I Level Up With In-app Purchases

I Level Up With In-app Purchases – 75

EP.75 An Escape of Love(?) with the Duke’s Daughter (2)

I thought the experience of nearly dying in the contaminated zone could be considered a kind of training in its own way, so I said,

“I’ve been through something similar, more or less.”

“Why do you train until your body is in this state when you have no use for it, mister?”

“Who says I have no use for it? You never know what life will bring.”

In an uncertain future, learning skills to protect myself was essential.

“Ah… certainly, saying there’s no use for it doesn’t make sense. Exercise is so important. It’s crucial for health too.”

Rebecca starts nagging unnecessarily, picking on Shine’s verbal slip-up.

“Ugh, I meant training to the point of injury!”

“Hmm, that’s definitely a problem. To have bruises this dark blue, you must have been hit pretty hard. I only know the standards for Awakened, so I’m not sure at what level of impact regular people bruise.”

There’s no need for that.

Since I’ve Awakened too, we can use the standards I know.

I briefly considered whether to speak or not, but I thought there was no reason not to tell them since I had already told Sasha.

It was also the perfect explanation for why I suddenly left earlier.

“I’ve Awakened.”

“Huh?”

“???”

“I’m over thirty, but I’ve Awakened. That’s why I left earlier, to confirm it.”

“You’ve Awakened, mister?”

“As far as I know, even the latest Awakenings happen around twenty.”

Rebecca and Shine didn’t readily believe my words.

It was an unusual situation, so I understand completely.

To demonstrate, I used telekinesis to lift Shine’s body into the air.

“Huh? Whoa? Did you do this, mister?”

Unexpectedly, after that intense flight, my ability had grown to the point where I could lift someone as light as Shine.

Thud—!

“Oof!?”

Of course, being able to lift her doesn’t mean I could hold her up for long.

“As you can see, I did that.”

“What’s your ability?”

“Telekinesis! Right?”

Shine guessed correctly with sharp intuition.

“That’s right.”

“So you really are an Awakened? How is this possible?”

“This is so amazing. Congratulations!”

Generally, it would be cause for celebration if a commoner became an Awakened one, but…

“But if you’ve Awakened, don’t you have to enlist? Oh no! Do you have to enlist at thirty?”

“Eek!”

“When you’re discharged, your age will be…”

Rebecca trails off, unable to finish her sentence, her mouth gaping.

It felt like a dagger had been plunged into my heart.

“……”

“I’d at least be re-enlisting after being discharged once, but enlisting at thirty is a bit…”

“Why do you have to enlist, mister? Not all Awakened have to enlist when they report it, right? Can’t you find a way to be disqualified?”

As Shine suggested, I’ll try to find a way somehow.

There must be no more enlistment in my life.

“I’m not going to enlist. I’ve never been trained in using abilities like you guys, so I’d probably die if I enlisted.”

“!!”

“You can’t die!”

Realizing the situation was more serious than they thought, their expressions hardened.

“That’s why I haven’t reported it yet. Looking at the current frontline situation, they’d probably drag me in without a second thought.”

Rebecca was the first to come to her senses, standing up abruptly and saying,

“You crazy bastard! This is no time to be sitting around!! Training!!! You absolutely need training!! Starting tomorrow, no, from today, I’ll train you!”

“Train with me too!”

Shine also chimes in enthusiastically about training together.

“I do plan to train, but I can’t do it openly. I’m still keeping it a secret, remember?”

You never know what might happen, so I can’t not train.

But for now, I needed to be cautious.

Once I create a situation where I won’t be dragged into the military, that’s when I’ll use my ability proudly.

I was planning not to use my ability anywhere except at the general store, if possible.

“It’s not as easy as you make it sound, mister.”

“That’s right, it’s like breathing to us. How can you not use your ability? Won’t you use it even during training? Of course you will. If the tail is long, it’s bound to be stepped on.”

“That’s your story. For me, not using it is normal. I’ve lived my whole life without using it. Besides, my ability is telekinesis, so it’s not visible.”

I think as long as I don’t obviously show it off, it’ll be fine.

There’s no way I’d make the same mistakes as someone who’s been using their ability naturally since they were a baby.

“It is a type of ability that’s easy to hide. But who else knows about this? Is it just our secret?”

“Just three— no, four people including you two know.”

“Four people!?”

“Why so many? Who are the other two besides us?”

“Mister, you surprisingly know a lot of people. I thought you were a loner.”

I gave Shine a light tap on the forehead for her cheeky comment and said,

“One of them is someone you two know.”

“Someone we know? Someone we know… Oh! Sasha?”

“Yeah, Sasha and someone else. Don’t worry, they’re trustworthy.”

The other person is Ariane.

I didn’t intend to tell Ariane, but somehow he ended up finding out.

“You’ll train with me, right?”

Shine had been pestering me to train with her for a while now.

“I can’t train where other people are around.”

“So we just need a place?”

“We could use Sasha’s training grounds.”

Shine nodded at Rebecca’s practical suggestion.

“That’s right. We could ask for permission and use it when no one else is there.”

“I don’t like inconveniencing Sasha, but I guess we don’t have any other choice?”

“I think Sasha would be happy to help, though?”

