Ch.9393. A Bug-Ridden Mess

On the way out of the training grounds, Grain, Cain, and Golid who had originally come with me rejoined us, along with Lilith whom we’d encountered in the plaza. Suddenly, it felt quite crowded.

They were all making a fuss, apparently shocked by the duel they had just witnessed. Grain’s reaction in particular was priceless.

“You weren’t actually trying to kill them, right?”

“What nerve would I have to kill someone?”

“Then why did you do that?”

What does she mean by “that”? What exactly did she see?

I was most curious about her impression. Grain could see more than others, and in greater depth.

How did my attacks appear to her?

Since I was genuinely curious, I casually asked, and her answer surprised me.

“Those guys died once each time your attack connected.”

…What? They died?

While I was stunned by this completely unexpected response, she continued.

“Well, not exactly dead… but when your attack connects, their vital signs completely cut off for a moment before returning. And each time the signals return, they get weaker.”

According to her, my opponents were gradually dying inside with each of my attacks.

Is this how HP works when translated to reality?

“Well… they seemed to recover a bit while lying motionless. Anyway, from what I could see, it wouldn’t have been surprising if they suddenly died at any moment.”

That was quite an extraordinary revelation.

…Is this really safe to use on people?

Though Grain’s explanation made me feel uneasy, I ultimately couldn’t refuse to use it.

Finally, I had a means of attack. I couldn’t just discard it because it made me uncomfortable, especially when I had nothing else.

They didn’t die when I used it just now. And from what I heard, the weakened signals seem to recover with rest.

I rationalized it that way, but unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one who heard her words.

I glanced around. Everyone who heard Grain’s explanation was staring at me with slightly shocked expressions.

…Please don’t look at me like that, everyone. I’m just as surprised as you are.

“Earlier I was joking, but this time I’m asking seriously, Ludion. Did those people commit some unforgivable sin against you?”

Either unaware of my feelings or deliberately ignoring them, Celia made such a comment.

Alkine, back in character now that people were around, chimed in.

“That seems most likely now. Celia, did something happen while you were away?”

“That’s impossible. I’ve never left Ludion’s side. At least during the times when Ludion is active outside, there’s no such thing as ‘while I was away.'”

“…Oh, I see…”

Celia’s statement had quite an impact, and some of the attention that had been focused on me shifted to her.

“I knew you two hung out together a lot, but… to that extent?”

“Don’t even get me started. I’ve never seen these two apart.”

When Grain casually asked, Lilith gave such an answer.

She stared at Celia, who blushed with embarrassment…

“What? Is something wrong?”

…or rather, confronted it head-on with a confident attitude.

Grain seemed momentarily dumbfounded by this response, but soon nodded as if understanding something.

“…Well. Thinking about what she said in the Rift, I guess it’s not that strange.”

In the Rift…

-“Miss Grain. Do as Ludion says.”

-“We just need to trust and follow Ludion. Understand?”

Come to think of it, she did say that.

Her statements openly supporting me.

Looking back, that trust also stemmed from her unusually high favorability. I was foolish not to notice and just assumed it was around 20-30.

Although the conversation had subtly shifted to Celia, I felt I shouldn’t let my actions go unexplained.

So I decided to offer at least a brief explanation.

“I didn’t do it out of any grudge or anything; I really just couldn’t control it. I’ll try to be more careful when using it in the future.”

“…I don’t think being careful is enough to solve this problem.”

Grain still looked worried, but what could I do? I need to survive too.

As the conversation was winding down, I suddenly remembered something I wanted to ask Grain.

Might as well confirm it now.

“Oh right, Senior Grain. Would you like to see this too?”

I showed her my inventory, which I had kept hidden until now because there were too many people around.

When explaining to Celia and Alkine, I had simply called it a subspace, but I was certain her eyes would see something different.

“…What the hell.”

Sure enough, she reacted immediately when I pulled out a sword from my inventory.

“Wait, junior. You can use magic too?”

“Cain, magic like this doesn’t exist. But… if it’s not magic, this scene makes no sense.”

“How is literally everything about you beyond common sense?”

Cain, Golid, and Lilith each blurted out something at the sight of this unfamiliar phenomenon, but right now, Grain’s impression was most important.

