episode_0138

There are three days left until the coming-of-age ceremony.

After roughly processing the paperwork, Elin found herself with some free time.

Luke got busier and busier.

“Now that you’re an adult, you can drink alcohol, right?”

Now that I’m done with work today (I only worked for a whopping 6 hours!), I’m making plans to confess with Bena.

“That’s right. I’ll definitely drink it.”

Hururuk.

Aspiration burned in Elin’s eyes.

How much I’ve wanted to drink alcohol all this time.

He tried several times, but was discovered and stopped by Luke each time.

“I guess you shouldn’t expect too much… .”

“By the way, have you tried alcohol, Nia?”

Bena’s eyes sparkled.

Come to think of it, Nia, who became an adult a year earlier, must have drank a lot!

“Huh? I haven’t tried that much…? It doesn’t taste that good.”

“Huh? You don’t drink alcohol for the taste, you drink it for the atmosphere, atmosphere!”

“How do you know that…?”

“That’s how it was in the novels I read.”

Bena became a wine expert (he learned it from books) and gave a long speech about how wine can liven up the mood.

“Do you understand? With the help of alcohol… .”

“You’re telling me to knock the teacher over.”

“… … I wanted to hear a definitive answer to my confession.”

“… … ”

Bena nodded belatedly.

“But I think your method will definitely be more effective!”

It was a method that even a (self-proclaimed) romance expert wouldn’t have thought of.

It seemed like it would be quite effective.

Giving new life as a coming of age gift!

“If you drink something too strong, you might fall asleep… … .”

“Then how about this? It says it’s sweet and smooth… … .”

As Elin and Bena’s confession plan gets more and more intense.

“But… Oppa, is it okay for me to drink alcohol?”

Nia poured cold water on him.

It was also to prevent my brother from becoming a father, which was not in his plans.

“Oppa, your complexion is becoming more and more like an undead… .”

Luke looked so tired as he prepared for his coming-of-age ceremony.

I’ve never actually seen the undead, but if they did appear in front of me, I’d imagine they’d look like this.

“Isn’t it because Luke is so busy these days?”

“But you look especially tired.”

Luke had dark circles under his eyes since he first took up his post as tutor at Bertain.

A cup of coffee would make me feel better and I would walk around.

But now… … .

-Brother, shouldn’t you get some sleep?

-Who are you… … Ah, Nia. It’s okay… No, it’s okay. If I don’t finish it today, tomorrow’s work will just pile up.

It was so strange that it took me a while to recognize Nia when I ran into her in the hallway!

“If you drink alcohol, you won’t just pass out, you could die.”

Elin and Bena nodded at the serious expression.

“That might really be true.”

“Let’s scrap the plan to drink alcohol for now.”

So Luke’s plan to receive a new life as a coming-of-age gift from an unknown source fell through.

It was a very fortunate thing for Luke, who was still sipping coffee.

* * * * *

D-1 until Elin’s coming of age ceremony

The 257 spells Luke had prepared were perfectly cast in the banquet hall.

The guests from far away have almost all arrived.

“Elin Bertain, a small pillar in charge of the center of the empire.”

“Oh, Your Highness. I really wanted to see you someday. I am honored to see you like this… … .”

As the next head of the Bertain family, Elin faithfully welcomed guests from far away.

Of course, Natia and Gerald were there that day too.

“Oh my, Duchess. It’s become so hard to see your face at social gatherings these days~”

“Ha, haha… I’ve been a bit busy lately… .”

Natia, who had her place stolen from Bertain, could only laugh weakly.

“Hello, Senior Gerald! You said you were so close with Princess Elin, and now I finally get to see you!”

“What, what? Hey, where did you hear such a rumor… … .”

“Yes? But clearly, the senior gives her pocket money, and the princess runs errands for her, so they are close enough… .”

“You must have misheard…!”

Elin glared at Gerald with frosty eyes.

It seems that he made connections by selling Elin’s name while attending the academy.

You’re not even making something up out of nothing, you’re cleverly twisting something that happened?

“Hey, hey, come in first. Thank you for coming today… .”

Gerald let his oblivious junior in, sweating profusely.

In the past, he was just a scoundrel who would make people run errands while picking on him.

Since Elin turned 15.

To be exact, he was just a scared puppy after Clavel was folded in half.

“Excuse me… Where is Clavel?”

Surprisingly, some of the guests were acquaintances of Clavel.

Natia looked embarrassed.

In the end, he kept his mask on and smiled.

“Unfortunately, Clavel is seriously ill and cannot leave her bed.”

“That kind of… … .”

The fact that Clavel and Elin were fighting over the next head of the household is known only to those within Bertain.

It was spread outside that the reason Clavel’s activities had suddenly stopped was because of illness.

