Fifth week at the Academy was surprisingly interesting in many ways. When monday arrived, I was still not fully healed, but I was well enough to attend my lessons at the academy. So, Zui and I walked together to our lessons. Walking with Sin of the Flower, whom everyone kept their distance from, stood out much more than I had expected. Normally, not many people would look at me but I could feel the gazes of most of the students in the Academy. Despite our paths diverging, this continued. I thought to myself, 'I guess everyone will have some gossip about me. Wait, why am I so afraid that gossip might come out? What happened to my habit of not caring about rumors?' and I tried to ignore these looks.
"Why is that kid walking around with her? What's him name?"
"Shh! Do you want him to hear?! Clearly, he's someone in the same class as her. Poor thing."
Inside, I thought, 'Unfortunately, I heard that.' Some things about me had already started being said. As monday passed and I finished the next day's lessons, I met up with my usual group of friends at the café we always went to. While Ela and Iris looked at me strangely, Stefan's eyes held a mixture of worry and suspicion. Because of these looks, I couldn't focus on the grades I had received.
"What?"
"She really looks normal, doesn't he, Iris?"
"Completely normal."
"Aa... I just can't understand why you're acting like this just because I started walking with Zui."
"Didn't she use an seduction magic on you from the beginning?"
"Is there such a magic?!"
Ela's theory made Stefan burst into laughter. I was sure that after that wild laugh, everyone in the café started looking at the table where we were sitting. Suddenly, I snapped back at Ela's words because the argument I had with Rona came to mind.
"Don't look at me like that. Iris is the one who came up with that idea."
"When it comes to magic, nothing is impossible."
It felt odd to me that perhaps Iris was the most strict person regarding Zui. Especially considering her attitude towards Emerra, this only made it more strange to me. I was curious about its origin and wanted to ask her about it.
"If I didn't know you, I would think Zui did something to you."
"Even that she's alive right now is a problem in itself, Nell. You're taking a history lesson. Everyone knows about the foolishness called pure blood from ancient times — how nobles were forced into marriages they didn't want because of it, and the terrible events that those born from such marriages caused in Heiben. Moreover, even F considers this situation a sin."
I was aware of what she was talking about. There was a period centuries ago when the nalia race hadn't yet appeared, and humans were constantly at war with demons. You could interpret this somewhat short period as the WW1 of this world. It was a kind of marathon that lasted around sixty years.
During this time, some nobles defended pure-blood lineage to preserve and increase human powers and some families took radical actions. Because of these actions, some of those born into the world didn't have long lifespans. Others struggled with various problems throughout their lives. Those who were truly healthy had terrible personalities. The very people responsible for protecting humanity from demons ended up harming humanity the most. Today, these noble families are completely gone and in modern history, they began to be called the "Diseased Generation." It was abnormal for Zui to be "healthy" but she didn't have the personality typical of that generation. What I read about them was on a level that would even make the cultists' own perverted acts seem innocent. That's why I understood why Iris built such a wall. Generally speaking, the reason people stay away from someone born of incest is the same. They didn't want Zui to bring misfortune to their own lives.
But did they really need to hate Zui for that? I could understand Iris's hatred due to her loyalty to F. But what about the others? Who could tell if the two girls who gossip about me yesterday hated Zui or not? Was it just because I wanted to be near her that they would also hate me?
As I thought about this, my anger started to boil and I wanted to answer in a tone loud enough for everyone to hear.
"If she was given the right to choose her family, do you think she would make the same choice again?"
I thought that Zui at least loved her mother but I was sure she hated that monster who was going to be her father to her core. If we all had a choice, we would want to be born into the best possible family — a family that could make us happy and be proud of us. When Iris heard my question, she couldn't say anything more. At least she was intelligent enough to find my words reasonable. Ela, on the other hand, started looking at me as if I wasn't right. I understood why she looked at me that way — because she was an orphan. After all, family isn't just about blood relations.
The rest of the day and the following days until the weekend passed without noteworthy events. Of course, I started to ignore the rumors about me that had spread because I was sitting next to Zui in class.
When I returned to my family, I had to tell a rather complicated white lie about what had happened. I told them I wouldn't get another chance to leave the city so early again, that I didn't have time to inform them, and that's why I wanted Zui to tell them what had happened. Probably because I never lied to them before, they didn't press further about why I couldn't come last weekend. However, seeing the worry on my mother Agatta's face and the tension from my father Jules caused strange feelings to rise inside me. I didn't want to be mediocre for Zui. So, I also wanted the same thing for my family. Especially, I noticed that my irritating sister Nalan had been quite quiet this weekend.
