Chapter : 153

“Alright, now go ahead and feel ashamed of yourself.”

Once the situation was somewhat settled, Zephyros chuckled and ridiculed Lerwon-sunbae.

“Hey, no matter what, is that any way to talk to your hyung who’s two years older than you?”

Even while feeling embarrassed, Sunbae didn’t forget to reprimand Zephy.

“So, are you done digging your own grave?”

At Lucian’s question, Sunbae shook off his embarrassment and declared confidently.

“Yeah, I’m done. I’m not going back. Am I crazy enough to go back to that hell?”

“Well, you were crazy enough to try and go back.”

“Theo…”

I know I’m ruining the touching atmosphere, but try to see it from my perspective.

I sacrificed my memories to find a way to turn Sunbae back into a human, and suddenly he tries to shove a sweet potato down my throat when he’s not even Lucian.

How could I not be flustered?

Honestly, any player would be flustered in this situation.

The stock I invested so much in was about to become a piece of scrap paper! It’s only natural!!

“But I understand. It just shows how much of a nightmare the Master of Gold is to you, Sunbae.”

“More than a nightmare.”

“That woman is a bit much.”

Lucian chuckled at Lerwon and Zephyros’s following words.

Still, in the original game’s story, she was your helper, Lucian.

Though all of that is in the past now.

“So what did you talk about with Mother?”

“I told you not to call her that.”

“It’s just a habit.”

Listening to Zephyros and Lerwon bicker, I calmly organized my conversation with Iris.

The fact that she and the Pope had joined hands wasn’t something to reveal yet, so I excluded that.

“She said we’ll be enemies the next time we meet.”

“Looks like Mother has finished her own preparations.”

“So, are you scared?”

The owner of this question was Lucian.

Honestly, it would be a bald-faced lie to say I wasn’t afraid.

A fear that is difficult to overcome. But that’s precisely why, when it is overcome, it will hold a greater value.

“I was so scared I was about to go back.”

Sunbae let out a chuckle.

He tried to stop his trembling hands by clasping them together, but finding it difficult, he gave an awkward smile.

“I’m still scared… but I won’t go back.”

Rather, a hint of shamelessness and cunning was mixed in.

“In the first place, the legal age of adulthood in the Empire is 18, so under Imperial law, I now have the right to decide my own path.”

“A person who knows that…”

Zephyros muttered aloud, and Lucian and I glared at Sunbae with cold eyes.

Just as Zephy said, it was infuriating that someone who knew that would act in such a way.

“It was so sudden, my reason was paralyzed.”

While his frustratingly dense actions were still annoying, it wasn’t completely incomprehensible, so I decided to let it slide this one time.

“From now on, Sunbae, don’t make decisions alone. Trust us and let’s talk things over.”

“It’s a bit unfair for you to say that, Theo.”

Oh, I didn’t see that arrow coming my way. I guess you won’t listen even if I say it’s unfair, right?

Even just this time, although I absolutely! did not intend it, I ended up getting caught in Iris’s scheme.

“Alright. I’ll consult with you if something important comes up, too.”

I subtly pulled my hand back and crossed my fingers. It didn’t seem like they’d let it go, so let’s just call it a white lie.

* * *

“Center!”

With Cecilia-sunbae’s cheerful cry, a wooden sword struck the exact center of my head, and the strength drained from my body.

There was no separate quest, but the events of yesterday felt like a threat, making training essential.

Let’s not question why I, a mage, have to roll around in the dusty ground, yup.

My breath caught in my throat, and as I panted, water from a bottle drenched my sweat-soaked body, cooling me down.

Ha, I can finally breathe. The ground was dirty, but I didn’t want to get up. This was true, unshakable comfort.

“Still, you’ve definitely improved compared to before.”

“Could you tell me exactly which parts are better?”

I wanted to become one with the floor, but I suppressed the feeling and straightened my posture.

“Your muscular strength has improved, and your power distribution is more natural. Most importantly—”

Sunbae suddenly swung the wooden sword, stopping it right in front of my eyes.

Is she trying to kill someone? I thought, raising my head and blinking.

“You have no fear. It’s a basic quality of a knight.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“You’ll definitely become a fine knight. It’s harder to face you compared to before.”

Even so, Cecilia-sunbae’s demeanor as she faced me was filled with composure.

She did frown occasionally, but it wasn’t a frown from finding it difficult to face me, but rather one of gauging whether I could endure if she pushed harder.

In other words, it was just a slight hesitation born from contemplating the right path as a teacher.

