Chapter 179: Questions…?

The courtyard was empty when I stepped out again; most of the trainees had already drifted back toward the barracks or the dining hall, and only a few guards lingered around the perimeter, lazily keeping watch while the evening sun stretched long shadows across the sand.

Perfect.

I slipped the marble-like amulet out of my pocket and turned it between my fingers. It really didn’t look like much.

Smooth, slightly warm, almost like polished stone. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought it was just a decorative bead someone had lost years ago.

Looked more like some elderly person’s lost trinket than something that contained a mythical being’s soul.

Seriously… why in the world was something like this not even mentioned in the novel?

But the more I asked, the more questions I ended up with. And the biggest one of them all?

Who in the world wrote the novel, anyway?

I wanted answers, but for now, there was nothing I could really do about it. For the time being, I might as well just live my life with Evelina to the fullest.

“Alright,” I muttered. “Let’s see what you actually do.”

I wrapped my fingers around it.

Nothing happened.

“…Of course.”

I sighed and leaned against the wall, thinking back to the system prompt: Primordial Pressure. Unleashes fear and pressure equal to that of a conqueror. Which meant it probably wasn’t something that activated automatically; it sounded more like—

I focused.

Not on the amulet, but on the feeling—the same cold intent I used whenever I prepared to kill someone, the same silent weight that settled in my chest when I stepped behind a target who didn’t yet realize they were about to die. Just a little of it.

The amulet warmed instantly, a faint pulse running through it.

And then, the world seemed to… press down.

It wasn’t visible. No light, no aura, no dramatic wave of energy, just pressure, like the air itself had suddenly grown heavier.

Across the courtyard, one of the guards stiffened while another slowly turned his head. A trainee walking toward the well stopped mid-step.

Interesting.

I pushed a little more intent into it, and the effect sharpened. The trainee’s shoulders tensed, his hand drifting toward the dagger at his belt before he even seemed to realize what he was doing. One of the guards frowned and scanned the yard.

“…Do you feel that?”

“Yeah,” the other muttered. “Feels like… someone’s staring at us.”

I immediately pulled back.

The pressure vanished like it had never existed, and the guards relaxed almost instantly, though both of them still looked around with confused expressions.

“…Weird.”

“Probably nothing.”

They glanced at me briefly, just seeing someone casually leaning against a wall—definitely not suspicious at all.

“Yeah, definitely nothing…”

Good. It seems they’re taking the saying “ignorance is bliss” very seriously.

They went back to their conversation.

I stared at the amulet.

“…Wow.”

That was way stronger than I expected, and the best part was that it wasn’t obvious. No flashy magic, no visible effect, just pure instinct screaming at people that something dangerous was nearby.

Didn’t even require a spell formula to activate.

A grin slowly spread across my face.

“This thing is amazing.”

I slipped it back into my pocket before anyone could get suspicious.

Still… there was one small problem. If even the guards could feel it from that far away, I’d need to be careful when using it indoors. Especially around Evelina.

Not because she’d get scared.

No, I don’t think she even feels threatened around me.

But because if she realized I’d gotten stronger again while she was gone, I had a feeling she’d be very interested in testing me. And I’d rather not get edged mercilessly again.

The thought sent a pleasant shiver down my spine.

God, I missed her.

***

I sat on the mansion’s roof, having teleported up to gaze at the city from above. The entire place was still in light celebration, surprisingly enough.

Not as big as the first day, but still big nonetheless.

Having an entire student body made up of rich nobles definitely helped drag things out. Nobody wanted to stop the celebrations if it meant more nobles going impulse-buy crazy off the high of the examination.

And here I am, just sitting on the roof, looking like a neglected child.

After spending so much time with Evelina, I’ve definitely gotten way too used to her touch. Just a few days alone without her is enough to make me feel starved.

Not sure if I really like that feeling, though…

It makes it harder to act independently and actually help her out. But at the same time, it’s comforting to know my love hasn’t faded at all after everything.

“All the letters and tasks are done, training’s done… what the hell am I supposed to do now?”

I crossed my legs, resting my elbow on my knee and my chin in my palm as the boredom finally started to get to me.

“Guess I can just sing, I suppose…”

Singing… it’s been a while since I used a skill like that. Being forced to take lessons so I could play the performer and get close to a target had made me fairly good at it.

I hummed for a moment, letting my voice warm up.

Funny how those lessons stuck.

A quiet melody slipped out before I even thought about it.

Just a tune.

Low. Relaxed. Something that felt close to a late-night acoustic performance.

I tapped my fingers lightly against the roof tiles, setting a slow rhythm.

Then I started singing—a song I’d been forced to learn back when I had to cozy up to some hot-shot celebrity marked for death.

Not loudly, just enough that the sound carried a little in the evening air.

God, it felt weird, singing something modern like this in a fantasy industrial-steampunk world. Who am I kidding… I’ve literally heard dubstep in this world.

I leaned back on my hands, letting the melody drift.

[Dark Step]

FWOOSH!

“Hm?”

I glanced behind me, the sudden sound catching me off guard.

“Don’t stop on my account. In fact, I need something soft to listen to after that much work…”

It was Evelina, and she definitely looked exhausted.

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