bullyxtreme Chapter 633: Episode 633
Chapter 633: Episode 633
The young Saintess and the Witch’s daughter. They met in the arena.
The two stared at each other without a word, the silence thick with the tension of a gathering storm. Simon, sensing the imminent clash, quickly darted between them.
"L-Lena! This is Lorraine Archbold, she’s in the Summoning Department with me! And Lorraine, this is Lena. She’s a friend from my hometown. We just ran into each other at the Dark Festival, so I was showing her around Roc Island!"
Simon’s words tumbled out in a rush, his tone defensive. He was terrified they were about to come to blows.
"...Oh, hi."
Lorraine was the first to speak, offering an awkward laugh as she gave a stiff little wave.
"...Yes, hello. It’s nice to meet you."
Lethe was smiling, too, but the corners of her mouth twitched erratically.
"Th-The weather’s nice today."
"The sun is bright."
They exchanged a few more stilted pleasantries, the air so thick with awkwardness it was suffocating to watch. He had never seen the ever-spirited Lethe act so reserved, nor had he ever seen Lorraine so hesitant. They both extended their hands as if to shake, only to quickly tuck them back at their sides or hide them behind their backs.
"...Well, enjoy the rest of the Dark Festival."
"...Yes, thank you for your concern."
The discomfort between them was palpable; it was clear they found each other’s very presence unsettling. Yet, perhaps for Simon’s sake, they maintained a minimum of courtesy.
"...I’ll get going, then. See you at the next match, Simon."
"Uh, yeah."
"...Goodbye."
As Lorraine walked away, Lethe’s eyes remained fixed on her retreating back. Only when she had completely vanished did Lethe let out a long sigh, pressing a hand to her chest.
"What is ’with’ that woman?"
Her voice was once again laced with its usual cynicism, her smile completely gone.
"What’s wrong?"
"I can tell just from meeting her." Her eyes narrowed to slits. "She and I are complete opposites. And she’s an extremely dangerous woman."
Simon had never thought of Lorraine that way, but he supposed from the perspective of a Priest from the Holy Federation, it might seem so.
"...And that name sounds familiar."
Simon blinked.
"I introduced her as an Archbold. You don’t recognize it?"
"I do not."
"She’s the daughter of Nephthys Archbold."
At that, Lethe’s eyes widened, her mouth falling open in a silent "Ah."
"No wonder!"
Her fists clenched at her sides.
"I knew she felt disgustingly ominous! Archbold was the surname of that ’Witch of Death’! Our side always just calls her the Witch of Death, so I was confused!"
’So that’s what it was.’ In the Dark Alliance, the name Archbold was synonymous with Nephthys; he’d assumed she would naturally know.
Lethe took a long, slow breath, her eyes narrowing.
"What a shame. I should have killed her on the spot."
"...Lethe."
"I’m kidding," she said with a small laugh, stuffing her hands into her robe pockets. "She’s your friend, after all."
At her words, Simon finally relaxed, letting out a sigh of his own.
"I hope I never have to arrest you as a fanatic."
"Of course not." Lethe began to walk away briskly. "If possible, I hope to never cross paths with that woman again. If we were to fight, I have a feeling the outcome would be ugly for both of us, regardless of who won."
Watching her go, Simon made a mental note to avoid introducing her to any more of his necromancer friends. Especially one in particular.
’I can’t let her meet Serne!’
If those two firecrackers met, there was no telling what disaster would unfold. He could only thank his lucky stars that Serne had little interest in the Dark Festival.
"What are you doing? We don’t have time to dawdle," Lethe called, looking back over her shoulder.
Simon quickly hurried to catch up.
"Coming!"
---
The two of them thoroughly searched Roc Island. Although Lethe insisted Ever Kireh probably wasn’t there, she took her work seriously. At the same time, she made sure to sample the food Kamibarez had recommended and visit any spots that caught her eye.
"The food in the Dark Alliance is actually quite good," she remarked, twirling meat noodles around her fork in a paper cup. It was a street food made of noodles, meat, and vegetables stir-fried in a spicy, brothless soy-based sauce. "Aren’t you having any?"
"I’m fine," Simon replied, taking a bite of his sandwich.
Lethe neatly wound a forkful of noodles, topped it with a piece of meat, and demurely held it out to him.
"Let’s trade a bite."
’What?!’
Simon jumped back in surprise as the food was suddenly thrust toward his face.
"W-Wait a minute...!"
She furrowed her brow in a pout.
"Are you saying you don’t want what I’m offering?"
"No! It’s not that."
"Then say ’ah." She brought the fork closer to his mouth.
Caught off guard, Simon hesitated for a moment before awkwardly opening his mouth. But then...
Someone suddenly darted between them and snatched the bite mid-air. Chewing thoughtfully, the woman who had so thoroughly enjoyed the noodles even plucked the napkin from Lethe’s hand and casually wiped her mouth.
"That was delicious." She turned and flashed a brilliant smile at Simon. "Oh my. Fancy meeting you here, Simon."
A look of pure despair washed over Simon’s face. He was smiling, but the corners of his mouth trembled uncontrollably.
"S-Serne."
