I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City - Chapter 79



78 – The Elf with Heart Eyes

“Elder. Right now, I don’t feel like I’m hitting a person, but hunting a monster.”

The sound of Sion’s steps echoed as she approached.

Boiling anger took shape and erupted. Crackle! Crackle! The electric current was rough and unrestrained.

“E-envoy!”

“What is it?”

Rohan looked down at the fallen elder with a face of displeasure.

Around him, the elders who had been beaten with sword sheaths lay groaning.

More than half were unconscious. Those who were conscious had dazed eyes.

“Please protect me quickly…! The murderous intent the vessel directed at me is real!”

“Do you think this body wouldn’t notice something even a fool like you can feel?”

“Th-then why…?”

Rohan showed no intention of getting up from his chair.

For the first time, the elder’s face was colored with the emotion of fear.

“It wouldn’t be fun if I stepped in, would it?”

“…Pardon?”

“You’ve tasted the bitter flavor, now rinse your mouth with soda. Shut up and die.”

To Levin Maxwell, it was still incomprehensible.

Smack!

Before he could even question it, a tough boot appeared before his eyes.

The elder, still lying down, raised his head.

Sion stood before him, condensing electricity in his palm.

Crackle!!!

The menacing noise suggested he would be fried if hit.

To Levin Maxwell, who had lived a life free of pain, it was pure terror.

His voice, directed at Rohan, was filled with desperation indistinguishable from a scream.

“Messenger! Did you not swear under the name of Hex and me?”

“Ah, that? I did. Don’t worry, I’ll take the punishment when it comes.”

If he were truly a subordinate of Hex, he would have to protect the name of his master even at the cost of his life.

Regardless of loyalty or trust, he has a device that is no different from enslavement.

Thanks to that, the High Elder did not doubt him.

Rohan shifted his gaze to Zion.

He listened to the girl’s voice.

“High Elder. I cannot understand you. My father must have felt the same.”

“…!”

“But my father would have tried to understand.”

Zion’s electric attribute magic.

The compressed sphere of it fell onto the High Elder’s body.

“Krkrkrkrk!!!”

Maxwell trembled all over as he tasted the permeating current. A voice too pitiful to be called a scream.

The robe he was wearing somehow kept him alive, but it couldn’t completely block it.

The robe, which had retained its splendor, was losing its color. It was safe to say that enduring this attack had exhausted its power.

Rohan, who had been watching while seated, made an assessment as he fiddled with his sword.

“If it hits now, he’ll really die.”

“Y-yes! It’s the limit!”

A light of hope flashed in the wrinkled eyes of the High Elder.

The expectation that Hex’s messenger might rise and save them even now. That kind of face.

Rohan suddenly turned his head away from there.

He quietly chatted with Clara, who was sitting next to him.

“Do you think we haven’t been caught yet?”

“Oh, maybe it’s because you’re acting so well, oppa…!”

“I was nervous about when we’d get caught. Do I have a talent for this?”

Their laughter-filled conversation pierced the ears of the High Elder.

Rohan, who was talking with the girl who accompanied him, felt no pressure at all.

Maxwell caught the belated clue in the word “acting.”

“You scoundrel, could it be…!”

The title the High Elder used to address him had been downgraded.

Rohan raised the corner of his mouth as if to say, “Did you just realize?”

“That’s how it is. I’ve lived deceiving others, so don’t feel wronged that you were deceived.”

Rohan, discarding the solemnity that seemed to cause an allergy, answered as usual.

The High Elder was frozen in shock. Rohan’s laughter deepened.

‘Of course, it would be hard to accept.’

Information about his real name, which even Zion didn’t know, and the people he met in Tigrova.

The hidden background of the Reverse Praise Society, the silver coins of Judas and their usage, Hex’s plans, and so on.

Without a way to contact the other party to verify, it was information that could surely deceive.

Even if there was a means to contact, the probability of not even attempting it out of courtesy was high.

“Th-these crazy fools! How dare they use the name of the Reflux Praise Society…!”

“Old man. Don’t you know it’s over if there are no witnesses? Do you think an elf will come to your rescue if I draw my sword?”

“!”

Among the elf elders, there are a few who are skilled in combat.

If Rohan had tried to break through the entrance with force, it would have taken considerable time due to the collaboration of the elf elders responsible for security magic and force.

Therefore, Rohan seized the opportunity when he had the upper hand.

Those skilled in combat, who had been preparing and anticipating this moment, had completely pulverized the limbs of their targets during the beatings.

Having gone through a special course of selective clubbing, they wouldn’t be able to resist even if their heads were cut off now.

