Bad Blood
--- Akira ---
Whoa, [Overload] went from Level 16 to MAX?
I attempted to search for the notifications indicating [Overload] leveling up, but came up empty-handed.
That's pretty sneaky.
I'm not sure what level MAX is, but considering my [Perfect Human Body] is Level 40 and still hasn't reached MAX, I imagine it's quite high.
Perhaps Level 100 or even higher.
In my First Trial, I hit a so-called skill level cap, so I'm confident I'll reach that point again before long.
Examining my status, I confirmed that everything looked normal, matching the information I could gather from the prompts.
After a quick look at the various skills, I determined that their descriptions hadn't changed at all.
Now, the last thing to consider would be...
Skill Points.
I proudly declared to myself at the start of the 2nd Trial that I wouldn't use those because I was wary of the System.
How arrogant of me.
To possess such a powerful tool and yet refrain from using it due to fear of falling into the System's traps.
When did I ever have such a luxury?
The me right now can tell.
Who the fuck cares.
The System can attempt to toy with me as much as it pleases. Ultimately, it's a being constrained by rules.
If I let it bother me so much I start falling for its traps, then I can just attribute that to me being unfit to go against it in the first place.
But...
I won't go down that easily—
Before I could dwell further on my thoughts, the door swung open, and Alpha, accompanied by... Delta, walked into my hospital room.
I couldn't deny the surge of anger upon seeing her.
Even though I understood her nature and found it amusing and somewhat endearing when I was just a spectator, my perspective is now completely different.
How can you be so fucking dumb?
What gives you the audacity to waltz into my room after the mess you've caused.
I sighed, attempting to rein in my emotions.
No way was I going to jeopardize my entire Trial just because I allowed my emotions to flare up.
While I sorted my thoughts, the two approached me until they stood near my bedside.
Unable to hear, Alpha resorted to using her magical abilities to form words in the air, which I could then read.
I had picked up some lip-reading skills from observing nurses talk to each other as they came and went, but I don't want to bother explaining.
["She wants to apologize for what she did"]
She wasn't able to manipulate slime like Alpha, so she is conveying her feelings for her, huh.
Observing Delta, she bowed the moment our eyes met.
Well, aren't you a good person.
I suppose you're doing this to get your snacks back, am I right?
I gazed at her, contemplating my response for a few seconds. In the end, my rational side won, and I nodded.
["Tell her I forgive her."]
I mimicked Alpha's approach and used slime jelly to write words in the air.
Initially, it was a bit challenging as shaping the slime into coherent words proved trickier than expected.
However, with my enhanced [Mana Control] and [Slime Manipulation], I managed it relatively easily.
Moreover, I noticed a greater sense of control over my Magical Power than before. Could this be a result of my Authority?
I'm not sure about that, but at the moment, I sense that I can achieve much more with Magical Power than I could before.
I'll have to conduct some experiments later to confirm.
["I see. Thank you. As the one who ordered her to go, I also apologize for what happened"]
Our communication was lacking. That's the sole reason behind this.
["It's fine. Next time, I will tell you what I'm planning to do, so that we won't interfere with each other. By the way, I think I will go now"]
Since there's no need for me to remain in the hospital any longer, I might as well go home, rest up, and use this opportunity to train while learning Healing Magic myself.
Well, before that, though.
There's a certain girl I need to pick up.
["I don't see any issue with that. Can I accompany you, though? Given that you're still recovering, having someone around for protection seems like a good idea, just in case"]
Well, you're not wrong.
Putting aside my hearing loss, I'm in the recovery phase, essentially waiting for the side effects of [Overload] to fade away.
It's not like I wasn't aware, but I'm impressed by how observant she is, noticing such a small detail.
Still, there's no fooling her, huh.
She's dumb only when Cid enters the picture, after all.
Even though I mentioned forgiving Delta, and we sort of breezed past it, it's just a necessary statement to maintain the relationship between Shadow Garden and me.
She's well aware that's the reason I didn't dwell on it much, and in her own way, she wants to make amends, even if just a little, by offering me the best protection she can.
That's what's happening.
After all, I'm not interested in forgiving Delta, and I won't go out of my way to exact further retribution for what she did.
I taught her a lesson when I could attribute it to merely subduing her. That's the extent of it.
Sure, my anger flares up when I see her, but that's only natural. It's not even trauma; it's more like an instinct that kicks in automatically when someone who once sought to end your life reappears in front of you.
Since I don't fear her, the closest emotion I feel toward her is anger.
It's a familiar struggle, one I faced when Yor killed me multiple times, but her intentions were vastly different.
Yor's attempts to kill me were justified. After all, it's Libert Mulling who brought it upon himself.
The difference between the two is like heaven and earth.
Anyway.
["I accept your offer, thank you."]
There's no reason for me to refuse.
---
Author's Note:
It's ironic how I stated multiple times my fav character of Eminence is Delta, then my MC hates her to death.
Makes you wonder what's going to happen to the others.
Anyway, I am currently writing my first Omake for Patrons only. Since it's a bit ahead of the current timeline, I will release it when the timelines match so that it won't create confusion.
The timelines will match in 3 chapters, so it's not a long wait.
For everyone, if you want join my discord. I'd be glad to see you there :D