Chapter 187

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 26, 2025

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Turns out I made a new friend. None other than Luna.

After checking my status screen, she started complaining about her eyes, and it got so bad that she had to be hospitalized.

She was making a fuss, saying it felt like someone was poking her eyes with needles, which the hospital couldn’t just brush off.

But the problem is they don’t even know the cause of her pain. They gave her painkillers, but she claims it’s still super painful.

While I’ve eaten all sorts of weird and creepy foods, including bugs, to identify what’s wrong, Luna suddenly got hit with this eye issue.

“This is weird no matter how I think about it.”

“What’s weird?”

It was while I was eating gruel to recover today. Kara, who was feeding me, had her gaze fixed on Luna’s bed next to mine.

“Alright. Say ah~.”

“Ah~.”

Luna was lying there like a monk, her eyes wrapped in bandages.

Eli was feeding her. It really was a strange sight.

“How come Sivar got better just in time for Luna to fall ill? Did you guys eat something weird without us knowing?”

“Nope. I only ate alone.”

“Hmm. What about when you fought the demon?”

“That was just me.”

“Sounds fishy.”

Kara said that while scooping up some gruel with her spoon.

Looks like she’s caught on that something’s up between Luna and me.

It wouldn’t flow like this otherwise. It’s just too coincidental to dismiss as a chance occurrence.

‘I’m just as curious, you know.’

I mean, why did Luna say her eyes hurt?

The timing is just too convenient. Especially since Luna must have some special ability related to her eyes.

She likely has the ability to sense objects. I figured that out from observing her for a while.

But I’m not sure if she has a status screen like mine. I’ve never bothered to ask.

‘Gotta start asking her little by little.’

What I need now is my rehab. Thanks to consistently nourishing my empty stomach, my regeneration has sped up.

The problem is power control. Anytime I touch something, it feels like I’m destroying it in a frenzy, which is quite the headache.

It feels like I grew way too suddenly. I mean, I matured steadily in the forest, but the surge now is just drastic.

‘Also, the fact that the window showing my physical abilities is gone.’

There’s only one reason this happened. That time I put the prosthetic in my mouth.

If that wasn’t the trigger, I wouldn’t be facing such absurd chain reactions.

I can’t remember clearly, but I know that prosthetics act like a sort of key.

So, just by putting it in my mouth for a moment, and with Luna continually having it, this is bound to happen.

‘So, it’s like a tool to unlock the seal of the demon?’

Looks like I need to keep that prosthetic with me until the end. It’ll surely come in handy later.

After finishing my gruel, I got out of bed for my rehabilitation. I could walk without any issues.

My power control was also gradually improving. I nearly collapsed when I first stood up, but after some time, I got used to it quickly.

Crack!

“Ah.”

“Not again?”

Of course, even putting a bit of force into it caused the door to almost fall off. This is something I need to adapt to slowly.

In any case, it remains unchanged that I’d have to do rehab exercises throughout the break. It’s unfortunate for my training, but there’s no helping it.

Honestly, I want to just run through the discharge procedure and train with Rod. But the doctor glaring at me made that impossible.

To top it off, Rod also threatened not to do anything until he’s fully recovered. Though it’s nice that he’s worried about me, I feel a bit frustrated.

‘Before the school year starts, I absolutely need to engage in duels.’

Otherwise, I won’t be able to control my strength after class resumes. Currently, my power is over-balanced from the students’ perspective.

Before I became this strong, I faced the destruction king, and after going berserk, I was on the brink of taking lives.

So, I won’t be any less formidable now than I was then. Rod is the only one who could possibly engage me in a duel.

‘Unless we battle using skills… but now that power is behind those skills as well.’

Even cutting trees with a sword has become pointless. Skills can only improve through duels.

That’s why I’ve been consistently honing martial arts with Kara. Without an opponent, my skills wouldn’t grow.

So, as soon as my rehab is done, I plan to ask Rod for help. I need him to help me manage my strength until just before the new term.

What if he refuses? Then the students and instructors will be the ones to suffer. I should probably threaten him that I’ll cause more accidents.

‘But honestly, it does feel like I might cause some trouble…’

Even when I was managing my power well, I still accidentally created chaos. And now I can’t even manage my strength?

It wouldn’t be surprising if someone ended up dead from an accident. It’s pretty miraculous that there haven’t been deaths until now.

From Rod’s perspective, this could be a huge headache. I intend to avoid any casualties at all costs.

“Sivar! I hear you collapsed from an illness! Are you okay?!”

It was while I was doing my rehab training day by day that an unexpected visitor showed up.

A stunning beauty with long purple hair and fierce, piercing eyes that seemed sharp enough to cut.

“Grace?”

“Do you have any aches anywhere? Huh?”

Grace, who claimed she had gone back to her family, came to visit me at the hospital. No doubt she rushed here, as her hair was slightly disheveled.

As soon as she saw me, she started touching my face, inspecting me with rather rough hands that squished my cheeks and made my lips pout.

After checking my condition for a bit, Grace seemed relieved once she confirmed I was okay, letting out a sigh of relief.

From her reaction, it seemed she was genuinely worried. Well, I did cough up blood, so I can’t blame her.

“Whew… thankfully, you seem alright. I was so scared when I heard you coughed up blood.”

“I’m not in pain anymore.”

“Yeah, but what about Luna…?”

Grace trailed off while looking at Luna. Luna was in a restful state, her eyes still wrapped in bandages.

It was a strange situation to witness. Grace glanced between us, then cautiously opened her mouth.

“Did you two eat something weird? Like mushrooms or something?”

“······”

How is it that people’s thoughts converge like this? Seems like there’s a strange perception about Luna and me.

The funny part is Luna gets treated as if she’s in the same league as me.

