A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 159

I was a bit flustered by Kara’s unexpected appearance.

Part of it was because I was spending a cozy moment with Ellie and didn’t notice anyone coming.

But judging by how she approached without a sound, she must have planned it. And she probably saw everything right in front of her eyes.

“Uh, when did you get—no, before that, I mean…”

Ellie, too, was visibly startled by Kara’s sudden entrance. Her face was still red, though.

Kara snorted at Ellie, who was fumbling nervously, and then slowly approached us.

“Enough. It’s just a kiss, what’s the big deal? You might not know, but I’ve already done it.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying you’re not the only one who’s done something like that. Want me to show you right now?”

Kara, who had come close to us at some point, said that with a smile.

Ellie blinked a couple of times at her words and then turned her head toward me with a sudden whip-like motion.

“Sivar. Did you really kiss Kara Unnie?”

“It wasn’t a kiss, just a peck.”

“Don’t tell me you did it with Grace too?”

“Yeah.”

At my calm response, Ellie looked utterly crestfallen. She must have thought she was the first.

Meanwhile, Kara leisurely sipped her wine, only to spit it out again. Then she widened her eyes and stared at me.

“What? You did it with Grace too? When?”

Come to think of it, Kara must not have seen anything after she left. Only Luna was there with me, so it made sense she didn’t know.

“After you left, Kara.”

“Looks like you went all out. Well, I guess it makes sense.”

Kara seemed surprised by the unexpected revelation but didn’t seem to mind at all. She’s refreshingly straightforward in this regard.

Ellie, however, was not. She wore a somewhat dejected expression and muttered softly.

“What the heck. So I was the only one agonizing over it. Now it feels anticlimactic.”

“Still, I didn’t do it as intensely as I did with you. That part makes me a bit jealous. Where did you even learn that?”

“I learned it from my mom. She said men like it.”

What on earth did Ellie’s parents teach her? Growing up in a remote village, her parents’ knowledge must have shaped hers.

But because of that, it made even more sense. Given the limitations of the times, she likely spent most of her life in that village.

In other words, the knowledge might have been passed down for generations without much change.

“Most men do like it. But what’s this about practice?”

“My mom said it’s part of a step-by-step process. How should I put it? More than friends, less than lovers? Anyway, she said it’s practice at that stage.”

“That’s… quite peculiar. But strangely, it makes sense.”

Kara nodded. Still, practicing to the point of kissing seemed a bit much.

Perhaps the norms of this world are just different. Seeing Kara agree, it seems plausible.

“If it’s with a lover, it’s no longer practice, right?”

“Right. That’s when you put all the practice to use. After lovers, you become a married couple. Isn’t that how it works?”

“That’s true, but… I don’t even know what to say. Let’s just seduce in our own ways. That seems better.”

Kara decisively concluded. My opinion wasn’t even part of the discussion.

Even if I voiced it, they’d probably brush it off as me not knowing anything. Honestly, I didn’t mind since I wasn’t in a bad position.

“Oh, right. How did you know we were here?”

“Took you long enough to ask. I saw you and the Crown Prince of the Matra Empire heading this way. What were you talking about?”

“I’m not sure. He just rambled about freedom and then left.”

Ellie shrugged. With almost no knowledge on the topic, she must have dismissed it as nonsense.

That’s true. Even on Earth, people don’t know much about fields they’re not interested in. It’s no wonder in this world. Most people just care about living well.

“So he said the same to you, huh? He talked to me about that too. The future of the Empire seems… quite complicated.”

“Did you talk to Karas too, Unnie? When I saw you earlier, you were talking to others. What was that about?”

“Just… this and that?”

Kara gave a bitter smile and approached us. Then, she quietly passed by and leaned against the terrace railing, looking down.

Thanks to that, I could observe her expression more closely. For some reason, she looked bitter.

“We talked about a lot. Surprisingly, people don’t despise me as a barbarian as much as I feared. That’s what I was worried about.”

“Isn’t the real problem the ones who blatantly say it?”

“At first, I thought so too. But when I faced it directly, it felt different.”

Originally, Karas’ younger brother, Prince Leo, would hurl insults at barbarians. Suggesting someone become a concubine was just the cherry on top.

But since I smashed his skull, there was no reason to endure such insults.

No matter how much Kara caused a ruckus, anyone who spewed such insults to her face would inevitably be socially ruined.

“I can tolerate being called a barbarian. The problem is, there’s a clear victim among them.”

“A victim?”

“Yeah. You know how the Tatars used to raid neighboring countries? There’s someone whose blood relatives suffered from that.”

“…”

It’s a rather complex issue. And it’s a karmic debt the Tatars must bear.

Back then, they resorted to plunder due to a lack of resources, but now that they’ve established a nation, it’s no longer a valid excuse.

