Chapter 250
The clubroom of the Dessert Research Club.
Lina sat alone, staring nkly.
“…”
She had followed Silvia’s instructions.
Each member had gone back to their hometowns to greet their families before regrouping in the clubroom.
Since Lina’s family home was near the Grand Forest, she had been able to visit her younger siblings and still arrive at the club first.
“… Silvia, that girl…”
Lina nced around the clubroom.
Not a speck of dust in sight—it was spotless.Silvia had sent them away under the pretense of managing the clubroom, but in reality, it was just an excuse to give everyone a break.
[Take some time to rest.]
A neatly written notey on the table in elegant handwriting.
Silvia’s scheme had worked perfectly.
Lina leaned forward against the table, tapping the note absentmindedly.
— <em>Tok. Tok. Tok.</em>
When she had entered the clubroom, she had felt at ease, as if she hade home.
The table where they ate together, the couch where they huddled and chatted.
This ce, where they had practically lived half their lives, was already a trove of memories.
“…”
That was why the emptiness felt even heavier.
Sitting there alone, the void and the silence pressed in on her.
It was the absence of her friends, but at the same time…
— <em>Tok. Tok. Tok.</em>
It was because Ian wasn’t there.
Ian.
By now, he upied such a huge part of her heart.
The savior who had grabbed her just before she ran off down a path of no return.
The one whose mere presence brought happiness.
She even found herself wishing—just once more—that he would hold her throat the way he did back then.
Nothing could rece Ian’s absence.
“… I miss you.”
Tears threatened to spill over.
Lina clenched her fists on the table.
It wasn’t time to cry yet.
She had promised herself she would save both her tears and her smiles for when Ian returned.
Yes.
Now was the time to look forward and keep pushing ahead, not a time to grieve.
Lina shook her head, clearing away the negative thoughts.
“Let’s rest for a bit.”
It would be best to follow Silvia’s advice.
A war with the Bloodstone Cult could break out at any moment.
She needed to conserve her strength to fight properly when the time came.
Besides, Ian had mentioned the Bloodstone Cult in passing a few times.
He had said that the cult leader was an unbelievably strong existence.
Whenever Ian spoke of them, his eyes always burned with a cold fire, as if he were devising a way to defeat them.
“Huuh…”
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
For some reason, she felt particrly uneasy today.
Perhaps it was because the academy’s atmosphere felt unusually heavy, like a thick fog had settled over it.
She nced out the window, wondering if it was raining.
But there were no raindrops, just dark clouds ominously covering the sky.
It might start pouring soon, she thought.
— <em>Knock, Knock.</em>
A knock, instead of raindrops.
“Yes, just a moment!”
Lina instinctively answered as she stood up.
And then—she froze in ce.
‘… Who could it be?’
Everyone at the academy knew that Ian had been kidnapped.
Since Danya or Elena would have had a key, there was no need for them to knock.
That meant no one else should have been visiting.
(Former) Magic Wing.
A building notorious for being haunted. That made an unexpected visitor all the more unusual.
— <em>Knock, knock.</em>
Yet when the knock came again, Lina found herself drawn to the door, opening it as if in a trance.
Standing there was a man so tall she had to tilt her head up slightly to meet his gaze.
“Is this the ce called the Dessert Research Club?”
He might have been slightly taller than Ian.
His eyes were deep-set, half-lidded, as if bored.
What stood out most was his snow-white hair—not the faded kind, but a pure white that seemed to reject any color.
In short, he gave an impressionpletely opposite to Ian.
“Please, have a seat.”
Lina gestured toward the table in the clubroom.
She should have refused his visit, but something told her that would be a mistake.
An inexplicable instinct warned her—Do not offend this person.
“This ce has a ratherfortable atmosphere.”
“Thank you.”
“You are a member of this club as well?”
“Yes.”
“That child… has found goodpanions.”
Lina bowed her head slightly.
She maintained aposed exterior, but her fingers trembled where they sped together.
She had never been this afraid of someone before.
She didn’t even know why—just that she was.
Swallowing dryly, she forced herself to speak.
“I’ll prepare something to drink.”
Only when she stepped into the kitchen did Lina exhale sharply.
Her hands were clenched so tightly her palms had turned pale.
‘Who on earth is he?’
A flood of thoughts swirled in her mind, but she quickly shook them off.
A guest hade to the club.
She would treat him like any other visitor.@@novelbin@@
With that resolution, she scanned the kitchen.
Fortunately, Silvia had recently stocked up on high-quality ck tea.
