Episode 200. Time for Just the Two of Us
“What did you just say?”
You almost killed me?
Ray frowned at the creepy sound that came from the woman’s mouth.
I couldn’t see her expression because she was wearing a mask, but I couldn’t sense any emotion in the woman’s voice.
If that’s true, then Ray did prevent bloodshed.
“Thank you so much for your help. It helped me avoid unnecessary friction.”
“yes.”
Could it be because of what you said a little while ago?
Ray didn’t feel properly reassured even though he received the thanks.
So, I decided to accompany her to keep an eye on her a little.
“Excuse me, are you lost? If you don’t mind, I can show you where you want to go.”
After hearing those words, the woman was unable to continue walking.
“Is it really necessary to do that?”
Judging from the fact that she had just chased away the people holding the gold badge, she was clearly a young lady of high nobility.
There’s no way such a precious girl would accompany me for no reason.
“Um… well.”
Ray, who was hesitant about what to say, said with a brave expression.
“We are comrades who wear the same mask!”
“….”
A woman tilts her head at Ray’s confident display of the fox mask she’s holding in her hand.
Ray was nervous at the attitude that seemed to ask what on earth that meant.
“Okay. Let’s go together.”
“Really?”
“Because I’m not busy yet.”
The woman surprisingly came over obediently.
To be exact, it was no different from hanging out with someone knowing that they were going to spy on him.
Even though he couldn’t see her expression because of the mask, Ray seemed to be able to hear the woman’s inner thoughts.
But despite its suspicious appearance, it didn’t give off a threatening vibe.
“You’re not busy either, are you?”
“No. I just came to see the sights today.”
“I don’t know if it’s okay to invest your precious free time in someone like me.”
“It doesn’t matter! I get bored when I’m alone.”
Ray somehow managed to get along with the woman.
With his face covered by a thick red cloak and mask, he looked suspicious to anyone.
The only visible feature was the silver hair poking out from between his face.
‘Even if there are enemies, they won’t be able to easily touch me.’
The status of the Chainsilver family was so powerful that even the neighborhood dogs knew about it.
At a point where even the savage watermen can stop, it is impossible for anyone other than a foreigner to attack.
“I’ve been wondering for a while now. What is that?”
“Ah, that’s a golem.”
“Then isn’t it a monster?”
“No, that’s not it. What should I say…”
What the woman was pointing at was a golem that guided the festival’s events.
These steel dolls, called artificial golems, are there to assist the scholars with their work and classes.
So I told the woman what I had heard from my older sister.
“A golem that helps people…”
“Yes, you can see it as a part of the learning left behind by the great sage Dantia.”
The woman approached the golem without saying a word and touched it.
It was a far cry from the monster golems she usually recognized through her knowledge.
He walks around acting cute, wearing a stuffed animal costume over his hard metal skin.
Not only was it non-threatening, it also seemed like something that children would enjoy without feeling any resistance.
-Welcome to the Aligieri Madou Banquet. Beep.
“….”
-If you have any inconvenience, please ask me anytime. Beep.
Golem says, his rabbit ears wiggling and his pose cute.
A gesture that somehow makes you wonder about the creator’s taste. However, the woman who saw it suddenly froze.
[If there’s anything that’s uncomfortable, tell me anytime. Mom is always on your side.]
Suddenly, I started hearing voices in my head. At the same time, forgotten memories flashed before my eyes like a panorama.
She was resurrected as a corpse and had no memories of her life.
No matter how many media outlets I come across that are related to my past life, it is impossible to recall them.
That was RE-Union magic.
But even though she couldn’t remember, her body reacted on its own, so the woman felt a little dizzy.
“This is….”
I think I’ve said something like that to someone while wearing a rabbit costume, although I’m not sure who I said it to.
The woman could tell based on the sensation she had just felt.
“Why are you like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
The woman stood there dumbfounded, looking down at Ray’s face.
She said to Ray, who was staring blankly at her.
“Isn’t there anything more interesting around here?”
“There will probably be a lot.”
As there are many guests coming from various regions, there will be many event venues that have been carefully prepared.
In fact, there was no delay even though several gangsters invaded the festival.
“But I can’t really say which is more fun.”
“Then can you find it with me?”
Ray blinked at the sudden suggestion.
But since the purpose was to monitor her anyway, there was no reason not to accept it.
“great.”
The two wandered the festival streets together.
Literally, women were just looking for fun elements.
It was purely celebratory, not sadistic or bloodthirsty.
The first place we stopped by was an arrow shooting range.
They went to the most difficult part of the many arrow shooting events.
It’s not easy to hit the target because it’s more than 50 meters away.
I gave it a try because they said that if I succeeded 3 times in a row, I would be given a high-end bracelet.
Swish swish swish-
Amy has failed to hit the target even once, but it’s hard to say that she doesn’t have talent, considering she still managed to get close to the target.
