Chapter 352

While Sivar was busily brainstorming concepts, what were the others up to?

Karas was sprawled out, joining in on Sivar’s antics but now fast asleep, leaving only Kara behind.

“Could you go a little easy on me?”

“Sorry. See you later.”

“Sure.”

Kara was diligently focused on her practice, unlike the other two, day or night didn’t matter.

During the day, she dealt with the scattered students from the East Country or used her compass to track down the ones alone.

However, as the sun set and night fell, even Kara couldn’t move carelessly. It’s not that there weren’t lanterns to light the way.

‘They sure know how to escape.’

The problem was that the students were quite adept at fleeing, especially in the absence of any illuminating light.

In darkness with not a glimpse of light, even the tiniest flicker can feel blindingly bright.

There’s a famous story about a soldier who got shot in the head while lighting a cigarette. It certainly surpassed mere firefly levels.

‘But moving around without a light is tricky too.’

Kara doesn’t have particularly sharp night vision. She’s on the better side, at best.

Very few people in the world can operate at night the same way they do during the day. And one of those few was participating in this practice right now.

– *Creeeak!!!*

“Now that’s something.”

Looks like another victim has appeared. Kara couldn’t hide her sympathy for the scream echoing through the whole forest.

In the shrouded darkness, movements were extremely limited, except for one person who could roam freely.

Even worse, that person seemed to know exactly where the students were hiding? They were basically being picked off without a chance.

‘Is it really that terrifying to scream like that?’

Still, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. Kara tilted her head at the scream that sounded like it was witnessing death firsthand.

It wasn’t the first time she’d heard such screams echoing through the woods. It felt like the entire forest was suffocating in fear.

‘What on earth is he up to?’

Her curiosity grew stronger. Sivar, who had hinted at causing havoc earlier.

A troublemaker and a little rascal. An adult. Plus, he acts like a typical dumb guy.

These traits combined described Sivar well. Though he sometimes showed a reliable side, ordinarily, he was just a kid.

Thankfully, he never crossed the line too far, so he wasn’t utterly bothersome—just enough to want to give him a light smack on the head.

‘Is he going to cause trouble later on?’

If he were doing all this in class, they’d probably laugh it off saying, “Oh, that’s just Sivar being Sivar.”

Rumor has it that professors, including Malboro, have had to write too many explanations, which improved their writing skills.

Anyway, while the classmates know Sivar all too well, freshies wouldn’t be so forgiving.

Especially the higher-ups, meaning the nobles’ kids who could easily enact their revenge.

‘Didn’t I hear that a first-year student traumatized by water torture during midterms?’

It’s a well-known tale. Restricted from combat, Sivar dealt a huge shock to the opposing team with his “water torture.”

Under normal circumstances, it should have been handled as a disciplinary issue, but it got swept under the rug. There was some power struggle among the professors back then.

In this way, Sivar was creatively good at tormenting others. It was impressive, to say the least.

‘Sigh. I hope I’m not going to regret this later.’

What on earth he was doing made her uneasy, but she sincerely hoped it wasn’t serious. As long as it wasn’t comparable to water torture, she was fine.

Kara, while feeling a different kind of anxiety, checked her compass. You could tell the time with it too.

Currently, it was 3:30 AM. It would be about three more hours until dawn.

And the number of students left around wasn’t very many. It was a comfortable level.

‘But what’s that person doing…?’

There was one noticeable mark among them. Wandering aimlessly in circles.

Whether in a panic or being chased by someone, they were running away. Kara raised an eyebrow in confusion.

‘Is that connected to the scream earlier?’

It seemed wise to head over there. Kara walked towards the marker indicated on her compass.

She could reach there quickly as they were wandering around alone.

-Rustle!

“Haak! Haak! Kyaak!”

From the bushes, a female student burst out and collided with Kara, who shined her lantern on the girl.

She had alluring gray hair. Her appearance was captivating, but it was damp from the sweat sticking to her cheeks.

Her complexion was also far from normal; while running should usually make one’s face flush, hers had grown ghostly pale from sheer terror.

Plus, twigs and leaves were sticking to her here and there. Her appearance was a mess.

‘Isn’t this Karas’s sister? What happened to her?’

Kara was puzzled seeing the state of Diana, one of Karas’s twin sisters.

Diana was a troublemaker, and while not as bad as Leo, she had her fair share of nasty rumors. So her impression wasn’t great.

However, seeing her in such disarray raised even more questions. What on earth had happened?

“Ughhh… Huhhh…”

“Hey…”

“Please, save me! I’ll give you my body or rank, just save me!”

Now, she was practically clinging to Kara’s legs and begging. Kara was taken aback by Diana’s behavior.

What kind of ordeal had led this formerly graceful princess to become such a wreck? It was impossible to fathom.

As an assistant, she should disqualify a student, but first, it seemed best to grasp the situation. Thus, Kara knelt and placed her hand on Diana’s shoulder.

“Alright, calm down. Breathe in deeply…”

“Hik! Hhh! Hik!”

