Chapter 144: Chapter 144 - Ignorance is a Bliss!

A strangely quiet atmosphere gradually settled throughout the small dorm room after Damon’s question, while the warm light from the mana lamp resting near the desk flickered softly against the walls and the distant sounds of Crownspire Academy slowly faded beneath the deepening night outside.

Meanwhile, Sahira herself paused completely after hearing the question.

The spoon within her hand slowed slightly before eventually stopping altogether.

For a brief moment, she simply looked toward Damon silently as though uncertain how exactly she was supposed to answer something like that.

Then slowly—

She lowered her head.

"...Y-young master bought me from the slave market..."

Her voice remained soft and hesitant while she lightly tightened her fingers around the edge of her clothes.

Meanwhile, Damon quietly observed her for several moments afterward before calmly asking another question.

"Didn’t you ever feel curious about what your life must have been like before that?"

This time—

Sahira did not answer immediately.

Instead, her eyes slowly drifted toward the window beside the bed where the dark night sky stretched silently beyond the academy buildings outside.

And although she tried hiding it—

Damon still noticed the faint struggle within her expression.

As though she were trying to suppress something before it fully surfaced.

Eventually—

A quiet answer finally escaped her lips.

"If I was sold to the slave market..." she whispered softly, "...then I can already imagine what sort of life I must have lived before that..."

Damon’s hand slowly paused above the table afterward.

Even the meal itself momentarily lost importance as he quietly looked toward her.

Meanwhile, Sahira herself continued staring outside the window while forcing a small smile that looked far more melancholic than calm.

The room gradually fell silent afterward.

Only the faint sound of wind moving outside the academy buildings occasionally disturbed the stillness surrounding them.

Then after several moments—

Damon quietly asked again.

"Then don’t you want to know whether you had family before?"

Sahira visibly flinched slightly after hearing that.

"...Family?"

"You should want to meet them too, right?"

For a brief moment afterward—

Something fragile surfaced across Sahira’s face.

Yet she still controlled herself carefully before speaking again.

"So what if I did...?"

Her voice remained soft.

Quiet.

"But there is nothing I can do about it anyway..."

She slowly lowered her gaze toward the untouched food before continuing.

"I don’t even know whether there really was someone waiting for me..."

A faint pause followed.

"...W-what if they were the ones who sold me there?"

Her fingers lightly tightened afterward.

"O-or maybe I was just some servant from another house and got sold away because I wasn’t useful enough..."

The mana lamp quietly flickered beside them.

"There are too many possibilities..."

Then softly—

Almost like she was trying convincing herself more than Damon—

"Wouldn’t it just be easier not to know at all?"

A small melancholic smile gradually appeared across her face afterward.

"What do they say again..."

Her eyes lowered quietly.

"...Ignorance is bliss."

Meanwhile, Damon himself remained completely silent afterward while looking toward her.

And then—

Sahira quietly continued.

"...And anyway..."

Her voice softened even further.

"...I still have young master, right?"

The moment those words left her mouth—

The small tear she had been desperately trying to hold back finally slipped free from her eye.

And before it could even fully fall—

Damon reached out instinctively and caught it lightly against his fingers.

Sahira immediately froze afterward.

Meanwhile, Damon himself quietly looked away immediately afterward before calmly speaking in his usual indifferent tone.

"...Something probably got into your eye."

Then after a brief pause—

"Just eat."

Sahira quietly nodded afterward without arguing further.

And soon—

The two simply continued eating together beneath the warm silence filling the small dorm room while the night outside gradually deepened further and further around Crownspire Academy.

Until eventually—

The lights dimmed.

The conversation faded.

And sometime later—

Both of them quietly fell asleep beneath the calmness of the night.

***

Morning sunlight gradually spread across the enormous grounds of Crownspire Academy while the elegant white-and-gold buildings reflected beautifully beneath the clear sky overhead, creating an atmosphere both lively and hurried as countless students moved through the interconnected pathways leading toward the central academic district.

Unlike the calmer mornings from before—

Today, the academy carried visible tension.

Groups of students hurried through the pathways while discussing something excitedly amongst themselves, their voices overlapping throughout the enormous campus beneath the cool morning wind.

"The breach really got cleared?"

"I heard there were heavy losses..."

"Someone said even the academy instructors personally entered it..."

"There are rumors some upper-year students died too..."

"And apparently Instructor Valerian himself went inside..."

The murmurs continuously spread everywhere.

Meanwhile, amidst the moving crowd—

Damon quietly walked forward wearing the familiar white-and-gold academy uniform once more, the elegant white blazer moving lightly beneath the wind while strands of his white hair shifted faintly across his forehead. Compared to the peaceful atmosphere he had experienced recently within the Valecrest Manor, the bustling academy environment already felt considerably noisier and more exhausting.

A small yawn escaped him afterward.

"...After sleeping on the bed in my bedroom for seven days," Damon muttered quietly to himself while adjusting the collar of his uniform slightly, "it really is difficult returning to the common dormitory beds of this academy..."

The thought itself only deepened his irritation slightly.

Meanwhile, his mind gradually shifted back toward the reason behind the unusual atmosphere surrounding the academy this morning.

We were specifically called to the auditorium before classes even started...

