Born in the Newman family, a sickly child, Chester Newman was often told that it would be better if he just died quickly. As he looked over the streets of the Academy, he couldn't help but let out a light chuckle.
He had already seen this scenery once before, but every ti he looked at it, it felt new. Having spent most of his life locked away in a mansion, every sight seed beautiful to him.
Up until a year ago, life had been nothing but pain for Chester.
A life of groaning in agony, closing his eyes in pain, and screaming as he woke, repeating the sa cycle.
It was a small girl who saved him from that life.
A girl who was just as small as Chester himself, who had barely grown due to his chronic illness, gave him a dicine that saved his life.
Chester, now free from illness and reclaiming his life, felt a deep sense of gratitude toward the girl.
Chester’s father had told him that the family had already done a lot for her, and there was no need to worry about her, but Chester thought differently.
Gratitude, he thought, was sothing that needed to be repaid.
He couldn’t just pass on his debt to soone else, so he decided to enroll in the Soul Academy in order to et the girl once again.
For an ordinary person, it would be an impossible task, but not for Chester.
Although sickly, Chester was quite intelligent.
The many books he read to pass the ti had helped him easily pass the written exams.
The practical exam, which had worried him, was sothing he managed to overco through a year of hard preparation.
What truly worked in his favor, though, was that during the dungeon exploration exam, he was assigned to the sa party as the second daughter of the Kent family.
Though she couldn't match her older sister's strength, she was more than capable enough and crushed the dungeon without difficulty.
Rembering that scene, Chester felt grateful, but also thought to himself that he didn't want to et her again.
Her nonstop chatter and endless positivity were too overwhelming for Chester, who had spent most of his life in bed.
“Chester! Is that you?!”
However, his wish to avoid her was not to be. While wandering the streets on an errand his father had given him, Parna Kent spotted him and ran toward him.
“Wow! You passed too! Of course! You look so smart, it makes sense, right?!”
“The second daughter of the Kent family...”
“Call Parna! If you call Kent, it’s gonna get confusing with my sister!”
“...Parna, you’ve also enrolled in the Academy. Congratulations.”
“Thanks for the congratulations! I was so nervous I’d fail the entrance exam! I thought I was gonna cry at ho!”
Chester broke out into a cold sweat when Parna casually revealed that, “I completely ssed up the written exam! If it weren’t for the Kent family’s swordsmanship, I would’ve been crying at ho!”
The endless energy that poured out of her was sothing Chester, who had spent most of his life lying in bed, could barely handle.
It was nice to have a connection with the Kent family’s young lady, but this person was just too overwhelming for him. He would need to find a way to distance himself after politely chatting.
“By the way, Chester, have you seen my sister?”
“Do you an Freya Kent?”
“Yeah! My sister is so terrible, she just disappeared without telling anything!”
Chester could sense that there was no way out of this conversation. No matter how much he tried to show his discomfort, Parna wouldn’t care.
If he openly told her he didn’t want to hang out with her, it would make him feel guilty.
What should he do?
Ah. Wait. If he could take Parna to the eldest daughter of the Kent family, that would give him a way out.
Then, naturally, he’d be able to escape.
“You look like you’re in a lot of trouble. If you don’t mind, I’d like to help you.”
“You’ll help find my sister?! Really?!”
“Yes, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“It’s not a problem! Thank you! Chester, you’re such a good person!”
Chester hesitated, his lips twitching as he tried to force a smile, knowing full well that he was only helping to get rid of her.
“I’m not such a good person. I’m just a little bothered and uncomfortable, and I just want to get away from this.”
But if he said that out loud, it would make him feel guilty.
“By the way, how are you going to find her? It’s been a while since she disappeared.”
“Freya Kent is a pretty noticeable person. People around the Academy must have seen her, so it should be easy to find her.”
Born in the Newman family, which had connections to the underworld, Chester had learned how to gather information from the people around him.
Through this, he knew how to naturally extract information from others.
“Freya Kent? She went toward the Academy.”
He learned this from a street vendor.
“She passed by not too long ago. She was heading toward the dormitory.”
He learned this from the guards at the Academy.
“Freya Kent? She’s probably at the training grounds. She practically lives there.”
He learned this from an older student he passed by.
Chester naturally led Parna to the location, where they found Freya.
“Wow! Chester! You really found her! You’re amazing!”
“...Thank you.”
While he was exhausted from dealing with Parna’s endless chatter, he saw Freya running toward them. He began preparing to slip away unnoticed.
If he got caught again, there would be no escape.
“...Lucy!!!”
Chester, who was backing away, froze as he heard Parna’s loud shout.
Lucy...?
He turned toward the voice and saw a girl standing next to Freya Kent. He froze.
That person was the one who had saved him. There was no mistake about it—he recognized her from that mont.
But why did she seem so different now?
He had heard rumors that Lucy Arlen was incredibly beautiful, but he never imagined it would be to this extent.
He had thought she couldn’t possibly have beco any more beautiful since the last ti he saw her. But now, he felt foolish for thinking that.
Chester almost gasped in awe, but quickly suppressed it, reminding himself that it would be rude to react like that.
He followed Parna, trying to hide his feelings.
“Lucy! Please talk to Freya! She left and disappeared!”
“It’s not that she abandoned you. She had sothing urgent to do.”
“That’s basically the sa thing!”
As Freya and Parna started arguing, Chester cautiously approached Lucy.
“It’s been a while, Lady Arlen.”
He wasn’t sure if she would rember him—it was such a brief encounter.
But he had to ntion their past eting if he was going to properly thank her.
“It’s been a while.”
Chester smiled brightly in response to Lucy’s warm smile, but then heard her next words.
“Pathetic weakling from a third-rate family. You still look like you’ll break if I just poke you.”
Chester blinked in surprise.
“…I’m a man, though.”
“You’re small, have no muscles, and don’t seem to have anything significant about you. You’re a man? Hahaha, what a funny joke.”
Chester’s face turned bright red at Lucy’s blunt words.
“If you want to be treated like a man, at least grow taller. Pathetic.”
As Chester struggled with how to respond, Parna intervened, excitedly asking, “Lucy! Do you know Chester?!”
“I helped this weakling out once.”
“As expected of you, sis! You’re way cooler than Freya!”
“…Bratty little kid. Can you tone down the chatter? Your voice is going to burst my eardrums.”
“Lucy’s amazing! Isn’t she, Freya?”
“Yeah. Lucy is aweso. And cute.”
“Cute?”
“Yep. Totally.”
While Lucy had no problem teasing Chester, she found herself sowhat powerless when it ca to Parna and Freya, two strong-willed individuals who didn’t care much for convention.
No matter what she said, they both ignored it and kept talking.
Lucy found an excuse and quickly left, claiming she had sothing to do.
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