85. Malicious Deception
“… What?”
The sweet and sour atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
I was afraid of River’s golden eyes.
After he said it, he realized he had said it wrong, but he couldn’t pick up what he had already said.
“… You haven’t even gone out to play with me on the weekend yet.”
“Well, it takes a month before freshmen can leave the academy on weekends.”
River said it as if it was very unfair, but it can’t be helped.
Originally, academy students can go out on weekends by liner or carriage ride to and from the bridge.
In the port connected to the academy, there is a busy street where most of the academy students, who are of aristocratic status, make a living, so it was good to go there.
However, going out was restricted under the pretext that freshmen had to get used to the academy life by one month, so they couldn’t go out even if they wanted to.
“Now that it’s solved, let’s go out together next time.”
“…Ughhh.”
The bloody atmosphere softened even more, and River, with a pouty expression, thought it over and said.
“… Yes it’s okay Mr. Russell has a debt… Instead, the next weekend is my turn.”
“Okay.”
River took my hand after hearing the answer.
“Tonight is mine, so I’ll put up with it.”
Huh? This isn’t it.
—————————————-
The next morning, of course, the two came out together.
As soon as we went, we were both surprised… I even thought of Amy waking up, so I came out earlier than usual, and Amy came out earlier than that.
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Amy didn’t say anything, but she watched us closely.
Looking at him, he seemed to notice.
Even if I don’t know exactly, I can’t help but know what kind of atmosphere it is.
Because there is only one thing that the two of us are out together so early in the morning.
Other than that, it was as usual.
.
.
.
.
After finishing my workout, I went to the tree I always measured and pulled out my dagger.
“What did you always do today?”
“Yeah, I haven’t been able to properly because I’ve been having trouble lately.”
Liver, the main cause of all the trouble, smiled shyly.
“What would have changed….”
I didn’t expect much, I leaned against a tree and hit the dagger at the top of my head.
I drew it, but the texture felt in my hand was different.
“… Uh?”
The feeling of drawing a new place, not the usual hollow part… When I looked back in surprise, I saw a slight upward movement from the previous update.
“It’s big…everything…?”
I blankly looked at the engraved traces.
“Are you tall again? Congratulation!”
“Isn’t the growth plate finally opened? That’s great.”
I heard congratulations from both sides, but I blankly looked at the marks on the top and lost myself in many thoughts.
My height, which hasn’t grown in over 10 years, has changed twice recently.
It was certain that something stimulated it, but I couldn’t figure out what was the cause.
“Are you not very happy this time?”
Before, it must have been surprising that the person I liked while running around was still standing still.
It’s true that it’s something to be happy about, but this time I couldn’t just be happy.
“… I’m thinking about why it’s so big all of a sudden.”
“You are tall, do you need a reason?”
“If you haven’t grown up for over 10 years and suddenly become like this, it’s worth looking back on….”
There were many things during the two days when I couldn’t measure my height properly.
I did it with Reaver and also destroyed the master’s dregs.
I can’t figure out which of the two is the cause.
Worst of all, isn’t it because he killed the Master?
“If killing the master is a trigger for growth… You have to kill all the remaining masters.”
“Wow… Are you thinking of becoming a master hunter or something of a continental public enemy?”
Amy looked at me coldly as she listened to her serious self-talk.
I can’t just dismiss it as nonsense since it’s something he said after he’s already killed one person.
“You’re going to fight all the masters…? Don’t even think about it, please…”
“I was just thinking about it. Not good value for money… “
Of the 8 Masters who remained on the continent, if I exclude the 3 Masters from the Empire, there are 5 of them. Excluding the swordsman who died this time, only 4 remain.
0.1 Per kill?
The price/performance ratio is not very good.
“A..Value for money? Then, if each person grows by 10… Are you going to do it?”
“Wow! That’s right! If you soak only 4 people and grow to 40, it’s 189! Does it really make you feel good just imagining it?”
When I thought about it, it made sense.
The swordsman was not a perfect master.
