episode_0099

“Isera Bernstein…”

“It’s been a while, Duke’s family’s… ‘fake’ good-for-nothing. It seems you still remember my name and face. Well… you’ve always been afraid of me.”

The slight clumsiness, eccentricity, and flightiness that Isera usually showed Ras were nowhere to be found. What illuminated the fading night of the snow-covered forest was a solitary wolf, running alone through the northern snowfields and fighting fiercely.

Raymond knew Isera very ‘well’.

Raymond was known as one of the worst bullies and good-for-nothings during his school days, but he ‘never’ picked a fight with Isera and treated her quietly.

And for good reason… The first place the two met was not an academy where dreams and love blossomed, but the blood-soaked front lines of the North.

Isera was just an orphan whose origins and parents were unknown. Nineteen-year-old Isera, who didn’t even have the surname ‘Bernstein’ at the time, massacred on the battlefield like a rampaging demon, and Raymond, who had followed his grandfather and father to the warzone with a youthful, reckless heart, became so terrified of Isera after seeing this that he suffered from trauma. It was like a good-for-nothing or a scoundrel living next door seeing a wolf slaughtering a flock of sheep on the road; their legs would give out, and they’d sit down and wet themselves.

So, from Isera’s perspective, Raymond, who whimpered in front of her, just seemed like a ‘fake’ good-for-nothing.

Anyway, the Emperor, who happened to be on campaign at that battlefield and witnessed the unprecedented martial prowess of this unknown young woman, ‘personally’ began to scout and sponsor this promising woman.

Thus, upon reaching adulthood, Isera was immediately sent to Leone Academy, received an excellent education, became an officer, and accumulated many achievements while serving on the front lines, including the North, for several years.

Eventually, her merits were recognized, and upon her retirement, she was ‘personally’ granted a noble title and surname by the Emperor, and the title she received was Count Bernstein.

However, true to her dislike for complications and managing people, she refused all things like fiefdoms and came to Leone to foster junior talent.

Despite being a half-noble without a fief, she is a warrior favored by the Emperor, making her the greatest self-made figure in current Sephiroth and the true legend of Leone.

Her being the head of the ‘Executive Board’, known as the most powerful entity in Leone, despite being only in her early thirties, is by no means a coincidence or due to lobbying.

“Gulp.”

“I truly hate you. It’s partly because you’re trash in human form, but there are also practical reasons related to me. Do you know why?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“It’s better not to play dumb. You instigated Duke Valencia to keep me rotating through the front lines. Well… as a true soldier and warrior, I simply used your mischief for my growth, but the unpleasantness remains.”

Isera graduated early from Leone and was dispatched to the Northern battlefield faster than anyone else.

However, it is also true that the extent of the rotation she experienced was a bit excessive, beyond her competence.

Of course, Isera, with her fearless nature that never shied away from a fight, carried out all major missions in warzones (such as powerful magical beasts causing trouble) without a single complaint.

Since she was far from foolish, after becoming a Count, she discovered through investigation that Raymond’s schemes and Duke Valencia’s curiosity were intertwined with her hardships.

“Well… that’s in the past, and honestly, I would have forgotten it if we hadn’t met. I’m busy teaching kids. I dislike both you and your father, but you’re humans who have nothing to do with me. However, it’s a different matter, Raymond, if you come into our school now and persecute my students.”

“Persecu…tion?! *I* was beaten half to death. Take my body, yes… take it to a Healer here at this school. She’ll diagnose how messed up my body is. The most reputable Healer of this generation…!”

Isera looked at the indignant Raymond once, and then at Ras, who was peeking at her from behind like a meerkat, with cute, pleading eyes.

‘Hmm… that affectionate atmosphere… Marisa…! Being classmates, it seems there’s an advantage. And by the way… you’re even cuter today. Is it because it’s been a while?’

Of course, she was just having a slight groan-worthy thought while watching Ras and Marisa, who were stuck together very affectionately.

“Ras, is what he says true? He says you beat him severely.”

Raymond’s claim: ‘I was severely beaten. I merely acted in self-defense to protect my life.’

