There’s Something Special About Her - Chapter 83
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 83.
Thump.
I dropped from the wall at a decent height, and the faint sound of grass being crushed brushed against my ears.
It was smaller than the noise of tree branches stirring in the wind, but I clicked my tongue in dissatisfaction.
‘My skills have gotten rusty.’
Moving silently in the dead of night had always been my specialty.
The fact that I made noise from just that height was pathetic.
I glanced up at the wall of the building that housed the Kitchen, then moved on.
‘Doesn’t look like anyone’s watching.’
After opening the note, I sent the raven back immediately.
Then I drew the curtains and switched off all the lights as usual.
I waited about five minutes in the dark room, confirmed there wasn’t a sound from anywhere nearby, then climbed out the window, scaled the outer wall of the Dormitory Building, and made my way to the roof.
I could have walked down the corridor normally and gone to the Kitchen, but I chose the difficult path for two reasons.
First, I might catch someone’s attention, and second.
‘Who just runs off excitedly when they get a note like that?’
Of course, it was a carrier raven that Dupon Clansher and Gisella Rot used.
But could I be certain that only those two knew how to handle that raven?
Maybe I was overreacting because I’d been so focused on finding spies every day, but it never hurt to be careful.
When I reached the back door of the Kitchen, I paused in hiding and checked what was going on inside.
The interior, with all its lights out, lay dark and asleep as if all its daytime vitality had been a lie.
‘Feels like there’s someone in there.’
Through the Kitchen window, my eyes—accustomed to seeing in darkness—caught the silhouette of someone.
But my sharp Energy Detection picked up nothing at all.
Someone skilled at concealing their presence.
‘If I open the door and step inside, we’ll meet face to face.’
I was leaning the back of my head against the door, wondering if there was a better route to slip in, when it happened.
“What are you doing out there instead of coming in?”
“……Gisella?”
Startled.
In the moment I let my guard slip, Gisella Rot had already opened the Kitchen window and was peeking out at me.
“Stop wasting time and get in here.”
Click.
The window shut, and feeling embarrassed, I quickly stepped into the Kitchen.
Of course, through the back door like a proper person.
In the center of the neatly organized Kitchen, Gisella Rot stood waiting for me with her arms crossed.
Back at the Nest, she was that annoying senior who I wanted to hit just once every single day.
But seeing her face again after so long, I felt strangely—
“Hey, Rookie.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
My body reacted before my mind could process it.
I dropped to the hard tile floor of the Kitchen and clasped my hands behind my back.
Though it had been a while since I’d taken a scolding like this, my body remembered.
“What did the note say?”
“It said ‘Come to the Kitchen right now.'”
“Then you should’ve rushed over immediately. Was I supposed to wait around in the middle of the night for you?”
“I apologize.”
“And just setting foot on the Training Ground dirt makes everything feel filthy.”
For some reason, her tone was sharper today than usual.
She really hated being back in that hellish Training Ground.
“Get your head straight, got it?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“You’re at the Training Ground now—you’re not some rookie who actually knows nothing. Wake up and focus, understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Get up.”
Since when is she wrapping this up so quickly?
I scrambled to my feet before Gisella Rot could change her mind.
“Come on, follow me.”
“Yes, ma’am. But, senior?”
“What.”
“How many different handwritings do you have?”
“What are you talking about? Speak clearly so I can understand.”
In Gisella’s tone, I could hear the sound of a vicious beast snapping its jaws.
Did she really hate the Training Ground that much?
“Oh, I mean the letter you sent me earlier. Your handwriting looked completely different from what I saw before, so I thought someone else had called me out and was being cautious. That’s why I was late.”
“It did?”
“Yes. So I was curious and asking—how many different handwritings do you have?”
“A few, I guess.”
So she wasn’t going to tell me.
What was that handwriting I’d seen from her before?
I was following behind the muttering Gisella and was about to leave the Kitchen when it happened.
“Wait.”
The woman ahead suddenly spun around.
Then she shot me a look of pure dread.
“You didn’t drink, did you?”
“Ah.”
Damn.
I’d forgotten about that.
Those idiots and I had gotten completely drunk in the Warehouse before heading back to the Dormitory, and I was dragged out before I could even wash up.
As I said nothing in response, Gisella Rot’s atmosphere grew even more sinister.
“You bastard—how dare you drink alcohol as a Trainee at this sacred Training Ground?”
Yet she’d just called it hell moments ago.
What’s wrong with having a little drink at that hellish Training Ground where even stepping on the dirt makes everything feel filthy?
“Rookie.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I mean, drinking is crossing the line a bit.
***
It existed.
A secret passage in the Training Ground!
I knew it! I knew it all along!
Having returned to the Nest through the Food Storage Warehouse next to the Dining Hall, I threw both arms up in triumph and shouted.
“Ah! The smell of freedom!”
“Stop blocking the path and move.”
Even as Gisella kicked me mercilessly in the rear, I couldn’t help but laugh.
The world outside the Training Ground was nothing short of paradise.
The bed in the Training Ground’s dormitory was nice—the kind that cost a fortune in donations—but it couldn’t compare to the comfort of the bed in the Nest’s sleeping quarters.
Maybe I could just slip in for a moment and lie down.
I watched carefully for an opening and asked hesitantly.
“Ma’am, could I just go wash up quickly? You said I smell like alcohol.”
“Are you insane?”
Gisella Rot lifted her eyes to me again.
“What hygiene products do you use at the Training Ground?”
“I don’t know the names. I just use whatever they have supplied.”
“And then you’re going to waltz back reeking of personal toiletries?”
Smack!
A flick to the forehead that made my vision flash white with pain.
“Ow!”
“Think before you speak, think! How many days have you been at the Training Ground? And you’re already spacing out like this.”
“I apologize.”
Her hands are dangerously quick.
She warns me to watch out for different-scented bath products, but what am I supposed to say when there’s a clear bruise blooming on my forehead?
As I stepped into the office space alongside Gisella, rubbing my throbbing forehead, a familiar voice called out my name.
“Rookie!”
“Noah!”
We didn’t exactly embrace like brothers reuniting after decades, but we greeted each other warmly nonetheless.
“Wow, you’ve been through a lot? Your face has gotten so round!”
As Noah caressed my cheek with pity in his voice, Gisella let out a snort.
“Round? More like a full moon. You’ll be rolling around at this rate.”
“……I’ll lose the weight once the mission is over, ma’am.”
To be fair, I had been eating a lot recently.
The Dining Hall food was so delicious, and since portions were self-served, I couldn’t help myself.
But Noah, who normally watched Gisella’s expression carefully, actually backed me up this time.
“When you get dragged off to that hellhole, at least you should eat well!”
“N-Noah.”
Then you’ll get hit just like me.
Trust me, it really hurts.
Startled by his unusual outburst, I tried to tug at his sleeve to quiet him, but once words leave your mouth, you can’t take them back.
When Gisella suddenly turned to look at us, I thought it was all over, but something unexpected happened instead.
“Well, that’s fair.”
Instead of immediately shouting “Noah Benton, you too! Both of you!”, Gisella Rot simply nodded.
In response, rather than relief, a sense of creeping unease washed over me.
‘What in the world happened at that Training Ground?’
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————