Chapter 125

R​ead ‍​o‍n​ ​K​a‍t‌R‍e‌​ad‌i‌​n‍​g‌C​​a‍f‌e‍

A quiet evening.

The bluish sky darkened.

Around the time the crescent moon, as if bitten into, rose.

We were able to return to the dormitory quite late.

The precise tests had started early in the morning, so they were finished before noon.

But the commotion that followed delayed our discharge.

“I-I’m sorry…”

Alice had been sulking all day.

Not just Alice, but Frey was the same.

Whenever she switched with Alice occasionally, she looked deflated.

It was a joint operation between the two personalities.

Frey was the one who caused the ruckus, but Alice joined in and helped.

They made a few new entrances in the hospital building for convenience and tore up the rooms to make renovations easier.

Thankfully, Angelica took care of the aftermath, or it would have been a headache to compensate for all that.

The hospital was already in chaos due to the incident in District 4.

Causing a scene in a place where patients needed rest, and even using supernatural abilities.

I was at a loss for words. Alice and Frey were the same, and so was I.

“No, I’m the one who should apologize.”

If I hadn’t made that joke, the two wouldn’t have misunderstood.

Eugene’s hospital stay wouldn’t have been extended either.

I couldn’t even look Eugene in the eye, feeling sorry for him, who was struck by lightning out of the blue.

Eugene laughed it off and said it was okay, but it was entirely Lucia’s fault.

Frey attacked him for an absurd reason, and he couldn’t bring himself to fight back, just taking the hits.

If he dodged, the building might have been destroyed, or innocent people could have been hurt, and the skill gap wasn’t big enough to subdue her in one go.

If he resisted clumsily, the hospital might have collapsed, so Eugene chose to take the hits and endure.

The problem was that Alice (Frey) had the strongest firepower in the academy.

She seemed to have controlled her power since it was a hospital, but it was enough to burn through Eugene’s heat resistance and cook his skin.

If Angelica hadn’t stepped in, he might have been seriously injured.

“It was an excessive joke that crossed the line. It was my fault for not considering how the listener would take it.”

Lucia is still a student who hasn’t reached adulthood.

A first-year academy student. Still at an age where she’s learning and growing.

How shocking would it be for such a girl to suddenly say she’s pregnant?

I only meant to tease Angelica a bit, but like a spark spreading in a dry field, it quickly reached Alice’s ears.

Especially since Alice has a personal interest in Eugene, wouldn’t she have been even more shocked?

Her one and only precious friend and the guy she’s interested in got together.

It’s only natural she was shocked. As an apology, I hugged Alice tightly.

“Lu, Lucia…”

She squirmed a bit, feeling a little stifled, but Alice didn’t refuse.

We hugged each other for a while, sharing warmth.

Returning to the dormitory after two days felt incredibly welcoming.

Even though it hadn’t been long, it felt like returning home after months of traveling.

I had been so proud, thinking I’d give Eugene and Alice happy memories.

But all the plans I had prepared vanished in an instant.

Instead, we returned after a bloody, intense battle.

Maybe it was destined to happen since Eugene was with us.

After all, protagonists are beings who bring all sorts of storms with them.

Just by being together, fate came striding in.

“Alice, are you hungry?”

“Y-yes, a little…”

“Hehe, let’s eat first.”

It was getting to the point where I was feeling a bit hungry since we hadn’t had dinner yet.

I rolled up my sleeves and headed to the kitchen.

Academy students usually eat at the cafeteria.

I used to do that too, but after practically living with Alice, I started cooking myself.

I’ve never properly learned, so I clumsily follow cookbooks.

As Alice’s guardian (self-proclaimed), I want to feed her good things.

Well, the cafeteria is run by professionals, so the nutritional balance is perfect.

But, how should I put it, it’s a small desire to give her food I made myself.

Is this what parents feel like when raising children?

When she says the food I made with care is delicious, I feel all floaty.

I end up smiling without realizing it.

Alice is my baby.

I have to protect her.

Until the day she leaves the nest and flies away.

Let’s see, what’s in the fridge…

Onions, green onions, carrots, zucchini, pork… oh, and lots of eggs.

Come to think of it, I bought a bunch last weekend because they were on sale.

Alright, decided.

Tonight’s dinner is omurice, which Alice really loves.

Alice likes it when I draw a rabbit with ketchup on the golden omelet.

I was humming a tune, taking out the ingredients one by one, when Alice tapped my shoulder.

“Huh? Alice? What’s up?”

“It’s me.”

“Oh, Frey. What’s up? Want to help?”

“Yeah, it’s shameless to just eat without helping.”

I’ve cooked with Alice before, but never with Frey.

Well, ever since she tormented me to wake up Alice, Frey has been avoiding me out of guilt.

Alice was a beginner like me, not even knowing the basics of cooking, but what about Frey?

Hehe, I’m looking forward to it.

“Until now, things didn’t align, or there wasn’t a chance to talk, so I couldn’t say anything.”

However, it seemed Frey’s main goal wasn’t cooking but talking to me.

Frey took out ingredients from the fridge and moved them to the table while continuing to speak.

“Lucia.”

“Yeah.”

“You, are you close with the rats from Class D?”

“Class D?”

My head tilted in confusion at the question.

If it’s Class D, does she mean Regina?

We were together with Class A during the field training.