Of all the people in the world, she was the one he least wanted Lethe to meet. Simon forced his voice to remain calm.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came for the afternoon match, of course. I heard you were participating, so I thought I’d get a little exercise in."
A large-scale group match with over twenty students was scheduled for the afternoon, and it seemed Serne had decided to join on a whim. Simon shot a cautious glance at Lethe. But far from being annoyed, Lethe was looking Serne up and down with an expression of pure curiosity—a stark contrast to her reaction to Lorraine.
"Is this person also your friend?"
"Uh, yeah! This is Serne Aindark. She’s the heir to the Ivory Tower."
"All your friends are peculiar." Lethe took a step forward. "And I sense a current from her that’s the complete opposite of that other woman’s. It’s a little suspicious."
’Suspicious.’ The word sent a jolt through Simon. She was considering the possibility that Serne was Ever Kireh.
Serne, still smiling, turned to face Lethe.
"And you are?"
"A friend of Simon’s from his hometown. You can call me Lena."
"Aha."
Serne’s eyes curved like a fox’s.
"A hometown friend, you say? Such a common trope."
"And," Lethe reached behind her neck, plucked away a single white feather that had settled there, and flicked it to the ground. "This kind of trick doesn’t work on me."
With a sharp ’crunch’, she stomped on the feather, her aura turning murderous.
Serne crossed her arms, a look of genuine surprise on her face.
"So you’re not just some ordinary monkey?"
"The fact that you tried to control me only makes you more suspicious."
This was getting complicated. The fanatic Ever Kireh could control people with his Innate Ability. And because Serne had tried to do just that, Lethe now suspected her of being the fanatic. It was a perfectly logical, if incorrect, assumption.
"Wait a minute! Lena! Serne is—!"
Lethe crouched down, carefully setting her noodles on the ground before shooting forward like a gale. Her body spun, leaving an afterimage as her leg whipped up in a vicious arc.
The impact was deafening, a sound like screeching metal. Simon’s jaw dropped.
"Hmm."
Serne clicked her tongue. The tip of Lethe’s foot had stopped inches from Serne’s head. With her arms crossed at an angle, Serne had blocked the kick with the tip of a single feather. A high-pitched screeching sound filled the air as foot and feather strained against each other.
Lethe’s voice was dripping with hostility.
"If you try to steal a person’s free will, you should be prepared to pay the price."
"This is fun."
In perfect sync, they both moved. Lethe lowered her leg and threw a punch, while Serne swept her hair back with her other hand, three feathers now gripped between her fingertips. Just as they were about to strike—
Two strong hands shot out, seizing their slender wrists. They were pulled forward with such force that they both stumbled into Simon’s arms as he wedged himself between them.
"?!"
Her wrist still in his grip, Lethe stared up at Simon with wide eyes.
"Oh my. How forceful."
Serne’s lips curled into a playful smirk.
"Both of you, stop it," Simon said, his face grim as he held their crossed wrists. "How could you start a fight in a place with so many people—?"
It was only then that he noticed. A fight had broken out, yet no one was paying them any mind. At some point, Serne had planted feathers in the ground around them, creating a soundproof barrier.
"I understand you’re protecting her because she’s your friend," Lethe said, her expression sullen. "But she could be pretending. She openly tried to use mind control. We have to be sure."
"Wait, Serne’s Innate Ability has always been mind-related," Simon explained, releasing their wrists. Serne massaged her wrist, a smile playing in her eyes, while Lethe placed her hands on her hips.
"Then why did she try to control me?"
"Because I find people like you interesting," Serne replied simply, then turned her gaze to Simon. "And while I knew you could use ’that power,’ I never imagined you’d have a friend from ’that side."
She spoke as if she knew full well that Lethe was a Priest. Lethe was instantly on guard, and Simon scrambled to prevent a catastrophe.
"Serne! This is—!"
"I already have a rough idea of what’s going on." Serne ran her tongue over her lips. "In fact, Kajan asked for my cooperation as well."
"Ah."
Simon froze. He hadn’t expected Kajan’s name to come up.
"Of course, I don’t care what happens to Kizen. I have no intention of doing anything that doesn’t benefit me, so I refused. However, I am assisting by using my own resources to provide some information. There’s no harm in maintaining a friendly relationship with him, after all."
Simon let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that while Serne wasn’t directly cooperating with Kajan, she was aware that a fanatic had infiltrated Kizen.
"The reason I used my feather on you," Serne finally looked at Lethe, "is because there was one thing I was curious about."
"Yeah, yeah, spit it out." Lethe’s expression made it clear she didn’t like her, but now that she knew Serne wasn’t Ever Kireh and seemed to have information, she wasn’t about to remain hostile.
"It’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask any Priest I meet," Serne said. "Do you know who Gahyeon is?"
At her words, Simon’s eyes widened.
’If you want to find your roots, find a person named ’Gahyeon’ in the Holy Federation.’
It was the hint Future Simon had given Serne. She’d claimed she wasn’t interested, but it seemed to have been weighing on her mind.
"Gahyeon?"
Lethe tilted her head.
"How does a necromancer know that name?"