Ch.8787. The Pitiful Man

“…….”

“…….”

With midterms over at Robern Academy, summer vacation was about to begin.

All the students were excited, sharing warm, trivial chatter while making their summer vacation plans.

Amidst all this, two people were staring at each other.

They happened to sit at the same table because seats were available, but since their eyes met, neither showed any sign of backing down.

Aria Rius and Elenoa Luden Griffin.

Since confirming their feelings for each other in Erika Bright’s laboratory, the two often engaged in this kind of psychological warfare.

Thanks to this, the students around them were so uncomfortable they couldn’t even tell if they were eating through their mouths or noses.

“You know what?”

Aria was the first to launch an attack.

“The professor likes students who follow the rules. Acting like proper students, you know.”

“…….”

“He absolutely hates it when people skip class and speak informally to him.”

Crack.

Elenoa’s hand gripping the fork tensed up. She knew this already.

Because just yesterday, she had been called to Deus Verdi’s laboratory, scolded, and given penalty points.

As a result, her position as the top scorer in the midterms was in jeopardy.

‘How does she know that?’

She had heard that Deus hadn’t been at the academy for long.

Aria let out a smug “hmph” laugh. But Elenoa wasn’t about to back down either.

“Deus knows a lot of unusual things. Among them, he seems to particularly like something called ‘magical girls.'”

“Ma-what?”

Magical girls?

What is that?

Aria couldn’t help but be confused. Could it be stories from the Shinwoo Kim era that he had never revealed even to her?

Crack.

The plate Aria was holding began to develop cracks. Her emotions were gradually becoming murky at the thought that Elenoa had heard stories from the past that even she hadn’t properly heard.

‘Should I kill her?’

She could tolerate talk about the professor. She wasn’t that aggressive a woman, after all.

But she couldn’t tolerate talk about Shinwoo Kim.

The fact that Elenoa knew aspects of him that she didn’t, even unintentionally, properly provoked Aria’s rage.

Did that woman know who was really inside Deus when she said such things?

Did she know that the preferences she was attributing to Deus actually belonged to a different person named Shinwoo Kim?

Probably not.

She probably didn’t know.

‘Maybe I should just do it now.’

After all, it was she who had stabbed Elenoa’s heart with a sword in the previous iteration.

At that time, she was the majestic princess who tried to take over the academy by inciting students and even attempted to start a rebellion.

Now, she thought the possibility of that happening was extremely low since Elenoa had become friendly with Deus.

But if someone were to scheme behind Elenoa’s back, wouldn’t she return to her original self?

Then there would naturally be justification to kill her.

“Magical girls. Don’t you know what they are?”

“…….”

Just a little more provocation and she felt like she would truly explode. Having Elenoa talk about aspects of Shinwoo Kim that she didn’t know felt like having a knife stuck in her head and being twisted.

“Want me to tell you?”

Elenoa asked with a sly smile. Aria, who had momentarily tried to summon mana, took a deep breath and replied.

“Tell me.”

One step back for two steps forward.

No matter how much she asked, Deus would never tell her.

Even if it was humiliating, she intended to extract as much information as possible from Princess Elenoa.

“Alright. But in return, you have to tell me everything you know about Deus. Like why you fell for him.”

“…Can you talk about that?”

Though they were students, neither was innocent enough to share stories of young love.

Elenoa also pondered for a moment. Telling Aria about her memories with Deus?

She didn’t like it.

It felt like opening her treasure chest to someone else, so she shook her head.

“Right, that was a slip. Let’s just cleanly share information.”

And so the two female students shared various stories about Deus while eating.

Sharing and talking about something they both liked was more enjoyable than expected, and the two surprisingly spent time blooming with laughter.

“Ex-excuse me.”

“Hey, can we eat with you too?”

Bees always gather around flowers.

Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, male students who had wanted to get close to the two girls for a long time approached casually.

“Get lost.”

With Aria’s harsh words, they all flinched and had no choice but to retreat. As a princess, Elenoa couldn’t use such rough language, so she rather liked that Aria did it for her.

After finishing their meal, the two continued their conversation outside the dining hall.

In a corner of the alley next to the dining hall, they spotted someone unexpected.

The rising star who had appeared like a comet at Robern Academy.