I decided to spend some alone time with brother-sister. It was a day when I visited master Marcus, eated my mother's delicious dishes and spent time with our neighbors around us. So, the day to be spent alone with Nalan would be sunday. Besides, I had fully recovered and all my temporary negative points had been erased. As a result, my stats started to appear as they normally would.
Nalan's favorite food is vanilla ice cream. I promised to take her to her favorite ice cream and after breakfast, we stopped by a street vendor selling ice cream about ten minutes from our house.
I bought vanilla ice cream for my sister and chocolate for myself. Now that I had a certain amount of money, I could buy as much ice cream as Nalan wanted. We were walking side by side through the city streets, eating our ice creams.
Suddenly, Nalan told me something she felt she shouldn't say.
"Uncle Hanbel came to the house last weekend when you weren't here."
"What?"
I wasn't expecting to hear that. My mother and father hadn't mentioned anything about it. Most likely, cunning ritchi didn't want me to hear. Still, I didn't understand why he came to our house.
"Did he ask about my situation?"
"Yes. He seemed to want to talk to you about something important. After that, we mentioned to him that friend and told him you weren't out of town. He was surprised and asked what she looked like. After my father described her appearance, he didn't say a word for a while."
"Well... I can guess the reason. What did he say afterward?"
Even Hanbel was wary of Zui. Suddenly, Nalan, who was eating her ice cream, sneezed and dropped her ice cream on the ground. She was about to cry like a baby just because of that. I had no choice but to give her my ice cream. I waited for her to finish her ice cream and didn't pressure her. I knew my sister well. If I insisted too much, she would become even more stubborn and never give the answer I wanted. Finally, when I got the answer I sought, we reached the square where the famous clock tower is located.
"Uncle Hanbel said that we need to be cautious around that girl. When my mom heard that, she got really worried, but uncle Hanbel reassured her by saying he believed you would definitely be fine. After that, he warned us not to tell you about his visit."
"I understand. So why did you tell me all this? If my mom and dad find out that you said these things, they will punish you by making you eat my least favorite food for a week."
"Well... I just wanted to say it. I don't know why that big sister shouldn't be trusted, but if you trust her, you must have some insight. Moreover…"
"Moreover?"
"Lately, I've been having some dreams. Dreams where I'm in another city but these dreams are as familiar as they are strange. In one of those dreams, I saw someone who looked just like that big sister. She had horns like demons but with a tail that those demons don't have. Unlike that big sister, her gaze was warm and she looked at me with tenderness. What do these dreams mean, big brother?"
I truly didn't know the meaning of these dreams she mentioned. I tried to stretch my imagination and find the most logical explanation.
"Hmm... I guess you're experiencing a different story. Think of it like reading books. You're reading another book through dreams."
If my sister had reincarnated, I would definitely have noticed. There was a clear possibility that the person in her dreams was Zui, but from what she told me, it was obvious she saw someone else. So, that was the most reasonable argument I could come up with.
Other than that, I can say that today was an ordinary day.
But I can't continue my life just by passing ordinary days anymore. What I want to do now is to avoid being mediocre, to prevent disappointing those who have expectations of me, and to protect myself.
The sixth week at the academy began. It was monday and everyone was heading to their lessons. Since we had entered November, the weather was starting to get colder. Instead of the uniform the academy provided, I was wearing the clothes Mater gave me. Both of my weapons were in my inventory. I had thought long and hard about what I was going to do and I finally felt ready to do these things. Before everything started, I checked my stats, abilities and magic path one last time.
Strength: F-
- Physical Strength: 15 (F-)
- Striking Power: 13 (F-)
Agility: F
- Speed: 17 (F-)
- Skill: 27 (F-)
Intelligence: F+
- Knowledge: 50 (F)
- Logic: 36 (F)
Endurance: F
- Defense: 28 (F-)
- Resistance: 2 (+15) (F-)
Charisma: E
- Persuasion: 55 (F)
- Appearance: 115 (E-)
Magic: F+
- Magic Power: 30 (F)
- Magic Control: 76 (F+)
Abilities:
- Blacksmith
- Disciplined +3
- ???
Magic Path:
- Shows signs of specialization in basic magic. (fire, water, earth, wind).
- You have great potential in magic.
- You have an affinity for natural magics.
- Be respectful of magic.