The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

8 – Change

-Meow

Once again, on the way to the classroom without fail. The cat he had seen before was staring at Logan intently.

“It looks so soft.”

Logan acted sharp, like a thorn, but that wasn’t his true nature.

He had only turned cold towards people, too guarded from the surroundings. Still a boy at heart, Logan naturally liked cute cats.

With little energy left, Logan found himself unconsciously reaching out as a cute creature pranced nearby.

“Miyao!”

Once again, the cat remained wary of Logan. What was different this time was that instead of making loud noises and attacking with claws as usual, it kept a distance as if observing something.

Of course, Logan wasn’t granted the luck to touch the cat. As soon as he extended his hand, the cat fled.

“Another futile hope.”

No matter how much he reflected on being betrayed after having expectations, human emotions didn’t always go as planned.

Sighing deeply, he headed towards the classroom, noticing the increasing scribbles on the desk.

Seeing the strange smell, it seemed someone had decided to torment Logan deliberately.

If something was smeared, wiping it would solve it, but seeing only the smell without any traces suggested an unusual and non-conventional method was employed.

“Did you hear the news?”

“Yeah, they say an expedition reached Stella’s mansion.”

“Dad told me; it’s confirmed as Stella’s base.”

Not only the academy but the entire empire buzzed with Stella’s story. It seemed the person messing with Logan’s desk had quite a bit of free time.

“Could it be Anna?”

Unlikely. Anna didn’t indulge in such low-level pranks. Chili might make a joke by poking a hole in Logan’s stomach with a water spear, but leaving only the smell wasn’t her style.

Contemplating on what to do, Logan, sitting on the chair, noticed something elusive within the desk.

‘Huh?’

Upon closer inspection, it was a letter.

A letter tightly sealed with red wax.

Perhaps opening it would result in an electric shock or the release of some toxic substance.

“But I can’t just leave it unopened.”

It wasn’t because it might be a genuinely important letter, but rather, if Logan didn’t read it, he knew he would face absurd accusations like, ‘I’m sure I gave it to you, but you never responded.’

“Huh?”

The letter remained unopened.

Not only did the wax remain intact, but the paper was also undamaged.

Logan had only worried about something strange popping out, so he hadn’t even considered the possibility of the letter not opening. Consequently, he unintentionally made a strange sound.

“Should I just throw it away?”

He decided to take it with him for now.

He could use the excuse that it didn’t open when he carried it around and couldn’t read it.

As he put the letter in his pocket, he felt a strange sensation as if the scent that filled the desk had disappeared.

It could be that the scent wasn’t coming from the desk, but rather from the letter itself.

Oddly enough, the letter didn’t have any scent at all…

It was truly a bizarre incident.

“Did you get chased away again today?”

“Yes, but why?”

Finding a strange letter in the morning didn’t change Logan’s routine.”

Today, as always, he was kicked out of the lecture, and I could find Shohel, who had left the classroom himself because the first-year level lecture did not satisfy him.

“Something feels different about you today, senior… Still unpleasant, but a little less so.”

“So what?”

“So, when I grit my teeth…”

Shohel, gripping a wooden sword he had somewhere, tossed another wooden sword to Logan.

“It seems worth facing you with a sword, senior.”

“As if I’ve given permission,” Logan said.

“If I win, I’ll buy you lunch.”

Falling for such a trick would be foolish.

How could Logan beat Shohel? He would probably just get hit like a dog on a rainy day.

“Instead, neither of us will use mana,” Shohel proposed.

“Fine, let’s not talk anymore.”

Shohel was a first-year student.

During his freshman year, Logan had never been defeated in a mock battle where the condition was not using mana.

To be precise, there had been no such mock battle, and those who underestimated Logan had just been pushed back by him in an instant, not using mana. In any case, no one had subdued Logan without using mana.

“Haha, what’s this? You’re confident that I can win if I don’t use mana, right?”

“Of course.”

Logan took up his sword and assumed a stance.

There was no gap in Logan’s firm posture as he faced Shohel.

“Just by looking at your stance, it’s excellent. There’s no opening. Since you’re so confident, shall I attack first?”

The blade of Shohel’s sword aimed for Logan’s neck.

-Thunk!

Logan’s blade smoothly deflected Shohel’s sword.

