NOVEL NEXT Chapter 295: Salvation Of The Hero Of Money
༺ Salvation Of The Hero Of Money ༻
“E-excuse me… but where are we going?”
“To the academy annex~”
“I-isn’t that off-limits for first-year students?”
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”
Watching Lenya leave the classroom with the group of second and third-year noble young ladies, I muttered to myself with a frown.
‘Those girls, they’re not good people…’
During the freshmen welcome party a year ago, those girls were definitely there.
Feeding alcohol to seemingly easy going guys, sticking to those with high status, and then taking advantage of them somehow…
Given their previous behavior, perhaps this time, they were acting as bait to lure innocent first-year students.Maybe they were trying to exploit Lenya, who had attracted everyone’s attention with her incredibly beautiful look and how she summoned spirits and fairies during the entrance ceremony.
“Hm…”
Even though my influence dramatically decreased as a commoner, I still roughly knew how the welcome party worked.
They started with cheerful conversations and jokes to lull them into a false sense of security, then gradually they forced people to drink.
Last year, a few who couldn’t handle their alcohol got into a fight, and I couldn’t reveal my true colors as I was busy trying to protect Irina.
There would probably be a lot of people scheming under the pretext of the welcome party.
“…Phew.”
I rubbed my tired eyes as I thought that. Then, once I confirmed that not a single person was left in the classroom, I sighed and leaned back.
– Creak…
Then, the drawer under the lectern slowly opened.
“Hmm.”
Finally, Kania crawled out from within while wiping her mouth with her hand and wearing a satisfied expression.
“Kania, what about your class?”
“Protecting Young Master is more important. There is no problem even if I miss a day.”
“Really… that’s all?”
“By the way, there’s an uninvited guest inside.”
When I asked hollowly, she opened the drawer with a sly expression.
“Ubeub…”
Inside the drawer was Alice, she squirmed with a flushed face as her body was bound all over with black ropes made by Kania.
“How should we handle this?”
“Ubeub!?”
When Kania, who had been coldly staring at her, asked that, she stopped squirming and her face turned pale.
“…!”
Then, with tears in her eyes, Alice alternated looks of betrayal and contempt between Kania and me.
“What do you mean by handle her? We should just let her go… Oh, come to think of it, I needed to incapacitate her for a few days.”
“Huh? Why?”
“We need to strengthen our stance for the next few days, but if the Hero Party intervenes, it could cause problems. Just today, there have been several interruptions.”
“I see…”
“Also, there are those targeting her directly. Whether it’s the Church or some new faction, she’s in quite a precarious state right now.”
In front of her, Kania and I exchanged whispers in each other’s ears.
“Then… How about we turn the space under the lectern into a prison for Alice while simultaneously making it a secret base?”
“What?”
“Ms. Irina and I can use spatial expansion magic and portals. That way, we can rush to Young Master at any time in case of an emergency.”
“Hmm…”
After considering various options with her for a while, I nodded silently and then lowered my head to look at Alice, who was still under the lectern.
“Alice, from now on, this space under the lectern is your home.”
After I said that with a bright smile, she, who had been glaring at me with disdain, was taken aback.
“My Alice is a good girl, right?”
“Ugh! Uvub!!”
I showed smiling eyes while gently stroking her cheek, and she intensified her struggle and started to thrash around.
“We will cast spatial expansion magic to the drawer. You can stay there as long as you want. We’ll provide food and a blanket, so don’t worry too much.”
– Squirm, squirm…!
“Right, well done. Given that I have kept giving you chances to kill me every week… Can you be quiet?”
Petting her head, I calmly issued the command. Soon, I started planning in my mind.
‘I don’t have to be friends with her as Frey, right?’
Plans to befriend her and a blurred plan to fully regain control of the academy were slowly taking shape in my mind.
‘If I keep her hidden here for a few days and then rescue her with that identity, I can also complete Serena and Alice’s quests of breaking free from the Curse of Subordination.’
“Uvub! Ugh!!!”
‘That’s right, I also still have to rescue Lenya… today is probably the best time to make an appearance as him.’
As I pondered that, I continued to smile gently and spoke.
“So, remain here and behave, okay, Alice?”
“Eubebbbebebub!!! Uebeub!! Eeeebbb…”
– Click.
With tears streaming down from her glistening eyes, I locked eyes with her until the end, then closed the drawer, quietly locking it with a key, and opened my mouth again.
“Kania, it would be better if we call Irina. We should be careful as to not summon Dmir Khan when using spatial magic.”
“Understood.”
“Call Lulu too. It’ll be necessary for the plan.”
“…Okay.”
Kania nodded with a professional expression in response.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
She then quietly licked her lips and left the classroom.
