‘I’ve been dormant for so long, and I finally sensed a successor… but how come he’s a guy??’

‘So it really is that I’ve slept too long and my brain’s gone mushy, did I pick the wrong person??’

‘No, wait—why can’t I get out? What’s going on, what on earth is going on here!?’

‘No way?! Am I really gonna have to spend my whole life with some strange, stinky man I don’t even know??’

In his head, it was loud.

Seriously, so loud.

What was going on? Who the hell was being this damn noisy, yammering on and on without stopping??

Also, why did it feel like this voice was coming from inside his own head, instead of someone talking next to his ear??

Right now Vinny was in a very mysterious state. His consciousness was blurry and indistinct; he couldn’t remember what exactly had happened before, yet his head felt unbearably noisy, as if there really were a little person living in there, scrambling up and down his brain, bawling and throwing a tantrum.

Aaaaah, stop jumping, stop yelling, my brain is seriously about to explode!

Vinny looked like someone had strapped a pain-mask onto his face—sweat pouring down, his body twisting and struggling. It felt exactly like someone was taking a power drill to the inside of his skull without stopping, the pain so sharp it had cold sweat streaming down his back.

“I really can’t find anything wrong. Everything about this student is perfectly normal.”

He didn’t know how long he’d been sunk in silence. In that muddled consciousness where he couldn’t feel time passing, Vinny faintly heard voices talking near his ears.

“But he’s sweating from the pain and white as a sheet.” Then came a somewhat familiar voice; it seemed to be the old man who’d taken him to the [Painting Hall Tower] earlier.

“But I really can’t detect anything on my end. Why don’t you tell me again what exactly happened right before this child fainted?” the priest of Carillian Academy asked.

“He said he saw a beam of sparkling light and had me steer the crystal toward that spot. Then he suddenly collapsed and wouldn’t get back up. Oh, right—just before he passed out he also jerked backward really noticeably, like something had smacked him in the forehead.” the old man said, thinking it over.

“And before that? Did this child have any suspicious behavior earlier?”

“Before? Suspicious? Well, there was something. Father, do you know about the sinful [Divine Armament] [Blood-Debt]?”

“I’ve heard a little about it.”

“Earlier, this kid acted like he knew ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) absolutely nothing about [Blood-Debt]. Then suddenly it was like he’d had some great revelation, and he accurately described what [Blood-Debt] looks like—in vivid, lifelike detail.”

“Couldn’t it just be that he’d seen an illustration of [Blood-Debt] in a book before? That’s not strange. Before I became a priest I also learned of it from books.”

“I still feel something’s off. His expression at the time—” The old man, Charles, furrowed his brows. “It was like his head had suddenly been stuffed with images and knowledge related to [Blood-Debt].”

“You’re suggesting…?”

“You know the type. All those sinful [Divine Armaments] that are of no benefit to humanity are very good at actively tempting people’s hearts and searching for hosts. [Blood-Debt] is a leader among them, even if the odds of that are extremely low.”

“You suspect this child’s abnormal state is due to being affected by [Blood-Debt]?? The odds of that are far too low. If I’m remembering correctly, records say [Blood-Debt] hasn’t appeared in the human world’s sight for nearly a hundred years now. Who knows about the demon side, but on the human side no one’s seen it again.”

“I never said it had to be [Blood-Debt]. It could also be some other sinful [Divine Armament]. But there definitely aren’t any sinful [Divine Armaments] stored in the [Painting Hall Tower].” The old man was clearly suspicious too. He also found it strange that someone perfectly fine would go and “get possessed” in the middle of picking a weapon.

“Eh? Look—this child seems to be waking up?” The priest glanced at Vinny, speaking in surprise.

“Hm?” The old man looked over as well and saw that Vinny—his forehead beaded with sweat—had his eyes squinted open to a thin slit. His body temperature was frighteningly high at the moment; his hands were clenched together, looking extremely uncomfortable and very insecure, just short of rambling nonsense in delirium.

