Waking up from a familiar and warm bedroom, the experience of yesterday's "professional courses" seemed to linger with a feeling of numb limbs.
"..." No, in terms of physical condition, there were no after-effects; the numbness in my limbs was just an illusion.
Although I've said it more than once, the operational efficiency of this body is truly excellent. A good night's sleep can offset all the fatigue from the previous day.
I recall that in my final years in the "real world," my body, worn out by overwork, was like a noisy computer host. Dusting or replacing some parts could no longer save it. Even if I slept until noon on weekends, the fatigue wouldn't disappear; my eyes remained dry, my back ached, my neck was stiff, and my hands... I needed to be careful not to get carpal tunnel syndrome, which would be even more uncomfortable.
Back then, I already felt I wouldn't live to retirement age and no longer wanted to keep paying social security.
However, given my current situation, social security and all that are no longer important.
Although she was reluctant, Kikyo was, after all, a person of her word. She kept her promise to reward me and agreed to let me cut my hair to shoulder length.
As compensation for herself, she went on a shopping spree. I heard she planned to add another walk-in closet specifically for Western-style dresses.
Oh well, the Zoldyck family is wealthy; this is what they call being rich and willful.
Just as I was getting used to eating dinner first without it affecting my "professional courses," I surprisingly saw Illumi in the drawing-room that was being used as a classroom.
His theoretical lessons were at a different pace than mine, and his "professional courses" were handled by Silva or Zeno. Logically, apart from meal times, unless I actively sought him out, we wouldn't have much interaction.
Unlike my slightly messy, long hair that would inevitably get tangled, his short black hair was smooth and neat. Coupled with his perfectly upright posture, he looked like an exceptionally well-behaved and obedient child.
Seeing me enter, he stood up to greet me, his expression somewhat blank. He was as polite as a student meeting a teacher, "Good morning, Sister."
Humans are quite peculiar creatures. Seeing him completely adopt the distant attitude I wished for, I couldn't help but recall the Illumi who used to run after me. Well, no one rejects genuine enthusiasm... except me, I was trying to protect myself and avoid offending Kikyo.
After the greeting, he didn't sit down immediately. As I approached, I got a good look at his attire: a white shirt, shorts, and calf-length socks.
Because they were calf-length socks, straps were tied below his knees to prevent them from slipping, similar to garter belts.
By the definition of the "real world," this was a standard British style.
Good heavens, I suggest giving him an eyepatch and colored contact lenses, and he could directly walk into the set of "Black Butler" and impersonate Earl Ciel Phantomhive.
To be fair, Madame Kikyo's fashion sense is quite good; at least it's normal. It's a shame Illumi didn't inherit this precious "normality." In the future, he'll embark on a non-mainstream punk path that ordinary people find hard to understand, and he'll wear similarly styled "couple's outfits" with another man named "Hisoka," occasionally skirting the edges of "coming out publicly." His future is worrying.
Since Madame Kikyo has recently become obsessed with Western-style dresses, I look forward to the day she dresses Illumi in a kilt to satisfy my... hm? Mischievous curiosity?
By the way, in the "real world," the most traditional way to wear a kilt is without underwear.
Cough, that's not the point.
Currently, Illumi is like a younger brother who greatly respects his older sister. After I sat down, he followed suit.
Such polite behavior when we were face-to-face alone made me feel a little constrained. I instinctively wanted to say something, but then I remembered I was mute and closed my mouth, continuing in silence.
Fortunately, this silence didn't last long. Soon, the teacher and Kikyo entered together. I figured they must have discussed today's class schedule.
"Moll, you need to try harder," Kikyo said, placing her hand on my head. It looked like she was patting my head, but her tone was extremely serious. Frankly, it was akin to a reprimand. "Illumi can already handle the same level of lessons as you. He's younger than you, so as his older sister, you can't fall behind."
"..."
This classic "other people's children" topic, even in a different world, has the same flavor?
Things like "Look how studious the kid next door is," "Why aren't you as accomplished as X," "X never disobeys Mom," "X got accepted into both graduate school and civil service simultaneously"... I can visualize it all.
According to the original story's settings, Illumi's intelligence is quite high. Just from Kilu's brief descriptions, he deduced the rules of Alluka's abilities. Therefore, it's only natural for my ordinary intelligence to be caught up by him or even surpass his course progress. I should face reality and choose to lie flat.
No, he's not even four years old, and you, a grown adult, although your math grades were never outstanding, you received a university education in advanced mathematics, passed without failing, and scored over eighty out of a hundred. And you're prepared to slack off on this elementary-level curriculum?
