novelraw Chapter 52 : Chapter 52
Chapter 52 : Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Apple had been feeling listless lately.
She crawled under her bed, burying herself in her blankets.
After gripping her sword day and night with hope, her hands bled again. Apple tightly wrapped them with bandages once more.
Whirr, whirr.
Sigrin placed a bowl of soup made by Luca under the bed.
“Come on, little one, crawl out and eat something. Luca made it.”
“…”
Since Sigrin went so far as to bring me food, I had to come out.
Apple crawled out from under the bed.
Then, with a tiny teaspoon, I slurped the soup.
“Apple, look at this. I got you a gift.”
“A… gift?”
Sigrin rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a plastic bag. Inside were more Temporary Core Generators.
She had shared contact information with Dken, the shopkeeper of “Experimental Magic Tools” at a corner of the night market, ensuring she could procure items even when the market wasn’t open.
“Cheer up. If you decided to see this through, you should go all the way.”
“…Sob, sob…”
I grabbed Sigrin’s sleeve.
“Is this… really worth it?”
“I don’t know. That’s for you to decide.”
“…Sniff.”
I looked at the Temporary Core Generators Sigrin had brought me.
I hadn’t expected her to care so much about my stubbornness.
Sometimes, I forgot she dragged me around just to use me conveniently.
It felt both incredibly hard and oddly comforting.
Sigrin sat on the floor, leaning against the bed.
“My siblings are all strong. They’re all exceptional core users.”
“…”
“But when I was young, my legs didn’t develop muscles, so I used a wheelchair. I prayed desperately for a miracle, for a core to form so I could walk and protect myself. But my wish didn’t come true.”
The unexpected revelations made my eyes widen.
I thought she was just born strong and extraordinary, but it seemed she had her own untold struggles.
I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth.
“…But didn’t it come true in the end?”
“…”
Sigrin looked down at her thin legs.
“Even though I couldn’t form a core where I wanted, I did end up able to walk.”
“…”
Suddenly, I felt a strong sense of unease.
Memories of Sigrin frequently getting nosebleeds and struggling during physical training flashed through my mind.
A chill ran down my spine.
I had never seen Sigrin properly fight.
I’d seen her skillfully use artifacts, but lifting massive weapons was only possible because of lightweight magic.
“…Young lady, where’s your real core?”
“It’s a mafia secret.”
I flinched at her words.
“W-Will I die if I hear it?”
“Probably.”
“Eek!”
I freaked out, and Sigrin burst into laughter.
“Cheer up. Even if you don’t get what you want, I hope you learn how to walk.”
Feeling like a baby, I blushed and nodded, tightly clutching the Temporary Core Generators Sigrin had given me.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Luca, how’s Apple doing lately?”
“Same as always. Still can’t get the hang of it.”
Despite Sigrin bringing more Temporary Core Generators multiple times, Apple was still stuck in place.
“More importantly, Princess, I need to talk to you.”
“Yes?”
“Bilha, you come sit too.”
Luca placed a cookie on the table, and Bilha obediently sat down.
Luca, Sigrin, and Bilha gathered around the meeting table on the first floor of the Lemaos Library.
Apple wasn’t called. Her condition was bad enough, and it was obvious she’d feel even worse.
“For the next night market, we need to prepare. We didn’t wrap things up cleanly last time, so there’s a high chance they’ll retaliate.”
Arghhh! No way!
“I was just about to bring that up. Thanks for starting the conversation.”
Sigrin spoke calmly, her expression composed.
The storm was coming.
Since the kidnapping incident wasn’t properly resolved, preparing for the fallout was necessary.
“What do you think they’ll do, Luca?”
“They’ll probably try to sabotage our business while avoiding their boss’s attention. So, I’m thinking of informing their boss about this.”
“I don’t recommend it.”
“Tell me the mafia’s perspective.”
“Punishing the underlings is one thing, but they’ll likely try to take over the terms those underlings proposed. Our activities have a lot of potential, and that’ll reach their ears.”
“…Tch. Honestly, I figured it’d turn out like that.”
Ugh, what do I do? I was too good, and now it’s a bigger problem. I should’ve just offered mediocre goods.
Sigrin sighed heavily.
“Then there’s only one option.”
Luca’s eyes gleamed as he sank into thought.
“Let’s take down the Waker-Bon Family entirely. Actually, I’ve been gathering info with Kiriki because I can’t stand them.”
Gahhh! No way!
Sigrin screamed inwardly but maintained her calm facade.
“…”
Pretending to ponder deeply, Sigrin, now steeped in despair, looked at Luca and Bilha.
“Alright. Let’s make a plan.”
Let’s just think of this as an extension of club activities.
✦ ✦ ✦
During Niche Core Studies class, Sigrin sighed heavily while preparing for the lesson.
After discussions with Luca and Bilha, they settled on a guerrilla strategy.
To succeed in battle, they needed to know the Waker-Bon Family’s headquarters location, their relationships with surrounding forces, and the weapons and strength they possessed.
To think I’d work this hard on something that doesn’t even count toward my grades.
Still, hearing about Apple’s kidnapping and Luca getting beaten up in the past made her blood boil, and at some point, she became serious about the fight.
Designing battles wasn’t hard since she’d done it many times back home.
But creating a battle plan with limited resources gave her a throbbing headache.
And for some reason, it feels like I’ll have to join the fight myself.
Back then, I only gave orders from behind, but with so few people, I’d have to take on a mercenary role too.
The problem was, I didn’t know how to fight. I was always just protected.
As I racked my brain, Angel entered the classroom.
“I graded your assignment. You wrote the conclusion brilliantly.”
Angel handed me the report I’d submitted on Curse Incantation Array.
“You were only supposed to research Curse Incantation Array, but you included solutions too. Well done.”
“Yes…”
Angel looked at me, full of worry and concern, and opened a book.
“You’ve been busy lately, and you look troubled.”
Angel spoke cautiously.
Truthfully, he wanted to catch up on everything he’d missed since my abilities were growing at a frightening pace. But he held back.
“It’s just… I’ve got bad blood with the Waker-Bon Family.”
“Bad blood?”
I couldn’t bring myself to say I was going to crush that family.
“Angel, Assistant Instructor, are there any Eye Core functions that can be used in combat?”
“Don’t do anything reckless.”
I made a glum face.
“If you want to test your abilities, don’t stir up a hornet’s nest. Fight other professors or students instead.”
If it were that easy to avoid and do what I wanted, I wouldn’t be this worried.
“Are you keeping up with your ability usage log? Please submit it.”
“Yes…”
I handed Angel a notebook.
The log detailed the skills used through my Eye Core, side effects, and their duration.
“You’ve been using your abilities a lot lately.”
“Yes.”
“The side effect duration for Eye of Ether is decreasing. That’s a great sign.”
“I guess…”
Angel looked at me, still wearing a worried expression.
That’s the face of someone who’s going to do whatever they want anyway.
Just knowing I got caught up in the intermediate hunting grounds gave him a headache, and he had a bad feeling more trouble was coming.
If he didn’t prepare me, I’d regret it.
“Alright, since your ability side effects have lessened, let’s develop new abilities.”
“New abilities?”
“Yes, ones that can be used in combat. They’ll be support abilities, though.”
“…!!”
My eyes lit up.