TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 96
The busy day came to an end.
After dropping off the Young Lady, who was spouting nonsense about Mint Chocolate Tteokbokki being the greatest masterpiece, at the estate, I strolled through the capital city in the late evening.
“Mint Chocolate is the scourge of society.”
Muttering the nonsense the Young Lady had uttered, I let out a Deep Sigh.
The streets of the capital were crowded with people, even though the late night had arrived.
The Guards on Night Patrol, adventurers unwinding at taverns after a hard day, and Academy students burning with youthful energy.
Watching the people wrapping up their tiring day, I muttered to myself.
“They’re young. So young.”
I used to have days like that too.
Back when I attended the Academy.
Though it was less than a year, I had lived a fairly student-like life.
Going around in search of Fortuitous Encounters.
Resolving Quests.
Breaking down the Remnants of Heretics.
Hmm…
It wasn’t exactly a great School Days, was it?
Upon further reflection, I suddenly thought it wasn’t an ordinary School Days. Instead of leisurely enjoying my Youth like others, it was a time that could be better described as busy.
Still, it was fun in its own way.
Though the Young Lady caused some trouble, it was entertaining just to have reached the point where the novel’s main plot was starting.
Seeing things I had only read about in the Novel actually happen and watching the Heroine, Yuria, grow filled me with a mix of amazement and pride.
Yuria’s bullying incident.
The Academy Fire incident.
The process of Yuria and Ruin becoming close, among others.
Witnessing events I had only seen in the Novel felt, how should I put it, like an indescribable emotion.
Even the moments of crying and laughing weren’t unpleasant memories. Especially the memories with Yuria—they were a bit more special.
I had intended to merely observe, but we became close.
I had planned to live as a stranger, but we became Friends, and those memories were hard to forget.
Walking through the Shimmering Marketplace, I reminisced about old memories.
-Why are you crying here?
-Huh…?
Recalling the first time we had a conversation, I looked up at the Brightly Lit Moon.
“Filthily bright.”
I should have a drink for the first time in a while.
*
A tavern near the Academy.
Yuria was sitting in a corner of the quiet Regular Shop with a gloomy expression.
Not many people came here.
Noisy adventurers or Bad Persons with unpleasant personalities didn’t frequent this secluded tavern.
The small bar-style tavern was Yuria’s Regular Shop, a place where she didn’t have to worry about strange trouble even if she came alone.
Although Yuria wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, she occasionally visited this tavern when feeling down, as it was a place filled with old memories.
Yuria hung her Outer Garment on the chair and timidly raised her hand.
“Excuse me…”
The clerk, not hearing Shy Yuria’s Timid Voice, was busy wiping glasses with a dry cloth.
Yuria turned her head, glancing around nervously.
A couple in love.
Students laughing as they tried to wrap up the semester on a high note filled the shop. Yuria hoped to catch the clerk’s attention, but the busy clerk didn’t notice her silent plea.
After glancing around nervously, Yuria hunched her shoulders and mumbled softly.
“Can’t they hear me…?”
Yuria tightly closed her eyes and, with a louder voice than before, called out to the clerk.
“Excuse me… I’d like to order!”
However, Yuria’s Timid Voice was drowned out by the chatter of the other Guests, failing to reach the clerk’s ears.
“Ah… uh…”
Fidgeting with her fingers, it took quite some time before the clerk finally approached, allowing her to place her order.
“I’m sorry. It’s unusually busy today. Haha…”
“It’s okay. Um… could I get a Draft Beer and some jerky?”
At Yuria’s order, the clerk nodded and jotted it down.
“One Draft Beer and some jerky, right?”
“Yes.”
“Please wait a moment, and I’ll bring it out shortly!”
Yuria responded in a Small Voice to the clerk.
“Take your time.”
“Sure~!”
After a short while, a plate of bite-sized jerky and a cold Draft Beer were placed on Yuria’s dining table.
Yuria stared at the beer for a moment and let out a Deep Sigh from deep within her chest.
“Haa…”
A Deep Sigh filled with profound worries.
Perhaps because the worries weighing on her mind were so heavy, Yuria, who normally didn’t even like alcohol, found herself staring sadly at the beer.
“Why am I so stupid?”
Yuria muttered in a bitter tone.
“I can’t even do what I’m supposed to properly, I misunderstand things on my own…”
In her gloomy muttering, Yuria’s Voice carried a sense of self-reproach. Ever since seeing the Hallucination in the Dungeon last time, Yuria had been unable to shake off her melancholy, and her Self-esteem was slowly declining.
When she first discovered she had talent in Divine Power, she had been ecstatic… but these days, it seemed like there were more things to be sad about.
Interpersonal Relationships too.
Studying too.
