Chapter 106: Worries
The initiation ceremony was in progress.
The process had been fully explained by the members…or ‘seniors’, so all that was needed was one last word from Bernice and the initiation ceremony would be over.
“…”
But Bernice couldn’t continue.
“”……””
A chilling silence settled over the empty hall as I stood motionless, waiting for Bernice’s voice.
However, it was not her voice that I heard, but the sound of her shoes as she walked down the hall as Bernice had abruptly exited the hall.
“Saint…!”
I hear Inés’ urgent voice, and Bernice rushes past me.
As she passes me, she’s muttering something so low that I can’t hear it unless I listen closely.
“…I’m sorry.”
Bernice was apologizing to me.
I couldn’t see her face because she had her head down, but at least she didn’t look happy.
Inés immediately ran after her as she left the hall.
‘…What’s going on?’
The situation was so sudden that I chose to remain still rather than make any hasty movements.
As I’m pondering my options, Ecline, who was on the other side of the room, approaches me.
“Um……”
She was surprised and was slowly choosing her words.
“Let’s just say… the initiation is… over.”
At her words, I jumped up from my knees.
“Is that okay?”
Ecline raises an eyebrow at my question.
“Aren’t I the vice-leader of the Order?”
“…More than that, shouldn’t you go after the Saint?”
“I’m sure it’s okay since the leader went and I don’t really know what the situation is. Whatever it is…”
Ecline trailed off, her green hair tousled as she turned her head and her eyes traveled in the direction Bernice had left.
“…there was an unprecedented event at the initiation ceremony that prevented a member from receiving the blessing.”
After she said that, Ecline muttered, “I wonder how that happened…” and then sighed.
“I’m fine, but…I’m worried about the Saint, I wonder if something happened to her…?”
“…She hasn’t forbidden you to join, I can assure you of that.”
Ecline pats me on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it too much. It’ll be fine.”
When I don’t say anything else, she comforts me.
I smiled bitterly at her kindness and thought back to what had just happened.
The downside of Bernice’s power is that she can’t lie so the last words she was unable to utter were……I’m glad.
I’m glad you’ve joined the Order, and I’m glad you’re my sword.
It was a mere formality, but to Bernice, it was the only word she could utter if she were truly happy at this moment.
Which means she wasn’t happy just a moment ago…It was hard to tell exactly what it was.
Was she really unable to speak because of her constraints, or was there something else that made it difficult for her to speak?
For example, it could be the energy from my body.
There were countless other possibilities.
…Still, I don’t think it’s the worst case scenario that she suddenly lost interest in me or turned her back on me considering Ecline reaction.
***
We were walking back to the dorm after the initiation ceremony.
Sheddie is a spirit, after all, and Bernice, who doesn’t have much to do with spirits, wouldn’t recognize her, but Sierra was different.
I would have to explain this to Bernice sometime, but the timing didn’t seem right this time.
“Well, it’s not like I didn’t have a reason to.”
I said with a shrug.
With Bernice gone, the welcome party was naturally postponed.
Ecline, Ines, and Bernice are the only ones I can think of for a welcome party, but they’re all major figures in the Order, so it was a pretty important opportunity to get to know them.
[A saint is not a person to be taken lightly…]
“Who can understand the life of a saint?”
Sierra covered her mouth with the cuff of her hand and smiled faintly in agreement.
I made small talk with her and started walking but the darkness I was walking through was none other than Sheddie shadow.
The master of this world was currently hovering over my head, sucking the life out of me.
“Rice. Delicious.”
Sheddie, who was eating ‘rice’, said that.
Delicious… I wonder if there’s a difference between flavored and unflavored life force.
I wanted to ask her in her own language, but she still only speaks simple words, so I don’t think I’ll get the answer I’m looking for.
Being in the shadows was comfortable in many ways. Most importantly, it’s a simple way to get out of the public eye and it allowed me to talk to Sierra as easily as I do now.
Whether traveling in and out of the Academy or around the city, it was proving useful in real life but I have yet to test it in combat.
The current use of Shadow Hide and Seek didn’t take much of my power so I had a rough idea of how much each skill cost.
