Ch.99. Sword Maniac (2)

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In truth, the plan was perfect.

No matter what security magic Elphante had prepared, the “supply room” is practically like a front yard for Serath users.

If you take too much, you’ll eventually get caught and face penalties, but grabbing one or two necessary items is essentially a required part of progression.

Knowing which route to take and how to break in is something I could do with my eyes closed.

And for someone like me who can use the “Point Shop” and has plenty of points to spare, the easiest way to get through is this:

◎ Haste Potion

[ Item: Consumable ]

[ Price: 100pt ]

[ Temporarily increases the user’s movement speed. ]

◎ Shadow Mask

[ Equipment: Accessory ]

[ Price: 100pt ]

[ Conceals the wearer’s face and modifies their voice. ]

◎ Catwalk Shoes

[ Equipment: Footwear ]

[ Price: 200pt ]

[ Your footsteps make absolutely no sound! ]

After drinking the potion, I can move quickly to bypass various security systems, conceal my identity from surveillance magic with the shadow mask, and eliminate any noise during infiltration with the catwalk shoes.

It’s an early-game stealth and infiltration value combo. With just these items, I can avoid most of the security measures in the academy.

‘…Points are really nice.’

With just a few hundred points spent, I’ve instantly shortened what would normally be days of preparation work for infiltrating the supply room. In terms of performance, it’s probably equivalent to at least a C-rank stealth skill from the assassin skill tree.

The downside is that they disappear after one use, but being able to acquire all kinds of items is a huge merit.

Items that cost thousands of points can single-handedly turn the tide in crisis situations.

“Huff…”

I jump down from the window I had painstakingly climbed through, half-exhausted.

Thanks to the Haste Potion, my agility has improved a bit, but my basic stamina is garbage, true to my all-stat F rating. Even this simple exercise is difficult.

‘I feel like I’m dying…’

Thinking that, I rummage through my pocket.

I have something useful for times like this.

◎ Stamina Recovery Biscuit x2

[ Item: Consumable ]

[ Price: 50pt ] x2

[ Not feeling like your old self? Recover your stamina with these biscuits. Peanut flavor, 10 pieces per pack! ]

[ Remaining Points: 2,000pt ]

“…”

The description sounds oddly like an advertisement, but the effect is genuinely useful.

I’ve been using them well to get this far.

As I munch on a biscuit, feeling energy return to my body, I scan the piles of items around me.

I quickly find what I was looking for.

‘That’s it.’

An incense burner about the size of my palm. It’s rather small for a ritual implement, but that makes it stand out more.

“Hmm.”

The supply room is so cluttered with old items haphazardly piled up that most things aren’t properly organized.

I struggle to pull out the incense burner that’s buried at the bottom of a pile of objects stacked almost to the ceiling.

The Holy Ultima. An incense burner said to be a thousand years old with ancient power dwelling within it.

Despite such an impressive description, it doesn’t actually have any remarkable capabilities on its own. It has just one simple function.

It’s basically a “telephone.”

Except the receiver is… a rather terrifying entity.

‘Got the most important thing…’

I look around for additional items to take.

Normally, operating this would require all sorts of rare items, but this place is a goldmine for Serath users. Those things shouldn’t be hard to find.

I search for the necessary items one by one and put them in my pocket.

Powder made from a unicorn’s horn for lighting the fire, a phoenix feather to ignite it, a coral fan to control the brazier…

Taking too many items might leave a trail, but grabbing these few items should be OK.

“Oops.”

While focused on gathering items, the things stacked above started to collapse, but it wasn’t a loud crash, so it shouldn’t matter.

“…?”

That’s what I thought.

Until a “person” buried among the collapsing items came tumbling down with them.

“…!”

I instinctively catch the small body falling directly toward me.

It was a reflex action, sensing that letting her hit the floor would cause an even bigger commotion.

But as soon as I see the face of the person I caught, I immediately regret it.

“…”

A small girl, fast asleep, clutching a sword wrapped tightly in chains.

Looking at her sleeping, she resembles a completely worn-out cat.

From my perspective, I felt chills run down my spine as soon as I recognized who this was.

