157 – vs Charlotte Lesberry (2)

A plain hoodie and jeans.

Charlotte is wearing a large headset.

She looks up at me quietly, with a bandage wrapped askew on the left side of her head.

At first glance, she appears to be nothing more than a girl in her early to mid-teens.

But even so, she is a woman in her late thirties.

I’m going to be in my forties soon…

Anyway, I can’t help but feel nervous about Charlotte’s appearance.

What on earth is the purpose of coming here so suddenly?

He also broke in secretly without permission.

A rather ominous and worrying thought occurred to me.

‘Jihyun is also outside, so why is it at this time of all times… … .’

You may have been too complacent up until now.

I knew Charlotte was against me, but I was a little relieved because she seemed to be following Edelin’s orders without fail.

Surely you didn’t break in with strange thoughts?

‘The security system is of no use.’

This clan house has a pretty decent security system.

If you attempt to trespass, the security company and Jihyun will be contacted immediately.

But Charlotte intruded without a care.

He’s just loitering next to me as if it’s no big deal.

Well, considering Charlotte’s abilities, it might not be strange at all.

That’s because there is no place in this world that Charlotte cannot penetrate or enter.

Charlotte’s awakening ability is very simple yet powerful.

There’s a reason Charlotte has been defeating S-rank abilities users since her A-rank days.

It has an advantage in almost all abilities and is suitable for attack, defense, and movement. It is an ability close to omnipotent, like Jihyun.

“What is your purpose in coming here?”

“… … Huh?”

Charlotte tilted her head with a blank expression, then lifted the corners of her mouth slightly. Why are you smiling like that? Uneasy.

“What the… … You’re really in a bad mood now that you’ve lost your memory. But you don’t have to worry too much. I just came here to run an errand for Edeline… … .”

“Edelin?”

I felt a little relieved when I heard that it was Edelin’s errand, but I couldn’t let my guard down no matter what.

Who would feel safe if a knife-wielding robber stole a chip?

No matter how much you say you won’t be afraid with a smiling face, it’s human nature to be anxious.

Especially if the opponent is strong enough to hurt you whenever they want.

If it were Charlotte, killing me would be a piece of cake.

‘I thought I had gotten a little stronger… … .’

A sudden feeling of helplessness came over me.

I’ve become strong enough to deal with A-rank users, but I’m no match for S-rank users.

Of course, there are records of me defeating Kang Hwa-ryun and Kang Han-seong, but those were only miracles that were possible because the opponents were unaware of my abilities and let their guard down.

But Charlotte not only knows my abilities, she’s also much stronger than the average S-rank abilities user.

Because he’s a monster that’s in the single digits of the world rankings.

If we simply look at the rankings, she is above Jihyun.

Also, as he has been active for a long time, he has a lot of combat experience.

No matter what I do now, it is virtually impossible to subdue Charlotte.

If I stretch out my hand like this, it will stay close enough to touch, but it will obviously quickly escape the moment I move.

“Why did Edelin send you here?”

“I think it’s about time.”

Is it time?

What are you talking about?

“I don’t know how much of your memory you’ve regained, but since you’ve safely completed this conquest of the Great Tomb of the Catacombs, I think it’s safe to assume that you know quite a bit about the future.”

“… … .”

Charlotte began her story with a yawn.

Since it looked like it was full of holes, the thought of ‘Why not try using the absorption ability?’ crossed my mind.

But I soon realized that he was deliberately trying to show his weaknesses.

It seemed like they were trying to create an excuse to deliberately provoke an attack and then force a counterattack.

It may not have been a very good intention, but it is proof that he hates me that much.

“You know, right? Our Seongcheon Sect has almost conquered the top floor of the tower.”

“Well… … that’s right.”

We are accomplishing in a matter of months what would have taken years or even decades.

“If you think about it logically, it’s an absurd attack speed… … but you know that we have Edelin.”

This was possible because Edelin had a virtual monopoly on future information.

Didn’t I also successfully conquer the Great Tomb of the Catacombs thanks to information from the future?

At best, the Great Tomb of the Catacombs was raided in a few weeks with only fragments of memory, without much damage, so it is difficult to imagine how efficiently Edelin, who has complete knowledge of future memories, would have raided the tower.

When you see the Seongcheon Church conquering the tower, isn’t it similar to a veteran who has played a game for decades conquering a game that would normally take dozens of hours to beat in just a few dozen minutes?

What the hell is this, it’s not like I’m speed running or anything, why are you going through it so quickly…

“There are only a few floors left. We’ll probably reach the top in a few months.”

