Chapter 184: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 184
On the way back from the purification facility, the inside of the car was silent, with not a word spoken.
Florene, who had fallen asleep while teasing Dwight, was drooling on my shoulder, and Dwight, sulking from my teasing, had turned away, staring out the window.
Between the two, I was lost in thought, replaying the conversations from earlier today.
In the distance outside the window, I could see the boundary line that divided the inside and outside of the city.
It wasn’t visible to the eye, but that’s where the barrier was set up.
Despite various incidents, the barrier remained an essential device that prevented the miasma from invading the city.
But after learning the secrets of the barrier today, it now felt like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.
For now, it was protecting the city, but if it ever detonated, it would consume everything and everyone inside the city it was supposed to protect.
Was hoping that bomb wouldn’t go off all I could do?
As I was lost in such thoughts, the car continued driving until we were close to the boundary line, where the barrier was located.
And the moment the car’s front wheels crossed the boundary line,
A primal sense of dread washed over me.
Alarms rang in my head.
Screaming at me to jump out of the car right now.
Telling me not to cross that line.
But in that instant, unable to move because Florene was resting on my shoulder, the car sped past the boundary completely.
The barrier, rejecting the invasion of miasma, revealed that I was not an entity allowed to enter this city.
It was only then that I realized.
“Ugh...!”
Nausea surged up.
A sense of powerlessness and lethargy, as if all the strength had drained from my body, overwhelmed me.
Florene’s head resting on my shoulder felt unbearably heavy.
And the cold sweat pouring from me made Florene’s drool on my shoulder seem laughably insignificant.
I barely managed to lift my arm to cover my mouth.
I had to block it, or either my curse words or the snacks I’d eaten while working earlier would come spilling out.
This was no joke.
I’d heard that monsters get severely weakened when they forcibly cross the barrier, but I never imagined it would be this bad.
Why hadn’t I realized this sooner?
Thinking back, I’d never crossed the barrier like this before.
When I was kidnapped by Sator the elf, or when I was abducted by a witch during a tour to the frontlines, I was unconscious each time I was brought back into the city.
And every time something like that happened, I would always feel sick afterward; now, I finally understood why.
“...Are you okay? You don’t look well.”
As I struggled to catch my breath and swallow it down, Dwight, who had been staring out the window, asked with a concerned voice.
His question sparked a sense of panic.
I was in no condition to pretend to be fine.
From the side, my face must have looked terrible.
For someone who seemed perfectly fine moments ago to suddenly look this bad, it was only natural he found it strange.
But if he realized I was unwell because of the barrier, it would be over.
Determined to avoid any suspicion, I frantically scrambled to come up with an excuse.
“...I don’t know. I’m feeling nauseous, like it’s motion sickness or something.”
“Hmm, now that you mention it, you did say you were feeling unwell until yesterday. Maybe you pushed yourself too hard today before you fully recovered.”
I guess it was fortunate that I hadn’t been feeling well until yesterday.
Dwight seemed to accept without much doubt that I hadn’t fully recovered yet.
As I internally sighed in relief, Dwight suddenly turned toward me, bowing his head.
“...I’m sorry. You weren’t feeling well, and I ended up dragging you to that tour. I didn’t mean to make things worse.”
I quickly shook my head at his words.
“No, why are you apologizing? I chose to go on the tour.”
Dwight muttered with a conflicted expression.
“...I could tell you weren’t particularly interested in the facility. Normally, someone like that should be sent back first; otherwise, it’s just wasting precious time. But I couldn’t do that because of my own selfishness.”
“...Selfishness?”
“...Scarlet, I wanted to show you the beauty of magic. I thought if we shared the same interest, we might become closer. But I was too caught up in my own thoughts and never considered that you might not be feeling well... Will you accept my apology?”
I was slightly taken aback, as I never expected that kind of sentiment from Dwight of all people, and I nodded.
On any other day, I might have smiled happily at his words about wanting to get closer.
But right now, I couldn’t bring myself to smile.
Dwight hadn’t done anything wrong, yet to keep my secret, I had no choice but to deceive him.
I hated myself for it.
---
Once inside the city, the car dropped us off in front of the dimensional gate.
“Scarlet, Dwight! Let’s hang out with Florene again next time! See you later!”
Florene, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up with a refreshed expression, said her goodbyes, and left first. I exchanged slightly awkward farewells with Dwight.
“...Well, I’ll be going now. Take care of yourself.”
“...Yeah. See you next time.”
As I watched Dwight walk away, feeling a pang of guilt from his mix of concern and regretful gaze, I headed home.
It was the first time that the journey back home had felt so exhausting.
Perhaps it was because of the barrier that had weakened me, or maybe for another reason altogether.
