Chapter 181: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 181
I got into the truck with Florene, leaving behind the manager who kept expressing his gratitude with a face on the verge of tears.
If I had to justify myself, it wasn’t that I volunteered for this job just to slack off because working was hard.
At least officially, I was on my way to unload the beast corpses from the truck at the purification facility’s warehouse.
In simple terms, it was a loading and unloading job.
Among all the work I’ve done, loading and unloading ranked in the top three of the most physically exhausting tasks.
Normally, you’d have to question the sanity of the manager who thought of sending a girl to do such hard labor.
Of course, since it was Florene, that assumption was utterly pointless.
As I was waiting for departure with these thoughts, the door suddenly opened, and someone else got in and sat to my left.
When Florene, sitting to my right, saw the new arrival, she brightened up and exclaimed.
“Oh?! What’s this! Is Dwight coming along too?”
“Yes. I’ve always been a bit interested in the purification facility run by Dolos. They said I could look around freely once the work was done, so I decided to tag along.”
Dwight responded to Florene in his usual calm tone.
As expected of a magic fanatic, he was here to satisfy his intellectual curiosity.
Shaking my head at his predictability, I suddenly noticed Florene flashing a mischievous smile and speaking to Dwight.
“Hehe, even if you say that, you’re really just coming because you want to be with me, right? You always talk about magic, but Dwight, you’re still a guy, aren’t you? Alright! Since you’re handsome enough once you fix that tired look on your face, this generous Florene-sama will date you!”
“...You’re spouting nonsense again. Haven’t I told you countless times that I’m not interested in such things?”
“You’re playing hard to get again! Just admit it! You like Florene too, don’t you?”
“Sigh... This is exactly why I hesitated to come along.”
As Florene continued to pester him in her usual carefree manner, Dwight, who rarely showed his emotions, frowned and let out a rare sigh.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.
It was a scene I hadn’t seen before, yet it felt strangely nostalgic.
It was often like this in the original story.
Florene, who was like a walking noise generator, was practically Dwight’s natural enemy, given his dislike for anything noisy due to his constant fatigue.
As a result, whenever they were together, they often clashed.
Still, even though Dwight appeared to dislike her behavior, I wasn’t overly worried.
Because I knew.
When Florene went missing while following Marin in the original story.
In a situation where there was no way to send a rescue team, they had to give up on finding her.
Dwight had said this to Yoon Si-woo:
‘I’ve always thought of Florene as nothing but an annoying and noisy nuisance. So, I believed I wouldn’t care if she died. But... Why does my chest hurt so much? She was just a bothersome girl who kept talking to me no matter how much I pushed her away... Hah, I must be such a fool. I’ve been taught since childhood that a mage should always be rational. I was taught that being swayed by emotions is foolish. But... maybe I should stop being a mage.’
From that day on, Dwight fought like a madman every time he encountered monsters.
Even when overwhelming hordes of beasts attacked and everyone else retreated, he would stay behind alone, as if trying to vent the pain in his heart.
And that’s how Dwight died.
Perhaps knowing that made Dwight’s grumbling at Florene seem oddly endearing.
I wondered when this tsundere guy would finally realize his true feelings.
Watching the two of them bicker while I was caught between them, I felt oddly content. Dwight suddenly rubbed his forehead, looking like he had a headache, and spoke.
“To begin with, my type is a modest woman. I have no interest in tomboys like you. At least someone like Scarlet might be an exception.”
“Eh? So, you’d want to date Scarlet?”
“Sigh, it seems I can’t say anything around you. Just take a nap until we arrive.”
Dwight let out a big sigh and snapped his fingers in front of Florene.
A faint light shimmered, and Florene suddenly began to yawn.
“...Yaaawn, huh? I suddenly feel sleepy... G’night...”
Mumbling to herself, Florene leaned her head on my shoulder and quickly drifted off, softly snoring.
...Did he just put her to sleep because she was being loud?
I glanced at him in mild disbelief, and Dwight, as if pleading, lowered his head toward me.
“...Please understand. If I had to listen to her chatter until we got there, my ears would start bleeding.”
Seeing the sincerity in his request, I had no choice but to nod.
Really, to use magic to put a fellow classmate to sleep just because she was noisy... Isn’t this ethically questionable?
I thought that maybe Dwight hadn’t yet fully realized how precious Florene was to him, just like in the original story. Perhaps they still hadn’t spent enough time together.
Lost in these thoughts, I noticed Dwight cautiously speaking to me.
“Also, I hope you don’t misunderstand what I just said. I have no interest in people who are already involved with someone else, and I have no intention of dating anyone right now.”
I smiled wryly at his words.
Seems like you’ve got a long way to go.
