69novels Chapter 250
Chapter 250
Chapter 250
The clubroom of the Dessert Research Club.
Lina sat alone, staring blankly.
“...”
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 glanced 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 note lay on the table in elegant handwriting.
Silvia’s scheme had worked perfectly.
Lina leaned forward against the table, tapping the note absentmindedly.
— Tok. Tok. Tok.
When she had entered the clubroom, she had felt at ease, as if she had come home.
The table where they ate together, the couch where they huddled and chatted.
This place, 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...
— Tok. Tok. Tok.
It was because Ian wasn’t there.
Ian.
By now, he occupied 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 replace 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 particularly uneasy today.
Perhaps it was because the academy’s atmosphere felt unusually heavy, like a thick fog had settled over it.
She glanced 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.
— Knock, Knock.
A knock, instead of raindrops.
“Yes, just a moment!”
Lina instinctively answered as she stood up.
And then—she froze in place.
‘... 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.
She also made sure not to sprinkle too much snowflake sugar over them.
Once the fruit was plated with meticulous precision, she handed Elena an ice pack for her now-reddened forehead.
Then, taking a deep breath, Lina carried the plate out and carefully placed it on the table before the mysterious man.
“This is a dessert we call Snowflake 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.
“Haaah...”
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.”
Click.
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 Snowflake 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 Clan, 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 Clan.
Without a word, Danya pointed at one of the Snowflake Fruits.
The man simply nodded.
Danya popped a Snowflake Tomato into her mouth.
“So, why did you come here, nyah?”
“I’ve heard of this place 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 the last of the Snowflake Fruit.
Danya asked.
“How was it, nyah?”
The man gave a satisfied nod.
“It was a fine dessert. Modern. Uncommon.”
“You use words similar to Ian, nyah.”
“Do I? That child seemed quite meticulous, but I suppose he didn’t hide it well enough.”
“Are you related 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 Leader laughed at Danya’s response.