Yeah. Who would imagine?

That this peacefully sleeping person is a human butcher who has committed over a hundred murders.

“…Mmm.”

Unfortunately for me, it seems my activities just now have woken her from her sleep.

The girl stretches lazily while still in my arms.

“Haaaa…um?”

As she stretches her arms out, her yawn gradually subsides as if sensing something strange.

She blinks her yellow eyes drowsily and looks around. Then our eyes meet.

“…”

“…”

I should put her down first.

I hold the girl with both hands and set her upright on the floor.

For several seconds, we just stare at each other in silence.

And finally.

The girl realizes that she was “being held” by a man she’s never seen before.

Of course, her next action is to swiftly grab the hilt of the sword she was embracing.

[ Crisis situation detected. ]

[ Judged to be a direct threat to life. ]

[ Applying skill: Desperate Situation at EX rank. ]

Well.

I’m fucked.

●

There are many reasons why a character might be classified as evil-aligned in Serath, but one of the classification criteria is “karma.”

In more intuitive terms, it’s the “number of kills.”

Simply put, the more people you’ve killed, the easier it becomes to drift toward an evil alignment.

It makes sense that higher karma makes one more susceptible to corruption.

The demons, who are the main antagonists throughout the scenario, usually approach those with high karma first.

And the person standing before me now embodies the extreme of this system.

She’s not such a harmful person normally.

As long as you don’t get close to her.

“…”

As for what happens if you do get close, well…

I’ll answer that by saying this person has the overwhelmingly highest karma count—number one—even surpassing Elnore, who would slash people at any opportunity.

This small girl right in front of me has killed more people than anyone else in this academy.

“…!”

Watching the sword strike flying toward me, I can thoroughly understand how such a thing is possible.

Even the protagonist Elia couldn’t react to the Desperate Situation skill enhanced to EX rank and was sent flying with one punch.

But now, conversely, I’m barely able to react to the trajectory of Yuria’s sword.

“-…!”

Realizing this is truly a life-or-death moment, my concentration rises to the point where the world seems to move in slow motion.

Unlike with Elia, this attack is genuinely meant to kill me, which might be why I feel this way.

I deflect the strike aimed at my neck with the incense burner I was holding. A relic should be able to withstand a few attacks, so it serves as a makeshift shield.

With a clang! sparks fly.

‘What kind of monster is this…!’

Despite my strength being enhanced to the point where I could send a human flying like a feather, my entire body aches.

It’s an absurdly powerful strike for someone who just woke up and didn’t even properly set her stance.

Fortunately, I know how to avoid getting hit again by her.

I roll backward, throwing my whole body.

In actual combat, this would be a foolish move.

It’s a movement that serves no purpose other than creating distance.

But against this woman, it’s definitely effective.

As my body touches the floor, I instinctively gauge the distance between us.

‘Three and a half steps.’

For her, it’s probably a distance she could close and cut me down without even taking a breath.

But Yuria remains frozen in place.

While she exhibits near-invincible combat prowess against opponents who come within “her three steps,” conversely, she cannot enter within “three steps” of another person.

A human forced to keep her distance from everyone.

That’s how the “curse” on her is designed.

[Would you please stay still?]

Judging by the teary-eyed message she floats in the air, she clearly wasn’t pleased about being suddenly embraced by a strange man.

“…So it’s easier to slice me up?”

[Yes.]

Cut me some slack, will you.

Regardless of my thoughts, it’s clear that I’m in a tight spot.

Wall at my back. Yuria pointing a sword at me from the front.

I’d be safe if I could keep more than three steps away, but I have no way to escape like this.

Come on, a little physical contact shouldn’t be that big a deal. If she weren’t burning with such intense hostility over it, I might have been able to negotiate…

“…?”

Wait a minute.

Negotiate.

Negotiate.

I recall a few settings in my mind.

Befitting someone forced to keep her distance from everyone, Yuria typically lives a life little different from a vagrant.

Meeting her unexpectedly in the supply room was unforeseen, but considering she prefers “sparsely populated” and “consistently so” environments, it’s not entirely impossible.

