Episode 138. Say you want to live!
At the southern end of the town of Alighieri lies a large lake.
The lake, called ‘Bezir’, was located just in front of the hill that served as the village’s fence.
The lake was created when water flowed into a valley that was cut into the sloping terrain.
Lake Bezier, with its nice atmosphere and scenery, is also one of the attractions of Alighieri.
It is said that various emotions bloom there along with flowers.
Pink flowers symbolize joy, blue flowers symbolize sadness, green flowers symbolize pain. Other flowers also symbolize various emotions.
Today, many people gathered to see the flowers blooming in the sky.
Beyond the water’s edge, people were lined up along the river that led from the lake.
And there were also people who sat on high places just to view the lake from afar, not necessarily from nearby.
A large crowd of people gathered to watch the fireworks launching from the lake.
The son of the commander of the military guarding the border and the young lady from the upper Delaware who was hospitalized and just released today.
The newspaper club president with a quirky side and the art club president who is always shining.
A combat professor with a very sturdy body and voice, and a good-natured professor with eccentric tastes.
And even alchemy and the senior cadets who aren’t interested in anything other than machine work.
Sometimes together, sometimes alone.
Everyone was just looking at the night sky.
* * * * *
“They’re just trash, after all.”
Nevia also found a spot to watch the fireworks alone.
30 minutes before the fireworks go off.
She could see the crowd of people gathered under the hill where she was sitting.
Soon, the quiet night sky will be embroidered with colorful flowers. Those who gathered were there to admire that beautiful scene with their own eyes.
But in Nebia’s eyes, he still didn’t look like a human being.
“I thought it would look different now.”
People’s perspectives do not change easily.
There was no need to think about how he came to have this perspective.
Hatred towards others still persists today.
Even though I’ve been through a lot since being eaten by the Thousand Blood Plagues, I’m still the same.
Nebia, who realized that fact, was at a loss as to what to do next.
Then he reacts to the sound of something approaching him.
“Is your sister here?”
Although I called her that, the person I was talking to was actually a man.
Radon Crowler shot at Nevia for calling him that.
“I wish you wouldn’t call me that anymore.”
“But she was so pretty back then. My
“So much so that I want to take you for granted.”
“Then should I continue to call you little brother?”
“Not bad.”
“….”
Radon narrows the space between the eyebrows.
It was sad enough to cross-dress at that time, but it would be unpleasant to hear people say I was pretty.
“I’ll stop joking.”
“Good idea.”
Radon felt satisfied with Nevia, who had finally returned to her saintly tone.
Then Nebia noticed something strange on Radon’s face.
“But what is that black thing on your face?”
“Oh, you mean this?”
A large bruise, like a panda’s, appeared on Radon’s left eye. Anyone who saw it would have thought he had been hit by a person of his size.
He gave a brief description of the bruise.
“I got hit by a gorilla on the way here.”
[Erosion rate reduction: -4%]
[+400 Credits]
“Gorilla… you say?”
“That’s right. Since it’s a holiday, there seem to be a lot of people bringing their pets.”
I don’t know about dogs or cats, but I’ve never seen anyone accompany a gorilla.
Anyone who looks at it can tell that it’s a lie. In fact, Radon’s heart rate only increased while he was saying those words.
“You can’t lie to me. Just tell me the truth.”
“….”
Radon clicked his tongue inwardly in surprise.
Nevia Cromag was born with excellent hearing and could hear the heartbeats of others.
Even if you can’t hear what the other person is thinking, you can accurately sense the emotional waves fluctuating inside them.
In front of the con artist himself, he was quite a troublesome being.
-What if it had been 100% pure like the original?
“If you knew who it was, would you step forward and punish them yourself?”
“Wouldn’t that level of consideration be basic in order to have a senior come under me?”
If I tell the truth about the person who hit me, does that mean I really plan on getting revenge on him?
Radon deliberately left the possibility that this might actually be the case.
“It’s really okay. It was my fault for getting hit anyway.”
“hmm….”
Nebia, who focuses her hearing on Radon’s chest.
After confirming his true feelings, Nebia soon spoke with relief.
“I hear that’s true… Ugh!”
Suddenly, Nevia got a headache. Radon had a rough idea of what was causing it.
No matter how good your hearing is, there is a limit to it. If you force yourself to increase your hearing to hear what other people are thinking, it will be a burden to you.
Therefore, the number of uses is limited. The risk is especially heightened when the surroundings are cluttered.
“Are you okay?”
“You don’t have to worry. Anyway, I…”
Nevia hesitates as she tries to say something.
She had been smiling and having fun during the holidays, but her face had turned bitter once again.
I remember accidentally spilling food while eating together and having to wipe it off my clothes.
At that time, Nevia also seemed happy, but I felt like there were a few screws missing somewhere.
“Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
Nebia then took the handkerchief out of her pocket and said.
“If I die, what kind of expression will you have?”
“Haha… Is it possible for someone who is a saint to think like that?”
“If that’s the case.”
Nevia asks with earnest eyes.
I was momentarily surprised when he suddenly asked me such a sincere question.
If it comes out like this, it’s something that can’t be answered dryly.
“I think it would be quite sad.”
“Really?”
Surprised, Nebia slowly brings her face closer and speaks.
It was the face of someone who was obsessed with something.
The more I looked at it, the more madness I felt.
“Of course, there would be no one who would not be sad if someone as good as a saint passed away.”
It is certainly sad from my personal point of view.
It would be sad in its own way if she, the clue to lifting the curse, went to the other world.