-Swish

“Ah…”

Shohel couldn’t help but exclaim.

Logan’s swordsmanship was as exceptional as Shohel had anticipated.

Despite being overshadowed by various rumors and not properly showcasing its brilliance, Logan’s swordsmanship was acknowledged even by the professors.

The reason for her exclamation wasn’t merely due to the excellence of the swordsmanship.

‘It’s not just about having exceptional talent.’

Even among inspectors who reached the same level, those who achieved it through outstanding talent and those who reached it through relentless effort had different qualities.

Logan’s swordsmanship wasn’t instinctive.

It meticulously analyzed each of Shohel’s movements, effectively blocking Shohel’s sword in the most suitable manner.

From the moment she saw him swing the sword, she had some expectations.

He wasn’t just swinging the sword; even after several swings, he cut the same spot without any hesitation.

Yet, his eyes showed the effort to find a slightly better path.

He didn’t seem to be a talent bragger, but facing him in actual combat felt different.

‘If I overwhelm him with strength…’

If he had intended to overpower her with physical ability, he would have used mana.

Engaging in a duel with someone who had a completely different approach was an opportunity she didn’t want to let pass easily.

“Whenever possible, for a long time…”

Unfortunately, Shohel’s wish was not fulfilled.

During the intense exchange of blows, Logan suddenly staggered and fell to the side.

“Are you okay?”

“Phew… I have no strength in my body.”

It was only natural, considering that Logan had returned to the academy and had barely eaten a proper meal, not even five meals.

For Logan, facing off against Shohel required a lot of mental strength, so it was difficult for him to hold on with his weakened body.

“Get up. I’ll buy you food.”

As I followed Shohel, I worried that we might get into a fight in a secluded place, but we ended up at the student cafeteria.

Since it was a certain time, there were hardly any people, but the cafeteria was still open for business.

Shohel went straight to the counter and placed an order for food, which he then placed in front of Logan.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

Logan was still unable to snap out of the shock.

“… Did you really buy this for me to eat?”

“Then why would I have bought it for myself? I had breakfast already, you know? I bought it as a gesture of goodwill, so just eat it.”

“Goodwill?”

It was an unbelievable nonsense.

At least for the past 10 years, goodwill and Logan had been completely unrelated words.

Not even his parents had ever shown goodwill to Logan.

Having barely filled his stomach with leftover scraps and constantly looking over his shoulder while practicing his sword skills alone to get into the academy, a junior student suddenly buys him food as a gesture of goodwill? Unthinkable.

It was something that could never happen.

“Are you poisoned? No, why would a guy who would kill someone on a whim try to poison himself?”

Seeing Logan, who was doubting himself and not eating the food, Schael let out a deep sigh.

“You need to eat and gain strength. But since I bought this for you, you better fight properly tomorrow, okay?”

With Schael’s persuasion, Logan cautiously started to eat.

Since the last time he had a proper meal was when he ate with Anna, he reluctantly swallowed the food.

“Is it because of the mask? Even eating like this, you’re still cute…”

As Schael widened her eyes, she got up from her seat.

“I paid for the meal, so you better not run away or anything tomorrow!”

With that, Schael disappeared.

“Unpredictable woman.”

That evening, in the Empire,

[Breaking News! Expedition Team returns from Stella’s mansion!]

[Still missing the return of the Black Star.]

[According to the testimonies of the expedition members, the only one who could withstand Stella’s forced teleportation magic is none other than the Black Star…]

“It’s quite a commotion.”

I was trying to sleep quietly, but the loud noise made me go out, and I found a newspaper on the floor.

It was news related to the commotion surrounding Stella for a while, and it seemed that the expedition itself was successful.

Everyone returned safely except for the Black Star, and it was confirmed that Stella’s magic had also been nullified.

The only problem was that the Black Star had not returned, which was the Empire’s standpoint in forming an exploration team soon.

‘There’s no way Gyeomseong won’t return.’

It was none other than that Gyeomseong.

Surely, they would return safely.

-Miyaow.

Before feeling the sensation of the tuft of fur sticking to his foot, Logan could sense that the letter he had put in his pocket was trembling on its own.

‘What’s this?’

As he took out the letter, it opened much more smoothly than earlier.

[A final letter from a lacking mentor to their disciple.]

The title written at the top of the letter was in a script too familiar to Logan.