While the Bertain members were expressing their gratitude to the guests who came to visit them.

“Whew… … Almost done?”

Luke returned after checking the spells placed in the banquet hall one by one.

“Good work, man. At this rate, a large demon and a peacock will come at the same time and cause a ruckus?”

“…Why are you suddenly spewing out bad words?”

I glared sharply at Anne, who was tapping my back.

“Don’t you know that if you say it’s absolutely safe, something will happen? You have to say and think the opposite to be truly safe.”

“Ah… Sorry.”

If it was Luke, he would have figured it out right away.

I’m too mentally tired to think about it right now.

“I’ll take a seat for a moment… .”

“Again?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t the cycle too short?”

“That’s because you’ve been working your body a bit too hard. It’ll get better once you’re done and rest.”

Luke vowed that as soon as his coming-of-age ceremony was over, he would stay in the tower and sleep for a week.

Luke starts walking with a feeling of nausea slowly rising.

There were so many guests at the moment that I couldn’t enter any room.

After thoroughly exploring the empty room using mana.

“Kooluk… Guweak… .”

As soon as I entered the room, I started coughing up blood.

It feels like my intestines are going to burst out of my mouth.

Luke had to use up his mental strength to not pass out.

Bertain said that three years would definitely be fine.

Of course, that’s the story when you live a normal life.

I sleep for 4 hours and work for 20 hours.

Even if this isn’t a terminal illness, your body will inevitably be damaged.

“Kuluk, huh… keuk… .”

My health is getting worse, so I’m going to cough up blood and die.

When the thought comes to mind.

Squeak-

The door opened.

For a moment, my body froze.

If it was Anne, then it was at least fortunate.

Even if he doesn’t look very well, I already knew him.

But what if you were a guest at Ellen’s coming of age ceremony?

I’m going to have to explain why I’m doing this.

Rumors will surely spread, starting with the servant who guided the guest.

How can I get out of this situation?

Luke looked back, his head spinning desperately.

“… Teacher. What’s wrong?”

Standing in front of the door was the worst opponent.

* * * * *

Ellen felt very uncomfortable in this position where she was serving guests.

Of course, no one is comfortable meeting strangers.

But Elin was a person with particularly narrow interpersonal relationships.

I didn’t like the situation where the other person knew about me without me knowing.

It would be enough for the teacher to take interest in Elin… … .

It was when I was sighing like that inside.

Luke returned from the banquet hall and sat down next to Anne.

Luke’s gaunt face.

I knew it was hard, but somehow, with each passing day, I felt like I was dying.

-Oppa, your complexion is becoming more and more like that of an undead… .

It’s exactly like Nia said.

It’s not that Ellen wasn’t interested.

Are you sick? If you’re tired, you should rest. I tell you so much that it’s ringing in your ears.

-It’s okay. I’ll rest well after the coming-of-age ceremony. Don’t touch me then.

Because they only gave me the answer, ”

I was worried, but there was nothing I could do.

I tried to force myself to call the doctor, but Luke was always running around, so it was hard to even see him.

Even as Ellen served the guests, her eyes remained fixed on Luke.

Luke got up with a pale face after talking to Anne and staggered off somewhere.

Anyone who looks at him will see that he is about to die.

When I saw Anne biting her lips, I knew something was wrong.

“If it’s okay, would you like to sponsor our Matap… … .”

“Excuse me. Can I step away for a moment?”

“Yes? Yes… .”

Elin cut off the old gentleman who wasn’t even listening and hurried after Luke.

Where did you go? You clearly went here.

I used spatial detection in the hallway Luke entered through.

Because there were so many guests, the flow of mana exceeded thousands.

Of these, I just need to find one, Luke’s.

It wasn’t that difficult.

Because that’s what I’ve always done.

Thump thump thump thump.

Elin, who had found Luke’s mana, chased after him in a hurry.

This is just a hallway with rooms available for guests.

It probably has nothing to do with the coming-of-age ceremony, so why did you come here?

Even the place Luke entered was a regular guest room.

Elin, who was trying to follow in.

―Kuluk… Guweek… .

I heard a thick liquid pouring out, along with a sound like intestines being vomited out.

… Surely the one in the room is the teacher?

Ellen’s expression hardened with tension.

I couldn’t even imagine what was going on inside.

I turned the doorknob with slightly trembling hands.

“Kuluk, huh… keuk… .”

Bloodshot eyes.

A pale face.

Dark red blood on the corner of the mouth.

I met Luke’s eyes as he leaned against the wall, spitting out blood from another dimension.

Why on earth did the teacher… say it was okay…?

Elin doubted her eyes.

I thought I misunderstood something.

He asked in a trembling voice.

“…Teacher, what’s wrong?”