Chapter 246
"Do you remember? In-Ah, your sister.."
Yoon-Ah nodded in response to my question.
I sighed. Yoon-Ah's condition had noticeably improved after I learned how to control the staff and became somewhat familiar with the reverse spell technique.
She was able to say things other than "be quiet,” like “yes” and “no.” Although they were all simple words, she could also say something like, "Did you wait?"
But that was her just repeating what I said, so she never said it all on her own.
However, at some point, her condition stopped improving. Instead of clear responses like nodding or shaking her head, she began to tilt her head more often.
Some of her memories returned. However, memories of In-Ah did not come back properly.
"..."
Sometimes, I would lose my composure. What was I doing? How long would I have to keep this up? Would something change if I continued?
When I thought about it, I was basically working for the Romanican Church. All I was doing, after all, was for In-Ah, a member of the Romanican Church.
Many members of Yuk Eun-Hyung's mercenary corps had been killed or injured by Romanican crusaders. I had hurt and driven many Romanican crusaders crazy myself. The Romanican Church was clearly my enemy.
And I was doing deeds for the enemy. As I thought more about it, I suddenly got angry. I wanted to give up on everything.
That was when Yoon-Ah asked, "Did you wait?"
Her eyes, clearer than ever, looked at me. Her complexion had improved a lot. At first glance, she could pass as a slightly pale ordinary person. I took a deep breath and exhaled. Then, I smiled and nodded my head.
"I... I was waiting for you."
It was a meaningless answer, but I felt like I had to say it or I would get too tired. I shouldn't be impatient, but I kept feeling impatient.
It had been several days since I declared at the Eastern Paladin Order that I wanted to participate in the search for long-term missing persons. Han Dae-Ho had said he would organize a team and proceed with the search a few weeks after the exam. When that time came, I would ‘find’ Yoon-Ah in a suitable way.
I had to completely heal Yoon-Ah, at least until then.
Drip.
I tried to use the reverse spell technique again out of impatience, but I stopped when my nose started bleeding. It wasn’t because of the drawbacks of the reverse technique, but rather the drawbacks from the lack of sleep.
I hadn’t slept properly and had been focusing only on treating Yoon-Ah for nearly a week. I decided to cut into my own bedtime because I had no time for school and treating Yoon-Ah together.
[Exams are coming up,] Legba said as I laid down on my bed after leaving Yoon-Ah's room.
Come to think of it, the exams were creeping closer, and I hadn't studied at all. I had skipped most classes, so I wasn’t confident about this exam. Perhaps it was because all my attention was on Yoon-Ah.
Right then, the phone on the desk vibrated. It was a text from Joseph.
[I have something to talk about. When are you free?]
[Are you going to keep ignoring me?]
[I want us to resolve things so that things work out for both parties.]
Over the past few days, I received dozens of messages and calls from Joseph. He had been contacting me every day without fail, insisting that we should meet.
I chuckled. "You're too obsessed."
[It seems like things are going as planned.] Legba chimed in at my words.
I nodded. Joseph reaching out to me to this extent meant that everything was going according to my plan. The exact circumstances were unknown, but there was clearly some friction between Joseph and the members of the purification clan.
I wasn't sure how Joseph was taking it, but this was looking great on my end. This meant that there was less to worry about. Now, all I had to focus on was treating Yoon-Ah and the exams.
The problem was the exams. There was only about a week left. Even if I crammed, it didn't seem like I would be able to instill a significant change in my grades. Giving up studying for the exams altogether and focusing on treating Yoon-Ah didn’t seem like a bad idea at all.
[Do you want my help?] Legba said.
I was so startled that I sat upright in my bed.
Legba had helped me subtly many times before, but he often didn’t offer help directly. After those words, he fell silent. He seemed to be waiting for my answer.
I had never sought the help of the Loa during exams. I thought it was unfair to rely solely on the Loa for good grades while other kids studied hard for their scores. But if I took the exams without the help of the Loa for the same reason this time, I might end up with the worst score ever.