“…”
What exactly was I entrusting to her?
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“…”
The freshmen welcome party was held as usual this year on the top floor of the annex, which was originally off-limits.
All eyes in the room were focused on Lenya.
“Um, um… H-hellooo…”
Sitting at the end of the banquet table, Lenya nervously greeted everyone with a stammering voice.
“Fufu… She’s pretty.”
“She’s incredibly cute that I want to go out with her.”
“May I ask if you happen to be from a certain family?”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
Just like that, what was coming for her was numerous praises and questions.
“Um, um…”
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Ah, y-yes.”
Sitting at the foot of the table, Lenya, who was being looked at with a strange gaze by the third-year students, quickly answered the questions when the girl next to her poked her in the side.
“I-I don’t have a boyfriend. As for my family… I am from the Horizon family.”
“Oh… there? I thought you were just a commoner.”
“W-we have just reinstated not long ago, but… we’re still working hard to regain our family past glory! S-so, please take care of me!”
When someone said that, Lenya, who had been very nervous, started babbling.
– Clap, clap, clap, clap…!
“Oh? Huh?”
However, overwhelming applause poured down on her.
“Your aspirations are great! I liked it.”
“Pfthehehe. She’s really cute, right?”
“Yeah… I guess so.”
Amidst the deluge of compliments, Lenya, who were dumbfounded, secretly smiled contentedly.
‘Alright, I don’t know what’s happening, but it’s working well. If it continues like this, I can make connections…’
“Here, it’s a gift.”
“…Pardon?”
However, out of nowhere, a third-year student next to her handed a crystal glass to Lenya.
“This… Is it alcohol, by any chance?”
“Why? You don’t like alcohol?”
“Uh, well…”
Slightly troubled, Lenya nodded politely and explained.
“I’ve never drunk alcohol before… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be like that~! It’s just fruit wine. It’s not strong at all.”
“S-still.”
“If you try it, you’ll taste something incredibly sweet. Come on, just take a sip.”
“Umm…”
However, when the young ladies who brought her here urged her, Lenya’s eyes began to waver.
– Thud…!
“Sigh.”
But at that moment…
The student at the end of the table was slamming his crystal glass loudly on the desk with a cold expression.
“Who brought her here?”
When he, who has numerous scars on his face, asked in a fierce voice, the cheerful atmosphere quickly turned icy.
“Didn’t I tell you not to bring someone who can’t drink alcohol…?”
But despite this, he didn’t care, and he glared at Lenya with cold eyes.
“I asked who brought her here?”
“I… I-I can actually drink!”
“…What?”
As his voice grew louder, Lenya hastily spoke and grabbed the glass.
‘Just one sip, just one sip, it should be okay, right?’
Thinking so, she slowly brought the glass to her lips.
“…!”
Soon, Lenya’s eyes were wide open.
‘I-it’s delicious!’
The alcohol she tasted for the first time in her life was incredibly sweet.
With just a touch on her tongue, the drink, a blend of alcohol aroma and juice, blossomed like a flower in her mouth.
“What’s this? You said you couldn’t drink?”
– Gulp, gulp…
Thanks to that, without her realizing it, Lenya began to drink the beverage in the glass.
“…”
However, as she finished her drink, a smile appeared on the faces of the students at the head of the table who were watching her.
– Hororong! Horong!
– Bbuuuuu…!
“Huh?”
At the same time, a spirit language echoed in Lenya’s mind.
‘It’s dangerous, you said? B-but, who are you?’
Startled by the sudden voice that reached her, she paused with the cup near her lips, tilting her head to locate the source of the voice.
“What are you doing? How did you get in there?”
The fairy and spirit that had flown to her side during the entrance ceremony were inside her clothes.
– Horororong!
– Bbuuuuu!!
‘Get out of here… right now, you said?’
She tried to shoo away the fairies as she showed a troubled expression. However, as they sent another message, she furrowed her eyebrows and stood up from her seat.
– Tingling…!
“Ugh.”
However, at that moment, she began feeling tingling in her body.
“W-why is this happening…? Am I drunk?”
She staggered and desperately grabbed the table with a bewildered expression as she was hit by dizziness.
“I-I need to go to the restroom.”
Lenya staggered out of the banquet hall with a dazed look.
“Is alcohol affecting me this strongly?”
After opening the door and stepping outside, she took a breath of the cool air coming in through the open window and muttered once again.
“No, it shouldn’t be to this extent. S-something’s off… Huh?”
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and frowned.
“Maaaster… ♡ Long time no see… ♡”
“Lulu.”
A very strange scene unfolded before her eyes.
