episode_0050

Since Leviah first started talking to Cale, they quickly became quite close.

Well, at least by Cale’s standards.

Leviah often found time to chat with Cale, which was like a beacon of hope for him. Although her actions stemmed from a sense of obligation to pay attention to a friend in need or feeling left out, it didn’t matter much to Cale.

“Oh… Can we talk for a bit today? I have something I want to discuss…”

Cale would often find reasons to chat with Leviah one-on-one. Most of the time, it was about trivial matters.

“Sorry, Cale, I’m busy today. Let’s talk tomorrow!”

“Sure! Let’s talk tomorrow, Leviah.”

There were signs. Leviah sometimes avoided getting too close to Cale when he seemed to be approaching her too intimately. She knew. She sensed that Cale was starting to develop some affection for her.

However, Leviah couldn’t push Cale away because he was in a vulnerable position, being bullied.

“Cale… Why are you hurt this time? Did Teckas and his friends do this?”

“Hehe… It’s not like that.”

Ironically, Leviah’s concern for Cale’s emotional wounds resonated more than his physical injuries. The days he was beaten felt unbearably sad and crushing, but each time, Leviah comforted him.

“Does it hurt a lot…?”

“No… not at all… Ouch!”

“Cale, are you okay? If it hurts, tell me…!”

Leviah often used healing magic. While she couldn’t perform high-level magic to heal major wounds quickly due to the immense mana required, she could provide basic first aid.

Leviah’s care healed Cale emotionally, while her restorative magic healed him physically.

Cale had to admit it. Leviah had deeply integrated into his life, enabling him to endure this harsh existence.

“Cale, you’re like a maggot. Didn’t I tell you to come every morning and bark? You’re supposed to obey when I command, you slave.”

“Woof… woof!”

“Idiot. You really do as told.”

Teckas, known for his influence in class and being a noble’s son, engaged in insulting behavior, but Cale could endure it. After enduring torment, Leviah would comfort him. However, that day was different.

“Hey, seems like you’re interested in Leviah. Shall I help you out?”

Starting with those words, Teckas began meddling with Leviah and Cale without consent.

“Look at you sticking to Leviah. You two seem pretty close. You might even hit it off. Come here, Cale.”

Whenever Leviah and Cale were together, Teckas would come and slap Cale, followed by a remark.

“Thanks to me bothering you, you can receive sympathy from Leviah. Understand? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be someone who could get involved with Leviah. Be grateful, you jerk. I’m playing the villain role for you.”

Leviah was renowned for her beauty within the academy. However, she had never accepted any confessions from men before. Teckas had confessed to her in the past and got rejected.

Perhaps due to this, Teckas became increasingly cruel towards Cale, especially when Leviah was around.

“Hey, try taking off your pants in front of Leviah. Show her your manly side. Isn’t that right?”

Not only did he ask Cale to take off his pants in front of Leviah but also forced him to act manly or eat rotten food against his will.

Each time, Leviah shouted, “That’s enough. Can’t you see that Cale doesn’t like it?”

Contempt mixed in her expression and tone clearly antagonized Tekas. Kael was happy. The fact that she took his side.

Even though Leviah didn’t act directly, indirectly like this,

“If you don’t like it, what are you going to do? Keep your mouth shut. Before you touch me.”

Whenever Tekas tried to use violence against Leviah, Kael shouted.

“I… I said only touch me. L-Leviah has nothing to do with this, why…”

“Wow, what a bastard.”

Because of those words, he was beaten to near death for half a day.

Instead, the next day, he received sympathy from Leviah again.

Getting hit by Tekas, being healed by Leviah, those times seemed to toughen Kael up, but not at all.

The man was becoming numb. To being tormented, and receiving Leviah’s sympathy without any cost.

Kael neither listened to Leviah’s worries, nor offered her anything, nor remained in an equal relationship enough to truly become friends.

‘Compassion…’

The man was aware. That his relationship with Leviah was maintained because of her compassion. It was a sentiment similar to taking a lost child to the police station or rescuing an animal in danger.

However, Kael wanted to believe that it was her liking towards him.

Not having a handsome face, not having a good relationship with peers, not even using magic, let alone being an orphan, Kael just wished that Leviah liked him.

That’s why he wanted to further advance the relationship and ended up causing trouble.

“Leviah… I really like you… Even when others bully me, having you by my side always gives me strength. Can’t we date? I… I’ll really treat you well.”

The man’s confession was cowardly. He tried to date her using Leviah’s compassion. However, Leviah surprisingly stood firm on this matter.

“Kael. Let’s pretend I didn’t hear what you said today… I’m not ready to date anyone yet.”

However, Trangman did not stop. Whenever he had time, he wanted to be alone with Leviah, and when the time came to have a deeper conversation, he inevitably confessed.

By then, Leviah would no longer come to Kael’s side.

It meant looking at Kael uncomfortably.

After several repeated confessions, Leviah no longer approached Kael, and Kael also spent similar days considering himself a nuisance.

However, unlike before, each time he was beaten by Tekas, fatigue and wounds accumulated on his body. For Kael, who had no money and couldn’t even buy potions, enduring Tekas’s cruel acts of beating while using magic was nothing short of hell.

Mentally and physically, the place to rely on disappeared at once. Like a rat cornered at a cliff opens the door for a cat. The day when the beatings became particularly severe. Kael actively resisted Tekas.

“Stop… Stop it! I don’t… I don’t want to be beaten anymore and I want to attend the academy normally. It’s not okay to bother and ignore people just because you know magic.”

“You’re talking nonsense. Isn’t Leviah helping you these days too? You’re such a retard. Even pity is wasted on someone like you.”

“Tekas, you… you were rejected by Leviah too.”

“What the hell did you just say?”

Kael touched Tekas’ sore spot, and the price was brutal. Hours of Tekas’s indiscriminate beating followed.

“T-Tekas, stop! If you keep this up, Kael will really die!”

“Let go! Are you trying to kill this bastard?”

When he opened his eyes, Kael’s whole body was grotesquely twisted. Was it the aftermath of magic? Blood began to flow madly without drying up.

“Damn bastard. Just rot away like a bug.”

Tekas spat at Cael and turned away. He felt no strength in his body. The thought of really dying crossed his mind.

By chance or perhaps by fate, at that very moment, Leviah happened to pass by and saw Cael’s figure.

“Cael!”

Leviah shouted as she hurriedly ran towards Cael. Using all her mana, she cast a healing spell. Despite her efforts, Cael’s wounds were too deep to show signs of recovery. With some basic first aid done, Cael spoke quietly.

“Leviah… Thank you… for helping me even though I caused trouble…”

“No! Why think about that now? Look at your condition! If I hadn’t come, you might have really died! Why did this happen to you? We should report this; it’s the right thing to do at this point…”

“No… Reporting won’t help. You know… Tekas’ father is a noble… as an orphan, even if I report, it won’t be handled properly… I don’t have the money for those procedures.”

“What do you suggest then?”

Looking at Leviah with pitiful eyes, Cael said, “I want to try overcoming this on my own. I’ll face it head-on.”

Despite being down, Cael clenched his fist tightly. After a moment of silence, Leviah spoke.

“Cael… honestly, I feel a bit uncomfortable around you. It’s hard for me when you keep confessing out of nowhere. I’ve told you I don’t see you romantically, but you keep going… However, regardless of that, if you’re determined to be brave, I’ll help you too. I’m not sure how I can help, but if you have a direction in mind, let me know… If there’s a way to escape from Tekas, I want to set you free.”

Looking straight at Cael, avoiding his gaze, Leviah added, “I promise. If you muster the courage, I’ll help you.”