Chapter 326

After being dragged along by Rod, my sweet vacation finally came to an end.

Once I was pulled along, I had to listen to Rod’s complaints, realizing just why he was so furious.

At first, I thought I could wait it out, but after a week went by without any sign of him returning, I started to worry something was wrong.

Upon further reflection, I wondered if the compass had broken, which is why he decided to venture into the forest himself.

But the compass was just having a grand old time, so it’s no wonder he was angry.

“So that’s why it’s like this now?”

“Yep. Giving you a good punishing.”

Rod and Kara were talking in front of me, with a look of disbelief plastered on Kara’s face.

It was a look shared by most of the others gathered there as well.

After taking deworming medicine at the hospital and tidying up his beard and hair.

“Kneeling with your hands up is enough?”

“Isn’t it sufficient?”

There I was, kneeling and holding my hands up for everyone to see. Naturally, this was Rod’s punishment.

To me, it was embarrassingly simple, but being under everyone’s gaze sure made it awkward.

“Isn’t that something you’d do to a regular kid?”

“Hey, he is a kid! Just a troublemaking one.”

“··· ···”

Kara shot me a skeptical look in response to Rod’s comment. I could only pout with my lips.

Seeing my reaction, Kara seemed to understand and nodded. She must think of me as a kid too.

“That’s true. By the way, how long are we going to be standing like this?”

“In 30 minutes… Whoa! Straighten those hands up!”

Rod suddenly yelled, stopping mid-stirring his tea with a spoon, the spoon pointing right at me as a bonus.

I jumped in shock and raised my arms high. Seems like it was obvious I was trying to lower them bit by bit.

No matter how physically capable I am, I can’t defy gravity. Keeping my arms up for a long time is bound to hurt.

Rod either knows it or genuinely treats me like a kid, doling out an appropriate punishment.

“I was planning to finish this in 30 minutes, but I’ve changed my mind. Let’s make it an hour instead.”

“Ah.”

“And I’ll make you write a reflection paper as well. While everyone else is burning with worry, you were just goofing off.”

“30 minutes…”

Isn’t that a bit too much? I mumbled, hoping for just the 30 minutes.

An hour is an eternity! Honestly, holding my arms up for even 10 minutes is a lot of pain.

But it seemed Rod had no intention of entertaining my plea. He flat out refused.

“No way. You not only broke a promise but also showed laziness. You need to be punished. I thought you had matured since then, but I was mistaken.”

“Principal, Sivar is reflecting enough already. Can’t we just cut him some slack?”

For every strict enforcer, there’s often a gentle encourager. And that person happens to be Eli.

Eli cautiously approached me and wrapped her arms around me. That warm hug made my arms drop naturally.

Then I clung to her. It felt like I was escaping from my stern father into my mother’s embrace.

“Eli, you spoil Sivar too much with your affection. Doing so could spoil him further.”

“I don’t mind if I spoil him a little! Sivar didn’t mean any harm; it was just a moment of carelessness.”

“Exactly. Exactly.”

I quietly agreed with Eli’s perspective. Right now, she’s the only person I can trust.

“Eli, don’t you feel angry that Sivar broke his promise?”

“Yeah, Eli. We can’t let Sivar off the hook just because he’s Sivar.”

But this time, they didn’t seem inclined to let things slide. Kara and Grace both presented their counterarguments.

Grace, in particular, had every right to be upset since it was related to her sound sleep.

And Kara, being from the Tartar people who value promises and contracts greatly, felt even stronger about it.

“That’s true, right? But Sivar acknowledges his mistakes too, doesn’t he? Plus, Principal.”

“Speak.”

“When Sivar was being dragged here, did he come up with various excuses? Or did he just quietly follow along?”

“Well… he complied without fuss. He did get yelled at by a big lion in the middle of it, though.”

Aside from that, he was mostly quiet. He didn’t come up with any lies or excuses.

In fact, had I lied about just adapting when it had barely finished, I could’ve let that go. I didn’t, though.

Maybe it’s because I’ve had enough of being caught in lies, or perhaps it’s just instinct—I generally don’t lie.

Even when I absolutely must lie, I tend to change the subject or go silent instead.

“See? Sivar acknowledges his mistakes, so he’s reflecting. Having realized this today, he won’t do it again next time.”

“I see it differently.”

“Huh?”

At that moment, Luna, who had been quietly observing, decided to chime in. All eyes turned towards her.

I felt a little uneasy hearing her speak. What new trouble would she cause me this time?

Luna gazed at me earnestly and offered her opinion with that trademark blank expression of hers.

“What if Sivar just didn’t think of lying at all?”

“You’re saying he never reached that conclusion?”

“Yep.”

This girl is unreal.

‘How did you know?’

In that moment, nothing else mattered; I was in such a rush that lying never crossed my mind.

All I felt was that I was in deep trouble. Luna hit the nail on the head.

Despite her constant blabbering about the Chaos Mouth, she occasionally displayed remarkable insight like this.

The issue is, her insight only seems to land when it’s time to put me in a bind. I really don’t know whether to call her an ally or not.

“In other words, Sivar is far from clever, huh? Good to know.”

Eli managed to put that knowledge in a positive light. Quite the impressive packaging skill, really.

Just as I was admiring her face, Rod must have made his decision, as he spoke up.

“Alright. Let’s call the punishment here.”

“Really?”

“But you’ll still have to write a reflection paper.”

Writing a reflection paper is a piece of cake. Just the fact that the punishment is over is more than enough.

Eli seemed to feel the same way, hugging me tightly and shaking her body. I wish I could stay like this forever.

Eli’s embrace is the coziest and most comforting place in the world. It can’t be compared to the Chaos Forest.

‘Should I suggest using this place for the next vacation?’