I can understand why, considering I’ve eaten every weird thing under the sun, but why is Luna getting the same treatment? It’s a bit sad.

“By the way, what have you all been up to during the break? I just dealt with boring tasks at home.”

“We’re pretty much the same. If anything interesting happened, it would be Sivar running away.”

“Wait? Sivar ran away?”

“Yup. You know Unity Village right in front of us? He went there to mess around.”

Kara said that while glancing my way. Looks like she’s questioning if she should spill the beans about the demon.

Since it didn’t matter to me, I gave a nod, indicating it was fine. It shouldn’t cause any issues.

“A demon… that’s surprising. I haven’t heard much news about demons recently.”

“People are the real issue here, right?”

“Exactly.”

Going forward, people will indeed be a problem, as will the demons. The timing of the demon’s resurgence is quite fitting.

It’s like something is about to blow up spectacularly when the world is in chaos. The United Academy is just the beginning.

“Oh, Sivar?”

“Yeah?”

“Just asking in advance, but you’re going to be my knight, right?”

Grace asked me, her purple eyes shining with anticipation.

Hearing that question, I blinked a couple of times and fell into thought. To be honest, I didn’t really do a proper knightly job last time.

Since I was granted a degree of freedom, it felt more like I was tagging along. But I believe it was quite effective.

“Sure.”

“Great! This time, let’s write a proper contract. I came prepared for this.”

*Flick!*

Grace was all about that preparation. She pulled out two sheets of paper that looked suspiciously like contracts.

One was probably my contract, and the other was Grace’s.

Maybe because of the uniqueness of a contract, Kara raised a question while Grace was preparing.

“A contract? Is it really necessary? We can just do it the same way as last time.”

“No way. With a thing like knight duty, it’s customary to have a contract. Trust is the most important thing, right?”

“Hmm… is that how it is? We don’t usually do contracts. Maybe for escort duty, but not for anything else.”

Kara seemed to simply accept that as a cultural difference between our countries. She did critique Grace for pushing a contract on a patient, though.

To that, Grace replied that there’s no need to sign immediately, that it could even just be seen as a copy.

‘But why has she been carrying around a contract?’

That part raised some questions, but for now, I took a look at the contract.

Casting a glance at Grace, who was smiling in anticipation, I picked up the paper.

The contract was entirely about knight services. They even promised a pretty hefty payment.

Honestly, I didn’t need the money, but someone once told me: money serves as a symbol of trust and value.

Whether I invest it in stocks or fund Eli or Jane, it shouldn’t matter.

“······Huh?”

But then I discovered something odd. I widened my eyes and read a specific clause.

After reading that clause, I couldn’t help but feel a bit bewildered and sneaked a glance at Grace.

Grace was smiling widely as if she was in on a wonderful secret, her fierce glare completely softened.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, not really…”

“Could you hand it here for a sec? I’ll check it.”

Kara, sensing something was off, reached out her hand for the contract. A gesture to get the contract from me.

“No way, Kara. This is a contract between Sivar and me. If a third party gets involved, the contract becomes void.”

Grace stopped her. Unlike when she was beaming earlier, she now had a sharp demeanor.

From her reaction, it seemed Kara got the hint and narrowed her eyebrows. Eventually, she asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.

“Is that a law from your country, or something?”

“That’s part of it, but it’s the same for other places. Contracts related to guard or knight duties can’t be disclosed. Isn’t it similar for escort duties?”

“Umm… there are similar clauses. Still, something feels off…”

Grace’s points didn’t have any faults. Normally, lauding security is of utmost importance in knightly duties.

Thus, if a third party learns of the contract’s contents, it loses its meaning. Kara couldn’t help but hesitate, knowing this truth.

The Tartar people value contracts due to their culture. Given how harsh their environment is, trust is literally life.

“······But can it even work? What if they reject it?”

But that clause would likely face rejection by the academy. It’s a pretty sensitive matter.

Grace, perhaps having anticipated this, nodded without denying it outright. Then she confidently said,

“You don’t need to worry. It’s something I can handle easily.”

“What does that even mean?”

Eli, who had been listening quietly, chimed in. Perhaps it was because she wasn’t Kara.

“Co-housing in the dormitory.”

“Huh?”

“Co-housing…”

“Si, Sivar?”

I unintentionally blurted that out.

Upon hearing that, both Eli and Kara looked shocked, while Grace seemed more stunned than anything.

Realizing I might have made an awkward slip of the tongue, I quickly covered my mouth with one hand. But it was already too late.

“Co-housing in the dormitory? Do you seriously keep throwing these curveballs every time I see you?!”

“Yeah, Grace. No matter how much Sivar is liked, this isn’t right. Is this any different from a marriage proposal?”

“Of course it’s different! This is a knight duty! Knight duties are supposed to be like this!”

“Let’s ask someone else. Maybe Elvin? He should be able to clarify.”

My single comment turned the hospital into chaos. I found myself in the middle of an ongoing debate.

Though they all seemed to realize that we were in a hospital and lowered their voices, the internal discord didn’t stop. Especially Grace appeared fierce.

“I’m saying again, this is for mental stability, not greed. You all know that?”

“That, that’s…”

“Umm…”

Moreover, Grace had a strong justification. She could carry trauma for the rest of her life.

As a fellow female, I could totally understand Grace’s feelings.

In fact, she had shown signs of anxiety when I wasn’t around.

“Phew… fine. Let’s think this through slowly. The academy will have to consider this too, after all.”

“Thank you. So for the signatures…”

“But wait until later for the signatures. Sign after you’re sure. Got it?”

“Ugh. Fine.”

Somehow I managed to sidestep this pseudo contract disaster.

From the looks of it, Grace seemed to have recognized her own urgency and backed down.