Surviving as the Academy’s Weakest NPC-Chapter 167 : Chapter 167

Chapter 167
To Lilia, Lerwon was, in fact, just another classmate who didn’t particularly stand out.
To put it bluntly, her first impression of him was a piece of trash who flirted with other female students with a friendly smile.
When she happened to learn his secret—that his mother was the Master of Gold, that he was subjected to things akin to torture by her, and that he nevertheless smiled and followed his mother’s orders to court girls…
‘What the hell is with this guy?’
It wasn't like he was some tragic hero. Couldn't he just tell the professors, ‘Iris Viden is torturing me!’?
That was a naive thought she had in her first year.
During the winter break of her first year, after witnessing the Master of Gold’s true nature with her own eyes through an invitation she sent, such innocent thoughts were shattered to pieces.
She thought she had developed an immunity to monstrous people thanks to learning under Beatrice, but Iris Viden’s existence far exceeded her expectations.
That was a true monster.
It felt like a completely separate life form that defied comprehension.
If one grew up under her, it was only natural to think one couldn't go against her.
Rather, it would be strange to have hope that one could.
If such a person existed, they would have to be a crazy person who had lost their mind.
Though she had no particular intention of understanding him, Lilia understood Lerwon.
If the opponent was Iris Viden, even I wouldn’t dare to think of defying her.
Still, she took some pride in it. I was the one at the Academy who understood ‘Lerwon Viden’ the best.
Unlike the other noble young ladies who were busy fawning over Lerwon’s handsome appearance, I was smug in my knowledge of him.
“Hoh?”
As Lilia’s eyes flashed, Laurel flinched, and Cecilia averted her gaze as if she had seen something she absolutely shouldn't have.
The only one who failed to grasp the situation was Lerwon.
“Magical girl transformation.”
Who would let her transform? The moment he rushed to interfere with the transformation, Lerwon’s world was suddenly turned upside down.
What just happened?
Blinking at the sudden turn of events, Lerwon tried to dodge the fierce attack flying toward him.
But the foot came at him faster than he could dodge, striking his solar plexus in an instant.
“Keuk!!”
What in the world just happened?
The bewildered Lerwon blinked, then realized the next attack was aimed at his chest and belatedly blocked it with his arm.
He hadn’t even known what was attacking him until now, but now he knew.
‘A simple kick?’
Such power from just a kick.
Lerwon’s eyes widened as he swallowed his astonishment.
It was unbelievably fast for Lilia's speed.
Faced with this sudden change, Lerwon could only be helplessly beaten by Lilia.
Lerwon groaned softly as he was hit by countless blows at a speed impossible to follow with the eye.
“What in the world is this…”
With those words, Lerwon finally collapsed.
Lilia, who was looking down at Lerwon in a slightly different magical girl form than usual, reverted from her transformation. Laurel caught Lilia as she was about to fall.
“That one, make sure you tie him up tight.”
“Yes, yes, I got it.”
At Laurel’s reply, Lilia fainted from the ensuing muscle pain.
“Phew, what a mess.”
Laurel muttered.
Cecilia, who was lightly looking around the villa, couldn't help but agree with Laurel’s words.
* * *
When he opened his eyes, Lerwon realized he was lying on a bed with shackles on.
It’s been a while since I was shackled…. For a moment, old memories surfaced, and Laurel approached, asking if he was awake.
Lerwon covered his face with his palm and asked.
“What was that, with Lilia?”
When he asked that first before anything else, Laurel smiled lightly.
“The magical girl’s secret technique.”
“There’s… something like that?”
It was the first even Lerwon, who handled information at Golden, had ever heard of it.
No matter how little was known about the magical girl club, could they really hide a secret technique that could unleash such explosive power?
Seeing Lerwon’s blank expression, as if he didn't understand, Laurel scratched her head.
“Don’t bother explaining it to that moron. What’s he prying for when he’s been hiding his own strength?”
Lilia, supporting her body with something like a huge staff, grumbled as she entered the room and approached Laurel.
Laurel, upon seeing her, offered Lilia a chair without hesitation and then disappeared without a backward glance.
“Damn sunbae.”
“What was that, anyway?”
“I can barely move because of the muscle pain, you know? Could you not ask stuff like that?”
Lilia grumbled, still leaning on the staff-like object.
“I’ve never heard of anything like that. What was it?”
“…A magical girl’s secret technique developed with Professor Beatrice over three years.”
It was a kind of ultimate move that could produce explosive power in an instant by using a designated emotion as a material.
The more unfamiliar the designated emotion was to the user, the more powerful the effect.
In Lilia’s case, it was a rage so intense it turned her vision crimson.
Though, after the situation ended, she had to suffer from muscle pain so severe she couldn't even lift a finger for about three or four days.
“How long has it been since I passed out?”
“About a week?”
“That long—”
“I wish, but it hasn’t even been three hours.“
Damn Iris Viden. Lilia muttered a curse for what must have been the countless-th time.
