episode_0045

Levia froze upon hearing Kael’s response.

“Kael… that’s…”

As she tried to come up with an excuse, Levia closed her mouth. Then, she spoke again.

“I understand… I’ll handle it on my own.”

Quietly, Levia turned her head. She bowed it down onto the desk. Lying still, various thoughts crossed Levia’s mind.

— Kael, who are the people making things difficult for you? If you’re struggling, I’ll help… It seems like you’ve been getting more hurt lately…

— No, Levia. I don’t want to burden you. I will overcome this on my own with confidence.

At that moment, Levia overlapped her younger brother with Kael. However, her brother was different from Kael in one aspect: determination.

Her brother, one year younger than Levia, lacked the will to escape from torment.

— Did you get beaten up again? Who did that? I told you to tell me since I’ll help!

— Stop meddling, sis. I’m an adult now too.

— How can you not care! You always come back covered in wounds!

— Just shut up. Stop saying useless things that make people miserable. Help from you? I’m a nobleman’s son being tormented. What can you do? Just stay quiet. Please stop doing pointless things and just stay quiet.

Although past adolescence, her brother was resigned to his current situation, unwilling to overcome it. Each time she saw his increasing wounds, it felt like her heart was being torn apart. That’s why she couldn’t help but worry about Kael, who was in a similar situation.

Facing a situation similar to her brother’s, Kael always smiled.

Even if classmates mocked or scorned him, he would smile. Despite accumulating physical wounds, enduring immense pain, he would smile.

No. To be precise, he only smiled in front of Levia.

The reason Kael could show the will to overcome his suffering was solely due to Levia, who cared for him. Sadly, Kael’s dedication turned into an obsession towards her.

— Levia… you give me so much strength. I want to get closer to you.

Kael confessed periodically to Levia, who tried to help him.

— Levia, about rejecting me last time… could you reconsider?

Despite several rejections, Kael’s attitude remained unchanged. In a situation where many ignored and scorned him, Levia was his sole hope and light.

— Kael… if you confess like that one more time, I won’t be able to be around you anymore… I have no romantic feelings for you…

— I’m sorry…

Thus, Levia and Kael’s relationship grew distant. Nevertheless, the concern persisted unavoidably.

Every time Kael was dragged away by someone, he recorded the names of those taking him. He also noted what cruel acts they were committing.

Due to rumors about the Tekas household being nobility, she couldn’t rashly intervene. Nonetheless, she collected various materials to help within her means. Today was the day she intended to hand them over.

She promised to tell the instructor everything. If evidence or testimony was needed, she pledged to help willingly.

However, Kael had changed.

Upon returning to the academy after a long absence, Kael was a completely different person.

— Odd. Why is he so angry? It was just a joke among friends.

He no longer feared those around him. If there were people tormenting him, he confronted them directly, even destroying multiple summoned creatures without using magic.

His head no longer hung low. Kael raised his head confidently anytime, anywhere. His gestures and speech exuded unmistakable confidence.

He no longer restrained his actions. If someone provoked him, he responded accordingly, engaging in fights without hesitation.

And Kael was no longer gentle with Leviah. It was a departure from the past image of Kael.

“Leviah, you seem upset today. What’s wrong?”

“Well… it’s about my sister…”

“Why about your sister?”

“It’s nothing… I’ll tell you later.”

“Leviah, I may not know what’s going on, but if you ever need help, just let me know! Okay? I’ve gained a lot of comfort thanks to you, so I’ll help with anything I can.”

The bright smile on Kael’s face was gone.

He no longer enjoyed conversations, nor did he prolong meaningless talks. He didn’t send teasing glances like before or make awkward confessions.

But why?

Something felt suffocating in his heart.

“I don’t feel good… Why is this happening?”

He couldn’t understand. Wanting to help Kael was merely out of courtesy, and even that was because of overlapping feelings for his sister. Thus, although he diligently collected information on harassment behind the scenes, he didn’t even pretend to be interested, nor did he seek any reward.

