Chapter 63: How to Survive in a World of Absurdity (1)

“Why are you here?”

“Is there any reason I shouldn’t be here?”

There wasn’t.

This shop was located on the food street inside the academy, and Karina was definitely an academy cadet.

There was nothing strange about her being here.

However,

“Why are you sitting here?”

Leaving other seats empty and deliberately sitting right next to me was a bit.

No, very strange.

“There are no seats available?”

No seats?

I looked around.

The restaurant was half empty.

In other words, there were fucking plenty of seats.

“Then, are all those many seats I see right now reserved or something?”

“Maybe so. I don’t know.”

Karina answered like that and shamelessly brought a sausage to her mouth.

“Mmm. Not bad.”

“…….”

“Why do you keep staring? Is this your first time seeing someone eat? Or am I just too pretty?”

Karina suddenly rested her chin on her hand and smiled with her eyes.

If her intention was to piss me off and extort settlement money, she almost succeeded just now.

I almost really threw a punch.

‘A bitch like an assault provoker.’

What pissed me off even more was that because of Karina’s sudden appearance, the thief’s breath I had been maintaining well was momentarily disrupted.

‘Fucking hell, really.’

But I swallowed the curse inside.

Because all of this was flowing exactly as Karina intended.

I decided to ignore her, made up my mind, and was about to put a piece of lettuce in my mouth.

“Huh.”

Suddenly, the plate trembled faintly.

It wasn’t just the plate.

The water glass next to it.

No, now that I looked, the entire table was shaking.

Could it be.

‘Magical beast terror?’

It was the disaster most likely to occur in the current situation.

But I soon realized where the source of this vibration was.

I lifted my head and looked ahead.

“Yuria?”

Yuria was staring intently at Karina.

The problem was that her arm was trembling violently.

That sight was like watching a time bomb about to explode, so dry saliva naturally went down the back of my throat.

* * *

The precarious meal that seemed like it would explode if touched unexpectedly ended without any incident.

It was thanks to the fork bending.

“Huh? W-why is this…….”

Yuria, who suddenly bent the fork, panicked on her own due to the unintended damage to property.

“Good grief. I don’t know what you’re trying to do.”

Seeing that, Karina laughed as if it was absurd and left her seat.

“See you again?”

Of course, leaving a meaningful remark was a bonus.

It was a somewhat absurd ending, but it was fortunate that it ended like this.

If those two had really clashed, the damage wouldn’t have ended with just one fork.

‘Why did she suddenly show up anyway. Tsk.’

Karina’s intention was obvious.

She had changed her method from stalking to direct confrontation.

If she approached directly, I would gradually feel pressure, and as the burden accumulated, I would eventually make a mistake.

It seemed she had altered her strategy like this.

The ‘see you again’ she left at the end probably meant that.

Well, I decided to just leave it be.

Nothing would change anyway.

‘With her personality, it won’t last long.’

Karina’s fiery patience was among the lowest of the characters I knew.

“Anyway. Why am I so tired these days.”

It hadn’t been long since I found a solution for [Dark Sprint], and now this annoyance again.

It felt like I was being subjected to mindless forced bashing.

When I looked up at the sky, the glaring sunlight somehow seemed to be mocking me.

‘Hehe. Take this, bashing beam.’

“Fucking sucks.”

That was when.

“You seem to have many worries.”

Before I knew it, Section Chief Baron had approached behind me.

“Ah. Section Chief Baron.”

“Is the lecture over?”

“As you can see.”

“Then why are you wandering around instead of going to the dormitory?”

“Just because.”

“Just because?”

“Yes.”

Section Chief Baron stood next to me.

“Then let’s walk for a bit.”

“Why. Aren’t you going home?”

“There’s nothing to do even if I go anyway.”

I looked at Section Chief Baron with pitiful eyes.

Section Chief Baron was still a single old bachelor even at this age.

According to the setting book, he had someone he dated a long time ago, but for some reason, he was alone now.

‘At this rate, isn’t he confirmed single until death.’

Section Chief Baron seemed to have meekly accepted his fate.

