Ch.282277 – Gossip

The sweat-soaked children arrived at the stands after finishing their showers.

While the 3rd grade elementary students had fought hard and secured a victory, the 4th and 5th graders suffered crushing defeats, bringing the score back to 2-2.

Considering Professor Cheon’s vocal health, I decided to handle the commentary broadcast alone for the time being.

While he exchanged greetings with other parents, Yuna and Haru took seats beside me.

“What kind of nerve did our Haru have to say such things in the interview, huh?”

Haru wrapped her arms around my waist, begging for forgiveness.

“Waaaaaah! Please spare me! I won’t be cheeky again!”

“Fine. Sit properly.”

“Haru, are you getting close with NoName lately? NoName, come here!”

“Seo Yu-na, don’t try to sneak in for a hug too.”

“Tch!”

Yuna folded her arms and sharply turned her head away.

I didn’t fall for her obvious ploy and turned on the broadcast to prepare for the 6th grade coverage.

[‘SuperconductorCat’ donated 10,000 won!]

-It’s amazing how NoName explains the upper grade matches so fluently! Do you know all the magic used in the competition?

“Well, yes. Elementary divisions have limitations on magic types anyway. If you pick the efficient ones, there aren’t that many.”

“So what are the rules for the competition you’re participating in?”

Yoon Si-hoo popped his face into the frame from right behind me and asked. Doesn’t he care about his face being shown on broadcast?

“Unlimited up to 2nd circle. For 3rd circle, only one type allowed.”

“3rd circle… but you can use 4th circle too, right?”

“I’ve even used 8th circle before.”

“Liar. There’s only one 8th circle magic in this world.”

“Think what you want.”

The electrifying atmosphere created by the 2nd and 3rd graders’ victories had shrunk after two consecutive losses.

Gradually, Cephiron’s cheers diminished while shouts supporting Altair grew louder.

So Maru and Seo No-eul tried hard to lift the spirits of the dejected 2nd graders, but it was futile without a victory.

Then, when 6th graders Namgong Jin and Sung Eun-byeol stepped onto the platform, a tremendous roar of cheers hit my eardrums.

-Heroes have arrived baam!

-The reliable Changcheon Namgong has appeared!

-Abbreviated that’s XX

-lol they’re literally the establishment incarnate

-yo yo look at that zero tension…gonna be a 4-0 sweep…

-Look at their outfits, did they come to play?

-They’re wearing doboks, what an absolutely insane clan lmao

Viewers showed their enthusiastic welcome in the broadcast.

“Were those seniors that famous?”

“The Changcheon Namgong Clan Leader is that senior’s maternal grandfather. Did you really not know?”

Kim Han-gyeol, the grandson of the Raon Clan Leader, poked his head out and said.

“Isn’t Namgong family a Chinese martial arts sect?”

“Not Namgong family, but Changcheon Namgong. Changcheon Namgong is a Korean clan.”

“Why would they name a clan like that?”

“My grandfather told me the founder was a martial arts novel fan.”

“That’s ridiculous. Is your grandfather friends with him or something?”

“Hmm… probably?”

Kim Han-gyeol nodded at my casually thrown question.

Well, this field revolves around connections just like classical music, so it’s not that strange.

I realized anew how precious Yuna and Ji-hye are among these wealthy people, where everyone knows everyone else within just two degrees of separation.

“This won’t do. Lee Ha-ru, switch seats with Ji-hye.”

“Why?!”

“I want to hang out with fellow commoners.”

Not that I should be saying this when I belonged to the imperial family in my past life, but anyway.

The 6th grade match was so one-sided that it didn’t need commentary.

The two of them, without any substitutions, annihilated all five opponents in just 23 minutes, allowing us to go for lunch in good spirits.

* * *

[Unexpected golden generation at Cephiron? Not just 6th graders, but 2nd graders too!]

[Kim Han-gyeol, Cephiron 2nd grader who claimed to be ‘the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings’. Our leader is ‘NoName’.]

[Freelancer ‘Kim Gun’, former military mage, criticizes Altair Academy’s study atmosphere with expletives on his personal stream: “Altair XX needs to pay for their karma.”]

[NoName’s participation in 3rd year middle school division: experts remain skeptical with “well…”]

[Exclusive interview) Current military mage ‘Jung XX’ – If mana capacity supports her, NoName has potential to perform well in middle school division.]

“This is exactly the problem with elementary divisions. They recruit with money, so they always get beaten by the likes of Cephiron.”

“We’re always cleaning up their mess. If it’s like this, they should just get rid of the useless elementary division.”

“We just need to win everything in the middle school division. Then the high school seniors will give us one win if they have any sense, right?”

For the first time in years, Cephiron Academy was leading with a 3-2 score in the first half.

Reporters began churning out speculative articles, skipping lunch to ask if the power balance between Gangnam and Gangbuk was finally reversing.

The Altair Academy elementary division principal even stepped forward to alleviate parents’ concerns.

The students’ complaint, however, was that the backlash had spread to Altair’s middle school division.

“They haven’t won once in seven years, yet they look down on us so much they’re sending an elementary kid? And for a 3rd year middle school match?”

A female student removing gel nail polish spoke irritably.

Sharp fragments of nail polish scattered on the floor with each swipe of her sharply honed aura.

