Are MZ Shamans In Trouble In Romance Novels? - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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44.

“You’re too close.”

Cain, whose chin had been suddenly grabbed, let out a small laugh. The feeling of confusion rising from his feet was unfamiliar.

“I don’t mind though.”

He obediently bent his waist and looked directly into Calisia’s eyes.

“Would this distance satisfy our little sister?”

“…Stay still.”

At his deliberately mischievous action of bringing his face closer, Calisia lightly slapped Cain’s cheek.

“Ow.”

Ignoring the voice tinged with exaggeration, Calisia pressed her lips together and concentrated. She stared intently into Cain’s pupils as if there was something she needed to find.

“….”

In the silence that continued for quite a while, the siblings’ gazes intertwined. Curiosity, excitement, faint tension, elation. Calisia peeled away the layers stacked in Cain’s eyes one by one. Then, for just a brief moment, something flashed with a glint. At the clue that revealed its presence for an instant, Calisia drew up her divine power and wrapped it around her hand.

“Look here.”

Her index finger, imbued with clear energy, passed in front of Cain’s eyes a couple of times. His deep red eyes slowly followed the slender finger. And the moment the blue light illuminated Cain’s pupils—.

‘…It’s the Seven Star Line!’

Calisia had found what she was looking for. The Seven Star Line. This thing, also called the spiritual cord, appeared in people with superior spiritual abilities compared to others. It was a kind of mark indicating divine energy. Of course, what Cain possessed wasn’t exactly the Seven Star Line referred to in Korean shamanism.

“Just one more thing.”

Clear and refreshing energy surged from Calisia’s fingertips. Divine power stretched long like a stream of water, shooting toward the sky.

Flick—

In an instant, Cain’s pupils quickly rolled up and then settled back down. He must have seen the divine power.

“Child. It seems your spiritual sight has opened. You see ghosts. Right?”

Calisia’s eyes lit up as she unconsciously mimicked the General’s way of speaking. Not everyone born with the Seven Star Line possesses spiritual sight. Even shamans walking the path of divine disciples sometimes have their eyes closed.

“The murderer. Four or no, five? So that’s why you said that back then. But the light isn’t very bright.”

Tilting her head to the side, Calisia gently caressed around Cain’s eyes.

“You couldn’t see completely. That monster you saw eight years ago—it was actually a ghost, wasn’t it?”

The forms of evil spirits that harm people are usually horrific. The more karma accumulates, the more they lose their human appearance.

“Limbs twisted, necks stretched long, bodies bloated. Since your spiritual sight isn’t complete, to your eyes it appeared not as a human form but as a monster.”

Calisia looked into Cain’s eyes once more. A light slightly larger than a fingernail. With this much, he probably could only distinguish the forms of ghosts to some extent.

“…That necklace.”

Calisia recalled the rose necklace that Cain had presented as a gift during their family dinner. That cursed object covered in malevolent energy.

“That’s why you wander outside. You were searching for objects with attached malevolence. Trying to find the evil spirit that killed the Grand Lady.”

Death caused by malevolent energy. It must have been days when no one believed him and he could receive no one’s help.

“So you needed me. Because this body can distinguish energies. Like a kind of glasses.”

Calisia bit her lips as if she finally understood Cain’s obsession with her.

“Whether I recognize that evil spirit’s energy or identify the mastermind who controlled it.”

“…It was worth the wait.”

Cain, who had maintained quiet silence, opened his mouth and simultaneously lowered his mask.

“Mother was originally weak in health. It wouldn’t have been strange if she passed away at any time. I wanted to tear apart the mouths that spoke carelessly.”

Cain’s eyes, recalling old memories, clouded with a gray tint. Even if others didn’t know, he knew. From the moment that damned monster appeared, death had cast its shadow over his mother’s face.

“….”

A complexion that looked tired somewhere and eyes deeply filled with emptiness and futility. The bare face of the seventeen-year-old boy was more pitiful and shabby than expected. But that was only momentary.

“Ah, since you passed the test well, I should give you a reward. Calisia Valus. Tell me what you want.”

Cain, who had put on his thick mask again, asked with a relaxed smile.

“Let’s be close.”

Calisia, who suddenly extended her hand, raised the corners of her mouth refreshingly.

“What I ultimately want is to be expelled from this damn family house. Of course, with all limbs intact! And plenty of independence funds!”

“Our Cali has ambitious dreams. But as you know, that’s not something I can give you right away.”

“I know. You’d have to become the Head of House or something similar for that to be possible. So until then, let’s just be close.”

What Calisia wanted was public friendship with Cain. A fence to protect her from the Second Wife’s clutches.

“Cali. When making deals, you should specify conditions precisely. Come on, repeat after me. Ask me to become your political support base within the family house.”

“I thought the listener’s head was at least that good.”

At Cain’s attitude of playing unnecessary games, Calisia immediately spoke sarcastically.

“Brother is simpler than I thought. So hurry up and do it. What will you do if I really just find you adorable?”

“Then someone else would get the goods.”

Calisia, standing with her arms crossed, spoke teasingly as if she had nothing to lose. Anyway, they had both revealed all their cards. Moreover, currently, she was an irreplaceable resource for Cain. There was no need to bow down to him.

“If there’s anyone who dares to covet goods that have passed through my hands.”

“I do have that much value though.”

Calisia, lifting her chin, tapped around her eyes with her finger.

