The blind villain of the academy

Chapter 162

───────────

Episode 38 - Exams [2]

─────────────────────────────────

Snapping out of my thoughts, confused, I asked Liora:

"Liora, why do you call her Mom?"

Upon hearing my question, Liora said:

"Why? Mom is my Mom."

"...."

"Yeah, well..."

As I searched for a way to understand her answer, Rinna said:

"Adel, I think I already know."

"Oh yeah? Really?"

"What? Why do you look like you don’t believe me?"

Considering how many things she forgets, I highly doubt she has a good memory.

"Alright then, what is it?"

Rinna replied:

"Well, you remember that Liora came out of an egg, right? And hatching it required mana."

"Yes, that’s true, so you’re saying..."

"Yeah. Right before she was born, I had gone over to you and touched the egg for a few seconds, and I think my mana entered the egg, so..."

Ah, so that was it. Now I understood why Liora calls me Dad and Rinna Mom. That means she was born from both Rinna’s mana and mine.

But now that Rinna had told me that...

"Wait a second, if you did that, now I understand why it took me longer to hatch the egg."

"A-ah, I-I... oh, haha, what am I saying? I don’t remember what I said. Ah, right, what did you do yesterday? Hahaha."

"....."

Letting out a sigh, I ignored her last question.

Though I had actually come up with an excuse, and that was that I had gone to obtain the blood for Liora and also one of the materials needed for my advancement to Five Stars.

It might sound rather vague, but I doubted they would insist on asking further questions.

However, there was one person who might have a slight suspicion, assuming she was close enough to the matter.

That would be Clana. So far, I haven’t interacted with her, and she is probably still investigating me at this moment.

’If her personality is the same as I remember, she’ll probably empty out all the files in the Informants’ Circle.’

The is a kind of guild that handles all the information across the Sacred Continent.

So, in theory, entering that place means finding absolutely every kind of highly detailed information about all the people on the Continent.

’When I saved her, she must have seen my eyes, as well as my hair color.’

And it just so happens that I always wear a bandage over my eyes. That could attract her attention and turn her into my stalker.

And since my Traits are currently sealed, I’m not sure whether she has seen me or spied on me during class hours.

"Liora, do you want to try this? It tastes delicious."

"Yes, yes."

"Ah, and this too."

"Mom, my Dad doesn’t give me anything."

"...?"

"Hehe, then Liora, who’s better, me or your Dad?"

"Dad."

"A-ah, really?... A-are you sure? You’re joking, right? I’m better."

"No, Dad is better."

"W-what... are you serious?"

"Yes, yes."

"A-alright..."

I listened quietly as I finished my sandwiches.

In a way, it was amusing, and since my emotions were no longer being suppressed by my Trait, I experienced them very clearly.

Then Rinna asked:

"So, this is the reason why you turned down the Club’s mission yesterday."

I paused to think for a second and nodded.

"Yes, that’s part of the reason, along with other things related to my advancement to Five Stars. It was urgent, and I didn’t care about losing points."

"Ugh, you’re lucky. Yesterday was complete chaos."

Rinna muttered. Then I asked as if I knew nothing:

"Did something happen during the mission?"

"Yeah, it’s a long story..."

Rinna began telling me everything that had happened in Black City and how they had come close to being trapped there.

She also explained how Alessia and Zoey had been captured, and about the man who helped them escape.

Along with various other things and everything they did throughout the day in Black City.

"Wow, that really was intense."

"Even though we managed to escape safely, so it’s not that bad. But since Black City was in the Infernal Plane, I feel pretty weak right now."

Now that I thought about it, Rinna has a Unique Trait called Holy Blessing.

It is a Trait that only one person can awaken, and at the same time, it represents the Saints.

"Mhm, I guess we’re in similar situations."

"Yeah, that’s true."

A short while later, I finished eating my sandwiches. Only a few minutes had passed since I arrived at the cafeteria.

Not long after that, the others entered and sat down at the same table.

"Ah, hello, older brother. You went to get those things yesterday, right?"

’This girl...’

I already knew that Veronica had recognized me without much difficulty yesterday when I went to get the main characters out of Black City.

I nodded as I said:

"Yes, I got the fairy blood and the other things I needed for my preparations."

"Great, then you only need one more thing, right, older brother?"

"Yes, and stop calling me that..."

"...?"

Suddenly, I froze. My mind started working, and then I realized something.

’The girl from my memories didn’t speak exactly like this, and, coincidentally, that man got annoyed the same way I get annoyed with Veronica.’

I turned my head, and as if she were "looking" directly into my eyes, Veronica asked,

"Is something wrong, older brother?"

"...?"

