Chapter 206: Mummy
Several days had passed since the duel with Sien.
Today was a day off from school, a free day.
In other words, that meant...
*Just a little more sleep.*
It meant there was no need to get up early.
I became one with the bed, wrapping myself tightly in the blanket.
At that moment...
"Young Master. It's time for breakfast."
Rishe, who had somehow entered my room, poked my cheek repeatedly as she spoke.
I deliberately pretended not to hear and hid inside the blanket.
"....."
"Young Master. If you keep sleeping, I'll wake you with a kiss."
[The Goddess Who Sees Fate says she will descend the moment that happens. She demands you get up right now.]
Holy crap! I'm getting up!
Thanks to the Constellation's message, I came to my senses and fully opened my eyelids.
Then, pretending I had just woken up, I rubbed my eyes with my arm.
"Mmm...."
"Young Master. Please stop pretending to have just woken up. I've known you were awake for a while now."
"...Oh, right."
Feeling awkward, I scratched the side of my head and nodded.
Rishe looked at me and let out a deep sigh.
"Young Master. Let's go have breakfast quickly."
"Alright. Let's go."
I nodded at her urging and started walking toward the dining room.
***
After finishing his meal, Cain headed to the training ground.
While doing so, he opened his status window for the first time in a while.
David von Cain.
Age: 21.
Traits: Game Setting Ability, Death Regression, Property Change, Transformation, Mental Nullification.
Talents: Mana, Delusion, Demonic Energy, Aura, Self-justification.
Points: 8,000.
It had been about a month since he last checked his status window.
Cain stared at "Self-justification" with a dumbfounded expression.
*Wait. Why was Self-justification suddenly added?*
It was infuriatingly unfair.
Until now, no one had lived with a clearer view of reality than him.
*I guess those damn creators made another error. Bastards.*
Cain shook his head in disbelief and shifted his gaze to his points.
*8,000 points... what should I buy...*
Originally, he shouldn't touch the points.
Things had already diverged too much from the original story, so he needed to save them for contingencies.
However...
*Lately, I feel like I'm not growing at all.*
It was true that he had grown rapidly in the past year.
But considering the opponents he would face, his current strength was quite insufficient.
In reality, the enemies he needed to face were the Cult's executives and Andrew, who was even stronger.
Of course...
*I'll manipulate things so Anje or the others deal with those guys.*
Even so, that wasn't a reason to stop growing.
There was nothing bad about becoming stronger.
As he was deep in thought...
"Lord Cain. What are you thinking about so deeply?"
Mira's voice rang in his ears.
Cain turned his head.
Then, Mira wearing dolphin pants came into view.
*Wait. Why are there dolphin pants in this era?*
Feeling a bit bewildered, Cain was about to brush off her question when...
*Hmm... maybe it wouldn't be bad to talk to Lady Mira for a moment?*
Remembering that Mira had considerable experience as a Saintess, he decided to share his concerns.
Of course, while keeping certain things hidden.
After sharing all his worries, she responded with a serious expression.
"I see. But don't you think you're being too hasty? Honestly, I've never seen anyone grow as quickly as you, Lord Cain."
"Hmm...."
If Mira was saying this, it probably wasn't wrong.
However, he couldn't help feeling anxious.
There were so many talented people around him.
*To be honest, the reason I've grown quickly is because of the system.*
That's why his growth had inevitably slowed down recently.
Those damn creators hadn't been giving him many points lately.
While Cain was cursing the creators in his mind, Mira looked him over and suggested:
"How about having a practice match with me?"
"...What?"
Mira was basically asking if he wanted to get beaten up.
Cain asked with an utterly wronged expression:
"Um, Lady Mira, what did I do wrong?"
"...What? Oh, I think you're misunderstanding. I meant we could have a light sparring match, and afterward I could give you feedback on where you need improvement."
"Ah...."
What was I thinking?
He had unconsciously misunderstood.
Lately, it felt like Mira was changing like the other women in the group.
"It would be an honor to spar with you, Saintess. When else would I get to learn from you?"
"Hmm? Couldn't you just ask Lady Anje or Lady Lisana?"
"Lisana is a bit tricky, and Lady Anje...."
I'd be lucky if she just controlled her strength, let alone give feedback.
After adding that, Mira nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, Lady Anje is overwhelmingly powerful even among Saintesses... Actually, I recently asked her for a sparring match too."
"What...?"
Hearing something unexpected from Mira's lips, Cain's eyes widened involuntarily.
Then, with a voice full of curiosity, he asked about the result.
"Who won?"
"Well, that's... I was one-sidedly beaten up."
"Ah...."
That makes sense.
No matter how experienced Mira was as a Saintess, her opponent was none other than Anje.
She was the greatest Saintess in history.
"Thanks to that, my arrogance disappeared.... Anyway, let's stop talking about me getting beaten by Lady Anje and start our sparring match now."
Saying that, Mira smiled brightly.
Why does that smile seem... not quite right?
