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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Fear of the Unknown
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Fear of the Unknown
A short time passed after the man's appearance.
The pain that had been gnawing at her body vanished as if it had never been there.
"…My body, it doesn't hurt anymore."
"Good things for the body often hurt. Like a vaccine to prevent illness; it hurts at first, but ultimately makes your body stronger."
"Vaccine…"
She gripped her hand.
She clenched her fist tightly.
It felt completely different from how it had felt swinging the greatsword today.
An immense power, accompanied by the sensation of the bandages wrapped around her hand snapping.
"…This is power."
"Yes. It's our power."
She raised her head and looked at him.
He wore a mask and a wide-sleeved coat, making it impossible to discern his physique.
"Even though I've become a member of your organization, you won't show your face?"
"Once the true power of that pill is revealed, you will join us. Not yet."
"True power?"
"Yes. You need time to accept our power."
Time is needed, he said.
She looked at the snapped bandages.
This power, it's not complete?
"Until that power fully manifests, you will remain a member of the Academy, which claims to be humanity's protector."
"…I will."
"Good."
With those words, the man of unknown identity departed.
True power, he spoke of.
Could power, which had never grown no matter how much she trained, really be gained so easily?
Lyra gazed for a long time at the spot where the man had left, her feelings complex and subtle.
***
"You've grown stronger, Lyra. What on earth happened in just one day…!"
The teacher watched Lyra's training with admiration.
The power with which she swung her greatsword felt distinctly more intense than yesterday.
"Hup…!"
The crisp sound of slicing through the wind echoed, and scarecrows were instantly cut down.
"Wow, she's gotten incredibly strong."
"I told you not to worry. Hmph!"
"When you say it like that, it makes me even more worried."
Fortunately, it seemed the Author hadn't made any mistakes.
It looked like those guys had strengthened Lyra well.
"By the way, Author, what are you planning to do with the villain in the novel?"
"Huh? …Well, they're supposed to die by the protagonist, right?"
"Is that so…"
So he's destined to die after all?
She didn't feel very good about it.
How should she describe this feeling?
She recalled memories of playing simulation games as a child.
There were times she felt sorry for units she had to sacrifice out of necessity.
It felt somewhat similar to that.
It can't be helped.
If the story was to unfold as the Author wished, sacrifices were inevitable.
Academy novels are always like that. Incidents and accidents never cease.
Someday, the Academy will be attacked, and villains will turn the world upside down.
Since it's a world with magic beasts, they might suddenly invade too.
Giving the protagonist trials and having them overcome those trials with exhilarating success is the main appeal of Academy novels.
No, not just Academy novels, but most web novels are like that.
An antagonist is needed to provide those trials. I merely selected one.
If I didn't choose, another character would become the villain.
Besides, he's just a character in a novel.
I merely looked at the backstory of a character *before* they were chosen as a villain, something that wouldn't appear in the Author's novel.
And without any particular connection. I just watched him swing his greatsword.
It would be a problem even if I didn't select a villain.
In the end, the Author has to set someone as the villain, no matter who it is.
That's clear. It's necessary for the plot's progression.
If someone I don't know is set as the villain, someone *will* become a villain. If I can't predict the development as a result, the damage will increase.
What if I don't help the Author at all and block the novel's progression? What if the novel's serialization stops as a result?
Will the world end? Or will the whole world just stop? I don't know.
In the end, the best way is for me to help the Author and confirm the villain's actions right before my eyes.
He's not even a person to begin with, just a character in a novel, right?
I don't know.
Let's not think about such things. As always, let's smile brightly and help the Author finish the world.
There's no need for me to think about this. The Author will decide everything.
I'm just giving advice.
Thinking about it only gives me a headache.
In the end, they're just words, not people.
They're just puppets whose fates are decided by a single gesture from the Author.
"Alright, that's enough training for today. Let's start the sparring. Lyra, is there an opponent you'd like to choose?"
"That one."
"Artemisia? …You're not still bothered by yesterday's incident, are you, Lyra."
"No, not at all. I just wanted to test my strength."
"She says that, Artemisia. What will you do? You can refuse if you want."
The teacher's voice broke through her thoughts.
She hastily turned her gaze, and it seemed Lyra had requested to spar with her.
"Hmm…"
If it were up to her, she wouldn't want to do it.
But looking at those blazing eyes, she had no idea what would happen if she refused.
I have no choice.
"Alright. …What are the rules?"
"A single match, no abilities."
"Get ready. We'll start soon."
