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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 241: The Exam (3)
***
Gelliver was not only knocked down but also completely fainted.
Just one blow.
A first-year top student was defeated with a single attack.
“H-how did that…”
Blanca looked back at Damien in bewilderment. Damien shrugged and said.
“Didn’t I tell you he was a genius?”
“Then why did the Marquis of Fortina keep ignoring him……?”
Oliver Fortina was a student who had been cast aside from the Marquis for his lack of talent.
“He was learning a swordsmanship style that didn’t suit him.”
The Marquis Fortina’s swordsmanship style was an illusionary swordsmanship that deceived the opponent through flashy movements.
However, Oliver Fortina had no talent for illusionary swordsmanship. Instead, he had an uncanny talent for swift swordsmanship.
Even Oliver’s physical structure was suited for swift swordsmanship. Once Damien recognized this and taught him a few swift swordsmanship techniques, his skills improved rapidly.
So much so that a mere trainee was now standing before a junior knight.
“Then why were you so scared just now?”
“That’s because…”
Damien clicked his tongue briefly and said.
“He’s a coward. No matter what, that personality never changes.”
“Heh… that’s a shame.”
While the two were talking, Oliver came down from the training ground. Oliver had a mixed expression of relief and exhilaration.
“See, I told you so. You could win…”
“Sir! I won! I won!”
Oliver shouted loudly as soon as he saw Damien.
“I defeated that damn brother of mine… that bastard of a human! I… I won…!”
Soon, tears welled up in Oliver’s eyes. Oliver wiped away his tears with his sleeve and then again burst into tears.
Damien, who had been about to give him a brief scolding, had no choice but to change his mind. He patted Oliver on the back and said.
“Yes, you won.”
Oliver wiped away his tears for a long time in front of Damien.
***
After all the exams were over, Damien faced Class 13 in the classroom.
“You all worked hard.”
At Damien’s first words, the entire Class 13 looked bewildered. They had never been praised by Damien during their training.
All they had received was insults, beatings, and death threats.
“The exams are over today. The results are not yet out, but it is certain that our class will be in the top ranks.”
In fact, Damien himself had been unsure of himself when he first took charge of Class 13.
However, the students of Class 13 had their own unique determination.
Thanks to this, they did much better than Damien had expected.
“You have kept your promise to me wonderfully. I will no longer interfere with you from now on.”
Even at Damien’s declaration of liberation, the students only watched him warily. It seemed they didn’t trust his words easily.
“I’m not kidding. You can do whatever you want from tomorrow on.”
As Damien said it again, the eyes of the Class 13 students widened. Soon, the students hugged each other and cheered.
“Oh yeah! Finally free! We’re free!”
“We don’t have to do that hellish training anymore!”
“We’re free from that demonic human!”
Damien narrowed his eyes at the students’ cheers. These kids, they’re not afraid to say anything.
But Damien just chuckled and didn’t say anything to the students.
He thought it was his duty as an instructor to allow Class 13 that much freedom.
“I can’t stay here any longer!”
“I’m going out first!”
“Me too!”
Class 13 was about to run out of the classroom. Then, Damien raised his voice.
“Where are you all going?”
The Class 13 students looked back at Damien with surprised faces.
“That… you just said you wouldn’t interfere…”
“I said from tomorrow. Not today.”
The students’ expressions turned grim at Damien’s words.
“So, we’re still training today?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Do we have to wield the Imperial Imperial Swordsmanship again?”
“That’s not it either.”
Damien smiled and said.
“I rented out an entire restaurant in town. I’m going to treat you guys today. The money is on me, so eat as much as you like.”
At Damien’s words, the entire Class 13 cheered.
“Oh, and I’ll buy you drinks too.”
Class 13’s cheers grew even louder.
***
Blanca was walking down a deserted corridor.
Usually, it was a place full of students, but today it was quiet. Everyone had gone out to play after the exams.
Blanca stopped in front of the hospital room. She gently knocked on the door and went in.
Inside, her son Gael was with the school nurse Miriam.
“Mother!”
Gael called out happily. However, he couldn’t get up from his seat.
This was because of the needles that were stuck all over Gael’s body.
Semi-transparent tubes were attached to the needles. Through the tubes, an unknown drug was being injected into Gael.
“Just wait a moment! When the treatment is over… ugh…”
Gael’s face contorted in pain.
It was inevitable that he would be in pain, as he was injecting a strong drug into his body.
“Ugh… ugh…”
As Gael’s groans grew longer, Blanca’s expression also contorted.
