I Thought Your Friend's Sibling Wasn't a Girl? - Chapter 102

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 102
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Dark and ominous.
That was her first impression the moment she laid eyes on the contaminated Water Source.
“All of that is miasma?”
“This is far more serious than I expected.”
The Water Source was contaminated, and miasma gathered in suffocating abundance. Despite having heard the reports beforehand, the landscape before her eyes exceeded even her worst imaginings.
Black miasma hung like a veil, blanketing the lake’s surface. What emanated from the water—which should have been teeming with life—was only the stench of death, and corrupted flora and fauna littered the shore.
Gurgle.
From the lake’s center came the sound of something bubbling intermittently, as though the water itself were boiling, but the miasma that shrouded it made it impossible to see what lay beneath.
The group retreated to a safe distance and surveyed the area with caution.
“Do we have enough Purification Magic Tools?”
“We should be able to manage for a few more hours.”
“We’d best divide into teams for investigation. Miasma this thick isn’t normal. We need to determine the cause properly.”
Olivia, having never encountered miasma of this density before, furrowed her brow and covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve. Somehow it felt as though she couldn’t breathe.
“So the Duke of the Page House has simply allowed this situation to fester. This is no ordinary circumstance.”
“We should scout the area first to see if there’s anything that might explain this. We need to check whether there are any demonized monsters as well.”
“We’ll split into two teams. Sena and Luka, and—”
“I’m going with Olivia. Non-negotiable.”
Aiden voiced his intention before Yugin could even finish speaking.
“Very well. You and Olivia form one team.”
“And what about you, Captain?”
“I’ll be moving with Aiden. It’s better not to go alone.”
“Captain!”
Yugin brushed aside Aiden’s protest and gestured toward his unit members.
“We regroup here in two hours. Avoid unnecessary confrontation during the investigation, and if anything unexpected happens, signal immediately.”
“Yes, understood!”
The group promptly split in two and dispersed.
With Sena and Luka gone, Olivia felt an unexpected hollowness and rubbed her arms. Her body had taken on a peculiar chill.
Screech!
Slash!
“The number of monsters has definitely increased.”
“But they don’t appear to be demonized yet.”
“Let’s hope they stay that way.”
The mark of demonization—a red Mana Stone.
Aiden extracted the stone embedded deep within the monster’s body. It remained a bright yellow.
‘Now that I think about it…’
She should have asked more about Sirius.
“About Sirius.”
“The minor count?”
“He must have fallen under the Power of Domination.”
The Red Stone Mercenary Company—the group he’d encountered in the Capital City. It was likely from that point onward that he became obsessed with red Mana Stones.
His behavior during Field Training had proven as much. And the Red Stone Mercenary Company had used that Power of Domination to control villagers and collect such stones.
To gather the red Mana Stones they coveted.
“During the Field Training, he showed clear obsession with red Mana Stones.”
“Ah yes, that was him. The one who stole the stone from the monster.”
“…How did you know that?”
“Well, I was there as a supervising instructor that day—”
Wait.
Aiden stopped mid-sentence, realizing his mistake, but Olivia had already caught what needed to be caught. Her eyes sharpened instantly.
“You said you didn’t attend.”
“That’s… well.”
“You lie every time you open your mouth.”
She remembered the accident during Field Training—that final moment.
She’d endured because she was told to endure, waited because she was told to wait. Then, just when she thought she couldn’t hold on any longer, she heard Aiden’s voice.
“I thought as much.”
“Olivia, that’s—”
“I heard your voice that day. I’m certain I did. But Yugin saved me, and you weren’t there, were you?”
“Mm.”
“You kept denying it, so I thought it had all been a dream.”
When she’d gone separately to thank Yugin, he’d seemed troubled but hadn’t corrected her account. So she’d concluded it had all been a dream, that she’d somehow confused things.
After all, hadn’t Aiden himself said he’d only “heard about it secondhand”?
There must have been reasons, circumstances that made it unavoidable—she’d told herself this while understanding, but the hurt lingered. It took her quite a long time to work through that feeling.