His lips gradually stopped trembling; the things in front of his eyes gradually came into focus, shifting from blur to clarity.

“Kid, you awake? How are you feeling?” Seeing that Vinny looked a bit better, the old man asked.

“I… I…” Vinny still didn’t seem to have figured out what had happened. How had he suddenly opened his eyes to this unfamiliar ceiling—no, not entirely unfamiliar. It did look a bit familiar. It was just like the last time he’d come into the sanatorium.

And it hadn’t even been that long since his last nostalgic visit.

“Don’t try to sit up yet, student. Just lie there and listen to us talk.” The priest in white helped ease Vinny back onto the bed.

“Why… am I lying here?”

“You don’t remember what happened earlier? Before this, you suddenly fainted while picking a weapon in the [Painting Hall Tower]. Lord Charles brought you straight to the sanatorium. Then I cast a Detection spell on you, and oddly enough, I couldn’t detect anything at all. Afterwards I cast some healing spells and stamina-recovery spells on you, but they also didn’t have any obvious effect.”

“How do you feel right now? Weak and powerless? Feverish all over? Or cold all over?” the priest asked in a warm, kindly tone.

“I… can I say it’s… a bit of all three?” Vinny’s voice still shook a little as he spoke.

“Then rest up properly for now. There’s no rush. Are you hungry? We’ve prepared corn chowder and soft bread here. You can have some first, then try your best to recall what exactly happened before you lost consciousness—what you sensed. Please do your utmost to remember. We have to find the cause of the illness; otherwise, nobody knows if this might be some kind of potential hidden problem.” the priest said gently.

“What happened… earlier?” As Vinny regained consciousness, his mind slowly cleared and a bit of strength returned. He rubbed his still-aching forehead, and the memories from just before he’d passed out surged back like a ~tide.

“Earlier? I remember… it was like… a star crashed into me.” Vinny spoke haltingly, voicing his memories from before.

“A star??” Charles and the priest looked at each other.

“And then you just passed out?”

“Yes.” Vinny nodded.

“And after that? What happened after that? Do you feel any changes in your body?” the priest asked.

“What kind of changes?” Vinny felt around his head, but the childish voice that had been echoing in his mind earlier had vanished without a trace. He couldn’t sense it anymore.

He slapped the side of his head, like someone trying to shake water out of their ears.

Still nothing.

Could it be that the little girl’s voice from before had just been his own misconception and auditory hallucination?

“What’s wrong? Is there something else off?” Charles asked, frowning.

“No, nothing’s off.” Vinny shook his head, then propped up his upper body and stretched his limbs. “I’m much better now. My strength is slowly coming back.”

“Are you sure you’re all right? Student, I’d still recommend you stay here for observation for a while.” the priest suggested.

“Really, that’s not necessary. More importantly… old sir, I still haven’t finished picking my weapon.” Vinny looked over at Charles.

“You little brat, and you’re still thinking about your weapon in this state? You really are a hopeless little money-grubber!” Charles snorted.

“Of course I am. That’s a reward from the Academy. How could I forget it? Wouldn’t that be disrespectful to the Academy?”

“Forget it, say whatever you want. But in your condition, you shouldn’t go back to keep picking. As for [Divine Armaments], just give up on that idea. You basically saw them all before you fainted. If any [Divine Armament] had its eye on you, it would’ve picked you already. Don’t waste your effort.” the old man said with disdain.

“That won’t do. I can’t just go back empty-handed, can I?” Having recovered a bit, Vinny didn’t hold back. He picked up the corn chowder and soft bread on the table and started eating, not even bothering with table manners, talking with his mouth full.

“You little brat, one day you’re going to get into big trouble because of your greed over small gains.” The old man frowned. “You’d better learn your lesson and take this as a warning.”