Blanca clenched her fists without realizing it. Her nails dug into her skin, but she had no time to spare.
“Gael, I’m going to take out the needles now.”
Miriam removed the needles that were stuck in Gael’s body one by one. Then, Gael’s expression gradually relaxed.
“Ah… ah… I feel a little better now.”
Gael said with a strained smile. His body was covered in cold sweat.
Blanca approached Gael. She stroked his hair and said.
“Gael, you did well today too.”
“It was nothing.”
Blanca smiled and looked at Gael for a long time.
“Cough.”
Suddenly, a cough erupted from Gael’s mouth.
“Cough, cough.”
Blood came out of his mouth with each cough. Blanca looked at Miriam with a bewildered face.
“Miriam! Gael is…!”
“Just a moment.”
Miriam rushed over and examined Gael.
Miriam took out medicine from her pocket and gave it to Gael. Then, Gael fell asleep as if he had fainted.
“Phew… that’s a relief.”
Miriam sighed in relief. Blanca was holding Gael’s hand with a pale face.
“Blanca, Gael’s drug rejection reaction is getting more and more serious.”
The ten-day thirst that Gael was suffering from was an incurable disease that would kill him by drying up all his muscles and fluids.
Gael’s illness was already in its terminal stage. He would be in danger of his life if he did not receive medication even for one day.
“Then what should we do…?”
Blanca looked at Miriam with a desperate face. Miriam shook her head.
“Blanca, you know. There’s only one thing you can do.”
“But… that’s… that much….”
“It’s time to prepare mentally.”
Deep despair clouded Blanca’s face. Blanca covered her face with both hands.
“…I’ll decide by tomorrow.”
In that short time, Blanca’s voice was completely hoarse.
***
The next day, Damien started receiving strange packages from the morning.
“What is this?”
Damien checked the package over and over again. The sender was stamped with the two letters “Sword Saint”.
“What did they send?”
Damien opened the package. A box appeared, densely engraved with magic circles.
Damien opened the box, revealing a shimmering red gemstone fragment. A note beneath the fragment read:
–Dragon Heart Fragment–
“Cough.”
Upon seeing it, Damien let out a cough.
“This man is crazy.”
He never dreamed that someone would send a precious item like a Dragon Heart fragment in a package.
“So this is a Dragon Heart fragment?”
The surface was so beautiful that one might mistake it for a jewel instead of a heart if they didn’t know any better.
What was even more remarkable was that it didn’t emit any noticeable magical aura, at least not from a cursory glance.
“Is it specially treated?”
Damien picked up the fragment and held it in his hand. In that instant, a tremendous heartbeat echoed throughout his body.
“……!”
Astonishingly, the Dragon Heart fragment was still alive and pulsating even in this state.
Damien couldn’t help but be awestruck by its life force that transcended imagination.
“Incredible.”
He wanted to consume it right away, but he still had things to do. Damien put aside the Dragon Heart fragment into his subspace and suppressed his longing.
He then prepared to go out and stepped outside.
Having fulfilled his promise to the Chancellor, he planned to start searching for Sla in earnest from today.
“……Are any of them here?”
Then, Class 13 suddenly came to mind.
Last night, Class 13 had spent the whole night partying, eating, and drinking at the restaurant Damien had rented for them before returning to the dormitory.
With a glimmer of hope that maybe one of the students had shown up, Damien headed towards Class 13.
“No one’s here.”
However, contrary to Damien’s expectations, not a single student was present.
“I said I wouldn’t interfere, and not a single one of them showed up.” Damien muttered incredulously.
He had no words. After all, he had treated the students like demons for the past week.
“Even if the others don’t show up, I didn’t expect Oliver and Penelope to be absent.”
Those two had taken a step forward as knights thanks to Damien.
He had hoped that they might be different from the other students since they had realized the joy of learning.
“Well, they’re all the same, inside and out.”
In truth, he could grab Class 13 right now if he wanted to.
Damien still had strands of their hair in his possession. With this hair, he could easily locate them using dark magic.
Of course, he had no intention of doing that. Class 13 had admirably fulfilled their pact with Damien.
“I guess I should go about my business with peace of mind.”
Just as he was about to leave the classroom, the door swung open and Blanca entered. Blanca’s eyes widened upon seeing Damien.
“Sir Damien, I’m glad you’re here.”
“What brings you here?”
“I came to speak with you.”
Blanca said to the puzzled Damien.
“It’s a message from Sla.”
Blanca spoke softly.
– I have Oliver and Penelope with me. If you want to save them, follow my instructions from now on.
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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