Chapter 23

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Episode 5 - Hunting Festival [3]

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’He’s very funny.’

He was funny and very talkative. Diana couldn’t help but stare at him without blinking.

It was probably a natural reaction to someone who talks nonstop, unlike her, who barely says a word or two to anyone.

Still, Diana smiled when she saw Adel.

The people around her approach her not to strike up a friendly conversation or become friends.

Simply because she comes from the Arsene family, people approach her with other intentions.

Diana slowly realized that no one approaches her to be a friend or even just an acquaintance.

He thought that at the Academy, he would broaden his horizons and make friends.

He had lived in the depths of a large house his whole life and had never seen the sky.

Not until recently.

Some people knew her only through rumors from the servants of the Arsene household.

However, who cares how she lived; they just want to be close to her because of her status.

’All the cadets who approached me did so because of my status.’

It wasn’t because they wanted to be close to her, but for their own benefit.

’I just want friends like the ones in the stories I read.’

I wanted to be a girl who at least wanted to talk to the people around her and smile like the ones in the books.

But reality was always different from what she had imagined in silence for so many years.

Each time someone approached, their words were filled with interest, but not the kind she desired.

They were calculating glances, forced smiles, and empty conversations that ended before they even began.

Diana tried to respond, to open her mouth and say something more than a simple "yes" or "no," but her throat tightened before she could do so.

It was as if the real world were too big for someone who only knew it through the pages of a book.

But now...

His thoughts turned to Adel again as he walked behind her.

It was strange.

He hadn’t asked her anything about her family or her last name, nor had he shown the slightest interest in her background.

He simply... talked.

Without expecting anything in return.

’It’s different...’

Diana pressed the book lightly against her chest, as if trying to calm her heartbeat.

Adel’s words still echoed in her mind, not because of what he said, but because of how he said it.

She sounded free, without hesitation or fear of making a mistake.

That was something she couldn’t do.

"..."

She parted her lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Her footsteps paused for a second.

Adel, noticing the change in her pace, tilted her head slightly.

"Is something wrong?"

Her voice was calm, and she looked at her intently.

That only made Diana more nervous.

"N-no..."

She responded almost immediately, picking up her pace again.

But this time, something inside her wouldn’t let her stay silent.

She clutched the book tighter, mustering what little courage she had.

"T-that thing earlier..."

Her voice was low and trembling, as if it took a great deal of effort to utter each word.

"...was interesting."

The silence that followed was brief, but to her it felt like an eternity.

Diana lowered her gaze slightly, waiting for some reaction, some change, anything.

But Adel simply smiled slightly.

"I’m glad."

He only said two simple words.

But they were enough to make something in his chest feel lighter.

"..."

Diana blinked slowly, but before she could think of anything else.

"If you want... I can tell you more later."

Adel added casually.

As if it were nothing important, as if talking to her were normal.

Diana raised her gaze a little, surprised.

"Really...?"

"Sure."

Diana’s grip on the book slowly loosened.

And, almost without realizing it...

She smiled.

It was a small, barely visible smile, but completely sincere.

"Maybe..."

Her steps grew a little lighter as she continued walking toward the Golden Forest.

"...this is what it feels like."

To talk to someone without fear and without feeling alone.

***

’Damn, how sentimental.’

It was really strange not being myself.

’In any case, forming a relationship with one of the main characters, like Rinna, is beneficial.’

The Mission Window gave you rewards, regardless of who the character was.

Diana is one of them; of course, her reward is quite different from the others.

With Rinna, the only reward would be the citizens’ affection.

Lumina’s is a different kind of help and an impression.

Diana’s is completely different.

’Well, let’s see if Adel’s reward is different.’

Each playable character had different rewards when you became friends with Diana.

I knew the rewards for all the other characters, but not Adel’s.

Objectively speaking, even though I created Adel’s character, I don’t know anything beyond her story.

I don’t know anything about the rewards or possible endings.

"If I had reincarnated, at least after reading everything you could do and get with Adel, it would be a huge help."

Diana, who was in the lead, said in a low voice.

"We’re here."

Returning to my memories, I recalled what the Golden Forest looked like.

It was an enormous forest with tall, twisted trees, and the leaves at the treetops were golden and shone even brighter in the sun.

It is called the Golden Forest because it is literally golden.

As I looked around, I saw several cadets entering and leaving the forest.

Those who came out appeared to have injuries; some were limping and others were carried to the infirmary.

