Chapter 38

"......"

Mikhail stared blankly at the ceiling.

Inside his head, memories and voices from before tangled together in a mess, sinking and resurfacing over and over.

[...Ethan and Lloyd's stats should be sufficient to take down Karhoo. Things will be wrapped up before long.]

...On the treacherous forest trail at dusk.

The moment the main storyline had been flowing in its predetermined direction.

[Ghhh— Grrrrr—!]

...Then suddenly, the moment the death assigned to the original Mikhail appeared on the horizon.

[Hisss!]

...The moment a golden sword strike flew in like lightning and cleaved the javelin, just before the snow-white magical beast fully disintegrated.

[...Oh, right—you're the precious young master of a famous family, is that it? So stringing along some nobody orphan like me was nothing to you.]

[Look at yourself. Even now, no matter the situation, you just dig your heels in. Testing how far I'll...!]

The moment he'd faced Ethan with his ability exposed.

And—

"You're awake?"

"—?"

A familiar voice jabbed at his ear. Mikhail snapped his eyes open and turned his head.

Ethan was sitting in the chair beside the bed.

He wore a pair of thin-rimmed glasses meant to improve concentration, flipping through the pages of his book as he spoke.

"It's been a week today. Since you lost consciousness."

"...Why are you here?"

...He'd meant to ask more, but it seemed unnecessary. Mikhail closed his mouth and changed the subject.

"A whole week's already passed?"

"Yeah. I figured you'd wake up in four days, but your recovery was unusually slow, apparently. Caused quite a stir. I think they even sent word to your family."

Thud.

The thick pages clapped shut. Mikhail turned his eyes back to Ethan.

Ethan was setting the book and glasses on the table, his gray eyes already drifting toward him.

"Good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Mikhail let out a pained groan as he dragged his upper body up from where it had been buried in the bed.

"I just woke up. I don't want to hear anything depressing right off the bat. Good news first."

Ethan answered without objection.

"Sure. Every passenger on the carriage sent their personal thanks. The merchant association recognized our contributions too. We'll be getting full marks on the field training plus special bonus points. It'll help with the top student selection at the end of the semester. And the final theory class that happened while you were out—that'll be substituted with an assignment for you."

Mikhail scrunched his face and shot back.

"That last part isn't good news."

"You hate sitting through theory classes."

Ethan replied evenly, then gestured toward the stack of papers on the table. There had to be at least several dozen sheets.

"Besides, that's an amount you can easily get through during your confinement period."

"...Confinement?"

When Mikhail's eyes snapped up, Ethan nodded readily and continued.

"Now for the bad news. The moment you're discharged, you'll be disciplined. Unauthorized departure from formation and acting on your own authority. Three days' confinement and a campus service order. The specifics will be given to you after the confinement ends."

"......"

Mikhail clicked his tongue and rubbed the back of his neck. From the sound of it, what came next wasn't going to be pleasant.

Three days of tedious scheduling ahead. Maybe he should prepare some items to kill time with...

"—Kang!"

Right then. A sudden cry cut into his ears, and Mikhail turned toward the window.

The sky foxes bounded over tree branches toward him, while system messages carved themselves into the air above.

Pop!

【Notice: The divine beasts' average abilities have increased due to the effects of combat.】

【Notice: Companion effect is strengthened.】

【Character Stat Change Notification】

• Casting Speed: B- → B (Tier increase)

Hop.

The sky foxes scrambled nimbly over the windowsill. They darted through the air and landed on Mikhail's shoulders.

"Arrrr."

As if to say finally, Han and Ul nuzzled their cheeks against him over and over, whimpering and fussing.

"Ahh, sorry for oversleeping. I missed you guys too. Have you been—"

"Krung!"

"Hey, I'm trying to say hello here, don't cut me—"

"Grrrrr."

...But the tearful reunion was short-lived.

Han and Ul began growling like they were scolding him and gnawing on his hair.

Mikhail waved his hands to fend them off but eventually chose to fight back. He snickered and tickled the scruffs of their necks.

Ethan wore an expression that clearly said how childish, but he didn't intervene.

"By the way."

Then Mikhail looked up at Ethan and spoke. His busy hands slowed to a stop.

"Was there anything else? About the magical beast I took down, for example."

Ethan paused briefly but soon answered in an easy tone.

"Actually, there was one investigation into the magical beast you killed at the lake. Run directly by the official search unit."

Ethan continued, as if recalling the details.

"Most of the questions were nothing unusual. They asked about the beast's appearance and any notable features. I answered those truthfully. But two things I told differently."