"Would I be stubborn if I refused your help again?”
[I don't think it's stubbornness. I guess you could look at it as if you are protecting your beliefs.]
“Beliefs... I don’t know. It’s not that big of a deal.”
[It is something you value in yourself. It’s your belief of not wanting to be someone who commits injustice after feeling the unfairness in your own life.]
He seemed to be blowing things out of proportion, but I nodded for now. He wasn’t wrong.
I’d always believed that my circumstances were not fair to me. Sometimes it felt as if the world was working against me.
We didn’t do anything wrong. But we had to run away from the Holy See, and on the day they found out we were Voodooists, we were thrown into jail or executed.
It was as if it were a sin to be a Voodooist. I hated that reality so much. So that was why I tried to be fair. At least I tried.
[Think about if that belief has kept you upright or if it has brought you down.]
“...”
[If it’s keeping you upright, then it’s your belief. However, if it brings you down... then that’s probably stubbornness.]
He was right. If my actions of trying to be just and my obsession with acting that way kept me upright, then the thoughts would be my beliefs. However, if it was destroying me instead, then it was my stubbornness.
[Think about it, and make a choice,] Legba said.
I nodded my head. I didn’t have to think.
***
In-Ah dragged her heavy legs toward school. Her head throbbed, and her toes felt sore. Her eyelids and the muscles around her mouth trembled. She brushed it off, thinking they were due to not getting enough sleep for days because of studying.
She had spent her time studying without keeping track of how much time had passed. She pulled all-nighters to study and then would wake up in the morning, go to school, and take an exam.
She suddenly realized that it was the last day of exams. The last subject of the exams was sacred material science. Although she was in terrible condition today, fortunately, today’s subject was one she was most confident in. It was also the subject she had studied the most.
She took out her notebook from her bag and read the notes she had written about sacred material science in an almost robot-like fashion.
Someone called her from behind. "In-Ah!"
In-Ah turned her head around and almost lost her balance. Her head continued to spin.
The friend who called her approached In-Ah with a worried look. "What's wrong? Are you feeling dizzy?"
"A little? Maybe because I didn’t get much sleep?"
"Aren't you studying too hard? At this rate, you’ll end up killing yourself.”
"I won't die, at least not from this. I’m just feeling a bit under the weather," In-Ah said with a smile.
Even as she smiled, her lips kept trembling. Her friend pointed to the notebook In-Ah was holding.
"What's this? Are these your notes?"
"Yeah, I just jotted down a few important things to review right before the exam."
"Can I see it? I haven't studied at all! Maybe if I look at this, my score will go up a bit."
"You can, but... My handwriting is really bad. It might be hard to read," In-Ah said, handing the notebook to her friend.
Her friend looked at what was written in the notebook. The beaming smile disappeared from her friend's face.
In-Ah had said that those were only the notes she had jotted down of important things briefly to review right before the exam. However, these notes were not simple at all. The notebook contained more detailed information than what was in the textbook. The writing was too small and dense, making it difficult to even read.
The friend sighed deeply and handed the notebook back to In-Ah. "Hey, how is this just a few notes? My stomach churns just by looking at it."
"Oh, it's not that bad."
"It's not bad? Ugh... Seriously, I guess not anyone can be second in the whole school," the friend said.
It seemed like a compliment, but it didn't sound like one to In-Ah. Her goal was to place first on this exam. She was determined to beat Yu-Hyun this time around. However, she lacked confidence and always felt anxious and restless.
In-Ah silently unfolded the notebook again and read the densely written words inside over and over.
While the letters on the page seemed like they were dancing around, In-Ah’s friend suddenly said, "Ah, look. It’s Yu-Hyun.”
In-Ah looked up. In front of the first-year building, Yu-Hyun was picking up trash with a pair of tongs. His friends teased him as they circled him.