“This is when their true level gets exposed. Aren’t we supposed to be the gifted ones? I’ve known five languages since I was four and have an IQ of 150, but I just quietly study my butt off without appearing on broadcasts.”

A male student with his hands in his uniform pockets, chewing gum noisily, didn’t look particularly pleasant either.

“Right, right, there are always show-offs. Doing internet broadcasts since childhood, and what’s that… LoL? World of Arsheria? Why play those weird weeb games?”

“The parents who let them play those are strange too.”

A female student with bright red tint on her lips removed the strawberry candy from her mouth to rapid-fire her words, and a freckled boy next to her nodded in agreement.

“I guess elementary students at Cephiron can play around and still get good grades. Hey, Oh Deok-jae, you graduated from Cephiron elementary, right? Is that place really like that?”

All the 3rd year students’ gazes turned to Oh Deok-jae.

In the midst of everyone badmouthing Cephiron, he offered a compromise.

“Well… not everyone, but I think there were some who worked hard…”

“So generally they didn’t work hard? That’s why you left Cephiron for Altair.”

“Yeah… that’s right…”

“Honestly! Our school’s 50th ranked student would probably be better than their 10th. It’s just unfair.”

Though these students were full of complaints about the world, they were generally kind to Oh Deok-jae.

Especially in an academy society where grades were everything, Deok-jae always felt relieved that he was among the top tier.

If he got on their bad side, it was practically guaranteed that his academy life would become difficult from that day forward.

“Anyway, I just want the matches to end quickly so we can see the MCT boys’ closing ceremony performance! If we wait until the high school division, all the good seats will be taken!”

“Minyoung, if you get duplicate photo cards, give them to me.”

“No way! I already gave you a lot before!”

“By the way, why didn’t that Hwang Joo-young show up at the end?”

They were referring to the Cephiron Academy student who dropped out during rehearsal.

“The toy? I heard he got sick from eating ice cream or something…”

“Wow, look at how she removes this? I learned proper magic just for this day. Did I beat him too hard during rehearsal?”

“Hah, that? Hahah, are you really going to use that? You’ll get disciplined!”

“If it’s approved by the organizing committee, there’s no problem, right?”

“Or use it to tease NoName. Huh.”

The female student blew gently on her nails and shook her hands.

“How?”

“Well… tickle her until she cries? It would be super cute.”

“Hahaha, are you a psycho? I bet my neck that netizens would bury you alive.”

“Whatever.”

“Why not? Try it. Sounds fun to me.”

Everyone’s attention turned to the voice coming from below.

“…!”

Speak of the devil.

Oh Deok-jae’s face was the first to freeze at the sight of the girl swinging her long pigtails in all directions.

“Uh… NoName…?”

“Wow, what? How did you know exactly what we were talking about and come find us?”

“You were blocking the entrance to the cafeteria while having your interesting conversation.”

“Oh, we were blocking you. Big sis is sorry! Please go ahead!”

“You should be sorry, this is a walkway. Kids, go ahead without me.”

Five children who had been following NoName scurried out of the cafeteria.

The middle school students couldn’t help but think the same thing as they looked at NoName.

‘She’s so small? Can she even fight properly?’

Lee Jae-hwan and Park Jun-yong were in the early and late 170cm range respectively.

Jo Su-yeon, who was fixing her nails, was 170cm, and Lee Minyoung, who was always teased for being a hobbit, was 150cm.

NoName’s small stature, not even reaching their chests, suddenly became apparent.

Putting such a child up against them was clearly Altair underestimating them.

“We’re competing later, right? But your seniors are sooooo weak that they probably can’t protect you. Aren’t you scared?”

Jo Su-yeon bent down to meet NoName’s eye level.

“After being trapped in a capsule for 7 years, what is there to be afraid of?”

“Wow, she’s tough…? This kid is no joke!”

“Yeah, seriously…”

“By the way, apologize for calling our academy senior a ‘toy’ earlier.”

The middle school students all shrugged at the sudden demand from the younger student.

“Why should we?”

“I don’t care if you gossip among yourselves, but since I heard it, you should apologize.”

“That’s really strange logic, friend. Actually, ‘toy’ was a pretty nice way of putting it. We’re the ones who should feel wronged, right?”

“Is that so? Then don’t apologize.”

“Huh?”

The Altair students were actually confused by her unexpectedly backing down. Based on NoName’s personality from TV, they thought she would keep pressing the issue.

‘Is she intimidated?’

NoName took out a small device from her back skirt pocket and pressed a button.

[Right, right, there are always show-offs. Doing internet broadcasts since childhood, and what’s that… LoL? World of Arsheria? Why play those weird weeb games?]

[The parents who let them play those are strange too.]

Their whispered conversations played back exactly.

Did they really say such things?

But hearing the voices, it was unmistakable.

Who was NoName? She was famous for having the most loyal fanbase in South Korea.

The moment this spread online, they would face both netizen investigations and their parents’ fury.

The terrified adolescents quickly reached out to seize her recorder.

“Hey! Give that here!”

“Here you go.”

“Huh? Thanks?”

After handing over the recorder, NoName turned toward the cafeteria exit with a bright smile.

“The recorded file is saved in my account cloud. If you beat me in this competition, I’ll delete it. Since you have no intention of apologizing, I’m being extra kind with this offer. With your IQ of 150, I’m sure you understand perfectly, Altair Academy seniors?”