Since even staff rarely come here without business, she probably made it her own little nest.

And people in such environments always chronically suffer from something.

“…”

I slowly reach into my pocket. Moving at a pace that clearly indicates I have no intention of provoking her.

And with a solemn gesture, I pull out the biscuit I was eating earlier.

“…”

[…]

I can feel Yuria’s gaze fixed on the biscuit in my hand.

When I wave it in front of her, her eyes follow it back and forth, making it quite obvious.

I hear her swallowing dryly. Her stomach is probably growling too.

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

I toss the biscuits one by one like feeding a cat.

In a direction that would lead her away from my exit route. Like Hansel and Gretel, I’m creating a path with biscuits.

[Are you trying to lure a person with food?]

One advantage of communicating through floating text is that you can separate speaking from using your mouth.

She’s gobbling up the flying biscuits with remarkable reflexes while displaying such a message.

[I’m not some animal. Who would fall for something like this!]

But her body seems honest.

With each bite, she visibly becomes happier.

The way she munches and smiles brightly, if she had a tail, it would probably be wagging by now.

And perhaps realizing that I’m watching her, she suddenly gasps and comes to her senses.

[I-I won’t fall for such primitive tactics! I’m human!]

Is that so.

“I have more, want some?”

[…]

A moment later.

Yuria was purring and munching on the entire pack of biscuits I had handed over.

She really is like an animal.

[So, who are you? Why are you here?]

“…”

Indeed, civilized communication becomes possible once people are fed and comfortable.

Only now does this question emerge.

‘…But honestly, I can’t tell her the truth.’

How can I say I came to steal?

Even though Yuria lives a life barely different from a wild animal, she’s not completely incapable of communication, as we can see now.

It would be troublesome if word got back to other staff members.

I need a good excuse…

Ah, right.

Before speaking, I glance at the incense burner rolling on the floor.

If I just take it and leave now, it would draw her attention. So let me try to distract her.

“I came to feed you. Someone asked me to.”

With a topic that’s bound to catch her interest.

[…What?]

Yuria responded blankly.

Seeing dozens of question marks floating around her body, she must be quite confused.

“Someone I know asked me to look after you.”

[Someone you know…?]

There’s actually no such person. But talking like this might help later.

Creating such variables would be impossible in the original work, but in the original game, I wouldn’t have met Yuria in the supply room anyway.

Since I’ve met her early, I should use this opportunity. To make things go more smoothly later.

“Your sister is doing well in the Holy Empire, so don’t worry.”

The key is to deliver this information in advance.

Yuria’s body visibly stiffened.

“The Pope won’t pay attention to you or that side for a while. But you should still keep a low profile at the academy for now.”

The girl tightly hugs the chain-wrapped sword she never lets go of.

Though the gesture is small, the emotional whirlwind it conveys is intensely fierce.

The reason she’s living like this at Elphante Academy, far from her homeland in the Holy Empire, is all because of that person.

Originally, this content would be covered in detail in Chapter 2, but well.

I think it’s okay to at least let her know about the whereabouts of her only family.

“…”

My gaze lingers on the sword that Yuria is still embracing.

Though it looks like an ordinary sword, it’s among the most malevolent items in all of Serath.

Yuria serves as a kind of “seal” to suppress it. The curse related to the three steps also comes from that object.

Though not as bad as Elnore, she must be constantly threatened by mental corruption.

I should at least give her some hopeful news. She must be having a hard time.

[You, who exactly are you? Where did you…]

“I’m leaving now.”

But that doesn’t mean I need to explain everything in detail.

‘Especially since none of it is true anyway.’

Yeah.

Lies get caught when they grow too long.

Since I’m wearing a mask, it’s better to make a mysterious exit.

I pick up the incense burner that’s been rolling on the floor from our earlier collision.

Being from the Holy Empire, she would surely recognize the value of this object, but she seems so shocked by what I just said that she’s not paying attention to it.

That’s fortunate…!

Worth the effort of talking…!

“…I’ll come again.”

I still leave a farewell greeting.

I’ll probably need to come back to the supply room to take more items at least once more.

Cut me some slack then, okay?

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