LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 28
“Huff, huff, 700… million sel?”
“Yeah. This is a private room, and they don’t keep records or reveal who came in. Look, there’s not even a scar on your leg!”
“…You’re right. If it were a hospital, huff, that injury would’ve taken two weeks to heal…”
“What’s with all the hospital talk? The entrance ceremony is less than two days away!”
“Ugh…”
Stella, checking her perfectly healed white thigh, began rummaging through her bag.
She pulled out an old, worn-out wallet.
It’s a navy wallet with a purple stripe, the same color as her hair.
The corners are discolored, almost moldy, and it’s so worn that it’s hard to tell what shape it used to be.
“What’s that?”
“Can’t you tell? It’s a wallet.”
“No, I mean—”
“My mom… she gave it to me as a present for my birthday.”
“What the hell—how do you treat something so precious! Sara, can you clean it up and polish it a bit? Make it pretty, okay? Like new?”
“Just ask nicely instead of yelling!”
“It’s precious! It was a gift!”
I glanced at Sara, feeling the cool sweat trickling down my back.
“I’ll do my best.”
The competent Sara read my eyes and quickly provided her answer.
Sara is the best.
“Yeah, exactly! Sara is really amazing at this; you can trust her.”
“…Later. Once it gets a little more worn, then… I’ll ask you.”
“Whenever you want, it’s fine.”
“Th-thank you.”
With the wallet cradled in her arms, Stella bowed her head to Sara, let out a small sigh, and opened the wallet.
She hesitantly pulled out a few bills and started counting with trembling hands.
One, two, three.
After counting ten times in total, she cautiously looked up.
She seemed so baffled that her hiccups stopped.
“Is it not enough?”
Stella didn’t respond.
She just stared at me with her tearful purple eyes.
“Can I borrow it?”
“…Ugh.”
Stella lowered her head, chewing on her lips, and carefully tucked the empty wallet back into her bag.
“…Yeah. I’ll… ask for it.”
She said with a voice that was full of frustration.
Her slouched back looked pitiful.
Though she held the bills gently to avoid crumpling them, she clutched the blanket tightly, and that was heartbreaking.
Leaving the wilted Stella behind, I gestured to Sara. Understanding immediately, Sara quietly stepped outside.
“Hey.”
“…What?”
“I already paid the medical fee.”
I plopped back down onto the chair.
“You don’t have to pay me back. Like you said, we could’ve just gone to the hospital. I had to drag you here.”
Stella lifted her head. Her eyes, glistening with moisture, were on me.
“…I’ll pay you back.”
“How are you gonna pay me back? You’ll be starting the academy soon.”
“I’ll maintain top or second top grades next semester, and I can use the upkeep fee for that. I’ll pay you back with that.”
“What if you can’t?”
“If I can’t, during summer break, I can go to Gebihenum and hunt monsters and sell their materials to pay you back.”
“Oh…”
Hunting monsters in Gebihenum.
I’ve mentioned that a few times since the entrance exam.
She claims to have been active in the Demon Realm for over two years and is somewhat famous as an adventurer.
Surely, hunting monsters in Gebihenum could quickly earn around 700 million sel.
The problem is the danger involved.
Roll, roll—I kept looking at Stella while rolling the candy in my mouth.
A moment later, Stella, seeming to collect her emotions, opened her mouth.
“Eliaernes.”
“Why?”
“…Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Does it seem like I’m being nice? Do you enjoy getting scolded and hit?”
“D-don’t say crazy stuff! That’s not what I meant!”
Peep, peep—I popped a candy into her mouth just as she started to get angry.
My timing was a bit off, and my finger got sticky, but I continued speaking.
“Hey.”
But Stella was still flustered, covering her mouth.
“Ugh? Are you serious? You got slobber on your hands!”
“Did you eat yet?”
“What? Eat…? I ate, I did!”
“Let’s go eat something.”
“I said I ate!”
“We’re having steak today.”
Stella flinched—her body shivered.
“For dessert, we’ll go to SixNine? We’re going there too.”
“It’s NinetwoSix…”
Gulp—I could tell she was imagining the food I named, probably due to the candy in her mouth.
“I made a reservation at that salsa garden in the west district—whatever it’s called—we’re going today.”
“It’s not the salsa garden; it’s the sunset garden.”
Well, well, she knows the name.
“It’s similar. Anyway, what do you think? Wanna go?”
“Didn’t you reserve based on the number of people?”
“If I pay more, it’ll work out somehow.”
“…You’re being a nuisance. That’s privileged behavior.”
Snicker—I laughed as I stood up.
“I’m good at that. Let’s go.”
“…Can we really go?”
“Yeah.”
“Isn’t it… troublesome?”
“You trembling here is more of a nuisance. Hurry up and get up.”
