Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 135: Checking Rewards

"March 14th... Okay."

'I left on the 16th of February, so she was right. Just under a month. At least it's a Friday, so Ella should be around for that talk I promised...'

That actually reminded me―I did promise to talk to her about my awakening. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now, I couldn't lie, it was a little nerve-wracking...

Going through all of the notifications on my phone that had piled up over the last few weeks, honestly, there wasn't a whole lot, and much less news than I expected.

"Just some messages from home... I guess it's because everything's already been sorted out...?"

Glancing at the time, which was just shy of noon, I thought there was no better time to respond to those few remaining texts from family, and once I did, all that was left was to find out who was home.

'It's still early, so I would imagine most people are out...'

"I have something to check so I'll be back in a bit, Librarian, okay?"

"Okaaay~! See you later, Enki!"

With that, I left the Library, arriving back in my room after thirty-three days.

Exiting my room, I looked around the house for a while, but after realising that nobody seemed to be home, I sent a quick message to Ella notifying her that I was ready to talk at any time. Leaving it at that, I thought there wasn't much else to do, so I swiftly returned to the Library.

"That was quick!"

"Yeah. Nobody's home, so I thought I'll just check out the rewards in the meantime."

Opening the Assistance Menu, I wasn't disappointed with what I found.

Currently Available World Stability : 4,470 Units

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

I didn't remember how much I had left after purchasing the White Death last time, but with the new reward boosting it back up by this much, I was more than satisfied.

Still, I did recall that I had sworn to save up for that rogue armour set, the 'Draconic Shadow', so although it was unfortunate, I wasn't able to spend any of it for now.

After that, there was the usual upgrade of the Villainous Blade. Because it seemed to reach its final physical form as a lengthy curved blade after clearing Drakon-Rasa, I was curious how it would continue to evolve from that point on.

"Hm? Isn't it the same?"

When I withdrew it from the Storage, I was initially confused, but that only lasted until I read the description.

Item - [Villainous Blade]

Unleash the power of a true villain with this malevolent blade.

*Possesses Evil properties

*Possesses Anti-Protagonist properties

(This weapon grows with each Protagonist Dispatched)

Protagonists Dispatched Since Acquisition : 4

*Form Change

The last line was what had evolved, and it was pretty self-explanatory―if I used some of the mana stored within the Mark to power the Blade, I could alter its physical form to any of the three states it had obtained prior to this evolution, effectively meaning that I could use the knife, dagger, or shortsword variant at any time if I so wished, or if the situation arised where a smaller melee weapon was necessary.

It wasn't incredibly impactful right now, but I didn't doubt it would probably come in handy somewhere down the line, and that was good enough for me.

To be honest, knowing that it would keep growing and growing even now was making me more hungry to clear Contracts than anything else, but I couldn't get ahead of myself.

Putting the Villainous Blade away, there was one last thing to check.

Service Charge | 4,470 U

1 | A.Skill - [Tyranny of the Demon Lord] - Demon Lord of Terror

2 | Trait - [He Who Shall Not Be Named] - The Nameless Dark Wizard

3 | P.Skill - [Mastery of the Duel] - Emperor of the Arena

4 | Trait - [Noble Soul] - Archduchess Lucretia de Christina-Rasa

5 | P.Skill - [Divine Blood] - Cecilia, God's Daughter

Laying my eyes on the taxed Skill, they widened slightly.

"'Divine Blood'... Sounds insane..."

'And, "God's Daughter"... That's just a title, right...?'

Not able to suppress my curiosity for long, I quickly opened the description.

Skill - [Divine Blood] (Passive)

When a servant praises their Lord, do they deserve a special prize? Even when a Lord is exceptionally pleased with a servant's job, that pleasure is all the reward the servant receives. There is no prize, no gift, and certainly no raise in pay. The servant knows this, and is satisfied by their Lord's pleasure.

However, when a servant does too well of a job, so much so that it winds up hurting their Lord, would that be worthy of praise or of punishment?

This is the result of a servant who scratched her Lord and stole His blood.

(Your blood is imbued with a property of Divinity)

Price : 5,000 U

Reading the somewhat enigmatic lore drop a few times over, specifically the very final line before the simple ability description, I found myself speechless for a while.

When I finally did make a comment, all I could do was subconsciously mutter.

"Crazy..."

❖─────☆☆☆☆☆─────❖

After going through all the rewards and confirming there was nothing to buy that would excuse not saving up for the Draconic Shadow set, I closed the Assistance Menu and went to grab some breakfast while I waited for Ella to get home.

Not before changing back into more normal clothes, of course.

Shortly after I entered the kitchen, I heard the resounding noise of the front door, indicating that someone had just returned.

"Oh, Enki! I didn't expect to see you here, it's been a while!"

As was evident by hearing the voice alone, it turned out to be Mia.

"I've been busy with some things. Do you know if Ella will be back soon, or is she busy today...?"

"Ella? Mmm~ I think she's probably in class, so she should be back later. Is everything okay?"

If she wasn't back for a few hours then I could relax for a while. At least, I couldn't think of anything I urgently needed to do, and it would probably take a day or two to fully get used to being back on Earth anyway.

"Everything's fine. I just had something I needed to talk to her about."

"I see... Oh!"

Suddenly, she raised her voice as if having realised something.

"Is it about the Awakening?"

At her question, I paused.

'What?'

Just like that, my heart rate soared thinking everyone else might know about me already. Still, after a few seconds, I managed to squeak out some words.

"...She told you?"

"Hm? Yeah. Well, she told all of us, but since you weren't there, I guess she must have told you earlier. That it was the reason for her white hair and all... Isn't it exciting that we live with a real Awakened?!"

"Ah, yeah..."

Letting out a quiet exhale, internally, I felt extremely relieved.

'So they don't know... Good.'

I didn't completely hate the idea of them finding out that I was Awakened, just not now when I wasn't ready for it. Later on when I have access to the Tower to use as an excuse for my frequent disappearances, sure...

'Right. Just not now.'

After all, there was all the time in the world, wasn't there?