I Thought Your Friend's Sibling Wasn't a Girl? - Chapter 24

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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 24
Crack.
Only when the branch he’d been gripping snapped with a vicious sound did Aiden realize he’d been clenching both his hands with all his strength.
“Hold on. You know the Instructor can’t interfere in Practical Training.”
“I know. That’s exactly why I’m doing this.”
If not for that rule, Aiden would have already sprinted down there long ago.
In truth, he’d lost his grip on sanity the moment Olivia’s forearm was wounded.
“What are you doing? Calm down. You’ll get caught!”
“Let go! That insane bastard—”
“Aiden Oblivion. Get ahold of yourself. Do you want to ruin her training with your own hands?”
If he could, he would. He wanted to leap down there, seize those who dared to abandon a comrade’s life, crush them, and examine Olivia’s wound with his own eyes.
No. If he’d been there in the first place, Olivia wouldn’t have been injured over something so absurd.
Aiden’s heart hammered like that of someone sprinting at full speed.
Impatience and anxiety, rage and anguish, even fear—every emotion churned through him in chaos.
His clenched fists had gone white with pressure, but his gaze could not tear itself away from Olivia’s wound, where crusted blood had dried.
“Olivia! Get treatment right now.”
“Bennett? I’m fine. We can take our time.”
“Right now! You can’t do this. You can’t push your body like that!”
Even as a pallid Daisy unleashed a torrent of Healing Magic without delay, his gaze remained fixed.
Aiden only found stability when he confirmed that no more blood flowed from Olivia’s wound.
“You need to be careful for a while, Olivia. Magic isn’t omnipotent.”
“I will. Thanks, Daisy.”
“And… I’m alive because of you. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Olivia replied with an embarrassed smile. She even reached out to comfort Daisy in turn, thanking her for the treatment.
All the while, Aiden examined Olivia’s body again.
The sword he’d been gripping as if it were glued to his palm had somehow been returned to his scabbard, hanging quietly at his hip. His hand, which had appeared badly burned, had regained its original color thanks to the Healing Magic.
She’d taken a serious wound, but Olivia was unharmed.
Aiden had to repeat this to himself over and over. For no one’s sake but his own.
“That girl, though. She really does stand out, doesn’t she? There was a reason you took her with you. If I’d started the Instructor work with her from the beginning, I could’ve assessed her properly, which is a shame.”
“She’d stand out anywhere.”
“Hmm?”
“She shines wherever she’s placed. She knows how to be loved, and how to love in return. That’s why she gives her whole heart even to someone like me.”
“You… I was right, wasn’t I? Your rumored fiancée. I knew something seemed off!”
Aiden offered no response. He knew full well that defending himself would serve no purpose.
“That’s right. The person I treasure most in this world.”
“Goodness. So you can say things like that too?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Sena. What I’m talking about isn’t romantic love. She’s my family. My only family in this world.”
“Ah. That’s why Renie called you a senseless wretch.”
“Think what you like.”
Olivia was Aiden’s family. The person he cherished most in this world—the only “true family” who had stayed by his side with Cesare after his mother departed.
Which was precisely why he hadn’t wanted to bring her into this mess.
Aiden’s purpose for entering the Lux Knights Order was clear.
Vengeance. He lived for that goal alone.
Aiden knew well how much suffering a person fixated on a single objective could inflict on those around them. It was why he’d left Olivia, why he pushed her away.
Yet despite countless slights and insults, Olivia had advanced relentlessly. Until finally, Aiden had no choice but to break.
“Aiden Oblivion. Fiancée or family, get your head on straight. She’s in the middle of her training right now.”
“I know.”
“And she’s doing it brilliantly. Those fools probably just lost points. That’s all. This is training.”
“I said I know.”
“Then please, let go of that sword in your hand. What, are you planning to chase after them and run them through?”
Only then did he notice he was still gripping the sword tightly. Aiden stared at his hands in turn—one holding a blade, the other clutching the branch he’d snapped—and exhaled deeply.
“I didn’t realize.”
“Yeah, I’m very well aware that you lose your senses sometimes.”
“I’m serious.”
“Fine, I believe you.”
Olivia’s group was setting off to find a place to make Camp after completing the site cleanup with meticulous care.
From disposing of blood to collecting usable materials from the corpses to avoid pursuit—their technique was flawless. And orchestrating it all was Olivia herself.
Aiden felt a fierce swell of pride in her. And yet, his heart was being torn apart. Aiden murmured half-tearfully.
“Blow and she’ll scatter, squeeze and she’ll break—our precious little Olive, whom we’ve raised with such tender care…”
“Wait? Are you actually… crying?”
“We’ve nurtured her so gently and preciously, and those wretches dared to wound our little girl’s arm? I won’t let them off.”
“… That wound was made by a Bearwolf. And it was just treated carefully by a student named Daisy Wipper.”
“Daisy Wipper, one hundred points.”
“And you’re not a grader, so you have no authority to give scores… Is this guy actually insane?”
“Why not? Why can’t I?”
Aiden beat his chest and thought. Being an Instructor really was a thankless job.
No power, no honor—just harassing students and taking abuse. Aiden burned with resentment toward the Academy.
Olivia’s group was getting farther away. Gilleon, utterly defeated, and Sirius, nervously following his lead, fell to the rear of the group and followed quietly.
Aiden’s eyes flashed.
“Come on. Aiden. You’re still not putting that down?”
“Just one strike. I can do it without anyone knowing. I swear.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve completely forgotten this is being broadcast to the control room right now? There are probably other Instructors nearby too. Go ahead and try if you want to get expelled.”
Aiden clicked his tongue and set down the branch he’d been gripping. Getting expelled would be problematic. He had to keep watch over Olivia.
Stewing with resentment, he slumped onto a thick branch and seared their retreating forms into his memory.
“I won’t let this slide.”
“Right. Save it for after the training’s over.”
“I’ll repay them a hundredfold.”
He didn’t know it, but the sight of him was eerily identical to Olivia, who had burned with the resolve to take revenge on the Instructor days ago.
Only Sena, who had happened to witness that look on her face as he passed a gathering of students, knew this fact.
* * *
The wound on her arm healed slowly. It was an injury that normally would’ve mended quickly with a few castings of Healing Magic, yet the pain persisted for quite some time.
Daisy unleashed another round of Healing Magic over the affected area. The gash on Olivia’s forearm, which had reopened and begun to bleed again, closed once more, leaving only a red line.
“That’s strange… No matter how much we say magic isn’t omnipotent, wounds don’t usually heal this slowly.”
“It must have been deeper than I thought.”
Olivia had lost count of how many times the wound had reopened. She massaged the throbbing area, pressing gently, and looked around her surroundings.
Monsters lay strewn about in all directions.
“Does this many monsters usually spawn during the exam?”
Daisy, who had taken quick steps to position herself beside Olivia, asked carefully while taking in the same sight.
“I’m not sure.”
Olivia herself didn’t know the typical monster spawn rate during the Final Practical Training.
But there was one thing she was beginning to sense…
“The monsters do seem a bit more ferocious than I expected.”
Pale sunlight filtered through the dark trees, wavering faintly over the corpses scattered across the ground.
It was then that Olivia lightly rubbed her eyes, sensing that the yellow Magic Stones gleaming in the light seemed to burn with a slightly deeper hue than before.
A commotion erupted from some distance away.
“I told you to stop!”
What was happening now? Olivia’s head snapped urgently toward the sound.

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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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