Chapter 6

Chapter 6

From Cosmic Rascal to Professor.

Episode 6: Rustila (1).

At the academy, Ceti began speaking after taking a sip of her coffee. “Could there be a monster who solves this workbook instantly upon seeing it?”

She turned her head. Next to her, a girl with a blond ponytail was studying. Her face was as white as flour and beautiful, with aquamarine eyes radiating a mysterious aura. Her lips were soft pink, like a ripe peach. She was a beautiful girl, almost like a princess from a fairy tale.

“Well…” The girl replied bluntly, her voice devoid of energy.

Rustila Kersil, the only daughter of the quite famous Kersil family in the legal world, was perpetually exhausted, a state with which Ceti empathized deeply.

The excessive interference of her parents, studying subjects for which she had no aptitude, and the monotonous daily routine that repeated every day were more than enough to plunge someone into depression. Lately, it had gotten worse. Regardless of what Ceti said, Rustila couldn’t muster any reaction beyond a slight movement of her lips.

‘At least it is a relief that sis has a contract with a Constellation…’ Ceti thought. Otherwise, Rustila might have gone insane long ago.

Ceti asked with concern, “S-sister. Are you okay?”

“…”. Rustila quietly nodded.

“It will be alright after 4 months. Let’s hang in there until then, both of us.”

Nod, nod.

Ceti sighed. This was heartbreaking. Even up until they first met, Rustila wasn’t this lifeless, but now she had become like a doll.

But there wasn’t much Ceti could do. She had no reason to interfere with the affairs of the Kersil family. However, she wanted to help the person who was like a friend and sister to her by any means necessary.

‘Is that the only way…?’ Ceti bit her lip.

“Sister… no, Rustila. If you have time, do you want to come to my house this week?”

“…?”. Rustila, who had been fiddling with the problem, lifted her head. A glimmer of ease entered those cloudy eyes. “… your house?”

“Yes. Come to my house, and let’s do the homework there. Honestly, today’s homework is hard to do alone, right?”

This week’s assignment consisted of about 30 Korean language passages, 150 math problems, and 200 physics problems. Just counting the number of problems, it felt overwhelming. It was the typical workload for students aiming for the top places every week.

However, the difficulty of the assignments this time was insanely high, making it highly likely to break one’s mental state if tackled alone. Ceti suggested having a study session.

“But…” Rustila hesitated.

“What?”

“… my parents. I need to get permission from them first.”

“…” Ceti clenched her mouth shut. Always, parents, parents, parents! It wasn’t Rustila’s fault. It was the fault of her overprotective Kersil family.

Ceti couldn’t understand the parents. At 16, you know everything you need to know and can be cautious about everything. So what? Ceti’s own parents had left her to her own devices since she was 5, and Ceti turned out fine.

That didn’t mean Ceti had any right to meddle in the domestic affairs of the Kersil family.

“Please talk to your parents and let me know. If they say it’s alright, I will prepare some delicious snacks and wait,” Ceti said.

“Uh, hmm…” Rustila nodded and then turned her gaze to the window. There, an android dressed in business attire stood staring blankly. The android’s gaze was fixed on Rustila.

Rustila sighed. The robot beyond the window nodded its head.

I had a dream.

-Mom, I got perfect scores on the test again!

-Really? My son must be a genius. We should skip a grade!

There, I was just studying. Study, study, study, and study again. I studied so hard that there was nothing left in my life but academics.

-Mom, I passed the GED!

-As expected, let’s go straight to SAT preparation.

The thoughts continued, but they gradually lost their color. What was once a brilliant rainbow of imagery slowly turned to ash.

-Mom, I got a perfect score on the college entrance test.

-That’s wonderful! Apply to medical school.

-Physics department.

-Jinsu, what are you talking about?

-Physics department.

-Are you ill? What nonsense is this?

-Physics department.

-Jinsu! No!!

A world where only brightness existed, devoid of color, eventually was dyed black like ink. In that darkened world, tentacles flickered into existence and then disappeared.

A terrible, terrible… nightmare.

[‘The God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ is shocked by the dream you had.]

“…”. I got up from the bed. Next to me was the empty space Sonia had left behind. I grabbed the item she left, as if fishing for a fish, and gulped it down.

“Phew…” I needed to study.

Clack! The sound of a small spaceship docking at the house was heard. Someone seemed to have come early in the morning.

“Sonia!”

“You called?”

As soon as I called her name, Sonia came running.

“Is someone outside?”

“I was just about to check.”

I reviewed the orders I had placed in the meantime. I had received the book yesterday and hadn’t ordered anything else. At least the person who had come to the dock wasn’t my guest.

Still, I decided to head out and see. At the dock, there were people dressed neatly in suits. Judging by their attire, they seemed like bodyguards.

“Who are you…?” I asked.

