Chapter 99
For some reason unknown, Daphne, who had received an armful of mana stones from Joshua, soon left the room, leaving behind the teary-eyed children.
It was partly because she had to diligently chew and swallow the unexpectedly gained mana stones to put them into her body, but in fact, it was also because her physical condition was not very good.
It had not even been a full day since she collapsed and then got up after fighting fiercely with the chimera.
In the midst of that, she encountered black magicians and even sucked out the aura of death from those guys.
No matter how devotedly elf Teiti nursed her, the fatigue in her body does not completely disappear.
“Oww. I’m dying.”
Daphne walked across the corridor, tapping her stiff shoulders with her small fists. She wanted to quickly return to her room and rest, but it did not go as planned.
“Where are you going?”
It was because Shio, who suddenly popped out from the wall, blocked Daphne’s path. Looking at Shio, whose upper body was sticking out from the wall, Daphne frowned.
“Why on earth do you wander around in such a state?”
“Huh? Where else is there someone who perfectly uses such advanced magic? This kind of magic is called art, shouldn’t you admire it as soon as you see it?”
“…….”
Daphne did not answer and instead smacked Shio’s side connected to the wall.
“Ouch! It hurts. Ow, you really have no mercy with your hands.”
Shio grumbled and now fully emerged from the wall. With his long legs completely out, he stood next to Daphne and tilted his head.
“So where are you really going?”
“To my room, to my room. To rest. Don’t follow me.”
“Are you tired?”
“None of your business.”
Looking at Daphne answering curtly, Shio pouted his lower lip. Then, with a slightly sulky expression, he said.
“Why does Daphne always look at me unfavorably? What did I do wrong. I’ve only done things helpful to Daphne until now.”
Daphne stopped her thumping steps and looked up at Shio.
In fact, although Shio was a sly guy who made a lot of jokes, aside from that, he was quite capable.
He was good at magic, knew a lot, was smart. On top of that, he knew many secrets that Daphne did not.
Daphne acknowledged that he had given her a lot of help in various ways.
“That’s true. You’ve always helped me.”
“Right! So how about treating me a bit more kindly? Treat me preciously like you do the children. Who knows. Then I might be able to do even more?”
Daphne let out a sigh and ruffled her bangs.
“When I.”
Daphne, who had completely stopped, crossed her arms and glared piercingly at Shio.
“Do you know the reason I chased you away without even listening to you when I first met you?”
At that time, Shio had approached Daphne, who was Selus, said a few words, and was immediately driven out.
It would have been good if he was just driven out. He was flung to the opposite side of the continent and suffered a lot to return.
Shio naturally thought Daphne had thrown him away because she saw him as ‘an impudent guy’.
But there was another reason?
Shio tilted his head and looked down at Daphne.
“Because I felt a strange sensation from you.”
“……Huh?”
“You seem human but not human, and yet not another race either. So I feel repulsion toward you. You seem like an existence that goes against the natural order.”
Shio’s red eyes darted back and forth.
He was not one to easily panic, but now he was quite flustered.
Uh, um. He moved his lips and let out a swallowing sound.
What should I say? Should I reveal my identity?
No, wouldn’t it be wrong to say it now. Right now, without gaining full trust from Daphne, I can’t say about myself with my own mouth.
Shio, who quickly turned his brain, asked with an awkward smile.
“Th-then. So do I need to say who I am? Is that what you’re asking now?”
Then this time, Daphne tilted her head.
“If you don’t want to say it, you don’t have to reveal it.”
Daphne continued while picking at her ear.
“Well, if you think about it, this body itself is also an existence that deviates from the natural order, isn’t it. You must have your own circumstances. There’s no need to forcefully find out.”
“…….”
“Right now, I feel repulsion toward you, but as time passes, it might get better, right. I’ll try to make an effort to accept you, so don’t get too hurt.”
Shio bit his lower lip hard and dropped his gaze.
Because he never imagined hearing such warm words.
Because he never expected to be comforted that it’s okay.
Shio, with an expression mixing guilt and joy, spread his arms toward Daphne.
“Can I hug you just once?”
“Will it happen.”
“Hing.”
“If you hing hing one more time, I’ll hit you according to the number of letters in your words.”
“I’ll shut up.”
“Good.”
Daphne smirked and turned her body. She was resuming her steps back to her room.
