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225th Chapter. The Best Time (2)

Through this incident, everyone was able to resolve their inner struggles.

Lyman was gradually finding solutions in conversations with Mirona, who had regained her memories from her past life, and Mirona, too, had reunited with Lyman, whom she missed dearly.

Luska and Angela settled their score with Talema, who had tormented their sisters, and Jenny was liberated from her nightmares by obtaining forgiveness from her mother, the source of her guilt.

All characters had regained true freedom from their hearts.

And it was the same for Nebia Chromag, who had once been a villain.

“I watched you imitate Elder Enviel quite well. Your acting is truly amazing.”

“Would you like to learn how to do it?”

“Just kidding, I was just saying that.”

Nebia and I sat together on a quiet hill where no one could see us.

The grass and flowers that bloomed on the ground swayed in the wind, illuminated by the moonlight.

Nebia, who hadn’t originally matched such a beautiful background, looked surprisingly fitting today.

“I just thought of it. It feels like the complicated threads in my mind are finally unraveling.”

Even she had been harboring deep concerns until just before this event occurred.

In the main story, she had transformed into a wicked woman, meeting a terrible fate, and there were reasons for that.

The death of her family, which she could at least rely on while living in the slums was akin to two flowers barely blooming in a dumpster for her.

Her brother had comforted the anxious Nebia, and her father had kept the violent mother in check.

Compared to those two, her mother and herself had been powerless.

“I lived in a cold and destitute village before I even came of age. I couldn’t understand why my family had fallen to such beggarly conditions or what made us deserving of contempt from others.”

Even after becoming a saint, she had no hope of understanding those reasons. No, she hadn’t even tried to understand.

At the time she gained immense power, she could have investigated the issue carefully to find clues but chose not to.

Having been blinded by her overwhelming power, her memories of that time faded away.

It might seem nice to live forgetting painful memories, but it didn’t heal the wounds caused by them.

As a saint, Nebia lost all feeling towards the pain residing in her heart.

Therefore, she remained unaware that those wounds were still widening.

“When I think back to that time, all I could recall was my mother’s shouting. For someone with sharp hearing like me, that was the worst nightmare.”

Her mother’s fury, pushed to the limit by the deaths of the two, was beyond imagination.

Still, Nebia had trusted her mother. She believed it was merely a temporary outburst.

But Nebia could read people’s true feelings through their voices.

Back then, her ability to read minds was immature, but her mother’s true thoughts were strikingly clear.

– It’s your fault.

– Those two died because of you.

– Why were you even born?

– Please just go die.

Those were the thoughts Nebia heard from her mother.

Every time she recalled that period, that voice echoed in her mind.

The more it echoed, the more her internal wounds opened wider, and Nebia had merely turned her back on that pain.

Eventually, she forgot what struggles she even had, and all she could see in front of her were garbage.

That was the moment she began to see everything in the world as trash and the reason she became a villain.

“Have you ever heard of the victim mentality?”

“I know it well. It’s basically a ‘I can’t be the only one suffering’ mindset.”

I had experienced it long ago too. I still vividly remember deceiving Mary under the Nobel Records.

“Yes, I couldn’t be the only one suffering. I felt frustrated.”

In her deep-seated frustration, she ended up ceasing to look at the world.

Blinded by her prejudices, she lived a life where she only focused on one tree instead of the entire forest.

The important thing was solely herself.

She wanted to dominate.

That desire stemmed from such a perspective.

Why did her father and brother die? Why was her mother so trashy?

And why did her family become beggars?

The reasons for those questions vanished from Nebia’s mind.

Despite having immense power.

“But since meeting you, I can finally look back now.”

She had been running away, turning a blind eye all this time.

She was just a coward who was too scared to face the pain of the wounds festering in her heart.

The trigger for that realization was the Blood Parasite that had robbed her of her freedom and Angela, who had knocked her down.

After realizing she was a coward desperately trying to escape her past, her lofty desire for power faded almost instantly.

So she had to look back.

Her real enemies were not Angela or the princess, who were once objects of her inferiority complex.

“Since then, my purpose has been freshly reestablished. I’ve also been curious why I had such good hearing from birth.”

An important fact that she had forgotten suddenly resurfaced.

Her father and brother also possessed the same keen hearing.

It couldn’t just be a coincidence that all her family members shared the same trait, except the mother.

So she discreetly instructed the clerics to investigate.

It should have been done from the start.

“The results of the investigation were quite shocking. I never dreamed our family was wealthy.”

She, like the Crawler Family, turned out to have been fallen nobility.

I was surprised to learn this, as it had never appeared in the main story.

Moreover, they weren’t just ordinary nobility; they were descendants of the ‘Dawn Clan’ with exceptional sensory abilities.

And they were survivors. It was known that the Dawn Clan had been annihilated 300 years ago due to ongoing discrimination and the rampage of the Demon King.

“And now I finally understand why my mother was particularly violent. It was because she only liked my father materially, not emotionally.”

Her mother had married with dreams of a wealthy life. Adapting to life in the slums was a hard affair for her.

So who was responsible for the downfall of her family?

“If anyone had the ability to see through us, it must have been troublesome for the Demon King 300 years ago.”