Isera naturally dismissed this as nonsense, but she was formally interrogating Ras to go through the motions.

[Professor-nim! I have a very good idea!! Don’t be surprised, just watch?]

[Is this telepathy…? No, it must be sound transmission. Can he do even this? No… sound transmission isn’t the problem here, but…]

Isera was slightly surprised that Ras used sound transmission, but in truth, sound transmission wasn’t what was important to her right now.

A pure white and intense world of white night…. If Isera’s own thoughts were correct, this was…

Slap! Slap!!! Whack!!!

However, before she could continue her thoughts, the loud sound of him genuinely slapping his own cheeks cut off Isera’s train of thought.

The sound was so clear and crisp, indicating how powerfully he was slapping himself!

‘Wh-what is he doing…???’

While Isera was momentarily flustered, Ras, whose face had already become a mess of bruises and bloodstains, protested with the most wronged voice in the world:

“Professor-nim, he hit me repeatedly…!”

‘Ah… that rascal. Could it be self-inflicted harm? Isn’t he trying too hard with this scheme? There’s no need for it now that ‘I’ am here. But… I can’t help but find even that kind of look extremely cute…’

Ahem, Isera inwardly thought she was being silly, and she was right.

But like a professional professor, she quickly composed herself and decided to play along with Ras.

After all, one of her tenets was that ‘support’ meant quickly aligning with the other person’s intentions.

“Indeed. There’s no way ‘my small, cute, precious’ Ras could do anything against a scoundrel like you. Furthermore, I personally blocked the attacks you unleashed without thinking. Are you really going to claim that’s self-defense, even after seeing that face?”

“Wha… what?! You saw him hitting his own face just no—”

“Professor-nim… I hurt a lot. And I was scared…!!! He’s just a bad guy…!”

Watching Ras, who, after his fantastic self-harm show, was excitedly tattling like a child who tells everything, Marisa felt confused.

“Look, Raymond. That ‘small, cute’ child is crying, isn’t he? Ras, what do you want to do with this fellow?”

“I want two waterfalls to appear in his eyes…!”

“Very poetic. Good. Then, after hitting him a few times, we’ll lock him up. Summary execution, Raymond.”

“Yay!!”

Isera cracked her knuckles threateningly and approached Raymond.

A situation where the woman he had always feared was approaching, radiating intense killing intent… and after seeing Ras’s brazen self-harm show, his sense of injustice was boiling.

“Even so, th-this isn’t right… And how is that giant thing supposed to be small and cute anyway?! Wait… don’t come any closer! Legally, through proper procedure… *cough*…!”

Raymond, who had been spewing his final desperate protests, suddenly clutched the back of his neck, vomited a basinful of blood, and collapsed.

The aftereffects of being poisoned by cold venom, the aftereffects of overexerting his power, and finally, the aftereffects of being pushed to a psychological cliff, all combined to induce an extremely severe qi deviation.

“Ugh…! He gets a qi deviation from just that. Professor-nim, if we leave him, he’ll really die. We should take him to Teacher Rosalie first.”

Ras clicked his tongue in disappointment, then waved his hand dismissively and walked towards Isera.

And then, *bonk!* he got a light slap on the head.

“Ow!! Why’d you hit meee!!”

“You little colt. How could you slap such a handsome face so recklessly? Self-harm is forbidden from now on. Though your whining was cute, it pains my heart.”

Isera, who was still wearing the gifted gloves that were on the verge of falling apart, took them off and gently stroked Ras’s swollen cheek, making soft patting sounds.

“Oh… my… Could it be… Professor Isera too…? And she even said ‘my small, cute, precious’? Ras-kun… you are truly a terrifying man. Like an enemy of women.”

Marisa, for whom something like Isera had been ‘poured’ onto the good atmosphere, could only watch this scene with extreme embarrassment.

Raymond squirming on the ground, Isera and Ras enacting a scene from a romance manga, and Marisa flusteredly watching it all…

This chaotic situation promptly ended with the arrival of Rosalie and Tiria, who had received the call and arrived late.

