6 – Roostila (1)
At school.
Seoti was sipping on her coffee when she opened her mouth.
“Do you think there will be a monster who can solve these problems as soon as they look at this workbook?”
Having said this, she turned her head. Beside her, a girl with blonde ponytail was studying.
She had a white face like flour, and from her aquamarine eyes, a mysterious aura could be felt. Her lips were as lightly pink as a ripe peach.
She was a beautiful girl. It was as if she was a princess from a fairy tale.
“Well…”
The girl responded curtly. No spirit was felt in her tone.
Roostila Kersil.
The only daughter of the Kersil family, quite famous in the judiciary.
Roostila was always tired. This Seoti understood.
Her parent’s excessive interference, studying that was not fitting to her aptitude, to the boring, everyday routine.
It was a life that seemed too much for one person, a life that could turn someone into a recluse – a life Roostila was living.
Lately, she’s been more and more like this. No matter what Seoti says, it makes no difference. Roostila was unable to show any reaction other than just licking her lips.
‘Only because this sister has made a contract with a saint, she’s tolerable….’
Otherwise, wouldn’t she have gone mad long ago?
Seoti asked with concern.
“Uh, sister. Are you okay?”
“……”
Roostila simply nodded.
“It will be okay after a few months. Until then, let’s fight through, us.”
Nod nod.
Secretly, Seoti heaved a sigh.
It was a pity.
Even until the time we had first met, she was not nearly this lifeless. But in no time, she had come to resemble a statue.
There was not much Sethi could do. She was not in a position to interfere in the affairs of the Kersil family.
However, she wanted to help the person who followed her like her friend and sister, no matter what.
‘Is there no other way…?’
Sethi bit her lower lip.
“Unni.. or rather, Rustila. Would you like to come to my house this week if you have time?”
“……?”
Rustila, who had been pondering over a physics problem, looked up. There was a glimmer in her vague, ocean-blue eyes.
“…Your house?”
“Yes. You’ll come to my house and we’ll do homework together. Honestly, today’s homework is a bit difficult to do alone, isn’t it?”
This week’s assignment consisted of about 30 Korean passages, 150 math questions, and 200 physics problems.
Even if we were only paying attention to quantity, it was more than enough. Those who aim for the top rank in competitive exams digest this kind of volume every week.
Only this time, the difficulty level of the homework was so high that there was a high likelihood of being mentally overwhelmed if done alone.
Sethi proposed a study session.
“However…”
Rustila hesitated.
“Why?”
“…Parents. I have to get permission from my parents first.”
“…….”
Sethi tightly shut her mouth.
From noble mtl dot com
Anything she wanted to do was always ‘parents, parents, parents!’
It was not Rustila’s fault. It was the overprotective parents of the Kersil family.
Sethi could not understand Rustila’s parents.
She was sixteen—a time when she could know and be cautious about everything. Was it really necessary?
Sethi’s parents had let her figure things out on her own since she was five, and she turned out fine.
Still, Sethi didn’t have the authority to meddle in the Kersil family’s affairs.
“Talk to your parents, let me know what they say. If they allow, I will be waiting with some delicious snacks.”
“Ah, o-okay…”
Rustila nodded, turning her gaze back to the window, where a android in office attire was standing. Its gaze was fixed on Rustila.
“Haa…”
Rustila sighed.
The robot beyond the window nodded its head.
***
I had a dream.
– Mom, I got a full score on the test again!
– Really? My genius son. I ought to reward you right away!
In that place, I was solely studying.
Study, study, and study. And more study. I was studying so passionately that there was nothing left in my life beyond academics.
– Mom, I passed the GED!
– It’s the natural outcome. Let’s continue on this track, all the way to the college entrance exams.
His obsession continues.
However, it progressively loses its color.
At first, the vibrant rainbow-colored image gradually turns gray.
– Mom, I got a perfect score on the college entrance exam.
– That’s great! Go to med school.
– Physics department.
– Jinsu, what are you talking about?
– Physics department.
– Are you sick? What the hell are you talking about?
– Physics department.
– Jinsu! No!!
A world where only brightness exists without color.
In time, the world takes on the blackness of ink. In the darkness, triggers seem to flash and then disappear.
It was a very, very… vicious nightmare.
[The God of Wisdom and Curiosity gasps at your dream.]
“……”
I got up from bed.
At my bedside, the water that Sonia had left remained. I hastily grabbed it and gulped it down.
“Hoo… I need to study.”
Clunk!
“…What’s that?”
The sound of a spaceship docking at the house was heard. Someone was visiting early in the morning.
“Sonia!”
“Did you call for me?”
As soon as I called her name, Sonia rushed over.
“Who’s outside?”
“I was just about to check.”
I thought about the purchases I had made recently.
I received books yesterday, and haven’t ordered anything else. At least, the person docking was not my guest.
Still, I decided to check just in case.
At the dock, there were some people in neat suits. Judging from their attire, they seemed to be bodyguards.
“Who are you…?”
As I asked, a tall man with a dandy haircut approached and bowed.