“Ugh… am I really going?”
“I swear.”
Gulp…
Haaa, I sighed and sat her bag on my lap.
The bag had only a single staff inside.
Gripping the staff tightly in both hands, Stella perched on the edge of the bed and started glancing around.
At that moment, Sara came in.
“I brought what you asked for.”
“Thanks for your hard work. I appreciate it.”
Sara held a navy hoodie similar to what Stella was wearing and a white hoodie.
And comfy sneakers were in her hands.
I put on just the white hoodie and tossed the rest to Stella.
“Hey, here’s what you were looking for.”
“Uh, uh? That’s not mine?”
“Yep. I threw away your old one and bought you a new one.”
“What?! Why! It was still new!!”
“New, my foot. It was covered in blood.”
“You could’ve just washed it.”
“The blood doesn’t come out. Just wear it. And wear the sneakers too. What are you doing wearing dress shoes at your age? Wear sneakers, or you won’t grow tall.”
“You’re the same age as me! Can’t you stop with the old man talk? And it’s funny that you talk about height when you’re shorter than me!”
“Hey. Everything I say becomes blood and flesh later—”
As I turned back, Stella was already dressed in all her new clothes.
Not only that, but she was admiring herself by turning this way and that.
“Whew.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous it was.
Sara was also smiling happily.
“Do you like it?”
Stella, finally noticing my gaze, blushed and pulled the hood over her head.
“Ugh… thank you. I’ll wear it well. Thanks for buying it for me…”
Then, she carefully tucked a lottery ticket that lay useless on the floor into her pocket.
“That should go to Sara; why are you taking it?”
She took it out again and politely offered it to Sara.
“Do I really not need to give you a commission…?”
“Yeah, it’s fine—”
“Hey, just give 30%.”
Stella’s eyes had a mini earthquake.
“30%… 150… million sel… okay, I understand.”
She nodded her head, though with reluctance.
How does she plan to survive in this brutal world?
Well, she’s probably just trying to sharpen her thorns and live her life.
Giggle, giggle—I pulled the hood over my head.
We stepped outside the cathedral together.
It was a busy street in the late evening.
It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago, it was a place where Dark Mages ran rampant—now it was peaceful and bustling.
Likewise, we were peaceful.
And busy.
Letting out a sigh, I stopped walking.
“Sara, take Yurasia and go ahead.”
I still had things to do.
“I’ll go too—”
Sara’s mouth opened for a moment, but she quickly shut it again.
Sara understood.
Leaving Stella and Yurasia alone could be dangerous.
Not because Yurasia is weak.
It’s just that there’s no telling when an attack might break out.
Yurasia doesn’t have enough experience to fend off unexpected assaults in a crowded place.
Naturally, if I told Stella about the situation, she would keep her guard up.
But I didn’t want Yurasia worrying for no reason.
Stella also didn’t seem to want to reveal it.
“But…”
That makes sense.
Still, there’s no helping that I worry.
But what can I do about it?
“It’s okay. Just go on ahead.”
Just then, Stella, who had been watching Sara and me, hesitantly spoke up.
“Well, then, we could all just go together.”
“If I let you go with me, do you know how many times I nearly threw up watching that earlier?”
“That’s… ugh…”
“Seriously? See? You’re still at it. If you keep doing that before meals, good luck eating. Anyway, just go. Sara will order for me. I’ll be there soon.”
“…If you don’t return within 30 minutes, I’ll come looking for you.”
“Yeah. If I get kidnapped, I’ll leave a mana trace on the way.”
Waving my hand, I walked away.
First, I need to find the gift for Yurasia.
*
“Hmm… is this pretty?”
While rushing, I couldn’t take my eyes off the necklace I was holding.
A necklace for a gift to Yurasia.
It’s a custom-made necklace.
After the entrance exams, I was sure that Yurasia would be the top student once the special entrance exam was also handled.
So, I decided to prepare a present right away and started looking around.
Eventually, I ordered it from the most famous alchemist on the island.
With minor magic related to stamina and spirit recovery, and to prepare for any emergencies, I endowed the artifact with various spells.
According to the alchemist, the design I had in mind was too outdated, and they would take care of it themselves.
“It’s just a cherry blossom shape.”
It’s shaped like a cherry blossom with five petals elegantly blooming.
The gem in the center was supposed to be blue to match Yurasia’s eye color, but looking at it now, it’s actually the color of my eyes.
The five cherry petals are the same color as my hair.
Lately, they’ve been saying how that kind of color matching is outdated, so I thought, well… there must be an artist’s pride in there.
Whether it’s pretty or not is hard to tell.
“…I hope it’s a design that kids these days like?”
What’s the use in worrying more about it?
In the end, nothing would change.
