Chapter 51: Karma Part 3

Leaving behind a shocked Ariel, I walked out of the dorm.

I couldn’t afford to be soft-hearted.

If I let any dangerous thoughts take root now, I might end up losing my head.

Honestly, I’m not confident I can handle a relationship with her.

I saved her life, and now she wants to risk her life together with me?

That’s not a kind of loyalty I was ready to return.

I appreciate the sentiment, but I have no choice.

…Actually, I don’t even appreciate it.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that… I just really wanted to say thank you…”

Ariel still clung to me, even to the very end.

Her tearful expression was heartbreaking, but no means no.

“There’s no need for anything so dramatic. A simple ‘thank you’ would’ve been enough.”

“Still…”

“Who knew getting a single ‘thank you’ would be this hard?”

“Ugh! …Th-Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. That’s enough, right? Then take care, Lady Ariel.”

It pained me, but I had no choice.

I pushed Ariel away as if cutting away at my guilt.

***

Ariel, who had just been thoroughly rejected by Johan, was in complete shock.

There were several reasons, but one thought rose to the top above all else:

What’s wrong with me?

She knew she had been turned down.

She also knew full well she had made her feelings obvious.

Johan had subtly…no, at this point, he had blatantly rejected her.

To be honest, Ariel thought she was too good for Johan.

That innate arrogance.

The mindset of a noble duke’s daughter.

And now, it was time for self-reflection.

“He probably doesn’t hate me.”

Ariel processed the situation with the characteristic rational thinking of a noble’s daughter.

He couldn’t possibly hate her. If that were the case, then there had to be another reason.

Though the direction of her thoughts was a bit off, she wasn’t entirely wrong.

Johan had been afraid of the situation itself. Of getting involved with her.

Ariel remembered that well.

Back at the beginning of the semester, whenever she greeted him, he would recoil in fear.

Some of that might have been due to Lobelia’s overbearing attitude, but at his core, Johan was someone who built walls.

However, Ariel also knew the reason behind that. Johan had once said he kept people at a distance because he feared goodbyes.

“Sir Johan likes me.”

A leap in logic that came without any warning.

But that too was a rational thought process characteristic of a high-ranking noble’s child.

Ariel recalled the things Johan had confessed in an effort to persuade her.

That he had exposed even his deepest vulnerabilities because he wanted her to live?

There was no other way to explain that unless he had feelings for her.

That was how Ariel saw it.

Even if he denied it himself, she would still believe it.

“He definitely said it was burdensome.”

Perhaps the prince who saved her had found the weight of her prestigious background too much to bear. She was from the renowned Ether duchy after all.

Well, that would make sense.

The Damus family might have held the title of count family, but aside from the early days of the empire, they had never truly flourished. At present, they had been all but forgotten, left to languish on the fringes of the empire.

In reality, when you stripped it all away, the authority of the Damus County was barely at the level of a baronet. She could understand if her own background felt like a burden to him.

“Because Sir Johan is a coward.”

Could someone from such a humble house dare to love the young lady of a duchy?

Ariel firmly believed that was what he had been thinking. Her genius-level intellect had a way of interpreting every situation in a way that benefited her.

Johan liked her.

However, if it was the Ether duchy that felt burdensome to him, then resolving the issue of their families would take care of the rest.

At that point, Ariel’s chain of illogical reasoning finally came to a stop.

“Huu…”

Ariel let out a deep sigh, then swallowed dryly.

The moment the keyword “forbidden love” sprouted in her mind, she grew so flustered that she began hiccuping from feeling short of breath. Of course, what embarrassed her was most likely her own delusional imagination.

But once Ariel started running, she was relentless.

Just like when she had first started learning magic. Something that had left even Lobelia, who’d been watching from nearby, absolutely horrified.

Even though no one was around to see her, Ariel covered her face with both hands.

There was a youthful innocence in that gesture, the kind unique to a girl experiencing her first love.

Yet in her eyes, there was a clear and unwavering determination.

***

The written exams were finally over.

At last, I had found some peace.

