Chapter 27: Weekend (1)

Weekend (1)

Elise Petra's schedule is busy even on Saturdays.

Intensive supplementary training at the Selenacio academy, private tutoring on the magic body, magic spells, and Latinel, and even on-site lessons to prepare for future mage courses.

She wakes up at 4 a.m. and works until 10 p.m., a grueling 18-hour day, before returning late to her villa.

"...Elise! We thought you weren't coming~ You're the main character here."

"Oh~ Selenacio's top student!"

"Hey, you're getting prettier by the day..."

The party was in full swing.

Music blared from the speakers, lights flashed, and the parking lot was filled with luxury cars.

Not only the seniors from Endex, but also alumni who had already entered prestigious universities had gathered for this 'senior party'.

"Elise. I heard you got perfect scores on all your assignments?"

"The College Board is making it tough this year. There are even rumors that a few people might die. It'll probably work out in your favor though."

"...Is that so?"

Elise responded to them with appropriate warmth. She wore a faint smile, but also radiated a coldness that said, don't bother me too much.

She greeted everyone briefly and then headed up to the second-floor balcony.

KAin and Layla were already there.

"Ah, you're here, Elise? Shit, my grades weren't adjusted."

Kain spoke, clutching a whiskey bottle.

"Some bastard must have stolen my answers and used them. I was lucky to make up for it in the mine, but it was a close call."

Elise nodded and sat down in a chair. She closed her eyes slightly, letting the cool breeze soothe her tired body.

"Oh!"

Suddenly, Layla shouted. Elise was startled.

They don't even give me time to rest.

"The number has dropped to 90!"

It seemed that the number of students who have been dropped from the College Board had been announced.

Although it's only the 'University Association' that knows how many points each student has, the total number of students is announced in advance by the school.

"Ah~ finally. That bastard Shion failed twice in a row, right?"

Kain stretched out.

"I hated seeing that bastard's face. It feels like a thorn has been removed."

He then gulped down his whiskey. Sometimes, Kain says what Elise wants to say.

"It's a natural process."

However, Elise didn't want to feel anything for Shion Ascal.

"Useless talent should be eliminated. It was overconfidence in the first place for such a person to challenge the College Board."

Her disdain was as natural as breathing, and the news of his disappearance made her feel much better.

"But... I'm going to miss Shion..."

When Layla puffed up her cheeks, Kain snorted.

"Hey. You were the one who hated him the most. You even said you'd cut off his fingers."

"He was ugly back then. He had a disgusting scar on his bald head."

"...You're crazy about looks. Isn't he still bald?"

Just as Kain was muttering in disbelief,

♬♪♩♪—

Elise's phone rang with a classical ringtone.

The liquid crystal displayed a name that was quite surprising.

[Soliette Arkne]

"Why would Soliette..."

"Wow! Soliette?!"

Layla was making a fuss. Kain showed interest as well.

"Isn't she coming to the party? I sent her a direct message. She left me on read though."

"Shush."

Elise put her finger to her lips. Kain shut up immediately, and Layla mimed zipping her mouth shut.

She pressed the accept button on the screen.

"Hello."

—Hey. This is Soliette.

"Yeah. I know. What's up?"

Soliette was the one to call first. It was quite refreshing, being the first time since 'that incident'.

I wonder if we still have that much of a connection left.

—......

But Soliette didn't say anything. She seems to want to ask something but kept hesitating.

"If you have something to say, say it."

—Um... That's the thing.

"Ask. It's okay."

Elise chuckled and looked at her nails. They were nicely trimmed, but they were broken because of the mine.

I need to take care of them right away.

—Do you know about Shion Ascal?

"......?"

Soliette spat out an unexpected question.

The highest-grade apartment in Edsilla, 'Presium'. A penthouse of 150 pyeong (about 496 square meters), equipped with a magic training room, a physical training room, and an armory.

Soliette was alone there.

No servants, no cleaners, no chefs, no one was allowed in.

She doesn't allow anyone in her personal space.

Because it's bothersome if she's not alone. Because she doesn't want to care about others, not even a little bit.

Above all, because they interfere with her 'work'.

—Didn't I tell you last time? He's a lunatic.

Elise's voice flowed from the smartphone.

Soliette nodded.

"I see."

—...Right. I'll add one more line to that. He's a seriously twisted, self-obsessed lunatic.

For some reason, Else seems to hate Shion a lot.

"I see."

—Don't worry about it. He's already confirmed to be disqualified with two failures-

-Click.

She hung up the phone. Then she looked around her room.

In her 'room', which is as big as an average house, there were many pictures. There were many scrapped articles.

They were all hanging on the wall. The whole room was filled with them.

All of them were Soliette's efforts to uncover some 'truth'.

"......"

There are too many questions in this case, with too many moments and too many people involved.

The time, pain, and death of that day are nailed into her heart like a stake.

Soliette looked up at the wall.

[Where is he ? ? ?]

A sentence written in red pen.

She had friends too. Precious people she had spent over 12 years with.

They all died.

No, they were murdered.

Soliette looked at a corner of the wall. A newspaper headline was attached there.

[Unprecedented serial killer 'Knightmare'.]

Knightmare.

A pun replacing Night with Knight.

A nickname referring to the monster who sequentially murdered thirty knights or knight aspirants.

['Knightmare' serial killer finally apprehended!]

[A great achievement of the joint investigation by the Knight Order and the Police Force!]