“Are you from the Linehardt family?”
“Yes, I am…”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Germel, the head of security of the Kersil family. Our Miss Rustilla has accepted an invitation from your family and I came to escort her.”
“….Rustilla?”
Wait a moment.
If it had been Rustilla, certainly….
“Ah, hold on a second!”
Just then, Setti burst in with a loud clatter. Her shimmering silver hair fluttered past my eyes like a dancing flame.
“I was the one who called for you!”
Setti stuck her tongue out at me and began conversing with Zermel.
“You…!”
Zermel, seemingly deducing Setti’s origins, sharply drew in his breath. Setti shooed him off with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Setti chuckled with gleeful delight, a stark contrast to the way she treated me.
“Young lady, you can come down now.”
As soon as Zermel spoke, another person came out of the spaceship.
Was she about my age?
Her hair was golden like a wheat field, and it was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, falling nearly down to her waist. Her eyes were blue. She looked rather stern and impassive.
Suddenly, our eyes met.
“…!”
The girl’s pupils dilated at once. She looked pallid.
“…”
I, struggling to remember, was taken aback. Something seemed to have gone wrong.
Just then, Setti beckoned me with her hand.
Is she signaling for me to come, or to go?
Probably to leave. The timing was perfect. I nodded and turned around.
“Let’s go, Sonia.”
“Yes, master.”
Without uttering a word, Sonia followed me back into the room.
“Starting your studies just as soon as you wake up, that’s great to see.”
As I opened my workbook, as usual, Sonia brought over some snacks.
“I initially thought your studious phase would last only three days, but you seem to be doing surprisingly well. Excellent.”
“I am going to pass.”
Upon hearing my words, Sonia nodded and clapped encouragingly.
“Oh, Sonia, I am impressed by your determination.”
“Yes, yes.”
Before I realized, three weeks had passed since I attempted my first quest.
In the meantime, I powered through more than a hundred workbooks with the help of my ‘cognitive acceleration’ skill.
Still feeling unsatisfied, I ordered an additional set of past exam papers.
It was since then…
That the attitude of this maid android completely changed.
“I hope for good results. You never know, right? Your regret over this incident might lead you to join the academy and lay the groundwork for a future revolution.”
“It’s best not to utterly rely on anyone.”
“Actually, I am already content if you maintain the effort you’ve shown thus far.”
Hesitantly, I picked up my pen.
But today, I found it harder than usual to concentrate.
Why could it be?
The guess wasn’t hard to make.
It must have been because of the blonde ponytailed girl he had just seen for a moment.
Her name was ‘Rustilla Kersil’.
She was one of the important supporting characters in ‘Spirit Killer’.
Rustilla had made a contract with the holy throne, which allowed her to read others’ intentions.
In other words, it was possible for her to judge whether someone was harboring good or evil intentions.
“Damn it.”
In his current state, she was like poison to him.
It was dangerous. If he encountered her wrongly, everyone could come to know about the existence of the spirit inhabiting his head.
People who had contracted with spirits were classified as monsters by the government. These people would be dragged away to internment camps without any questions.
Of course,
If it weren’t for that, she would be the character he wanted to meet more than anything else. At the same time, she was also a pitiable child.
“…She is quite nice, though.”
He mumbled, flipping through the society workbook.
There were barely ten books left to go through.
He had planned not to leave his room today.
***
‘Ah, shoot… why the hell is that guy leaving when I invited him?’
Seti complained inwardly as she fumed.
There were two main reasons why she had invited Rustilla to her house.
One was to give Rustilla, who was overprotected by her clan, a little bit of breathing space.
The other was to subtly understand Eidell’s psychological changes through the power of Rustilla’s holy throne.
In the latter case, it wasn’t hard. Just making eye contact with Eidell would do the trick.
Seti thought there wouldn’t be a problem as Eidell’s violent nature had softened a lot after getting hit in the head.
In other words, Seti originally planned to have Eidell and Rustilla greet each other and call it a day.
But.
‘Was that wench getting ready to bolt…?’
Eidell had admitted not only to gambling but also to women. If he was faithful to his instincts, he could be considered faithful.
And yet Eidell, having seen Rustilla who was nothing short of a dazzling beauty, didn’t even throw her a second glance but instead went back to his room with Sonia!
‘…Could it be?’
Has he really changed as a person after getting hit in the head?
Has he become a model student who’s not interested in women, given up gambling, and studies hard?
‘Nah…’
She didn’t know yet.
Even if that were true, as long as he was spending money recklessly, Seti had no intention of forgiving Eidell.
Moreover, the grudge from the past hadn’t melted away yet.
“Sigh.”
Seti turned her head with a sigh.
“Rustilla sis, let’s go to our room……”
…Yes.
Seti abruptly stopped talking. She opened her eyes slightly.
The bodyguards, focusing solely on Rustila, seemed to have not noticed, but Seti, who had seen her face for a long time, could see it.
“Ah, ah…”
Rustila was trembling with fright.
As if she had seen a monster.