He didn’t seem to mind much.

‘Is being single a trend here too?’

We wandered around the academy and lightly chatted.

Mostly about recent happenings and lectures.

Occasionally, talk about my past came up, but I just smiled and naturally brushed it off.

“But earlier, you seemed to have many worries. Do you have some concerns?”

“I do. Is there anyone without concerns?”

“Is it because of Karina?”

Huh?

I stopped walking and looked at Section Chief Baron.

“As expected. The rumor circulating among the professors was true.”

He looked at me and smiled faintly.

In that moment, my heart sank.

My mind tangled like a skein of thread, and all the hairs on my skin stood on end.

‘Rumor? What rumor?’

Currently, Karina was suspecting me of being a thief and throwing a fit to secure evidence.

In this ongoing situation, a rumor was spreading among the professors?

‘Did Karina leak her suspicions about me outside?’

My mind automatically assumed the worst possible case.

‘No. I don’t know yet.’

I quickly regained my composure and assessed the situation.

Section Chief Baron’s atmosphere was no different from before.

That meant the rumor was likely some trivial gossip.

Also, the Karina I knew was an action-oriented type who solved problems by moving her body directly.

She was absolutely not the intelligent type who spread rumors and waited for opportunities from behind.

‘And that would be a big gamble from her perspective too.’

Even in the midst of this, trying to maintain [Thief’s Breath] showed I was quite a tenacious guy.

“What kind of rumor?”

“Are you pretending not to know?”

“No, I really don’t know.”

“Fine. It’s good that you’re serious about academy life, Gerard. But lining up with the ducal family is a hasty judgment timing-wise.”

“Huh?”

What is this nonsense now.

“Me? I’m lining up with the ducal family?”

“Wasn’t it? Ah. If you’re embarrassed, don’t worry. As your teacher, I’m fully on your side. You don’t have to be ashamed. However, what worries me is that you might ruin things due to the greed in front of you.”

Section Chief Baron spoke with a rather serious expression.

Seeing that, it definitely wasn’t the rumor that I was a thief.

‘At least I can relax about that.’

But maybe that would have been better.

“What nonsense have you talking about from earlier.”

“It’s about Karina.”

“Why her suddenly.”

“You’re meeting with her, aren’t you.”

In that moment, my mind went blank as if hit on the head with a hammer.

‘……Huh?’

No thoughts came to mind.

Just that, Section Chief Baron’s last words echoed.

‘You’re meeting with her, aren’t you.’

‘You’re meeting with her, aren’t you.’

At the same time, the absurd words Section Baron had said earlier fit together like a puzzle, and only then could I properly face what that rumor really was.

‘Haha…… No way, surely not.’

Even so, I denied that reality.

Because it was something that wouldn’t happen, shouldn’t happen, and was horrific even to imagine.

But in the world, such absurd and shitty things often occurred.

“It’s good to advance without regard for fire or water for your goal, but if you rush, it backflows, Gerard.”

The reality of the rumor was that Karina and I were in a passionate relationship.

No.

It was even more escalating.

“Still, morally, two-timing is a bit not right.”

Two-timing, he said.

Ah.

This is maddening.

* * *

I didn’t know where it went wrong.

Dating Karina was absurd enough, but what?

Two-timing?

Two-timing?

My breathing almost got messed up, and I nearly fell into qi deviation.

Of course, not really, but it meant I was that shocked.

It was so ridiculous that words didn’t come out.

Is this guy seriously saying this?

“Um. Uh. Section Chief Baron Tesda?”

“Speak.”

“Did you just say two-timing?”

“Yes.”

“One is obviously Karina Zain. Who is the other one? It’s not the person I’m thinking of, right?”

Anger flashed in Section Chief Baron’s eyes looking at me.

“Are you trying to mock me? Or are you bragging because you want to? Obviously, it’s Yuria.”

It was real.

Yes.

Before I knew it, without realizing, I had become a Casanova meeting two women.

One of them the humanity’s strongest-level beauty called the greatest goddess in academy history, the other a top girl with no less appearance and specs.