“Don’t follow me. If you come, you’ll die.”
Leaving such a warm greeting, Daphne left.
Shio, who had been staring blankly at Daphne’s retreating back, soon laughed emptily and muttered softly.
“You really are an unchanging person.”
***
The next day.
The children, gathered as usual at the training ground, heard the news that the academy was moving.
“Then we’re leaving here?”
“Ah……. I just started getting attached…….”
Weren’t these the children who, when they first saw the rundown academy, tried to escape reality and run away.
Yet the children seemed a bit regretful, as if they had adapted to this space in their own way.
As expected, our choice was not wrong. Kenrick muttered while rubbing his nose.
He too felt the same regret about leaving this academy, so he slightly opened his mouth to test the children’s reaction.
“If you like this place, we can reconsider staying he…….”
“Nooo!”
“We want to play in new waterrr!”
“It’s fine! Put us in!”
“…….”
But the children were firm.
It seemed what they said earlier about getting attached was to comfort Kenrick.
Kenrick, who felt unnecessarily upset, drooped his shoulders.
“So, where are we going?”
“To the villa in the Akion grand duchy. It’s spacious there and has a training ground.”
“Wow, jackpot. Awesome.”
Regardless of whether Kenrick was disappointed or not, the children giggled and chatted with each other.
At that moment, Teppy, who was in the corner of the group, slyly slipped out, put his hand into a hollow at the base of a tree, and pulled out a pouch.
“What are you doing?”
“Eek!”
Teppy, who hadn’t sensed Rache’s presence, screamed and fell backward. But even in the midst of that, he didn’t let go of the pouch.
“Ah, ah, you startled me! Make some footsteps when you walk! Are you an assassin or what!”
“Why are you so startled? What is it?”
Rache’s eyes narrowed. She immediately spotted the pouch Teppy was hiding.
“What’s that you’re hiding behind?”
As soon as she said that, Teppy’s face turned pale.
“Th-this is no! It’s mine!”
“So what is it.”
“I said it’s mine!”
“Just tell me what it is?”
“Mine!”
“…….”
Should I really hit him……. Rache, pondering, in the blink of an eye went behind Teppy and snatched the pouch.
And she checked inside the pouch, and surprisingly, the pouch was full of only crumbly bread. Rache’s expression crumpled.
“What. It’s bread.”
“I told you it’s mine!”
Teppy, who snatched back the bread pouch from Rache, yelled loudly.
What kind of bread is this!
It’s what he endured wanting to eat and diligently collected like acorns!
Teppy growled and glared at Rache.
“You…….”
Rache looked at Teppy with a slight frown. That gaze contained pity and contempt.
“Didn’t you hear what the kids were saying earlier?”
“……Saying?”
“We’re going to the grand duke’s villa.”
“I know that. So what?”
“Do you think they’ll give us crappy food like here there too?”
“……Huh?”
Only then did Teppy’s growling mouth settle.
He rolled his eyes and opened and closed his mouth.
“N-now that I think about it, yeah? There’ll be much tastier bread than this, right? No, there’ll be bread and meat and everything, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’ll be super delicious.”
“Uh, uhaha? Hahaha! Ack! Totally awesome!”
Teppy, who threw the pouch full of only crumbly bread far away, jumped around and shouted.
It was unbelievably stupid and cheerful for the sole heir of the Imperial count family, a vassal of the grand duke.
Rache, watching them, clucked his tongue.
“We shouldn’t get our hopes up like that.”
Then Daphne, standing next to him, tilted her head.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
Rache shrugged his shoulders and looked again at the distant mountains. A hint of anxiety was on his face.
“By the way…….”
Rache sighed and muttered.
“Why aren’t His Excellency and Nike coming. They need to come so we can depart.”
“Didn’t the two go to the chimera research lab?”
“Right. They said they’d return by last night……. Why is there no contact. It’s worrying.”
Rache, wiping his face with his palm, bit his lips and expressed worry.
While doing so, he kept staring at the academy entrance. Watching so he could know immediately when they appeared.
That was when.
“It’s not that nothing happened, something did happen! Whaaat!”
Rache, who had been murmuring, changed his words and hurriedly started running out.
Because he saw people walking toward the academy covered in blood.
“Your Excellency! Nike!”
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