Since he said his type was a modest woman, it looked like it would be a long while before he could develop any romantic feelings for someone like Florene, who openly flirted around.
Feeling a twinge of pity, I nodded at him, and Dwight, relieved for some reason, sighed softly.
“That’s a relief. I’d hate to be stabbed to death over some misunderstanding. I have a feeling that she’s quite unforgiving when it comes to these things.”
...Stabbed to death?
I tilted my head, momentarily confused by his words.
In that moment, I felt a strange shift in the air against my skin.
Then Dwight murmured.
“We must have just passed through the barrier.”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard the details, but it seemed the purification facility was located outside the barrier.
I found it slightly unsettling since I had assumed it would naturally be inside the barrier.
Exiting and re-entering the barrier could potentially cause physical issues.
But what could I do? It was too late now.
I could only hope there wouldn’t be any problems when I re-entered.
Looking down at my body, I suddenly had a question and turned to Dwight.
"Hey, Dwight. When you pass through the barrier, the miasma decreases, right? So, if you just carry the miasma through the barrier, doesn’t most of it disappear?”
“...That’s the kind of thing only someone who knows nothing would say. If it were that simple, why would purification facilities even exist?”
Dwight mumbled, sounding exasperated by my question.
That made sense.
But since I didn’t know the details, I blinked in confusion. After pondering for a moment, Dwight finally spoke.
“It’s not a widely known story, but there’s no reason to keep it hidden. You’ll learn about it eventually.”
With that, Dwight began to explain.
“All magic requires mana. The barrier is a form of magic, so it needs mana too. But have you ever wondered how much mana a massive spell like that would consume? Then, what do you think powers it?”
“...Uh, isn’t it powered by something like mana stones?”
Mana stones were essentially rocks imbued with magical energy.
They were also the main power source for most magic tools in this world.
However, Dwight slowly shook his head.
“Unfortunately, no. It’s true that was once the case. But maintaining the barrier demands an enormous amount of mana. For humanity, whose usable land is limited, mana stones were an inevitably exhaustible resource. But then, my ancestor, Viole Neinhart, discovered something—a semi-permanent power source that generates immense energy. Do you know what that power source is?”
Dwight paused briefly before continuing.
“A witch. More precisely, it’s the remains of the Witch of Gluttony, who was defeated after a six-day battle led by my ancestor and the great hero Aegis.”
At his words, I inhaled sharply.
A power source? A witch?
Shocked by the answer I’d never imagined, Dwight continued speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.
“After the hard-fought victory over the Witch of Gluttony, my ancestor realized something. Even in death, as a so-called ‘corpse,’ the witch constantly emitted miasma and absorbed it back in an attempt to resurrect herself. If left unattended, she would quickly revive and bring about the end of the world. Although my ancestor didn’t leave detailed research notes on this for some reason, he eventually discovered a way to convert miasma into mana and use it. This method was directly applied to the barrier.”
“...”
“That’s how the witch became the power source maintaining the barrier. The barrier not only serves to protect the city but also consumes the miasma emitted by the witch, thus acting as a seal to prevent her resurrection.”
Dwight spoke calmly, but my mind was in turmoil.
Seeing my stunned expression, Dwight spoke again.
“...Judging by your face, my story must’ve been quite a shock. Still, it’s good for you to know. Most heroes find out about this eventually. Anyway, the point I wanted to make is this: eliminating miasma within the barrier requires a significant amount of mana. The witch can only emit so much miasma at once, so trying to eliminate too much at once could cause an overload, potentially leading to a malfunction. That’s why purification facilities are necessary.”
Trembling, I managed to respond to Dwight’s words.
“...If something like that happens, does that mean the barrier will disappear, and the witch will resurrect immediately?”
Dwight shook his head reassuringly.
“Of course not. Even if something like that were to happen, the auxiliary mana stones can be activated to stabilize the barrier. There are always heroes stationed near the power source to handle such emergencies. So there’s no need to worry too much. At any rate, now you understand why the purification facilities are needed, right?”
I nodded absently at his words.
But there was only one thought filling my mind.
If the barrier disappears, the witch will resurrect.
I recalled the power of the Witch of Gluttony from the original story.
The witch that even Yoon Si-woo couldn’t defeat.
Her resurrection would mean the end of the world.
That was something that must never happen.
Sometimes, knowledge brings fear.
At this moment, I couldn’t help but envy Florene, who was blissfully asleep on my shoulder, completely unaware of any of this.
----------------------
TL Note: Rate us on Novel Updates & Make Sure to Add This Novel to Your Reading List on Novel Updates so You Will Receive Notifications Whenever i Post New Chapters.
Dwight referred to sin woo as a she? Is that a typo?
ReplyDeleteProbably meant Sylvia will kill him
ReplyDelete