Well, compared to the past when I knew nothing and just got beaten up, I must have gotten a little better.

Besides, to want to catch up to a fifth-year senior after only a month of holding a sword, there’s a limit to greed.

‘But, I want an easy ride!!’

Putting in effort? That’s fine.

No matter how skilled you are, it’s meaningless without experience.

There’s a reason the Academy makes students do practical training right from their first year.

Still, I want an easy ride!

Even if it’s not a Holy Sword like Lucian’s, I have the locations and acquisition methods of various famous swords and high-grade equipment from dungeons and Gates memorized.

However, there’s one problem.

Clearing a Gate is simple enough if I get carried by kids raised on money…

‘The problem is that those dungeons are random!!’

The creation time of the Gates is random.

Besides, the game is in its very early stages right now. It’s a time when good dungeons haven’t even appeared yet.

There’s no certainty that something will come out even if I go.

“Anxious?”

I plopped back down on the ground and gave it some deep thought.

The reason I felt anxious was probably because I felt so pathetic compared to the battles to come.

“As far as I know, there’s no one who has gotten strong as quickly as you.”

“I’m not unaware of that.”

I knew full well that I was being greedy right now.

But the enemy wouldn’t wait for me to get stronger. That was the problem.

It might be fine for now. But how long would it be fine? Iris had bared her fangs so openly.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

“I can’t help it.”

I had managed somehow until now, but I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be so easy from now on.

The reason I had been safe so far was purely thanks to my opponents’ carelessness.

Because I had just transferred to the Academy not long ago and they didn’t know about my writer skill, I was able to gain an advantage.

But now, the Master of Gold has probably figured out my skill.

She might not have grasped it exactly, but she likely figured out that reality becomes what I write. She was by no means an easy woman.

“Worried?”

“It would be weird if I wasn’t.”

I swallowed a sigh and looked up at the endlessly blue sky.

There was no clear solution to the problem I faced.

In that case, there was only one thing I had to do.

“Sunbae, please continue.”

“I’d be happy to.”

Cecilia-sunbae gripped her wooden sword.

I, too, got up from my spot, gripped my wooden sword, and continued my training.

* * *

From afar, in the corridor of the training grounds, Lerwon watched Theo being thoroughly beaten by Cecilia during his training.

He knew the heart that wanted to protect, so he had no intention of breaking the words he had spoken.

But, still… he had surely become a coward.

If it were the him of the past, he would have thought nothing of it, thinking it didn’t matter even if he had to sacrifice them.

“What are you thinking?”

“Didn’t you say you were going to watch Lucian and Zephyros’s training?”

Lerwon asked Lilia, who had approached without a sound, with a gentle smile.

“Laurel-unni is handling them alone.”

“Oh my, Laurel-sunbae must have been wailing a bit then?”

A chuckle escaped Lerwon’s lips, his eyes fixed on Theo.

Even while being beaten by Cecilia, he stubbornly followed, managing to get in a few more hits.

That blazing passion could be felt vividly even from a distance, feeling unfamiliar.

“He’s trying so hard to protect his sunbae like that. He’d be sad if you went back now.”

“I have no intention of going back.”

“I thought you were just deceiving the little ones.”

Lilia’s round eyes, filled with surprise, turned to Lerwon.

They were just first-years.

The Hero, despite his fragile heart, seemed to possess excellent insight, but if Lerwon had been determined to deceive them, he could have done so easily.

“The Master of Gold will try to use everything, will you be okay?”

“There’s no reason not to be.”

He had decided not to go back, so he would simply stick to his decision.

“You’ve really changed a lot.”

A murmur filled with admiration flowed out.

At Lilia’s murmur, Lerwon also smiled silently.

That’s right. He had given up on living as a human and chosen to die as a monster.

“I feel unfamiliar with this version of myself too.”

Lilia, who heard the small murmur, stared at him blankly, then, without hesitation, struck Lerwon’s shoulder with great force.

With a sharp smack!, Lerwon slumped to the ground.

“Just felt like hitting you.”

Lilia smirked. A sense of amusement could even be felt in her relaxed gaze.

“This is torture, you know?”

“Think whatever you want~”

A shameless human. Lilia Bellone was undoubtedly the most shameless human in the world.

Clutching his shoulder, which was now not just aching but burning, Lerwon stood up.

His junior was trying so hard, so as a senior, he couldn’t just stay in the same place forever.

To do that, something was absolutely necessary.

The only weapon to persuade his mother, the Elixir.

He would complete it.

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