Marsha stumbled into the backyard, hastily wiping her tears with her sleeve—only for new ones to spill down and take their place. She had only returned to distribute the pumpkins to the people, or at least, that's what Deklan assumed she was doing.
But she came back a mess.
Readily, Deklan approached her, caught her, and pulled her into his embrace.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked gently.
"Y-Young master…" Marsha sobbed as she looked at her with a tear-stricken face. "Young master, I don't know what to do. I went back to give the pumpkins, happy that the people could eat for days… Granny Linsa asked me to get some more. I know it's for the sake of the people, but I don't want to steal from yo—"
"Slow down, slow down…" Deklan helped her get inside. "Calm down first, and then explain."
Inside, both of them sat on the broken sofa.
And Marsha explained what went down back home.
Deklan listened attentively to what happened to her.
How she came back to the hamlet excitedly, but this Granny Linsa ruined it.
On top of taking the pumpkins 'for the sake of the people', she also guilt-trips Marsha to steal more.
Of course, Marsha didn't realize she was being used.
In fact, she genuinely believed that Granny Linsa had the best for the people in mind.
"Young master, please don't be angry. She's not a bad person inside, but the famine…"
Not a bad person? She basically guilt-tripped you to steal more—from me, and though you have excellent talent, she kept you around to be her obedient servant and scavenger. This Granny Linsa basically has you by your neck, but you don't realize it.
If she's a good person, then I'm a saint!
Deklan didn't say what he had in mind out loud.
Seeing how Marsha was still defending Granny Linsa, it's clear that nothing he says will get to her.
Even so, he can't help but say something.
"Have you ever thought that maybe Granny Linsa is using you?"
"Using me…? Of course not. I'm lucky enough to be an Exorcist, so I can handle hunger better. It's my duty to help the people with my power."
Deklan turned away, covering his mouth.
He couldn't believe how innocent Marsha was for her to think that this was anything but manipulation.
Granny Linsa is weaponizing the people she cares about and also her past to keep her leashed.
It was clear as day, but perhaps it's harder to realize from Marsha's perspective.
After all, she had grown up with Granny Linsa on her ears constantly.
"What should I do, young master…?" Marsha turned her body to face Deklan; her puppy eyes stared at him as if he were his only hope in the whole world. "I don't want to steal from you, but I also know the people really need as much help as they can get. It's unfair for you, I know…"
Snapping out of his trance, Deklan stared at Marsha for a good moment.
Then, out of her expectations, he pinched her cheek hard.
"O-Ow…. Young master?"
"Stop giving me that look. Are you trying to manipulate me?"
"I wouldn't dare… If you refused, I would certainly respect your decision."
"And then what? What are you going to do?"
"I… I'm going to head deeper into the forest, maybe. I can't go back empty-handed."
"And risk your life in the process?" Deklan pulled on her cheek harder without mercy, stretching it until it turned red. "Do you really want to die that badly? Do you even have other spells to fight Ghosts? Do you?"
"N-No, but I can maybe sn—"
"Shut up, you're not going deeper into the forest. I won't let you."
Deklan released her cheek, and her head recoiled back slightly as she instinctively rubbed the spot where his grip had left a dull throb. She was pouting, fretting inside as to why Deklan liked to pinch her cheek so much.
It's not even that big.
'Or maybe, did I gain weight? No way—I hadn't even eaten anything for three days…' She pushed her lower lip forward, pouting.
On the other hand, Deklan was also in a world of his own.
So, this Granny Linsa is the one who made my cute Marsha cry. She manipulated Marsha's emotions to keep her on a leash. If that's how you wanted to play, then so be it. It's been a good moment since the last time I bullied someone. And this is proof that certain people deserved to be bullied.
Not to mention, she really takes me lightly.
Deklan's lips curled into a grin as he recalled Paul's words.
'Don't throw the first punch—but if someone hits you, give it back times ten!'
Upon settling on what he needed to do, Deklan blinked and turned to Marsha again.
"Say, did you tell her that I'm no longer weak?"
"No... I didn't. Why?"
"Don't ask questions. Now, have people always relied on scavenging for food?"
"Yes, young master. And, no. Normally, we'd trade with Ingver Town, but the only safe road was blocked by a group of Ghosts."
"As expected."
For a hamlet to rely solely on scavenging is extremely unlikely, especially in a forest filled with Ghosts like this. Deklan found it weird that Marsha was told to scavenge, and now he knew that this stemmed from a single problem.
Deklan nodded his head and stood up.