“…Again, do it again.”

“Sure.”

But instead of giving her impression, she requested an encore.

I did as she asked, repeatedly putting items in and taking them out of my inventory.

Each time, Grain let out an incredulous exclamation like “Huh.”

After watching the appearing and disappearing objects for some time, she ran her hand through her hair in disbelief and said:

“If I were a deity governing the laws of nature, I would hate you more than anyone else.”

I could definitely see that. From their perspective, I would literally be a walking bug.

Grain continued.

“You showed me this hoping I’d tell you something, right?”

“Yes, I was curious how it appears to you.”

“Hmm… even if you ask how it looks…”

“Well, I wouldn’t understand a detailed explanation anyway, so just briefly.”

“No, it’s not that the explanation is difficult. I literally can’t see anything.”

“…I see.”

This was another unexpected answer.

I thought Grain would at least see something and figure something out. To think even she couldn’t see anything.

“If I had to describe it, I see exactly what you all see. Things just disappear and reappear.”

Perhaps it’s because this is far from her field of interaction?

Come to think of it, she’s always only described dodging, parrying, and attacks in terms of how they interact with targets, never explaining anything about my skills themselves.

“Ah, forget it. The more I think about it, the more my head hurts. I’m not going to worry about what you do anymore.”

And so, with Grain’s declaration of surrender, the conversation about my inventory came to an end.

After the Q&A session with Grain, there was a moment of silence as no one seemed to have anything more to say.

Then, someone poked my back from behind.

I turned around to find Lilith.

“What?”

“Hey.”

“What is it?”

“You actually did what I asked. Thanks.”

“…?”

For a moment, I was confused by this sudden expression of gratitude, but then I remembered she had made a request earlier.

-“Um, I’ve also been followed by some weird kids lately. Can you do something about it?”

That’s right. I hadn’t paid much attention to it, but Latein, the younger of the twins I had defeated, was Lilith’s fan club representative.

There’s no way someone as well-connected as her wouldn’t know that Latein was her fan club representative.

Since I had connections with Lilith and knocked Latein down… I had, to some extent, fulfilled her request.

Of course, the real outcome would depend on how Latein behaves afterward, but from her perspective, it must have been quite satisfying.

But I really hadn’t thought about it at all.

Since it wasn’t intentional, I wasn’t sure how to take credit or what to say in response. Fortunately, Celia stepped in.

“Miss Lilith. Ludion wasn’t thinking about that at all, so don’t get excited on your own.”

“Hey! What do you mean ‘excited’? I’m just saying thanks because I’m grateful. Can’t I even express gratitude?”

“The word ‘grateful’ doesn’t really suit you, Miss Lilith.”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you don’t need to be grateful.”

“No, what do you mean it doesn’t suit me?!”

I really can’t tell if these two are actually close friends or not.

From a male perspective, they seem like best friends… is it similar for women too?

Judging by the calm expressions of Alkine and Grain watching from the side, it seems that’s probably the case.

“Sigh… fine. Talking more will just tire me out. I’m leaving.”

“Then we’ll be going too.”

Tired of arguing with Celia, Lilith left first, and Grain, Cain, and Golid naturally followed.

I thought we’d eventually disperse, but I didn’t expect it to happen so suddenly.

As a result, only Celia, Alkine, and I remained.

With nothing particular to do, I was thinking we might as well return to the student council… when Celia hesitantly called out to Alkine.

“Um… Miss Alkine. I’m really sorry, but could you go back alone from here?”

When Alkine asked why, looking somewhat confused, Celia glanced at me briefly before approaching Alkine and whispering something in her ear.

After hearing this, Alkine looked surprised for a moment, then nodded.

“Is what you’re going to discuss something I shouldn’t know?”

“Yes. At least not right now.”

“I’m extremely curious about what it is… but I understand.”

Whatever she said must have been convincing, because Alkine left on her own.

Now alone with me, Celia naturally clung to my side, linking her arm with mine, and began leading me somewhere.

“Where are we going?”

“For now, somewhere we can talk comfortably.”

I wondered what she wanted to discuss.

I couldn’t tell, but for now, I decided to just follow her.