Chapter 70

* * *

Two days later.

Since yesterday had been a holiday with no classes, training resumed again today.

Once again, I missed a few days due to unavoidable circumstances, and got my grades adjusted for it.

‘Still scored lower than the kids who attended diligently. I get it—it’s a fairness thing.’

It’s not like it’s my fault I keep getting caught up in incidents. But if that’s just considered part of personal luck… well, fine. I can accept that.

And so…

…I decided to humbly accept that I’ve become popular.

“Nemesia! I’m so, so glad to hear you’re all better now!”

“You’re not suffering any aftereffects, right?”

There was no room to deny it anymore.

“Mmm…”

To my left, a radiant girl was smiling sweetly.

To my right, a bespectacled boy was pretending to look concerned.

‘When the top 3 scorers from the last test are sitting together like this, of course people are gonna stare…’

The other kids kept glancing over.

Among them, Gidehme looked like he had a lot to say. Even after I helped him out, does he seriously want to pick a fight again?

Mel, one of the pope candidates, seemed like she wanted to talk to me, but couldn’t bring herself to approach.

‘…I give up.’

Once I accepted Emmet and Flora’s help to run to Daddy, my fate was basically sealed.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind Flora tagging along… but I’d really prefer to keep my distance from Emmet…

Especially because of his guardian.

Still—

‘I said I don’t want to get close to either of you!!’

My effort to keep a low profile…!

It probably didn’t help that the last image they saw of me was disappearing into that “Sealed Garbage Disposal Unit.”

The two of them kept checking in on me, unable to hide their worry, as if still unsure whether I was truly okay.

Though, to be fair, the spy’s concern was obviously an act.

“Oh, and Nemesia? Um, my guardian, Mr. Antonio, asked me to pass something along…”

Emmet looked momentarily conflicted.

“‘I’ve repaid your kindness this once~ So acknowledge me, kay~’ that’s what he said…”

My eyes instantly turned cold.

Noticing the shift, Emmet’s face flushed slightly.

“T-that’s just… he told me to repeat it exactly as he said it, so I was just copying him, really…!”

“Mmm…”

I subtly took a step back as I answered, making the boy’s ears turn redder.

Fine. I get it. Antonio’s your spy superior, not just some guardian.

‘Ugh, my scalp is tingling.’

He’s probably staring at me from outside the classroom.

I want to ask Daddy to block that guy’s view or punch him out cold, but I’ll hold it in.

Emmet looked like he wanted to say more, but at that moment, the professor walked in—perfect timing.

“As announced, today is history class. Ah, in history, we learn from the mistakes of the past and gain the wisdom to move toward the future.”

Most classes for pope candidates were practical and involved performance evaluations.

But today’s history class was one of the rare exceptions.

Once the lecture ended, I sprang up from my seat—only to find the two others standing up right beside me.

“Nemesia, are you going somewhere? If you’re free, want to go for a walk? I heard the flowers bloomed in the west garden!”

Aww, sweetie. You should be careful there. Pretty sure there’s a hidden dungeon somewhere in that area.

“U-um, Nemesia, I have something to talk to you about, just for a moment…”

Nope. I don’t talk to spies.

No cult indoctrination. No psychological warfare. Pass.

“Mmm. Nemesia’s got somewhere to go…”

I answered shyly on purpose. Both their eyes went wide.

And the moment I saw the gleam in Flora’s eyes—I knew I’d made a mistake.

“Don’t tell me—you’re going off to deliver justice again?! I’m coming too! I can totally handle—mmph!”

Before she could shout any louder, I quickly covered her mouth.

“Shh, keep it down… people might get the wrong idea.”

I am off to deliver justice, but… it’s not something everyone should know about.

Flora stared at me for a moment, then her eyes curved into a bright, pretty smile.

‘…Uh-oh. This smile.’

It was the exact same smile she gave me the first time I recruited her as a companion.

“Take me with you. I’m useful!”

Yep, this was the smile she wore when she refused to take no for an answer.

Who knows what kind of madness she’d pull if I left her behind.

She wasn’t exactly normal—her skill alone was proof of that.

I let out a quiet sigh.

And when I turned around—

“…Can I come too?”

The little spy looked up at me with sparkling puppy eyes.

“I promise I won’t raise my voice.”

…Was that a threat?

My emotions were all over the place.

A short while later—

“Oh my, Nemesia? Looks like your party’s grown a bit?”

Alexa, who had been waiting for us, blinked in surprise.

She was right.

“Hello! We meet again!”

“Oh, yes. An honor to see you, Pope Candidate.”

“Eee~ it’s lovely to see you again, Sir Michelle!”

Flora and her guardian, Betty, had joined me.

‘At least I managed to shake Emmet off…’

Well, technically Daddy’s terrifying glare chased him off.

Even when Antonio tried to approach, Daddy stepped in to block him. It was glorious.

But Daddy’s iron wall of protection didn’t work on everyone—especially not a sweet, soft-spoken girl around my age. Well, kind of.

“I’m gonna be friends with Nemesia! So Sir Derek and Miss Betty can be friends too!”

“…Please, mind your tone.”

Daddy glanced at me like, ‘What do I do with this one?’ and I just waved the white flag.

‘Still, having Flora on this trip won’t be a bad thing.’

Normally, I try to keep a low profile.

But not today.

Today’s goal?

I wanted everyone to notice me.

‘You thought I’d stay quiet? Nope. It’s payback time, you bastards.’

I gritted my teeth, thinking of the ones who dragged Daddy off to the Inquisition Division.

The ones who interrogated and tormented him in that underground hell.

As I looked at Alexa, I remembered two days ago—when I recruited her.

[Achievement Unlocked! First Companion Recruited!]

[Companion Recruitment Bonus: +30% Luck (Duration: 10 days)]

After confirming that sweet bonus, I got straight to the point.

“So basically, you need a fast-talking mouth fighter to do the talking for you?”

“Yupyup! That’s exactly it!”

That was the day Alexa and I became totally in sync before Daddy even returned from the visitation room.

“…Gonna catch the jerks who messed with Daddy and smash ‘em.”

“Straight to the point! As expected of the candidate chosen by our boss. If you hadn’t invited me, I would’ve begged to come along.”

“Mkay! Let’s go!”

“Yes, master! Woof-woof!”

“…Huh?”

Okay, that ending got a little weird. But the point is—we were in sync and had our destination set for the next day.

‘Though once Daddy heard the plan, he tried to stop us, and convincing him was a pain.’

But I managed to persuade him!

‘This is the strike force! The vengeance squad going after the jerks who hurt Daddy!’

Now, with Flora and her guardian unexpectedly joining us, Alexa was understandably confused.

‘Still, this works out.’

Flora was the type who couldn’t resist justice or righteousness.

Just look at her skill—it literally punishes whoever she believes is evil.

‘She’s a perfect fit for this mission.’

But beyond Flora…

[Faction: Corrupted Holy Knight]

…I glanced at her guardian. For this mission, Betty might actually be the more helpful one.

“Mmm. She’s coming too, and this one’s a temporary teammate.”

“Ah, just for this mission, then? Got it! Let’s move out!”

“Ooh~ I don’t know where we’re going, but let’s go~!”

I caught Betty sneaking a glance at Daddy, her face calm but clearly concerned.

“…Sir Derek. Is it always like this here?”

“…”

Daddy stayed silent.

Then, with a serious, grave look, he said:

“My child always has a plan.”

…Lately, Daddy’s been sounding more and more like a perfectly devoted fanatic. Am I imagining things?
 

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Translator: Japchae