As he raised his head, signaling his disregard for the elder’s words,

Sion was looking at him. Her lips trembled as she spoke.

“Rohan. I…”

“Do as you wish, Sion. If you can’t finish it, I don’t mind doing it.”

At Rohan’s kindness, Sion weakly shook her head.

Punishing the leading elder was something she had to do.

“…I’ll do it.”

Sion brought forward the sniper rifle she had been carrying.

Click! The sound of it being loaded echoed.

Then, looking down at the elder, she calmly aimed the muzzle.

“Elder. You said you were afraid of death.”

“P-Princess! This is something you can’t take responsibility for! If you listen to my story until the end, you’ll surely change your mind…”

Sion mercilessly cut off the meaningless words.

“In the next life, I hope you won’t be born as a beast.”

As he pulled the trigger bang! A heavy sound echoed through the conference room.

The shell casing clattered to the floor with a metallic sound.

The elder, who had been babbling frantically, fell into eternal silence.

“Hoo…”

Sion’s breath became ragged, and his hands started to tremble. It felt like he might drop the gun at any moment.

Killing the traitor didn’t bother him now.

The real problem was the complex emotions and memories of the past that came flooding back with his newfound freedom.

“Clara. Can you take Sion and wait outside? I’ll finish up here.”

“Okay…”

“Take care of Sion.”

Clara nodded solemnly at Rohan’s request and hurriedly moved.

He watched as Sion and Clara left the room.

‘Time to finish this.’

Rohan stood up and drew his blade from its sheath.

Shing!

It was time to clean up the trash scattered on the floor.

As Rohan cleanly severed the elders’ breath and stepped out of the conference room.

He saw Sion hugging Clara and crying like a child.

“Ugh… Ugh! Huuu…”

It was pitiful to see her trying to hold back but unable to contain her emotions.

Clara, buried in Sion’s chest, who was taller than herself, was desperately trying to comfort her.

Rohan, who had returned his sword to its sheath.

Walked over.

“Sion.”

“…”

What he saw was a face in disarray from weeping.

The composed face that tried not to show any signs of hardship, that tried to grasp the situation and find solutions, was nowhere to be seen.

Now, she seemed fragile and delicate, as if she might break at any moment.

Perhaps this was the true nature of the girl named Sion.

Rohan, wiping away Sion’s tears as she clung to Clara like a cherished doll.

Softly spoke the words he had wanted to say.

“The future will seem bleak. Anyone would feel that way after going through something like this.”

“Rohan…”

“Just know that every second from now on belongs entirely to you, Sion. Focus on doing what you want and finding joy. That’s how you save yourself.”

For a moment, Sion’s sobbing stopped.

She seemed to be concentrating, trying to listen.

“If you don’t know which path to take, you can pester me to find the way.”

“.”

“It’s natural to have trouble finding the right path on your own.”

“B-but!”

Rohan pressed Sion’s lips with his finger, as if it were a habit.

It looked ridiculous, but to Rohan, Sion’s appearance was just cute.

Rohan continued speaking with a light laugh.

“A sniper needs a spotter to aim the barrel in the right direction, right?”

“.”

“Until now, there hasn’t been a spotter. So even if you aimed in the wrong direction, it wasn’t your fault. Got it?”

Sion froze at Rohan’s words.

“Got it?”

“.”

With a smile, Rohan urged for an answer once more.

Sion nodded slightly.

“When you want to clear your mind and relax. When you need someone to take responsibility or blame, I’ll be that spotter for you.”

If Rohan would just let go of Sion’s lips, Sion wanted to ask why he was doing all this.

But Rohan, as if knowing that fact, didn’t let go.

“Sion. Just live happily from now on. Without any complications, that’s enough.”

“Ah.”

Rohan released the lips he had been holding onto with those words.

Sion continued to feel it.

That there was not a single sinister intention in what Rohan had said so far.

He, who was neither a parent nor family, wished for his happiness with unconditional affection.

‘Rohan…’

The more Sion reflected on Rohan’s actions up to this point.

He sensed a soft emotion filling the empty space in his heart.

The pain that had been tearing his insides apart until now melted away into something warm and disappeared.

‘You, you alone have never deceived me from the beginning…’

As he met Rohan’s eyes, an inexplicable ticklishness and embarrassment came over him.

“And save your magic. Why have you been using skills since earlier?”

Rohan chuckled and looked puzzled as he saw Sion’s eyes turn into hearts.

At the same time.

Clara, who had been quietly hugging him for comfort, sensed the change.

Sion’s heart began to pound wildly, different from before.