There was a time when I worried Ariel might cling to me and cause trouble, but since that day, she hadn’t shown herself in front of me even once.

Somehow, I felt a little sorry.

Still, I had no choice if I wanted to survive.

Just the rumor of me being involved with her would be dangerous.

It was surprisingly quiet, considering Lobelia had called her persistent.

Well, she was a person with enough sense to make rational judgments, so she must have understood my situation.

“Johan, let’s go to the training ground!”

“No.”

“Why not! Sometimes you should hang out with me too!”

“Why would I go to the training ground to hang out?”

After the exams ended, Yuna joined Class F. Considering her true abilities, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she’d been placed directly into Class S, but it couldn’t be helped.

Yuna being admitted into Class S without going through any evaluations would’ve certainly stirred complaints.

Even if the students kept quiet, the parents would have raised hell over the favoritism.

So Yuna ended up in Class F.

I briefly wondered whether she’d be able to adapt to the class, but she fit in even better than I did.

“Johan, you’re out of shape. I’ll teach you my special technique.”

“How am I out of shape?”

For what it’s worth, I was skilled enough to draw sword energy, even if it was a bit unstable.

Do you know how much effort it took to reach that point?

Sure, I’ve lost a bit of muscle recently, but my body was still in good shape.

Honestly, just following the Cradle’s standard curriculum diligently was enough to build muscle.

So attending the classes regularly should be more than sufficient.

“You talk too much, Johan.”

“I barely said anything.”

“You swallowed a lot of words inside.”

“Hah… seriously…”

She saw right through my thought process. Strange. Yuna once said I think in a similar way to her, but I can’t read her at all.

“You’re really not going?”

Yuna stopped in her tracks and stared at me.

She looked like a puppy caught in the rain, and it tugged at my heart.

“Haah, fine. Let’s go.”

Still, she was the only friend I’ve got.

Since she often helped me out, I figured I should at least do this much for her.

That was probably the way to maintain a smooth relationship. And besides, I already said something in front of Olga Hermod; I couldn’t back out now.

“Come on! Let’s go, Johan.”

Yuna beamed brightly and grabbed my hand, tugging me along. I felt like her energy was draining mine just by being near her.

Dragged along by Yuna’s hand, I arrived at the training grounds, which, as usual, were full of people.

However, unlike usual, the atmosphere seemed a little subdued.

“Hey, guys. Did something happen? Everyone looks so serious.”

Yuna cheerfully approached the group of students chatting nearby.

When they saw her bright smile, the students shrugged and replied.

“There’ve been a lot of terrorist attacks near the Cradle lately. We even got caught up in one over the weekend…it was rough.”

“Seriously? Are you okay? Where did it happen this time?”

“Under Chain.”

“Yeah. It was those guys for me too.”

“Haven’t they been showing up a lot lately? Seems like every incident somehow involves dark mages.”

Reports of Under Chain sightings started popping up from all over.

I hadn’t realized it, since I’d been holed up in the Cradle, but it seemed things were pretty chaotic outside.

Was that why Ariel and Lobelia hadn’t been around lately? Because they were busy?

From what I knew, the aftermath of Under Chain’s attacks was notoriously difficult to handle.

They would corrupt the land itself with the aura of death.

“There was also that guy recently, right?”

“That guy? Oh, you mean the lich? They said he’s been running wild and still hasn’t been caught, right?”

That was a bit surprising.

The Cradle was close to the Imperial family, so when a terrorist attack occurred, a portion of the Imperial Knights would be dispatched.

Their military strength was also the reason so many secret groups operated in the shadows.

But even with someone acting so brazenly out in the open, they still hadn’t been caught?

That meant either they were extremely confident in their abilities or they had insight into the Empire’s response strategies.

And that could only be possible because of Under Chain’s “Great Sage”.

If the Great Sage was personally stepping in to help, then this wasn’t just any ordinary situation.

“Alright, now I have a reason not to go out. I’ll just stay inside the Cradle for a while.”

“Good thinking, Johan. That’s what’s best for you. You’re weak.”

“What’s your name?”

Was he trying to pick a fight?