Swish!-
The woman, on the other hand, hit three of them right in the middle.
There was not a single error, and each shot generated enough wind pressure to make her silver hair flutter.
“Oh, congratulations!”
Two people who got their hands on a bracelet as a prize for their superhuman archery skills.
The next event we visited was a theater.
A play prepared by Alighieri’s theater club students and theater troupe members unfolds on stage.
Perhaps because it was for children, the stage atmosphere was colorful, but the content was not all that funny.
───────────────
The story of a bear cub growing up after losing its mother.
The path the wandering young friend walks is cold and slippery.
What awaits us ahead on this frozen lake-like road?
───────────────
Just looking at the information on the flyers promoting the stage, it seemed hazy.
Every moment that we watched the play from beginning to end, all the children were crying.
There were a few adults who were seen holding back tears.
“Sob sob… Aren’t you sad? At the end, the mother bear and the cubs…”
“Yes, I think so.”
“What! Is that all you can do to respond?”
Still, the woman’s attitude was dry.
Ray puffed out his cheeks, saying, “It’s so sad, but why is that the only emotion I can have?”
“Then should I shed tears?”
“of course!”
“Sob sob sob…”
“Don’t act so clumsily!”
“….”
The woman felt disappointed even though she literally shed tears.
Even though I didn’t have any feelings for it, I was able to understand the mood of the story.
“But are you really crying?”
“yes.”
“Can I see your face?”
“That won’t do.”
Her voice sounded too polite for someone crying.
Of course, it is impossible to judge without taking off the mask and checking the face.
“Do you want to see it that way?”
“yes.”
A common characteristic of wanted criminals is that they walk around with their faces covered.
Even if you explain that there are circumstances, it will only make you suspicious in that direction.
The woman took off the ninja’s mask and Ray stared at her face with wide eyes.
“How is it?”
“hmm…”
Ray, seeing that sight, spoke calmly.
“It’s just so-so. Should I say that she looks like our maid, Catena?”
The face of a woman in her mid-forties with silver hair that has a blue tint.
In conclusion, it was a face that did not exist in Ray’s head at all.
“Are you handsome?”
“well.”
The woman lowered her eyes and showed her sullen expression at the indifferent answer.
Then Ray took the woman’s hand and said.
“Where should we go next?”
Perhaps because he judged her not to be that dangerous, Ray led the woman with relief.
Although I was being dragged around by a child without permission, I didn’t feel much resistance.
Rather, it seemed as if my body was screaming to be dragged along on its own.
Please, at least for today…
.
.
.
.
.
The two of them wandered around until night fell.
Finally, we watched the magic banquet and went out together.
Today, there were many families watching the concert, so I saw many parents walking out holding their children’s hands.
Oddly enough, the woman was walking while holding Ray’s hand.
Judging from the composition of the crowd, it seemed like there were only families walking around.
“How was it? I thought it was interesting.”
Ray asked with a happy face.
It was the expression of a child going out for an outing, but the woman’s reaction was cold.
“I didn’t really care. All I could think was, ‘That’s about the level of tactical training these days.'”
“What is that? I haven’t even participated in it myself.”
If he were to step forward, he was confident he could fight better than the contestants.
She wanted to say that, but she kept her mouth shut.
“Still, it was fun. It was the first time in a while that I went out with someone other than my sister.”
“So you have a family waiting for you.”
The woman spoke as she looked at the crowd of people milling about with their families.
Ray also saw the sight. Ray’s expression hardened as he saw the mother and daughter walking hand in hand.
A small silence hung in the air, fitting for a festival.
“I have a father and an older sister. My father is still very busy, so we don’t see each other very often, but my older sister plays with me whenever she has time.”
My older sister was a socially awkward person who was isolated due to an overuse of her abilities.
I could see that my sister was trying hard not to be disliked even by her family.
That’s why it was respectable and beautiful.
“And my mother…”
“….”
Ray was speechless.
She suddenly looked at the picture inside the necklace.
The surroundings were filled with the sounds of happiness, but silence formed only between them.
“Are you not here?”
When the woman broke the silence, Ray spoke again.
“Yes, I can only see my mother’s face in a photograph taken with salt magic.”
My mother lost her life in an accident several years ago.
The sight of his mother, who had gone out, suddenly returning as a corpse was vividly engraved in Ray’s mind even as a child.
Knock knock-
There were no clouds in the sky.
But when I think of that day, rain falls that I never saw before.
I wanted to overcome it and look forward like my sister and father, but it seems I still had a long way to go.
“I’m sorry for acting strangely.”
Ray quickly wipes away his tears and pretends nothing happened.
Then the woman opened her mouth as if urging him.
“It’s not strange.”
“….”
“And there’s no shame in that. That’s the right of those who look ahead. No one will blame you.”
Ray focused on those words.
This is because the words that came out while scolding myself sounded similar to the scolding I used to hear when I was a child.