It was Leviah herself who pushed away any emotional attachment, and lately, she found his always-smiling expression somewhat burdensome. She was anxious about when she might confess again.

But now, things were a bit different.

Kael had grown stronger, but he no longer smiled, and he wasn’t the friend she once knew.

Though not emotionally, Leviah liked Kael as a friend. She admired his resilience against harassment. Perhaps she projected hope onto him, thinking that one day her own sister could overcome challenges like Kael.

“Kael… you’ve changed a lot.”

“People change, that’s how it is.”

Leviah chuckled in response to Macderas’ words.

“But you look good. You won’t get hurt like before now.”

Macderas didn’t react to her words. There was a slight misunderstanding between them.

—

Suyangbudel’s Post List

[Helped a kid being harassed at the academy today. Scary, but I did well, right?]

[Decided to be friends with the kid I helped before. Turns out they’re nicer than I thought.]

[Got a thank you message from the kid I helped… They want to meet up, should I go?]

“The last moment I wanted to distance myself from Kael.” From Macderas’ perspective, looking at Suyangbudel (Leviah)’s posts, it seemed like she wanted to distance herself from Kael. Her change in attitude might appear favorable now.

It was difficult to take her offer of help at face value.

If she had said such things before destroying all the summoned creatures, maybe, but initially, Leviah froze upon seeing Macderas, who resembled Kael, and clearly avoided him.

And now she offered to help.

An opportunist. That’s all she seemed to be. Macderas had no way of knowing what she had been through, what she had prepared to help Kael.

“I’m not much into small talk. Let’s end the conversation here.”

With that, their conversation ended.

—

After class, Macderas walked straight out of the classroom. Despite Teckas calling after him to follow to the back of the classroom, he ignored it.

“Where the hell did Kyle go? He disappeared before class ended, and now we’re the only ones suffering for it.”

“How can someone leave when we’re all in the same class?”

“Stop chitchatting and block all the exits. If we lose Kyle, we’ll all be in trouble with Teckas.”

“Ugh… If only Teckas weren’t involved…”

Near the entrance to the academy, Teckas gang members were protesting, but MacDerris effortlessly passed through using concealment magic.

“I probably don’t need to deal with this today.”

Dealing with such third-rate thugs was something he could do anytime. However, for some reason, he wasn’t feeling well.

“Why is my heart beating so fast?”

Since his conversation with Leviah earlier, his heart had been pounding like crazy. Alongside that, a suffocating feeling started creeping in. It felt like he had done something he shouldn’t have.

“Traingman. Are you still alive?”

MacDerris spoke into the air, but there was no response.

“Are you watching over me? Is that why I was rude to Leviah?”

Yet, there was still no reply.

His heart just kept racing wildly. It felt like his heart was being torn apart. Why did it hurt so much?

MacDerris chuckled.

“Must be my imagination. There’s no way he’s still alive. But it’s strange. There seems to be no issue with my body, and it appears to be a physiological phenomenon, yet I’ve never experienced this in the past few years.”

Was Traingman’s will still lingering in his body? Or was his spirit wandering nearby? He couldn’t tell. Detection magic yielded no results, and there was little to infer.

But his heart continued to beat uncomfortably.

MacDerris ignored it. It must be a temporary condition.

And so, he walked on. He walked aimlessly for about two hours, hoping it would get better with time.

As he walked, he noticed many dark corners in the alleys. There were loud people and gangs of thugs hanging around. Of course, he paid them no mind. There was no need to pick fights with those looking for trouble. Just as he turned into another alleyway to avoid the thugs…

“Hey, isn’t that guy throwing up?”

“Idiot.”

He witnessed a group of thugs beating up a man. MacDerris simply tried to walk away. There was no need to intervene for strangers.

The thugs didn’t pay much attention to MacDerris either.

“Get up. Do it again like earlier. What? Your sister told you not to say anything? Who the hell do you think you are?”

“It’s only… only me who should suffer…”

“What did I do? I just wanted to contact your sister. Why are you acting like this? I just wanted to see her briefly. She looked really pretty in the picture.”