“Now breathe out.”

“Fhoo. Hik!”

Her face was a mess with tears. The makeup she had carefully put on was all smudged.

‘Wait, she even put on makeup for practice?’

It was all the more ridiculous. Being a girl herself, Kara didn’t completely go without makeup.

Especially when paying homage to Gulrak, looking beautiful as a priestess was essential.

However, considering her skin tone and her active lifestyle, she didn’t apply it often.

And in practices like this, even more so. Makeup running due to sweat would only serve as an inconvenience.

Was she somehow sane or insane? A sudden worry crept into her about the future of the Matra Empire, despite being a foreign land.

“What happened? Please tell me.”

“Th-that wild person is killing my brother and everyone else…! Hhik! They are killing people!”

What is she talking about? Kara frowned.

Since she was speaking in their native tongue, Kara couldn’t understand her.

Even though there were many from the Matra Empire around, they all conversed in the common tongue.

“Speak slowly. In the common tongue, please.”

“S-so, that crazy wild person…!”

“A wild person? Sivar?”

There’s only one who would fit that description. As Kara tilted her head in confusion, a sound emerged from the bushes where Diana had passed.

At that moment, Diana’s body went stiff like ice.

Ignoring her confusion at the changed reaction, Kara turned to look towards the bushes. Soon enough, a man emerged from the underbrush.

He wore a bizarre white mask and in one hand held a lumber axe.

The holes in the white mask gleamed ominously with red eyes.

Kara hardened her expression at the sight and whispered to Diana.

“Run away from here.”

“Hhik! Y-yes?”

“I’ll handle this, so go quickly!”

“Y-yes!”

Diana, responding instantly to Kara’s command, took off running. She could have very well lost strength in her legs, but her stamina seemed surprisingly robust.

Once Diana vanished, Kara surreptitiously checked her compass. Perhaps she regained some composure; she was getting further away.

Now there were only two left. Taking a deep breath, Kara slowly stood back up from her kneeling position.

“… …”

“… …”

An enigmatic silence settled between them. Kara carefully laid down the lantern and crossed her arms.

Her expression clearly showed disbelief, as if contemplating how to scold the boy standing before her—no, Sivar didn’t open his mouth either.

– *Swish*

“Where are you going?”

“… …”

“Where are you going? Come here. Come here.”

Just as he attempted to subtly turn away, Kara called him out. Sivar’s body halted abruptly.

Sivar glanced at Kara, who gestured him to come closer, and he hesitantly moved forward.

Or rather, pretended to move closer. While he appeared to walk forward, he was actually backing away.

Originally, it should have been a “dance,” actually the Heavenly Demon Moonwalk.

Sivar was smoothly moonwalking as he retreated.

“If you don’t come, I’m telling the dean! Or maybe the professors have already reported you.”

“… …”

“Do you want to get chewed out by me and then still get chewed out by the dean, or would you prefer to just get it from both of us?”

At that suggestion, Sivar paused his moonwalk and slowly crept forward. It could be compared to the speed of an ant.

Kara cautiously continued waiting for Sivar to inch closer. Just how long did they wait?

Sivar finally reached right in front of Kara. She stared intently at Sivar’s face, which was not much taller than her own.

“Take off the mask.”

“… …”

“Now.”

“Okay.”

Sivar obeyed her immediately. As soon as he took off the mask, his adorably goofy yet cute face was revealed. Especially his expression was something else entirely.

It was the kind of face a guilty puppy might make. Meaning he could not meet her gaze and was merely fidgeting nervously.

His previous atmosphere, creating fear and tension, was now completely transformed into that of a coward. Kara let out a long sigh at the sight.

“Haah…”

“… …”

“Do you realize what you did wrong?”

“It was just a prank.”

That seemed to trigger a flashpoint.

-Smack! Clap!

“Geez! You’re making me lose my mind! How long are you going to keep causing trouble?!”

“S-sorry…”

“What on earth did you do that made the princess cry and scream like that?! How do you plan to deal with this mess?!”

“K-kara said it was okay too.”

“Kara? That prince? Now he’s gone mad too! Just fits right in with him, huh?!”

Kara repeatedly slapped Sivar on the back as she scolded him loudly. Sivar seemed to know his mistake, offering half-hearted explanations.

“Go apologize later. Got it?”

“Okay…”

The ominous Friday the 13th was drawing to a close.

[Faith is rising!]

******

Meanwhile at the same time.

“What should we do? The students might be traumatized…”

“I actually think that’s great. They were students not focused on their practices.”

“I agree. Do they think practice is a joke?”

Interestingly, the professors praised Sivar’s actions. And why wouldn’t they? Students had been behaving so terribly.

Especially after he schooled those students who were planning a campfire party, it was quite admirable.

“What if the students report this upstairs?”

“Let them.”

Dis was no different. He genuinely liked Sivar’s antics.

“If they report it, that’s good for us. If they had been concentrating, this wouldn’t have happened.”

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