Ch.70Chapter 3. Riders Aren’t the Only Ones Who Transform! (7)

Ten minutes after the ‘treasure hunt’ began.

“Excuse me, Ms. Ymir. Do you know who I am?”

“No?”

Standing before the smiling Ymir was a sharp-featured beauty with golden curly hair, Ermina Sternfeld, who was pointing her finger accusingly.

“You don’t know me?”

“I just came to Korea this year. You don’t look like a freshman though…”

“Of course not! I’ve been living in Korea for three whole years! I came to this KING-Sejong Island when I was 15.”

“And?”

“And? Didn’t you hear what I said? Even after hearing the name Stern?”

“Wasn’t your name Ermina?”

“No!”

Ermina pounded her chest as Ymir tilted her head with an innocent expression.

“What are you doing? You don’t know me, an A-rank who’s made quite a name for herself?”

“Well, I’m in the university division, a college student, and not German.”

“You should still know who I am!”

“Hmm…”

Ymir scratched her cheek and smiled at the fuming Ermina.

“You might have a bit of an inflated ego.”

“What did you say? An E-rank like you…!”

“Even as an E-rank, I’m older than you, and we’re in the same team now. Geez. Why did the academy make us team up with high school students for this event?”

“The treasure hunt teams are formed regardless of such things, you know?”

“Oh? I see.”

“Seriously…!”

Ermina clenched and unclenched her fists in frustration, but Ymir just kept smiling pleasantly.

“This is why newbies are hopeless! I ranked 7th in last year’s Sejong Academy ‘Competition’!”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Congratulations. Impressive.”

“…You’re mocking me, aren’t you?”

“My goodness, why would you think that?”

“This is ridiculous!”

Ermina grabbed Ymir by the collar.

“Are you making fun of me? Huh?”

The uniform shirt almost tore instantly, but Ymir maintained her smile.

“Listen carefully. You just need to be my lackey. E-ranks should quietly follow A-ranks’ orders. Got it?”

“Is there any reason for that?”

“Reason…? Ha, of course! When you get out into society, it’s natural for E-ranks like you to take orders from A-ranks who are field commanders!”

“Is that so? But.”

Ymir remained unfazed despite having her collar grabbed by an A-rank.

“Aren’t we in the same team for the treasure hunt right now? Are you planning to do everything yourself? I don’t mind, but you know we’ll be disqualified if team members are more than 200m apart, right?”

Ymir pointed at her Taeguk Watch.

Both of their watches had “Gangwon-Team 121” engraved on them.

“The academy’s monitoring center has probably already recorded data of you grabbing my collar. Are you okay with that? If you grab an E-rank’s collar like this and act this way, won’t your popularity drop later?”

“You’re insane. You really have no fear, do you?”

“I really don’t understand why you’re being so aggressive.”

“You don’t know? Let me tell you.”

Ermina released Ymir’s collar and repeatedly jabbed her index finger into the center of Ymir’s chest.

“I hate incompetent E-ranks like you parading around acting like you’re special just because you have abilities. Got it?”

“This is being recorded live through the Taeguk Watch.”

“Ha. So what? Are you trying to threaten me with that?”

“You’re quite reckless. Is it because you’re still young? Do you realize that every word you say now could become a major shackle for you later?”

“Whatever. Just take care of yourself. Or is it that you’re too busy dealing with those unnecessarily large things?”

Ermina openly mocked Ymir.

“You’re just an extra with no presence.”

“……”

“If this world were a novel, I’d be the protagonist, and E-ranks like you would just be devices to make me shine. Got it? A human device to highlight someone like me!”

“That’s quite an extreme statement. Fortunately, there’s no one else around… or is that why you’re spewing such abuse? Really…”

“Hmph. Do you think I’d be held back by an E-rank lackey like you?”

Ermina stepped back from Ymir and grabbed her own neck where the Taeguk Watch was fastened.

“Ermina Sternfeld was verbally abusive to me, I’m going to report her, boo-hoo-hoo.”

“……!”

Ymir frowned.

“What? Surprised?”

It wasn’t because of what Ermina said, but because the voice coming from Ermina’s mouth was none other than “Ymir’s” own.

“Is that what you’re planning to do later in front of people? Use the recording to expose me while whining ‘Waaah, that Ermina woman is complete trash’? Ha, don’t be mistaken. This conversation won’t go to the server. Even if it does, there won’t be any evidence that I verbally abused you.”

Ermina tapped her Taeguk Watch.

“People like you need to be shown directly to come to their senses.”

She adjusted a few apps and pressed the record button.

