Throughout this week, which I spent like a slave, I was scolded for every 'task' I had to leave to Chris or his children.
Yet I endured each one, trying my best to be a better slave each ti.
Getting stronger was the most important thing for . If the Laergas Family was the best option for , then I was ready to tolerate even more.
So even this simple thing, Chris Laergas himself closing the door that was left open, was actually a big problem...
"Now..."
But, for so reason, the man I expected to glare at ... looked calm. There was no anger in his eyes, just a calmness I couldn't quite understand why it was there.
"I'll keep my word, Adr—"
He paused for a mont, one eyebrow slightly raised as he studied . Then suddenly, the corners of his lips turned up, and his strangely calm expression instantly changed to one that looked like he was enjoying himself. Then...
"Ah, ahahahahah!"
He slapped his thigh so hard that the sound echoed throughout the room. I was trying to figure out what was going on, unable to comprehend anything, when he talked again.
"Ah, haaa... you played your role very well. There's no need to be so tense, calm down. You passed the test after all."
...
Wait a minute...
After treating like a slave for a week, scolding and giving death glares for every wrong move I made, is he now acting like it doesn't matter at all...?
Is he laughing at because I got nervous, thinking I did sothing wrong after everything I've been through...?
I... didn't misunderstand, right?
"Oh my, you really made laugh this hard."
...
I'm going to kill this man.
No, wait...
I'll make him work until death just like , and only after that, I'll kill him.
"Anyway, put your plans to kill aside and listen carefully now."
After wiping the tiny tear from his eye with the back of his hand, he leaned back and continued speaking, without completely erasing his smile.
"Let be clear, I still don't trust you very much. I haven't ntioned it until now, and I'm not sure if you realize it sowhat or not, but there's a dormant consciousness of my great-grandfather inside you."
All the anger I felt toward the man in front of , all the revenge plans running through my mind... they vanished. The world seed to stop spinning in that instant.
"Which ans killing you would also erase that consciousness."
He paused, narrowing his eyes for a mont.
"Well, it will be erased, I guess. It needs to be erased."
His smile completely vanished, his ocean-blue eyes staring at as if I were... an enemy.
"But that small chance that it might not be like that... it sses things up. If I were sure your consciousness would disappear, no matter what you did to , no matter how much potential you had, no matter how much you begged... I would have pulled the plug on you right where we first t. But I can't. That's why I've been trying all this ti to be sure I could trust you."
...
So he was aware of the thing I'd been so careful to keep from him all this ti? From the very beginning?
Then... was all my effort in vain?
These thoughts were running through my mind as I paused, trying to clear my head.
No, I hadn't struggled in vain.
It was still too late to react like that.
If he realized I was hiding sothing from him, the trouble would be much greater. He seems to be keeping alive for now, after all.
"You look surprised."
Fuck.
"You probably triggered sothing in that secret hideout you found in Neutral and absorbed his consciousness. Although I'm still not quite sure."
...
Ah.
This misunderstanding... is good, I guess?
"Anyway. That's why I couldn't trust you, no matter what you did. However, based on what Matthew said, what I learned after researching you, and my own observations... I've started to think that I can at least use your potential."
Though... he's not tricking , right? The possibility that he deliberately orchestrated this 'misunderstanding' isn't zero, after all...
I need to stay vigilant.
"Maybe, I doubt it, but if the consciousness inside doesn't try to 'take you over,' or even if it does, if you can resist it, you could be more useful to us than dying and taking my great-grandfather with you."
Whatever happens, I must continue to be careful. I don't know what exactly
Lithoa did to them, but... it definitely wasn't pleasant, judging by how scared they are of him and how cautious they are.
"Hey, what are you thinking?"
I stopped in an instant, everything in my mind suddenly wiped clean.
I looked into the eyes of the man in front of with a surprised expression, and at that mont I realized that his attitude and everything about him had completely changed.
His eyebrows were furrowed. His ocean-blue eyes were sparkling. There was a slight pressure on , enough to keep in place, but it would definitely increase if I resisted. Even the amount of light entering the room seed to have decreased.
Chris Laergas... I don't know why, but he was angry.