“Raaaas!!! Are you okay…? Oh my!! Hey!! Get your hands off him right now!! You conniving girl pretending to be innocent and ignorant!!”

“Whoa… that’s quite a heated picture… Ras, didn’t you date Lizley, break up, and then you’re dating Irha these days? Anyway, it’s good to be young~ Old Isera looks a bit pathetic, so hurry over here.”

Rosalie, who was always wary of the predator next door, and Tiria, who was simply amused as if watching a fire from across the river because it wasn’t her business – their different reactions were quite a sight to behold.

“Squeak…! To think I looked like I was dating Ras…!”

Incidentally, Irha, who had arrived late and was peeking out, being slower than the other professors, was absolutely thrilled by Professor Tiria’s casual remark, disregarding everything else.

It was truly a mess.

*

Infirmary

Rosalie-nim clapped her hands with a *smack*, unfurling a wide barrier of divine power, and soon a bright barrier appeared, enclosing Rosalie-nim like a dome.

It was a technique to create a soundproof barrier using divine power, preventing sound from leaking outside, and lately, our beautiful girlfriend had been practicing it with great enthusiasm.

Perhaps she was putting it up in case Raymond might overhear their conversation, or in case ‘someone’ (like Professor Isera) outside might secretly listen in?

Anyway, our elder sister-nim was a meticulous woman who, like a seasoned battlefield veteran, knew the importance of soundproofing and security better than anyone.

“Phew… at least he’s still breathing. Goodness… what on earth happened? Ras, if you do self-harm like that again, I’ll really scold you, okay?”

Rosalie-nim, who was disgusted by the sight of the useless Raymond collapsed and vomiting blood, simply kept Raymond barely breathing for now.

Since she had roughly heard the situation while moving to the infirmary, the emergency treatment was performed unusually haphazardly for Rosalie-nim.

However, even though it was a haphazard treatment, Rosalie-nim’s abilities as a Healer had clearly grown significantly, and thanks to that, Raymond was able to cling to his meager life for the time being.

Anyway, I made excuses with a bit of aegyo to Rosalie-nim, who was giving me a stern, reproachful look.

“The self-harm extortion show… from the perspective of the one being extorted, it’s really unfair, so I just really wanted to try it out, you see. Hehehe… Ow, ow, ow…!!!”

“Are you going to do that again…??”

However, what I was about to brag and blabber about was thoroughly stopped by Rosalie-nim biting my cheek with a *chomp*!

‘Oh, my..! So that’s why she told everyone to leave!! She’s too cute, anyway…!’

Rosalie-nim had been dispirited, always sighing ‘Hingu…’ because she hadn’t been able to have proper dates due to being busy lately, but it seemed she was making up for it with cute physical affection like this. Even though she was biting to scold me, she wasn’t using her teeth properly, so I, who had my cheek bitten, was just beaming with happiness!

“Hehe, I won’t do it next time.”

Raymond probably intended to assert his innocence to our Teacher-nim… but unfortunately, Teacher-nim is 100 percent on my side.

Moreover, there was no need to lie; this situation was entirely Raymond’s fault, so he had no reason to feel wronged.

Because it was *this guy* who came looking for Marisa, who was quietly attending school, threatened her, and genuinely tried to attack and injure her, not me.

If Marisa had truly been harmed by Raymond or had been in a severe fight in that situation, Raymond might have actually faced summary execution by Professor Isera.

Well… if I had arrived a little later and Marisa had been even slightly hurt by Raymond, I would have just killed him too.

“Phew… whatever the case, if Isera had killed him or something, it would have been quite a big deal. No matter how much of a scoundrel he is, he’s still a Valencia. Of course, she’s not one to think about the consequences…”

“Anyway, it’s a good thing I handled it well on my end. Actually, I was planning to beat him thoroughly, but I noticed Professor Isera coming, so I just roughly handed him over.”

“Tsk~ I don’t know…! Rosalie is upset. Isera rescued Ras so coolly, and she was even kneading his cheeks. I’m sad, so quickly comfort me.”