When I finally, barely, made it back home, I found myself suddenly wanting to see Yoon Si-woo.
I felt like if I could just tell him what happened today, I might feel a little better.
But unfortunately, Yoon Si-woo wasn’t home.
He’d mentioned having something to do when he left today, so maybe he would be back late.
Feeling a significant pang of disappointment, I collapsed onto my bed.
My sweat-drenched body felt gross, but I wasn’t in any state to shower or do anything else.
With great effort, I pulled the blanket up to cover myself.
A thought I had when I crossed the barrier resurfaced.
An entity with miasma, not permitted in this city.
That’s what I was.
For some reason, that fact struck me with a newfound weight today.
I hated myself for it.
Being able to stay positive even in difficult times was one of my few strengths.
But there were days when no matter what I did, even that wouldn’t work.
Days when no matter what, my head was filled with nothing but negative thoughts.
Today felt like one of those days.
I pulled the blanket over my head, covering myself completely.
So that no one could see me.
So that no one could hear me.
I would have to live like this, hiding myself forever, making sure no one ever discovered my true identity.
For a long time, not even a breath could be heard under the covers.
And for a moment, there was the faint sound of quiet sobbing, which eventually faded into silence.
---
The worst.
That was the first thought that crossed my mind when I woke up the next morning.
I felt drained.
It felt as if someone had wrung me out like a rag, draining every last bit of energy from my body.
But even so, I forced myself to get up.
The overwhelming thought that I needed to fill my body with something drove me.
When I stepped into the living room, I saw an omelette rice covered in plastic wrap on the dining table.
Next to it was a small note that read:
“I had to leave early again today, so I’m heading out first. You looked tired, so I made breakfast. Make sure to eat before you go. - Yoon Si-woo.”
I sat at the table in a daze, peeled off the wrap, and took a bite of the omelette rice.
It was covered with just the right amount of ketchup and tasted quite good.
It was good, but...
After chewing for a while, I put the spoon down.
...This isn’t it.
That thought crossed my mind.
Leaving the bowl and spoon where they were, I stood up from the table.
I pulled out my phone and checked my messages.
The message listed the location where I was supposed to help with the handling of monster carcasses, just like yesterday.
The word "deficiency" suddenly came to mind.
Deficiency. Lacking.
What is lacking must be filled.
But filled with what?
I looked at the screen of my phone.
The word "monster" stood out, seemingly emphasized.
The urge to fill what was lacking was instinctive, impulsive.
I aimlessly set out for the location mentioned in the message.
---
When I reached the area indicated in the message, there were crowds of people.
People dressed in spacesuit-like outfits were struggling to move the monster carcasses.
I felt a sudden impulse, but I shook my head.
Not where there are people.
Getting caught would be troublesome.
So, I naturally walked away from the crowd.
Slowly, I looked around.
What I was searching for was a monster carcass.
Somewhere hidden from prying eyes.
And before long, I found what I was looking for.
Deep within a dark alley, a monster carcass was wedged in.
The intense urge seized me, but I first glanced around.
No one was there.
I wouldn’t be seen.
With a small laugh, I walked into the alley.
The monster’s body was decomposing, leaking miasma bit by bit.
Accompanied by the nauseating stench characteristic of decaying bodies.
Seeing the carcass right in front of me intensified the urge.
And at this moment, there was no reason to hold back.
Before I realized it, my face was buried in the corpse.
I greedily inhaled, drawing in the black-tinted miasma as it flowed into my body, causing me to shiver uncontrollably.
The feeling of filling what was empty was euphoric.
But it wasn’t enough.
Compared to what was missing, each breath I took could only absorb a minuscule amount of miasma.
Then instinctively, a more efficient way to absorb the miasma came to mind.
Flames ignited from my hand that was gripping the monster.
The fire engulfed the entire carcass of the monster.
The body, swallowed by flames, burned fiercely and spewed out thick, black smoke.
I inhaled the smoke deeply.
The sense of satisfaction was so intense that my eyelids fluttered.
I kept inhaling the smoke without pause.
But it still wasn’t enough.
It was far from enough.
I needed to absorb it all quickly and find another corpse—
“...Miss Scarlet?”
I turned around at the voice coming from behind.
There stood a small girl with orange-tinted hair that reached about her shoulders.
Oh no.
I’d been caught.
“What are you doing there?”
The girl asked, her eyes filled with confusion, and I felt a wave of panic.
Being caught was troublesome.
Yes.
Being caught was not good.
So what should I do?
I hesitated for a moment.
Then, instinctively, a way to resolve the trouble came to mind.
I looked at the girl and then lowered my gaze.
Flames still flickered from my hand that had been burning the corpse just moments ago.
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