Tsk, I clicked my tongue and closed the lid of the box holding the necklace and continued walking.
Arriving behind the alley, I thought there would be quite a few people at night, but there was no one.
I didn’t know if they were waiting to ambush me, aware of the ruckus earlier, but it worked out in my favor.
I dampened my presence, letting out a soft breath and sharpening all my senses.
Silent steps. My light footsteps seemed to glide over the ground.
Soon, I saw a barrel.
Thanks to Sara’s magic, there were no traces of blood or stench left.
All that remained were the remnants of the earlier battle.
The lid hadn’t been opened either.
As long as Sara’s magic was on it, I would have known if someone had opened it.
“Not much going on, after all.”
Standing in front of the barrel, I put down the leather bag I had been carrying on my back and opened the lid.
Suddenly, the foul smell sealed by magic burst out.
“…Huh.”
A chuckle escaped my lips.
Creeeak—squelch—squelch—snap—slurp—
There were no bodies that had been stuffed into the barrel.
No one took them away.
The signs suggested it had been consumed by something.
Whump—splash—squelch—
Two fingers were all that remained.
A head, dripping with brain matter.
Chunks of organs—liver, lungs, and so on.
Snap—squelch—snap—slurp—
And a snake.
“Don’t snakes usually swallow prey whole?”
Not chew and eat like that.
Even though I was staring at it, the snake continued to munch on the already bloody body parts.
Gulp—slurp—
Then it started gnawing on its own tail.
And in just three seconds,
In merely three seconds, it devoured itself.
Now, there was nothing left within the barrel.
There was no need to keep watching.
“Why are these bastards still the same after 400 years?”
I clicked my tongue and closed the barrel’s lid.
I didn’t know why they were trying to dispose of an already dead body.
Maybe the corpse would have belonged to someone with a face that would cause a ruckus if recognized, or maybe they were trying to ensure Stella didn’t see the face of the corpse.
But I never expected them to devour it like this.
I really should’ve removed the mask.
I didn’t think she’d end up having nightmares if I let her see it, so I left it be, and I never expected it to go this way.
At least one thing became clear.
I must not leave Stella alone.
If I do, she’ll surely go missing within two days.
“I guess I’ll have to stay with her until the entrance ceremony.”
What to do about Sara?
Even if I hide it, the Royal Knight Order will soon find out I didn’t hand over the corpse.
It will certainly reach my father’s ears.
Before that, I should tell him first. I’ll have to ask him not to mention it.
The reason… I’ll just make up something.
I can’t mention it’s for investigating Behrhaigen.
Finishing my convoluted thoughts, I rummaged through my pockets and pulled out the candy I had brought from the church—
“Huff.”
And popped it into my mouth, heading toward the restaurant where everyone had gathered.
*
I thought that even without me, Yurasia’s personality would let her quickly become friends with Stella.
But—
“Lady Stella! You have to try this too!”
“Eek, th-thank you…”
“Lady Stella! This sauce is delicious too!”
“Aagh, I still… have stuff in my mouth.”
“Lady Stella!”
“Eek!”
“Lady Stella, why are your arms so thin?! This won’t do! Here, eat this too!”
“Th-this is for Sir Yurasia, though—”
“No! I’ve eaten plenty already!”
“I’ve… I’ve eaten lots already too…”
This wasn’t what I had in mind.
The new friend, the scruffy long-haired cat, was overjoyed to meet Sharala, her Great Dane, who couldn’t stop showering her with treats.
The scruffy long-haired cat, who had spent its life rummaging through trash bins and getting hit on the back of its head, now looked completely overwhelmed by Sharala’s endless kindness and bright energy.
Of course, Yurasia must also feel excited.
The little, prickly girl probably looks like she would melt if food from the restaurant was put in her mouth, so I can see why she wants to keep feeding her.
Stella finds it hard to turn down Yurasia’s cheerful generosity and thus maintains a polite facade as she continues to accept.
Anyway.
After this, and that, and all sorts of things.
By the time Stella’s gagging sounds ceased, dinner had come to an end.
I’ve already told them they could stay at the lodging until the entrance ceremony.
I didn’t mention why, but Stella understood the meaning right away, and she agreed.
There was a bit of bickering during that exchange, but the main topic was this.
“Eliaernes. Just promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Promise me you won’t say anything about my house, no matter what happens. Got it?”
“Do I really need to make a promise like that?”
“Yeah. Hurry up and promise.”
I’m someone who has gone through countless battlefields 400 years ago.
And I also expect Stella’s home isn’t going to be the mansion of the Behrhaigen Marquis.
I’d never say something weird just because the house is a bit old.
“Okay. I promise.”
So, as we arrived in front of her house to pack Stella’s belongings, I couldn’t help but blurt out the words I had kept inside.
“Are you homeless?”