***
The two people warmed up lightly for the sparring match.
Meanwhile, Mira kept glancing at Cain.
*...He's handsome no matter when I look at him.*
Her first impression of him was his good looks and a sense of pity.
That was because he received so much attention from the Constellations.
*People think it's good to receive attention from Constellations, but...*
That's a huge misunderstanding.
She knew well from her experience of receiving attention from the Goddess Who Enjoys Amusement before Cain appeared.
Being the focus of a Constellation's attention was quite burdensome.
*It's practically the same as having no freedom...*
Because of this, Mira couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship with Cain.
He was receiving attention not from one, but three of them.
*Maybe he's receiving attention from four of them now.*
Anyway, he had freed her from the Constellation's attention.
So she had subtly joined him to repay that debt, but...
*I didn't expect things to turn out like this...*
Contrary to her expectations, such an opportunity never came.
Therefore, Mira's daily life consisted only of peacefully observing him.
As she continued to subtly watch Cain after that day...
*...Sigh.*
At some point, without realizing it, her gaze kept following him.
At first, she rationalized it as necessary to repay her debt.
Even if she liked him, there were already beautiful women around Cain.
Even when those women made advances, Cain only looked troubled.
So she knew adding herself would just make things more difficult for him and tried not to show her feelings, but as time passed...
*My feelings only grew stronger....*
Human hearts don't always follow one's intentions.
That saying proved true as she tried to deny her feelings, but his face kept appearing in her mind.
After drifting along like that, Rishe caught on and...
"Lady Mira? Why are you spacing out?"
Suddenly, Cain brought his face close enough that their lips could almost touch.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Mira screamed.
"Hiyaaak?!"
Perhaps it was because of the strange scream that came from her mouth?
Cain's eyes widened.
*It's the first time I've seen Lady Mira surprised.*
Among the women in the group, who was the one who showed the least emotion?
None other than Mira.
And now she was startled and even let out a cute scream.
"......"
"......"
For a moment, an awkward silence hung between the two.
-Whoosh.
Then her face turned completely red.
Apparently, she was quite embarrassed about the scream she just let out.
*...Should I tease her a bit?*
He had never played a prank on Mira before.
To be frank, they weren't that close.
*Come to think of it, why is she in the women's alliance?*
While he could guess the reasons for the others, hers was completely baffling.
After all, she hadn't received any help from him.
*Anyway, more importantly...*
He was more curious about her reaction now.
Wondering how she would respond, Cain...
"Hiyaaak!"
With a mischievous face, he imitated the scream Mira had just made.
Not knowing that was the worst choice he could make.
The next moment...
"...It seems you need some mental education, Lord Cain."
"Uh, wait a moment."
Mira began to slowly loosen her hands with an icy expression.
Not expecting such a cold response, Cain called for a time-out, but...
"There's no 'wait a moment,' Lord Cain."
Mira ignored his time-out and walked toward him.
Knowing he was about to get beaten up if he stayed, Cain tried to run away when...
"Then let's start the re-education... I mean, the sparring match now."
Mira blocked his path with a terrifyingly sweet smile.
And so, on this day, Cain was beaten up by Mira under the pretext of a sparring match.
As a bonus, he also received a lecture under the guise of feedback.
***
Meanwhile, at the same time.
Andrew was deep in thought.
*Hmm. What should I do about David von Cain?*
He needed to kill him right away.
If he wasn't careful, the weapons that guy developed might raise the average combat power of humanity.
"Lord Andrew. I've completed the mission."
Jade appeared before him, bowing his head deeply.
Andrew narrowed his eyes slightly and looked down at him.
*...What is this guy thinking?*
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand Jade's thoughts.
Clearly, last time he had acted alongside a fake who looked exactly like Andrew.
Yet, despite that, Jade remained sincerely loyal to him.
*Even when I have him watched, there's nothing suspicious...*
While Andrew was lost in thought...
"Is something wrong, Lord Andrew?"
Jade asked with a voice full of concern.
*It's because of you, you bastard.*
He wanted to spit those words out, but knowing it wouldn't do any good, he just changed the subject.
"It's nothing important. Anyway, did you succeed in the recruitment?"
"Yes. When I mentioned David von Cain's name to see if the rumors about the two people's confrontation were true, he eagerly accepted the proposal as expected."
"I see...."
Andrew nodded with an expressionless face.
Then he fell into thought again.
*First, dealing with David von Cain is urgent.*
The blacksmith who had contracted with him was nowhere to be found.
Therefore, since he couldn't eliminate the blacksmith, killing Cain would be much easier.
After organizing his thoughts, Andrew ordered:
"Then tell the recruited one to prepare to receive Demonic Energy. And have him released during the Royal Academy's Performance Evaluation."
"By 'that guy,' do you mean... that monster?"
"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"
"...No. I'll make the preparations."
At that moment, Jade vanished from sight.
Andrew let out a deep sigh and muttered:
"I hope something succeeds this time."