What the Demon King Makia first did upon being reborn was eliminate potential threats.

While the Dawn Clan was only briefly mentioned in the main story, it’s likely Makia hadn’t expected that survivors were remaining.

Thus, the one who appeared before him was likely a descendant of those who had followed him during his reign as emperor.

“At that time, I was too young to realize it, but according to the sect’s investigation, our family was annihilated under charges of practicing evil alchemy. The group that thoroughly investigated this was the Magic Federation.”

Indeed. The organization of magic that Elder Enviel headed.

He was a descendant of Makia’s followers, gaining a following through the innate ‘Evil Eye’. The Bloodymir School and Heidern were examples of this.

The ‘Evil Eye’ that could penetrate the essence of beings was easily used to differentiate those who would be his subordinates.

And he used that to discover that Nebia’s family were descendants of the Dawn Clan.

“Yes. Our family was ruined due to the schemes of Elder Enviel. It didn’t stop there; the entire family was on the brink of execution.”

You might think that imprisonment and execution were excessive, but considering the emperor’s true identity was Makia, it wasn’t strange.

But Nebia’s family, who barely managed to escape, fled to a desolate region.

Because they had been aware of the emperor’s true nature, her father and brother decided to resist.

“And thus, a rebel group was born in the icy slums, which ultimately led to the incident of the slaughter in the slums…”

After her brother and father were killed, what happened next was obvious.

“Thanks to that, I realized who my true archenemy was… Had I not met you, I would have continued being used by the Demon King hiding behind the emperor’s mask.”

In her feelings of inferiority, the tsundere Nebia was no different from a puppet.

She contributed to the attack on Aligieri at the emperor’s behest, ultimately meeting a dismal end.

Considering that her true enemies were the emperor and Doomsday, it was truly ironic.

“But I was able to take revenge on you. Father and brother in heaven will surely be pleased.”

Although she couldn’t kill him, she succeeded in bringing down Makia, the mastermind behind all her suffering.

It was she who destroyed the evidence Makia sought and revealed his true persona.

The fact that only she could bring him down in her own way left her feeling immensely satisfied.

“Perhaps that’s why… I feel lighter than usual.”

As Nebia looked at me with a bright smile, she seemed truly happy, indicating a joyful transformation within her. The negative emotions that had previously surrounded her had dissipated.

Her hair, illuminated by the moonlight, appeared lusher.

Set against the light, she had truly become a being befitting a saint.

The overall scenery of the village under that moonlit night was also beautiful.

Buildings that had been destroyed were being restored by numerous artificial golems.

With wisdom and courage, humans could always seek revenge for broken hearts and wounds.

“I’ve lived in such a beautiful world, yet I feel ashamed that I didn’t appreciate it before.”

“What are your plans for the future?”

“What else? I’ll repent for the people who awakened me and repay their kindness.”

Suddenly—

Nebia’s delicate hand grabbed mine.

Then, pulling me closer, a soft something brushed against my cheek.

Having experienced this several times before, I quickly recognized what it was.

Thus, my embarrassment hit quickly.

“This is my first repayment. Senior.”

Of course, having gone through this multiple times, I was quick to become accustomed.

Since Nebia’s feelings for me had solidified, I could naturally sense divine power from her touch.

[Erosion Rate Decline: -4%]

[Erosion Rate Decline: -3%]

[Erosion Rate Decline: -2%]

That moment, my eyes widened as a message appeared.

I hadn’t even told a lie yet, and yet the erosion rate was automatically decreasing.

It was a phenomenon I’d encountered before.

So, I voiced out loud.

“The Curse of Lyre…!”

It wasn’t silenced. At that realization, I momentarily lost composure.

“Senior? Can you not hear me?”

“Sainthood Nebia…”

As I called her name, Nebia tilted her head curiously.

And in utter awe, I hugged her tightly.

“Thank you so much!!”

“No… I haven’t allowed this much yet…”

At first, Nebia seemed flustered, but gradually her face began to flush, and excitement sparked within her.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. More importantly… why did you suddenly do that?”

Taken aback by the sudden physical closeness, Nebia fumbled with her fingers.

Her face was burning with a pounding heart.

“Well, the thing is…”

I intended to explain everything that had happened until now.

Since I was holding her hand, I felt reassured that I wouldn’t be silenced.

“Here you are.”

Someone approached us, stepping on the grass.

Coming up the hill to speak to us was Baimon Dreadnote.

“I’ve been searching for you for a while, Radon Crawler.”

At his words, I briefly let go of Nebia’s hand.

At this point, Baimon had no particular reason to be looking for me.

The expression on his face looked extremely serious. It conveyed a sense of mission that he absolutely needed to fulfill.

It was a face that would never belong to a recluse.

So, I narrowed my eyes and asked him what he came for.

“Umm… umm…”

Baimon stammered nervously.

It was already strange that he’d come over suddenly, and the way he was acting suggested something was off.

Just then.

Thud!—

“Going forward, please take care of me! Brother-in-law!”

Baimon shouted loudly as he pressed his forehead against the ground.

At that sound, I blinked in confusion, and Nebia, upon hearing his inner voice, let out a strange chuckle.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.

 

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