Mikhail watched Ethan in silence. Ethan pulled his gaze from the empty air and met his eyes.

"First, regarding how you got injured—I told them you asked me to attack, and that you drew the beast's attention in the meantime to create an opening, getting hurt in the process. ...As for the golden crystals, I said that since you killed the beast in a rush near the middle of the lake, most of the crystals sank underwater. And."

Ethan paused for a beat before continuing.

"As promised, I kept my mouth shut about your ability."

With that, Ethan wrapped up the conversation.

His manner said the business was done. He picked up the book and glasses he'd set on the side table.

Then he rose from his chair and shook the call bell.

Ding.

"A healer from the faculty will be here soon. Rest."

Ethan said it curtly, then turned away. He moved toward the exit with his usual straight-backed stride.

"......"

But his steps soon stopped.

Ethan stood rooted in place and turned only his head to look at Mikhail.

"And call me once things settle down. We're not done talking."

Mikhail met Ethan's gray eyes, then slowly opened his mouth.

"Yeah."

Nothing more was added.

Click.

A flat metallic sound, and the hospital room door closed. Heavy silence settled over the air.

---

It was nearing midnight.

A night sky where only the celestial bodies that lit the darkness hung in quiet solitude.

Mikhail opened his eyes and groaned as he pushed his upper body upright.

He'd been drifting in and out of shallow sleep, unable to sink into anything deep.

"Snorrre..."

Just then, Ul, who'd been fast asleep at his waist, rolled right to the edge and teetered to a stop.

Mikhail picked Ul up and set him by the pillow.

He looked up at the still, lonely night sky through the window.

'Might as well think about how to move going forward.'

Mikhail closed his eyes slowly, then opened them. System messages appeared over the empty air he was staring into.

Pop!

【Notice: The entity distorting the flow of the main storyline has been destroyed.】

【Notice: The original story progression is maintained.】

【Notice: The character setting applied to character 'Mikhail Senit' has weakened and is being incorporated into the main storyline.】

Mikhail narrowed his eyes at the text.

'Weakened character setting. And incorporation into the main storyline.'

Piecing together the context, the messages were telling him that once the main storyline concluded, the setting regarding his death would disappear.

【Notice: The main storyline has detected a new story member.】

【Notice: Progression difficulty increases by one tier due to reinforcement.】

Mikhail stared at the messages, then let out a deflating laugh.

Increased progression difficulty from the addition of a new member.

In other words, Mikhail himself was now officially recognized as a participant in the main storyline.

From here on, he'd have to abandon any notion of operating from the sidelines and contribute his full strength as a member of the main storyline.

'Nothing ever goes easy, does it.'

Mikhail buried himself into the large pillow, careful not to crush Ul sleeping nearby.

He blinked slowly for about a minute.

Then he let out a quiet breath and followed the thought to its conclusion.

'So that means... I have to travel with Ethan.'

[Picking fights over every little thing wasn't enough—you treated me like an idiot on top of it, and now you have the nerve to give me orders? Who do you think you...!]

[Oh, right—you're the precious young master of a famous family, is that it? So stringing along some nobody orphan like me was nothing to you. Look at yourself. Even now, no matter the situation, you just dig your heels in. Testing how far I'll...!]

But somehow.

Given the bitter history that had dragged on between them, he doubted they'd be joining forces on friendly terms.

"Tsk."

Mikhail swallowed a slightly bitter breath and rolled onto his side.

He opened and closed his eyelids a few slow times...

Then murmured in a voice empty of any particular feeling.

"It's not worth worrying about. I'm too busy walking my own path."

Right. That was the sensible answer.

There was no point grabbing Ethan and going back and forth about things at this stage—nothing would change.

He simply had to keep moving, aiming for the best outcome he knew, same as always.

The only approach to take was to act and press forward. Nothing else needed adding.

Rustle.

His heart thumped a little harder in his chest. Mikhail rolled onto his back and turned to the next thing to consider.

"After that, I'll need to build up enough growth to match the main storyline's progression."

Defeating Oz, the fragment of the White Demon, had given him a considerable boost in ability.

But having started from such lacking stats, his current combat power still fell short of handling the main storyline's next stages head-on.

'If there's a silver lining, it's that building up my base strength won't be difficult.'

He had efficient growth routes and useful strongholds all mapped out in his head.

'The next stretch of academic activity. The free mission period. If I make good use of that time, I can grow to a satisfying level.'

Pop!

Right then. Familiar text etching itself into view tugged at Mikhail's attention.