"Hey, wait a minute."
"If I can't use my abilities, I'm a mess?!"
"Oh, Reader, you're going to lose. Good luck!"
"Author?!"
***
"…She's gotten strangely strong?"
"Yes. She's clearly much stronger than before. Even if it was just sparring, to defeat Artemisia so easily…"
Siwoo recalled the sparring match that had taken place today.
That female student who had faced Artemisia.
Her name was definitely… Lyra. Yes, it was Lyra.
"You know, that one female student who uses a greatsword."
"Oh, is her name Lyra, by any chance?"
"How did you know?"
"She's famous, you see. For being a failing student. For her to have gotten strong enough to defeat Artemisia, it does seem suspicious."
"…Huh? A failing student?"
"You didn't know? They say her skills never improve no matter how much she trains every day. That's why she's called a failing student."
That's strange.
Siwoo felt a sense of incongruity. Similar to last time.
His intuition was ringing out, even though he wasn't under attack, and it was too strong to be a mere illusion.
She's a failing student?
That couldn't be.
She was clearly at a similar level to other students.
"…A failing student?"
Come to think of it, she seemed particularly struggling yesterday.
So it wasn't just that she was in bad condition?
"She was, clearly just ordinary, wasn't she…?"
"What are you talking about? Ordinary, my foot. She's rumored to be a failing student even without any connection to me. You really don't pay attention to your surroundings, do you?"
"…Is that so?"
"Yeah. At least listen to rumors. You never know what might happen."
Siwoo decided not to think about it for now.
Right, it had been determined that his intuition only warned him of physical threats.
The teacher who had measured him said there was potential for growth, but also that the criteria were very strict.
Had he said it was difficult to grow unless one felt a life-threatening crisis?
He had never experienced such a thing before.
Even when he dealt with a Class 3 magic beast, he hadn't been pushed that far.
I must have been mistaken.
"Her skill in handling the greatsword has decreased compared to before. …However, her physical abilities seemed overwhelmingly improved."
"Lowered skill in exchange for raised basic specs, huh. A potion?"
"A potion?"
"Yeah, there are potions like that. They're called Berserker Potions. They overwhelmingly boost your stats, but your intelligence momentarily declines. That's why you can't use skills well."
A Berserker Potion.
He had heard of it.
But it didn't seem to fit Lyra's current situation.
"I've heard of that too, but she wasn't rampaging like a Berserker Potion user. Those potions are named that because they make you truly rampage like a madman."
"Well, in that case, I don't know either."
"No progress, then…?"
"No, there is one. We've found out that something we don't know about can make people stronger."
It's important to know what you don't know.
Amelia said with a smile.
"Knowing what you don't know is important, huh…"
"It is important. Humans always have a fear of what they don't know. A fear of the unknown."
"…I think I understand."
He had profoundly experienced the fear of the unknown.
The woman whose thoughts he simply couldn't fathom.
The woman whose mind he couldn't grasp no matter how much he thought about it all day.
Artemisia Isis, he was feeling fear towards her.
"Oh? So there's something you're afraid of. Have you resolved it?"
"No, not yet."
"Hmm… I don't know much about it, but they say the reason people fear death is also because of the fear of the unknown."
"…Really?"
"Yeah. What happens to us after we die? Does heaven really exist? Will we be reincarnated? If there is a heaven, will I go to heaven or hell? Have you ever thought about that?"
He had never thought about it at all.
What happens after death?
He didn't know.
"Ultimately, no one knows what happens to us after we die. The afterlife, it's just something humans made up. No one has ever died and come back to life, right?"
"…So that's why people feel fear towards death?"
"Exactly. If people knew what happened after death, they wouldn't consider death so frightening. Isn't that interesting?"
Amelia's gentle smile was a bit unexpected.
It felt like he had caught a glimpse of a side of her he didn't know.
He had only thought of her as aggressive, unlike a lady.
It felt like he had glimpsed a new facet of her.
"I don't know what you're afraid of. But wouldn't it be good to try and find out, at least once?"
"Find out…"
"Yes. Like, 'I thought it was a turtle, but it was actually a pot lid!' …Something like that, it could happen, right?"
Amelia was right.
The side she had shown him was certainly frightening.
But someone who intended to stop Artemisia shouldn't be so afraid.
Just as he had confirmed a new side of Amelia.
He might be able to confirm a new side of Artemisia.
"…Thank you, Amelia. That helped."
"That's good. Now, let's think about what to do next."
"Okay."
Somehow, courage began to well up within him.