Chapter 249

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“What… what did you say?”

A suicide attempt? Who? Lucia? Eugene questioned his own ears. Hearing it didn’t change the fact. Eugene asked again, his voice trembling. As if expecting that reaction, Arin answered in the most calm voice possible.

“Literally. Lucia…tried to die.”

Arin began to explain what she had seen and experienced.

The attempted suicide incident that occurred on the day Lucia was discharged.

It only ended as an attempt because it was miraculously discovered beforehand; otherwise, it was terrifying to even imagine what would have happened.

Arin still trembled all over from goosebumps whenever she recalled that moment.

Even afterward, Lucia showed abnormal behavior. While the incidents were prevented beforehand thanks to crisis detection, the fact remained that Lucia repeatedly engaged in self-harm.

“That…couldn’t…be…”

Eugene unconsciously uttered a word of denial.

The Lucia who returned was no different from before. She was bright and full of life, like a flower petal covered in dew.

She was smiling. She was smiling happily. So Eugene had been reassured.

She had been kidnapped and her body had been taken, but Lucia was still unchanged. A strong girl who had overcome all her pain. But all of that was just his assumption?

“Not just anyone, but Lucia would never…”

There’s no way. He tried to conclude that, but suddenly his lips wouldn’t move.

Eugene blinked his trembling eyes. Lucia would never do that? How could he be so sure? He hadn’t even looked into Lucia’s inner self.

His legs wobbled from the shock, as if he’d been hit on the back of the head.

Lucia is strong. He wasn’t just talking about physical strength. He meant her spirit.

Whenever and wherever, Lucia was strong and brave. She prioritized the safety of others over her own. During the field trip, during the cherry blossom festival, and in District 6. Even if the price of her choice was her own sacrifice, she always accepted it calmly.

Yes, she’s strong.

When she first faced Astaroth.

Compared to himself, who had been consumed by fear and abandoned his beliefs, Lucia was a far greater person.

However, does that mean he could be absolutely certain she would never break?

“What do you think Lucia is?”

Arin said in a sorrowful voice.

As if she had accurately grasped what Eugene was thinking.

Accurately pointing out the fact that Eugene had unconsciously overlooked.

“Lucia is the same as us. She’s human.”

“…”

“She’s not an invincible, uninjured iron maiden.”

It’s obvious. It was something so obvious it didn’t even need mentioning.

Lucia wasn’t a hero with abundant real-world experience like the Celestial Corps captains; she was an academy student no different from anyone else. She was just a little more responsible and brave.

Eugene wiped his face with hands drenched in cold sweat. His pupils darted around aimlessly.

Things he had casually ignored until now flickered in his mind.

Her head was cut off by the girl with the red fox mask.
Her body was cut in half by the child with the white cloud mask.
Her body was taken over by the devil with the green wolf mask.

Lucia had experienced several events that would cause trauma even if experienced only once.

Even then, was she really alright? Did she really endure it without a scratch? Was Lucia really fine? Why did I think Lucia would be okay?

“But… she was smiling…”

Yes, now that he thought about it, that’s why.

Lucia was always smiling. Every time she met Eugene, she smiled brightly. As if she had completely shaken off the past incidents. As if the past pain was nothing. As if she was asserting that she was fine.

“So, so brightly… she smiled…”

A chilling chill and unprecedented fear constricted his heart.

Thoughts flashing through his mind became a headache, shaking his spirit.

It was such a terrible assumption, a thought that was difficult to accept easily.

“All of that was…an act…?”

In fact, if she had been suffering.

If she had been really struggling and hurting.

If she had been in unbearable pain.

Because she didn’t want to worry others.

Pretending to be okay, pretending to be fine, as if she were perfectly alright.

As if she were invincible.

If she had been decorating herself that way.

That smile.

The smile, beautiful like a fully bloomed sunflower.

If it had all been just a mask to hide her inner wounds.

And if those accumulated wounds and pain festered and finally burst…

“Snap out of it.”

A sharp pain stung his cheek.

Arin’s hands were on Eugene’s cheeks.

Eugene belatedly realized he was hyperventilating.

“Calm down. I know it’s shocking. But in times like these, you have to stay calm.”

She was right. Getting excited wouldn’t change anything, and it certainly wouldn’t solve anything.

However, human emotions cannot be controlled at will. His racing thoughts and wildly beating heart didn’t listen to Eugene.

