episode_0069
by fnovelpia“···Bar, half? Is it really half?”
A voice full of excitement. Said cheek. Trembling legs.
“No, when, that, no-”
Sonia waved her hands, turned her head, and spoke gibberish. It was an aftereffect of finding the person I had been looking for for several years in an unexpected place.
However, it didn’t take long for Sonia to gather her thoughts. What does Van mean to the noble lady Sonia?
A benefactor who saved his life, a servant who helped him, his closest friend, and a person who did not abandon him when he fell to rock bottom.
For Sonia, class was something like that. A precious being that cannot be replaced by anything else.
Such a class appeared in front of him. Magically, without leaving any omens.
Crack-! I heard the sound of shoes kicking down the hallway. Sonia stepped forward with joy, longing, and affection.
Just as Sonia rushed forward and was about to naturally hug Revan’s chest,
“···Half?”
Revan stretched out his arms and grabbed Sonia’s shoulders. And then he pushed it away slightly.
“Ah, ahaha! Was it too sudden?”
It was a moment when I was denied a touching reunion that seemed like something out of a fairy tale. For a moment, Sonia’s expression fell.
However, she has been educated as a noblewoman until now. Sonia soon regained her original expression. I was also very happy to be reunited with my class.
“Well, when did you enter Golden Dragon? I knew everything about the freshmen…!”
“As expected, it’s half the time! I thought Geoff would definitely get into the school. When you were young, you beat all the would-be knights, right? The dagger skills at that time were truly amazing…!”
“You kept your promise to attend Geoff together! Thank you so much!”
“Um, when are you coming back to our mansion? As you can see from the letters you received, our family has grown tremendously! Of course I can prepare a room for you and give you a good salary?”
Sonia was very excited and said various things in front of Revan.
‘···what?’
Revan felt uncomfortable at that sight. To be honest, it was difficult to say that the relationship with Sonia at the Academy was good. Have I lost my bird that I haven’t seen yet?
“Aha.”
Meanwhile, Revan finally figured out the reason why Sonia’s attitude was so bright.
Revan immediately put his hand into the inside pocket of his coat. My hand slipped into the small inventory prepared by the elves.
Not long after, Revan’s usual gas mask appeared in his hand. Revan gently placed the gas mask he had removed on his face and opened his mouth.
How about “? Miss.”
The eyes, which were blue in the past, had changed to purple due to various experiments. Purple eyes shined through the lenses of the gas mask.
“···Ah?”
A moment of silence. For a brief moment, Sonia realized the meaning of Revan’s actions.
“···Revan?”
Revan and Van used to go around with El and cause various troubles in Geoff. That the two are the same person.
“······!”
Benny’s eyes, who were standing behind Sonia with an anxious expression, widened as if they were about to pop out. Both of them were so shocked that they couldn’t say anything, just gaping.
“···How about we talk for a moment?”
But Revan didn’t have much time. Sonia and Faust in 4 hours. Because I had to solve all the problems with the two of them.
“Uh, yes! Conversation, conversation…”
Sonia pretended to be cheerful and followed Revan. As much as possible, I put aside the thoughts I don’t want to think about in the back of my head.
***
“Sorry. Neither I nor my seniors particularly enjoy tea.”
“Ugh, yes. No, I like the atmosphere of the room.”
Revan brought Sonia to the club’s clubroom. To the place where Revan and El were testing purification.
“Pyeop, did you receive the letter? I used to send you to places you went to quite often. About one episode a week…”
“No. I didn’t receive it.”
“Ah, ahaha! Your father said you were busy and couldn’t reply… but that wasn’t true…?”
It had to be located inside the academy and there had to be no people around. There was only one place that met those requirements.
“Self. Then.”
Tuk. Revan, who was looking at Sonia across a desk, spoke first.
“Who would you like to start the conversation with?”
“I’ll do it first.”
What the two needed was conversation. A conversation about what happened during the time we didn’t see each other.
“You, after parting ways with you, our Bismuth family-”
It was Sonia who started talking first. Sonia started recounting the things that happened after she broke up with Van.
To summarize, it was simple. How did you obtain the sponsor’s funds? Thanks to this, the Bismuth family was able to start business again. And currently, the Bismuth family owns jewelry brands that boast the greatest influence in the empire.
No matter what anyone says, the biggest contributor to the current status of the Bismuth family is ‘Red Jade’. That deep redness and shine. The gem, which was unique and had no substitute, was enough to steal people’s hearts.
“Ban, the thing hanging around your neck is a red jade… Did you use my family’s shop by any chance? If you just tell me, I’ll do it for free-”
“It is a keepsake of the benefactor. I didn’t buy it.”
“Ah, ah… I’m sorry!”
It’s red ruby. Revan thought that maybe he should find out after handling the matter later. It was annoying to be around every time something happened.
“So our Bismuth family has grown tremendously. In fact, there is no family in the empire with a higher status in the field of accessories than ours.”
After speaking, Sonia carefully looked into Revan’s eyes and noticed what he was seeing. As if waiting for a reaction.
“···That’s amazing. Congratulations.”
Clap clap. Revan briefly clapped his hands twice to praise Sonia’s hard work.
“···Uh, yes.”
“······.”
After that brief clap, the workshop was surrounded by silence for a moment. While looking into each other’s eyes.
“My story is so pitiful compared to yours that I’m not sure if I should tell it to you.”
“Oh, no! I really want to hear it…”
“Okay.”
Well, you want to hear it. Revan let out an indifferent sigh and began to tell a story from the past.