Ah. Of course, in the latter case, her personality was a wreck.

Anyway, what was important now wasn’t these kinds of things.

Pissed off at the fucking bullshit rumor, I asked.

“No. Do you think I’m handsome, Section Chief?”

“No.”

The answer came without a second’s hesitation.

“You’re objectively ugly.”

The cold fact-bomb pissed me off more.

“No. You don’t have to double-confirm it like that.”

“It’s your fault for asking.”

If he were younger than me, this guy might have died by my hand today.

“Then besides appearance. Do I have any good points?”

“No. None.”

“See? My looks are mediocre, abilities mediocre. Not good at studies, not from a good family, no fame. Even until last year, I was called the worst cadet, so how can someone like me date Yuria and Karina at the same time? Huh?”

It was a logical rebuttal based purely on facts.

But Section Chief Baron’s thoughts seemed different.

“Instead, your future shines, doesn’t it.”

“Huh?”

“Do you know who the cadet receiving the most attention among academy cadets recently is? It’s you, Gerard. The past is the past. You can have confidence in yourself.”

“…….”

“They say women feel attraction to men with clear prospects. Your family is ordinary, appearance ugly, personality problematic, past flawed. But you’re a man with sufficient charm.”

Is this an insult or praise?

Pick one, professor.

“Anyway, I’m not two-timing.”

“Then who is it. Yuria? Or Karina Zain?”

This is driving me crazy, really.

“Obviously neither. Ha. Really…… No. What kind of bullshit rumor are you believing, Section Chief? That’s someone’s jealous invention, invention.”

When I vented with a frustrated expression, Section Chief Baron tilted his head.

“Really neither?”

“Should I cut my wrist or something? I think I should. Give me a sword.”

“No. Use yours.”

When I really moved my hand to my waist to do it, Section Chief Baron laughed heartily and stopped me.

“I got it, I got it. Then what about Karina? How did that story come up?”

“That’s what I’m saying. That’s the most absurd thing right now? I can let Yuria slide because of the mentor system, but where the hell did Karina come from. There’s a rumor that I’m dating her?”

“The rumor hasn’t spread yet. It was just a story circulating among our student affairs staff right now.”

“……Ah.”

I almost swore for real.

My energy drained completely, and as I stared blankly at Section Chief, he found it funny and laughed heartily.

Then suddenly with a serious face.

“But keep in mind. Rumors in the academy spread faster than words.”

Bullshit.

If you all just watch your mouths, it’d be fine.

No matter how I think, student affairs needs to be abolished.

“Anyway, so the rumor hasn’t spread yet, right?”

“That’s about it.”

“Ah. Then what are you doing? Hurry up and go muzzle the staff.”

“What?”

“Even without that, I’ve been busy fixing my bad image and making up for lacking credits, and if such rumors spread too, I’ll get even more tired, really.”

I pushed Section Chief Baron.

“Hurry. Hurry!”

“You doing this makes me more tired. Alright, stop pushing. Anyway, Karina is not it either?”

I firmly nailed it.

“Listen well. We’re archenemies, archenemies. If she hears this talk, she’ll probably throw a fit about suing for defamation.”

Section Chief Baron nodded.

But why did he smack his lips like he was disappointed, I don’t know.

Anyway.

After parting with Section Chief Baron, I headed to the dormitory with drooping footsteps.

I wanted to rest.

I could swear there had never been a day when emotions jumped around like this.

I was tired.

I wanted to lie on the bed.

‘That damn two-timing talk, Baron will handle it himself.’

Anyway, where the hell did such talk start?

Thinking back, I soon realized it was futile.

Karina Zain had been following me around since we settled things at the lodge cafe.

It would be stranger if not one person in the academy had seen that sight.

‘And today, we met again at the restaurant.’

Even almost fought with Yuria there.

“It makes sense for talk to spread. Sigh.”

What is this, some trashy morning drama.

I don’t know why this is happening to me.

In frustration, I suddenly looked up at the sky.

“…….”

The fading sunset was still smiling at me.

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