"By any chance... have we known each other for a long time already?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? We’ve always known each other, older brother."

Her voice was unexpectedly calm, and there didn’t seem to be any lie in her words. However, I didn’t ask any further questions.

At the moment, we weren’t alone, so I had to keep my curiosity to myself.

"Well, even so, stop calling me older brother. It feels like you just want to annoy me."

Veronica closed her mouth and said nothing. At that moment, Julian’s voice reached my ears as he asked,

"Oh, right, now that I think about it, I’m curious. How did you two meet? You seem very close."

"Close...?"

I tilted my head, clearly confused.

Me, close to Veronica? I mean, at first I almost killed her because she seemed to know things that only I know, and she could become an obstacle to reaching the True Ending, which is my goal for now.

However, I decided to keep her alive since she knows who I am and might be the only way for me to recover my memories.

"Yeah, you seem very close, don’t you guys?"

Rinna nodded at his words.

"Yes, that’s true."

"I agree."

"Agreed."

Charlotte and Diana said that at the end.

I was slightly bewildered and didn’t know how to respond to their questions.

However, Veronica was the one who answered.

"Ha, ha, we’ve known each other since we were kids. We used to live in an orphanage, but Adel disappeared when he was seven years old, and when I entered the Academy, that’s where I found him."

"Ah, I see. So you were separated for a long time, ten years, right?"

Charlotte said, and Veronica nodded.

"Yes, exactly."

Meanwhile, I was completely lost.

Until six months ago, I believed this world was a game.

But with the memories I had recently acquired and the fact that I have lived countless lives,

I knew this world was not a game at all, although I still haven’t found an explanation for the Main Quests or why I know about the future and other details.

In any case, I was truly lost. However, I suppose Veronica, being someone completely unknown to me, made up some kind of story.

’And it seems she knows Adel’s past—I mean, my past.’

While I was lost in thought, Charlotte suddenly asked,

"By the way, are you okay?"

Her question was directed at me. She had probably noticed that I was suddenly expressing emotions.

Since my Traits were sealed, anyone could notice a difference in my usual stoic expression.

"Yes, I’m fine."

But she wasn’t the only one who asked.

"Oh, that’s right."

"That’s right."

And just as I was about to say something, Rinna was the one who spoke.

"That’s because Adel is sick."

"Sick...?"

"Ah, yes. Do you remember the magic classes, Charlotte?"

"Now that I think about it, that’s true. Awakened people can get sick too, but... even so, it’s very rare to see."

I had to come up with an excuse explaining how exactly I had gotten "sick" just yesterday.

I didn’t want to say it was the side effect of my Unique Trait because, eventually, they would find out.

And if that happened, they might realize that I was the one who saved them, and I wouldn’t have any excuses left.

Shortly afterward, the break ended, and we had to return to class.

***

"A-ah... my body..."

My legs were trembling, sweat was pouring from my entire body, and my breathing was ragged.

On top of that, my sickly body only made my exhaustion worsen my current condition even further.

The entire day had been more than exhausting—it had truly been torture.

One day had finally passed, so I only had until tomorrow afternoon before the side effects of Eyes of the End disappeared.

As I walked back to the dormitories, a voice reached my ears.

"Hello."

I stopped for a second before turning around and pretending that I was completely fine.

The person standing in front of me, judging by the voice, was none other than Lumina.

"Ah, uh, hello. I don’t think Professor Ashly called for us, did she?"

To be honest, it’s awkward talking to her.

Even though she hides it, I’m aware that she often watches me, and since she’s a regressor, it’s difficult to know what’s going through her mind.

Especially because I’m usually the one who starts the conversation, not her.

So most of the time, I don’t even know what to talk about.

"No, I was just passing by and saw you."

"Ah, I see. Well, I’m heading back to my room."

"Mhm, but are you okay? You look... weak, sick, and I can’t sense any Mana from you."

"..."

Right, I forgot that her Mana Sense Mastery is high enough, although not comparable to mine.

So it was natural for her to notice my lack of Mana.

"Well... I’m sick, and as for my Mana, I think it’s normal that you can’t sense anything because... I’ve had Mana Exhaustion since yesterday."

Besides her, the others had also noticed that I had no Mana, so I used Mana Exhaustion as an excuse.

Lumina took a moment before responding.

"I understand. Then I’ll be going."

"Sure, goodbye."

I stood still for a few moments before turning around and continuing my walk.

〖I’m telling you, disciple, that girl is very dangerous for you.〗

"What does that even mean?"

〖Figure it out yourself.〗

I shook my head as I entered the dormitory building. Tomorrow would be the written exams, and I had no idea how I was going to manage.