In that moment, a mischievous thought crossed my mind but was quickly shaken off. No matter what else, this particular desire needed to be suppressed.

Afterward, I emerged from Eli’s embrace and followed Rod’s orders to write the reflection paper. The problem was with the people around me.

“…Why are you watching?”

“Just curious?”

“I’ve never seen you write before.”

Everyone was gathered around to watch me write my reflection paper. Apparently, they found it fascinating that I was writing.

Last time, who was it again? Anyway, I wrote a reflection paper while exacting revenge on the kid who was bothering Kara.

That time I wrote it alone, so there was no issue, but this time it was different. I got inexplicably embarrassed and subtly covered my arm with my sleeve.

“Are you seriously embarrassed?”

“Yeah. Everyone’s going to see it.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, don’t you only know the common tongue?”

“Yep.”

It’s only natural since I’ve only learned the common tongue. Strictly speaking, I can understand the languages of other countries.

I can even comprehend codes at a glance, which made us much better off during exams.

While I understand them, I just can’t speak them. Also, writing is completely beyond my skill set.

“Isn’t it true that Sivar understands languages from other countries? You can even understand our Tartar language!”

“That’s true, but wouldn’t it be good to learn at least one full language? Understanding and speaking are totally different things.”

“Well, if you’re settling somewhere, it’s better to know the country’s language.”

“… ···”

This naturally seems to lead to me studying languages. Of all things, I despise studying.

I’d rather have a duel than study. There’s a saying that heroes don’t study, after all.

Of course, I’m far from a hero, but studying is something I genuinely detest.

“What do you think, Principal? You’ve wandered all over the world, so you must have some insight.”

“Well, you know, while living in a country, you naturally acquire the language. However, one needs to be cautious when picking up a language.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because the first thing you learn are the local curses.”

“… ···”

That response dripped with experience. In reality, regardless of the language, most “curses” tend to be quite intense.

I might not know exactly what they’re saying, but I can usually tell when someone’s cursing me out.

It seems Rod is worried I might learn those curses first. But he doesn’t know one thing.

‘I’m actually good at cursing.’

I just don’t feel the need to. I can dish out some really solid curses when I want to. Same goes for chat-up lines.

Even back when I was writing that reflection paper, I laid down some impressive chat-up lines. Of course, I played it off back then.

“If Sivar wants to learn, he’ll learn. It’s not like it’s urgent.”

“That’s also true, but Kara might feel left out.”

“Why would I?”

“Because you’re the only one here who doesn’t know the language of the Matra Empire.”

As Grace has pointed out, Kara is indeed the only one who doesn’t know the language of the Matra Empire.

Moreover, Tartar is a nascent state with declining value as a second foreign language.

You could argue why the common tongue isn’t considered a second foreign language, and that’s simply limited to the Academy.

“Geez… Maybe I should learn the language of the Matra Empire after all?”

“If you do, I’ll help you out sincerely.”

Kara, evidently aware of this fact, showed a reaction that indicated she understood, despite feeling a little left out.

I stared at her expression as I continued to write the reflection paper.

‘I should learn the Tartar language first.’

There are three people from the Matra Empire, yet only Kara is from Tartar.

Since I might be heading to Tartar soon, it wouldn’t hurt to learn it. Plus, it would also surprise Kara.

I can’t wait to see her reaction when I speak to her in Tartar. Just thinking about it excites me.

“Kara.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s my name in Tartar language? Not in speech, but in writing.”

“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”

“Just want to. Want to write it down here.”

I said this after finishing my reflection paper. As soon as she heard my words, Kara blinked her green eyes.

She usually shows a mature image, but her silly reaction was oddly cute. I wonder if her mind is racing right now.

Still, I doubt she’ll come up with anything. Kara held the pen with a puzzled look on her face.

“Do I just write it here?”

“Yep.”

– Scribble scribble. Scribble.

Kara wrote my name at the bottom of the page. Naturally, it was in the Tartar language.

Given the inspiration, the Tartar language was quite close to Arabic. But learning it shouldn’t be too hard.

If I study the grammatical structure and consistently memorize vocabulary, I should be able to get the hang of it pretty quickly.

“Grandpa. I wrote it all down.”

“Good.”

“Can I go play now?”

“Of course.”

What should I play? I can’t enter the forest, so maybe I should warm up with some training.

Since there’s still some vacation left, I’ll be able to spend my time leisurely. With a cheerful face, I started to walk away.

No, to be precise, I was going to move, but that was before Rod’s actions interrupted me.

“Where should I stick this… This seems like a good spot.”

“…Grandpa?”

“What’s up?”

Rod fixed my reflection paper to the wall. Right in a place everyone can easily see.

This area is Rod’s personal space. Therefore, people can only enter in case of an urgent matter or with an invitation.

“Kara, I accidentally received help from you. No one will notice that Sivar wrote this paper, except for us.”

“Should I take a look at what you wrote?”

“I’m curious.”

I felt like I had received a death sentence. The girls gathered around my reflection paper.

I stared at this sight in exasperation and then shifted my gaze to Rod, who was leisurely sipping tea.

“From now on, every time you cause trouble, you’ll write a reflection paper. Naturally, that paper will be displayed on that wall.”

“…Are you serious from the very beginning?”

“I’ll clean it once a month. Of course, if you cause more than ten troubles, it will continue into the next month.”

“… ···”

Using this method is just too cruel, isn’t it?

“When my son was five years old, he did this too. Ha ha ha.”

“…Your son?”

“He wasn’t as bad as you, but he was quite the troublemaker, believe me.”

“Am I worse than a five-year-old?”

That’s what bothers me more than anything. Rod answered my question with resolute clarity.

“That’s just common sense.”

I’m not some potato-headed little brat, for heaven’s sake!

[Faith Level Rises!]

Please do not affirm this.

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