Aren't you ashamed?
Huh?
...I do feel a little ashamed, yes, mainly because Kikyo puts a lot of pressure on me.
Damn you, Illumi, can't you be a little less smart and hide your abilities appropriately? Life would be easier that way. Otherwise, people will keep raising their expectations for you, and you'll get more and more tired, eventually finding that even with your best effort, you can no longer meet their expectations, leading to them being disappointed. You idiot!
To deal with Kikyo, I really should show some genuine academic effort. However, this might trigger another phenomenon, something called "involution" in the "real world."
Having advanced theoretical knowledge is one of my "information asymmetry" advantages. I know very well that as long as I control my desire to win and don't compete, remaining a carefree salted fish, involution won't happen.
I'll stick to my usual "just pass" approach. Oh, to give Madame Kikyo some face, I'll set my future score target to around sixty or seventy points!
With the limited understanding of a child, of course, he couldn't comprehend my adult foresight. Illumi... this brat actually got a perfect score again.
"..." To be honest, Illumi Zoldyck, were you born to make your sister angry to death?
After being surpassed by Illumi repeatedly, Kikyo's attitude towards me gradually became displeased. She said she didn't believe her own children could have such a significant intellectual gap.
Uh, thinking back carefully to the original settings, except for Alluka and Kalluto, whose information was relatively scarce, Kikyo's other three children were all quite intelligent characters.
Her self-awareness seems quite... accurate?
"Except for your inability to speak... Millus, you have no other problems!!!!!" Kikyo reiterated to me, not even using the nickname "Mill." "This proves you're not trying hard enough! Millus, I need to give you more punishment!"
As for the so-called punishment, oh, I forgot to mention, after I got used to the electric chair, the "professional courses" unlocked a new tool—the whip.
I don't like whips. Although whips don't hurt as much as electrocution, the electrocution is over quickly. Whips leave wounds that sting continuously.
So, the punishment for being surpassed by my "brother" naturally became an additional assignment for the "professional courses." For every point less than Illumi, I'd receive an extra lash.
When you add up all the subjects... you know... this is definitely not a small number. So, Kikyo handed the whip to the butler and decided to finish a beauty treatment session before returning to watch me.
"Don't hit my face," she specifically instructed before leaving.
Oh, how touching. As a woman, she retained her last bit of mercy, gentleness, and kindness.
The veteran butler of the Zoldyck family, with the master's permission, could help the master "educate" the young masters and mistresses. They have high professional standards and execute the master's orders with unwavering loyalty, without slacking off. In other words, they wouldn't hold back. In short, I could barely make it to class on time the next day.
I didn't eat breakfast; it hurt, so I skipped it.
During class, I was in so much pain that I was sweating cold sweats and didn't absorb a single word. I also wanted to skip lunch. Meanwhile, Illumi listened attentively and even raised his hand to ask a few questions, a model student. Next time, he'll probably get a perfect score again.
Yesterday, I fainted, and the whipping wasn't finished. I have to finish the rest tonight... This is too much.
If I calculate roughly, there are ten subjects in total. Even if I score 95 in each, compared to Illumi, the total score difference is 5x10=50, which means fifty lashes.
I remember that in the "real world," some countries retained corporal punishment by whipping, striking fear into countless criminals. The highest punishment there was apparently no more than 24 lashes.
Although this is another world, and the human physical condition is very different from the "real world," the number of lashes here is still too much.
...Can this life even go on?
With the current academic difficulty, I think getting a perfect score isn't impossible. However, I want to prevent involution, and I certainly can't confirm Kikyo's assessment of me being "not trying hard enough." So, I have to endure it, gradually increasing my scores, maybe to around ninety?
No, no, no, 10x10=100, one hundred lashes, which still hurts quite a bit.
So, around ninety-five?
To prevent involution, goodness knows how many extra lashes I've endured, fainting time and time again, continuing the whipping in installments. My willpower is truly commendable; I should be nominated for the "Top Ten Most Touching Readers."
To my utter surprise, when I raised my average score to the expected ninety-five points, Kikyo happily consulted with the teacher and decided to proceed to the next, more difficult stage of the curriculum.
Seeing the new scores and the geometry textbooks, my head swam.
If I don't score high, I get more lashes. If I score high, the curriculum progresses faster, and the problems become more difficult.
It's over. Do I have to deal with involution in another world too? I'm still just a child.
No, it can still be salvaged; it's not too late. I must find an opportunity to talk to Illumi alone, help him clarify the pros and cons, persuade him to lower his test scores, and end this endless involution war.