Among all the people at the Academy, I couldn't come up with a logical explanation for why Zui was the one who entered this place. All the poisons I had ingested were making it difficult to think. At least, I could feel that the effect of the poison created by her magic was diminishing every second. Since the poison was used by the user, that magic itself was also close to death. During this time, I saw Zui approaching me and looking at the wound I had on my shoulder.
"You're poisoned."
It was obvious that anyone who looked at the state of the wound would say the same but I was expecting her to ask what had happened before discussing the wound. It was clear that Zui wasn't interested in what was going on here. Still, I wanted to explain what had happened. I didn't want to look like a serial killer slaughtering everyone in her eyes.
"Aren't you going to ask what happened?"
She looked into my eyes for a few seconds. Then she seemed to remember something and spoke in her usual voice.
"No. Actually, I'm glad you're alive. There was something strange about that girl too."
Because she said that, I truly thought she had very strong instincts. I wanted to ask her about it.
"Why do you think that?"
"Because what she did and the feelings she had were contradicting each other. I only realized this after following you all day."
"You... Followed me?"
Honestly, I wasn't expecting to hear that. I knew Zui wouldn't come to this room without reason but the fact that he told me he had been following me made me shiver even more. Instead of answering my question, she continued to examine my wound. Then she looked around. Despite the fight, the room wasn't too messy. Finally, she approached the corpse. She inspected the wounds from my attacks. Throughout this entire process, I remained silent and occasionally looked at the door. I didn't want anyone else to step into this room.
"You killed the girl with an axe. Those who use axes are few."
After saying that, I saw that she was holding something. Sin of the Flower, just like me, had a cube object where I could also place my inventory. Actually, it was normal for her to have something like that because, regardless of her past, Zui was technically a noble. Then I watched her to swing what she was holding over the corpse. It was nothing but a butcher's knife, and she used it to cut nearly off one of the corpse's limbs. Then she carefully turned the corpse. This time, she stabbed the knife into where the heart was. Instead of pulling it out immediately, she pulled it downward. As a result, a long diagonal cut was made. Then she made a powerful move to tear off one of the corpse's leg and stabbed the butcher's knife into the corpse's head. Finally, she spent minutes arranging the corpse's position.
In my previous world, the murderers could be revealed using fingerprints, security camera footage or DNA analysis. Such things did not exist in this world yet. That's why Zui had no hesitation in touching the corpse while doing all this. After finishing, she turned to me and pointed at the bed.
"Sit over there so I can examine your wound."
I did what she said. I couldn't object and she wouldn't say that I was feeling well. This time, I saw a piece of cloth in her hand. She began wrapping this cloth around my shoulder.
"I can't provide any treatment right now because I don't know what poison you're caught with. For now, you should hide your wounds."
While I continued wrapping the cloth around my shoulder, she touched the cut on my cheek. We were very close now. Even though the effect of the aphrodisiac-based poison was almost gone, I could still feel its influence on me. I controlled my breath. At this point, I didn't want to do anything stupid. Moreover, new questions kept entering my mind every second, and I needed to find answers to these questions.
"Why are you doing all this?"
For a moment, she stopped wrapping the cloth. Then she resumed and looked into my eyes. Her lips were slightly parted, and she looked like she was thinking about what to say. When she finished bandaging my wound, she started speaking.
"If you get caught, you won't be able to help me."
'Help?' I thought to myself. I really couldn't understand what this strange girl's problem was. At this point, there was no point in thinking or talking and I was just going to say what came to mind.
"So, is that why you've been following me? How can I help you?"
"Can you make weapons?"
"Huh?"
"I asked a simple question."
"You... Are you talking about blacksmithing?"
Some nobles are disconnected from the lives of ordinary people. There must have been some disconnection like that in Zui's past as well. Actually, this is quite normal because, you know... Just saying that makes me nauseous.