Sure, I might not be strong, but I had a count’s family backing me.

If I couldn’t solve things with strength, I’d just rely on power and influence. Go ahead; say it again.

“Asking someone’s name doesn’t sound like you, Johan. Don’t do that.”

“…….”

Wait, what kind of image did I have with these people?

What was I to them, exactly?

Was there some weird rumor going around that if someone told me their name, they’d be cursed or something?

“Whatever. So who exactly is this guy everyone’s talking about? You all seem to know. Fill us in.”

“Yeah, I’m curious too! Who is it? Do you guys know his name?”

“Uh, I’m not really sure…”

Students started gathering around.

The conversation snowballed, with bits of information popping out from all directions.

“He’s definitely a lich, though.”

A lich. A mage who returned from death.

I didn’t know whether he had willingly fallen into the path of dark magic or if it had happened naturally. Still, if he belonged to Under Chain, the odds were probably higher that it was the former.

“He’s nothing but bones now, so I couldn’t recognize his face, but the magic he used was pretty unusual.”

“Oh, I know! It was magic that applied the power of waves, right? Wasn’t there someone famous for that?”

“Ah, I’m pretty sure he was a war hero. I heard he died a few years ago. Assassinated, maybe? What was his name…?”

“A mage who had the power of waves and was assassinated a few years ago…”

They started piecing together what each of them knew, slowly forming a complete picture.

Was this the power of collective intelligence?

But the one who placed the final piece of the puzzle wasn’t anyone else…

“Charybdis.”

It was Yuna.

“Charybdis Saloth.”

At first, I didn’t even know who had spoken.

But the tone of that voice was so chilling that I instinctively looked around… and that’s when I realized it was her.

Yuna had an expression on her face that I had never seen before.

There was no need for an explanation.

“…Damn.”

I just stepped on a landmine.

No wonder I didn’t want to come to the training grounds.

***

I brought Yuna to the workshop for now, since she clearly wasn’t acting like herself.

It was the first time I’d ever seen her unable to control her expression.

“Huh? Johan?”

“Professor, would you step outside for a moment? We have something important to discuss.”

“What? Why would you have an important conversation here? This is my space!”

“Please act like an adult.”

I half-forcibly kicked out Professor Georg who had been lying on the sofa in the corner of the workshop, then had Yuna sit on a nearby chair.

“What do you want to do?”

From what I’d heard so far, Charybdis Saloth was someone Yuna had assassinated.

And chances were that assassination had been an act of revenge.

I didn’t know exactly what that revenge meant to her, but judging by how despondent she looked now, maybe some things were better left buried in the past.

“Yuna, what do you want to do?”

“…Yeah. What should I do?”

Yuna looked uncharacteristically downcast. That expression carried a quiet sadness.

“Funny timing, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“The moment I thought I wanted to stay here, my past came back to haunt me.”

“…That’s not your fault, is it?”

“You think so?”

Maybe I hadn’t noticed because we spent so much time together, but Yuna had probably lived a life constantly on the move, without a place to settle.

By some twist of fate, she ended up being defended by me, acknowledged by Olga Hermod, and became a student of Cradle.

A single, clear footprint etched into an otherwise uncertain life.

I had seen her quietly pull out her student ID from time to time, holding it close like it meant something.

It probably meant a lot to her.

“Maybe it’s just karma coming back around.”

“He was probably someone who deserved to die. Still is, even now. You took out a terrorist. No need to go on about karma or whatever.”

“Johan.”

Yuna blinked, then spoke with a tone of amused surprise.

“Are you… comforting me right now? You of all people?”

“…What do you guys even think of me?”

I can comfort someone, you know!

I mean, sure, maybe I’m selfish—but come on, isn’t that a bit harsh?

“Puhihi! I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”

“Not funny.”

“Yeah, yeah. Not funny, huh?”

Yuna grinned and started teasing me. That was more like her.

Whether she had genuinely sorted out her feelings that quickly or was just putting on a face that was fooling even me…. I couldn’t tell.

“Well, my revenge ended in the past. I guess I shouldn’t dwell on it.”

I still couldn’t tell.