Damn Academy - Chapter 232

Chapter 232

Black Footprints (7)

Trisha looked at my response with curiosity.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something strange?”

“Were you just making something up?”

“No, really. I’ve always wanted to be a mom. Ever since I was a kid!”

Unfortunately, that’s a hard dream to achieve.

If she were destined to meet a loving partner and become a mother early, she wouldn’t be trapped in Eternia and the labyrinth-like prison, nor would she possess such demonic magical power capable of distorting space, nor carry the heavy label of being the most important being in Eternia.

Trisha’s future may not end like a fairy tale with ‘And they all lived happily ever after.’

Suddenly, I heard voices like the chirping of birds coming from somewhere nearby.

“Ouch, it’s cold!”

“Come here! It’s really clear here!”

“Kyaa!”

It was closer than I thought.

“Hey, Damian, over there!”

Trisha pointed to where five girls were splashing around in the water barefoot. They looked so carefree and happy that it brightened even my mood.

Though they appeared small like finger joints from this distance, the problem was that they were playing where they could see us.

Furthermore, some silhouettes were surprisingly familiar. Haven’t I seen them before?

Among them was a girl with ponytails and noticeable light pink hair that was unforgettable once seen.

Oh no, they were the girls from the Imperial Academy I had seen at the artist gathering.

Realizing their identity made my hair stand on end. Meeting them like this could only lead to awkward conversations.

“Oh.”

“What’s wrong? Do you know them?”

“Yeah. They’re from the Imperial Academy on a field trip. I’ve heard about them.”

“…Really?”

As I pondered whether to put on a mask, Trisha abruptly got up and ran to where our belongings were. She brought something back and placed it on my face.

It was my mask.

“Shouldn’t you cover your face, not mine?”

“I forgot!”

“What?”

“It seems too late now! You should just become Candy!”

Trisha mumbled.
Th is wa s c o p ied f r om k ingm t l. o r g

And just as I feared, the group from the Empire noticed us and shouted loudly.

“Hey! You guys!”

Of course, a white-haired girl and a man with scars all over his body would draw attention anywhere. This was bad.

They waved their arms over their heads as if they wanted us to see them.

Trisha and I exchanged tense looks. We were lying on the sand in underwear. What a disgraceful sight. There was nowhere to hide. We listened nervously to what they might say.

However, unexpectedly, they shouted something entirely different.

“You guys! You’re in your youth—ah!”

Trisha lost her grip on her composure and burst into laughter. With dimples deeply carved, she playfully tapped my body.

“Pfft! Hahaha! Heehee…”

…

It suddenly reminded me of playing in the fountain with Liza when we were younger. The nun who I thought would scold us said the same thing.

“They seem like nice kids!”

Trisha tried to calm me down, seeing my face stiffen.

“Yeah, let’s continue to relax.”

“Yeah!”

I eased my body again and soaked in the sunlight. They continued to play, shouting among themselves, without paying us any mind.

Then, an unusual sound reached us. It was cries and gasps mixed with concern, quite different from their earlier bright energy.

“Oh no!”

Looking closely, one of the girls from the Imperial group was struggling, swept away by the current.

Soon, she began drifting slowly downstream, where we were.

“Damian!”

Trisha called out urgently, sensing the seriousness of the situation.

“Trisha, never go near the water.”

I immediately dove into the water. The girl was repeatedly submerged and then struggled to resurface. Fortunately, thanks to her noticeable pink hair, it was easy to locate her.

There was only one pink-haired girl here. What was her name again? Right, Misha.

I waited just before the current grew stronger and grabbed the neck of the girl being swept away. She flailed her arms like a drowning spirit and cried out.

“Save me, gulp. Mom…!”

I managed to reach the shore, dragging Misha by her armpits, and pulled her onto the sand.

She was wearing a heavy robe despite not being able to swim. No wonder she was helpless against the current. She might be skilled in magic, but clearly lacked other basic skills.

Misha coughed up a few mouthfuls of water and gasped for air.

“Hah, hah. How…?”

The girls with ponytails and her companions rushed over, calling out her name.

“Misha! Misha!”

The half-soaked girls crowded around Misha, checking her condition thoroughly.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Ugh, yeah… but I’m so cold…”

After confirming she wasn’t seriously injured and was conscious, they turned to look at me.

Their curious gazes swept over my mask and the scars on my body. Trisha quickly stood beside me, wearing a proud expression.

“Thank you… so much.”

“What a relief. If you hadn’t been there…”

Then the girl with the ponytails eyed me suspiciously.

“Are you a secret guard sent by our father?”

“…?”

“Ha, I knew it!”

***

T h i s w a s c o p ie d fr o m k in g m t l . o r g
Once Misha had composed herself, the five girls from the Empire prepared to leave.