Just how much did she torture the kid for him to have this much resilience?
So annoying! Lilia, who had been grumbling, asked calmly.
“Are you calmer now?”
“No, not yet….”
The thought of Theo being in that prison alone still made an emotion—be it anger or fear—surge uncontrollably.
However, my head was just barely catching up to the fact that this was not the time to give in to that emotion.
“Haa, really… what a mess I and the sunbaes are in because of you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“The fact that you hid your strength, that’s really pissing me off, you know?”
Lilia, who had clenched her fists, groaned softly at the ensuing muscle pain.
Oww, it hurts. It was really to the point of tears. In the process of practically incinerating her body with intense rage, the overexertion of her muscles was a natural consequence. Still, it hurt too much.
Lilia, with tears welling up, looked at Lerwon.
“You son of a bitch!”
I never thought I’d push my body this hard because of him.
Lilia, leaning back in her chair, let out a faint sigh.
“Think about it. Would the Theo Lisitoel you know want you to move recklessly in this hopeless situation?”
“…No.”
“Then what should you do?”
“Wait for the right time to act.”
“You know well.”
I knew, of course I knew.
However, once-unleashed anger tended to paralyze reason and encourage reckless actions.
Lilia didn’t blame Lerwon any further, as she wasn't entirely ignorant of that.
“I’m not taking off the chains, no complaints, right?”
“Yeah, none.”
“Good. Then rest, moron. I’m going to rest too.”
Leaving those words behind, Lilia leisurely left the place.
“Theo….”
Right, let's not be anxious.
If it was the Iris I knew, she would take her time to torment him a little more.
But was that really true? Another me whispered from the depths of my heart.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine.”
If I didn't think that, there was no way I could endure.
* * *
“The problem?”
“It’s been resolved.”
Although it was difficult for her to leave, Artemia, who had been observing the situation at the Lisitoel villa with magic to intervene if necessary, and Evan, who was helping Artemia, both finally sighed in relief at Beatrice’s cry as she poured healing magic on Lucian.
“You said he’s your student, aren’t you being too careless?”
Artemia, who rarely grumbled, asked in a complaining tone. Beatrice, who had switched places with Evan, retorted.
“Lerwon was just being too sensitive!!”
Since it was related to Iris Viden, I forgot to tell him to be more cautious!
“Still, thanks to the ultimate move I taught her, it turned out well, so isn’t that a good thing?”
“It appears to be a skill not officially registered with the Academy, so be sure to it later.”
“…Yes.”
With a dejected look, Beatrice once again focused on the counter-curse magic.
Alright, the three of them handled Lerwon's side well, so now it's time to focus here.
“Before today ends, let’s somehow get it done!”
Beatrice’s eyes gleamed as she began to pour all her mana into the counter-curse magic.
Artemia, who had been using healing magic through a normal mana flow, also instantly increased the amount of her mana to match Beatrice’s.
It was the early dawn, as the morning sun began to rise.
* * *
“……!”
It seemed I had passed out again in the meantime.
“Albedo, how much time has passed?”
《The sun should be starting to rise outside by now》
So it was around dawn. I forced open my heavy eyelids and looked around.
“It’s about time I escaped.”
The new semester was about to start; I couldn't stay tied up in a place like this forever.
When I cautiously wiggled my bent fingers, a terrible pain shot through me.
I barely swallowed the scream that almost escaped and composed my breath.
“Piit…!”
《What are you doing! It's no different from self-harm. Did you finally lose your mind after being kidnapped?!》
“Be quiet, Albedo. It’s not like that.”
Obtaining the Self-Heal skill was truly the best luck I’d had.
Thanks to the healing, my fingers were still bruised blue, but I could somehow move them, albeit with pain.
The question was whether Iris Viden had noticed it, or if she was pretending not to know, acting nonchalant.
“You can't read Iris Viden's mind, can you.”
《…Right.》
I couldn't rely on Albedo's demon eyes.
I had to judge and act on my own.
“…Alright, let’s not be anxious.”
Activate the Writer skill, I’m going straight home.
With my grotesquely bent fingers, I managed to grab the quill pen.
“Kkeueueuk….”
It hurt like hell. It hurt so much that I felt like I was about to cry.
Seeing as my cheeks were wet, I might have already been crying.
Taking a deep breath, I slowly wrote.
「Move to home.」
To me, home was, of course, the Count’s estate in the Lisitoel county.
If that was difficult, the Academy dormitory would be fine too.
I wanted to get out of this place right now.
Staying in a place like this for long would be more than just harmful to my mental health; it would break me down.
However, as if to betray that expectation, a system window floated up.
[This is a non-movable area.]
[Please move to a movable area before using.]
“X-bal.”
Isn’t this a bit much?
“Life is f….”
Is escape a distant dream…. It had been a long time since I felt such a slim chance of possibility.
I genuinely felt like I wanted to break down and sob.