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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 76
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76. Kalliste Esildern
***
Tap.
Tap.
The sound of footsteps echoing through the academy halls felt particularly unsettling.
Though the students around her stared strangely at the female student walking with unfocused eyes, she simply kept going, aimlessly.
"..."
Anxiety, crisis, apprehension…
And countless other secondary emotions clung to my mind, refusing to leave for even a moment.
A feeling as if all misfortunes were piling up, as if something terrible was always about to happen.
Despite having been granted a unique trait, a reputable family, loving relatives, and countless other reasons to be optimistic, Kalliste Esildern felt none of it.
Suddenly, four years ago, a sense of unease began to creep in.
No matter what I did, no matter where I was, a part of my mind was constantly enveloped in anxiety.
It was as if an unseen entity was perpetually whispering in my ear.
—How can you live like this, being so happy?
—Be sad.
—So many people live only because they can't die.
—Why are you the only one so happy?
—Die.
And countless other negative words seemed to endlessly echo in my ears.
I didn't know why, or the specific reason.
Even when I complained to my trustworthy family, no suitable answer emerged.
Even renowned healers and priests from the church had no effect on me. I even managed to acquire holy water, which was incredibly difficult to obtain, but it only offered a temporary reprieve. The inexplicable symptoms never fully disappeared.
Before I knew it, I started receiving strange looks from those around me.
—She's a strange child…
—She wasn't this strange before…
—Could it be that Lady Kalliste… has a mental problem?
The moment I overheard their words, spoken as if I weren't there.
I could no longer appeal to anyone about my symptoms.
No matter how much I spoke or explained, it never reached them. No suitable answer ever came.
Because others couldn't understand me, not in the slightest.
They had no idea how mentally difficult, painful, and agonizing it was… how even breathing felt heavy to me.
Before long, it felt as if I were utterly isolated from everyone.
"..."
Through my hazy vision, I could still see the eyes of a few students watching me. I hated even the sight of them staring with abnormal gazes, as if I were strange.
So, I naturally lowered my gaze.
I'd been in this state internally for years, and receiving those kinds of looks externally felt unbearable.
Tap.
My walking speed naturally quickened.
'Sleep.'
I just need to go back to my dorm and sleep.
Only in sleep could I escape this anxiety. At least while I was asleep, I wouldn't be tormented.
In the past few years, my sleep time had increased to an absurd degree.
Sleeping for over 13 hours a day. I was awake for less than half of each day.
...When my granted trait had been evaluated highly, my family had held expectations. But I felt no change in myself at all.
I had no will to evolve my trait or to move forward.
'What good is a unique trait anyway?'
When I can't even look ahead.
In this state, even if I wanted to look ahead, I couldn't…
"...Kalliste! Kalliste Esildern!"
At the sound of someone calling me, my steps abruptly halted.
When I dazedly turned my head, I saw a male student. Rare black eyes beneath black hair, and features that distinctly set him apart from others.
'Who is that?'
He was a student I'd never seen before.
"Do you happen to have a moment?"
"...A moment?"
"Yeah. Even just for a bit. I wanted to talk."
His voice, filled with a strange power as he spoke to me, made me hesitate. I couldn't understand why this person had suddenly approached me.
Then, I heard peculiar whispers from the surrounding students.
—Whoa. What's going on?
—He's really direct, isn't he?
—Isn't that Han Cheon-seong?
And among them was a name I had heard a few times myself.
"...Han Cheon-seong?"
When I unconsciously looked at the man and asked, he smiled faintly.
"That's right. And it'll truly just be for a moment. There's something I really want to talk to you about. This will definitely help you too."
His voice was filled with conviction, yet I found even that hard to comprehend.
Why on earth was this man talking to me? Why was he showing interest?
Han Cheon-seong. I had also heard that name a few times.
'Why would the man who sparred with Leonhardt, the top student this year…'
There was nothing that could be called a connection between Han Cheon-seong and me. We had just met today, and our classes were even different...
"Why?"
So instead of accepting, I asked.
"'Why' is a bit… but couldn't we talk for just a moment? I think it would be better if we spoke in a cafe or something."
The man, repeating his request, seemed desperate for some reason.
...Even though there was no reason for him to be. He seemed to want to associate with me.
After a brief internal deliberation, the man's words caught my attention.
—This will definitely help you.
His confident tone shouldn't have been possible, yet it felt as if he knew exactly what situation I was in.
"Alright, just 30 minutes then."
I found myself accepting without realizing it.
A thought of 'what if...' A sudden flicker of 'maybe' filled me.
"Thirty minutes is plenty. Let's go right away then."
The man, now smiling brightly, immediately walked ahead, and as I matched his pace, I felt incredibly strange.
'Does this man not see me as strange?'
I was acutely aware of how I appeared to others.
My dark, sunken complexion, my lack of energy, my listless appearance... I knew I projected an aura that made it difficult for people to approach me.
I glanced sideways, naturally looking up due to the height difference.
'Why did Han Cheon-seong approach me?'
I truly couldn't understand.
Yet, because he was someone who had approached me for once, rather than wanting to avoid him... I wanted to engage.
It wasn't as if I...
It wasn't by my own desire... that I was isolated even within the academy like this.
***
Clink.
When I handed her the kiwi latte on the tray, Kalliste nodded awkwardly.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
As I replied, I felt a sense of relief.
