Chap 100-Growth

 

“Reporting in. All the magical beasts that attacked the front lines have retreated. Situation resolved.”

Click

With the final report, Serena closed the communication crystal orb.

She sank deep into her chair, pressing her temples with both hands.

A full-scale offensive by the magical beasts, after a period of quiet.

When she first heard the news, she braced herself, expecting significant damage.

However, surprisingly, the magical beasts only engaged in small skirmishes and did not launch an aggressive offensive.

Even Calamity-Class Monsters appeared on some front lines, but the damage was surprisingly minimal.

It was fortunate, if anything…

But that very fact made Serena even more uneasy, as she couldn’t decipher the magical beasts’ true intentions at all.

‘Frustrating…’

Leaning back in her chair for a long time, Serena eventually took a deep breath and stood up.

Leaving her office, Serena let out a heavy sigh.

Her red eyes were weary, and her gray hair was dry and disheveled.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she had slept comfortably in her bed, overwhelmed by work.

Her missing father.

And external forces, taking advantage of the gap, constantly seeking opportunities to encroach on the Bennett Family.

To fight against all of that and protect her position, she even took on the troublesome role of the Head of the Audit Department directly under the Council.

But it didn’t matter.

If only she could bring that ungrateful bitch who didn’t know the meaning of gratitude to ruin.

‘…I should get some air.’

If she went out the main gate, the sleepless retainers or servants would wake up.

She didn’t want to bother them.

Serena’s body flickered like a faint afterimage in the hallway before disappearing in an instant.

A moment later, she lightly leaped over the high fence of the mansion and quietly began to walk the streets, where the faint light of dawn was beginning to seep in.

Serena pulled the hood of her robe down low so that people wouldn’t recognize her.

It was early morning, but the streets were already bustling with activity.

The savory smell of bread wafting from the bakery tickled her nose, and merchants were opening their shops, preparing for the day.

Although fatigue still lingered in her eyes, the faces of the people were filled with smiles and hope.

Until recently, even here, far from the front lines, Contamination and gates frequently occurred, and people were always anxious.

However, recently, the power of the magical beasts had weakened significantly, and unless one was near the front lines, there were almost no attacks by magical beasts, and even the occasional offensives were very weak.

However, with the recent rapid weakening of the magical beasts’ forces, attacks by magical beasts had almost disappeared unless one was near the front lines.

Even the occasional offensives were weak, and thanks to that, people were focusing on their work again, and the economy was recovering.

Terra was experiencing peace for the first time in hundreds of years.

‘Someone is struggling without sleep for this peace…’

Serena muttered bitterly to herself.

It was then.

A subtle sense of unease that made her stop in her tracks swept over her.

People were gathered on one side of the street, murmuring.

‘What is it…?’

Serena approached the crowd.

And soon, the conversation she overheard froze her in place.

“Another great hero has left us because of that trashy bitch.”

“Although our Bennett Dukedom wasn’t on good terms with her, she wasn’t someone who should have gone so meaninglessly…”

“Why did the Duke bring in such a woman… Tsk tsk.”

“Hey! Watch your mouth!”

“Did I say anything wrong? Serena will be taking over the Dukedom soon anyway.”

Serena’s face hardened coldly.

As she pushed through the crowd, the newspaper that people were looking at came into view.

Mirage Times.

It was the newspaper that had helped her expose Yeon Bennet and her father’s corruption a while ago.

And they had released two breaking news stories in less than an hour.

[Breaking News] The mastermind behind the academy’s midterm exam disaster is the ‘villainess’ Yeon Bennet?!

-Numerous pieces of evidence secured of collusion with Contamination Worshipers-

[Breaking News] Death of Duke Medici confirmed. The culprit is the villainess Yeon Bennet. Immediately arrested by professors at the scene.

-She hurriedly departed to save Lady Camilla Medici and other students and met her demise-

Serena felt her hands, holding the newspaper, trembling so much that the paper crumpled.

Yeon Bennet.

It was that bitch again.

How could a person be like that?

How could she not cause an accident even for a single moment…!

Serena barely suppressed the rising anger.

Arrested… as a criminal caught in the act…?

‘This time, she won’t be able to get out of it as easily as she has in the past.’

‘I will make sure you receive the karmic consequences of the sins you have accumulated, Yeon.’

Serena took a deep breath as the name of Duke Medici came into view.

Cassandra Medici…

She had only thought of her as a cold-blooded person.

She was a hero worthy of being the head of the Dukedom, having been the first to step forward to save her daughter and students before dying in battle.

Although she had always aimed for the Bennett Family’s interests and sharpened her blade at every opportunity.

In the first place, the Bennett Dukedom was at fault for defending a woman like Yeon Bennet.

She didn’t have no resentment towards her, but she never wanted her to die so meaninglessly.

With this incident, the Bennett Dukedom would be able to seize a golden opportunity to retaliate against the Medici Dukedom, which had lost its leader.

But Serena was only thinking of reclaiming the share that the Medici Family had taken away.

The glory that the Bennett Family originally held.

That would be enough.

That would be the best respect she could give to the hero who sacrificed herself for the students.

