Wait here. I’ll see you in two days.”
She shook her hand off and stood up.
shaking head vigorously
Tears rolled down her face.
Warm drops splattered on her calves.
“I’m just kidding, wait a moment.”
Grabbing the corpse by the scruff, she surveyed the surroundings.
Box. Box. Barrel. Drum barrel.
Drum barrel.
If she folded it well, it might just fit.
Dragging the corpse, she walked up to the drum barrel.
Simultaneously, a familiar voice rang behind her.
“Lady Ellie.”
“…Haah.”
Turning her head to look at the voice’s owner.
Short hair with sharp eyes.
The tear mark under her eye was striking.
Sara.
Sara was standing behind Stella, her hand resting on Stella’s nape.
Stella seemed to have fainted, her head hanging down as if she lacked the strength to cry.
It was a sight that made one sigh involuntarily.
“…There are circumstances, you know? So for now—”
“Should we dispose of it?”
“…What?”
“Without a witness, it’s an assassination.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? We can’t kill her.”
“Does she have useful information?”
“No, she’s just… just my friend.”
Sara’s face paled considerably.
“…I’m sorry. I had already knocked her out.”
It didn’t seem like she was just unconscious.
She was genuinely out cold.
“…Yeah. Good job.”