However, the news articles that followed were decidedly bright and cheerful. Exclamation marks were liberally sprinkled throughout the sentences, and the people in the photos were all smiles.

Thump-

Soliette, who was staring at it, clenched her fist. She gritted her teeth.

[Serial killer 'Knightmare' commits suicide in prison.......]

The case ended with a suicide.

However, Soliette had met him before he committed suicide. She had seen the man the media claimed to be the 'Knightmare'.

When she looked into his eyes, Soliette instinctively knew. Her intuition told her.

He was not the real culprit.

He was a phantom created by the media, a scapegoat put forth by the real culprit.

[Case closed due to suicide. Will the victim's family feel sadden or relieved?]

Therefore, there was no need to feel sadden or relieved.

Because she was still on the hunt. For him, who must be somewhere out there, breathing, blending in as an ordinary human...

But these days, the investigation was not making any progress. She was acutely aware of her limitations.

She didn't even hope for help from her family.

She had been treated like a mental patient suffering from PTSD, no matter how many times she explained.

What she needed was simply a person.

A person who could be used and discarded as needed, for a fair price.

A human tool.

Rustle—

Soliette pulled a flyer out of her pocket.

[Service Offered]

She looked at it and replayed the day's events. About 'someone' who had been talking about the Knightmare.

She quietly reviewed it. About his words, which had crossed the line long ago.

—Your family is shit.

A dull, contemptuous voice.

Pretending to know everything about her, when he knew nothing.

—I do know, actually. Why do you keep trying to distance yourself from the family?

Just that was enough to make her grit her teeth and twist her insides.

That damned bastard, he dared to touch her raw nerve.

—It's because of the Knightmare, isn't it?

Knightmare.

That monster is already her nightmare.

Not a single day has passed without dreaming of that day.

The moment she falls asleep, she is absorbed into the swamp of memories. Shattered blades, torn arms, gouged out eyes. Their disassembled-gruesome pieces lying in the morgue.

She can't move forward from that moment, nor can she step back.

That's the end of the dream.

When she wakes up from the nightmare, everything is empty and quiet. It's unclear whether she's alive or dead.

In a space where she is alone, she barely confirms 'life' by piecing together the shattered reality...

"...Fuck."

Soliette pressed hard on her forehead. Dizziness shook her body. But she shouldn't be swayed by such a guy.

Deep breath.

With her eyes closed, she regulated her breath. After calming down slowly, she opened her eyes again.

She looked at the screen of her laptop.

[Swordsmanship Recording: Shion Ascal]

A recording of Shion Ascal's swordsmanship in class. Soliette's assignment report, which she had been watching and analyzing for an hour.

The one-line review: Mediocre.

So mediocre that it's inferior.

Knights call this kind of swordsmanship 'low-grade'. A patchwork of swordsmanship picked up here and there, hastily put together, often used by low-grade knights.

His skill level seemed high, but his overall swordsmanship was nothing to write home about. Even that skill level was achieved through easy techniques, so there was no need for praise.

Half a point out of five.

Bang—!

Having finished the report, Soliette closed her laptop irritably.

Tap-tap-tap-tap—

The temporary residence in the old mansion, where a fireplace was burning. A lazy Sunday morning that felt like my body was slowly roasting.

Having returned from Sanperu, I lay in bed, looking at the 'Magic Core'.

It's a ghost's magic core that I caught in Limto mine, and I'm considering where to use it.

"Hmm......."

The byproducts of ghosts are usually used as catalysts or intermediates. Of course, like other magic cores, it can be made into accessories, but there's a superstition that using a 'ghost's' magic core will bring a curse.

In fact, its appearance is somewhat eerie compared to other magic cores. Should I say it throbs as if it's alive?

"......I'll take 3,000 Ren."

Of course, I'm thinking of selling it. I need to start cancer treatment between April and May at the latest.

I opened the [Darkweb] app on my smartphone.

──Dark Auction.

Dark Auction. An underground auction house operated on the Darkweb. My account level is still low, so I'll be ripped off with appraisal fees and commissions, but there's no other route for a minor like me.

[Please first take a picture of the item and upload it.]

As I was about to take a picture with one hand while holding the magic core in the other,

"......Huh?"

Suddenly, my palm turned blue. The magic core on top of it melted away in white. An unexpected dissolution. The liquefied substance seeped through the incredibly short mana circuit in my palm.

"What the fuck!"

I shook my hand in a hurry, but it was already too late. The transparent liquid quickly penetrated my skin.

"......."

I blankly looked at my palm. A faint blue light flowed through my skin before fading away.

"What the hell. My money."

I muttered blankly.

Is this the effect of my Spectrum?

I hurriedly opened the 「Notepad」.

[94 / 103]

■ Diary

■ Memory

Capacity history within the last 24 hours: -1

"......Wait."

I opened my eyes wide. I stared hard at a certain part of the 「Notepad」.

For reference, that -1 is the result of acquisition. If you work hard and practice, the capacity steadily decreases.

The problem is not that '-1'.

"Wasn't it a percentage?"

The capacity has changed.

Before and after regression, it was '100', so I simply thought it was 100'%'. But now, it had increased by '3'.

I stroked my chin.

3,000 Ren evaporated, but thanks to that, my capacity increased, and I learned that I could increase my capacity.

"No...... But still, 3,000 Ren is too expensive."

It still felt like a loss.

Let me repeat, whether it's a notepad, a magic core, capacity, or whatever, if I die, it's all useless, right?