Episode 9
For the first time in my life, I realized how unfair the world is.
No, really.
I can read Korean, the so-called system language, and I even taught it to Dustin.
But the second status window awakener isn’t me, but someone else?
Wow, this is just…
Even Satan would cry, status window administrator!
Huh? Are you listening?!
Ah, no. Never mind.
Maybe not?
She didn’t actually say she has a status window, right?
She’s just… waving her hand in the air… like a cra… ahem!
“Do you see something?”
Wow, I sound like a cult leader.
It wouldn’t be surprising if she just said, “I don’t believe you,” and ran away, damn it!
“Strange earthworms…”
“Huh..?”
“Something like earthworms.”(ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ)
What is she talking about, this crazy… no, this strange child?
“You see something like earthworms? Is there a word ‘status window’ written on them?”
I don’t know.
If she thinks I’m crazy, I’ll just say, “Yep, I’m crazy,” and breakdance my way out of here.
“Status window… earthworms…”
Please, say something I can understand.
“Yes, status window. It says that.”
Wow! Amazing! Good job!
You finally said something I can understand!
I want to clap for you, but…
Damn it, what am I doing?
“Aha, I see. So you also have a status window.”
Sigh… So it really was a status window after all.
Honestly, I was hoping it wasn’t.
I was hoping she was just a crazy… no, a strange person!
“Not really… interested…”
And then she turns her attention back to the flowerpot in front of her.
Hmm! Well, well…!
It’s okay to not be interested, haha.
Some people are desperate to have it, while others have it and don’t even care..!
Status window administrator, are you really crazy…?
Just give it to me…
Is there no such thing as a status window transfer? Huh?
“Then can you give it to me..?”
Her gaze, which was fixed on the flowerpot, finally turns to me, somewhat directly.
What, why, what?
“Want to see the flowerpot?”
No, please.
That’s not it.
I’m not asking for that.
“Not that…”
“Then…?”
“Status window…”
“This earthworm-like thing?”
“No, yes…”
She looks like a younger sister, so I almost speak informally without realizing it.
“Don’t you have one too?”
“I don’t.”
If I had one, would I be asking you for it, you… you… idiot..!
“I just know someone who has the same thing, and I helped them read it.”
Now that I say it out loud, it’s a truly heartbreaking situation.
To this kid who doesn’t even care…
What makes her better than me..?
“How did you read it?”
She starts writing something in the air, as if she’s seeing something in front of her.
“Ah, wait. Wait a minute. Slowly. A little slower!”
Her hand, which was rapidly moving through the air, slows down at my request.
Pla…nt… Com…mu…ni…ca…tion… Level… 7… increased…
“What the, level 7?!”
I can’t help but stand up abruptly and shout, and her half-closed, sleepy eyes widen as she focuses on me.
Oh, shit…
Fortunately, loud music is playing in the surroundings.
“Phew… Ah, well, I’ve never seen such a high skill level before!”
“……?”
“It seems to be a skill that helps with communication with plants! Do you like plants?”
Ah, I was so stupid…
She’s been staring at the flowerpot this whole time.
Of course she likes plants!
“……”
She just looks at me, as if dumbfounded, without saying a word.
In the noisy ballroom, only the two of us are standing in an awkward silence.
I hate this kind of awkward silence…
“You, Lady Elliot…”
“Huh? You know me?”
“Goblin Chieftain.”
Goblin… Chieftain…?
Calling a person a goblin…?
That’s too much…
“No, I’m a human…”
“The one who defeated the Goblin Chieftain.”
I realize she’s bringing up that old rumor.
“No, that was three years ago. How did a rumor about something that happened by chance reach the capital?”
It’s embarrassing.
My hand just slipped.
I’m the weakest, most pathetic, nerdy weakling.
And I don’t even have a status window..!
“I’m a little intrigued.”
Is it my imagination, or did her eyes sparkle with interest?
Intrigued, huh.
Shouldn’t she be intrigued by the status window she has in front of her?
If I had a status window, I wouldn’t care about anything else and just focus on using it!
“Teach me about that status window.”
You weren’t interested just a moment ago…
“I’ll come to the Elliot County.”
“Eh, eh?! What are you talking about?!”
While Yuri was having a “fun” time, Count Elliot and the Countess were sitting a little distance away, conversing with others.
“Countess, are the rumors about Lady Elliot true?”
“Rumors? What rumors are circulating?”
It had been quite a while since she last set foot in the capital after her daughter was born.
She had no way of knowing about the rumors circulating in the capital, so she tilted her head and listened to their voices.
“Well, the rumor about the young lady defeating monsters with a single blow has spread widely throughout the capital.”
Jane felt a headache coming on.
