Chapter 153 Volume III - Chapter 74: Summary of What Happened in Academy
*(A/N: This chapter was incorrectly uploaded as an epilogue, so I edited it and that's exactly the reason for the extra chapter.)*
After seeing that I was hopeful that Celine would recover, Adrian decided to change the subject.
"Anyway, I apologize for lowering the mood a bit by talking about Celine. How did your thing go, did you get everything you wanted?"
"Of course, I did, but you and my sister... It breaks my heart that you guys doubt me."
Adrian grinned and turned his eyes from the floor to me.
"I don't know if it's good or bad that you're so confident."
"Heh, just kidding."
I thought about what he'd said, then remembered what I'd been through and put a bitter smile on my face.
"There are so many bad things that wouldn't have happened in the first place if I had the ability to trust myself."
The atmosphere seemed to worsen for a moment, but I quickly spoke again to fix it.
"Did anything important happen at the academy while I was away? Let's gossip a little if you have the material."
Adrian must have realized my intentions because he didn't pursue what I had just said.
"Things that happened while you were away, huh... Actually, yes. There's something important."
Oh?
"After you left, I found out there was a group at the academy, and the group was... Well, let's start from the beginning."
Adrian told me little by little what happened. The girl Risa, the night James approached him, and all sorts of things.
I have to admit, I was really surprised. It seemed really strange to me that a boy named James would do something so daring. It was something I hadn't expected, and the more Adrian told me, the more I wondered if it had been solved.
What I really didn't expect, though, was that someone else was involved.
Alice, no... Alysia Laute.
I was really shocked when Adrian mentioned her.
"Did she really help you?"
Adrian just sighed at my reaction.
"No, she refused at first. I could hardly convince her when I told her I was going to owe her a debt."
Oh... I wonder if this 'debt' will be a problem in the future.
I'm still not entirely sure why Alysia approached us in the first place. I'm already cautious since her appearance was earlier than usual, but this complicates things a bit...
If he realizes Adrian's true identity while he's trying to observe him or to achieve whatever his goal is, we could be in serious trouble... To find the Laute Family against us so early could be the end of us. To be unprepared against that family... would be nothing but suicide.
I think I should move the Alysia thing up a bit.
"Go ahead."
With my nod of approval, Adrian continued to tell me what had happened. How James cornered them, how he fainted, and what happened next. Near the end, though, he became a little thoughtful, even a little unfocused.
"What do you think?"
Adrian suddenly lifted his head and looked at me. But then paused, his face looked strange and he smiled.
"Uh... Did I drift off? Sorry, it's nothing important."
What did he have to think about? And he's brushing it off...
Heh, is there something he doesn't want to tell me?
I felt like joking about it for a moment, but then I hesitated.
I alone have things that I keep from him... If he really doesn't want to tell me, it must be private and not something very important that he needs to tell me.
I'd better not dig into this.
"Well, never mind. Basically, Alice took care of everything while I was unconscious, I don't know how she did it, she just... somehow."
She blew her cover, of course. Those idiots must have trembled in fear of the Laute Family, but I'm surprised she didn't kill them. Did she find another way to silence them? Maybe she made them sign a mana contract?
Whatever... I think too much.
"So, the problem is solved."
Adrian's eyes dropped and a forced expression appeared on his face.
"It's over before I can do anything again."
Ah... I don't like this.
I folded my arms across my chest and sighed deeply.
"Did you even have to do anything?"
Adrian looked at me with a frown.
"Of course, I did! I..."
"You, what?"
Adrian hesitated for a moment, unable to say anything.
"You wanted to save those who were suffering because of James, didn't you?"
"Yes..."
"Your effort is admirable, Adrian, and even something to be proud of, but you shouldn't jump in front of the enemy to 'save people'. I think you should take this experience as a lesson for yourself. There are so many things in life that you can make mistakes in, what you need to do is to think about those mistakes and not make them again or prepare yourself for the next one. That's what you lack the most, experience. So don't get depressed and blame yourself when you make mistakes."
"I..."
Adrian started to say something but then closed his mouth.
"Okay..."
I smiled back.
At least he agreed. That's progress too, right?
"Whatever."
I smiled and decided that this time I was the one who should tell him something.
"Do you know where I went?"
Adrian suddenly became curious, as if he had quickly forgotten what had just happened, and I widened my smile. I held up my hand, pointed my finger upward, and then I imagined that I had started a fire there. My mana activated, traveled up to my finger, and so a tiny ball of flame formed above my finger.
"This..."
Adrian looked mesmerized. "I got the Flame Mastery from where I went, and I have a nice sword of my own now, but I can't show it now, it's better to keep it in the system's reward inventory.
"Reward inventory?"
Adrian's eyebrows shot up and a look of obvious surprise appeared on his face.
"You went to a dungeon?"
I quickly pulled my hand back and squeezed the small ball of flame in the air, a small puff of smoke seeping up through my fingers, and then I leaned back again.
"Yeah, it turned out pretty good, as you can see."
Adrian's face suddenly showed a slight look of disappointment.
"What? Are you angry that I didn't take you?"
He didn't answer and just stared at me.
"Pfft, hahahahahah... I mean, that was good, but it's not like I didn't take you because I didn't want you with me. It wouldn't have been appropriate because I had to go to the dungeon with someone who wasn't very good with other people, he had a very important role. There are also the benefits of having fewer people. We'll go to the next one together."
I widened my smile.
"In fact, your first dungeon experience will be with me. Don't worry."
I put a hand on Adrian's shoulder and gave him a pat or two, then stood up.
"Well, it's slowly getting evening... I want to go to my room and sleep all day, I'm tired. See you in class tomorrow."
Adrian got up to walk me to the door, which he did. However, he didn't leave the room with me.
"You're not leaving?"
"No, I'm going to practice my spear style until I fall asleep."
"Oh... Suit yourself, but don't be too hard on yourself."
I smiled and walked out, before leaving the building I simply waved and Adrian did the same.
With that, the door closed. I was left alone in the hallway, then I involuntarily sighed.
I actually want to talk to Ulka too, but... I really need to sleep at this point.
I headed to my room without thinking about Ulka. But I thought about something else.
I guess nothing important will happen until the kingdom tournament... I will have a lot of free time after the things I need to talk to Ulka about.
What would be the best way to utilize all this time?
I thought about it for a while and then decided on something.
I need to make a roadmap, I need to list the things I need to do in order of importance, and I need to use this free time to complete this list, and in the meantime, I need to train and get stronger. For example, I definitely need to get my overall level up to at least D grade by the tournament.
And I have to go to the Holar continent, of course... That's also something that requires me to get at least D- grade.
"Haaaa..."
I took a deep breath and sighed again.
Actually... when I think about it, there is so much to do.
Still, I put a smile on my face, because I also have a lot of time and I will do my best to be prepared for anything that might happen this time.
I continued walking to my room, imagined the first stages of the roadmap I wanted to set up, and made a promise to myself.
No matter what happens, I will succeed.
Just like I dreamed of when I first came into this world.
I will do my best to overcome all obstacles. I will be the strongest and build a happy life for myself in Lunerra, in this world.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m