NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13
In the Hwanseangaka, ‘Liris Larochelle’ is undoubtedly a villain.
Up until the middle of the chapter, she spares no effort in corrupting various bystanders.
But, like in any typical shonen manga, today’s villain becomes tomorrow’s ally.
Eventually, she falls for Edwin’s embrace and kindness, becoming a member of his harem.
Until then, she was feeding him sweet potatoes and betraying him, while Edwin keeps trusting her…
She’s quite a character who leaves readers split, but nonetheless, she becomes a crucial force in the latter part of the story, making her an unmissable card.
Suddenly encountering her here is unexpected…
But honestly, there’s no need to be afraid.
On the surface, she and I are allies.
Liris likely thinks I’ve been consumed by the pendant, that a demon’s mark is engraved on my body.
Or perhaps she questions whether I haven’t actually become a demon yet.
But she doesn’t know I can see the future.
If she really intends to use me as a test subject for demon transformation, she won’t harm me for the time being.
“I’m tired, so go away.”
I respond curtly and start to leave, but she steps closer and grabs my hand with both of hers.
“…?”
“I’ve been worried about you ever since you left the student council…”
“But you’re still here for me, right? Always believing in me?”
Then she leans in and whispers in my ear.
“Is it still… not enough…?”
“You don’t have to hold back…”
“You want revenge, don’t you?”
Her tone sounds like she’s coaxing me into the darkness right now.
Her brainwashing echoes in my mind, giving me an odd sense of deja vu.
“Phew…”
Man, she’s too much.
Thinking about it, I’m annoyed about the entrance fee I paid, and right now, I’m already tired,
And with this bothersome person buzzing around me like a mosquito, I’m starting to get angry.
Since it’s a good day, I wanted to let it slide, but I guess that’s not going to happen.
–Pah!
I roughly shake Liris’s hand off.
“Hey, stop talking nonsense and leave if you can’t take responsibility.”
“…?”
For a moment, she looks slightly taken aback by my unexpected reaction.
“Do you realize you ruined my life?”
At this point, dignity is in ruins, so the best option is to just become a madman.
—
“…What did you just say, junior…?”
Liris judged that Lev Denec was a twisted character.
She ranked his personal abilities lower than the fact that she saw a temporary overlap of interests in her goals.
He was, ultimately, a pawn to be used and discarded by Liris.
—
Lev Denec was indeed a notorious troublemaker, and while she already knew that,
Just a while ago, he was in such a low position that he was begging while holding onto a skirt.
If Liris commanded him to die, he might actually die.
‘It’s not cute when a dog bites its owner…’
For now, Liris gathered her wits and attempted to converse.
“Junior, why are you so curt today? I clearly said I don’t like rude kids…”
“Rude? You should learn some manners! Didn’t you boast that you’d help Edwin win? Huh?”
He started to breathe heavily and began to rage.
“But when will you help me awaken? Do you think I spent all that entrance fee to believe in some crap?”
–Crack.
He ripped off the pendant hanging around his neck and threw it at Liris’s chest.
“I’m the one getting kicked out of the dorms and facing expulsion!”
“Ha…”
Her hands trembled in disbelief.
What kind of rebellion is this?
A smirk almost escaped her lips.
The dorm or expulsion, it’s all his fault anyway, right?
Moreover, Lev Denec is weaker than expected.
So he needs a medium to undergo demon transformation.
“…”
But the pendant he threw had no spark of power or magic in it.
This means the mark properly transferred to Lev Denec.
Yet, for him to come here and argue about it, something must have gone wrong.
‘This hybrid junior…’
Behaving like a riled-up dog, his tantrum was more irrational than Liris had anticipated.
What to do.
Should I give him a sharp lesson to etch his place into his mind or calm him down instead?
Liris put the pendant back around his neck and struggled to move her mouth.
“J-Junior? Let’s just wait a little longer? We promised to do that…”
“Forget it, damn it! I’m not doing this. If you keep coming at me like this, I’ll expose you too.”
“Expose…?”
“Yeah, you came here to steal supplies and launder money, didn’t you? Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
“……”
“You asked me why I’m here? Want me to tell you? Because I didn’t want to die alone. I figured I’d at least get something out of it.”
He started laughing like a maniac.
Liris couldn’t quite guess what kind of expression she was currently wearing.
“Why do you look like that? Want me to ask Gut about it?”
Gut is the real name of the fence.
Knowing that meant their relationship wasn’t just simple.
‘When… when did he find out?’
“Why are you so surprised? You’re the one who got me elected to the student council, right?”
He was barely even a student council member when he joined.
He shouldn’t have had the authority to check the ledgers.
–Bang!
“Ugh!”
In that moment, Lev slammed Liris against the wall forcefully.
“I have nothing to lose now. Right before my downfall, and next week, I’ll be kicked out of the dorms and forced to sleep on the street, you know?”
His eyes were completely insane, and with the rhythm of his words, he began to poke her temples.
“Did you know that messing with a guy with nothing means it’s your end? Let’s expose all the corruption together if we’re both getting expelled!”
“Junior… that’s…”
It was a tremendous humiliation.
She had to force down the surging stress, nearly losing her rationality, to speak out.
“…Okay, calm down, junior… just listen to me for a moment…”
Finally, Lev’s hands paused.
Even if he learned the secret, it wouldn’t change anything.
Liris judged that what she needed right now was just a little time.
After all, merging with a rag means going by his words.
As long as the mark is properly etched, she can make him transform at her convenience.
And the dead don’t speak.
As much as she wanted to kill him right now, she could hold off for a bit.
Liris brainwashed herself.
He seemed quite worn out.
In this state, he probably wouldn’t be effective enough.
She should have been more careful.
Liris smiled as elegantly as she could.
Then she caressed his cheeks and jawline.
“I’m sorry, junior… you’ve had it tough…”
After briefly restraining Lev, Liris took out two 1000 gem coins from her pocket.
She gently placed them in his hand.
“Junior, you look so exhausted. Let’s go rest nearby with this money, okay?”
Pigs know to crawl when sorted and full.
“If I do this, I’ll…”
“You, what are you doing?”
“Er…?”
“You should spit everything if you’re gonna spit.”
—
[Current Gems: 15221]
Even crazy acting can’t be done by just anyone.
I’m not the squad leader, and I wanted to live quietly…
“Looks like I’ve managed to recover somewhat.”
I haven’t reached the basic first-year funds yet, but I’ve recovered a fair amount.
Honestly, I already suspected that the student council funds with Liris wouldn’t be clean.
The flow and distribution of funds there are suspiciously bloated. Also, having beastmen from outside the academy trading in gems implies someone exchanges them for external money.
They probably can’t easily get scholarships, so they might turn gems into money for themselves.
Anyway, I’ve made some guesses, and it turns out I was right.
“Not bad.”
The concerns I had about the supporting role traits didn’t obstruct me either.
It seems like no one really cares as long as I don’t team kill major characters or kill a Great Demon against the story’s progression.
My pockets are getting fuller, and all that’s left is to raise my stats by at least 0.1 by the weekend.
Before chapter 1 starts, I just need to avoid flunking or getting expelled.
—
Around the same time, in Cheong-gwan temporary dormitory, Aria Bluebell’s room.
“…”
To have a more comfortable sleep, she added jasmine bath liquid to wash up,
brushed her hair carefully to prevent tangling before lying down on the bed, only to find it hard to fall asleep.
It’s not just because of Monday’s class assignment evaluation, but also because a certain person keeps coming to mind.
Lev Denec.
‘If I’m not mistaken…’
He might be related to the demon who took away her family.
However, as another day passed, her curiosity only deepened about him.
-Why… the Marksman…?
-Huh? That guy? He must be out of his mind. I’ve decided to ignore him. Ria, don’t get interested in that guy. He won’t be helpful.
Melissa seems determined to ignore him completely.
In fact, that might be the right mindset.
Given the current situation, it’s unlikely any class will take him unless he shows a remarkable performance in the exam.
He will follow the path of other talentless students and face expulsion.
But if he does get expelled, a pointless concern crosses her mind: will she ever get to meet the demon who is the object of her vengeance?
Yesterday, during a conversation with Edwin, who had just regained consciousness,
-Aria, did I fight Lev Denec yesterday…?
-Yes.
-That… did anything happen to him while I was fighting?
-What do you mean…?
-No, forget it.
Edwin fainted right afterward and seemed confused about it.
So, there’s no evidence.
Actually, after positioning is over today, she thought about calmly asking Lev Denec,
but that seemed too hasty a move.
‘I need evidence…’
If he truly has a connection to demons or is part of the demon race, maybe he’ll carelessly reveal his tail again?
-Slur…
With her increasing thoughts, Aria got up from the bed.
She quietly picked up a piece of paper from the desk.
—————————————————
Party Application Form
Melissa de Prominence
Aria Bluebell
.
.
.
We agreed to take the exam together with the above students.
—————————————————
“…”
Lev Denec.
A person it wouldn’t be good to be entangled with.
A classic case of strong outside and weak inside.
It’s hard to believe he has noble blood given his demeanor, and he even threatened her to go out with him.
Probably, no one wants to party with him.
“But…”
If I could find even a small clue from him…
“It seems that’s the only way…”
Moonlight filtered through the cold light in Aria’s eyes as she faced the window.