In the end, Eugene used an extreme method to calm his racing heart.

Crack, a sharp pain shot through his brain as his tongue broke.

He bit his tongue to regain his composure.

Even though the wound would heal quickly with super regeneration, the pain lingered.

It was a foolish and brutal method, but fortunately, it was remarkably effective.

“…How is Lucia’s condition?”

Regaining his composure, Eugene swallowed the blood pooling in his mouth.

“To be honest, it’s not good. She’s already attempted self-harm several times.”

“Yes, I see…”

Eugene could partially understand the feeling of inflicting wounds on one’s own body. He had been through something similar.

In the past, Eugene had also inflicted self-harm many times. Even when he suffered burns due to excessive use or failure to control his supernatural abilities, Eugene had felt a sense of relief from that pain.

He couldn’t relieve his maddening feelings.

He couldn’t calm his heart that felt like it would be torn to shreds at any moment.

But by inflicting wounds on his body, by feeling pain.

He could avert his eyes from the wounds etched in his heart.

Because he had experienced something similar, Eugene could roughly guess Lucia’s condition. However, no concrete solutions came to mind.

What had improved Eugene’s condition was not anyone’s help, but the passage of time. Five years had turned his bloody wounds into painful scars.

But if she was attempting suicide, her condition was far more serious than Eugene’s in the past. He couldn’t just wait and see. He had to take some action immediately.

“Arin, thank you for telling me. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known anything.”

“…What are you going to do now?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m at a loss.”

Eugene confessed honestly.

He wants to help her.

But how?

In what way? By what method?

Willpower alone won’t solve anything.

“So, first.”

Eugene clenched his fist.

Her smile flickered before his eyes.

Whether that smile was genuine or an act.

First, he wanted to confirm that.

“I want to meet Lucia.”

◈

‘It’s strange no matter how I think about it.’

[I agree. Something’s up.]

Alice was lost in thought with a sullen expression.

Frey expressed agreement with her concerns.

She was concerned about Arin’s change since Lucia’s discharge.

She tried not to show it, but Alice might not know, but Frey couldn’t be fooled.

And what Frey realized was also conveyed to Alice.

[That girl, she’s been constantly watching Lucia.]

‘She seems to be hiding something…’

[The broken door is also concerning, you know.]

‘Lucia brushed it off, but… the culprit is probably Arin, right?’

[Looking at how she gets nervous whenever the door is mentioned, that’s probably the case.]

At first, she thought it was because of guilt.

She knew because she had heard Arin’s confession that day.

She had ignored Lucia’s crisis to ensure her own safety.

She must have felt responsibility and guilt. She could also understand her timid demeanor in front of Lucia.

However, as time passed, she had the feeling something was wrong. Arin’s attitude was concerning. To understand it simply as guilt…she felt an inexplicable urgency.

There was something unnatural about Lucia’s attitude as well.

She was trying to hide something. It probably had something to do with Arin… did Arin tell her everything? About what happened that day. About ignoring Lucia’s crisis for her own safety.

[Should we just grab Arin and interrogate her?]

‘If she refuses to talk, we can just break a few of her fingers… No, what am I saying.’

Frey quickly changed her mind. She had decided to suppress her own violence, vowing not to hurt Lucia anymore. Unless it was during a battle with monsters, resorting to violence in a situation like this was not right.

Above all, Arin had been kind to Alice as the class representative of Class A.

Although she didn’t particularly like her because of her past mistakes, she couldn’t repay kindness with wickedness.

‘I’m curious, but…since both of them don’t seem to want to talk…’

Alice replied passively to Frey’s opinion.

It was inconsiderate to forcefully pry into something the parties involved didn’t want to talk about.

It was concerning, but it wasn’t something to worry that much about.

[Okay. Then let’s just watch for now.]

Given Lucia and Arin’s personalities, it probably wasn’t anything bad.

It was probably some unspeakable personal matter.

She didn’t know what they were agonizing over, but wouldn’t it be solved eventually?

It’s impolite for a third party to pry excessively into their secrets.

Let’s just wait silently until they tell us themselves.

Alice and Frey reached that conclusion after a long discussion.

“Lucia!”

“Eh? Eh? Eugene?!”

Until she saw Eugene suddenly hugging Lucia after a chance encounter on their way to school.

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Alice was embarrassed.

Frey was really pissed.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Eugene isn’t helping his case, what a noob, just like the lewd saintess.