Chapter 114

Ｒ​ｅａｄ ｏ​ｎ ＫａｔＲｅａｄｉ​ｎｇ​Ｃａｆｅ

The drowsiness had completely vanished.

Super regeneration can recover physical fatigue.

However, it cannot interfere with mental fatigue.

Using supernatural abilities puts a burden on the mind, and even super regeneration can mentally exhaust me over time. That’s why you can’t become an infinite energy source with regeneration. 

No matter how much your body recovers, your mind will continue to tire, and eventually, you’ll reach a point where you can’t use regeneration anymore.

After being thoroughly beaten by Murmur and even being split in half (literally), as well as the aftermath of having my heart stolen (physically) by the Black Knight left me quite exhausted.

My eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and my mind was drowsy and half-asleep.

I had to put in some effort to purify the death energy that had infiltrated my body, which further drained my mental energy. 

The curse that prevents healing isn’t just for show. It effectively hindered my regeneration. This was only possible because the Black Knight didn’t go all out; if he had removed his armor and used his full strength, even attempting regeneration would have been dangerous.

Anyway, for these reasons, I was quite exhausted.

That was until Frey arrived.

“…”

A regular breathing pattern. Occasionally, there were sounds of her shifting in her sleep.

Her eyes were slightly red, probably because she had cried herself to sleep.

Sitting next to Frey, who was asleep, and gently patting her stomach, I couldn’t help but smile warmly.

Hehe, how cute.

Her cheeks are so soft.

I want to bite them. Is it okay to bite them?

They must be as sweet as glutinous rice cakes.

She looks like a fairy when she is asleep.

She was already incredibly cute when awake.

But when she is asleep, she has a different kind of charm.

Who would believe me if I said this adorable girl took off my clothes, spanked my butt, and made me bark like a dog?

I shivered. My legs felt numb. My chest twitched with shame and humiliation.

If Eugene hadn’t interrupted the flow, I might have experienced even worse things.

I was looking forward to it…

As expected of the protagonist.

He has no sense of awareness.

Why not learn a little from Lucia?

Ahem, despite my appearance, I’m quite sharp when it comes to awareness!

Was it because I was so excited?

Or was there an unresolved longing in my heart?

The drowsiness that had blurred my vision was completely gone.

“Now what should I do?”

Originally, I had planned to sleep and then wake up to think about it.

But since my mind was clear, I decided to bring up the issue I had been putting off.

“Astaroth… Murmur…”

Despite knowing a lot, I hadn’t said anything until now.

No one would believe me anyway.

There’s no basis for my claims.

If someone asks how I know, I wouldn’t have an answer.

How can I gain anyone’s trust with knowledge of unknown origin?

I learned it from a novel!

…Who would believe that?

Lucia doesn’t want to be locked up in a mental hospital. (Even though she should.)

Being buried and lying in bed isn’t bad… but anyway.

The situation has slightly changed now.

I made contact with Murmur during the cherry blossom festival. There were witnesses. Someone even filmed me getting beaten.

There weren’t just one or two witnesses, and since many people sensed something unusual and fled before the rift had opened, there were few casualties.

If someone asks how I know, I can say I obtained the information through direct confrontation.

This gives me at least a minimal level of credibility.

It’s no longer information of unknown origin.

‘But how much should I reveal?’

The contents of the novel can no longer be taken at face value.

The original work I knew has already changed, and I don’t know how much it has changed.

The novel didn’t even have anything about chapters or episodes.

If I boast arrogantly and get it wrong, it wouldn’t just be embarrassing for me.

I don’t want someone to firmly believe in my words and suffer harm or die because of it.

“If I only reveal the indisputable, unshakable truth…”

That the devils are not human.

That Murmur can open rifts.

…Wouldn’t that be appropriate?

The problem is how to deliver this information… Well, it’s simple.

I can go directly to the Celestial Corps or tell Angelica or Si-ul.

Especially since Angelica can contact the 3rd Division Captain directly, something will surely work out.

Even if they don’t fully believe me, if they at least keep it in mind, it could be a small help.

Having finished my thoughts, I turned my gaze to the window.

The twilight that had been fading had now disappeared.

When I slightly lifted the curtain, only the tail of the crimson light remained.

The sky, painted black, had a crescent moon faintly shining between the clouds.

“By the way, how long does visiting hours last?”

Medical institutions have designated times for visiting patients.

The Academy’s affiliated hospital would be no different.

I looked back at Frey, who was peacefully asleep like a kitten.

“Hmm, what should I do? Should I wake her up?”

Alice (Frey) also fought today, but fortunately, she wasn’t injured.

At most, a part of her hair was cut by the Black Knight.

Naturally, she wasn’t hospitalized and was here only to visit.

So, once the visiting hours are over, she should return to the dormitory.

But I don’t want to disturb her peaceful rest.

Look at her. She’s sleeping so innocently.

Traditionally, you don’t wake a sleeping princess.

Frey is a princess. I should let her sleep.

After tidying up the blanket and gently poking Frey’s soft cheeks (a lot), I quietly left the ward.

I should ask the nurse when the visiting hours end.

I also need to check if Frey can stay in the ward overnight.

If it’s not possible, there’s nothing I can do, but if it is, I’d like to stay with Frey.

“…Huh?”

While heading to the desk on the first floor, I stopped in my tracks at an unexpected sight.

Although I only caught a glimpse of her side profile, I had no trouble recognizing who she was.

Her reddish-brown hair.

Her gently curved eyes.

Her gentle and soft impression.