“Feeling that kind of pain means you also have the right to be happy. Even though we just met today, I have to say this.”
A faint murmur could be heard from nearby.
The stars in the sky twinkle.
A cold, woman’s voice was heard from below.
“Laci, you can still grow in the future.”
It wasn’t about turning away from the past. It was about using it as a stepping stone to have the courage to move forward.
Only by making the fearful past your own can you truly become worthy of it.
Ray could also qualify.
For some reason, Ray felt the woman’s faith.
“There’s no need to encourage me. I’m embarrassed too…”
“… .”
“But you’re the first person who’s said this to me, even though we’ve only known each other for a day.”
Ray said, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve.
“Thank you so much.”
In fact, there were many people praising Ray.
Because of her status as a princess, even people who met her for the first time were busy praising her.
To be honest, I was bored.
It was the same with this woman, even though it was my first time meeting her, and I never got bored with her.
It felt like a sense of happiness that I had forgotten was coming back to me.
“ray!”
Then a familiar voice was heard from afar.
From one direction, Jenny was running towards me in a hurry.
Jenny stopped abruptly in front of her sister, her feet creaking, and she regained her balance.
“Where have you been? You were wandering around without telling your sister.”
“Oh, I went with that lady here.”
“Ma’am? Who?”
Ray points to the side as if he was with someone.
However, Ray was greatly surprised to see that there was no one there.
“Strange? It’s definitely here…”
The woman disappeared without a trace.
It passed through this large crowd in an instant and disappeared.
The moment Jenny was about to give him a sharp rebuke, asking who the hell he was hanging out with.
“Jenny! You’re here.”
“Oh, Father!”
This time, even Gerard, the head of Chain Silver, appeared.
There were several knights next to him, escorting the lord.
When their father appeared, the two daughters stood as politely as possible, but their expressions looked ominous.
“We’re in big trouble.”
“What’s going on?”
“Crown Prince Charis wants to see you, Jenny.”
Charis Fried Divine.
The moment she heard that name, goosebumps ran down Jenny’s spine.
He was the kind of person you would never want to meet in your entire life.
* * * * *
A forest far from the town of Alighieri.
The woman who was with Ray reunited with her partner in the forest.
“Did you enjoy your free time?”
“….”
A man fell from a tree and landed on his stomach.
Talema Endhol Papyas. The corpse in that form looked as bountiful as it did when alive.
“You’re using the disguise magic I taught you well. How is its effect?”
The woman’s face now wasn’t real.
She put her hand to her face and her face changed in an instant.
“I was quite a famous person when I was alive. If you hadn’t taught me this, I would have been in quite a headache.”
She said that she had regained her original face.
A face that looks exactly like the woman in the photo of Ray’s necklace.
Leila Bloodia. Or Leila Chainsilver.
The corpse in her form spoke indifferently.
“First of all, thank you.”
“You seem so emotionless for an expression of gratitude. Oh, is that to be expected since you’re a corpse? Hahahahaha!”
Sharrruk-
At the sound of Talema’s laughter, other people come down from the trees and land.
They too are corpses just like Talema and Leila, and were once excellent mercenaries and adventurers.
“Okay, take this.”
Leila furrowed her eyebrows at the scroll Talema held out.
It was the Eternal Flame, a flame that could be obtained through the diploma of Alighieri Academy.
“It’s given only to you and me. It’s the spark of collecting all the diplomas condensed into one place.”
“….”
“As you know, we can’t move without being injected with magic power. But if we implant this, we can obtain powers that are not only a substitute, but even greater than before.”
“Did you get a transplant?”
“Of course. Look! This overwhelming magic power.”
Certainly, a strong magical power was felt from Talema.
If you fight him now, you can’t guarantee victory.
but…
Sizzle!-
“What, what are you doing!”
Talema was taken aback when Leila tore the scroll apart so casually.
In addition, he pulled out his sword and shattered the scroll into pieces.
The flame that was inside oxidized and became useless.
“Are you in your right mind?”
She said to Talema, who was screaming loudly.
“I don’t need this. My instincts from before told me that I’m not someone who is consumed by jealousy and obsessed with power.”
“Hoooo. So you’re saying you can control me without the help of those flames?”
Talema grabbed the sword with his hand. It didn’t matter to his opponent, as he did the same.
There was silence, but no one seemed nervous.
It seemed as if a clash of lifeless beings was about to continue in a place filled with corpses.
“You idiot. You’ll regret rejecting the Eternal Flame.”
Talema laughed, pulling his hand away from the sword.
In a situation where a critical moment is imminent, self-restraint was meaningless.
“An everlasting flame? There is no eternity for me. There is no joy because there is no pain.”
Leila also spoke as she put away her sword.
“So we’re just corpses. Just fertilizer. But if there’s someone who can step on it and pass over it, I’ll be satisfied.”
Surviving as an Academy Fraudster