A white-haired woman in a maid outfit that fulfilled the fantasies of male students.

Wasn’t that Findenai talking with some man?

Normally they would have just passed by, but both Aria and Elenoa immediately recognized Findenai.

They wondered if Deus might be nearby, but he wasn’t, which was disappointing.

Aria’s eyes stared intently at the man.

Then she nodded immediately.

‘Resistance, huh?’

He seemed to have disguised himself as a staff member and was apparently talking to Findenai about something.

Though there was no separate Resistance at Robern, it seemed they had formed a cooperative relationship with the Resistance she had come to know during her stay in Greyford.

‘Hmm.’

The Findenai that Aria remembered was truly a troublesome woman.

She had subjugated the Resistance that had naturally infiltrated the kingdom to her side and displayed beast-like senses in battle.

Fortunately, she didn’t have the weapon she used back then, but if she were properly equipped and the battle dragged on, even the current Aria might have a hard time.

The conversation seemed to have ended as the man left without looking back, and Findenai, left alone, took out a cigarette and noticed their gaze.

“Hm? What is it?”

Despite smoking being prohibited inside the academy except on the rooftop, Findenai boldly put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it.

Since no one but Deus could stop her rogue-like behavior, they just let it slide.

“Isn’t it the grumbler and the crazy bitch?”

“Grumbler?”

“Crazy bitch?”

Elenoa and Aria simultaneously recognized the terms referring to them and asked back.

Seeing the two react angrily, Findenai chuckled and exhaled smoke deeply.

“One who just grumbles when she meets the master, and one who would spread her legs right away for the master—isn’t that crazy?”

Both their faces turned red with anger, but they couldn’t refute.

Honestly, it was true.

Elenoa, even at the risk of getting penalty points, would constantly grumble and beg Deus to tell her old stories whenever they met.

And Aria… was ready to do it even if Deus didn’t want to.

“Sigh, take it easy. He’s more tired than you think.”

Findenai’s words, as she exhaled smoke deeply, were quite shocking.

It was bewildering and created a strange tension when someone who seemed most likely to cause stress said such things.

“To be precise, he’s a pitiful guy.”

“Pitiful?”

When Elenoa asked what she meant, Findenai glanced at her, then dropped her finished cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it.

“Isn’t he pitiful? I can’t figure out what he wants at all.”

“…….”

“…….”

“He’s a guy with no desires but many responsibilities.”

Both were simultaneously at a loss for words. While Elenoa couldn’t quite grasp what she meant, Aria’s thoughts twisted like a kaleidoscope as the past flashed before her.

It was true.

In the first iteration.

In the second iteration.

Deus Verdi.

That is, Shinwoo Kim had always been moving for the sake of others. There was clearly a major goal of saving the continent.

But he seemed to be excessively devoted to it.

His behavior, as if he himself didn’t exist in this world, even gave her a sense of unease.

That’s why Findenai couldn’t understand him.

She probably thought she would never understand him, even if she died.

For Findenai, who had been born and fought without even basic freedom.

Deus seemed to be deliberately putting shackles on himself by giving up his freedom.

“Well, he’ll be leaving the academy soon anyway.”

“What?”

“It’s been a week already, hasn’t it?”

When Aria and Elenoa exclaimed in surprise, Findenai said with a playful smile.

“We got a message from the Saintess. There’s a place she’d like him to go. Since the academy’s summer vacation is starting anyway, he’s going back.”

“…Sigh.”

In Aria’s case, she was prepared to accept it. Originally, she had a place to visit during this summer vacation, though it was regrettable.

The Nibelungen sword she currently possessed was convenient for now, but it didn’t fit her hand, so she needed to find a new sword.

This time, it was two steps back for three steps forward.

Although she couldn’t be with Deus during the summer vacation, as a regressor, Aria had plenty of things she needed to secure in advance.

She could only sigh with regret.

“I-I was planning to go to Greyford together this time!”

Elenoa had naturally intended to take Deus with her. It was only natural for him, as a spiritmaster, to establish a position in the royal court.

That’s why she had planned to take him along naturally, but if it was a matter of cooperating with the Saintess, she, as a princess, couldn’t interfere.

Findenai laughed, finding the two dejected girls amusing.