– Lick, lick…
A girl with short pink hair and red eyes was kneeling in front of Frey, vigorously licking his hand.
“Haeub…”
“Um, Lulu. Now is…”
– Mumble, mumble…
“…Ugh.”
Afterward, she quietly buried her face and mumbled to herself.
“Are you staying in the faculty office now? Then, I… Can’t I stay under the faculty office desk?”
– Ssk, ssk…
“I-if it’s inconvenient… Could you play with me while I have the leash on once a day, Master… Please, I beg you…”
“Okay, I’ll do it. Listen carefully. Today, the people you need to brainwash are…”
Although his words couldn’t be clearly heard, the girl’s actions were extremely peculiar.
After rubbing her face against Frey’s incessantly, she displayed an intoxicated expression, trembling as he gently stroked her cheek.
For Lenya, it was a scene beyond her wildest imagination.
“I must be hallucinating… Yeah, that’s it.”
Eventually, dismissing it as a hallucination due to extreme fatigue, Lenya entered the restroom.
“Puha, puhaa…”
Despite already washing her face with cold water, her dazed state didn’t improve at all. After struggling for a while, she finally entered a stall, swaying.
“I need to pull myself together…”
Soon, after sitting down and pinching her cheeks, Lenya mumbled to herself.
“Our family… I need to revive it…”
Thus, a short period passed.
– Hororong…!!
– Bbuuu!!-
“Sseub…!”
Without her realizing it, She was dozing off and drooling in the stall. Then,Lenya’s eyes widened in surprise as the spirits made a loud noise in her ears.
‘W-What time is it now? How long have I been asleep? H-Has the welcome party ended?’
Suddenly, as she anxiously mumbled, and tried to stand up…
“So, when is that green-haired student coming back?”
“W-Well…”
Out of nowhere, a male voice echoed beyond the door.
“W-Well, it could be…”
Though Lenya was taken aback, she quickly nodded, quietly recalling that this was a public restroom.
“By now, the drug should have spread throughout her body. Why hasn’t she come back yet?”
“W-Well…”
“…!”
However, the moment she heard the next part of the conversation, her fantasy was brutally shattered.
“But, will you really rape her? She’s not a commoner… but a noble, you know?”
“Why? Doesn’t that make you more excited? I’m tired of only targeting commoners.”
“B-But… it might be difficult to clean up afterward…”
“She is just the daughter of Baron Horizon, with barely any power, after all, and I’m the Marquis’s first-born son. There’ll be no problems at all.”
As she listened to their conversation with a pale expression, she suddenly recalled the events that had just happened.
‘Then just now… perhaps…!’
The notorious Frey, known for his wickedness, received affectionate gestures from the woman with a dazed and intoxicated expression in front of the restroom.
The unusually sweet-tasting drink, the slightly peculiar glances from the people who had been watching her, and the rumors about the ‘Freshmen Welcome Party’ she vaguely heard.
‘E-Even though I had the alcohol checked with magic once… How? How did they manage to slip in drugs?’
“By the way, where did she go?”
“She said she was going to the restroom. Maybe she’s still here? Perhaps she got stuck due to the effects of the drug, or she noticed something and decided to hide here…”
“Heub.”
As everything started to fall into place, she started to break out in a cold sweat, but when the content of the two male’s student conversation took an unusual turn, she involuntarily took a deep breath.
“Was that voice just now coming from you?”
“No, it’s not.”
“…Open all the stalls.”
“Okay.”
She desperately tried to keep her mouth shut, but unfortunately, it was too late. The sound had already echoed through the restroom.
– Creak…
‘No, it can’t be… My mana isn’t responding properly…’
She, who was desperately trying to use her mana, became frightened as her mana control didn’t work properly due to the unexpectedly strong influence of the drug.
Lenya, who trusted only in magic, knew that the chance of her winning a fight against two males older than her was almost nonexistent.
– Creaaaak…
‘N-No… Please don’t come… Don’t come here…’
Knowing this all too well, Lenya trembled as the sound of the door opening grew nearer.
‘I-I shouldn’t have come here… If I knew it would turn out to be like this, I wouldn’t come to Sunrise Academy…’
Today’s troubles and the mistreatment she had received throughout the day piled up, causing tears to well up in her eyes.
– Creaaaaak…
‘Why, why is the world so unfair? Why!!’
When she heard the sound of the door opening right next to her, she screamed inwardly and shed tears.
– Click! Click, click!
“H-help! Someone, please help!”
Just before they could open the door to her stall, she desperately locked it and began shouting for help.
“Sigh… I knew it would come to this.”
“Give up; no one else in this annex is beside us.”
“W-What?”
