Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Pretending to Be a Genius

A fresh shampoo scent drifted faintly through the air.

Judging by the moisture in her hair, it seemed she, too, had been in the Training Hall like me and had just finished washing up.

Hmm, this might be a sight the other male students would be pleased to see.

Rustle.

That is, if she were not holding not just one energy bar in her hand, but an entire bundle of them.

“After moving around a lot, something high in calories like this is good. Would you like one?”

“Gladly.”

Since I had no reason to refuse something sweet, I took the energy bar she offered me.

Good grief… Yulia, this girl. 

She was consistently working on raising my favorability in order to make me join the Holy Order, was she?

‘If the impression of the Holy Order improves through me, even you will reconsider joining, will you not?’

‘Even later, if your mind changes, please tell me anytime. If someone like you joins the Holy Order, the Order will treat you as an irreplaceable talent.’

Ever since she had made that declaration, which was not quite a declaration, to me a week ago, she had been acting like this.

Though she sometimes showed a rather clumsy side, the personality and ability she had inherited along with the Sacred Mark were not just for show. 

She closed the distance quite naturally.

I had no intention of falling for some half-baked scheme, but one way or another, she was the most important figure in this round. 

From my perspective, this kind of relationship was actually a good thing.

Munch.

Before I could even finish eating one, she tossed two energy bars she had already unwrapped into her mouth, chewed them, and swallowed them all at once.

Mmm.

As an added bonus, she made a happy humming sound with that expression on her face.

It was honestly fascinating how she could eat so heartily with such a well-balanced physique.

“Did you come here to train too?”

Come to think of it, she often came to the Training Hall around this time as well.

Since she, too, was in a position where she had to hide her Sacred Mark from those around her, she had practiced her Sacred Mark in the heavily secured Training Hall.

“Originally, yes, but today I had a spar with someone else.”

“……?”

“So would you please leave first? It would be troublesome if the person with me saw you…….”

What was this?

Unlike a moment ago, she looked quite troubled.

“Who was the person you sparred with?”

“That… you do not need to know.”

Now that she had drawn the line so firmly, it was even more suspicious.

Yulia was the most important figure in this round. 

If someone could shake her this much, I needed to confirm who it was.

“Now I am curious. Shall I take a look at their face?”

“No, wait……!”

When I stayed put instead of leaving, Yulia tried to say something, but it was already too late.

A familiar figure had appeared from the women’s changing room.

“Well, well?”

The ears and tail unique to Beastfolk.

Lucia, who met my eyes, widened hers.

“This is unexpected.”

“That is the same for me…….”

When Lucia and I recognized each other, Yulia let out a groan.

“That is why I told you to leave. I was deliberately trying to be considerate, really……!”

“Ah……. So that was why?”

And here I thought it was something serious.

Now that I saw it, she had been looking out for me because of the nonsense I had sold about falling in love at first sight?

Was she still a student? 

Why was she trying to be considerate about something like this?

To begin with, that had been a lie.

“I do not mind. If I was rejected, I should just cleanly give up.”

“I do not particularly mind either……. To begin with, we have not known each other for long. Who would accept a confession made like that?”

Lucia and I avoided the situation by speaking as though it was nothing much.

“H-Huh……?”

Seeing how refreshingly casual Lucia and I were, Yulia tilted her head in confusion.

“I can understand Senior Lucia, but Brother Damon, you seem to have no lingering attachment at all.”

Soon, Yulia turned her head toward me and looked at me suspiciously.

“Brother Damon… could you perhaps be the type to casually flirt with anyone?”

“Hey, I am not that bad.”

Would it not be too cruel for my reputation to fall even further here?

I was called Mad Dog, but it was not in that… sort of meaning.

Anyway.

“Why were you sparring here?”

In my memory, the two of them had not been close enough to come to the Training Hall together from the morning.

It was a minor change, but there was no harm in knowing what had happened.

“Ah… well…….”

Yulia hesitated and fidgeted with her fingers.

“You remember the restaurant we went to last time, right? When I went back there, I ended up being banned from entering…….”

“…You got ‘blacklisted’ too?”

“Yes, I did…….”

In other words, the situation was like this.

Like me, Yulia had revisited the alley restaurant, but because of the argument she had with me, she had been banned from entering for a week.

Originally, the incident should have ended there, but.

“This morning, Senior Lucia came to the front of my room. She said she would lift the ban if I sparred with her once.”

“I suggested doing it in the evening, but the moment she heard it, she asked to do it right away. I suppose that was a little unexpected…….”

“S-Senior Lucia?”

“Aha…….”

Considering Yulia’s appetite, that was more than possible.

When I looked at Yulia with an indescribable expression after Lucia’s revelation, she began explaining, though it was not much of an explanation.

“B-But the food at that restaurant is really delicious! It is not as if sparring is difficult either…….”

“No. If it is you, I can see you doing that.”

“Ugh……. It is troubling when you understand me too well…….”

Yulia covered her face in embarrassment.

Personally, I thought anyone would understand if they saw the bread in a bread bag being demolished right before their eyes.

Soon, Lucia and Yulia recalled the spar they had in the Training Hall.

“You entered as the valedictorian……. I could see why. Did you raise your physical abilities with Holy Magic?”

“You noticed. You were amazing too, Senior Lucia. Even though you did not use a weapon, your movements were smooth, so reacting to you was difficult.”

As I listened to the two of them talk, question marks floated through my mind.