She grew up unaware of many things because no one should have known about her existence. The Scarple nobles, who were researching the destruction of the Amor family, were unknown to anyone until they found her. I heard that until then, she didn't even have an identity. Only she knew whether these things were true or not but I couldn't ask she such questions.
"So, can you make weapons?"
"Of course I can, but... Can you see people's stats and abilities?"
That wasn't impossible and it was worth asking.
"No. I don't have such miraculous powers. You just looked like you were searching for something to make a weapon out of nearby. Also, we're in the same class and your interest in the class is pretty obvious."
So, she had understood that I could blacksmith, she not through some kind of trick but she through extraordinary instincts. I didn't know exactly how I could help her but I didn't want to disappoint her trust. I wasn't sure if she had trust issues with those around her because she was raised in a sheltered environment.
"Alright. I would love to hear what you want but first let's finish our business here. I'm afraid that someone could come into this room at any moment."
Sin of the Flower agreed with me on this and told me to turn the place into a complete battlefield. I quickly did as she said. I tore the bed linens into unrecognizable states, overturned the drawers and took the belongings she had stored in the wardrobe. There was an argent that had returned to its old state inside. I had heard that the argent, where someone's identity and kanes were stored after they died, would revert back to its original form. Witnessing this for the first time was a strange experience for me. Besides that, I found some bottles containing liquids. I did know they contained poison. Since the owner had died, it was worthwhile to take these as spoils. So, I added these poisons and Rona's dagger to my inventory. Zui had also done something of her own and turned the room completely unrecognizable.
"I've taken care of everything. Where are we going?"
"What floor is your room on?"
"Ground floor."
"Then let's go to my room. I stay on the same floor as the nalia you killed."
What they said made sense. As I was trying to go to my own room, it was evident that someone could see us. We didn't want any witnesses besides ourselves. After one last check of the surroundings, Zui examined whether anyone was in the corridor. After giving a sign that it was safe, we left the room and headed toward Zui's room. We moved quickly but silently. I didn't want anyone to see us, so I even held my breath.
Fortunately, we reached Zui's room before any other incident occurred.
As soon as I entered Zui's room, I knelt down on my knees and lowered my head to the ground. The effect of the poison was still ongoing, so I was still in pain but I continued to resist it. Being alive at all could still be considered a miracle.
"Wait here. I had medicines in my drawer that would lighten the symptoms."
"Okay…"
She took out a small bottle containing a white liquid from her own drawer. She removed the cap and extended the bottle toward me.
"Just take a sip."
I did as she said and took a sip of the medicine. The taste was a mixture of coconut and mustard. In short, it tasted terrible but I swallowed it for my own good. I continued to sit on the floor and breathe heavily. I didn't want to move anymore. I wanted to gather my thoughts and fully understand what Zui wanted.
"Finally… I can hear what you want."
"I think you're smart enough to know what I want."
Of course, I knew what she wanted. You asked if I could make a weapon. Having a weapon was clearly obvious.
"Well... Even if I knew what you wanted, I don't exactly know what you expect from me. I only did an apprenticeship at a blacksmith for a few years. So, I'm not sure if I can do something special."
"Don't be so afraid. I don't want a sword that can even cut F."
Her way of saying the last sentence made my hair stand on end. Then, suddenly, as if she had just realized her mistake:
"I'm not one of those disgusting cultists. Don't afraid."
Since trying to make F look like something was something a cultist would do, she must have felt the need to clarify that she wasn't a cultist herself. After adjusting her tone with a cough, I saw an object appear in her hand. This was the sword Zui had used when she fighted with the main character a week ago. Normally, after our practice lessons, we would get real weapons to replace the training weapons we used. Zui was supposed to have gone through that procedure but the strange sword was the same. In other words, they hadn't given her a real weapon. I thought to myself, 'Did they not give her one perhaps because they were afraid of her? Even if Alex defeated her, she has a bad reputation.'
But the truth was quite different from my guess.
"They told me that the sword was malfunctioning and that they didn't know how it got mixed in with the others. That's why I want you to make me a sword that's exactly like this one."