Chapter 42: I Became a Mafia in the Academy

Fortunately, I didn’t die.

Black blood continued to pour out of my body, and new blood was being generated by the potion.

I realized that coughing up blood during this process was inevitable, and I continued to do so.

“You are not an ordinary person but the legitimate son of Calione. You won’t die just because you ingested such a poison.”

“Feel the poison being absorbed into your body. Move your energy to circulate the poison throughout your body.”

“You can do it, young master.”

My body felt as if it had been doused in ice water, becoming extremely cold.

Then, it suddenly felt as if I had entered a fire, becoming scorching hot.

It felt as if I had been thrown into a field of needles, and then, as if all sensation had been erased, I felt nothing.

How much time had passed?

When I confirmed that the rampant energy inside my body had calmed down and opened my eyes, I saw Farnello’s face with a faint smile.

“You have endured, young master.”

The black blood that had soaked the floor was now completely gone.

“...How much time has passed?”

Farnello, who heard my question, took out a pocket watch from his pocket and checked the time.

“About 9 hours have passed since ingestion. Breakfast time has long passed.”

“...So much time has passed?”

I thought it had only been about an hour, so 9 hours was quite surprising.

Farnello laughed, as if reading my expression.

“You are surprised, young master. I was the one who was surprised.”

“Huh?”

Why was Farnello surprised?

“During the decades I’ve lived, I’ve never seen someone bleed so much after taking a spirit medicine. If we had waited a bit longer, the entire room would have been a sea of blood. Of course, I’ve cleaned it up now.”

...I bled that much? I don’t remember.

“Most importantly... usually, spirit medicines that increase poison resistance only increase resistance... but you seem to be a bit different.”

“Does it mean my natural healing ability has increased?”

“...You knew?”

Of course, I did.

I had this in mind from the beginning.

“I felt it halfway through. I realized that my body was healing itself, not just being healed by the potion’s effects.”

“Hahaha! If this is the case, minor injuries will disappear quickly from now on. I would like to try the same combination, but... the spirit medicine you brought and the one I obtained are not exactly the same, so I must be cautious.”

At my age, a mistake could be fatal.

“Hahaha!”

Farnello laughed, apparently finding his own joke amusing.

The idea of Farnello dying from taking spirit medicine is unimaginable.

A hitman of Farnello’s caliber would certainly have significant poison resistance.

“By the way, would you like to test if you’ve developed resistance?”

“Test?”

Farnello took out two small bottles from his pocket.

“The one with the red cap contains the venom of the African black mamba. The one with the blue cap is the antidote.”

“Experience it once. Is that it?”

“Testing in the mansion where immediate action can be taken in an emergency would be better, wouldn’t it?”

I wondered why the mansion had black mamba venom, but recalling what kind of family we are, it made sense.

Well, there’s an antidote, so...

“...Not bad. The red one is the venom, right?”

Farnello nodded.

Without hesitation, I picked up the bottle to swallow it when...

“Wait.”

Farnello stopped me from opening the bottle.

“...Why?”

I wondered if he was worried about me.

“Black mamba venom is most effective when injected into the bloodstream rather than swallowed. I’ll help you.”

...He wasn’t worried about me.

Farnello took out a syringe from his pocket, apparently prepared in advance, and filled it with the venom.

“I’ll inject the antidote immediately if anything happens to you.”

I felt the black mamba venom enter my body with a slight sting.

“...How do you feel?”

“Hmm... I don’t feel anything. Did the spirit medicine work?”

I really felt nothing.

It was just like something had been injected.

Quite impressive...

Farnello suddenly looked startled and examined the bottle.

“Oh, I seem to have injected the antidote.”

“...What?”

“I’m joking. You seemed quite tense, young master.”

Joking with poison... Only Farnello could do that.

“Do you feel any numbness at the injection site or any tightness in your chest?”

“Just... I feel fine.”

“Since it’s still some time before dinner, let’s wait a bit longer.”

After 30 minutes.