"Wow. His trash-picking skills are exceptional. Is this the gleaner [1]">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gleaners[/ref] of Florence Academy?"
"Doesn't your back hurt from bending like that all the time? Yu-Hyun, by the time you've cleared all your demerits, you'll be a hunchback."
"Notre Dame... No, with hair like that, he’d be a notre-damed hunchback."
"Hey, shut up before I tear your mouth apart with this pair of tongs."
"Such wise words! Heeey, shu upu..."
"It sounds wise when you say it while picking up trash, wouldn’t you say?"
“...”
They joked back and forth, laughing.
Although he was initially angry, Yu-Hyun couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.
In-Ah and her friend looked at them disapprovingly. Not long ago, there was a rumor that Yu-Hyun had hit Sun-Woo. Sun-Woo's lips and cheeks had burst and torn, and he also suffered a big wound on his head.
However, at Sun-Woo's request, Yu-Hyun did not receive any punishment. Instead, he received demerits, and in order to reduce them, Yu-Hyun had been doing volunteer work around the school.
"How annoying. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't even be allowed to come to school for what they did,” the friend said as they climbed the stairs.
In-Ah didn't respond and just smiled.
The friend clicked their tongue. "Why hasn't the disciplinary committee taken any action? Did they get paid off or something?"
"Maybe they just didn't want to escalate the situation."
"Well, even so... Oh, right. Have you been talking to Sun-Woo?" the friend asked.
In-Ah shook her head.
"No, we haven't been in touch lately."
"Really? That's a shame. I wanted to ask why they got into a fight, but when I went to school, he just sat there without saying a word, so I didn't get a chance to ask."
"He seemed busy. He doesn’t call or message me, nor does he greet me."
In-Ah had sent texts to Sun-Woo recently. However, she never received a reply.
Eventually, In-Ah’s texts piled up to more than a dozen. Looking at them made her feel pathetic.
Since then, whenever someone asked about Sun-Woo, In-Ah always claimed to be oblivious. When asked if she had contacted him, she always replied that she hadn't.
"Well, anyway... at least he comes to school," the friend said nonchalantly, nodding slowly.
They parted ways at the exam hall because they had tests in different rooms. In-Ah continued to read her notes on the way to the exam hall. Just before the exam started in the exam halls, the proctor instructed them to put everything except the necessary writing materials into their bags. Only then did In-Ah close her notes.
The bell rang, marking the start of the exams. The proctor distributed the exam papers.
"..."
In-Ah looked at the test paper. At first glance, there were no difficult questions. They were all questions she could answer if she didn't make any mistakes. In-Ah confidently picked up her pen and started solving the problems swiftly. Sometimes, her concentration would break, and her mind would wander off to Sun-Woo and Yu-Hyun.
Various rumors were circulating about why Sun-Woo hit Yu-Hyun. Rumors like Sun-Woo had insulted Yu-Hyun's parents, Sun-Woo had stolen Yu-Hyun's girlfriend, and there was even a rumor involving Jin-Seo, saying that they got into a love affair that had broken out in a brawl.
In-Ah resented Sun-Woo after hearing such rumors. When she heard the rumor about the love affair, she felt a strange sense of jealousy. She should have been more concerned about Sun-Woo, but she instead felt hatred towards him first.
"The minutes before the end of the exam. Start wrapping up your answers," the proctor said.
While other kids were still struggling to solve the problems, In-Ah had already finished all the questions and was reviewing her answers. She was determined to beat Yu-Hyun on this exam. Not only because she needed to beat Yu-Hyun to become the top student in the school, but more so because she wanted to seek revenge for what he had done to Sun-Woo.
Instead of worrying about Sun-Woo after hearing the rumors, she wanted to repent for resenting him. After finishing her review, she picked up a pen for marking.
Thud.
At that moment, In-Ah lost consciousness and hit her head on the desk.
Blood seeped and spread across her test paper.
1. ☜
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