Chapter 247

Ｒｅａｄ ｏｎ ＫａｔＲｅａｄｉｎ​ｇＣａｆｅ​

It seemed that Arin’s supernatural ability had grown.

As expected, the title “Golden Generation” wasn’t just for show.

Eugene and Alice were so outstanding that it was easy to forget, but Arin was also an undeniable genius among geniuses.

One month. For some, it might be just a month, but for a genius, a month was a long, long time.

Why am I suddenly saying such strange things?

Because right now, Arin is knocking on the bathroom stall door.

“Lucia! Are you in there? Don’t think about anything weird!”

At Arin’s desperate voice, I quietly opened the door. The cutter knife I had prepared was tucked into my uniform pocket.

Honestly, whenever I tried to do something, she would somehow sense it and come running. It must be thanks to her danger sense.

Every time I tried to harm myself in secret, she would interfere. Frankly, it was driving me crazy.

“Arin, you’re overreacting. I just came to the bathroom. Nothing’s going on.”

“…”

When I spoke with a casual smile, Arin’s expression hardened coldly.

She stared at me intently, then sighed and nodded.

Ever since that day when she caught me trying to hang myself, Arin had been like this. She reacted overly sensitively to my every move.

I tried to secretly cut my wrist in the bathroom while Alice wasn’t around… but even after almost three days, her attention showed no signs of waning.

I quickly adapted to academy life. I thought it would be hard to catch up since I had missed so many classes, but surprisingly, it was easy.

At first, I was confused, but I soon realized why. It was thanks to Lucille’s memories. Lucille had attended academy classes countless times. Having inherited those memories, I was influenced by them.

With this, I might even score full marks in the supplementary exams. This is what they call coasting through academy life. Thank you, Mom!

“Let’s head back to class. Break time is almost over.”

I followed Arin as she walked ahead, her back turned to me.

Today’s attempt to cut my wrist was a kind of experiment.

Every time I tried to harm myself, Arin would somehow know and always interfere.

If it had happened once or twice, I could have dismissed it as a coincidence, but since it kept happening, it was hard to brush it off.

So, I tested it. During break time, I snuck into the bathroom without Arin noticing and held the cutter knife to my wrist.

If Arin showed up again this time, my guess would be correct. If she didn’t, then everything that had happened over the past three days was just a coincidence.

And the conclusion was clear. I had been careful to avoid Arin’s gaze. Even Arin couldn’t focus on me all the time.

I slipped away while she was briefly talking to other students. She shouldn’t have known where I went.

Yet, she found me precisely. Calculating the distance from the classroom to the bathroom, it was clear she had run here the moment I took out the cutter knife.

‘Arin’s ability has grown…’

Danger sense only senses one’s own danger. Arin’s danger sense had only sensed her own danger.

But supernatural abilities break their limits as they grow. Transcending limits is the process of becoming “god-like”.

She was now sensing other people’s dangers too. More accurately, it was when something happening to someone else would become Arin’s danger… but still, there was a precondition. Though still incomplete, she was gradually breaking through the limits of her ability.

As expected of the Golden Generation.

She’s growing day by day.

Soon, she’ll overcome the precondition too.

She’ll be able to clearly sense other people’s “dangers”.

It was definitely something to celebrate, but right now, it was troublesome.

If Arin’s around, I can’t harm myself.

Taking away Lucia’s self-harm… Ugh, Arin, you’re a kind devil with no blood or tears!

I need to clear up this misunderstanding soon. Because of Arin’s constant vigilance, Alice’s gaze has been growing sharper.

I glossed over the broken door incident without properly explaining it, and as Arin continued to act strangely, Alice seemed to be growing more suspicious.

‘I need to resolve the D-Class issue soon…’

I wanted to handle the D-Class problem as discreetly as possible.

But with Arin constantly keeping an eye on me, it’s hard to move in secret.

Of course, I could create opportunities like this one if I wanted to…

The problem is Arin’s ability.

I never know when she’ll sense danger and come running.

Even if it’s not a danger to me, if she perceives it as a danger, her ability activates.

Self-harm isn’t a threat to me, right? Yet, Arin perceives it as a danger. There’s no telling what might trigger her ability.

Yeah, it feels like being watched by an invisible overseer. At this point, being interrupted from self-harm feels like another form of self-harm.

I can’t tell her to stop because I understand her feelings. No, honestly, who wouldn’t react like that? If I were in Arin’s position, I’d do the same. Even if I told her to stop, she probably wouldn’t listen.

‘There’s no choice. For now, I’ll have to give up my hobby.’

Ahem, Lucia has grown.

I can endure my desires.

…Okay, it’s a bit hard, but I’m not joking about having grown.

I’ve realized the root of my masochistic tendencies and understood that I shouldn’t be swayed by instinct.

