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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Gluttony, The Sin of Avarice (1)
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The paper I picked up was a report.
It detailed how the Seven Deadly Sins had entered Adenia,
how their target was me, Carmel,
and how I was presumed to be the Vessel of Sin, among other things.
The report contained more detailed information than I had expected.
I wasn't surprised. I had been involved in quite a few incidents, so I already anticipated that the Academy would gather information about me like this.
Furthermore, I had even planned to use this situation to my advantage.
Honestly, I hadn't expected them to grasp the situation so quickly and in such detail.
"I have a question. Is everything written in this report about you true?"
Dian's golden eyes gleamed as she asked, and I nodded, affirming.
"Why did you conceal these facts?"
"I never tried to hide them. There was just no need to go around blabbering about them."
To be precise, I didn't want anyone to interfere.
"Cadet Carmel, do you understand? The fact that you are the 'Vessel of Sin' is not a trivial matter."
"I understand."
"Do you also know what would happen if a Cadet who is the Vessel of Sin were to fall into the hands of the Cult of Chaos?"
"A new Sin would be born, and humanity would face a new enemy."
"Then I ask you this. Knowing all that, why did you not seek help or support from anyone?"
Dian questioned me with a stern expression I had never seen before, and I looked her directly in the eye as I replied.
"I believed it was more efficient to act alone."
"Have you never considered that two might be more efficient than one, or three more efficient than two?"
"...Professor Dian."
I called out to Dian in a subdued voice to prevent the conversation from dragging on unnecessarily.
"Don't you know better than anyone, Professor? When dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins, the concept of numbers holds no meaning."
"..."
"Actually, you're right, Professor. Two are more efficient than one, and three are more efficient than two. But I judged that the likelihood of that happening was low."
"Low likelihood... What is your reason?"
"Because all the places I could ask for help were places I couldn't fully trust. If I had sought help somewhere, I would surely have received an attack, not assistance. Why? Because the Empire's high command has long been corrupted by evil, and the Academy is teeming with informants who would immediately hand over information about me to those evil factions. Isn't that right?"
"..."
Dian pondered my question for a moment, then nodded with a slightly surprised expression.
And then she asked in return,
"Then I ask you. Cadet Carmel, am I someone you can trust?"
"Not entirely, but you are one of the most trustworthy people. So, I intend to tell you something that isn't written in this report."
"Something not written?"
"I can wield starlight."
I spoke, conjuring pure white starlight on my fingertip.
"And with this starlight, I cut down and obliterated the Sin of Greed."
"Does that mean Duke Astrea, whom we suspected of being an apostle of the Seven Deadly Sins...?"
"Yes, I took care of him as a bonus."
"..."
"The reason I'm specifically revealing this to you, Professor, is..."
"You prefer to be alone, you have the ability to handle things, and you don't want interference. The same applies to dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins that have entered Adenia."
I nodded, and Dian roughly ran a hand through her hair, then remained silent for a while as if lost in thought.
How long did we wait like that?
Dian slowly began to speak.
"What you say is true, Cadet. There is no place in this Empire that you can rely on and trust. Therefore, I have no intention of divulging anything I've heard from you to anyone."
"Thank you."
"And I acknowledge that you possess the ability to deal with the Seven Deadly Sins on your own."
"Does that mean you'll permit me to act alone...?"
"No."
Dian cut me off and said with a serious face.
"You can deceive the Scales, can't you? And because of that, your Vessel is breaking down. And you want me to allow you to act alone? To me, who clearly knows what happens if the Vessel completely breaks down? You insolent brat."
"..."
My words caught in my throat. I hadn't realized Dian knew so much about me.
"Don't even dream of acting alone."
Dian looked at me and said in a forceful voice.
"But..."
Just as I was about to retort, Dian cut me off again and uttered in a serious tone.
"Starting tomorrow, Cadet Carmel will move with this professor. The duration is until the Seven Deadly Sins who have entered Adenia are killed. Understood?"
In short, she wanted us to fight together.
After a moment's consideration, I soon nodded.
Thinking it wasn't a bad offer.
****
"Is that so?"
When I told Malik that I would be moving with Dian starting tomorrow, he rattled his bones and said,
"Then I'll move with you too."
No, it was a declaration.
****
The day after I spoke with Dian.
I was walking through the northern forest of Adenia with Dian.
"So..."