‘And…’

‘I will definitely get revenge properly.’

Serena vowed, but a complex, indescribable feeling, along with bitterness, remained stuck in a corner of her heart.

She suppressed her hatred and anger towards Yeon and pushed her way out of the noisy crowd.

The cold air of dawn cooled her heated head a little.

But the shocking news of that day was not limited to the Bennett Dukedom.

The Mirage Times quickly spread this article throughout Terra, even at a loss.

The news seeped like wind even into remote villages where few people lived.

And now.

In the hearts of everyone living in Terra, hatred for the villainess Yeon Bennet was etched even deeper.

…

It felt like two hours had already passed.

I sat with my chin resting on my hand, blankly watching the endless debate between the black-haired woman and Aisha.

I was starting to get bored.

When the word Evil God first came up, I perked up my ears, hoping to get some new information,

But their conversation quickly flowed into complex theories, and I eventually gave up on understanding it neatly.

“No matter how I calculate it, one level 10 divine power isn’t enough!”

Aisha stomped her foot on the floor as if frustrated.

“After all, giving up that bizarre divine power…”

“Absolutely not.”

The black-haired woman’s answer was firm.

“Haa… With just this, it’s impossible to edit the Akashic Records.”

“Hmm…”

She bit her lip and fell into deep thought.

“Then… what if I give up my level and memories?”

“What kind of crazy talk is that again!”

Aisha finally shouted.

After pacing around the room for a while, she eventually let out a long sigh as she looked at the black-haired woman, who was quietly looking at her.

“…Are you serious?”

The black-haired woman nodded silently.

“This time… can you trust me?”

“Ugh… If you say something like that…”

Aisha’s shoulders twitched slightly.

She lowered her gaze to the floor for a moment, then finally whispered in a trembling voice.

“I’m… sorry back then. We… should have trusted you.”

“It’s okay. It’s already been a long time.”

At those words, Aisha took a long breath and laughed hollowly.

The laughter quickly dissipated, and a faint embarrassment flashed across her eyes.

“Do you know why I couldn’t apologize all this time?”

She carefully continued, clasping her hands together tightly.

“I thought that you… would forgive me so easily, as if it were nothing…”

“What is that… you’re being silly.”

The black-haired woman chuckled and gently placed her hand on Aisha’s head.

“I’m being silly, right? It might be very late, but…”

Aisha rubbed her eyes slightly and looked up at her again.

“I… will trust you.”

At those words, the black-haired woman also smiled quietly.

“Then first of all ##$%……”

Suddenly, Aisha’s voice began to mumble.

As if the frequency of an old radio was off, a sharp, crackling noise pierced my eardrums, and the background in the dream shook as if there was an earthquake.

In that chaos, the face of the black-haired woman, which had been as hazy as fog until now, gradually became clearer.

The face that was finally revealed was…

‘……Me?’

A face exactly like mine.

No, to be exact, she had the exact same appearance as Yeon Bennet, the original owner of this body.

The moment I recognized that fact, everything around me was sucked into pitch-black darkness and disappeared.

Only she and I remained in the empty space.

As if something was bothering her, she began to glare at me.

That gaze was so vivid that it felt like reality.

‘Could it be… she’s looking at me now?’

“Wake up, you idiot.”

She said coldly as ice.

“Lina is in danger.”

With those words, the scene flashed white before my eyes.

All the senses in my body disappeared, and consciousness faded away.

…

When I opened my eyes, what came into view was a scene of chaos.

Professors busily running around.

And in those gaps, gazes that were wary of me, as if surrounding me, flickered.

“Yeon Bennet has awakened!”

‘Lina is… in danger?’

The last words I heard in the dream lingered in my mind.

A cold premonition chilled my heart.

I tried to move my body, but it didn’t budge an inch.

When I lowered my gaze, thick restraints were wrapped around my arms and legs, as well as my waist and neck.

Seeing that, a professor with sharp eyes pointed his sword at me.

But the tip of his sword was blurred, obscured by a cloudy window that floated opaquely in front of my eyes.

“Don’t even think about playing tricks.”

“Heh… Hehehe…”

I chuckled lowly.

“…What’s so funny?”

The professor asked with a puzzled expression.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Because after a long time, a really long time, I had moved one step closer to the plan.

The cloudy window gradually became clearer, and letters appeared.

[SYSTEM]

LEVEL UP!

[LV.5] → [LV.6]

I don’t know how long it’s been since I leveled up.

On the one hand, I was bitter that people had come to hate me even more in exchange for this growth.

‘Anyway… I like being treated like that.’

Remaining lives… two.

‘Now that I’m stronger, shall I go save Lina?’

Author’s words:

It’s a little late… but anyway, it’s Friday’s update.

It’s finally episode 100.

I didn’t think I’d get this far, so it feels strange.

Once this episode is over, I expect it to be about 70 percent complete.

I will do my best until the end.

Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, recommends, and sponsors!!!

And… I’m sorry to say this after saying that I would normalize the update cycle… but I’m on vacation from Saturday to Tuesday…

But I’m leaving late on Saturday, so I’ll upload tomorrow’s update before I go…

And I’ll write the missed updates additionally next Thursday…