Weekend (1)

Elise Petras schedule is busy even on Saturdays.

Intensive supplementary training at the Selenacio academy, private tutoring on the magic body, magic spells, and Latinel, and even on-site lessons to prepare for future mage courses.

She wakes up at 4 a.m. and works until 10 p.m., a grueling 18-hour day, before returning late to her villa.

Elise! We thought you werent coming~ Youre the main character here.

Oh~ Selenacios top student!

Hey, youre getting prettier by the day

The party was in full swing.

Music blared from the speakers, lights flashed, and the parking lot was filled with luxury cars.

Not only the seniors from Endex, but also alumni who had already entered prestigious universities had gathered for this senior party.

Elise. I heard you got perfect scores on all your assignments?

The College Board is making it tough this year. There are even rumors that a few people might die. Itll probably work out in your favor though.

Is that so?

Elise responded to them with appropriate warmth. She wore a faint smile, but also radiated a coldness that said, dont bother me too much.

She greeted everyone briefly and then headed up to the second-floor balcony.

KAin and Layla were already there.

Ah, youre here, Elise? Shit, my grades werent adjusted.

Kain spoke, clutching a whiskey bottle.

Some bastard must have stolen my answers and used them. I was lucky to make up for it in the mine, but it was a close call.

Elise nodded and sat down in a chair. She closed her eyes slightly, letting the cool breeze soothe her tired body.

Oh!

Suddenly, Layla shouted. Elise was startled.

They dont even give me time to rest.

The number has dropped to 90!

It seemed that the number of students who have been dropped from the College Board had been announced.

Although its only the University Association that knows how many points each student has, the total number of students is announced in advance by the school.

Ah~ finally. That bastard Shion failed twice in a row, right?

Kain stretched out.

I hated seeing that bastards face. It feels like a thorn has been removed.

He then gulped down his whiskey. Sometimes, Kain says what Elise wants to say.

Its a natural process.

However, Elise didnt want to feel anything for Shion Ascal.

Useless talent should be eliminated. It was overconfidence in the first place for such a person to challenge the College Board.

Her disdain was as natural as breathing, and the news of his disappearance made her feel much better.

But Im going to miss Shion

When Layla puffed up her cheeks, Kain snorted.

Hey. You were the one who hated him the most. You even said youd cut off his fingers.

He was ugly back then. He had a disgusting scar on his bald head.

Youre crazy about looks. Isnt he still bald?

Just as Kain was muttering in disbelief,

Elises phone rang with a classical ringtone.

The liquid crystal displayed a name that was quite surprising.

[Soliette Arkne]

Why would Soliette

Wow! Soliette?!

Layla was making a fuss. Kain showed interest as well.

Isnt she coming to the party? I sent her a direct message. She left me on read though.

Shush.

Elise put her finger to her lips. Kain shut up immediately, and Layla mimed zipping her mouth shut.

She pressed the accept button on the screen.

Hello.

Hey. This is Soliette.

Yeah. I know. Whats up?

Soliette was the one to call first. It was quite refreshing, being the first time since that incident.

I wonder if we still have that much of a connection left.

But Soliette didnt say anything. She seems to want to ask something but kept hesitating.

If you have something to say, say it.

Um Thats the thing.

Ask. Its okay.

Elise chuckled and looked at her nails. They were nicely trimmed, but they were broken because of the mine.

I need to take care of them right away.

Do you know about Shion Ascal?

?

Soliette spat out an unexpected question.

The highest-grade apartment in Edsilla, Presium. A penthouse of 150 pyeong (about 496 square meters), equipped with a magic training room, a physical training room, and an armory.

Soliette was alone there.

No servants, no cleaners, no chefs, no one was allowed in.

She doesnt allow anyone in her personal space.

Because its bothersome if shes not alone. Because she doesnt want to care about others, not even a little bit.

Above all, because they interfere with her work.

Didnt I tell you last time? Hes a lunatic.

Elises voice flowed from the smartphone.

Soliette nodded.

I see.

Right. Ill add one more line to that. Hes a seriously twisted, self-obsessed lunatic.

For some reason, Else seems to hate Shion a lot.

I see.

Dont worry about it. Hes already confirmed to be disqualified with two failures-

-Click.

She hung up the phone. Then she looked around her room.

In her room, which is as big as an average house, there were many pictures. There were many scrapped articles.

They were all hanging on the wall. The whole room was filled with them.

All of them were Soliettes efforts to uncover some truth.

There are too many questions in this case, with too many moments and too many people involved.

The time, pain, and death of that day are nailed into her heart like a stake.

Soliette looked up at the wall.

[Where is he ? ? ?]

A sentence written in red pen.

She had friends too. Precious people she had spent over 12 years with.

They all died.

No, they were murdered.

Soliette looked at a corner of the wall. A newspaper headline was attached there.

[Unprecedented serial killer Knightmare.]

Knightmare.

A pun replacing Night with Knight.

A nickname referring to the monster who sequentially murdered thirty knights or knight aspirants.

[Knightmare serial killer finally apprehended!]

[A great achievement of the joint investigation by the Knight Order and the Police Force!]

However, the news articles that followed were decidedly bright and cheerful. Exclamation marks were liberally sprinkled throughout the sentences, and the people in the photos were all smiles.