Certainly, if we continue at the same pace as we are now, it will only take a month or two to reach the top, just like Charlotte said.

“You made a bet with Edelin, right… …? I think we need to talk about that.”

Charlotte took a black envelope out of her bosom.

And then he hurled it at me.

I grabbed the letter.

“… … It’s an invitation, an invitation. Edeline too… … I wonder what she’s thinking.”

Charlotte yawned again, rubbed her eyes, and muttered nonchalantly.

“To be exact, I think he’s planning on inviting not only you but those women as well… … .”

“Those women? No way.”

“Yeah. You know, those guys that follow you around like crazy. You know, them.”

It seems to refer to Jihyun, Seoyoon, Hwaryeon, and Yerin.

“Why them?”

“Why? Those women should know by now, right? It seems like you didn’t tell them anything.”

If I think about it, I should have told you a long time ago, but I kept putting it off.

“… … Well, that’s the end of Edelin’s errands. Her official duties are now over.”

Charlotte slowly turned her head.

She lightly touched her eye, which was tightly wrapped in a bandage.

Charlotte frowned, as if she felt a slight pain.

“Do you know that my left eye hurts every time I see you… … ? I wish I could gouge out your eye too… … .”

This b*tch keeps talking dirty.

But perhaps because of Edelin’s orders, he was only talking and not putting anything into action.

Of course, it was unsettling because it was unclear how long Charlotte would just listen to Edeline, but at least it didn’t seem like she would do anything strange today.

“Do you believe everything Edelin says? She’s a regressor and all.”

“Huh? Is there anything you can’t believe?”

Charlotte snorted as she gently rubbed the left side of her face.

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter whether Edelin has regressed or not… … What matters is her track record so far… … Edelin, you know, has always done everything efficiently… … .”

Charlotte’s eyes are getting increasingly worse.

“But if you get involved, Edelin becomes strange… … I don’t understand why she leaves such a threat… … It would be over if she just killed him, right? Right?”

Considering Charlotte’s abilities, she could easily kill someone like me without leaving a trace.

“The reason I’m staying silent like this… …is because I trust Adeline.”

“… … .”

“Everything Edelin has proven so far… … has earned my trust… … but regardless of trusting Edelin… … isn’t it inevitable that I feel bad?”

“……you.”

Charlotte giggled with a dazed face.

“Ah… … Actually, I have other business to attend to today besides handing you the invitation… … I said earlier that I finished my official business, and my private business starts now.”

Before she knew it, Charlotte was looking toward the training room door.

“Why do you think I came here today of all days… … ?”

“Isn’t it because the kids are all out?”

“Oh, there’s something like that. You said we’re all gathering today… right?”

“What are you trying to do?”

Are you aiming for today, when they will all gather?

I’m scared of what the hell he’s going to do.

Considering Charlotte’s personality, I don’t think she would laugh and talk like that.

“Actually, I asked for permission from Edelin… … .”

“Hey, you.”

I quickly reached out to Charlotte, but she dodged my touch easily. She was quick. It didn’t seem like she was using any abilities, but I couldn’t keep track of her movements.

“… … It’s okay to at least say hello.”

Why does that word greeting sound so ominous?

“So since I gave you an invitation, I wanted to at least greet you politely… … Hmm… … And I also wanted to give you a reason of my own… … .”

“Hey, what the hell are you trying to do… … .”

The moment I was about to use my telekinesis out of anxiety, the door to the training ground slowly began to open.

“Teacher, it wasn’t upstairs, but it’s here?”

“Seojun, I’ve heard a lot about dungeons.”

“Oh, shit. Why did you call me here?”

Charlotte smiles wryly at the sight of the three people entering the training ground.

“… … I said I was going to make it on time, but you finally came.”

Charlotte looked them over.

“Huh… … ? Lee Ji-hyun isn’t here… … ?”

Charlotte tilted her face slightly in confusion at the fact that Jihyun wasn’t there.

“Do you have a guest? Teacher, who is that kid?”

“Girl… …? Where have I seen your face?”

As Yerin and Seoyoon took a step forward, expressing their doubts, Charlotte glanced at me once and started to spout strange nonsense.

“… … It’s a bit disappointing that Lee Ji-hyun isn’t here. But it turned out well anyway, right? You should let those kids know about it soon. So I’ll help you out a bit.”

“What’s with that kid?”

Kang Hwa-ryeon couldn’t continue speaking.

“What the hell is that kid talking about… … Ugh?!”

Because Kang Hwa-ryeon was hit by a boulder that suddenly appeared out of thin air and was blown far away.