Misha seemed too shocked to even meet my gaze, let alone thank me for saving her.

A girl who introduced herself as Faina approached and whispered to me.

“She’s never had such close contact with a bare-chested man before. Understand that she’s embarrassed. She’s very grateful.”

…

Th i s w a s co p i e d f r o m k i n g mt l .or g
“And Candy, or what was it? Sweetie? Yes, Sweetie.”

“Why?”

“I’m really curious, those scars. Where did you get them?”

“Where did I get them?”

What does she mean ‘get them’? These aren’t custom dresses.

“No, they look real.”

“They are real…”

Faina stammered.

“Oh, really, they’re real?”

Trisha looked curious and chimed in.

“How do you ‘get’ scars?”

“Oh, they’re all the rage among the Empire’s nobility. Rough scars on the body emphasize masculinity. They make artificial scars and subtly show them off. It’s appealing to women. Isn’t it funny?”

…

“I used to find those men disgusting, but now I kind of get it. It’s strangely… captivating. It suits your firm body well. Can I touch?”

Trisha shouted instead.

“No!”

“Uh, okay?”

Faina casually accepted it and suddenly called for a friend behind her.

“Hey, Shirinkis! Come here!”
Th i s w a s c o pi ed f ro m k i n gm t l.o rg

The girl with ponytails who had been brushing sand off her robe hurried over.

“What?”

“You’ve used a lot of swords, so you know. Are these scars real?”

“This?”

“Yeah.”

Without warning, the girl with the ponytails came over and felt my abdomen. Trisha glared daggers at her.

“How can you make something like this? Scars made by amateurs are really clumsy. It’s like drawing lines on a pumpkin. Anyway, that’s how it is. Anyone who’s been cut by a sword or bitten by a beast can tell.”

Neither could take their eyes off my scars. Even Misha, wrapped defensively in her robe, stared at me and quickly turned away when we made eye contact.

“Oh my, they’re real?”

“Yeah. Wow, someone might buy these scars at auction, offering several houses for them!”

Faina hit the ponytailed girl on the back.

“Oh, you’re exaggerating. What do you mean several houses? That’s too much.”

“No, I’m serious.”

The Empire must be enjoying an unprecedented era of peace. To me, these scars are records of life and death. Yet in the Empire, they’re just decorative fashion statements.

If a few Wraiths were released in the Empire… no, forget it. What am I thinking?

The girl with the ponytails spoke to us.

“By the way, you guys are from Eternia, right?”

Trisha pointed at me and replied.

“Just him! I’m his childhood friend!”

…

The girl with the ponytails whispered to her friend.

“I get the bite marks… fought with a vampire… mumbling.”

I cleared my throat to draw their attention, and they looked back at us.

The girl with the ponytails said.

“Oh, you might see Sweetie at the exchange competition. Also, can you keep our meeting a secret? It’s not something to brag about, but if word gets out about whose daughters we are, you might be shocked. We snuck out without supervision and almost had an accident, so it’d be troublesome if it leaked.”

Trisha chuckled and said.

“If you knew who we are, you’d be shocked too.”

“…Really?”

To dispel any potential suspicion, I contradicted Trisha’s words.

“She’s just the youngest daughter of a shepherding family from the Palancas Mountains, so don’t be fooled.”

“Pfft, it kind of felt like that!”

…

Trisha looked up at me with a mischievous expression.

The girl with the ponytails said.

T hi s w a s c o p i ed f r o m k ing m t l . o rg
“But no matter your status, I really like you guys. I’m more open-minded than I look, you know? I hope we meet again, whether at the exchange competition or somewhere else.”

Then the girls waiting behind shouted.

“Shirinkis! Faina! We’ll get in trouble! Hurry!”

“Oh, we have to go, bye!”

Faina left first, and the girl with the ponytails blew us an exaggerated kiss before joining her friends.

After taking a deep breath, I told Trisha.

“I’m going to grab our clothes. Do you want to get on the carriage first?”

“Yeah!”

***

T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m ki n g m t l . o r g
After leaving the clothes on a rock for a while, they were still dripping as I gathered them and walked across the sand.

Trisha stood close to the carriage, watching me. She waved when she saw me.

Another carriage sped past behind the parked one, and she flinched, crouching for a moment, before cautiously scanning her surroundings. Then she turned back to me and waved brightly again.

Under the warm sunlight, the silver-haired girl waved at me from afar.

The sand-laden wind blurred my vision. In my hazy sight, she looked just like Liza. It made me pause.

Apologies to Trisha, but I couldn’t fully appreciate this beautiful moment someone might call youthful. I was rummaging through my mind’s trash bin, searching for traces of Liza.