In the first place, the Tatars wouldn’t have been recognized as a nation without Byzantium’s approval. Even after becoming a nation, they couldn’t escape disdainful gazes.

“Given the situation, that person didn’t openly insult me. But they subtly asked. What are we going to do about the people who suffered because of us? Can we handle it?”

“What did you say?”

I asked. While I could overlook the Prince’s insults, this was different.

It was karma coming back to them, plain and simple. If it weren’t for the banquet hall, meeting outside might have led to immediate violence.

A similar situation unfolded in the Soul World too. Back then, Kara was mentally immature and reacted with arrogance.

Saying they had no choice but to endure the harsh desert climate, or questioning why it was brought up now when they were doing their best, and so on.

“What else could I say? I bowed my head and apologized. Saying it was inevitable is just an excuse. Back then, we were truly barbarians. Although the dead can’t come back… apologizing seemed to make it somewhat better.”

But this time, it was different. Kara handled it with remarkable maturity.

People are inherently self-centered, focusing only on their own perspective. Yet Kara bowed her head and apologized.

Even last time, she seemed to have matured mentally. I just don’t know when she grew so much. Was there some event I missed?

“Your country is in the desert, right? Wasn’t there some inevitability to it?”

“There was, to some extent. That’s why we resorted to plunder. But all of that is meaningless talk. Understanding and forgiveness are separate matters.”

Kara is right. Evil deeds remain evil deeds, regardless of understanding.

If everyone could forgive everything, they’d be saints or Buddhas. Evil deeds beyond the bounds of understanding wouldn’t even permit forgiveness.

Now, the only option is to apologize and slowly move forward into the future. Even gods can’t turn back time recklessly.

“Kara.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t you dislike civilized people?”

That aside, I was curious. How did Kara achieve such growth?

I kept digging through my memories, but I couldn’t find anything that seemed like a turning point. All I remembered were moments of laughter and chatter.

Kara stared at me for a while after hearing my question. Her face was slightly flushed, probably from the amount of alcohol she’d consumed.

“I used to dislike them. This is a bit complicated, but…”

Kara then turned her head with a conflicted expression. Her lips moved as if she had something to say.

Come to think of it, she had mentioned before that there was something she wanted to tell me but needed alcohol to muster the courage.

Even now, with alcohol in her system, she seemed hesitant, which suggested it was a difficult topic.

“…It might hurt you. Are you okay with that?”

“I’m fine. Because it’s you, Kara.”

“Alright. Hah…”

Kara let out a long sigh. It seemed like she was trying to calm her trembling heart.

Then she downed the remaining wine in her glass in one go. Isn’t that a pretty strong liquor?

“Ellie.”

“Yeah.”

“What did you think when you first met Sivar?”

At Kara’s question, Ellie looked upward, as if lost in thought.

Then she blinked and gave a straightforward, honest answer.

“The person who saved me? That’s all.”

“No thoughts about him being a wildling or anything?”

“That’s about it. I just thought he was really strong.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Kara nodded after hearing Ellie’s answer. Her expression remained complicated.

“At first, I thought the same. In fact, I could communicate with him better than with others. While others avoided me, calling me a barbarian, Sivar was different. That’s why we became close.”

That was part of it, but it was also because Sivar understood Kara’s disposition well.

Back then, she had a violent streak, but over time, it had almost disappeared. Mainly because no one approached her.

“To be honest, I felt a bit lonely. I didn’t want to be alone. But after Sivar came, things changed. I gained trustworthy people around me, and Sivar was the one I trusted the most.”

“Me too. I like Sivar because he’s honest.”

“Same here. But… at some point, I found myself thinking this.”

As Kara said that, she clenched her fist tightly. So tightly, in fact, that a crack formed in the glass cup she was holding.

It was something so difficult to say aloud that her body tensed. I waited silently for her to confess.

Eventually, she glanced at my face and bit her lip. She seemed desperate to speak but lacked the courage.

“It’s okay.”

“…Sivar?”

“I can understand. I can forgive.”

So, I offered her some encouragement. Didn’t I just say earlier that understanding and forgiveness were separate matters?

I repeated those words back to her. Kara looked at me with a baffled expression.

“Friend.”

“… …”

“Kara is my friend.”

I even added the word “friend” as a bonus. For Kara, nothing carried more weight than that word.

Perhaps encouraged by this, Kara’s face twitched as if she were about to cry, but then she let out a hollow laugh.

“Honestly… I have no right to criticize civilized people. While I insulted them, I harbored the same feelings myself.”

“… …”

“I hate myself for consoling myself by thinking I was better than you. When in reality, I’m not better at all.”

So that’s how it was. I think I understand her feelings now.

She had been scorned as a barbarian, and then a wildling, even lower in status, appeared. It must have been a strange sort of comfort for her.

That’s just how people are. Many find solace in comparing themselves and thinking, “At least I’m better than that person.”