I gently comforted Rosalie-nim, who was whining and hugging me so lovingly. She loved it when I gently bit her soft, white cheek with my lips, just as she had done, and stroked her smart, rounded head.

“Hehe…! Anyway, Rosalie is the winner today. Isera just patted cheeks a few times, but Rosalie kissed, bit cheeks, and did everything~”

Soon, a delighted Rosalie-nim stood up, then gracefully swayed into the research lab, saying she would write up a chart and a diagnosis certificate to excuse me from all my afternoon classes.

Now that Rosalie-nim had gone to work, I could freely think about other things and organize the situation.

In the mindscape, I focused solely on inflicting mental damage on Raymond, completely excluding any physical blows, and most importantly, I tightly suppressed the urge to kill him on the spot. After all, Raymond is merely a third-rate villain, not even a minnow in terms of danger level, so my thought was that I shouldn’t get angry. Beating this guy, who had tormented Marisa for a long time, to death would have some meaning, but keeping him barely alive to use as bait was the best option, so it was good that I was careful.

This guy is a ‘failed strongman’ who is merely a minnow, yet he is none other than the direct eldest grandson of Valencia.

And the fact that he’s a ‘failed’ strongman, and that he’s still a direct descendant of Valencia even if treated like a discarded son, are truly important elements in my plan.

This guy will probably wake up, grit his teeth over his painful and unjust situation, and clearly dream of ‘revenge’. Would he go and tell the Emperor or Leon about this?

Because his backing is the powerful and corrupt Duchy of Valencia, he will go to Rodrigo and his father and explain the circumstances as unfairly as possible.

And in this process, he’s sure to exaggerate slightly and include about half the truth, effectively boosting my image. Wouldn’t it be cleaner for him to say he was defeated by an unfathomable genius, rather than severely beaten by the son of some unknown, lowly merchant family?

Well… it’s not like I’m an ‘unfathomable genius’…. But anyway, the fortuitous encounters I keep having far exceed my meager talent, so it wouldn’t be entirely wrong to say that.

Both Rodrigo, a seasoned martial artist, and Franz von Valencia, who must be enduring countless years as a ‘minor duke’ to learn about the mindscape… they will all take an interest in me.

For a start, Rodrigo will recognize me as a very significant threat because he knows what it means to enter that realm. An unknown fellow, not fearing the ducal young master who is his own grandson, dares to stand against him to save Marisa, and has entered the mindscape?

There’s someone who, at the age of twenty-one, has entered a realm where he could achieve unrivaled feats even against an entire nation if he calmly continues his growth? Rodrigo himself knows all too well that in just a few years, I will become someone who won’t be intimidated by a mere ducal title and will do as I please, so he will begin to prepare for ‘me’.

That’s why the information I conveyed was ‘thoroughly misleading’.

The mindscape, the White Night, will be thoroughly packaged as ‘illusion magic’, and the Nine Heavens Destruction Flame Art will be completely excluded.

Raymond, who is a ‘failed strongman’ but still counts as strong, will elaborate in great detail… the false information about ‘illusions’ that he ‘mistook for understanding’ and that I left as a hint through ‘namelessness’ at the end, to his grandfather.

Even if Rodrigo approaches me with just one wrong preconception, it will be a hugely profitable deal for me.

And then… Franz von Valencia.

This side is like a bonus, but I wonder if this gentleman will offer me a scout position?

Begging me to tell him the clues to the mindscape, or perhaps to become a hitman to kill his father.

Ah, I can’t wait.

To see what kind of downfall Valencia will face.

I felt that I needed to quickly remove the label of a soon-to-be-traitorous family from Marisa. Because her future was, after all, not Marisa Adelard von Valencia, but Marisa Etgard.

“Hahahah…”

I chuckled softly, mimicking the laugh Marisa often made, like a mastermind….

“Ras! No thinking about other girls within a 25-meter radius of Teacher-nim~ If you keep doing it, I’ll bite you again to scold you, okay?”

Thanks to our Teacher-nim’s intuition, whose detection abilities for me had improved even further… I had to quickly stop thinking about Marisa.