As for something to apany it…
“I have arrived as well!”
<em>tter!</em>
The clubroom door swung open with a loud noise, and Elena’s voice rang out.
Luckily, she headed straight for the kitchen.
“Sister Lina, did you have a good visit home? But why are you suddenly making desserts?”
“Shh. We have a guest.”
“A guest?”
Before Lina could stop her, Elena darted out to the living area.
A momentter, a small voice greeted the visitor.
<em>– Ah… Hello.</em>
<em>– …Hmm.</em>
Soon, Elena returned to the kitchen—her face deathly pale.
“W-Who <em>is</em> that?”
“I don’t know either. But he’s definitely not ordinary.”
“He looks more impressive than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Elena might have been an entric priestess of a minor faction of Deus Church, but that didn’t change the fact that she had met countless people in her time.
“Elena, could you bring the tea out first?”
Lina asked as she pulled out an ice-making artifact—a magitech device designed to create snowkes even without Ian.
Elena nodded.
— <em>Thud!</em>
— <em>Ack!</em>
Just as she was leaving, a loud sound echoed—followed by a yelp.
It seemed she had tripped and hit her forehead on something.
Judging from the solid thud, it was the wall, not the guest—thankfully.
Lina poured mana into the device and began preparing fruit.
Silvia had stocked up on fresh fruit, so Lina carefully washed them, making sure to remove any blemishes and setting them aside in a separate container.
Most older men tended to dislike overly sweet things.
With that in mind, she prepared snowke fruit, using milder-tasting varieties.
She also made sure not to sprinkle too much snowke sugar over them.
Once the fruit was ted with meticulous precision, she handed Elena an ice pack for her now-reddened forehead.
Then, taking a deep breath, Lina carried the te out and carefully ced it on the table before the mysterious man.
“This is a dessert we call Snowke Fruit, sold by our Dessert Research Club. Please, have a taste.”
“Much appreciated.”
“No, not at all.”
Lina gave a polite bow before retreating to the kitchen.
“<em>Haaah</em>…”
As soon as she was out of sight, a sigh slipped from her lips, the tension draining from her body.
‘Should I go back and try talking to him…?’
She was known for being sociable, but even she couldn’t imagine holding a conversation with someone who radiated such monstrous strength.
“What should we do, Sister?”
“I have no idea.”
… Maybe they should just run.
That thought crossed Lina’s mind for a moment before she shook her head.
Against someone of that caliber, running would be pointless.
◆
“… I’m here, nyah.”
<em>Click.</em>
The door to the clubroom slid open, and Danya stepped inside.
She immediately sensed the presence of Lina and Elena in the kitchen and started heading their way.
Then, she abruptly halted.
“…?”
Instead of continuing to the kitchen, she turned toward the living area.
There, she saw a man leisurely enjoying the Snowke Fruit.
“…”
A brief moment of eye contact.
Danya gave him a small nod before sitting down—directly across from him.
“I was getting bored. This works out well.”
“The food, does it suit your taste, nyah?”
“Yes. Though I would have preferred liquor, this is not bad. Are you a beastkin?”
“I’m from the Catsnesia n, nyah.”
“I know of them. A lineage that produces at least one outstanding talent every generation. It seems you’re the one for this era.”
“That’s how it turned out, nyah.”
A crescent-shaped earring now adorned Danya’s ear—a relic of the Catsnesia n.
Without a word, Danya pointed at one of the Snowke Fruits.
The man simply nodded.
Danya popped a Snowke Tomato into her mouth.
“So, why did youe here, nyah?”
“I’ve heard of this ce countless times in reports. I got curious.”
“…”
“I also wanted to see what kind of life that child had been living. Quite modest, I must say. If he had wanted, he could have had endless wealth and power.”
The man’s gaze swept over the room.
Then, as if unimpressed, his eyes shifted away.
Instead, they shone as he looked directly at Danya.
“… Instead, he gained people.”
He finished thest of the Snowke Fruit.
Danya asked.
“How was it, nyah?”
The man gave a satisfied nod.
“It was a fine dessert. Modern. Umon.”
“You use words simr to Ian, nyah.”
“Do I? That child seemed quite meticulous, but I suppose he didn’t hide it well enough.”
“Are you rted to Ian, nyah?”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not.”
A cryptic smile curved on his lips.
Danya pressed further.
“Then can’t you just let Ian go, nyah?”
“You assume that I’m the one who took him. Tell me—who do you think I am?”
“…Cult Leader. Bloodstone Cult.”
The Cult Leaderughed at Danya’s response.