Even though rumors spread like wildfire, she hadn’t imagined that it would reach the capital.
“And that monster wasn’t an ordinary one, they say.”
“I heard it too. They say she defeated a giant monster that was leading other monsters with a single blow!”
“Even the subjugation team ran away, but she stayed behind and bravely defeated it!”
“They say her valiant figure was no less than any young man’s!”
She didn’t know how or to what extent the rumors had been distorted.
Jane, not knowing where to begin correcting them, just sighed deeply.
She had heard the story about her daughter, who had been hanging out with the Knight Commander’s son three years ago, defeating the Goblin Chieftain.
When she first heard the news, she had scolded her daughter for going to defeat a monster without telling her, and then hugged her tightly, relieved that she was safe, trying to calm her pounding heart.
“My daughter is quite bright, indeed.”
“They say she’s not just bright.”
“Is it true that she has an exceptional understanding of swordsmanship and martial arts?”
“I heard she has the same aura as the Dragon Warrior who defeated the dragon that guarded the foundation of the Empire thousands of years ago…”
“Stop it…! Stop it..!”
She didn’t want the rumors to grow any further.
Jane could see how difficult and dangerous the path her daughter was walking on, so she desperately waved her hands.
“Ah, is that not true…”
“It’s not to that extent. She’s just a slightly bright child.”
If the rumors spread further, it could hinder her daughter’s marriage prospects.
“Rumors are always exaggerated. Please don’t believe them too much.”
Jane abruptly stood up, as if there was no point in talking further, and left the room to calm her troubled heart.
“Oh my, seeing her react so sensitively, it must be true.”
“Well, no matter what, such rumors wouldn’t be good for a girl.”
“That’s why she’s reacting so sensitively, isn’t it?”
However, Jane didn’t know that the people who remained were the type who enjoyed gossiping.
“Um… Mother, Father.”
“Oh, Yuri? Who’s this child?”
The girl with purple hair, who had been lingering at the party without any intention of leaving, had followed me all the way to the carriage.
“Haha, our daughter. Have you already made a friend?”
Friend?
I don’t even know her name.
“I’m Celia de Marina. I’m Lady Elliot’s best friend.”
“What are you…”
“Right, Lady Elliot?”
?
Where did her naive, sleepy-eyed demeanor from earlier go?
All that’s left is a confident girl who’s casually lying.
“Oh my, Lady Marina, are you from the Marina Viscount family?”
“Yes, I’ve received permission from my parents, and if the Count and Countess allow it, I would like to spend time with Lady Elliot, so I’ve taken the liberty of coming here.”
“Oh my…”
My mother keeps repeating “Oh my,” and this deceitful child, Marina or whatever her name is, keeps spouting nonsense.
Hey, when did you get permission from your parents?!
And since when did you become my best friend?!
I’ve never had a friend like you, you little… Ugh!
“We always welcome Yuri’s friends. But it’s getting late, so how about visiting the mansion tomorrow, Lady Marina?”
Oh, Father! Nice!
Yes, what kind of friend visits someone else’s house at this late hour?
It’s time for children to go home and sleep.
“Ah, is that so? Then I’ll formally request a visit to the Elliot family.”
She’s planning to chase me all the way to the territory?!
I hold my head, feeling like I’ve messed with the wrong kid.
“Then please go back safely.”
After exchanging polite greetings, I watch her turn and leave. Unlike when I first saw her, she looks very well-mannered and sociable.
“Yuri, when did you become friends with Lady Marina?”
“No, well… This is so unfair…”
“Hmm?”
I try to figure out where to start explaining, but I can’t find an answer.
I was trying to hide in a corner because I didn’t want to dance, and I ran into this strange young lady who turned out to have a status window. She suddenly became interested in me because I defeated the Goblin Chieftain and is now lying, saying she’s my best friend?
…I can’t say that out loud.
“We just… somehow… became friends… Sigh…”
I sigh, feeling like I’ve been tricked by this strange child.
No, wait.
Uh, right… this is a test…
A test from the god of status windows, saying that if you help those with status windows, you’ll be given one too…
I have to think that way… or I won’t be able to handle this.
“Sob…”
Right, right?!
Say something, you god!
You’re going to give me a status window too, right…? Right…?
Please say yes… Sob…
“Well, it’s good to play with your friend, but did you talk to any decent young men?”
My father’s sudden question makes my sigh, which was threatening to pierce through the ground, deepen to the point where it feels like it’s going to reach the Earth’s core.
“Yes, tell us quickly. There’s no way men would leave a lovely girl like our daughter alone~”
But listening to him, I feel… strange.
…No men talked to me…
Damn it… Why am I feeling defeated by this…?