TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 81
[Part 2 ‘A Person Without Qualification’ begins.]
Once again, Yuria’s vision turned dark.
The dawn air she had just been breathing transformed into the musty air of the dungeon, and Yuria slowly opened her eyes, letting out a deep sigh.
‘I misunderstood Ricardo…’
Yuria’s mind was in turmoil.
‘I thought it was something Ricardo did. I…’
She had hated and resented an innocent person, and the thought caused Yuria’s expression to darken.
‘I should apologize, right?’
Yuria took a deep breath and lifted her head.
A ceiling made of stone.
Standing in a dungeon corridor filled with moss between the bricks, Yuria stood still.
And in one corner of the dungeon.
The Pink-haired Girl stood there, covering her eyes with her hands and crying alone.
Looking at the Collapsed Entrance and crying, her Past Self stood there, and seeing that figure, Yuria clenched her fist.
[10 minutes until the viewing begins.]
Her crying Past Self.
As she looked at her Past Self, bowing her head and crying sorrowfully, a mix of complicated emotions and a sudden surge of anguish began to flood Yuria’s mind.
The Blue Window began recounting the story she had experienced.
[That day, you were abandoned by your friends.]
It was a familiar story she already knew.
She had been abandoned, and with her way back blocked, she had cried sorrowfully, a painful memory the Blue Window deliberately brought up.
‘I know.’
Clenching her fist tightly, Yuria glared at the Blue Window with resentful eyes, but the Blue Window merely continued recounting her past.
[It was a suspicious proposal. Visiting the dormitory at dawn, the friend you barely exchanged greetings with suddenly showing up—it was a suspicious proposal, yet you nodded to their suggestion to explore the dungeon together.
At the time, you were being bullied and felt lonely.
Ricardo, who had grown distant.
Your friends, who used to be close, began avoiding you at some point, so you were glad to receive their invitation after so long.
You even agreed to their strange request to explore the dungeon at such an early hour.]
Yuria muttered in a voice filled with anger. She was someone far from anger in her daily life, but the Blue Window’s painful words shook her heart.
‘I said I know.’
Clenching her fist, Yuria shouted in her heart. Filled with rage, she screamed at why it had to touch on someone’s painful memories.
‘I already know. Just stop….’
Already distressed, Yuria poured her resentment at the Blue Window, which kept provoking her.
I know, so…
Please…
Shut up.
Even as Yuria covered her ears and crouched down, begging it to stop, the Blue Window’s blunt story began to chill her blood.
[That day, the friends who went to the dungeon with you were cadets gathered at the request of your Close Friend, Kyla.
She offered them a tempting condition of covering their Academy tuition and a large sum of money in exchange for abandoning you in the dungeon.
The friends who harbored negative emotions toward you accepted the proposal and even conspired to leave you in a deeper part of the dungeon than originally planned.]
[When they abandoned you, they said this:
-Why are you acting so full of yourself? Do you like The Man that much?
-Because of you, commoners are getting criticized. Why don’t you act like a proper commoner?
-I never liked you from the start. Wagging your tail at The Man…
Their response to your kindness was verbal abuse. It was only natural for you to be hurt.
In front of the Collapsed Entrance, destroyed by magic, you fell into despair.
Neither the way back nor your wounded heart was intact.
Your heart, reduced to tatters, was terrified of returning to the Academy.
You lacked the courage to face their faces again, and your wounded heart wouldn’t heal easily.]
And at that moment.
A fatal voice whispered into your weakened ears.
-Come here.
-I’ll help you get revenge.
-Don’t you want to kill them? I’ll grant any wish you have.
100 years ago, the Dark Sorcerer named Calypso, defeated by the Empire’s Knights, was whispering into your ears.]
The Blue Window’s story began to reveal truths she hadn’t known.
Yuria, who had been covering her ears and trying to escape, hesitated and raised her head at the Blue Window’s sudden words.
With tearful eyes, Yuria slowly lifted her head and looked at the Blue Window with trembling eyes.
‘What did you say…?’
The Blue Window immediately resolved Yuria’s doubt.
[Calypso is preparing for revival.