Ultimately, my instincts stem from Lucille’s destructive instincts. Lucille’s longing for destruction came from being worn down over countless years.

Now that there’s no need to desire destruction, I shouldn’t ruin my life over such urges.

That doesn’t mean I’ll completely ignore them. Lucille did the same. Do as I please. I’m just stopping self-harm for now. I’ll endure until I’m sure Arin’s misunderstanding is cleared.

Hehe, I’m proud of myself for thinking this way.

Would Lucille have praised me if she saw this?

◈

‘Again today…’

Just how many times is this now? Arin asked herself. The answer came quickly. The number of times her danger sense had warned her wasn’t actually that high. She could count them all on her fingers.

But Arin’s expression was clouded, as if shrouded in fog. The number wasn’t what mattered. The fact that Lucia had attempted “that” was the problem.

Though she hadn’t gone as far as trying to end her life like that day, she seemed to be repeatedly harming herself.

That fact pointed to only one clue: Lucia’s mind was sick. A terrible, vicious poison was staining Lucia’s inner self.

It was chilling to think that while Lucia was suffering from stress and trauma to the point of trying to take her own life, she showed no outward signs of it.

Arin glanced back at Lucia, who was walking behind her. When their eyes met, Lucia awkwardly scratched her cheek. Arin’s head throbbed.

If she hadn’t witnessed that scene, she would have never known. Even after being kidnapped and falling into a coma for a month due to such a horrific event, Lucia seemed fine. Unaffected. She would have surely mistaken it for that.

‘…It feels empty without the glasses.’

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. Despite not having poor eyesight, she had worn glasses. They were a tool for self-suggestion, to better control her supernatural ability.

It’s not the case now, but in the past, controlling her ability was difficult.

After experiencing the Great Calamity, her danger sense would go off at even the slightest thing, making daily life nearly impossible.

That’s when she started wearing glasses. To control her ability. The glasses themselves were ordinary objects with no special power, but supernatural abilities are a force of the mind.

Depending on the supernatural’s belief, even an ordinary object could become something special.

‘As expected, without the glasses, my supernatural ability is too sensitive.’

Her danger sense, now without its limiter, flooded Arin with an overwhelming amount of information. Her head hurt. She frowned at the incessant buzzing of warning signals.

But she didn’t put her glasses back on. Instead, she fiddled with the glasses case in her pocket and focused her mind on the headache.

She steeled herself so that if something happened to Lucia, like just now, she could rush to her immediately.

‘This has its limits. Is there no better way?’

Stopping Lucia every time she made an extreme choice was only a temporary solution. Without addressing the root cause, it would just be a cycle of repetition. No, it would only get worse.

‘…I can’t do this alone.’

Arin knew her limits. She was fully aware that she couldn’t heal Lucia’s emotional wounds. If she could, she would have tried already.

‘I promised not to tell anyone else…’

But that promise had one precondition.

That if she didn’t tell anyone, Lucia would stop doing such things.

Lucia had said she wouldn’t do it anymore, so Arin had made the promise.

‘But Lucia broke the promise first. I’ve turned a blind eye so many times.’

A promise the other person wasn’t keeping.

A promise that only left scars the more it was kept.

A promise that would only worsen the situation.

What’s the point of watching over her alone?

Arin bit her lip. Her eyes narrowed. Yes, the thought of bearing this alone from the start was arrogance. If she truly cared about Lucia, she couldn’t keep turning a blind eye. She needed to push Lucia to overcome her wounds.

‘Who should I ask for help?’

The teachers? Teacher Angelica hasn’t returned from the Celestial Corps yet, so maybe Assistant Teacher Si-ul…

No, asking the teachers for help should be put off for now. It might make things bigger. No, it definitely will.

If word gets out during the process, it could have a negative impact on Lucia. If everyone finds out the truth and she no longer needs to pretend to be fine like she is now…

The next person who came to mind was Lucia’s closest friend. Alice. Someone as close as to share a room with her would surely step up for Lucia.

‘…No.’

The shock would be too much for Alice, who has a timid personality.

Though her personality sometimes does a 180, considering her usual self, it wasn’t a good choice.

Arin forced back a sigh that threatened to escape. There was actually one person who came to mind first. But he was also the last person she wanted to talk to.

A boy appeared in her thoughts.

Hair as black as obsidian.

Eyes as clear as the blue sky.

‘Eugene.’

A boy who likes Lucia.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
They called me on Labor Day, and now they are telling me to work on Sunday.

I don’t want to work…

I just want to laze around all day, play games and write novels…

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Oi author! You skimmed the door scene!!!

Jokes aside, hang in there author!

Oh yeah, if Regina gets successfully rescued… let’s just say that Lucia’s misunderstanding will get worse and worse, heh.

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