“E-rank trash should just stay locked in their rooms sucking maple syrup.”

“…Recording yourself saying that, what are you trying to do?”

“Idiot.”

Beep.

Ermina played back her recorded insult.

Zzzzzz.

[…Recording yourself saying that, what are you trying to do?]

“…!!”

“My voice can’t be captured by electronic devices, moron. I always use my ability when I speak.”

“…….”

“So just follow me quietly. Unless you want to be dragged along the ground with a leash around your neck. If you dare to move more than 200m away from me on your own, I’ll really kill you.”

Ermina turned and left after delivering her warning.

Watching her, Ymir moved her hand to her mouth only after Ermina had gone about 100m ahead.

“……Pfft.”

Was she trying to hold back tears?

Or was it laughter?

The only thing clear was that beneath the hand covering her mouth, the corners of Ymir’s lips were twitching.

Whether she was trying to stop crying or holding back laughter, Ymir picked up the bag that had fallen to the ground.

Ermina’s competition bag was empty, just like her own.

Completely empty.

“Treating people with contempt just because she doesn’t want to carry this. This won’t do.”

Ymir carefully gathered the bag and just smiled while fiddling with her Taeguk Watch.

“People like her usually suck up to those more capable than themselves. Hmm, it would be so satisfying to see her fall for a man who’s stronger and more handsome than her later. …Ah.”

Ymir clasped her hands together and smiled brightly.

“I’m glad the teacher is a non-ability user.”

* * *

I saw it.

I saw Ermina trying to boss Ymir around to carry her bag, making a scene all by herself, grabbing Ymir’s collar, and then storming off.

‘She acts like a lady around men, but she’s just plain nasty to women.’

You know the type, don’t you?

People who are incredibly unkind and have terrible personalities when they’re with the same gender, but when they’re with the opposite sex, they act so angelic you’d wonder if they’re the same person.

Ermina is just like that.

That woman showed a very rough side to Ymir.

‘I should listen to Ymir’s complaints later.’

With a personality like that, she’s the title heroine?

Sometimes writers make big mistakes.

They think the heroine they’ve created is the best and try to force-feed her to readers, but while the author might think she’s delicious, readers are thinking, ‘How could this thing be a heroine?’

Ermina is like that.

She speaks harshly to the protagonist and is portrayed as an immature young lady heroine, and she even discriminates based on ability levels, so her initial likability is rock bottom.

Some people might enjoy seeing such a woman fall head over heels for the protagonist, but many find it distasteful.

I was one of them.

I believed that if there’s a scene where someone is insulted like that, the insult should be repaid in kind, or even more severely.

It’s no wonder people say she should be killed before becoming a heroine, or that she became a background heroine.

This is probably a case where the character was initially designed as a villain but “drifted” into becoming a heroine.

I don’t know if the author intended to push Ermina as the main heroine, or if they couldn’t properly manage the volume of the first book and ended up cutting it off at the point where Ermina falls for the protagonist, making her the title heroine.

But my concern right now isn’t whether Ermina is a heroine or not.

Although I’m following Ermina, she’s not my target.

My target was the “man” who would become Ermina’s partner.

‘Why is Ymir Ermina’s partner when Ymir isn’t even the protagonist?’

Why.

How.

Why did Ymir become the target of that crazy story where ‘Ermina accidentally found mana powder and tried to sprinkle it on the protagonist’s food before the competition staff discovered it, to make the protagonist a mana powder user’?

I don’t understand.

Ermina’s actions are understandable from a “villain’s” perspective.

She’s just trash doing trashy things, and that trash became a heroine.

But the person who should be subjected to that trashy behavior shouldn’t be Ymir but a man.

‘What’s going on? What’s wrong here?’

For now, I followed the two in my spirit form.

Just in case something went wrong, I was ready to deal with ‘villain Ermina’ immediately.

But…

‘She’s handling it well.’

Whoosh.

Ymir picked up a pine cone from the ground and flicked it with her finger.

“Ack…?!”

Ermina, hit on the crown of her head by the pine cone, looked around in confusion, but all she could see were trees.

“Damn…”

Ermina frowned deeply as she looked up, but she could only stare intently at the innocent branches.

Bang!

Ermina kicked the pine tree and continued forward, while Ymir secretly picked up another pine cone and flicked it skyward.

Thwack!

“Ack!!”

‘She can’t be the protagonist.’

A protagonist would embrace even such a woman as a heroine, but Ymir, who’s secretly tormenting her like this, couldn’t possibly be the protagonist.

‘She’s the same.’

Just like.

‘How could the title heroine be such a jerk?’

As if Ermina weren’t the heroine.