But it’s impossible to tell her that.
Basically because the silence is blocking my mouth.
“Is there any other reason besides just in case?”
“….”
Even if I had said something else, I had nothing to say other than that it was a shame.
She, who suddenly showed me her earnest heart, was like a time bomb whose fragments could fly anywhere.
“If it was rude, you didn’t have to say anything. I was just being too greedy.”
“No. Isn’t that a worry that everyone has at some point?”
Nebia regained her composure, her earnest heart softening.
Then he continued speaking.
“It’s not something a saint should have, but I don’t see people as people.”
“Then what do you think?”
Then a tremendous answer burst out of her mouth.
“trash.”
“….”
It wasn’t an unexpected answer, but it was quite surprising that he said it himself.
Even if someone who didn’t know this heard it right away, they would be shocked to learn that the saint treated others like trash.
Especially if a priest heard this, he would be so scared that he would collapse.
“Isn’t it amazing? The sight of an unqualified person sitting in a glorious position. This is the current state of the saints of this generation.”
What’s more, there wasn’t even an effort to sit down in that seat.
Just a girl with terrible wounds and darkness who got lucky.
If people knew this fact, they would all shout out like this.
-God is dead.
“With this kind of personality, there’s no way I could have done a good job of drawing people to my side.”
The excellent priests under her are also only in a contractual relationship.
When it becomes useless, it is thrown away. Many priests have been dismissed from their posts and punished because of this whim.
“Then what do I look like in your eyes, Saint?”
According to her, I should be seen as trash too.
But Nebia remained silent for a moment, and her face softened even further.
“I’m sure you’ll be shocked if I tell you that. Is that okay?”
I nodded and said it was okay.
Nevia, who confirmed my intention, opened her mouth with a bitter smile.
“As I said before, I look down on all humans. But as always, there are exceptions.”
I could tell right away that the exception was right in front of her eyes.
Because she has already examined my feelings with her own eyes several times.
“Of course, that exception was rare. I’ve only ever seen one in my entire life.”
“….”
“Other things are the same garbage, so it’s natural that people only pay attention to the one who looks different.”
However, it is not like he was kind from the beginning.
It’s just that I like those irregulars. At first, I classified them under me like trash.
But, as expected of an irregular being an irregular, he refused to come under him.
Nevia began to take an increasing interest in such anomalous beings.
“Because of that interest, my mind was distracted and I ended up in a bad situation.”
“A rough look?”
“There it is.”
That was the injection of the bloodworm.
The cause was actually the Irregular, but Nebia was still interested in its existence.
“Because of that, I was mentally at my limit. I wanted to feel at ease, but all I could do was run into pain.”
Every time I tried to release the blood clot, I was tortured.
Trying to fight Angela and eliminate her through combat was no use.
I was standing in front of the lake feeling frustrated, thinking that everything was wrong.
“But then he came up to me and said,
-I will help you.
It was his one word, and no one else’s.
It felt like I had discovered an oasis right before I was about to die in the desert.
Yes, there is no one else. He is the only one who can fill the remaining emptiness.
“The moment I heard that, my mind went blank. And then I realized. The only medicine that could cure me of my extreme… was that person!”
“….”
Nevia’s eyes sparkle.
pop!-
And fireworks burst from the sky.
Those two things happened at the same time and I ended up freaking out.
The energy that surrounded Nebia was as loud as the crackling sound of firecrackers, making her flinch.
“Then surely….”
“Congratulations. What a mess. Look at that woman’s eyes.”
The focus was gone.
People like that are usually pretty out of their minds, so you should try to avoid them.
But my body didn’t move.
She wasn’t bound by some strange magic. Muto didn’t just seal her body as a prank.
My legs were just shaking instinctively and I wasn’t moving.
“Yes, Senior Radon will know who that person is.”
“(gulp)”
She slowly turned her head and came closer to me.
The way it slowly crawled forward and stuck its face in was like a fox.
I could tell without even looking at it. It was ‘obsession’.
I swallowed dry saliva for a moment.
“Senior, you are different from other trash. Even when I was going through hard times and feeling sad, I always thought of you and persevered… This is proof that you are special to me.”
“Hey… calm down…!”
“Really? Do I look real right now?”
In the end, Nevia grabs my shoulder and covers me.
I wanted to immediately shoot her a warning and tell her to leave me alone, but when I saw her face, I was speechless.
“Hahaha… Do you see? What happens if you pour all the affection you’ve never shown since you were born… into just one person?”
Was laughing.
It wasn’t just a wicked woman laughing mischievously, but a fixed smile with the strength in her eyes and face gone.
At the same time, fireworks explode with a bang, sending up red lights.
Nebia’s mad smile turns red.
“If only I had you, I could find joy in life. If only I had you, I could forget all the bad memories.”
I couldn’t respond to the crazy, rambling nonsense.
The conversation was no longer working. That was the moment I thought that.
Stop-
Something fell on my face.
It’s not rain. The fireworks themselves are an event that is carried out according to the weather.
“If only I had a senior… I would have been able to see people as people.”
Boom boom-
The sky is embroidered with various flowers.
Red flowers represent madness, blue flowers represent sadness, and green flowers represent pain.
And the yellow flower that represents fear.
“I don’t want to die.”
The fireworks came to a brief halt with the yellow flowers as the last.
Nebia’s hand, which was holding my shoulder, was trembling with complicated feelings.
Only after all the lights had gone out did I realize that they were tears.
“Then tell me you want to live.”
Surviving as an Academy Fraudster