I looked again and again at Liza’s figure.

Liza waved at me and then disappeared once more.

Is the ghost of the past haunting me? Or am I unable to let go of the ghost?

My weak heart wants to blame Trisha, who resembles Liza. This makes me feel pitiful.

Like Calios said, the things that should flow away don’t, and whether it rains, snows, or there’s a drought, my heart continues to overflow.

Even as time passes, I’m still stuck in the mud.

A restless Trisha ran barefoot toward me and wrapped her arms and legs around me.

“Kyaa!”

“Stay in the carriage. What if someone sees?”

“But I can’t help it. Besides, today was really fun, wasn’t it?”

“…Yeah.”

“Since Damian was so sweet today, I’ll reward you!”
T h i s w a s c op i e d f r om k i n gm tl .o r g

“…What is it?”

“Azelis’s calamity!”

Trisha’s mouth moved close to my neck. Right, she’ll leave some mark I can’t erase, I thought.

Trisha’s fragrance, like the spring breeze, brushed past my nose.

Smooch.

Contrary to my expectations, Trisha’s lips aimed for my cheek.

A sound escaped my lips unknowingly.

“Oh…”

After this light encounter, she ran off toward the carriage, where she lay with her back to me, covering her face with her hair out of embarrassment, leaving her inner shorts exposed.

“…I’m going to sleep, so don’t wake me up!”

I bowed my head to look at Trisha’s traces.

At my feet, soaked and muddy, were deep footprints left by an innocent girl.

***

On a hill overlooking the riverbank, a masked man spoke.

T h i s w a s c o p ie d fr o m k i n gmtl . org
“Amy, there’s no need for that.”

The elf-eared woman, who had been glaring at the Empire girls, removed her mask and said.

“Are you sure this is okay? They were fully exposed.”

“It’s better than bottling up emotions and having them explode all at once.”

“How big could such an explosion be?”

“Perhaps you haven’t experienced a calamity yet.”

…

“Isn’t it nice to see? It makes me reminisce.”

“Those Empire kids…”

“Leave them be. What’s more concerning is that.”

The man pointed to the sky.

White crows filled the sky, following the carriage leaving the riverbank.

The elf-eared woman nodded in agreement.

***

We spent the night at Silveryn’s mansion. After putting Trisha to sleep downstairs, I wrote a letter by candlelight to send to Silveryn. With time to spare, I wrote another for Liria and sent both with two stitches out the window.

I then took a moment to reflect as I gazed at the night sky. Today, Trisha’s bright smile lingered vividly in my mind. As happy as she was, I regretted not taking care of her sooner. Was this what Calios intended? If so, it worked perfectly.

While lost in thought, Liria knocked on my door.

Knock, knock.

“Master Damian.”

“Come in.”

Liria entered, bowed her head, and said.

“A letter arrived from someone named Misha. I’ll leave it here.”

It must have followed the stitch marker I entrusted to Liria.

“Thank you.”

“Have a good night, Master Damian!”

Liria bowed again and backed out of the room.

T h i s w a s c o p i ed f r o m k in g mt l. o rg
I picked up Misha’s letter. When I saw her at the artist gathering, she seemed uncomfortable around me. I didn’t expect her to send a letter so soon.

The letter only contained a request to find someone named Sweetie, nothing else of note.

Woo-woo—

Priscilla, resting slightly against the desk, began to emit a blue glow from within the scabbard. It hadn’t reacted since the wooden sword incident. What could be happening now?

I picked up the scabbard and drew Priscilla.

Clang!

Before appreciating Priscilla’s blue form, I flinched at the strange sensation traveling up my arm.

Ssssss—

Frost began to spread from the sword to my arm.

T h is wa s c op i e d f r o m ki n gmt l . o rg
A chill-laden breeze swept in through the open window, yet I felt no cold.

It was a sensation I had never experienced.

Unlike before, when it solely absorbed mana, the absorbed mana now seemed to convert into something else and transfer to me.

Could my efforts finally be bearing fruit? Filled with anticipation, I called its name.

“Pris…cilla?”

Though I called its name, the response I hoped for didn’t come.

However, as mana circulated, Priscilla’s energy transmitted to me. It was an odd sensation. It felt as if the sword had become a part of my body, with sensory perception extending to my extremities.

While unable to converse, the feelings from the magic sword faintly flowed to me.

Familiarity. It was a tender emotion, like reuniting with an old friend.

This feeling wasn’t directed at me, but rather toward some unknown external presence.

What could be happening?

Tap, tap, tap, tap—

Suddenly, rapid footsteps approached my room from the hallway.

Liria knocked and opened the door.

“Master Damian, this!”

In Liria’s outstretched hand was a black letter—Amarylis’s letter.

End of Chapter