But since she referred to them as rats, it seems like it’s not just one person.

Why is Frey suddenly bringing up Class D?

As if reading the curiosity on my face, Frey furrowed her brows and spoke.

“Two troublemakers from Class D were in your room. Don’t you remember?”

This is the first I’m hearing of it.

◈

A few days after the field training.

The day I was discharged from the hospital and returned.

The day Frey strangled me to wake up Alice.

The day Frey retreated into her inner self out of guilt.

The day Alice essentially started living with me.

That day, when Frey came to find me.

Apparently, there were two others in my room besides me.

Class D, first year.

The living drug, Regina.

The walking hypnosis app, Seri.

Along with one other, they formed a small, elite class of three.

Known as the trio of troublemakers.

Originally, they should have been sent to juvenile detention for their crimes, but their talents were too valuable to waste, so they were specially admitted to the academy.

As a result, they became the academy’s outcasts.

They didn’t mingle with other classes and stuck together.

Class D’s curriculum was different from Classes A, B, and C.

Unless it was something absolutely necessary like field training, the academy tried to minimize contact between Class D and other students.

For that reason, I hadn’t met them much.

I’d seen them from afar a few times, but direct conversations were rare.

Of course, I’d never invited them to the dormitory.

“They said they came to help with your addiction symptoms.”

Frey explained in detail what had happened that day.

Seri had come to help me, who was addicted to Regina’s drugs.

It was a plausible enough reason that I nodded unconsciously.

Class D, always under surveillance at the academy, couldn’t afford to cause trouble.

Given their already deep criminal records, another incident could mean suspension or even expulsion.

Expulsion would mean immediate juvenile detention.

Even though they used drugs to help me, they probably didn’t want things to get complicated.

Being called in by teachers would be annoying, and explaining themselves would be even more troublesome.

Asking Seri for help to resolve the addiction symptoms wasn’t strange at all.

In fact, I hadn’t experienced any addiction symptoms since the day after I was discharged.

I was even surprised at how suddenly comfortable I felt.

It was clear that Seri’s hypnosis had made me forget the addiction symptoms.

But why don’t I remember?

They say Seri and Regina came, but I have no memory of it.

Not a single recollection.

If Frey hadn’t told me, I would never have known.

Did Seri erase my memory with hypnosis? Why? As a joke? That’s scary to think about. Seri is a reckless troublemaker, after all. 

She’s not a criminal for nothing. Her nature is pure and good like a child, but not all her actions are good. Even children can be cruel without a hint of guilt sometimes, right?

But hypnosis doesn’t work properly on supernaturals.

Just as all supernaturals can resist the mental corruption of monsters.

Because there’s a strong mental barrier that can resist Seri’s hypnosis.

To forcibly hypnotize someone, you’d have to break through that mental barrier.

If there’s a significant difference in ability, it’s easy.

But if the abilities are similar or the other person is stronger, hypnosis is useless.

At best, it might just make them feel dizzy for a while.

There’s no way there’s a huge difference in ability between Seri and Lucia, so the fact that I accepted Seri’s hypnosis means…

Wait, if Regina was there too.

First, she could have clouded my judgment with drugs.

Then, she could have applied hypnosis.

But would Regina have a reason to do that?

Seri, maybe, but would Regina, the most normal of Class D, cause trouble?

Of course, Regina is the most normal in Class D, but from others’ perspectives, she’s still a troublemaker.

You saw how she swindled chocolate from me at first sight, right?

But she still has a minimum line she won’t cross.

It’s suspicious that she tried to hypnotize Frey too.

If it was to help Frey, who was in the worst possible state at the time, then I can’t argue…

Hmm, I don’t know.

I won’t reach a conclusion by overthinking it alone.

I’ll have to meet them directly and ask when I have time.

No.

That’s too optimistic.

Now that the novel’s plot has already gone off the rails.

I can’t blindly trust and rely on the story I knew.

Regina and Seri might be different from what I knew.

Just because they were allies in the story doesn’t guarantee they’ll be the same in reality.

If everything were the same as the novel, the devils would have first appeared months later.

So be careful, and then be careful again.

They say to knock on a stone bridge before crossing it.

Even if it’s unlikely, if the two are villains unlike in the novel, I mustn’t let my guard down.

It’s a combo of drugs and hypnosis.

If I get caught, I’ll be done for without being able to resist.

It’s better to keep my distance from Class D until I’m sure I can trust them.

I didn’t interact with Class D’s troublemakers to begin with, so I’ll just carry on as usual.

◈

Well, it’s been quite some time since that day, and nothing else has happened.

I haven’t had any separate contact with Regina and Seri, and my memory is only fuzzy about that evening.

Maybe I’m just being paranoid and overreacting.

“Are you Lucia?”

Maybe not.

The day after hearing the full story from Frey.

On my way to school after the weekend.

A boy with messy, ash-gray hair stood in my way as if he’d been waiting.

With half-lidded blue-gray eyes, the boy spoke in a cold tone.

“You’ll have to come with me.”

Though it’s our first meeting, I think I know who this boy is.

They say when it rains, it pours.

I tried my best to avoid Class D, but they came to me first.

The Hunting Dog.

Carlos.

The third of Class D’s troublemakers.

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
The next chapter may be delayed due to personal reasons.

I just want to write novels with peace of mind…

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Lucia has intelligence. (not really)