Damon’s golden eyes narrowed faintly.

It must be related to the breach within the Valmont Duchy’s territory.

The losses Duke Valecrest mentioned the previous night still lingered unpleasantly within his thoughts.

And considering the entire first year had been gathered—

Something serious had likely happened.

Meanwhile, the flow of students around him gradually intensified as countless first years headed toward the same direction together beneath the growing noise spreading throughout the academy grounds.

Eventually—

Damon entered the enormous first-year auditorium.

The massive hall stretched broadly beneath elegant white ceilings lined with golden mana lights while hundreds of students had already begun gathering throughout the seating area, countless conversations echoing loudly throughout the atmosphere.

"I heard the breach was different from normal ones..."

"No, apparently there were demonic creatures inside..."

"That’s impossible..."

"Someone from the intelligence department came too..."

"Do you think the academy will increase security?"

The discussions spread continuously from every direction.

Meanwhile, Damon calmly walked through the auditorium while observing the atmosphere quietly.

Then suddenly—

THUMP—

A heavy impact struck directly against his back hard enough to force him stumbling one step forward.

Damon’s brows instantly furrowed as annoyance flashed across his face while he immediately turned around.

And there—

Standing behind him—

Was a tall beastwoman with burning crimson horns curving upward from her head, bronze skin gleaming beneath the auditorium lights while a broad grin stretched across her face.

Khaira.

"Hahahaha!"

Her loud laughter immediately echoed through the nearby area while several students instinctively looked over.

"How are ya, mah rival?!" she exclaimed in her heavy rolled beastman accent while crossing her arms confidently. "Ya disappeared fer days without even givin’ me chance ta beat ya!"

Damon’s expression immediately darkened after the heavy impact against his back, annoyance visibly surfacing across his face while he slowly turned toward the grinning beastwoman standing behind him.

"...Are you trying to start a fight this early in the morning?"

Khaira only laughed louder afterward, completely unbothered by the irritation within his voice.

"Hahaha! Yer body’s still too stiff, rival!" she declared proudly while placing both hands upon her waist. "Ya should thank me fer helpin’ wake ya up!"

Damon stared at her blankly for a moment before calmly replying,

"If I wanted help waking up, I would have asked someone less violent."

Khaira’s burning horns flickered faintly afterward as she narrowed her eyes dramatically.

"Violent?!" she repeated loudly. "Ya sayin’ that after nearly beatin’ more than half of the students to death in last exam?"

"...Why are you bringing that up?"

"I can do whatever I wan" Khaira replied proudly while pointing toward him accusingly. "Ya disappear fer days, return lookin’ annoyingly refreshed, you must have done something behind my back again,"

Damon’s brows faintly twitched.

What’s wrong with this woman?

Meanwhile, Khaira leaned slightly closer afterward while grinning broadly.

"So?" she asked excitedly. "Did ya get stronger while gone?"

Damon looked at her calmly.

"No."

Khaira immediately clicked her tongue dramatically.

"Liar."

"And you are loud."

"Hah! Better loud than creepy like ya!"

Several nearby students instinctively moved slightly away after hearing the two continue arguing so casually, because despite the seemingly ordinary banter, the pressure naturally radiating from both of them still remained noticeably dangerous.

Meanwhile, Damon himself already looked visibly tired.

"...Why are you this energetic in the morning?"

Khaira immediately crossed her arms proudly.

"Because unlike some white-haired nobles, beastfolk ain’t weak in the mornin’!"

Damon stared at her silently before replying without expression.

"You almost fell asleep during strategy presentations."

Khaira froze.

"...That happened once."

"It happened three times."

"That instructor talked too much!"

Before Damon could respond again—

His eyes suddenly shifted elsewhere.

At the edge of the auditorium entrance—

A familiar orange-haired figure had just entered.

Eric.

And unfortunately for him—

The moment Eric noticed Damon and Khaira together—

His expression immediately stiffened.

Then naturally—

He slowly began turning around.

Trying to leave.

Quietly.

Carefully.

Without attracting attention.

Unfortunately—

Both Damon and Khaira noticed instantly.

"Eric."

The moment Damon calmly called out his name, Eric visibly flinched so hard he nearly tripped over himself.

Meanwhile, Khaira immediately grinned viciously afterward.

"OI! Notebook boy!"

Eric’s shoulders collapsed completely afterward as though all hope had already left his body.

A few moments later—

He reluctantly approached the two while forcing an awkward smile onto his face.

"Haha... what a coincidence meeting both of you here..."

Damon looked at him calmly.

"You were trying to run away."

"N-no?"

"You literally turned around."

Eric immediately coughed awkwardly.

"...Reflex."

Meanwhile, Khaira immediately hooked one arm around Eric’s shoulders before loudly declaring,

"Good! Yer perfect fer settlin’ this!"

Eric’s face instantly paled.

"...Settling what?"

Khaira pointed dramatically toward Damon.

"Who’s stronger between me an’ this annoyin’ rival!"

Eric stared blankly for several moments afterward.

Then slowly—

His exhausted eyes shifted toward Damon.

Then back toward Khaira.

Then back toward Damon again.

And inwardly—

He seriously questioned every life decision that had led him into this situation.