“But is there a way to register as an Awakened to avoid military service? I know you’re capable, but I’m wondering if that’s even possible.”

A way?

“I have a plan in mind.”

“You’ve got everything planned out, mister! That’s a relief.”

“But it’s not certain yet, so I’ll tell you when it’s more definite.”

The military probably wouldn’t want to take me anyway.

I can barely lift my own body, so what kind of monster would I be?

I still get goosebumps when I think about that shadow I glimpsed back then.

‘I need to make them think, “Why bother taking someone who can’t even function properly as an Awakened?”‘

If someone in power subtly applies pressure, the military won’t push too hard.

It would be better for humanity if I stayed here rather than being in the military.

‘I wonder how Ariane is doing.’

By now, Ariane, who had turned the academy upside down, must be getting a severe scolding.

I was a bit worried about how well he was handling the situation.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

“So, you’re saying that…”

The headmaster rubbed his throbbing temples, as if too dumbfounded to speak.

I stumbled a bit in my explanation since I’m not used to lying, but I hope it’ll be okay.

“You’re saying that you, a duchess’s daughter no less, heard your older sister was injured, went to visit her, and on your way back, you fell for a man you happened to meet and followed him?”

“Yep!”

“And you can’t tell us who this man is.”

“That’s right! I think he needs protection. What if my father finds out and, you know, takes care of him?”

The headmaster’s expression hardened as if this was exactly what he expected to hear.

“So you followed him in a daze, somehow hesitated, then went ahead and confessed, got rejected, and had no choice but to return to the academy?”

“That’s right! Exactly!”

“Is this really all you have to say? You could face consequences if it turns out not to be true later.”

She didn’t even blink at the headmaster’s attempt to intimidate her.

‘What are you going to do if I say that’s what happened?’ she thought.

She believed she had come up with a pretty good excuse, but weren’t there too many annoying questions?

She was getting a bit irritated.

‘No matter how much you stare, I’m absolutely not changing my story,’ she thought to herself.

It seemed to have an effect as she stared back confidently at the headmaster’s piercing gaze.

The headmaster, who had been staring at her as if he could see right through to the truth, pushed up his slightly lowered glasses with the back of his hand and said,

“Well, I offer my condolences for being rejected.”

“Yes. It was a terribly sad event. I’m still not over it. sniff.”

“…However, regardless of your status as a duchess’s daughter, unauthorized absence from the academy is a serious offense.”

“I’ll accept whatever punishment you give me!”

“I’m pleased to see that you seem to be showing a remorseful attitude. Although I’m not sure if remorse is the right word here.”

She quickly responded to the headmaster’s words with a smile,

“I’m totally, totally remorseful.”

“I see.”

Oops, was she not supposed to smile?

Realizing her mistake belatedly, she tried to manage her expression.

“It seems the rejection wasn’t as big a blow as one might expect. I can’t find even a trace of sadness on your face.”

But it seemed the headmaster had already noticed her smile and started to press further.

“Oh, come on!! Do you think a duchess’s daughter should mope around just because she got rejected once? Besides, I’m managing my expression even though I’m sad. I’ve had early education in this, you know. Poker face. You know what that is, right?”

“…..”

The headmaster’s expression seemed to be souring more and more, but she pretended not to notice.

“And I’ve already sorted out my feelings before coming back.”

“You’ve already sorted them out? Then there was no need to follow him in the first place, was there?”

“Do you think my love is a joke?! You have to give it your all until you accept that it has failed!!”

“Sigh~ Alright. Let’s move on from here. But you won’t get off with just a light punishment.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Since people from your family are waiting, I’ll stop here.”

The headmaster left the counseling room, and after a while, the door opened again.

Knights dispatched from the family.

Thinking about how she had to struggle and flee to the academy because of those people, she felt her cheeks puff up involuntarily.

‘I went through all that trouble for nothing!’ she thought.

If only the knights hadn’t come looking for her, she could have rested comfortably at the inn before moving on.

Then she wouldn’t have had to come to the counseling room without proper rest and tell all these lies.

She looked at the family knights with resentment.

“My lady.”

The knight who noticed her gaze opened his mouth, seeming somewhat perplexed.

“We’ve tracked everywhere you’ve been, my lady. Why did you go near the front lines?”

“I’ve already explained everything. Didn’t you hear?”

“We heard, but who would believe such a story?”

“I said that’s what happened, so why don’t you believe me? Are you dismissing me?”

“…My lady, you need to tell us why you went near the front lines.”

“I’ve already told you everything, so why are you asking me to repeat myself? I don’t understand~”

“If you continue to lie, there’s nothing we can do for you, my lady.”

Her lips pouted at the knight’s words.

Nothing they can do for her?

If only they hadn’t chased after her then, she could have come to the academy much more comfortably.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve explained everything, and the academy said they’ll handle the disciplinary action. That’s the end of it. I’m starting to get annoyed, so why don’t you just leave?” she said, her irritation growing.

“…We’ll report what we heard today to the head of the family.”

“Do whatever you want~ Hmph.” she replied dismissively.

She knew she’d probably get scolded by her parents when they hear the report, but what could they do if she’d already been punished by the academy?

At least it would be much better than if they found out the real reason.