The most expensive of them all was Sheddie’s Manifestation since it could be considered a ‘summon’ that broke out of the spirit state.
Roughly speaking, its destructive power seemed to be enormous…and I don’t think I can manifest the Sheddie I saw earlier.
That doesn’t mean I’m lacking in destructive power or force, so I wonder if there’s a use for it, but I was curious.
It’s a gamer’s curiosity.
Why didn’t I try out my first skill in an empty field with no enemies?
‘Unless I’m in a really urgent situation, I think I can only use it when I’m moving alone…’
Sheddie’s powers should be used with caution since it’s an openly suspicious power, so it’s best to hide it from others if I can.
The next ‘episode’ was fast approaching.
In this episode, I would be fighting alongside like-minded players and it was kind of like a raid.
Since I was going to be traveling far away, I figured I might as well experience Sheddie’s power before I left so I went over the plan, piece by piece, organizing it in my head.
I kept walking, making small talk with Sierra, and before I knew it, I was in front of my dorm.
Shadow Hide and Seek makes it easy to scale the high floors since I’m in the shadows, but the structure of the building is still there.
Soon, my body emerged from the shadows next to the bed and I immediately flung myself onto it.
Sierra sneaks up on me and strokes my cheek.
[…You look uncharacteristically tired.]
Sierra’s soothing voice echoed in my head.
“She’s a bloodsucker.”
I rubbed Sheddie’s fluffy fur against my chest. It wasn’t painful to have my life force drained, but it was tiring.
I wanted to stay in bed and try to get some sleep, but I had to head to the Academy in a little while.
***
Meanwhile, on the night of Zetto’s initiation ceremony, Yuri Clementine was in the midst of a culinary trance.
She was preparing a “delicious” nourishing meal for Zetto herself.
“…I’m done.”
Yuri swallowed hard as he slammed the bowl down on the table but the kitchen was a chaotic mess from all the cooking she had done.
The food she had made was now out of her hands. All that remained was the ‘objective assessment’.
Next, the blue-haired girl at the table picked up her fork with a very serious expression but her hands were shaking violently.
There was something in the bowl that could hardly be called food.
The food was wiggling and the girl wondered how this was possible, but she barely swallowed her question as she watched Yuri’s face.
The next thing she knew, her mouth was filled with Yuri’s food.
The girl chews the food and shakes her head but after a few more chews…
“…”
…There is silence.
Yuri purses her lips and waits patiently for Lucia’s mouth to open.
Lucia, innocent and good-hearted as she was, tried to smile as brightly as she could, but her face had long since been stiffened by the indescribable taste of the food.
Finally, Lucia’s mouth opened.
“Hmph…”
Lucia’s body shudders.
It didn’t matter if the food was delicious or not.
“How about it, how about it, is it okay this time?!”
“This, something that humans shouldn’t eat……Not anymore…It’s too much…”
Lucia left the terminal and dropped her head on the table.
Still, it was a tolerable level of chewing and trying to swallow the food without spitting it out.
“…I failed again? What’s wrong with me…?”
Yuri looked at the food and wondered.
‘I thought for sure I followed the recipe exactly this time…’
Cooking was not easy and Yuri had wanted to make Zetto a nourishing meal herself, but taste was a problem.
It seemed absurd to her to serve something tasteless and hope to win his favor. But no matter how hard she tried, her poor cooking skills were showing no signs of improvement. So she brought Lucia, who was in a culinary exchange program, over for some advice.
“Mmm…”
Yuri took a bite of her food, frowned, and spat it out.
Even for someone who had cooked it, the flavor was unbearable. But she thought she had figured out what was lacking.
“…Okay, then, just one more time…”
“Eh…?”
Yuri’s muttering startled Lucia, who had just gotten up and was munching on bread.
“Yu, Yuri-san…! I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but you don’t hate me, do you…?”
Suddenly, Lucia cries while Yuri tilts her head and smiles brightly, as if she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
“Clementine” is not going to be broken by this much.
“…Hmph.”
However, Lucia, who is supposed to be in charge of the ‘objective tasting’, seems to be about to break.