As the academic year progressed, her worries grew heavier and heavier.
-Father! I… I got accepted into the Royal Academy!
-What!?
-Yeah! I was even selected as a Scholarship Student, ehem!
-My Daughter is amazing!
-Of course! Now, Father, you can quit being an adventurer and live off the allowance your daughter earns!
-Puhaha! Are you really telling me to quit!?
-Of course!
-No way. I still need to earn my daughter’s allowance.
-No! I’ll study really hard, get scholarships, and all that! So, Father, take it easy for a bit.
How long had it been since she had been thrilled at the thought of becoming a proper daughter for her Father, who lived the life of an adventurer with an Uncomfortable Body?
When she thought about the time she earned a scholarship through Painstaking Effort and gave her Father an allowance, her heart still swelled with emotion. But thinking about her current life at school brought nothing but gloom to Yuria.
At the start of the semester.
Yuria was being bullied.
-Why is she acting so full of herself? She’s just a Commoner.
Back when she thought being lively would make her popular. Yuria faced the wall of Social Status for the first time.
Everything she did was hated.
Even just walking by, people would insult her, saying she stank. The early days at the Academy were mentally exhausting for Yuria.
In the quiet countryside, when she smiled brightly and was energetic, people liked her, but the Academy wasn’t like that.
When she hung out with The Man, people called her a fox.
When she brazenly tried to approach the Girls, they called her a hollow woman.
She didn’t know how to match the tone.
No matter how hard she tried to change herself to avoid being insulted, all she got in return were cold reactions.
-Why are you pretending to be close?
-Seriously, it’s so awkward.
Though it was a thought she only had when she was alone, Yuria actually hated her life at the Academy.
The anticipated Academy life was cold, and the Academy, which claimed there was no discrimination between Commoners and Nobles, clearly had invisible boundaries.
In the gray-toned Academy life, the only solace for Yuria was Ricardo.
He was confident, unlike herself.
Because she fell for him at first sight.
During the Freshman Orientation.
When she first saw him, the feeling she had was so overwhelming that the words “This is crazy” naturally came to mind.
Red Hair.
Striking Tall Height.
Features without any flaws.
To Ricardo, who had an appearance that seemed both fierce and kind at the same time, Yuria felt the emotion of falling for someone for the first time.
Though the surrounding students’ opinions of him weren’t very favorable…
-Is that him? Olivia’s Butler?
-Probably. Just look at him. He totally looks like the Crazy Woman’s Butler.
-Connections really are important. Even a Commoner Bastard like him can enter the Imperial Academy.
-Hey, your voice is too loud.
-Why? Let him hear it. It’s the truth anyway.
Ricardo was infamous for having a bad personality.
Among Nobles, he was called a Mad Dog.
Among Commoners, he was labeled as a lowly guy who sucked up to Nobles, surrounded by malicious rumors, but Yuria wasn’t swayed by those when it came to Ricardo’s appearance.
She wondered why people hated him so much.
He was so handsome, so why wouldn’t they like him?
It was a brazen thought, but back then, she actually felt relieved that it meant fewer Rivals to Be Jealous Of. It was just a fantasy, but if she were to become his lover, it would mean no one would compete with her out of jealousy.
Just as every student harbors at least one First Love in their heart, Ricardo had settled in Yuria’s heart as an Object of Admiration.
When she ended up in the Same Class as Ricardo, Yuria buried her face in her pillow and squealed with excitement for the first time.
-This is crazy… This is crazy…! We’re in the Same Class! What do I do!!!
Especially because Ricardo’s behavior was so peculiar, she couldn’t stop laughing whenever she saw him.
-Hey. Commoner. Go to the store and buy me some bread.
-What.
-What? A Commoner talking informally?
-A Noble talking informally?
-You Crazy Bastard.
-Young Lady!!!
Ricardo, who didn’t back down just because he was a Commoner, rampaged wildly without caring about others’ opinions.
It might have been because he had strong backing, but Yuria felt that Ricardo’s behavior stemmed from a more fundamental Boisterous Personality that exuded confidence.
In the early days of enrollment, he even got into Fistfights with Nobles, and during the Ranking Battle, he used underhanded tactics like throwing sand to secure Victory.
The students’ evaluations of Ricardo hit rock bottom, but he lived his life indifferently and normally.
Even just watching from the sidelines made her happy, excited… and at the same time, supportive.
Yuria spent her School Days like that.
Then one day.
Yuria had her first conversation with Ricardo. Not by her own will, but by someone else’s. It was in a way she least wanted to be seen that Yuria ended up talking to Ricardo.
[Idiot.]
On the day she ran away after seeing red Graffiti on her Desk.
-Why are you crying here?
Ricardo had approached her as she was crying.