“Got it, got it. So, old sir… about my weapon…”

“Three sentences and you’re right back on that topic, huh? Look at how anxious you are, like I’m the one who owes you something. Tch. Fine. As for [Divine Armaments], just forget it—none of them like you. I’ll give you the list of [Magic Tool] weapons. You can pick whichever suits you from there.” Charles clicked his tongue.

The fact that no [Divine Armament] had chosen Vinny didn’t surprise Charles in the slightest. In fact, throughout history, among the students allowed into the [Painting Hall Tower] to pick weapons, this was the norm. Those chosen by a [Divine Armament] were the extreme minority of an extreme minority—so rare as to be nearly unheard of.

But that star…

Charles thought back to Vinny’s earlier description and suddenly had a guess.

Could that star that nobody else could see actually be some kind of [Divine Armament] weapon choosing Vinny??

Impossible, right?

The thought flashed across Charles’s mind and didn’t linger long.

“Okay, okay, thank you, old man.” Sigh… he hadn’t been chosen, and on top of that he’d taken a disaster to the head for nothing. He had to cut his losses. [Magic Tool] it was, then.

“You sure change your tune fast, huh?” Charles shot Vinny a look. “Anyway, stay here for a bit longer. If something happens to you, I’m the one who’ll be held responsible.”

“Oh, right, Vinny kid—are you really sure you’ve never seen [Blood-Debt] before?” Before leaving, Charles asked again.

“Really, old man. Truer than pearls.” Vinny shook his head.

“All right then. But remember this—sinful [Divine Armaments] are best at seducing people’s hearts. Tsk tsk. Speaking of which, you really are unlucky. You manage to run into every damned thing there is. I honestly suspect those ancient evil things might come looking for you someday.” Charles narrowed his eyes slightly.

“In any case, be careful. Remember what I said and never come into contact with those evil things. They only bring misfortune to people. Got it??”

“Relax, old man. I already told you, I’m very attached to staying alive.” Vinny arched a brow.

He was pretty clear on how Vinny had died in the previous life. It was like someone had already compiled a whole list of death routes for him. If he still went and stepped on those landmines now, that would just be pure suicide.

Charles left, and the priest told Vinny to rest at the sanatorium for a while.

“But Father, if I stay here under observation for a few days, I’ll fall behind on my classes.” Vinny couldn’t help saying.

“That’s all right. It’s the weekend today, isn’t it?” The priest looked at Vinny with satisfaction. “Not bad, not bad. There aren’t many diligent, motivated students like you.”

He really was not that. He just didn’t want to face another “hell week” afterward, spending every day either in remedial lessons or on the way to remedial lessons.

After reminding Vinny to rest a bit more, the priest also left the room.

Vinny had no plans to leave just yet. The bread and soup on the table were pretty tasty, and he hadn’t finished them. Why would he go?

What he hadn’t expected was that the moment the priest stepped out the door, his “visiting family” arrived.

“Vinny! Are you okay??” A small white-clad figure rushed in, looking at Vinny with deep concern.

“Dale? Didn’t I tell you to head back first? Why are you here?” Vinny asked in puzzlement.

“The older gentleman notified me. He said you fainted while choosing a weapon!” Shicodale watched Vinny with worried eyes.

“How long have you been waiting outside?”

“Me? I’ve been waiting outside this whole time so I wouldn’t disturb Father. Vinny, are you sure you’re all right?”

“It’s just a minor thing, Dale. Guys need to be more composed. Don’t get so whiny and panicky like you’ve never seen the world.” Vinny sighed lightly.

He glanced at his Virtue, and sure enough, it had gone up.

From 4874 to 5004.

Whether all of that came from Shicodale alone, or from Shicodale and Aesphyra together, he had no idea.

“Ah~ I see. So Vinny’s character setting is the stoic type of guy?”

Right then, a familiar voice drifted in, accompanied by the click of loafers on the floor.

Vinny looked toward the door. A silver-haired girl with a big black bow tied at the back of her head walked in slowly from outside. Every movement was elegant and proper. She smiled as she watched Vinny.