"Sleep here for the night," He instructed, heading towards the back door. "We'll leave in the morning."
Marsha didn't know what he was planning, but she wasn't going to ask.
She trusts Deklan enough to follow his lead.
As he stood in the backyard again, Deklan stretched his body under the moonlight.
Ever since he was transmigrated into this world, he didn't feel like the night was a time for him to sleep, but rather, it was the time for him to move. Using Granny Linsa to win over Marsha made me feel bad and guilty. It's like I'm using this situation to my advantage. But it had to be done.
Deklan slapped his cheeks with both hands to focus.
I know I can treat you better than she can, so it's good work. Good work, I'd say!
For the rest of the night, Deklan trained on his Breeze Affinity and also his spear-wielding.
Moving around still hurts thanks to the wound on his stomach that was still healing, but as long as he was careful, it's fine. He's going to level up—the Ward to level 5 soon to take down the barrier, and due to that, he needs to prepare better.
...
Early in the morning, when the sun was barely up, Marsha opened her eyes.
She moaned slightly as she sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
Sleeping on the couch wasn't as comfortable as sleeping back in her own house, but the assurance that Deklan was around made her sleep feel a lot better. It had been a while since she slept that soundly, and she was embarrassed.
'I hope young master didn't see me…' Marsha thought shyly.
Just then, she heard the sound of labored breaths from outside.
Marsha tidied up the sofa the best she could and went to look out the window.
Outside was Deklan—his entire body was drenched in sweat.
He held his white spear with both hands and stared at the wooden fence ahead of him, seemingly fully immersed in what he was doing. For a good couple of seconds, he breathed in and out, and then mana surged across his skin.
Once he was ready, his muscles twitched, and the air cracked beneath his feet.
It launched him forward, covering the distance from one side of the wooden fence to the other.
And as he neared his target distance, he swung his white spear expertly.
Swish!
A subtle but visible air gushed from the wind, showcasing the force behind that attack.
"Incredible…" Marsha watched in awe. "His burst of mana is not that strong; that was mostly his own physical strength. For someone who was rumored to be timid, lazy, and untalented, the young master is not weak at all. How did he attain that much strength while still being at the Iron rank?"
Just his physical feats alone were enough to put Deklan in the bronze rank.
His level of mana is undoubtedly that of an iron rank, but his strength is too monstrous for the iron rank.
Not to mention, Marsha sensed something odd with his mana.
She couldn't sense any flow of mana inside him, but rather, the mana suddenly emerged from the body part he was using. It was too odd for an Exorcist to be like that. Instead of an Exorcist, he looked more like a Ghost.
Oblivious to what Marsha was thinking, Deklan straightened his back and wiped his sweat.
For the entire night, he had been practicing to do a dash.
It was hard to control the level of burst to propel him to where he wanted to be.
He needed both delicate control and sharp intuition, but after a hazardous night of relentless practice, spending Spooky Dollars on Minor Mana Potions, he managed to somewhat get a decent grasp of doing a dash with his Breeze Affinity.
Making a small gale explosion underneath his feet did the trick.
Of course, the dash was mostly only possible due to his physique.
Because of that, it would eat a lot of stamina to make a dash.
If used consecutively, Deklan should only be able to do it five times max before being tired.
And during the day, he could probably only do it three times.
"During the night, my physique is stronger. And during the day, my mana is stronger. I should practice using dash using more mana during the day, but being able to dash is good enough—for now," Deklan nodded as his focus turned elsewhere, to the item in his inventory.
From the battle against Rock, he also obtained Strength Ritual.
Deklan had read the description.
He initially thought that it would increase his stats, but not—the Strength Ritual isn't for his body.
Instead, it was meant to upgrade any weapon he has.
Since an F-rank weapon is all he has access to, he decided to use the Strength Ritual on his spear.
No need to be stingy when I'm going to venture out in a whole new world.
Deklan put down his spear and pointed his hand toward it.
[Host, are you autistic? You don't need to point your hand and act cool.]
Hmph, as expected from a stupid system. I'm acting like this since Marsha might be watching.
It'll be bad if she sees a ritual appearing out of nowhere without me doing anything.
[Heh. You only wanted to look cool, so why bother rationalizing?]
Shut up, bitch. I wasted my high school life being a bully that even girls are afraid of me. I'm not going to make the same mistake.
[Whatever. So, you want to use the Strength Ritual?]
"Yep."
[Are you sure?]
"Yeep."
Once he confirmed what he wanted, a red ritual formation appeared underneath the spear.