Chapter 8

I was so dumbfounded that I lost my words.

Then the boy tilted his head and took a couple more steps toward me.

“What, did you lose your mind? Don’t tell me you didn’t get word that I was coming?”

No. The word I got was that my little brother was coming—not some snot-nosed brat with a smart mouth.

I let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity, but I forced myself to collect my emotions and called the boy.

“Ronny?”

“Ugh, why are you suddenly calling me that? It’s cringey.”

Ronny grimaced and backed away.

Honestly! I was just being kind because he’s a kid!

But since that’s clearly what he wanted, I decided to gladly meet his expectations.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“How old are you this year again?”

“Thirteen.”

I thought he’d be three or four years younger than Sophia, but surprisingly, there was only a one-year difference.

I flashed the brightest smile I could at my much younger brother and asked.

“So how old am I?”

“You’re seventeen. Did you get hit somewhere wrong during your exam, sis? Your head seems a bit off.”

I didn’t get hit wrong—I hit someone wrong, you little brat.

But that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“Right, so I’m four years older than you. And yet…”

I reached out and patted Ronny’s head.

And then—

“E-Eeeek!”

“Where did you learn to talk like that! Huh?”

“Aagh! It hurts, it hurts! It hurrrts—!”

I mercilessly yanked Ronny’s ear. Ronny flailed and resisted, but it was no use.

Naturally. However much of a boy he was, he was a small kid even smaller than Sophia, and awakened individuals and ordinary people had different basic abilities from the start.

“Hoho…”

The guard watching us smiled warmly and stepped away. He must have thought we were just a normal pair of siblings.

“Agh—! Let go! Let go of me!”

“Let me go, sis.”

“What? Are you crazy—agh! P-Please let me go, sis—agh!”

Only then did I release Ronny’s ear. His pale ear had already turned bright red.

Ronny clutched his ear and glared at me with teary eyes.

“I’m telling Mom and Dad everything!”

“Go ahead, tell them. But I’ll tell them too—that you keep calling your sister ‘you’ instead of ‘sis.’”

At my words, Ronny couldn’t say anything and just fumed. So he’s scared of his parents despite that smart mouth.

I smirked at him and dusted off my hands for show. Watching me, Ronny muttered quietly.

“Damn, she got stronger after awakening…”

So he was always the type to get beaten, huh.

No matter how quietly he muttered, at this distance, an awakened individual’s hearing picked it all up. I was about to tell him that I had been holding back my strength—but decided to pretend I didn’t hear and changed the subject.

“Anyway, why did you come here?”

“To look around the academy! Didn’t you even read the letter properly, sis?”

“Our Ronny, you still have one ear left, don’t you?”

When I stared meaningfully at his remaining ear, Ronny flinched and covered it. Then he swallowed and confessed honestly.

“…To check.”

“Check what?”

“I came to check if you really passed!”

“Ahh—”

So, he came all this way because he couldn’t believe his sister had passed?

Realizing anew how Lucy was regarded, I swallowed a sigh inside. Well, the original Lucy was obviously the type to share the same personality as Ronny.

“No, but why has your tone been so rude since earlier?”

Eek—

When I brought my hand near Ronny’s ear, he backed away faster than anyone.

He was surprisingly agile. If he awakened, unlike Lucy the strength-based one, he might be an agility-based one.

Since it was just a warning gesture anyway, I withdrew my hand without regret. Ronny’s shoulders, which had shot up with tension, slowly came back down.

At that, I clicked my tongue and asked.

“So, how long are you staying before you leave?”

“Dunno. I didn’t decide.”

Look at this shameless brat.

Ronny said quite confidently that he’d come without any plan.

I was about to tell him to go back now that he’d confirmed I passed, but stopped. Ronny was pretending to look away, but I could see it clearly.

His green eyes were constantly scanning the academy buildings.

“Want me to show you around?”

“What?”

“You said you came to look around the academy. I’ll do that for you.”

The moment I finished speaking, Ronny’s eyes sparkled as he looked at me.

Sigh. Dragging this cheeky brat around the academy was annoying, but since I’d been asked, I had no choice. And since I’d scared him a bit earlier, he probably wouldn’t cause trouble on his own.

“In exchange, look around today and go home as soon as possible. This unnie doesn’t have time to look after a brat like you.”

“Who are you calling a brat! We’re only four years apart!”

“Yeah, next brat.”

I let Ronny’s complaints go in one ear and out the other.

We couldn’t go into classrooms right now, so should I show him the practice rooms or the exam sites first?