“You’ve really grown up a lot, Cali. I can’t win with words anymore.”

“I’ll become your eyes. Cain.”

It was a voice filled with firm conviction.

“….”

Cain, who had withdrawn his smile, looked down at the girl who raised her head to meet his eyes. Her large red pupils sparkled unusually today.

“So let’s hurry up, shake hands, and finish this. My muscle pain hasn’t gone away, so my arms hurt quite a bit? Look how swollen this is.”

At her tearful face, Cain looked down at his sister’s slender arms. They were just pale and thin—he wondered if there were any muscles, let alone biceps.

“Alright. Let’s be close, Cali.”

Finally, Cain made a deflating sound and firmly grasped the extended hand. A ray of moonlight descended upon their tightly clasped palms. Like a token of their promise.

“Until the day my revenge ends.”

“And until the day I’m struck from the family register.”

The two unfilial children who joined hands for their respective reasons smiled at each other.

***

“Young Miss! What are the differences between goblins and hobgoblins, and what are the more suitable hunting methods?”

The Northern Knights gathered in the training ground looked at papers titled ‘Old Man’s Academy Basics Guide.’ Ian, who would be away for several days, had earnestly requested them to help with Calisia’s studies before leaving.

“Hobgoblins have a higher rank? There’s one more letter attached. Originally, the more you get promoted, the more flowery language gets added. As for hunting methods, what else is there? Headshot. Originally, if you smash anything’s head, it’s bound to die.”

Calisia, who confidently shouted the answer, wrote down letters on the paper placed on the floor. Fairly thick sandbags were tied to her wrists, which were naturally Ian’s creation. The so-called multi-training method that simultaneously trains brain and muscle.

“Uh… If we’re being precise, it is a higher species, and it’s true that both die if you smash their heads.”

At the answer that completely ignored the questioner’s intent, the knights showed ambiguous expressions.

“Shouldn’t we mark it as wrong? It’s too different from the answer written in the problem solution.”

“But it’s not exactly wrong either.”

The knights murmured, each offering their opinions.

“Then that’s settled! If it’s right, move on!”

Calisia shouted while trembling her already stiff arms. It was because of someone who had threatened that she absolutely couldn’t lower her hands until she got the correct answer.

“Then we’ll just tell you the exact answer and move on. According to ‘Old Man’s Academy Basics Guide,’ both goblins and hobgoblins are broadly classified as demi-humans, and more narrowly as a type of green skin like orcs…”

“I got it, so move on already!”

Calisia made a strained sound with bulging eyes.

“Then the next question! What are the differences between ghouls and zombies, and what are the more effective combat methods for each?”

The knights shouted the question loudly with expectations that she would surely get this one right.

“Zombies are a bit thin because they’re of human origin, and ghouls are a bit fat because they’re of monster origin! The hunting method is headshot! Zombies especially must be headshots!”

“…?”

“This time it’s also roughly correct.”

At the ambiguous answer, the knights’ expressions became increasingly sour. If this continued, there would be no point in asking questions.

“Then hurry up and move on!”

“Th-then the next question! This one is really easy! Orcs and ogres have very similar appearances, but they have decisively different social characteristics. What is this trait?”

“Was there something like that in Basic Fundamentals? But if their appearances are similar, that ultimately means their physiognomy is similar too.”

Bulging eyes, flat upturned noses, and large sturdy jaws. Excluding the ogre’s overwhelming build, the two species’ appearances were quite similar.

“Ah, but the ogre did look a bit more formidable. Like it wouldn’t be easy to deal with? Correct! Ogres have a more hierarchical society!”

“Orc society is much more closed-off and authoritarian! Ogres have much stronger individualistic tendencies, so they rarely form groups!”

The Northern people beat their chests in frustration at Calisia’s complete nonsense.

“Young Miss. Be honest with us. You didn’t read this at all, did you?”

“I read it. I just didn’t have time to look at it carefully.”

Calisia scratched her forehead as she added her excuse. The root cause was Cain. He had dragged her around for days on end under the pretext of showing off his external connections.

“If Young Master finds out you didn’t get a single question right, he’ll go crazy!”

The knight groaned as if his legs were already going weak just thinking about it.

“I know, I know. I just need to memorize everything before he goes crazy.”

Calisia, who also knew about that chaos, frowned as if getting a headache. Ian’s educational fervor was honestly more intense than Gangnam parents. Especially after the lessons with the Previous Head of House, it had gotten worse.

-You don’t know? Even a three-year-old knows this common sense. Valus.

-…How could you get this question wrong? Are you perhaps sick somewhere?

-Valus. No matter how I think about it, you must be sick. Hurry up and take this. It’s brain-enhancing medicine.

After learning Calisia’s exact knowledge level, Ian would nag and fuss whenever he had a chance.

-Hellorun has a dormitory system. Moreover, the moment you fail, isn’t it off to the Western Desert? If that happens, how do you plan to fix my Ghost Gate Observation?

He said failing the Academy entrance exam would be a clear breach of contract.

“Young Miss. This really isn’t the time for this. Who knows when Young Master will come… There he is. There he is.”

The anxious knight spotted Ian entering the training ground entrance and shook his head.

“Young Master!”

The knights who had been seriously contemplating Calisia’s admission prospects rushed toward their master in a group.

“What is the meaning of this!”

“You left us all behind and went off!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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