“Brother, haven’t you learned that kind of prank doesn’t make you popular with girls?”

“Even if I do that kind of joke, I'm popular with girls.”

“Looks like lying makes your eyes slit open. I should be careful.”

“Hey, you shouldn’t point out things guys are already self-conscious about!”

Ever since I possessed Adel’s body, I’ve been very conscious of my small eyes.

Well, it’s not like my eyes themselves are small, but what am I supposed to do about them looking like slits when I’m not making an expression?

I grumbled inwardly.

Lever looked at me and then spoke.

“Are you curious about my true identity?”

“……A little.”

“Hmm, how about this? If Brother begs me desperately, I might tell you, or I might not.”

“What’s that supposed to be?”

“What I’m saying is, be nice to me. Brother, stop frowning like that. You have a scary face, and frowning makes you look even more intimidating.”

“…….”

“I completely agree with that. When I first met you, I really thought you were some secret assassin weapon of the Bares family. It seems like you’re in a similar position, though.”

“Not at all.”

I replied curtly and looked at Lever.

“So what is it that you want, Lever?”

“I already told you, about Brother’s school life. I want to hear about it.”

“And what would you do with that information?”

“Why, are you suddenly afraid I’m a ghost and something will happen if you tell me?”

“Haha, there’s nothing that scares me.”

“Ah! A cockroach!”

“……!”

I flinched and turned around.

But there was no cockroach behind me.

And then I realized it was a joke when I heard Lever chuckling.

Seriously, no respect for her elders.

“You should be glad I don’t hit children.”

“Huh? I’m not a child. I’m 13 years old?”

“……What?”

“I’m 13. Brother, you’re the same age as Fron, right? 17?”

Well, for now, that’s the setting.

In reality, I’m old enough to be called an “ahjusshi” without any shame.

I couldn’t tell Lever that, so I kept my mouth shut.

Then a question came to mind.

“You’re 13?”

“Don’t believe me?”

“Of course not, but no matter how I look at you, you don’t look a day over 10.”

“How rude, Brother, penalty! If you accumulate enough penalties, you’ll be in trouble.”

Lever said, puffing out her cheeks.

Kyle shuddered, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.

Yeah, you’re surprised too, right?

No matter how you look at her, she’s not 13, maybe 10 at most.

“……Soon, soon I’ll be legal.”

But it seemed that wasn’t what Kyle was hung up on.

Seriously, what am I supposed to do with this guy?

I rubbed my face roughly.

The fact that Kyle was the only one I could trust and rely on here…

It was almost pathetic.

If only Samuel were here too…

Sigh.

I let out a sigh and opened my mouth.

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it, Lever. You’re 13.”

“Well, my mental age might be stuck at 10, but still.”

“……What’s that supposed to mean?”

I couldn’t understand.

I mulled over Lever’s words.

13 years old, but her mental age and body are stuck at 10.

In other words…

“Did you perhaps die when you were 10?”

“Heh, Brother is pretty smart.”

“I may not look it, but I was the top of my class at Sytan.”

Actually, it was partly because I cheated by looking at the answers through Samuel, but top is top, so it wasn’t a lie.

Well, it’s not wrong.

But Lever tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.

“But Fron said she was the top of her class?”

“You’ve spoken to Fron?”

“Not directly, but I’ve heard her talk.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

What should I say?

The fact that Fron was the top of the class was still somewhat taboo for us.

I once entered Fron’s room.

It was filled with blood-stained bandages, broken wooden swords, and the walls were plastered with papers, probably for theoretical exams.

But I didn’t know why Fron hid the fact that she was working so hard, why she didn’t use a sword, or even why she was trying so hard in the first place.

So I didn’t bother mentioning that Fron was the top of her class.

But really, why?

Why did Fron keep acting in such incomprehensible ways?

I was curious.

‘I used the Demon God’s Necklace…’

I couldn’t see all of Fron’s past because she caught me and pushed me away.

All I saw was a girl who looked exactly like Fron looking down at me.

Considering that I became Samuel when I saw Samuel’s past, it couldn’t have been Fron.

Who was that girl?

Unlike the girls in prison who looked like Fron, her personality seemed similar too.

Well, maybe she’s Fron’s younger sister or something.

There must be some connection between that girl and why Fron ended up like this.

I asked Lever,

“Lever, how long have you been here?”

“Hmm, for a very long time.”

“Can you tell me roughly when you arrived?”

“Well, all I remember is being in prison from the moment my mother gave birth to me. Of course, it was a much bigger prison than this.”

“A bigger prison than this?”

“Yes, there’s an even bigger prison inside. And there were so many children like me in there.”

“……Was Fron there too, by any chance?”

“That’s right, how did you know?”

…How could I not know?

What Lever described matched exactly with the background of Fron’s past that I had seen.

I swallowed nervously.

The pendant transformed after absorbing something in Gluttony’s territory.

Maybe there was a way to use it.

And then I knew what function had been added to the pendant.

How did I know?

I just had the pendant, so how did I know what its new function was?

Didn’t Adel tell me himself last time?

It was strange, but I decided not to dwell on it.

As long as I could use it, that was all that mattered.

Bonus chapter on reaching milestones. Choose your tier by clicking the 'Support me' button!

Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel.