Ch. 32
“A miss! It’s dinner time.”
“Alright, I’ll be out soon.”
Dinner was a bit earlier than usual, but I was starving, so the coachman’s announcement was a welcome one.
The road to the next city was long and rough once again.
For someone like me, who had poor stamina, long journeys were pure suffering.
Of course, the physical training kids were different—they would often jump off the carriage to chat with the knights or take a walk to stretch their legs.
[Master, tonight’s meal is cream stew.]
[Really? That’s my favorite.]
Rai, who had already checked the menu, delivered the delightful news.
Since we had resupplied in the previous town not too long ago, dinner was more plentiful than usual.
After getting off the carriage, I trudged toward the food line.
There were two separate queues—one for the general studies students and one for the physical training students.
It wasn’t an official rule, but since both groups tended to avoid each other, they naturally formed separate lines.
No one had ordered it, yet even our meals were taken separately.
Naturally, I lined up with the general studies students.
“That’s her. That girl.”
“I heard she almost got killed by The Swarm.”
“Seriously? I always thought she was unlucky, but wow.”
I could hear the physical training students whispering in the other line.
They never got tired of this, did they?
Now that I thought about it, most of the kids who mocked me were from that group.
The general studies students neither insulted me nor approached me.
The fact that I didn’t fit in with my peers was something I had long since accepted.
Eventually, it was my turn. I received a bowl of thick stew, a piece of bread, and an apple before heading toward the carriages.
“Killer.”
A sharp voice stopped me in my tracks.
I instinctively turned my head toward the source.
This little rat…
I kept my expression neutral, but my lips twitched involuntarily.
A boy with purple hair was glaring at me.
His face practically screamed, Look at me! I’m so brave!
“You. I heard you killed someone.”
Technically, I didn’t.
But sure, let’s go with that, you little idiot.
“The adults told us everything.”
“And?”
“What do you mean, ‘and’?! Killing people is wrong! Don’t you even know that? They say the general studies kids are geniuses, but I guess not all of you are. You’re an idiot!”
And this brat was calling me an idiot?
He looked familiar—one of the kids who always badmouthed me.
Judging by the thin gauntlets on his hands, he was probably in the martial arts club.
And given how furious he looked, he was most likely a friend of Leo, the boy who got eliminated because of me.
Judging from his smug expression, he was expecting me to be devastated by his words.
Maybe even burst into tears and run away.
But I was just… annoyed.
It seemed like this kid didn’t realize just how nasty I could be.
“And who decided that killing people is always bad?”
“It’s common sense!”
“Huh. So you’re saying you’ll never kill anyone? No matter what happens?”
“Of course! I’m going to be a righteous person. Violence should be solved through dialogue!”
“Pfft.”
Did he seriously believe that?
In this world?
“What are you laughing at?!”
One thing I had learned from recent events was that this world was far more dangerous and brutal than the one I used to live in.
It was pure survival of the fittest.
Humans weren’t the strongest beings in existence.
And yet, they were vicious, violent, and primal.
Because of that chaos, stronger violence was needed to maintain order.
The way nobles could so easily execute commoners? That was nothing but a reign of terror.
To survive, you had to kill first.
I had been naive.
The academy was a safe little cage, a greenhouse.
But beyond its walls, danger lurked everywhere.
There was a reason nobles only socialized among their own.
“I just think your beliefs are wonderful. I should write a letter to The Swarm. They’d love to hear about someone willing to die without resisting.”
“What…?”
“They say Swarm really like noble kids.”
“You think that’ll scare me? You’re horrible! Just like a killer would be!”
Hey, kid, your legs are shaking.
“You know, those Swarm really hate nobles. It’s best to deal with them before they hatch—”
“Shut up! Shut up!”
I stepped closer.
“And did you know? They say those Swarm pickle noble children’s eyes in alcohol and drink them.”
“D-Don’t lie!”
Of course, I was making it up.
I just happened to know plenty of horror stories that would terrify kids.
That was just part of growing up in Korea.
“And they decorate their nests with severed heads.”
“Waaah! Teacher Dinel!”
I hadn’t even gotten to the really scary part, and he was already running away.
How disappointing.
“Geenie Crowell!”
He scampered off to snitch on me.
I snorted and bit into my bread.
I had lost my appetite after talking about severed heads.
I was eating alone in the carriage when—
[Master, someone’s—]
Before Rai could finish his warning, the carriage door swung open, and a girl barged inside.
She moved even faster than Rai’s intercom-like alerts.
“…Who are you?”
“Hi!”
“Wait, you can’t just walk into someone else’s—”
“Do you like sweets? It’s nothing special, but here’s a gift.”
The girl had bright pink hair and exuded confidence.
She held out a chocolate box with elegant lettering.
“…Make yourself at home, I guess.”
“Thanks!”
If she had given me something as simple as candy, I would’ve turned her down.
But chocolate in this world was a luxurious dessert, even for nobles.
I had only tasted it a few times myself.
And this wasn’t just a single piece—it was an entire box!
“Are you really giving me all of this?”
Chocolate was already rare due to its scarce ingredients, but its tendency to melt made it even harder to store and transport.
This world had no refrigerators or refrigerated transport, so of course, it was expensive.
“Yep! You can eat it all.”
Without hesitation, I unwrapped the box right then and there.
As I popped the small, beautifully stamped chocolates into my mouth one after another, I wondered if this was how Rai felt whenever he found a rare metal.
“I’m glad you like chocolate!”
“It’s not that I like it—I just don’t get to eat it often.”
The girl watching me with a satisfied smile looked familiar.
Now that I thought about it, I had seen her a few times in the alchemy club.
I didn’t know her well, but she might have been friends with Mia.
“Oh, I remember now. You’re in the alchemy club, right? Are you friends with Mia?”
“Not really, but I wanted to ask you something.”
“Huh? Since when were we on first-name terms?”
“My family makes this chocolate. Ever heard of Feiru? My full name is Iruze Feiru.”
“……Ask away. What do you want to know?”
Two things immediately clicked in my mind.
First, the Feiru family was ridiculously wealthy.
Second, Mia saw Iruze as her rival.
Mia often ranted about Iruze to me, so even if I hadn’t seen her face before, her name was burned into my memory.
“Hmm, I have a lot of questions. Is that okay?”
“I’ll listen until I finish this chocolate.”
“What if I give you a few more boxes in advance?”
“We’re best friends, so ask me anything, anytime.”
At least until I got sick of chocolate, we’d be great friends.
“I heard you met the swarm yourself! How was it? Did you really almost die? How did you survive?”
“That’s what you’re curious about?”
“And I also heard your snake isn’t just any snake… Is it a Diamond Serpent by any chance?”
“A what-now?”
The alchemy students were notoriously curious and obsessed with research.
Mia, for example, preferred experiments over socializing.
Iruze seemed like the same type.
Her eyes practically sparkled as she talked about Rai.
“I heard that snake is insanely tough. They say even swords can’t scratch it! And it understands human speech perfectly!”
“Well, Rai is pretty tough.”
“Rai? That’s its name?”
“Yeah. He should be around here somewhere… Wait, where did he go?”
I slowly savored another piece of chocolate while looking around for Rai.
Just a moment ago, he had been right beside me.
He must’ve gone hunting again.
Probably looking for more metal to eat.
“Seriously? He was right here?”
“Looks like he ran off already.”
“Aww, what a shame…”
“You… seem more interested in Rai than me.”
“Of course! Because I’m certain he’s a Diamond Serpent!”
I had just picked up some random snake corpse when I summoned him.
How was I supposed to know what kind of snake it was?
Besides, Rai wasn’t even a snake—he was a spirit.
“A Diamond Serpent?”
“You really don’t know? It’s a legendary snake!”
I must have looked too disinterested because Iruze immediately launched into an impassioned explanation.
This was bad.
Mia got the same look whenever she went on a research rant—and those lasted at least two hours.
“A Diamond Serpent only lives in places with Diamonds! The longer it lives, the tougher its scales become, and some are said to live for hundreds of years! At their peak, they’re nearly as hard as a dragon’s scales! Isn’t that amazing?”
“Huh…”
“And they’re super intelligent! Way smarter than dogs or monsters!”
“Now that you mention it, that does sound like Rai.”
“Right?! Diamond Serpent snakes are mythical creatures—you can’t even find preserved specimens! There’s a legend that Emperor Mithes’ helmet was made from a Diamond Serpent’s skin. They say it shimmered in rainbow colors and could be seen from miles away!”
Of course, a diamond helmet would shine.
I was busy stuffing my mouth with chocolate, hoping this conversation would end soon.
“But Rai is black, isn’t he? According to the books, a Diamond Serpent should be milky white… That’s why I tested it first. After all, research must be backed by experiments!”
Wait.
What did she just say?
“You tested it?”
“Yeah! The sword bounced right off! The blade even chipped!”
“…So you’re saying you stabbed Rai.”
“Uh-huh! But he was totally fine!”
[Gasp! I knew I recognized her! Master, please don’t look for me!]
Somewhere in the distance, Rai’s trembling voice rang out.
I stared at Iruze.
I think I had just let a very dangerous girl into my carriage.
Her rambling continued non-stop, lasting until the carriage finally departed.