'I was worried she might refuse to talk.'
Just a moment ago, even knowing the surrounding students were watching us, I had no choice but to speak to Kalliste. If I missed Kalliste today, I didn't know when I'd get another chance.
It would also look strange to others if I went searching for her, being from a different class.
Fortunately, Kalliste accepted my offer, and looking at her, I felt a certain degree of hope.
'I can definitely change the future.'
Holding my own kiwi latte, I gathered my thoughts.
The very first incident in the Groa worldview, and its first episode, set to happen next week. I didn't know the exact reason why the incident would occur.
But I knew what would happen.
—Conditions for Sacrifice.
An episode with an ominous name from the start.
As fate would have it, the incident occurs in the 'Yurea Forest,' where all A-D class students are conducting an outdoor lecture. The total number of students sacrificed in that incident is around five. Among them, Kalliste's name is mentioned most prominently in the story.
Because the negative aura she possessed was the most immense.
The names of the other sacrificed students aren't mentioned in the story, so I don't know them. But at least Kalliste, right in front of me, I can stop.
No, I *had* to stop her.
"..."
Even now, I saw Kalliste, her lips around the kiwi latte straw, glancing at me.
Seeing her this close, it was clear she felt distinctly different from other students.
It was evident from her face that she was experiencing emotional distress or an abnormal state.
I took a sip of my kiwi latte and immediately spoke.
"Kalliste."
"Yes."
"This might feel like meddling to you, but honestly, when I saw your complexion in the classroom today, it looked so unwell that I simply couldn't just pass by."
As I carefully began, I tried to subtly close the distance between us.
First, the negative emotions Kalliste was feeling. I had to find out their reason.
"...You couldn't just pass by."
Kalliste, who had mumbled my words back, suddenly narrowed her eyes.
When I nodded, Kalliste hesitated with her lips, then sighed.
"It's just... I've always been like this. It's been like this for years, so this state isn't particularly strange to me."
She continued, a self-deprecating smile suddenly gracing her lips, but I couldn't just let those words pass.
"Years ago?"
"Yeah. Maybe four years ago. My condition has been like this ever since."
Kalliste, answering my question calmly, seemed resigned.
As if it were utterly unavoidable, a force majeure, and her current state was simply natural...
But I, on the contrary, couldn't understand those words.
"If it's been since four years ago... that means you weren't like this before then, right?"
"That's right. Before then, I was perfectly fine."
Kalliste, answering my words indifferently, looked at me as if asking what was so strange. But to me, Kalliste herself seemed even stranger.
"Kalliste. Wasn't there something that triggered this four years ago?"
"...Not really, nothing at all."
"Really, truly nothing?"
As I pressed her repeatedly, I thought there was no way that could be true.
Could a person change this drastically without anything happening? That was nonsense.
Kalliste, thinking for a moment as if in deliberation at my words, let out a small sigh.
"Han Cheon-seong. Do you also think I'm under some kind of curse?"
Her voice sounded as if she had already heard similar words from many others.
And the resignation in Kalliste's voice felt even deeper.
"It could certainly be a curse, but I think there might be other reasons too."
Perhaps ninety-nine out of a hundred would have seen her condition as a result of a curse, but I didn't limit the possibilities to just a curse.
The various incidents and calamities that were about to unfold were far beyond ordinary reasoning.
It was full of irrational events, to the point where one might wonder how much the author intended to put Leonhardt through. So, I thought that perhaps something similar might have happened to Kalliste as well.
"...Other reasons?"
"You never know, right? It might have been something else that triggered it, not a curse. I'd like it if you could explain in detail when exactly this started four years ago. Would that be difficult?"
I spoke carefully, even as I did so.
It might have been a trauma or a memory she wished to forget.
Yet, I had to know.
Because only then could I help her.
I couldn't just stand by and watch someone facing death.
"..."
Kalliste, silent at my words, seemed to be deliberating.
Her demeanor was hesitant, as if it was something difficult to bring up, something she was reluctant to speak about.
"I think it's better to speak about things than to keep them bottled up inside. You might find that once you speak your mind, you feel more at ease or a little lighter. Anxiety and apprehension can disappear too…"
So I extended my hand to her a little further.
When someone is thriving and successful, many people might be by their side, but I believe people need others more when they are struggling.
When they are exhausted and weary, when their spirit is broken. While it's best if they can stand up on their own, sometimes people need help to truly get back on their feet.
Because not everyone can live with an unyielding will.
And right now. Kalliste, in front of me, seemed to desperately need that kind of help.
Someone who would extend a hand to help her stand up easily, someone who could erase at least some of the negative emotions filling her heart.
"..."
Kalliste, who had always kept her gaze lowered, suddenly met my eyes.
The somber, sunken light blue eyes that met mine were distinctly different.
It was as if negative emotions had already consumed Kalliste's entire being. Just by looking into her eyes, I could tell how fragile her spirit was right now.
So I didn't avoid her gaze and met it directly.
"Kalliste. Won't you... let me help?"
As I spoke again, I wanted to extend my hand, making it easier for her to speak.
If extending my hand once wasn't enough, I would extend it multiple times, so she could ask for help more easily.
"..."
Watching Kalliste's eyes flicker for a moment, I hardened my resolve even further.
I could save her.
Even if she was someone I had only met today, I couldn't let her die in a few days.