I headed somewhere nearby first. Glancing back, Ronny was following along surprisingly well despite his grumbling.

In principle, outsiders couldn’t enter the academy, but there were exceptions.

One of them was during vacation, like now. At times like this, entry was permitted on the condition that a guardian affiliated with the academy accompanied them. Plus, with the solid status of the Saint family, most places should be accessible.

“This is the central entrance, and the exam site I saw is that way, straight ahead.”

“Oh…”

Despite my lousy explanation, Ronny’s flushed cheeks made it obvious he was excited as he looked around eagerly.

I felt my shoulders puff up for no reason. Ronny following me around and letting out exclamations was pretty cute.

“It’s not as flashy as I thought.”

Cancelled.

Anyway, this kid’s problem was that mouth of his.

I was about to grab those plump lips, but held back, worried he’d throw another fit like before. Still, I shouldn’t do anything embarrassing inside the academy.

“There are private practice rooms and a grand training hall. I usually use the private rooms, and the grand training hall is mostly used by people who awakened as swordsmen or warriors—”

“Swordsmen?!”

Ronny, who had been listening with feigned disinterest, suddenly shouted. What a surprise!

“Talk quietly!”

“I want to go there!”

Ronny said loudly, ignoring me. I carved another “patience” into my heart. Meanwhile, Ronny rattled on.

“Doesn’t it feel like I’d awaken as a swordsman? If that happens, I’ll be entering the academy too. I should see it in advance! Right, sis?”

Ronny looked at me with an expectant gaze.

I’d planned to just pass by and give a rough explanation because it was annoying. But how could I refuse when he wanted to go this badly?

“But it’s vacation, so I don’t know if anyone will be in the training hall.”

“I don’t care!”

At Ronny’s answer, we ended up heading to the grand training hall.

Honestly, I’d never been inside either, but I pretended to be familiar and stepped in.

‘Theodore?’

Our protagonist was training hard.

And Ronny stared at him in a daze.

Well, that made sense.

Even if Theodore was called a loser at the academy, awakened individuals had different physical abilities compared to ordinary people.

Theodore’s swordsmanship—snail-slow by awakened standards—must have looked incredibly impressive to Ronny, an ordinary person.

Theodore, who had been swinging his sword continuously, lowered it to catch his breath. Only then did he seem to sense someone’s presence and looked this way.

“Lucy…?”

“Ah, I didn’t know you were training. Sorry for interrupting, Theodore.”

At my words, Theodore shook his head and said it was fine. Honestly, I didn’t really think I’d interrupted. It was just a courtesy.

Ah! For reference, we had finally properly introduced ourselves recently.

I hadn’t thought to do it because I already knew his name, but a few days ago, Theodore, whom I ran into in the hallway, told me his name first.

‘Um, I’m Theodore.’

‘Huh?’

‘I don’t think I ever told you my name…’

‘Ahh, right! I’m Lucy. Lucy Saint.’

Theodore, who had hesitantly brought it up, smiled faintly at my answer. After that, we naturally started calling each other by name.

But that was it.

The academy was too big, and we only ran into each other a few times passing by. Besides, perhaps because I already had a long-term quest, no other quests appeared when I met him.

So these days, I was struggling to raise my stats through honest means.

Tsk, I wanted stats without much effort.

“So, did you come to… train too, Lucy?”

I snapped out of my brief recollection at Theodore’s question.

Unlike me, who wanted to raise stats without effort, here was someone trying to surpass the wall through genuine hard work every day.

I guess that’s why he’s the protagonist. So diligent.

“No, I’m here because of my little brother.”

I answered sheepishly. It felt a bit awkward to look idle next to someone working so hard (and destined to become a genius).

At my answer, Theodore finally seemed to notice the brat next to me. He awkwardly raised his hand toward Ronny.

“H-Hello…?”

But Ronny didn’t respond to his greeting.

This rude little brat, seriously!

I was about to force him to greet back. But Ronny grabbed my arm first.

What, why.

Ronny waved his small hand as if telling me to lend him my ear. I reluctantly leaned in, and he whispered in a small voice.

“Sis, are you close with him?”

“Theodore? Well, we’re just starting to get close?”

“Then don’t get close to him.”

“What?”

What nonsense is this, little brother.

The fate of your world rests on that guy right now.

As I stared at Ronny in disbelief, he furrowed his brow as if frustrated and whispered in my ear.

“He’s the bastard son of the Wither family—!”

Is this kid out of his mind!

I hurriedly covered Ronny’s mouth.