A tall man with a dandy cut approached and bowed his head. “You are of the Reinhardt family?”

“Yes, but…”

“Nice to meet you, I am Zermel, the head of security for the Kersil family. We are on our way to bring Miss Rustila, who has been invited by the Reinhardt family.”

“… Rustila?”

Wait a minute. If it’s Rustila, surely…

“Ah, wait!” Ceti burst in with a clattering noise. Shimmering silver hair fluttered past, dancing before my eyes.

“I-I called for you!” Ceti clicked her tongue at me and started conversing with Zermel.

“You are…!” Zermel seemed to have deduced Ceti’s background as he straightened up, with Ceti responding to his reaction through gestures.

Ceti was smiling broadly, a stark contrast to the treatment I was receiving.

“Miss, you can come down now,” Zermel called out.

As soon as he finished speaking, another person descended from the spaceship. Could they be of similar age?

Their hair was golden like a wheat field, and the ponytail tied back reached down to their waist. Their eyes were blue, and their expression seemed devoid of power.

Suddenly, our gazes met. “…!” The girl’s eyes widened in alarm, her face clouding with unease.

“… Ha.” Lost in reminiscence, I was startled. Something seemed amiss.

At that moment, Ceti gestured towards me. Was she signaling for me to come or to leave? She must be indicating that I should leave. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect; I nodded and turned around.

“Let’s go, Sonia.”

“Yes, young master.”

Sonia followed me back to the room without a word of complaint.

“Seeing you study right after waking up is commendable,” Sonia remarked, bringing snacks as I spread out my workbook.

“I thought it would be a three-day resolve at first, but you are working harder than I expected. Excellent.”

“I will pass.”

Sonia nodded and clapped her hands. “I, Sonia, am impressed by the young master’s determination.”

“Yes, yes.”

It had been the third week since I embarked on my first quest from the Outer God. During this time, I had completed 100 workbooks with the power of Thought Acceleration.

Yet, I felt it wasn’t enough and ordered additional past test books. That’s when the maid’s attitude towards me shifted completely.

“I hope you achieve good results. Who knows? Maybe this will lead you to reflect and eventually enroll in the academy, laying the foundation for raising Reinhardt,” Sonia said.

“It’s better not to have too much faith in people.”

“Actually, I am already quite satisfied as long as you continue like this.”

I grabbed the pen, shaking my head. But today, I found it hard to concentrate. Why could it be?

It wasn’t hard to guess. It had to be because of that blonde ponytail girl I saw for a brief moment earlier.

Her name is Rustila Kersil. She is one of the most important supporting characters in ‘SFG’.

Rustila has made contact with a Constellation. Therefore, she can read the intentions of others. In other words, she can know if the opposite person has bad or good intentions.

“Ha, damn.” To me, she was akin to a toxic brew now.

Dangerous. If I encounter her without thought, even the existence of the Outer God of Wisdom in my head would be exposed.

People who have contracted with the Outer Gods are classified as monsters by this place. They are taken to internment camps without questions.

Of course. Apart from that, she is a character I would like to meet more than anyone else. At the same time, she is a pitiful child.

“… she is kind,” I mumbled as I flipped through the social studies workbook.

I have less than 10 volumes left to go through. I was determined not to leave the room today.

‘Ah, shit… why does that guy freak out when I gesture for him to come to me?’ Ceti grumbled to herself, stomping her feet.

There were two reasons why she invited Rustila to her home. One was to give her some breathing room from her family’s overprotection. The other was to subtly check on Aidel’s psychological changes through the power of the Constellation Rustila possessed.

The latter wasn’t difficult. She just needed to make eye contact with Aidel once.

Aidel’s violent nature had softened a lot since he got hit on the head, so she didn’t think any problem would happen. In other words, Ceti planned to introduce Aidel to Rustila and be done with it.

But then. ‘That bastard ran off…?’

Aidel wasn’t just into gambling; he also had a soft spot for women. One might say he was true to his instincts.

However, when Aiden caught sight of Rustila, a woman who epitomized beauty itself, he didn’t even attempt to flirt with her. Instead, he chose to return to his room with Sonia!

‘… no!’ Had he truly changed after the blow to his head?

Showing no interest in women, giving up gambling, and transforming into a model student who prioritizes his studies.

‘Ehh…’ It remains uncertain.

Even if that were the case, as long as he continues to spend excessively, Ceti wouldn’t forgive him. Moreover, the lingering resentment from the past still remains.

“Phew.” Ceti sighed and turned her head.

“Let’s head to our room, Rustila sis.”

… come on. Ceti’s words trailed off as she squinted.

The bodyguards, focused on Rustila’s safety, seemed oblivious, but Ceti, who had spent years with her and knew her well, could sense something was off.

“Ah, ah…” Rustila trembled in fear, as if she had seen a monster.