“? Dale, did this one come with you??” Vinny gave Aesphyra a brief glance, then looked back at Shicodale.

“Ah? Mm. I was hurrying over, and I ran into Aesphyra on the way. When she heard something had happened to you, Aesphyra got really worried too.” Shicodale nodded, looking completely baffled.

“Why is it that every time I come to the sanatorium, I see you here?” Vinny looked at Aesphyra with exasperation.

“How is that my fault? Still, I have finally discovered one of Vinny’s strengths.”

“? What strength?”

“Very good at fainting.” Aesphyra sat casually down on the chair by Vinny’s bed, crossing her stocking-clad long legs, her tone playful. “You faint in Secret Realms, faint on missions, and now you even faint at school.”

“I’ll show you fainting—! I’ve found one of your flaws too, you little nut: severely underdeveloped!” Vinny snapped.

“Did you manage to pick out a weapon you liked on this trip?”

“Way to poke right where it hurts, huh?” Vinny clicked his tongue.

“Pfft pfft, Vinny, you’re really a magnet for trouble. You go to choose a weapon, don’t manage to pick one, and still wind up fainting.”

“You came here just to make fun of me??” Vinny slanted a look at Aesphyra.

“Of course not. When I heard you’d fainted again, I had to come check on you.”

“But on that note, Vinny really shouldn’t set your standards so high. When it comes to weapons, practicality is what matters most.”

Figures.

In Vinny’s mind, Aesphyra’s words were pure “standing and talking without your back hurting.” When you already have a [Divine Armament] weapon in hand that can level up all the way to top-grade [Legendary], you can talk big like this. It’s easy to say that kind of thing, huh??

“Tch, like it’s any of your business.”

“Don’t be so prickly, Vinny. Watching you faint again and fail to get chosen—I actually feel bad for you, so I was thinking about whether I could help you somehow.”

“Help me? You?” Vinny obviously didn’t believe it.

“Mm-hm. Vinny can tell me your standards for a weapon. Maybe I’ve seen one like that somewhere… or even have one in my collection~?”

“Standards for a weapon?”

“That’s right. Haven’t you ever had that feeling? Vinny closes his eyes, and there’s a weapon that even shows up in your dreams~” Aesphyra propped her cheek on one hand, smiling as she described it.

“A weapon that shows up in my dreams?” Vinny thought for a moment. Looking at Aesphyra’s smile, he suddenly understood.

This white-haired nutball…

Don’t tell him she was probing him?

So what was she trying to do?

For some reason, when Aesphyra played mind games with him about other things, Vinny didn’t get mad. But when her schemes touched on this kind of distrust, he felt unaccountably irritable.

His expression turned cold at once.

“What’s wrong, Vinny?” Aesphyra’s expression and smile didn’t change, but this was the first time she’d ever seen Vinny turn this face toward her.

[Virtue +20.]

[Current Virtue: 5024.]

“What’s wrong?” Vinny looked straight at Aesphyra. “Then let me ask you this, Aesphyra—what exactly were you hoping I’d say?”

“……” Aesphyra fell silent, only speaking again after a moment. “What are you implying?”

“What am I implying? You’ve been standing there listening for quite a while now, haven’t you?”

“……”

When Vinny’s words fell, the room sank into a deathly silence.

“Eh—eh??” As always, Shicodale had no idea what was going on. He couldn’t make heads or tails of how these two had suddenly plunged into this weird cold war mood.

“Dale, I’ve finished the bread. Could you go out and buy some more for me?” Vinny said.

“Ah, I can, but…” Shicodale looked at the not-yet-finished bread still on the table, wanting to say something but stopping.

“I don’t like this flavor.”

“Ah, okay, okay.” Shicodale still didn’t understand what was happening, but he obediently nodded and left.

Now there were only two people left in the room.

“You think I’m involved with that sinful [Divine Armament] [Blood-Debt]?” After a long moment, Vinny looked seriously at Aesphyra and spoke.