That ugly jealousy becomes the driving force of competition, but jealousy is still jealousy. From Kara’s perspective, she must have found herself detestable.

“Do you know what’s even funnier? I like you. When I think about it, you’ve always been by my side. I wanted to hide it, but I couldn’t.”

Honestly, for someone like Kara, this was mild. No, more than mild—it was remarkable.

People have a natural instinct to hide their feelings to the very end. Even I have secrets I’m keeping.

But Kara, on the other hand, spoke openly and candidly. Perhaps she couldn’t forgive herself, but the courage to reveal it was admirable.

“Sivar.”

“Yeah.”

“This might sound strange, but… is it okay if I keep liking you?”

Kara confessed while looking straight at me. It was similar to her confession during the final exam, yet different.

Back then, she had hidden her feelings, but now, she had laid everything bare, including her ugly emotions.

I stared at Kara’s face for a while before looking past her. Ellie was standing beside her.

Nod! Nod!

As soon as Ellie met my gaze, she nodded vigorously. It was a signal for me to accept.

Even without such an obvious signal, I had already decided to accept. There was nothing to gain from drifting apart from Kara.

More than anything, Kara and I got along well. Letting something as trivial as comparisons ruin that would be uncomfortable for me.

“I like you too, Kara.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah.”

Peck!

As proof, I lightly kissed Kara on the lips. Her green eyes widened in surprise.

She touched her lips with her hand and then let out a small laugh. Her face was filled with a deep sense of relief.

“…Thank you. At this point, I wonder if Lord Gulak sent you to me.”

“… …”

I don’t think so. If Gulak heard that, he’d probably cry and beat the ground in frustration.

[Faith Increases!]

He’d definitely cry. Anyway, seeing the faith increase means it all worked out.

Things might be awkward for a while, but it doesn’t matter. Time will smooth things over.

“Want to drink more? The banquet isn’t over yet.”

“Sure.”

“Don’t overdo it. Otherwise, tomorrow will be tough…”

“There you are! You barbarian!”

Just as we were about to leave the terrace, an unfamiliar voice interrupted us.

We turned our heads to see a man standing before us, panting heavily.

He had the same gray hair as Karas, but his expression was much more hostile.

“Not only did you hit me on the head, but you also stole the woman?! As expected of a barbarian, you only know how to do trashy things!”

It was Leo, the prince who had tried to mess with Ellie and ended up getting hit on the back of the head by me.

His head should’ve been cracked, but here he was, awake and standing. How did he even find us here?

“Who’s that guy? Why’s he throwing a fit all of a sudden?”

“He’s a prince… He tried to bother me earlier and got hit by Sivar with a liquor bottle.”

“What?”

“Hmm?”

While Ellie was giving a brief summary, Leo’s gaze shifted elsewhere.

His eyes landed on Ellie and Kara. His expression gradually softened, and then a sly smile appeared on his face.

“Oh? An unexpected prize! Judging by that bronzed skin, you must be the Princess of Tatars?”

“And if I am?”

“And if you are? You’re still just a barbarian like the rest.”

“… …”

Is this really happening? I was a bit taken aback by this unexpected turn of events.

Kara also frowned slightly, clearly displeased with Leo’s sudden insults calling her a barbarian.

I wondered if she’d punch him in the face like she did in the Soul World. Or perhaps she’d respond differently now that she’d matured.

“But you’re incredibly beautiful. Allow me to make you an offer…”

Smack!!

Just as I was getting curious about what would happen next, a familiar and satisfying sound rang out.

At the same time, Leo’s body staggered violently. He reached for the back of his head as an afterthought.

He turned around, his face filled with shock. Behind him stood a familiar figure.

“B-Brother…?”

Thud!

With that single word, Leo collapsed. As he fell, another figure came into view.

“Haha! My apologies! I had a feeling and decided to follow, but I didn’t expect him to cause trouble again.”

It was Karas, the crown prince. In his hand was a liquor bottle, broken in half.

Judging by the glass shards scattered on the ground, it seemed he’d hit Leo on the back of the head, just like I had earlier.

For Leo, this marked the second time he’d been struck on the head with a liquor bottle. I just hoped he wasn’t going to die from it.

“Don’t mind me. Carry on. I’ll be on my way now.”

With those words, Karas left the terrace. His bodyguard knight followed, carrying the unconscious Leo like a piece of luggage.

“…Is he always like that?”

“Um… I’m not sure?”

“… …”

I decided to just think of it as a storm passing through.

******

The day after the banquet.

‘…What’s this?’

Luna was utterly confused. It all started when she woke up to a strange ceiling.

‘What on earth is going on?’

The next thing she noticed was that she was wearing only her underwear—just a single pair of panties.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Right beside her, Sivar was lying down.

‘What the actual hell is going on?’

Luna’s mind was spinning tautly.