Thump-

Soliette, who was staring at it, clenched her fist. She gritted her teeth.

[Serial killer Knightmare commits suicide in prison.]

The case ended with a suicide.

However, Soliette had met him before he committed suicide. She had seen the man the media claimed to be the Knightmare.

When she looked into his eyes, Soliette instinctively knew. Her intuition told her.

He was not the real culprit.

He was a phantom created by the media, a scapegoat put forth by the real culprit.

[Case closed due to suicide. Will the victims family feel sadden or relieved?]

Therefore, there was no need to feel sadden or relieved.

Because she was still on the hunt. For him, who must be somewhere out there, breathing, blending in as an ordinary human

But these days, the investigation was not making any progress. She was acutely aware of her limitations.

She didnt even hope for help from her family.

She had been treated like a mental patient suffering from PTSD, no matter how many times she explained.

What she needed was simply a person.

A person who could be used and discarded as needed, for a fair price.

A human tool.

Rustle

Soliette pulled a flyer out of her pocket.

[Service Offered]

She looked at it and replayed the days events. About someone who had been talking about the Knightmare.

She quietly reviewed it. About his words, which had crossed the line long ago.

Your family is shit.

A dull, contemptuous voice.

Pretending to know everything about her, when he knew nothing.

I do know, actually. Why do you keep trying to distance yourself from the family?

Just that was enough to make her grit her teeth and twist her insides.

That damned bastard, he dared to touch her raw nerve.

Its because of the Knightmare, isnt it?

Knightmare.

That monster is already her nightmare.

Not a single day has passed without dreaming of that day.

The moment she falls asleep, she is absorbed into the swamp of memories. Shattered blades, torn arms, gouged out eyes. Their disassembled-gruesome pieces lying in the morgue.

She cant move forward from that moment, nor can she step back.

Thats the end of the dream.

When she wakes up from the nightmare, everything is empty and quiet. Its unclear whether shes alive or dead.

In a space where she is alone, she barely confirms life by piecing together the shattered reality

Fuck.

Soliette pressed hard on her forehead. Dizziness shook her body. But she shouldnt be swayed by such a guy.

Deep breath.

With her eyes closed, she regulated her breath. After calming down slowly, she opened her eyes again.

She looked at the screen of her laptop.

[Swordsmanship Recording: Shion Ascal]

A recording of Shion Ascals swordsmanship in class. Soliettes assignment report, which she had been watching and analyzing for an hour.

The one-line review: Mediocre.

So mediocre that its inferior.

Knights call this kind of swordsmanship low-grade. A patchwork of swordsmanship picked up here and there, hastily put together, often used by low-grade knights.

His skill level seemed high, but his overall swordsmanship was nothing to write home about. Even that skill level was achieved through easy techniques, so there was no need for praise.

Half a point out of five.

Bang!

Having finished the report, Soliette closed her laptop irritably.

Tap-tap-tap-tap

The temporary residence in the old mansion, where a fireplace was burning. A lazy Sunday morning that felt like my body was slowly roasting.

Having returned from Sanperu, I lay in bed, looking at the Magic Core.

Its a ghosts magic core that I caught in Limto mine, and Im considering where to use it.

Hmm.

The byproducts of ghosts are usually used as catalysts or intermediates. Of course, like other magic cores, it can be made into accessories, but theres a superstition that using a ghosts magic core will bring a curse.

In fact, its appearance is somewhat eerie compared to other magic cores. Should I say it throbs as if its alive?

Ill take 3,000 Ren.

Of course, Im thinking of selling it. I need to start cancer treatment between April and May at the latest.

I opened the [Darkweb] app on my smartphone.

Dark Auction.

Dark Auction. An underground auction house operated on the Darkweb. My account level is still low, so Ill be ripped off with appraisal fees and commissions, but theres no other route for a minor like me.

[Please first take a picture of the item and upload it.]

As I was about to take a picture with one hand while holding the magic core in the other,

Huh?

Suddenly, my palm turned blue. The magic core on top of it melted away in white. An unexpected dissolution. The liquefied substance seeped through the incredibly short mana circuit in my palm.

What the fuck!

I shook my hand in a hurry, but it was already too late. The transparent liquid quickly penetrated my skin.

.

I blankly looked at my palm. A faint blue light flowed through my skin before fading away.

What the hell. My money.

I muttered blankly.

Is this the effect of my Spectrum?

I hurriedly opened the Notepad.

[94 / 103]

Diary

Memory

Capacity history within the last 24 hours: -1

Wait.

I opened my eyes wide. I stared hard at a certain part of the Notepad.

For reference, that -1 is the result of acquisition. If you work hard and practice, the capacity steadily decreases.

The problem is not that -1.

Wasnt it a percentage?

The capacity has changed.

Before and after regression, it was 100, so I simply thought it was 100%. But now, it had increased by 3.

I stroked my chin.

3,000 Ren evaporated, but thanks to that, my capacity increased, and I learned that I could increase my capacity.

No But still, 3,000 Ren is too expensive.

It still felt like a loss.

Let me repeat, whether its a notepad, a magic core, capacity, or whatever, if I die, its all useless, right?