***
“···He was sold to a laboratory and subjected to continuous human experiments.”
“······.”
“I lived without seeing sunlight for almost a year. Because the wizards there found my body fascinating. I think it was interesting that no matter what drug you injected, you would struggle for a while, but you would eventually be able to detoxify it.”
“······.”
“After about a year of experimentation, I was sold back from the lab to the arena. I heard that it was a measure to avoid crackdown on human experimentation… but I don’t know what those wizards do for a living now.”
From El’s explanation he heard during the test, Revan was able to understand why those bastards in the lab had sold him to the arena. Perhaps he was caught up in human experimentation by the Empire.
“The arena was relatively better than the laboratory.”
Revan tightened his grip on the red necklace hanging around his neck.
“···Even though the ending was the worst.”
Revan’s explanation wasn’t that long either. It was a story with Sonia up to living in a single room, and the story after that wasn’t that complicated.
Revan told Sonia most of the story except for what was related to Vivian. I wanted to talk about the experiments the crazy wizards did, but I gave up because Sonia’s complexion deteriorated rapidly.
“Well, somehow I ended up entering Geoff. Even though my relationship with the person who actually put me in is about to break down… Anyway, that’s the case.”
After finishing talking about the past, Revan felt his mouth become dry. If I had known this would happen, I would have prepared a car, and I fell into shallow regret.
“······.”
But Sonia’s face had already collapsed. Not even tears came out of those eyes. A tragedy that was completely unexpected and cannot be expressed even with the term “worst” emerged.
“I, I, I-”
“Yes?”
“Father, since I can’t pay you my salary, my father told me to entrust you as a servant to another family for a while-”
Sonia’s condition was not normal at first glance. His pupils were contracting and relaxing repeatedly, his breathing was uneven, and cold sweat was dripping from his forehead.
For sure. Surely the reunion with ‘Ban’ should have been touching. Sonia muttered to herself. It seems like he wants to avoid the current truth.
“Didn’t you know that I was being sold as a test subject?”
“Mo, mo, I didn’t know. I don’t remember there being anything in the contract about being sold as an experimental subject. My father clearly-”
“Okay.”
Revan had seen many human figures in the arena.
It may be unfair to the gladiators in the other world to say this, but at least in Revan’s opinion, 95% of the gladiators were sick and with broken personalities.
A man who was caught raping a woman and became a slave gladiator. Most of them, including those who could not bear gambling debts and ended up under nobles, were just idiots who deserved that treatment.
However, there were also 5% of those who were wronged. Vivian and others who were forcibly taken from their hometown as if they were being hunted.
Among them were older gladiators named Vinson and Rotin.
These two were retired adventurers who ran a daycare center. People who are worthy of being called good people, who took care of children who lost their families and hometowns due to curses and demonic beasts.
However, like all orphanages, it was reeling from financial difficulties. While the two were looking for a way to raise money, they ended up becoming slaves under a strange contract.
-Ban, you should never sign a contract carelessly.
-···You already signed and came here?
-okay? Then you won’t be lonely! There are three idiots like us in the world!
Vinson and Rotin emphasized that the less one has, the less one should look at the contract. In particular, it is said that the nobles bring a lot of things that are openly intended to soak people’s lives, such as secret contracts and ink with special devices.
Of course it is illegal. But, as is the case in the world, if you are not caught, you are innocent. It could be said that Bert’s plan worked brilliantly, as Van, who had a piece of iron on his ankle, could not run away and file a complaint with the court.
“bar, half. I really didn’t know. My, how can I make you, uh, such a horrible-”
Before I knew it, Sonia was shaking like a crazy person with her head stuck to the floor. To anyone looking at him, he looked like he had taken medicine.
“···Ha.”
Come on. Revan stood up from his chair and headed to the other side of the desk.
“···Half?”
Revan bent one knee and sat in front of Sonia. Then, she gently lifted Sonia’s head toward the floor.
“Lady.”
“bar, half. I really didn’t know. You, you are the most precious thing to me-”
“It’s okay.”
Sonia was able to look directly at Revan’s face, which she had been avoiding because she was scared.
“···Huh-”
Revan’s face, unlike Sonia’s imagination, was not stained with anger and betrayal. Rather, it was closer to tranquility.
“Wasn’t it intentional?”
“Ugh, yes. Absolutely not. Really, really-”
“Then it’s okay.”
Sigh. Revan took out a handkerchief from his inner pocket and rubbed the area around Sonia’s eyes.
“It is said that she was literate and educated, but she was only fourteen at the time. The tricks of adults cannot be defeated.”
Revan didn’t pour out much resentment toward Sonia. Rather, it was an attitude of caring for Sonia.
“Bar, half…?”
That attitude was actually very frightening to Sonia. Reconciliation with Van was naturally a wish.
“I forgive you, young lady. Sincerely.”
However, the sign I felt from Revan right now was no sign of a will for reconciliation or improvement in relations. Rather, it is more suitable for resignation-
“···half. Can I ask you one thing?”
“Yes. Miss.”
Sonia somehow managed to move her trembling chin and lips to speak.
“Wooh, what will happen to us in the future?”
Sonia spoke in a trembling voice and forced herself to raise her head and look at Revan’s face. It was so scary, but I had to see it.
“······Ah.”
Revan didn’t say anything. However, Sonia was able to read the intention through the atmosphere she gave off and the slightly bitter smile on her mouth.
“Go, don’t go…”
“······.”
“Please…”
Revan thinks of this meeting as the last time.
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