NOVEL NEXT Chapter 65
“Millia, go inside and sleep.”
“Ummm…”
Looks like she’s sleepy. After chatting non-stop for hours, Millia started to blink, clearly exhausted. With a yawn, it seemed she was really tired. Nodding off, Millia reached out to me.
“Carry me…”
What is she, a child?
“Get up and walk yourself.”
“I’m too lazy to go to my room…”
Rubbing her eyes, she whined like a complete child. I carefully scooped Millia up. Despite her actions not matching, she felt surprisingly heavy for someone who looked around the same age as Karina.
…Has she gained weight?
Wait, can Dullahans even gain weight? Do they age?
“Johann, are you thinking something weird… ch…”
“Thinking nothing at all.”
Did it show?
I moved my legs to brush it off. The rhythmic swaying soon lulled Millia into a steady breathing pattern as she drifted off to sleep.
“It’s tough looking after one kid…”
She only looks a bit younger than Karina, yet taking care of her feels like watching an insecure little child by the waterfront. Maybe it’s because she’s acting like a kid. But I don’t mind. Just like a puppy or a cat wanting attention from its owner, Millia seemed to be craving affection from someone.
For someone who’s missed the smell of life, I couldn’t help but feel thankful for her clinginess.
——————
The next afternoon, after finishing lunch, I decided to have a one-on-one talk with Renny. Millia said she’d go for a stroll in the garden after lunch. Maybe it’s because she was stuck in the dungeon for so long, but she really did love wandering around.
Even when we were building a boat on the deserted island, she often gathered seashells or strolled along the beach with Karina.
“Renny, is there any job available at the Academy?”
At my question, Renny sighed and tapped her fingers on the teacup. The ruby liquid inside rippled. With that strength, the vibrations must be incredible. One misstep, and it could explode like a grenade.
Anyway, Renny answered me with a dark expression.
“Well… I asked while you were at the dungeon… I managed to sort out the identity issue. But since you have no experience, they find it difficult to hire you.”
“So it’s hard to get a job here without experience too.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
They’ve always preferred experienced newbies in the original world, and it doesn’t seem so different here either.
Of course, the nuance is different. Over there, they’re recruiting experienced candidates with a newbie salary, while here, they’re looking for people who work at the best Academy in the world, equivalent to Korea.
Naturally, it’s impossible to hire someone with no experience.
In those positions, it’s likely only those high-ranking folks can parachute in. Isn’t there a professor like that at the academy? I seem to remember there was one, but it’s a blur.
Anyway, asking if I could gain experience right now seems tough. If I could single-handedly capture the Halphas Cult, things might change… but even then, it’d be hard, right? I might even get suspected of being a spy.
The status window isn’t giving me missions for nothing.
This is turning out to be a more complicated issue than I thought.
At the very least, the job must allow access to the Academy and provide some freedom of mobility. Meeting those conditions was really difficult. Just getting a position as Karina’s attendant would be the easiest, but if I wanted to continue interfering with the original story, it would be awkward.
How would a mere servant get involved in incidents happening within the school?
I’d rather become a knight like Renny… huh?
“Renny, is there, by any chance, a position for a knight?”
“What?”
Renny looked at me as if she couldn’t believe what she heard.
I kind of agree, it was a ridiculous suggestion to begin with. Being a saint’s knight is definitely not an easy position. Yet, Renny didn’t immediately dismiss it, looking at the ceiling with her chin propped, then rolled her eyes back to me.
“Being a knight… actually might be easier.”
“Could be easier?”
That was an unexpected response.
“Do you know what the most important condition for being a knight is?”
“…Trust?”
At my answer, Renny smiled in satisfaction and poured some drink from the bottle into her cup. Is that alcohol or tea? This isn’t Russia; are we mixing alcohol in our tea? Since she started talking to me, she’d been mixing her drinks, and it looks like she’s downed half the bottle by now. It’s impressive her face isn’t flushed.
Considering she’s been killed monsters after indulging in that toxic mushroom, she probably wouldn’t get drunk.
“Exactly. Trust. It’s why all those wannabes who want to be the saint’s knights are dropping out. You’d be surprised by the types that apply. Nobles with insane honor, delusional wannabes who think they’re hotshots. Complete delusional dreamers with ulterior motives. It’s not easy for me to handle being the lone knight.”
She sounded legitimately irritated, probably tired of the hassle.
“You’ve had it rough.”
“Well, until not long ago, managing alone as a knight was doable. But things have changed a lot.”
I could hear a clinking sound from Renny’s words. It was probably about the incident we experienced before coming to this academy. It was a memory I wouldn’t want to recall either.
“Is it because of the Harpas guys?”
“Exactly.”
An unexpected risk factor. The ambush and assault from the Halphas Cult. Their stealthy attack in Renny’s absence was incredibly lethal. In the game, such ambushes happened late in the story, where the protagonist party could defend against them, but this was an early ambush with no real allies.
There was no such thing as a ridiculous unfairness like this.
Could this be an issue caused by the true ending addition?
At the very least, they could have included info in the true ending DLC trailer or patch notes.
“I’m not a golem, so I can’t stay by Karina’s side 24/7. That’s why I need someone who can protect her when I’m not around.”
“…Can you trust me?”
“At least more than those fools. It feels weird to say it, but… you’ve never laid a hand on Karina. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been weird if you had… given all the things that have piled up.”
Renny seemed a bit uncomfortable saying that and scratched her cheek while avoiding my gaze. It was definitely a tricky subject to address directly. From my perspective as a major character in the original story, I could hardly think of ever doing anything.
It’s absurd enough I ended up in a world called ‘Survival Academy’, especially on a deserted island with the main heroine, Karina.
There’s no way I’d touch her.
“Thanks for thinking well of me.”
“Well, both Karina and I owe you our lives. So, just think of it as returning the favor.”
If that’s how it is, then I won’t argue.
“Got it. If I’m passing on trust, the next hurdle is skill, right?”
At my words, Renny nodded. It was only natural, as skill was the only thing left.
Renny sipped her drink, whatever it was, and spoke.
“Exactly. No matter how trustworthy someone is, if they lack the ability to protect the knight, it’s meaningless. In that regard, your skills… I think they’re quite good for guarding the target.”
“Aren’t there a lot more capable people than me?”
“I can’t say there aren’t any. However, it’s rare to find someone as trustworthy as you, and securing an escape route is also crucial. You can dig anywhere or create passages, right?”
“…True.”
“Just using that ability for protection is a significant advantage. I can manage direct combat somehow. However…”
“But?”
“Once again, experience is holding you back. Although I have the authority to write a recommendation letter, you still need some experience to convince those high-ups. But it’d be tough to count living on a deserted island for ten years as experience, wouldn’t it? We’ve seen some of what you’ve gone through, but they haven’t.”
Indeed.
It seems there needs to be something that wouldn’t lead to the comment of ‘even so, this is a bit…’.
But you can’t build a career overnight.
“Isn’t there any way?”
“There’s not none. Though it’s somewhat out there…”
It seemed Renny was mulling over a method of her own. I sipped my tea while waiting for her to continue. Renny paused a bit as if sorting her thoughts and then opened her mouth.
“So here’s the deal, I’ll write recommendation letters to all the guilds, and you should go test for every single one. If you manage to pass even a few and get some certifications, that should count as decent experience, right?”
Now that’s a wild idea.
Pushing by quantity—getting in through sheer numbers—was a clever response, and I nodded enthusiastically.