Yulia was one thing, but Lucia’s actions were unexpected.

She had proposed a spar to Yulia on the condition that she would lift the restaurant ban.

Why? 

I could not guess her reasoning at all.

“From what I saw, it seems you learned quite a bit of Holy Magic before coming here……. Am I right?”

“Ah… yes, that is right.”

“I was a little interested in Holy Magic. There was also something I was personally curious about…….”

Lucia trailed off without making it obvious and glanced at me.

“By any chance… is there any Holy Magic that can return a Corrupted Body to normal?”

“…Pardon?”

A look of bewilderment crossed Yulia’s face.

“I heard that once someone becomes a Corrupted Body, their reason disappears entirely. I wondered if such people could return to normal later.”

“Ah, if it is about that… I suppose you would be curious.”

Aha, So that was why.

It seemed that after seeing the Holy Magic I had used yesterday, she had felt a faint hope and laid the groundwork with a spar so she could ask Yulia a question.

She was wondering whether there might be another way besides Black Magic.

Hmm… this was troublesome.

I had never learned Holy Magic in the previous round either, but I had spent ten years watching all kinds of Holy Magic that Yulia cast from beside her.

That was why I could be certain.

There was no such Holy Magic.

“There is no Holy Magic like that.”

The thought I had was spoken exactly from Yulia’s mouth.

“Holy Power is, after all, magic created to oppose Black Magic, which has been designated Forbidden Magic.”

Yulia’s expression, which had only been beautiful, sank coldly.

“More than anything, Corrupted Bodies are the end result of those who used Black Magic without knowing anything. 

A magic that returns such people to normal? 

Haha, even if it existed, I wonder who would try to use it.”

I suppressed the urge to clutch my forehead.

Good grief… Yulia, you girl…….

You do not know, but the other party is rather desperate, you see?

“I see. That answers some of my questions…….”

It was pitiful enough that even I felt sorry watching it.

Thankfully, Lucia originally had a rather indifferent expression, so it did not show clearly. 

Even so, her already-dark expression seemed to have darkened further.

From my position, knowing all the circumstances, I could not even imagine how gloomy Lucia must have felt after hearing those words.

“Ahem…….”

It seemed that, as the adult here, I needed to change the atmosphere.

Besides, I had something to ask Yulia anyway, so perhaps this worked out well.

“Yulia, could you take a look at this?”

After clearing my throat, I opened my right hand.

Auto-Casting.

Grace of Strength.

A golden blessing gathered in my right hand.

“Why are you showing me this…….”

“Wait.”

Then my left hand.

Auto-Casting.

Grace of Agility.

“…Huh?”

Yulia’s face stiffened as she saw the two blessings flickering from both my hands.

“I checked today, and it seems I can use two Mid-Rank Holy Magic spells now. So about that…….”

“That is amazing!”

Damn it, she startled me.

Yulia’s voice rang loudly through the entire lobby.

“Goodness……. I knew you had talent, but I did not know it would be this outstanding.”

“Is this something to be that happy about?”

“Of course!”

Her eyes widened even more, and she brought her face close.

“Your personality is so rough, even vicious, that I was worried about what would happen later……. But as expected, that faith of yours is sincere…….”

Seeing her boldly insult me to my face, it seemed she really was quite moved.

“Ah……. Ahem, that was rude of me.”

Realizing that her behavior had been excessive, Yulia grew embarrassed and put some distance between us.

“Outstanding talent? Is this a matter of talent?”

“If it were not talent, you would not be able to understand Holy Magic formulas this quickly.”

Talent, huh…….

The phenomenon I was experiencing could not be explained by lumping it all together as talent.

“I know I am unusual, but apart from that, is there no separate general method?”

After thinking for a moment, Yulia added an explanation.

“Hmm… in the case of ‘Auto-Casting,’ there is a somewhat unusual way to raise one’s understanding.”

“Oh.”

The corners of my mouth rose.

Yulia, I believed in you.

Thinking that everything would be clearly resolved once I heard the answer, I felt a little better.

“Um… when you engage in combat close to hand-to-hand fighting with those corrupted by Demonic Aura?”

“…Huh?”

At her following words, my thoughts almost stopped for a moment.

Damn it, I almost failed to manage my expression.

My face nearly stiffened.

“You know that when Holy Power comes into contact with Demonic Aura or Black Magic, the reaction becomes stronger, right?”

“Uh……. Right?”

“Holy Power reacts especially intensely to Demonic Aura.”

Theoretically, the more one fought against those stained by Demonic Aura, the more clearly one could feel the Holy Power flowing around the caster’s body.

Because of that, the caster could unconsciously feel more quickly how the formula operated.

And in the end, their understanding would rise faster.

Damn it.

It was not my imagination that my blood ran cold.

As expected of the Sacred Mark Successor. 

When it came to matters related to Holy Power, her deductions were sharp.

“Hehe, that is just how it works in theory. Surely there could not be someone corrupted by Demonic Aura here in Saengterminum, could there?”

“Ah Right. Of course there could not be. Hahaha…….”

Thanks to her, my doubts about my understanding were resolved at once, but this came at me far too suddenly.

Just in case, I glanced behind me at Lucia, and sure enough.

This time, even she must have found it difficult to maintain her poker face, because her complexion had turned a little pale.

Soon, Lucia narrowed her eyes sharply and mouthed the words so only I could see.

‘You really are a mad dog…….’

I felt wronged.

No, do you think I asked because I knew? 

I was a victim too, you know?