"You just thought of my great-grandfather's na. What were you thinking?"
"H- huh?"
Ah...
"Don't even think my na in your mind."
Right... those were his last words before putting himself to sleep.
After learning that the man in front of already knew the truth, I foolishly forgot this warning.
I opened my mouth to speak, but then I realized that the skill he used whenever he was interrogating was active again.
I wanted to tell the truth. If I spoke without thinking, I would blurt out everything without even realizing it.
"I... was just wondering why you hated and feared him so much. What he could have done to be even erased from history. That's all..."
Chris Laergas narrowed his eyes a little more.
"Are you sure?"
The pressure on , the atmosphere in the room, grew heavier.
It beca even harder to speak.
"Y- yes. Why would I lie...?"
He continued to stare at for a few more seconds. But then he stretched a bit and sighed. First, the glow in his eyes faded, then the pressure in the room eased.
"These are... things you don't need to know right now. Let's continue our previous conversation."
As if nothing had happened, he brought back that little smile.
He was so different from before that it was as if... he was acting right now.
His current state seed like a simple image he was putting on in front of . The one from a mont ago... was the expression of his true feelings toward .
I swallowed involuntarily when I realized this.
Chris Laergas... was much more dangerous to than I had thought.
"As I promised, I'll make you stronger. Much stronger. By the ti sumr ends and the academy reopens, you'll probably be B grade. You'll be pretty close to A- too."
But this was the mont when I instantly forgot everything that had happened, when I ignored the danger of the man in front of , when my eyes widened like saucers, and I stared at the man in front of with my mouth open.
Almost A-?
By the end of sumr?
Is such a rate of improvent even possible, even for soone like ...?
I swallowed once again and opened my statistics window.
I wanted my general level to be B- before starting this 'internship' thing, and I managed to do so.
It was three days before going to Rector lany that I reached B-. Being a half-elf made the progression from C to B much easier, which helped considerably. After all, I already had a mana heart.
And there was no way the man in front of didn't know this. He must have known my general level was B-.
And yet, despite that, he said I would increase my general level by two grades? No, considering he said that I would be close to A-... I would jump almost three grades in just three months...?
"Heh, I can see you think it's impossible. But you'll see for yourself."
His smile widened as if he were enjoying himself. Then he paused as if sothing had suddenly occurred to him.
"Of course, you won't get that much power unconditionally, I'll tell you that up front. When our work is done and you've grown stronger as I ntioned, your rate of progress will slow down. It will be harder to improve your general level and stats. Though there will be a trade-off. Even though your progress will slow down, every step you take in this regard will now be more effective than normal."
Everything he said made my brain hurt even more. It wasn't because I didn't understand, but because of excitent and... curiosity.
I was excited because if what he said was true, this was truly the most important step I could take to grow stronger.
I was curious... because I was beginning to understand why and how the Laergas Family had beco so powerful, how they had acquired such effective thods.
This family... was like an absolute weapon that Cevilian kept secret. If they were among the most powerful families on the planet, among all races, I wouldn't be surprised at this rate.
And that was what confused .
Yes, a family mber from a few generations ago may have been one of the most powerful beings the planet had ever seen... but how had the entire lineage beco like this?
It was strange when I thought about it. Even if the mbers of a family were generally powerful individuals, it wasn't always the case. And even if it were, their skills and powers would be similar.
The Laergas family was different.
Chris Laergas was a man whose strength I still couldn't grasp, and he also possessed a strange skill for interrogation.
His only daughter, Claire Laergas, was the most effective healer I had ever seen.
His middle child, Matthew Laergas, possessed a broken skill that could enable him to beco incredibly powerful in the future.
His youngest child, Tom Laergas, was a sort of 'prophet' who could paint pictures of the future.
Each mber of this family had very... different skills, but ultimately they were people I could describe as absurd and abnormal.
"Oh, and you'll also have a random skill that will be quite effective. I forgot to add that."
...
Absolute nonsense.
On top of everything else, a random skill too...?
As I was thinking this, Chris Laergas stood up and stretched slightly. Then, broadening his smile a little more, he headed for the door.
"Anyway, follow . You're going to go through a rather... long process."
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