ALL NOVEL Chapter 116
Thud thud… The top of my head feels thump hard.
My heavy body feels suffocated, as if something is constricting me, and I’m uncomfortable. Plus, it’s hot, sticky, and humid…
“Blub… blub?”
“Hehe…”
My lips are blocked by something.
Soft, moist… and sticky.
What is this?
Blink blink. I lifted my heavy eyelids.
I see something soft and pale. In the middle, there’s a depression the size of a finger joint…
What is this? I gently poked the hands neatly arranged in front of my chest, spreading my fingers slightly.
“Hah?!”
…What the hell?!
The weirdness… my dazed state evaporated instantly.
My eyes still feel strained, but my vision is clear again.
With my clear vision, I looked straight ahead.
Stuck right in front of my face is… a belly.
A white, soft belly.
Whose belly could this be? There’s no need to think.
“…What the hell.”
I immediately pinched Stella’s side. She was so sweaty that I couldn’t even pinch her properly because she was so slick. Still, I gave it a good squeeze.
“Kyaaaaah! It hurts! It hurts a lot!!”
“What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you hugging me? Are you insane?!”
“Ugh… It feels like I’ve been stabbed with a knife…”
Stella, writhing in pain, glared at me with tears welling up in her eyes.
“Ugh… How can you act like this from the morning?”
“What’s wrong with you to sleep hugging me? Huh? You even slept fully exposed in your clothes. Are you sane?”
“W-Well, it’s… okay since we’re both women! And… and I’ve already seen you… naked…”
“Excuse me? So, are you saying you want to show me yours too? Quit babbling and get the hell out to your room.”
“I-I have nothing to hide anyways. We’re both women…”
“Shut it, you crazy girl. Seriously.”
With a thump, I pushed Stella away with my kick and stretched my body, sitting up.
There are saliva stains everywhere. I checked my mouth to see if it was mine, but it wasn’t.
“Damn… why are you drooling? I told you not to wet the bed. You, you idiot. Even if I tried to spit, I couldn’t spit that much. What’s going on? Huh?”
“It’s… not my fault.”
“Just wipe your drool and talk.”
“Pfft…!”
Stella wiped the drool off her chin, turning red in the face as she looked away.
“I-I may have drooled a bit.”
Tsk, I clicked my tongue and dragged myself out of bed.
As expected, my body still felt sluggish.
Like I had the flu, my skin stung, and my bones ached. Yet… it’s not bad. Compared to my previous life, this feels like a walk in the park.
Is this body with this meager performance actually better than my muscular one in my past life?
If that’s really the case… my pride is going to take a hit.
No… wait, should I be happy instead?
“Eliarnes.”
“Why.”
“Do you want to eat?”
“Are you going to treat me?”
“Yeah.”
I was taken aback by Stella’s confident reply and turned my head. She was smoothing her messy hair and folding the blanket down neatly.
“How do you even have money?”
“…I have money too. If it’s food, I’ll buy it. Just… leave this and get it on your way back.”
“Why drop it off? Just leave it here and give it to Mikel.”
“It’s… embarrassing. Anyway, are you eating?”
“Of course, I want breakfast. Bring it using my card. Don’t waste money unnecessarily.”
“Forget it. I’ll pay. And it’s lunch now.”
“…Lunch?”
I blinked and looked out the window.
Just like Stella said, the sun was high in the sky.
“Did you really sleep so well you lost track of time? I had a nightmare…”
“Well… it was okay.”
I slept really well. I was a bit annoyed when I woke up, but… it felt good to sleep deeply after such a long time.
What on earth made me sleep so well?
“Well, yeah. Hehe… I’m glad you slept well.”
Stella smiled brightly. The sunlight shining behind her still carried the scent of cherry blossoms.
*
Sunday was incredibly peaceful.
It couldn’t be any other way.
Unlike the Arant Museum incident, the only ones who knew about this were me, Stella, Pina, Muyeong, and Adelia.
Of course, I thought Adelia might come to visit, but surprisingly, there were no signs of it.
That person truly is one I can never figure out.
Anyway, I spent a peaceful weekend. Without moving a finger, I did everything, thanks to Stella who was voluntarily serving me.
But it wasn’t entirely great either.
Because of her constant ch chatter, I had no time to sort out my thoughts. Still… thanks to that, I could spend the day in a light mood.
And then came Monday.
As the Academy had predicted, the outdoor ban was lifted, and regular classes began again.
Pina, who had almost died a short while ago, and Stella, who heard the shocking truth, seemed to have a hard time adapting to such peace, but they had no choice but to attend the classes anyway.
Leona still hadn’t returned to the Academy.
I had a lot of questions, and I didn’t know when she’d come back.
And.
Paid Haberon.
That guy seems to have been declared simply missing. I wanted to ask Sedil about him, but I couldn’t just meet the Dean as I pleased, and I didn’t want to stir up unnecessary trouble.
What bothered me was the state of the students in his class. They didn’t seem well, and there was still an uneasy sensation lingering around.
Did Paid plant something in them?
If so, everything should have been resolved when he died, but why is there still that uneasy feeling?
I thought it might not have been resolved in the normal way, but I didn’t fully wipe out my caution.
I thought I should pass this on to Muyeong when he comes later.
Since the students who had contact with Paid were in this state, those who were trapped in the labyrinth must be having similar experiences.
Classes finished like that, and I postponed my training after school for my meeting with Muyeong.
I returned to my room, took a quick shower, and while I was watching Stella and Pina train hard in my personal training grounds…
The door to the personal training ground opened.
Is it Leona?
Feeling a bit pleased, I turned around.
“Long time no see, Ellie.”
“…Um, Mom?”
There stood my mother.
Strangely… with a huffy expression.
*
“…O-Oh, long time no see.”
My mother and I sat alone in the reception room, each enjoying a Mint Chocolate Latte.
“Yeah. It’s been a while, my daughter.”
“You look a bit… tired?”
“Hehe, do I look that way?”
“Uh-huh… yeah. Was it uncomfortable coming here?”
“It wasn’t uncomfortable at all.”
My mother shook her head and showed a gentle smile. Or was it not? I couldn’t tell.
She was definitely smiling… but it didn’t seem like a smile.
“Mom, did you… fight with Dad?”
“…Hmm.”
My mother’s expression darkened.
…Did they really fight? With Dad? Why?
Typically, either my words or my mother’s would make Dad weak, but… fighting?
“Ellie.”
Her voice is cold.
“…Yes?”
“How’s life at the Academy? Any problems?”
“…Um, well. No problems. Just… peaceful.”
“Peaceful?”
My mother smiled and suddenly slammed her cup down.
“…Mom?”
“Ellie.”
Then, leaning slightly forward towards me, Mother whispered softly while squinting her eyes, which are almost her trademark.
“Mom.”
“…Yes?”
“Mom.”
Blink blink.
I stared at my mother with a somewhat dazed expression.
Her half-open eyes remained the same, and her smile was still there.
But… it almost smelled like blood from somewhere.
“Call me ‘Mom.’”
“…Suddenly?”
“Ellie?”
“Hiccup.”
Suddenly hiccuping, I cautiously pulled my upper body back and turned my gaze away.
“Ellie.”
Snap—a sound came from somewhere that shouldn’t have been heard. The temperature in the reception room dropped sharply, and goosebumps ran down my arms.
“…Um, Mo… Mom.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Mo… hiccup, Mom.”
“Hehe.”
“…Mom.”
“Yeah. My dear daughter.”
“Mom…”
“Hehe, hehehe.”
It wasn’t until I said it several more times that my mother leaned back against the chair.
The cold temperature seemed to return, and the goosebumps that were on my arms settled down.
…Why is Mom behaving like that all of a sudden?
While my mother continued to smile at me for a while, she didn’t say a word until she finished her Mint Chocolate Latte in front of her.
As my Mint Chocolate Latte was nearing its end, my mother’s lips finally parted.
“Ellie. How’s life at the Academy?”
It was the same question. But… the tone was entirely different.
Could it be… did Muyeong tell her everything?
“Well… it’s peaceful as I said earlier—”
Hiccups.
My mother interrupted me.
“Once, Turius lied to me.”
The name had shifted from Ellie’s Dad to Turius.
The subject of the conversation changed.
But there was an atmosphere that seemed to say that she wouldn’t accept any questions or objections about it… so I nodded.
“Um… what kind of lie?”
“A very trivial lie.”
My mother smiled widely.
“It was a cold winter day. It was the day Mommy and Turius had promised to go on a date. But, Turius, you know what? He had been planning this date since a month beforehand!”
“O… no way?”
“Hehe. Yes, that’s right. Both you and I, women usually have such instincts, right? Turius thought he was hiding it well, but I already had my suspicions. That day, I suspected that Turius was going to propose to me… But considering the effort he put in, I pretended not to know.”
…Women’s instincts.
I’m a guy though. I clearly have… thoughts as a man.
I understand that kind of instinct very well.
It feels strange.
“But on the day of that date, Turius suddenly canceled, right? At that time, I waited for more than an hour for him. As I mentioned, that day was very cold, you know? It was a bit ironic for him to propose on such a day, but still cute, right? So, I dressed as prettily as I could. Naturally, it was freezing. But in the end, Turius never showed up.”
“…Why?”
“At that time, he said… there was a family emergency.”
My mother’s gentle eyes opened wide.
The red hue reflecting in them is terrifying.
“It was a lie.”
“…Uh-huh.”
“The truth from that day… I can’t tell Ellie yet, but I came to realize that was a lie.”
“And what happened then?”
“What do you think I did?”
“…I don’t know?”
“You’re still a minor, so I can’t tell you what I did.”
Hiccup.
A chilling silence hung in the air.
My mother still wore a bright smile on her face.
Only her mouth was smiling. Her eyes… weren’t happy.
“Ellie.”
“…Yes?”
“Mom really hates lies.”
After saying that, my mother rummaged through her clothes and suddenly pulled something out.
A pair of black leather gloves, one that looked familiar.
“…Huh?”
“The beloved daughter.”
Next, she pulled out a brooch.
A snow-white mask-shaped brooch.
“Um, uh…?”
“How’s life at the Academy?”
And finally.
What my mother pulled out last was…
A snow-white mask.
A mask without any shapes or patterns.
A symbol of Muyeong, a symbol of the nameless.
“Is it really peaceful?”
My mother smiled wide.
At that moment, the smell of blood filled the reception room.*