Although it was a brief encounter, I remember her face.

Ariene?

The Vice-Captain of the 2nd Division.

Why is she here?

She must be incredibly busy with the aftermath of the cherry blossom festival.

Did she come to visit Arin? But Arin wasn’t seriously injured and wasn’t hospitalized.

Besides, she wasn’t alone.

Her platinum blonde hair swayed with each step.

The black uniform and military cap she wore indicated she was a member of the Celestial Corps.

I didn’t recognize the woman with her.

Lucia doesn’t know her.

But “I” do.

I immediately recognized her.

Captain of the 3rd Division, Isabella.

It was an unusual combination. The Captain of the 3rd Division and the Vice-Captain of the 2nd Division together. What business could they have at the hospital?

Curiosity struck, and I changed the direction of my steps.

I’ll find out if I check it out myself.

◈

Just because the rift has closed doesn’t mean the Celestial Corps’ work is over.

There’s the extermination work of the remaining monsters that crossed over.

Sending recovery teams to rescue the injured.

Isolating and treating survivors who have been mentally contaminated.

And countless other tasks.

Considering the initial response was a failure, the scale of the damage wasn’t too large.

This was thanks to the efforts of the students who fought on the front lines early on, replacing the Celestial Corps.

However, unavoidable damage still occurred, and this incident resulted in a significant loss of life.

“We’re short on manpower…”

Isabella muttered, frowning.

The special unit, Oracle, composed of precognition supernaturals.

Their main task was to stay on standby at the Celestial Corps’ headquarters and predict the occurrence of rifts.

Given the massive scale of the rift this time, it should have been predicted by Oracle in advance.

But no matter how perfect something is, there are always flaws, and precognition supernaturals aren’t omnipotent. Precognition varies in types and principles depending on the supernatural, and different interpretations can lead to different conclusions. Therefore, Oracle always had multiple members working together to complement each other’s predictions.

Occasionally, errors in precognition occurred.

Oracle always tried their best to prevent such mishaps.

If the location, scale, or timing of a rift was mispredicted, it could lead to significant property damage and loss of life.

But humans aren’t perfect, and neither is precognition.

“There are too few precognition supernaturals. How can we monitor the entire country with just 17 people?”

“There’s nothing we can do. One’s awakening isn’t determined by will.”

In response to Isabella’s complaint, Ariene smiled faintly.

The shortage of precognition supernaturals was a constant issue. Due to the lack of personnel, precognition supernaturals were overworked to the point of being almost exploited. 

There’s no worse black company like Oracle. The joke that Oracle is the ultimate black company isn’t unfounded. If you’re a precognition supernatural in Oracle, you’ve probably collapsed from overwork at least once.

Unfortunately, this is an issue that can’t be resolved. If supernatural abilities could be chosen at will, it would be different, but since they awaken randomly, there’s no way to control it. The only solution is to pray for new precognition supernaturals to appear.

Isabella knew this fact and understood it too well.

Supernaturals of the precognition type have always been a rare category.

She was just venting her frustration because it was frustrating.

They were walking down the hallway of the Academy’s affiliated hospital.

The atmosphere was so heavy it felt awkward, and Isabella’s nerves were so tense that a chilling aura emanated from her.

“…Is what Angelica said true?”

“Who knows? Shouldn’t we confirm that now?”

Isabella had been overseeing the aftermath of District 4 at the scene when she received a call from an old subordinate.

The news she delivered was so absurd that Isabella rushed to the hospital, leaving her work at the scene behind.

“If she was a monster and not human… it would make sense…”

The girl in the red fox mask. Astaroth.

A captain-level powerhouse who suddenly appeared without a trace.

She controlled monsters and massacred researchers.

Despite her immense power, no one knows where she came from, what she did, or how she gained such strength before making her presence known to the world.

Her abnormally powerful strength for her age also fits if she wasn’t human.

But if that’s true, it’s a complete overturn of our common sense.

There are humanoid monsters. However, a monster’s unique aura can’t be hidden. No matter how much they resemble humans, you can instinctively sense they’re monsters at first glance. Even without detection-type abilities. Pretending to be human was nearly impossible for monsters.

But what if a monster that can’t be distinguished from a human appeared? Can we be sure it’s just one? If a monster capable of disguising as a human infiltrated human society, how would we distinguish it?

Just thinking about it made me nauseous. The scariest thing is an enemy within. There’s nothing more terrifying than being unable to tell  friend from foe. In the worst-case scenario, humans might not even trust each other.

“It would be best if this turns out to be just a misunderstanding by that student, Eugene.”

“I hope so too…”

Ariene trailed off. Having sensed Astaroth before, she already had a vague conviction.

“…No, it’s too early to jump to conclusions. First, we should meet that student and hear the details directly.”

They had arrived at Eugene’s ward. But before Ariene could knock, she turned and gave a faint smile.

“Hello, Lucia. I’m glad you look healthy.”

“Eek!”

The girl peeking out from the corner let out a startled sound. She seemed to think she had been stealthy, but Ariene and Isabella had already noticed her. They decided to ignore her since she didn’t seem to have malicious intentions.

“Sorry, but we have an important matter to discuss. If you have business here, can it wait?”

“I, I also have something important to talk about…”

Well, is there anything more important than a monster with power surpassing a captain that can disguise as a human?

“It’s about Astaroth.”

There was.

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
According to Lucia, she’s very perceptive (seriously?)

Apologize to Eugene now!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
What’s more important about the information of an unknown enemy? 

MORE information about that unknown enemy!