Chapter 338

Actually, Kara never intended to become an Assistant. There was nothing good about being one, after all.

‘Why would I want to endure a ton of discrimination?’

Ever since she enrolled in the Academy, her patience with people had worn pretty thin.

Fortunately, she got lucky and met some good folks who softened that tendency a bit, but it wasn’t completely gone.

She was particularly hesitant to meet new people because her first impressions tended to be quite strong.

Bronze skin that stood out against others. Bright red hair. Green eyes. A subtly larger build, among other things.

All these features combined made it hard for others to see her as anything but ‘different’.

‘At least now everyone’s gotten used to it, but…’

Nobody knows how tough it was for her at first. Just being ‘different’ and coming from Tartar subjected her to harsh discrimination.

Moreover, back then, she was emotionally immature and prone to resorting to violence. It was a miracle she barely avoided expulsion.

As a result, she often roamed alone unless someone caught her interest. Too many wounds had been inflicted just because she was ‘different’.

But whether it was good luck or bad, all those gazes had shifted elsewhere. As you might guess, the main character of that situation was Sivar.

A boy whose very existence raised questions, coming from the wilderness far removed from civilization.

Sivar’s arrival had quite an impact on Kara. For starters, they became friends.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, and naturally, good-hearted people gravitated to good-hearted Sivar, including Kara.

Even if her skin color set her apart, it was nothing compared to Sivar.

‘Is he unaware of the discrimination, or does he just ignore it?’

Having faced racial discrimination countless times, Kara couldn’t help but worry. She’d even seen it with her own eyes a few times.

Yet Sivar, either because of his calm nature or genuine ignorance, mostly ignored it. He felt like someone who just focused on his own business.

Sure, he’d thrown a punch or two when provoked, but everyone let it slide because the other party was clearly in the wrong.

Time passed, during which they faced all sorts of events and incidents, leading to an unexpected situation.

‘Isn’t it strange how the gazes changed just because he kept to himself?’

The way people looked at her had changed, almost 180 degrees.

What used to be basic discriminatory stares had transformed into treatment similar to that of an ordinary person.

The fact that her skin color was different wasn’t a problem anymore. In fact, people often asked her about it out of sheer curiosity.

Some even seemed to worry about being discriminatory. When that happened, it was actually more awkward for her.

Where did this change even start? While it was a good thing, Kara felt a bit perplexed.

‘I don’t understand. What’s changed?’

Kara reflected on herself. It was true that her feelings had shifted after she developed an interest in Sivar.

She had mentally matured after confronting her surprisingly disgusting thoughts.

Above all, the frequency of her lashing out had significantly decreased. It’s always been the case that fists were closer to her heart than the law.

But at some point, she began to realize that violence was wrong and tried to solve things with words whenever possible.

The moment someone crossed the line, she’d just report them. Naturally, those students received severe punishment.

‘It’s all for the best, but…’

Still, she couldn’t shake her hesitance. Especially when meeting new people, this tendency grew stronger.

It might be paranoia, but the looks from new acquaintances always seemed quite similar.

This phenomenon arose shortly after Tartar started engaging with others, yet Kara was exposed to it directly.

Thus, she preferred familiar faces over meeting new people. It was a defense mechanism born from deeply rooted scars.

“What? An Assistant? Out of nowhere?”

“Yeah.”

“Why on earth?”

“I want to meet new people.”

Sivar, however, was different. Though he must’ve had similar scars, he craved new connections.

Kara couldn’t help but question him. He had faced plenty of discriminatory treatment up till now.

Right from the first exam, they placed unnecessary combat restrictions on him for the ridiculous reason that he came from the wilderness and therefore had no morality.

Of course, the one lacking morality was the professor, who almost ended up beat to a pulp by Sivar.

Seeing all that made her realize something. Sivar, at the very least, didn’t commit violence without reason.

Moreover, he didn’t act thoughtlessly.

“Umm… are you sure? They might not know you.”

“That’s what makes me more curious.”

“Hmm…”

Kara let out a small groan. Usually, rudeness comes from ignorance.

There’s a ton of accidental rudeness that stems from genuine unawareness—not the unsettling kind that comes from being obnoxious like Luna’s rudeness.

What’s worse are the people who act rudely even when they know better. To them, it’s almost like they’re ready to fight.

But Kara’s experiences in life have taught her that some people cross the line with their rudeness.

‘Does Sivar really get that?’

To date, all the instances where Sivar engaged in violence came down to one reason: when the other party insulted him beyond mere rudeness.

However, Kara had witnessed even more malicious individuals. The ones who edged close to crossing the line with their rudeness and provoked her to take action first.

She dealt with such characters with her fists, only to be met with disciplinary action. Saying the other side provoked first didn’t do much good.

That’s how civilization and society treat violence as evil. Even if it’s a necessary evil, evil is ultimately still evil.

‘Even if the Headmaster offers assistance, it could complicate things…’

Above all, she was worried about Sivar. He must be just as scarred as she is.

His basic nature is inherently kind. He’d even said that the incident where Rod had his tongue cut out was due to him harming Rod.