He is recovering his body, injured in the battle 100 years ago, and luring people like you to replenish his Dark Energy as part of his Evil Plot.]
[You walked toward that place.]
[And.]
[Following behind you, a certain The Man held your hand as you walked toward death.]
The final paragraph struck Yuria intensely. It said that she almost died, but Ricardo saved her.
Gripping her thundering heart, Yuria glared at the Blue Window before her.
‘This is ridiculous… How could…’
-Tick…
-Tick…
-Tick…
When the Timer on the Blue Window pointed to ’00:00,’ Yuria’s break time came to an end.
[The viewing begins.]
As the Blue Window disappeared, the sound of Sorrowful Crying echoed.
-Hic… Huuup… Haaa…
The sorrowful cries of her Past Self echoed in Yuria’s ears.
-What did I… hic… what did I do wrong? I just wanted to get along with everyone… hic…
Seeing herself rubbing her eyes and crying, Yuria looked at her Past Self with wavering eyes.
-Huaaang… Why does everyone hate me… I tried so hard.
Watching her crying self didn’t feel good at all.
‘Don’t cry.’
-I just…
‘Crying won’t change anything, so don’t cry, Yuria.’
-I just wanted to get along with everyone….
‘I said don’t cry…’
Her Past Self, with Limp Steps, walked toward the Dungeon’s Depths.
The Blue Window was right. She was terrified of returning to the Academy, and the thought of seeing those people again made her vision go dark.
Honestly, she thought it was scary.
Even if she got along with professors and a few friends, the icy atmosphere in the classroom was unbearable.
She felt like filth. Something people didn’t want to touch or get close to.
So.
Her Past Self had fled to the Dungeon’s Depths. She thought hiding there would be more comforting.
Looking at her Past Self’s Slumped Shoulders, Yuria muttered.
‘Isn’t this enough already?’
She didn’t know why she was seeing this, but she had realized her mistake. She wanted it to end now.
She realized it wasn’t Ricardo’s doing. Acknowledging her misunderstanding and her mistake, Yuria clenched her fists and shouted at the Blue Window before her.
But the Blue Window gave no response.
Yuria shouted in frustration.
‘It was just once… just once…! I misunderstood Ricardo once, but Ricardo tormented me so much more!’
Admitting it didn’t erase her mistake.
However.
Compared to what Ricardo had done to her at the Academy, her misunderstanding was nothing more than a drop in the bucket.
Yes, it was just once.
The time she was left behind in the Dungeon. Just once.
She had experienced far worse from Ricardo, cried even more because of those incidents.
If the Blue Window had appeared with the intention of making her realize her mistakes, Yuria thought it had completely missed the mark.
This wasn’t something to show her—it should be shown to Ricardo.
Because of how much she had suffered.
Because of how much pain she had endured due to her unrequited love. Ricardo couldn’t even imagine it.
So…
She wished it would stop now.
Otherwise.
-Hic…
She felt like her Past Self would become too pitiful.
Had about ten minutes passed?
Her vision, as she walked through the Corridor, gradually began to blur. Her Past Self, unfocused and as if possessed, started walking toward the depths of the Dungeon.
-Shut up…!
-I never even thought about wanting to kill my Friends!
-I said shut up…!
Seeing her Past Self clutching her head and muttering to herself, Yuria felt a chill run down her spine.
-No…
Shaking her head side to side.
-I’m not alone.
Her Past Self, who had started to utter increasingly negative words, appeared before Yuria’s eyes.
Had she been muttering to herself like a madwoman for a long time? Her Past Self, who had been covering her ears and staggering, gradually calmed down and began murmuring.
-That’s right, I just need to start over. If I get rid of my Friends and make new ones, I won’t be alone anymore.
-Yeah, they’re the bad ones. Then it’s only right to punish them.
With unfocused eyes, her Past Self stood before the Dungeon wall and began knocking.
Her Past Self, who had been knocking on the passage leading to the Altar of Greed where she had just confronted Hans.
-Knock knock. As the knocking echoed through the space behind the wall, the wall crumbled with a rumbling sound, exuding an Ominous Energy.