It was like the remnants of a master who was a master in the past but is not now. What if it only grew by 0.1 Because the master’s remnants were eliminated?
If you defeat a perfect master, isn’t it really possible to grow up to 1… No, 10 or more?
“I don’t think there’s a single crazy Master who would give up on humanity or invade another country.”
I hope it’s a master who can commit a major accident and be immersed without getting hurt.
Actually, at least one person came to mind.
“Is there anyone crazy enough to do something like that while watching the Kingdom disintegrate between the Church and the Empire?”
“Of course I do. In the first place, Masters are all psychopaths by the standard of ordinary people. You can’t try to judge it with common sense.”
I can confidently say that there is not a single master who is sane, including myself.
Both the master and the leader are all mentally ill by the standard of ordinary people.
The captain controls himself while doing outside activities, but a person with the mindset of a normal person cannot become a master in the first place.
It’s not normal people’s way of thinking that the leader gave permission when the swordsman came in as an advisor to Clover Academy.
I think he thought of putting it within reach, thinking that even if he blocked it, he would sneak in through another hole, but…
Behind the surface of that instruction, the Sword Saint’s intention was to catch and kill him immediately if he did something.
The captain once said while drinking that he was always regretful that he couldn’t kill the Sword Saint.
Even though I knew that if the Sword Saint did something, it would be a huge incident.
Since they knew I was here anyway, they could have left it to me to deal with it, but in general, blocking the source was the right thing to do.
“Since this division has exploded, it can be even more chaotic… For example, the ‘Five Kingdom Alliance’ in the east, which still enslaves the beastmen, declares that the beastmen’s ‘12 Tribal Union’ has been conspiring with the devil like the Clover Kingdom, and causes a war.”
“… Don’t sound scary One Master like that is enough.”
“I’m sorry I was so insensitive.”
River trembled at the sound of a crazy master.
I spoke too recklessly in front of the person who had been tormented by the mad master just a few days ago.
“That’s right, don’t even think about it!! You know best what happens when the Masters lose their balance!!”
“I’m not going to do that, so I’m just trying to tell you. Why do you think I really would?”
“Of course!!”
I just thought about it, but it didn’t make sense that defeating the master was directly related to growth.
If you just grow taller by defeating strong enemies, isn’t it just a psychological problem that my height wasn’t high?
Have you had any physical changes recently…
‘There was one?’
I remembered the hot energy that passed from River’s body to mine.
If that’s the essence the swordsman was aiming for in Reaver’s body… ?
In that case….
“Why..? What did you put on my face?”
“… No. “
I’m going to talk to Professor Prague about being tall, but I’m not sure how to explain this.
Isn’t it sexual harassment just to say it as it is?
‘Can I say this about the Master…?’
I’ll just have to get tested later.
—————————————
Lucia’s happy life did not last long.
I don’t know if the aura that Atlas implanted in her did a good job… Or if it was just because she was strong, but Lucia recovered much faster than the doctors expected.
She expected at least 1 month, but she recovered in 2 weeks.
You can see how severe Lucia’s injuries were from the fact that her severed arm was put on that day and she was discharged in three days, and she took at least a month in a hospital in another world.
It was a pity that the dreamy life together with Atlas came to visit every spare time, but the fact that her recovery was over meant that we could go out together on the weekend.
But Lucia has another problem.
“It’s good that I asked to go… But I don’t know anything about downtown…”
She also stopped by the downtown area of the academy port just once on her way to the academy, so she had no idea what was there.
The reason why she asked to go downtown was because there was a certain store she saw on the roadside before boarding the liner.
But she can’t go out and go to just one place… So Lucia went to someone she knew about downtown.
“So you’re asking me?”
Shaara Phrygia, who was chosen as the person worth knowing, glared at Lucia with a very displeased expression.
“Yeah… I think you know better than me…”
“This…!! You’re bragging huh?!”
Chara, who had been bubbling over the fact that Lucia had monopolized Atlas for the past two weeks, exploded in anger.