He couldn’t tolerate insults directed at those close to him, even if he didn’t care for insults hurled at himself. You could only describe him as kindhearted.

And people like that tend to get hurt more easily. They cling to the mindset that they just need to endure.

‘Ah, curiosity is the root of the problem.’

But she couldn’t just stop him. Curiosity is an emotion every human should possess.

After all, humans are social animals. They need to connect with others to grow.

The issue lies in Sivar’s curiosity being akin to that of a cat. It’s a predictable future when a curious cat gets into trouble.

“Alright. Then I’ll be an Assistant too.”

“You too, Kara?”

“Only because I’m worried about you.”

Once again, it must be noted that she never had the slightest intention of being an Assistant. It’s all because of Sivar.

While he’s a stalwart ally in fights, in everyday life, he resembles a child left by the water’s edge—anxious.

You never know where he might get into trouble, or where he might disappear to. Ever since that demon attacked the Academy, it’s been even worse.

He’s the type who might bounce off somewhere just by getting distracted. A whirlwind of curiosity makes it that much harder to manage.

‘It’s just too cute to not indulge.’

That’s why people tend to love cats. They can behave haughty, yet when they show affection, all is forgiven.

Sivar is basically a person who fits that description. Though he fits the low-key tough guy archetype better than the haughty kind, he’s still a cat at heart.

If such a person were to show any affection… honestly, it would be hard to resist. Just imagining it makes her smile.

‘Gotta help him out when he’s struggling.’

Kara was convinced. Sivar hadn’t yet fully experienced the bitter taste of society. It was a gut feeling born from her experience as a life senior.

If by any chance Sivar were to get hurt, she’d need to embrace him warmly. Especially considering his nature.

He might not mind being insulted himself, but he’d be one to bottle up anything directed at him. She was sure he would endure no matter what.

He’s great at fighting but severely lacks social skills. This is a chance for her to assist him.

‘It’s not selfishness; it’s genuine concern for Sivar.’

Strictly speaking, it’s half desire, half worry. This might turn out to be a twofold opportunity.

Just in time, Grace had also been eliminated from the Assistant candidate pool, marking a pretty favorable position.

Ah, just to clarify, she doesn’t want Sivar to get hurt.

She simply wants to lend him a hand. After all, he’s incredibly kindhearted despite his broad mentality.

Didn’t he just go alone to Frozen to fix up Rod, who was in critical condition? He’s a genuinely wonderful child.

“Oh, Sivar’s back. How did the interview go?”

“Fine, I guess. How about you, Kara?”

“It was easy since all the questions I expected came up.”

After the interview ended, Kara happily greeted Sivar when he returned during her autonomous training.

He always looks stoic, making it hard to read his expressions, but just seeing his face brought her joy.

One day, when that expression sorrowfully morphs, and he clings to her complaining about how tough it is to teach freshers…

‘No! What am I even thinking?!’

Kara shook her head vigorously. The sudden dark thought almost got her into dangerous territory.

Sivar tilted his head at her reaction but moved on.

“Ahem! Anyway! What kind of questions did they ask you?”

“They just asked what was important in society.”

“Really? That’s interesting. So what did you answer?”

“I said language is important.”

Sivar recounted the interview’s events verbatim. Of course, he left out the part about needing to beat the beasts.

He didn’t see the point in saying it. It would only result in nagging.

“So, that’s why you said language is important. You have to minimize differences, right?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Kara stared at Sivar blankly, unable to hide her disappointment.

It seemed Sivar had already realized the ‘difference’ between himself and others.

Differences and discrimination are clearly different, but the very fact that Sivar recognized it was problematic.

Perhaps it stemmed from his birth circumstances, considering he was born a demon’s descendant.

The more Kara learned about Sivar, the more her heart ached for him. The thought of needing to shelter him grew stronger.

“Well… if you put in the effort, things will get better. You have plenty of good folks around you, right?”

“Yeah. You’re a good person too, Kara.”

“Thank… uh?”

Kara was about to respond with a smile but froze instead, caught off guard. It almost slipped by since it felt so natural.

Just now, Sivar hadn’t spoken in the common tongue. He had used their mother tongue, the Tartar language, which was so familiar to them.

Kara stared at Sivar in shock. Then, Sivar quietly spoke again.

“Kara is a good person. Good people are liked by me too.”

“S-Sivar? Th-that’s in our language… right?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Once again, it was the Tartar language. Kara found herself momentarily dumbfounded.

Yet, Sivar simply stated what he had thought.

“I told you I want to bridge the gap.”

“Th-that’s true.”

“So I learned it. Heh.”

Finally, he stuck out his tongue playfully, like a cat being charming.

Kara watched him in a daze before stifling a laugh. The absurdity of it all made her chuckle.

At the same time, her heart began to race. She bowed her head to hide the blush sprouting across her brown skin.

‘Wow, seriously…’

-Thump! Thump! Thump!

Her heart raced fiercely.

‘I want to hug him.’

The boundaries between reason and emotion began to blur.

******

[Your faith is increasing!]

“Huh?”

What’s this? Why is my faith increasing?

‘What did I even do?’

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