Dian, who had been listening to my story, said with a bewildered expression,
"You're telling me you have someone to introduce, and that person is from 1,000 years ago, and they look like a skeleton, so don't be surprised? Ha, ha ha!"
I nodded with an awkward laugh, and Dian laughed heartily, patting my shoulder.
How long did we walk?
Dian and I soon encountered Malik, who was waiting for us.
"Hello, Junior Dian? I've heard a lot about you. I'm Malik, and I'm a person, not a skeleton, and..."
-Crack!
As soon as Dian saw Malik, she instinctively threw a punch.
"Haha, it's truly a sorrowful thing to live as a skeleton."
Malik's skull, having fallen to the ground and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh dirt, smiled magnanimously as he exchanged greetings with Dian.
****
Though there was the minor incident of Dian punching Malik and his skull falling to the ground.
Dian and Malik surprisingly got along well.
"Mort? From what I hear, he sounds like a real son of a bitch. Our junior must have suffered a lot."
"Not at all. Compared to you, senior, who suffered under that captain or whatever he was, my story is embarrassing."
Former hero, former captain.
Perhaps because they shared the common experience of being tormented by them, Dian and Malik conversed without pause for two hours.
"Junior Dian, I guarantee you, that Mort fellow must have had a really tiny pecker."
"That captain fellow probably had no dick at all."
"Haha! As expected of someone learned. Junior, your insight is outstanding."
"Could I ever compare to Senior Malik? This junior doesn't know how many times I've been impressed by your sagacity!"
How could the topic of "dick" lead to the conclusions of "insight" and "sagacity"?
While pondering such questions, we were still traversing the forest.
"Shh."
Sensing a dense demonic aura from afar, I put a finger to my lips and stealthily began to approach the source.
The place we arrived at was a secluded cave.
"That girl, she's very frightened."
Malik whispered, seeing a pale-faced girl rushing out of the cave and frantically running somewhere. I could guess who was inside.
The intensely felt demonic aura,
a repulsive gluttony,
and several faint, weak presences.
The one residing inside was Gluttony, the Sin of Avarice.
'He couldn't endure his hunger and devoured eleven of his younger sisters alive, so they say.'
Among the many Sins with tragic backstories, he had the most disgusting and unpleasant tale.
Recalling the details of his story, I quietly whispered to Dian and Malik.
"The one inside, can the two of you handle him?"
Dian and Malik nodded, wearing expressions that asked why I would even ask something so obvious.
****
-Crunch! Crunch!
Gluttony, who was ravenously devouring the monster's corpse, asked the girl kneeling beside him, trembling.
"Want to eat your sister too?"
"N-no, I'm full..."
The girl forced down her nausea as she looked at the monster's carcass being offered to her and replied. Gluttony, looking concerned, asked again with a sullen expression.
"Really not eating?"
"Yes, yes. I-I'm really full."
"Then it can't be helped..."
Hearing the girl's answer, Gluttony said tearfully,
"I'll eat my sister too."
Shedding tears like chicken droppings, Gluttony approached the girl.
Gluttony's mouth opened wide, and hideous, blackish-yellow, beast-like teeth moved towards the girl.
"Kyaaah!"
The girl screamed and fainted. At the same time, various sounds echoed in the cave.
-Boom!
-Slash!
Explosion magic detonated on Gluttony, and the sound of Gluttony's body being cut by a sword.
-Crumble.
The sound of Gluttony's body, split into several pieces, instantly rejoining.
"Let's get everyone out."
Malik, who had somehow embraced the girl, said in an oily voice to her.
"Kyaaah!"
The girl's scream upon seeing Malik's face, yet again.
"U-uuh..."
Gluttony, having returned to his original form, raged at having his meal snatched away from him and conjured black filth.
Dian chanted countless high-level spells, and Malik used a secret technique of the Divine Sword Arts.
Thus, sword and magic clashed with black filth.
Soon, Gluttony fell and spoke to Dian and Malik.
"You... I'll remember... I'll definitely... kill you... and devour you..."
He vowed to chew and swallow these wicked beings who killed his clone,
these incompetent beings who interrupted his meal,
soon.
****
After sending Dian and Malik into the cave, I followed the pale-faced girl who had run out earlier.
The girl arrived at the summit of a mountain, where more than ten girls were huddled together, embracing each other in fear.
I approached them and told them.
That I would handle the one who was coming here, and they should return to the cave.
That I would come to pick them up soon.