And now he was saying he had been there. That it wasn’t confusion. That he’d simply brazened it out, shameless in his denial.
“Aiden is a coward.”
“…Captain.”
“But I’m glad you’re safe. Aren’t you?”
Yugin answered for her, regarding her with a gentle smile. His violet eyes held such warmth that Olivia felt an odd flutter bloom in her chest.
“Still, it was you who defeated that demonic beast that day. Not me, not Aiden—that was your achievement.”
“Thank… you.”
“You’ll make an excellent Knight. I’m certain of it.”
Having someone believe in you was truly a good thing. His words were almost sickly sweet, and Olivia found herself forgetting that she’d been angry moments before, turning to him with a shy smile in return.
“Anyway!”
“Anyway? That’s the problem with you, senior. Every time you try to evade the situation like that—”
“Speaking of which, what happened to that Mana Stone? The one you took from Sirius?”
“Of course I turned it in. It was evidence.”
Olivia answered offhandedly.
She’d been unconscious and then caught up in treatment and everything else, true, but she’d made sure to bring the stone she’d recovered to the Academy for submission. So surely…
‘When was that?’
She couldn’t quite remember.
“You turned in the Mana Stone?”
“Yes, so I definitely… I turned it in.”
She’d turned it in, but she had no memory of doing so. She knew only the fact that she had; the when and how of the submission itself remained completely blank. The memory was clouded, hazy and indistinct.
That was when Olivia realized something was wrong.
“I’ve never heard any report that the stone was recovered.”
Yugin’s words became a trigger. And with them, the Defensor at her waist began to vibrate again. What had been murky and vague suddenly crystallized into clarity.
“Olivia. That Mana Stone from back then—you did turn it in, right?”
“What? The stone?”
“The one Sirius had. You recovered it.”
“Oh, that…”
Olivia had never turned that Mana Stone in to the Academy.
“Right, I haven’t yet. I was just too caught up in everything.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
“I should turn it in today. Thanks for reminding me, Bennett!”
Until then, Olivia had been carrying it in a small pouch she kept with her at all times.
She’d kept it with her always, even when participating in this mission.
‘So that’s why Sirius went mad the moment he saw me…’
Because he’d sensed the Mana Stone in the pouch. Understanding struck like lightning.
When had the confusion in her memory begun?
The moment that question formed in her mind—
A gasp.
“Olivia!”
Splitting headache. Ringing in her ears. A cool sensation spreading across her entire body. The very air around her felt hostile, pricking her skin with sharp, needling pain.
“Olivia, what’s wrong? Olive!”
“Olivia!”
Her vision blurred and wavered. But in that blurring, certain things became unnervingly clear. The Defensor at her waist was vibrating frantically.
“It’s coming.”
“What are you saying right now?”
“Ugh… it’s coming again!”
Her senses expanded anew, just as they had that day during Field Training.
This was unmistakably the Defensor’s sensory power. A vastly extended awareness that now perceived the presence drawing near to them.
Boom…
An extremely faint tremor, yet all three of them felt it. The expressions on the other two hardened in an instant.
Was this a trauma response, or was there something else at play?
She couldn’t know the answer. But one thing was certain: that presence had made her physical condition unstable.
“Damn it, Aiden. Protect Olivia. Send a signal to the other two.”
“…I understand.”
Even as Aiden responded to Yugin’s command, his gaze never left Olivia.
His eyes trembled with shock, and the arm cradling her body was rigid with tension. His agitation was laid bare.
Their eyes met in the empty air between them. Aiden’s jaw clenched fiercely, and the hand holding her tightened. It was a gesture of uncompromising resolve—that he would not let go, no matter what came.
And moments later—
“A Demonic Beast.”
The creature that had nearly dragged Olivia to her death that day appeared before them once more.
“Battle stations!”
Sena and Luka, arriving at the signal, took up combat positions and faced the threat. Only Olivia remained standing behind them.
A labored breath.
Wholly unable to gather her wits.
A pitiful, unseemly sight. Olivia bit down on her lip.

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