A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 39.2
“Do I?”
Now that I thought about it, maybe I had.
I’d collapsed after purifying Eston’s younger brother Theo last time, too.
But there had been a lot going on since then. Being chased by the corrupted, a tense showdown with Dylan, and more.
“Isn’t it just a stamina problem?”
“If your stamina gets depleted just from using a bit of your ability, all the Awakeners fighting on the battlefield would have dropped dead already, don’t you think?”
She had a point.
Eston shot me a sharp look and continued.
“Honestly, I thought it was odd that your ability manifested after puberty, so I did some research. Turns out, it’s rare but not unheard of. But there was one thing they all had in common.”
“What is it?”
“They don’t immediately realize, psychologically, that they’ve awakened.”
I didn’t quite get it.
I tilted my head and asked,
“What do you mean?”
“Mm… For an Awakener, using one’s ability is like moving your arms. Your brain gives the order, and you can use it however you want.”
Eston gestured by swinging her arms up and down.
“But in your case, subconsciously, you’re thinking you don’t have arms. Or, even if you do, you think you can’t move them.”
“……”
“So naturally, you’re not good at controlling the movement, and you end up using more force than you meant to, right?”
“Ah…”
“To put it simply, every time you use your ability, you’re overloading your body.”
Eston finished with a shrug.
‘Subconsciously, I’m thinking I don’t have any ability?’
It sounded plausible.
Even when I lived in the modern world, I never once thought of myself as an Awakener.
Maybe that’s why I always have to say ‘Purify’ before I use my ability.
Maybe that’s why I get such severe dizziness and nausea when using my ability.
And maybe that’s why, after purifying, that green light keeps leaking out of my palm for a while.
“I think it’s a side effect of late manifestation… Until you get used to it, you should be careful.”
“……”
“You are doing self-purification, right?”
I wasn’t doing it at all.
At my now serious expression, Eston immediately furrowed her brow.
“Isn’t the Purifier an Awakener, too? Milady, are you invincible against miasma or something?”
“I’ll do it. I said I’ll do it…”
“If you can help it, don’t use your ability when I’m not around.”
“Why?”
“Something dangerous could happen while you’re passed out. Someone might come after you… And you said you wanted to keep being a Purifier a secret, didn’t you?”
She shot back with a disgruntled look.
At that, my eyes widened.
Thinking about how we used to snarl at each other whenever our eyes met, it really was a huge improvement.
After that dream, my chest, which had felt so cold and empty, seemed to warm just a little.
“…Thanks.”
I sincerely thanked her.
“For showing me the way around the palace, too. Thanks to you, I found my way easily without getting lost.”
“……”
“I never thought you’d care about me this much.”
I added, with a playful smile.
Suddenly, Eston’s cheeks turned bright red.
“I-I only did it because I agreed to your deal! You let me and Theo live at the ducal manor, so…”
“Well, I guess that’s true.”
“I-I had my own reasons, you know! Like insurance!”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”
“H-Hey! I’ve got some dirt on you, too…!”
“Get out.”
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* * *
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After Eston left, Nancy returned, bringing with her the smell of something delicious.
“Milady, have some muffins. They just came out of the oven.”
I snapped out of my thoughts as I sat at the table in front of the window.
“Oh. Thanks, Nancy.”
“And here’s today’s paper.”
She placed a neatly folded bundle of papers next to the tray of tea and muffins.
I picked it up right away.
Lately, I’d been trying to keep up with the newspaper whenever I could.
There were too many things that didn’t appear in the novel, and I figured I should at least get a rough sense of how this world worked.
People are the same everywhere, whether in the modern world or here, the news stories were always similar.
“Gah…!”
But today, an extremely interesting headline took up the front page.
〈 Exclusive! The Unbeaten Legend, Grand Duke Belnac!
Helplessly Knocked Out in an Attack by an Unknown Assailant?! 〉
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