“I believe you’re not. I want to believe you’re not, Vinny.” After a brief pause, Aesphyra withdrew every trace of a smile. She lowered her gaze slightly, not meeting Vinny’s eyes.

This time, she didn’t add the “classmate” suffix.

“Liar.” Vinny enunciated each word. “If you believed me, you wouldn’t have done this.”

“You just don’t believe me. Otherwise you wouldn’t be testing me like that.”

Aesphyra went quiet.

“Just go.” Seeing her expression, Vinny didn’t even know why, but his heart was seething with irritation. He turned away as he spoke, effectively issuing an order to leave.

The two of them had clashed plenty of times before, but this time, the atmosphere was so cold and brittle.

That was how Aesphyra felt.

In the instant Vinny turned his head, she almost felt like she saw his disappointment in her for not trusting him.

In that moment, Aesphyra felt like half her heart had been gouged out.

It was the first time in her life that an opposite sex had stirred such a massive emotional fluctuation in her.

[Virtue +100.]

[Current Virtue: 5124.]

Her instincts told her that if she didn’t resolve this issue right now, their relationship was definitely going to crack.

And she really, really didn’t want that.

“Aesphyra, have you worn that mask for so long you’ve forgotten how to be sincere with people?” Vinny suddenly spoke, still turned away.

“Aesphyra, your attitude makes me feel like you keep trying to avoid facing problems in how you get along with me. Maybe it’ll sound ridiculous coming from me, but listen—I, Vinny, couldn’t care less about strangers not trusting me. Do you get that?”

A faint, hard-to-catch look flickered in Aesphyra’s pupils.

There was an implied meaning there—there was no way someone with Aesphyra’s emotional intelligence wouldn’t understand it.

After a moment, she decided to speak honestly.

“On this one matter alone, even if it has to be this way, I have to know the truth.” Aesphyra lifted her head. She no longer looked down; she met Vinny’s back with serious eyes.

Vinny didn’t know if this was the first time she’d ever shown him this expression—but since he was turned away, he didn’t see it.

“To guard against the possibility that your mind has already been seduced by a sinful [Divine Armament], I had to test you. But that really doesn’t mean I don’t trust you.”

“Even if this method might hurt you, I don’t want to…”

“I don’t want to see anything happen to you.” Aesphyra drew a deep breath and spoke word by word. By the time she reached the last part, her voice had unconsciously grown softer, and she herself didn’t even realize that her gaze had once again, without meaning to, slid away—as if she were instinctively avoiding his eyes.

What was wrong with her?

Aesphyra herself looked a bit lost.

“……”

But after hearing this, Vinny had no reaction at all.

Just as Aesphyra was trying to guess what he was thinking—wondering if she still hadn’t been sincere enough—Vinny’s shoulders suddenly jerked.

“You—you little… why the hell are you suddenly saying something that sappy?!” Then she heard Vinny’s voice, like a reflexive outburst.

What could she say? He sounded exactly like a girl who’d flown into a rage from embarrassment.

Needless to say, the reason he wasn’t turning back right now wasn’t because he hadn’t forgiven Aesphyra.

He just didn’t want her to see the expression on his face.

Aesphyra could practically picture what he looked like at this moment. At the same time, the stone in her heart finally dropped. From Vinny’s reaction, she could tell their relationship had at least gone back to its usual state.

[Virtue +50.]

[Current Virtue: 5174.]

Wait.

No, that wasn’t right.

Why was her heart hanging in the air over one line from Vinny, over one reaction?

Aesphyra realized something was off, but right now, her heart was still filled with relief at having managed to pull their relationship back from the brink.

“Tch. Seduced by a sinful [Divine Armament], huh? Fine. You always do pick the most righteous-sounding reasons.” Vinny still didn’t seem to have his emotions fully sorted out and hadn’t turned back. “Next time, don’t say stuff like that again, got it? Seriously… you’re going to sappy this young master to death!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep