ALL NOVEL Chapter 130
Thud-thud – Flora’s soft hands tapped on my chest.
[Ronan.]
“Why?”
I reached into my clothes and pulled out that Flora.
Flora, who was being dragged out by the nape of her neck, had her mouth pulled down, giving me a stern look.
[This isn’t the world of 400 years ago.]
“So?”
[You don’t have to force yourself to think that way.]
“Force…? What the hell are you talking about?”
A small sigh escaped Flora’s adorable mouth.
[You know how much suffering was caused by the feelings you had back then. But you don’t need to feel that way now. Especially you, Ronan. You had the most feelings among your friends… So there’s no need to force yourself to be a bad person.]
“Stop talking nonsense.”
I smacked Flora on the head and set her down on the ground.
[Ouch! I was saying something nice! Why hit?!]
“Now, go away.”
[No! I’m going to keep talking before I leave.]
“Today’s not a day for that, so just go while I’m being nice.”
[What if I don’t say it nicely?]
Flora, looking up at me from the ground, fluttered and landed on my shoulder.
[Are you going to hit me again?]
“I’m going to pull your neck out.”
[Hick!]
Did she just recall some memories from my grave? She clenched her head and gave me a glare, but her arms were too short to fully grasp it.
Seeing that pathetic sight made me suppress a laugh.
“I just said that for show; I don’t really plan to kill Ophelia.”
[…Really?]
“Yeah. You should know by now. The world has changed a lot, and I have too.”
I couldn’t help but recall the three who kept chattering without a break.
In my past life, I wouldn’t have even had the chance to befriend them. On top of that, Stella might already be dead to me.
Why? There are countless reasons.
But I haven’t killed her.
I wanted to hear Stella’s story first, think it through, judge it, and ultimately chose to keep her close and trust her.
Yurasia and Pina.
If I hadn’t killed them, I would never have gotten close to them.
I would have been too busy worrying about my own growth to care about some little kids whose outcomes were uncertain.
I was a dog. More than cold, I was scum. I won’t say it was unavoidable.
It was just the result of choices I made in wanting to change myself.
Whether the enemy was a companion, a mentor, or anyone else, I killed without hesitation.
I lived calculatingly, excluding unnecessary emotions.
I didn’t trust humans and didn’t accept goodwill as goodwill.
And yet, now, I’m trying to help everyone grow.
Why? Maybe, just maybe, what I’m doing now is my true nature, as Flora said.
Or maybe… I might be tired.
Whatever it is, I’ve changed.
Whether that change will be beneficial or detrimental… Well, who knows.
Only time will tell.
[Hmm… That’s true. But right now, Ronan, it’s not… well.]
“If you’re going to speak, finish what you have to say. If not, don’t start. Why are you cutting off in the middle? Want to die?”
[Your mouth is still as filthy! Ronan! Don’t say it like that with that face?! Your face is precious!]
“I know I’m pretty. And I know my mouth is filthy too. And do you know what else I know?”
Flora, who had been poking my cheek, finally stopped.
I grabbed her little round head.
“I know exactly how to torment you.”
[Aaaaaaaaah! My head! You’re grabbing my head again! Am I going back?! Huh?! Am I going back to the Spirit Realm?!]
“Why didn’t you leave when I told you? And if you run away like this, will I never see you again? If that’s the case, then try going.”
[Ex… eek! So mean! Such a terrible personality!]
“I know. And I’m even violent about it.”
I slowly massaged the head of Flora, which I was pinching between my thumb and index finger. The more I did, the louder her screams became, and her soft body trembled shiver-shiver.
[I’ll talk! I will! I really will be pulled out!! I’ll die!!]
“Talk.”
[You have to let me go to say it! Aaaaah!]
Giggle-giggle – I finally released Flora’s head.
Flora sighed heavily and glared at me, fluffing her ruffled fur before hurriedly climbing back onto my head.
[Ronan, you’re going to make me go bald.]
“It doesn’t matter; you’re a spirit anyway. Even if I rip your neck out, it’s not like it won’t grow back, so stop being dramatic.”
[You really don’t know how to back down, do you?]
Oh man, Flora sighed again, then cleared her throat.
[I’m only going to say this once, so listen well.]
“What’s so important that you have to say—”
[The Ronan from the past was truly a horrible male, but the Ronan now is a heavenly female!]
“…What… What?! What do you mean? Heavenly… female?”
[Ronan, right now you are a perfect female!]
Bam! Cherry blossom-colored mana burst forth. A deity. Even demons couldn’t react quickly enough. But—
[You won’t catch me! Fool! Female Ronan!]
Flora’s form couldn’t be grasped.
Like sunlight coming through the window, Flora floated away from my head.
[Look at you! Sitting on a chair with your legs neatly crossed! You’re even wearing a cute apron! Your hair looks like something a bride would wear for a wedding?! And what did you say earlier? You were glad that I called you a female? That alone means you’ve accepted being a woman!]
I crossed my legs. Why? Because I was afraid my underwear would show since I was wearing a skirt. It’s one thing if it’s someone I know, but it’s uncomfortable to show it to strangers.
But why am I crossing my legs even though I’m alone?
Apron. I put it on to wipe things spilled by Stella.
Pink bunny pattern. Yurasia picked it. Honestly, there wasn’t much choice. This was the only size that fit me. I forgot to take it off.
Hair? I asked Yurasia to tie it because it was sweaty and messy. I didn’t look in the mirror, so I didn’t know how it turned out. But what’s this about a bride’s hair?
And Flora said it was good that I’m a female?
That’s… that’s…
“Shit…”
I don’t know. I don’t know, but…
Looking down at my body, even reflecting on my actions…
…Yeah, it’s genuinely… a look that typical girls might have.
“You little… dog! Squirrel brat! Never think of coming out into the world again.”
[Whoa! Ronan, aren’t you going to burst a blood vessel with that face? You look as red as a tomato!]
Blood flowed from my clenched fist filled with horrid rage. Seeing that, Flora let out a weak light to heal my wounds, giggling happily.
[But I like Ronan now better. You always had such a terrible expression back then. No, you all did. You all desperately wanted to be human and clung to humanity, yet ended up embracing being a monster.]
“…Shut up.”
[So… I’m glad to see Ronan now. Hehe.]
Up until now, Flora’s voice, which had been chirpy and quite annoying, suddenly turned deep.
[Your endings, which were cruel, desperate, and horrifying paths of heroes, I hope you find happiness more than anyone else.]
With a voice brimming with the weight of the 400 years, Flora spoke. Just after that, she vanished.
“Why do things suddenly get heavy? Tsk.”
I plopped down on a chair, pressing my thoroughly heated cheeks. And as I watched the faint traces of Flora’s light, I made a vow.
Next time, I will definitely obliterate her.
“Female? A f-f-f-female?”
I downed the heavenly elixir in one swig.
“Next time, I’ll have to chop off an arm.”
Four hours later, the potion’s absorption was complete.
I gave the kids two kinds of potions, but I consumed a total of three.
The heavenly elixir.
The blood enhancement potion I gave to my mother.
And then, the transcendent essence.
Even if the kids couldn’t handle it, I could, so I drank it. I could take more, but for now, I’m satisfied with this much.
“Whew…”
It’s definitely different.
I’ve tried all sorts of potions in Eustetia Duchy, but the transcendent essence I just drank is several times better than the best potions in the Empire.
And the blood enhancement potion is at least double as effective.
I raise the total quantity and quality of mana with the heavenly elixir.
I boost my physical abilities with the blood enhancement potion.
And I sharpen my senses even more with the transcendent essence.
“It feels like I’m cheating, this…”
In my past life, I worked my bones to the ground to get stronger, and after overturning a demon capital, I earned the potions… but now I get them just by disposing of some lousy dark mage. It feels weird.
“Kids these days call this kind of thing a freebie, right? Not bad. No, actually, it’s great.”
I could understand a bit why Luna dreamed of hitting the jackpot.
Giggle-giggle – I laughed as I tossed aside my sweat-soaked clothes and stood in the middle of the training grounds.
It was time to retrace my battle with Samaela.
Normally, I would do this just in my head.
That would already be more than effective.
But this time, I would move my body.
I had taken potions, my period was over, and all the residual effects from Purgatory had completely disappeared.
I’m feeling great.
It’s 2 PM. Good. I won’t step out of the training grounds until bedtime today.
I also stocked a lunchbox in the fridge for occasions like this.
Replaying the battle.
Filling in the gaps.
Using the technique I first tried back then. I planned to demolish that black iron scarecrow standing stupidly over there.
That’s my goal for today.
Crack – snap – I burst forth with mana as I twisted my neck left and right.
*
Shatter!
“Whoa…”
Rumble-rumble—!
Finally, the scarecrow came tumbling down.
Pieces of shattered black iron scattered across the training grounds. I could think about when I would clean it up, but such thoughts didn’t even cross my mind.
The feeling of satisfaction filled my heart, shoving those thoughts aside.
How long did it take? Seven hours.
When excluding the time I used solely for the technique, it was three hours.
That’s twice as fast as I thought.
Oh my god.
“…Am I too much of a genius?”
Blood flowed from my battered knuckles and torn muscles as I poured potions over myself and collapsed on the ground.
And I savored the last sensation of that technique in my hand.
It was much cleaner than when I first attempted it on Samaela, or rather, it was almost an insult to compare it to that first strike.
But it’s difficult. Extremely difficult.
If I even waver just a little, the power won’t come through.
It doesn’t get completely lost, but in that case, I might as well just hit with my elbow instead.
“Hmm…”
Arisa used this technique like it was nothing.
At the time, I thought, hmmm, is that a special technique? But now that I try to use it, it feels like something beyond that.
It’s said that mastering martial arts is not just difficult, but surviving is hard enough, yet… for some reason, I can feel it beyond mere understanding.
No, what if my punches hurt more than those I’m hitting?
Sure, wrapping it in strong magic would make it less painful, but what if I couldn’t do that?
I’ve thought about this for a long time, but martial artists really do have a lot of structural problems.
Just look at Samaela’s Eight-Headed Serpent.
I hit that Eight-Headed Serpent as hard as I could. And yet, there wasn’t even a scratch on it.
Instead, it was my fist that was utterly wrecked.
“…It’s so weird. Really weird. Why insist on using just my fists when I have perfectly fine weapons? It must be a lack of intelligence.”
Still feeling the tingling of my right hand and the soreness in my arm, I got up.
I might have broken the scarecrow, but it wasn’t perfect.
I need to get accustomed to it in various stances and situations.
But before that…
Food. Let’s eat first.
Today, I need to eat with my left hand in the heavenly style, so something I can only eat with a spoon or fork… um,
Rose pasta.
Sara had nagged me to be careful swirling the pasta with a fork so it wouldn’t splatter sauce everywhere, but I didn’t care.
I’d rather just dive in and eat.
I hummed a song I heard from the system long ago and pulled out the pasta. I threw it in the microwave, setting a timer for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, I wiped the sweat off every corner of my body.
Just as I tossed the soaked towel over the chair, ding! The microwave beeped.
Knock knock – Someone knocked on the training ground door.
Who could it be at this hour?
The only person it could be… is Yurasia, I suppose?
“Yurasia?”
“It’s Flame Sovereign.”
“…Huh?”
“I’ve come to hear stories you haven’t shared before. Please, will you open the door for me?”
The Flame Sovereign had come to the Academy.