“Should we report this to the seniors? If she doesn’t come out, we’ll break in. One, two…”
“Uh, uhuhuh…”
However, they mercilessly crushed her last hope.
“Hey, let’s just break it.”
– Bang! Clang! Crash!!!
‘M-My consciousness…’
Lenya desperately tried to block the violently shaking door with her whole body, but she gradually began to weaken under the influence of the drug.
“Sis… I’m sorry…”
Shedding tears of regret, she muttered apologetically.
“I’m sorry for being such a stupid little sister…”
– Crash!!!
However, a sudden loud noise echoed through the restroom at that moment.
“W-What, what are you guys… Ugh!”
“Y-you…!”
“Long time no see, little punk.”
After that, a woman’s voice resounded in the restroom, and Lenya silently tilted her head.
“Frey, can I turn these guys into eunuchs?”
“Last year, these guys were the ones who kidnapped and smashed your face into the crystal glass to impress me. You can handle them however you like. Once the job is done, send them to the back alley prison.”
“Urrrr…”
Though she wasn’t sure what was happening, it was quite noisy.
“H-Help… Keughaaaackkkk!!!”
“Just die, you idiot.”
“Master, shall I subdue all those inside as well?”
“You betrayed the Demon Lord’s army, so I will punish you myself.”
“They are really bad people. Then, shall I brainwash…”
However, Lenya once again lost consciousness before she could comprehend the situation.
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.
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.
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“Hmm…”
Lenya barely shakes off her dazed mind and slowly opens her eyes.
“…?”
What she saw was a strange yet familiar sight.
“This is… my dorm room?”
No matter how she looked at it, this was indeed her room, the one she visited during break times.
“Wait, what in the world happened just now…!”
After briefly looking around in a daze, she recalled what had just happened and abruptly stood up with a pale expression.
“Kyaack!?”
Soon, she jumped up in surprise and sat on the bed.
“You finally awake?”
“W-Who are you?”
It was because there was someone wearing a cloak, sitting on the windowsill.
“I’m the one who saved you.”
“What?”
“You seemed to be in trouble, so I helped you out.”
“…?”
With a wary gaze, Lenya looked at him, and when the mysterious man spoke, she opened her mouth with a puzzled expression.
“So, it was you who intruded at that time…”
“Well, I’ll be off then.”
“W-wait!! This is the 5th floor, you know!?”
Ignoring her, the mysterious figure jumped out of the window.
“I left a letter on the desk~”
After leaving these words behind, he disappeared.
“…A letter?”
Approaching the window shrouded in darkness and staring blankly down below, she soon tilted her head and headed towards the desk.
“…!”
However, before reaching it out, she froze in place.
“I-is that… really him?”
The letter on the desk bore the seal of someone she had been searching for tirelessly in the past few months, someone she admired as much as the Imperial Princess.
“The Hero of Money… is a student at the academy!?”
It was only now that she realized she couldn’t discern the identity of the mysterious figure. She hurriedly opened the letter and muttered..
“And that person saved me? What in the…”
However, her muttering came to an abrupt halt.
“…”
She looked like she’d seen a ghost as she stared at the letter.
– I will sponsor you.
At the very beginning of the letter, a phrase that left her mind in a daze was written—the phrase that every academy student earnestly hoped for.
– Taking into account your good spirit, mindset, family situation, and talents…
“Ah…”
– I was quite impressed by the recent paper you submitted to the Magic Tower regarding the ‘Artificial World Tree’. I would like to offer support and additional investment for your research, but…
After momentarily spacing out, an astonished gasp escaped her lips as she continued reading the letter.
– Lastly, I personally have a favorable view of the potential of the Horizon Household…
“Egeuk, uhhhh…”
Suddenly, her astonished gasp turned into choked sobs.
– Always work hard, and I hope you achieve great results. I will be cheering for you.
[Hero of Money]
“S-sis…”
Feeling like all of her sorrow and trouble has been relieved, she collapsed on her desk, shedding tears of happiness.
“W-We can finally have dinner now…”
Unlike earlier, she was filled with hope.
“We no longer need to do part-time jobs… no need to deal with strange sponsors… I’ve finally, finally been acknowledged by someone. I was always ignored, and my paper was rejected three times, but…”
“…Hehe.”
“Is that good, Young Master?”
Hanging on the wall under the window in Kania’s shadow, Frey observed the scene with a pleased expression.
“We’re…Thank you… Hero of Money… And for acknowledging me. Really thank…”
“There’s no way it doesn’t feel good.”
After saying that, Frey and Kania disappeared into the darkness.
“Now that everyone’s fate can change.”
On the day the Hero of Money officially commenced his activities at the academy, the moonlight appeared exceptionally bright.
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