“...It seems the spirit medicine worked.”

According to Farnello, black mamba venom usually causes a reaction within 30 minutes.

But since I felt fine, it means the spirit medicine is working.

Indeed, a new notification appeared while I was sitting there, indicating a new trait had been added.

The new traits are [Poison Immunity] and [Natural Healing].

【Poison Immunity】

[1. Poison Immunity – You become immune to most poisons. Your poison resistance is greatly increased.]

【Natural Healing (C)】

[1. Natural Healing (C) – Your body’s natural healing ability is increased.]

With these, I now have a total of six traits.

【Heir of the Underworld】

【Bad Boy】

【Hitman】

【Executor】

【Poison Immunity】

【Natural Healing】

These traits are fitting for the head of an assassin guild.

“Thank you for your help, Farnello. It would have been difficult without you.”

I stood up and thanked Farnello. He waved his hand and replied.

“I just nagged from the side. All the credit goes to you, young master.”

He said that, but it wasn’t true.

I was able to relax because Farnello was there, and I could focus because I could hear his voice.

I wanted to repay him somehow, but Farnello wouldn’t accept any reward, so I just smiled.

“By the way, while you were focused, Alessia came looking for you. Ji-yun was looking for you...”

“Oh.”

Alessia is Ji-yun’s maid, practically her nanny.

Why would she come looking for me?

Hmm...

...Oh, right.

“I should go see Ji-yun. Thank you for watching over me while I absorbed the spirit medicine, Farnello.”

“It was my duty.”

Farnello smiled and left the room.

After he left, I hurried to the room where Ji-yun was.

I had planned to play with Ji-yun last night but ended up breaking the promise.

When I hurried upstairs, I saw Alessia waiting outside Ji-yun’s room.

“Young master.”

“Sorry, Alessia. Where’s Ji-yun?”

“She’s inside and won’t come out.”

“I see. I’ll go in.”

Ji-yun’s room, with a sign on the door that reads [♡Ji-yun’s Room♡ Knocking Required!] in colorful crayon.

I stood in front of the door and knocked gently.

“Ji-yun?”

[Big brother...? Oh? Umm... Yes...]

At first, she seemed very happy, but then her voice became dejected.

First, I tried to talk to her gently.

“Can I come in?”

[...Yes.]

After hearing her answer, I pushed the door handle and entered the room. I saw Ji-yun on the bed, hugging a large doll bigger than herself and hiding her face.

“...”

She was hugging the doll to hide her face and wouldn’t look at me.

I approached her and sat on the bed, gently stroking her head.

“Were you angry because I didn’t play with you yesterday as we planned?”

“...No, I wasn’t angry.”

Her voice, muffled by the doll, still sounded weak.

“I’m sorry. Let’s look at each other and talk, okay?”

Speaking as gently as possible, Ji-yun slowly lifted her face from the doll and looked at me.

Her eyes were still wet, and her eyelids were red. There were even tear marks on the back of the doll’s head.

She must have been very sad about not playing yesterday and cried a lot.

“I’m sorry for forgetting to play with you yesterday. Were you very sad?”

“...Yes.”

Her voice trembled as if she was trying to hold back her sobs.

“You should have come to me first...”

“I... sniff... I thought you were busy... sniff... Ji-yun should have been patient... sniff...”

She was waiting quietly, worried that I might be busy...

I sighed and gently stroked her head.

“You were waiting quietly because you were worried about me?”

“Sniff... Yes...”

Seeing Ji-yun always reminds me of the past, and I don’t know what to do.

I feel like I’ve committed a great sin without realizing it.

What would be best for Ji-yun now?

I thought about it and came up with an idea.

“I’m really sorry. How about we go out and play together?”

“Sniff... Outside...?”

At the word “outside,” she slowly lifted her head and looked at me.

“Yes, let’s go out today, eat lots of delicious food, visit fun places, and play to our heart’s content. How does that sound?”

“Fun places... delicious food...!”

She wiped away her tears and nodded enthusiastically, trying to