’It’s just like in the game.’

Of course, I couldn’t see this scene in real life, which I would really like to see.

’Damn it, why am I blind?’

With a long sigh, I turned to Diana and said,

"Since we’re here, it’s time to go our separate ways."

Diana hung her head as if she were feeling down.

Seeing this, I said to calm her down,

"We can talk in the pavilion tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Diana shook her head, nodding energetically.

"Yes."

Without saying another word, I entered the Golden Forest, leaving her behind.

After a couple of minutes, Alice’s voice said,

〖That girl is really nice and adorable, and that’s why I think you should hit her.〗

"What? Why hit me?"

Surprised by my teacher’s words, I asked, and she replied.

〖Do you think I don’t know that you used her to get into the Golden Forest?〗

Shrugging my shoulders, I simply said,

"Well, what can I do? I’m blind."

I’m a helpless blind man who needs help.

That’s what I am.

Alice growled angrily.

〖You’re blind, but you’re not useless; now tell me how you found that villain last week.〗

"No comment."

Time passed quickly while I chatted with my teacher; in a few hours, I reached the depths of the Golden Forest.

The atmosphere here was different; the mana was even denser.

But the biggest change was the smaller number of wild beasts that lived here.

Along the way, I killed some wild beasts, taking their eyes as proof that I had killed them.

When I looked up, I saw a large mountain surrounded by large birds.

They were mostly scavengers.

In any case, as I gazed at the mountain peak, I let out a long sigh.

’The Class 6 beasts are, for the most part, up there.’

From here on out, I need to be very careful.

In the central region, I avoided all Class 4 and 5 beasts to reach this mountain as soon as possible.

〖You still haven’t told me why you came to this region.〗

My teacher’s voice betrayed a hint of suspicion.

"I’m checking to see if the villains are around."

〖Does that even make sense?〗

I suppose she’s referring to Director Bernice; she’s naturally strong enough to catch any villain.

But the Black Dawn Church is a faction where villains are awakening never-before-seen traits.

They have already infiltrated the Academy, and one of their groups will probably come here for the Demon Beast.

"Although Director Bernice is top-notch, the infiltrated villains have specific traits that allow them to hide from her."

That makes their movements invisible to her.

"Who knows? The villains’ actions are unpredictable."

At my reply, my teacher simply sighed.

〖Whatever you say. Anyway, I don’t think that’s the only thing you came here to do, is it?〗

She really knows everything I’m thinking.

I nodded and said:

"Yes, I discovered not long ago that a witch lived in this mountain, and a really powerful one."

〖A witch, of what class?〗

"A Class 9 witch."

The item I’m looking for belonged to that witch.

Witches are best known for their curses.

Naturally, to weaken a Demon Beast much stronger than me, I need a specific curse, and that curse is sealed in an item created by that witch.

’Well, I’m not sure exactly where that item is.’

Since it appears randomly, it is difficult to obtain, in addition to the Class 5 and 6 wild beasts.

In any case, after giving my teacher a brief explanation, I started climbing the mountain.

*** 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Somewhere in the Golden Forest.

A woman sat cross-legged while a holographic screen floated in front of her.

"The target is at the Academy right now, probably participating in the Hunting Festival."

A man’s voice reached the woman’s ears.

She was receiving a new mission at that moment.

Originally, she only had to infect a Class 5 wild beast so that it would evolve into a Class 6 Demon Beast.

However, she was suddenly contacted and given an extra mission.

"Mhm, seriously, more work here and there, this is getting boring, but hey, little guy, who’s the target?"

The voice on the other side of the holographic screen shouted.

"I’m not a damn dwarf. I just didn’t eat enough as a kid. Seriously, why do they pair me up with this crazy woman?"

The woman waved her hand carelessly while a smile appeared on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, dwarf, so who’s the target?"

The man sighed in frustration.

"You should know him. After all, wasn’t he the one you loved playing with?"

"..."

The woman’s expression froze for a second before a maniacal laugh echoed throughout the cave.

The man, hearing her laughter, muttered:

"See what I mean? She’s the craziest of them all. Damn it, I hate this shit."

Then, the holographic screen disappeared, leaving the woman laughing.

"I can’t believe it... it’s been so long since I’ve seen you, heh, my little Adel."

The hysterical laughter of a demented woman made the wild beasts outside run away.

’It’s been a while, Adel.’