The skinny man couldn’t utter a word. But MacDerris saw it—the boy clenching his fists as if he were about to explode. Intrigued, MacDerris crossed his arms and watched the scene unfold.

“Hey, Raykan, speak up. Why do you hate this so much? Your sister says she’ll end her life if she meets me? You know our father is a noble. It’s actually a loss for me, so why are you doing this?”

Every time the word “sister” was mentioned, Raykan’s hands trembled.

“Stop…”

“Stop? You were quiet while getting beaten up until now. Why the attitude now? Do you want to die?”

MacDerris tried to look away. He didn’t particularly enjoy being in such situations. While he could help if he wanted to, it would likely backfire.

To overcome something, one must make an effort. Just as Kael wielded his sword diligently every day, and Teckeloman never backed down to uphold a knight’s pride, courage is necessary to achieve something. However, despite having something he wanted to protect, the man succumbed to strength and fell silent.

“Useless fool.”

At that moment of contemplation,

“Oh… Is it because of that? Worried that your sister might not like me? Don’t worry. Any woman I lay down ends up crying…”

As the tormented man uttered vulgar words, accompanied by a thud, Raykan, who was being harassed, struck with his fist.

“Shut up, Teveston… Stop mentioning our sister with that filthy mouth.”

Despite shouting aggressively, his punch was too weak. He barely hit the man’s jaw, striking around his cheek instead.

“You hit me just now? Can’t believe how ridiculous you are. Hey, do you know my brother attends the same academy as your sister? You bastard. There’s a way to contact even if you don’t tell me. I might need to inform my brother too, right? You’ve been keeping quiet until now, but I’ll ask for some leniency.”

Raykan flailed his hands, attempting to pick up a stone from the ground to strike the man’s face. However, his movements were sluggish, and Teveston even resorted to using magic.

Bang!

With a loud noise, a massive flame engulfed Raykan’s face as he fought for his sister. Though his face was a mess, he staggered to his feet.

Watching this scene, Teveston sneered and shouted, “A useless wretch who can’t even use magic. Playing around like this after such a joke? I’ll make sure you can’t even use your arms or legs. Oh, don’t worry, my father will generously reward you. Ah, I’ll show your sister your disabled state.”

Approaching the fallen Raykan, Teveston rummaged through his pockets, trying to retrieve a communication artifact to send a message. It seemed like a magical device.

“I’ve sent a message asking them to come quickly. They should be here soon, right? Watch closely, you idiot, how your sister is being treated. Well, you might not be able to see it. If I hit you wrong, you might end up disabled.”

With a sudden movement, Teveston attempted to bring his hand down on Raykan’s head, likely aiming to crush his brain entirely.

“If you die, it’s a shame.”

Just as Teveston tried to grab Raykan’s head,

Crrrack…

Someone grabbed his hand with a single hand. Sparks began to fly wildly, causing Teveston to quickly step back. Macderas, who made Teveston retreat, spoke briefly with a cold expression.

“Stop.”

But the man did not cease.

“W-who are you? Damn it, what gives you the right to stop me? My father is a noble, you know? If you keep messing around, you’ll end up dead too.”

“Bring him.”

When Macderas spoke coldly, looking at the man, the latter responded in bewilderment, “W-what… bring who?”

“Noble or whatever, if you want to see everyone die in front of you, bring him,” Macderas said.

“I was going to call him anyway, you bastard!”

The man reached into his pocket and used a communication artifact. Eventually, he rushed towards Macderas. However,

Bang!

With a loud noise, the man’s body slammed onto the ground.

Stepping back, Macderas looked down at the fallen man and said, “Come at me again.”

“What the hell is this…”

Macderas kicked the fallen man on the ground. As a result, Teveston started writhing in pain on the floor. Emotionlessly, Macderas stated, “If you can’t kill me, you will die by my hand.”

Drawing his sword and aiming at the man, Macderas added, “So stand there. If you want to keep your neck intact until your fancy father arrives.”