Chapter 134: The Real Hushbaaand

After Seron and I were teased by Grantoni and Musica for being all chummy in the Special Studies hallway,
I gently soothed Seron and sent her on her way.
“You’re just going to go meet another girl after sweet-talking one, huh?”
Seron glared at me with sharp eyes, but to me, it was a ridiculous accusation.
So I gave her a bit of a scolding.
“Yeah, I’m going to meet my fiancée.”
I heard Seron shouting behind me after my reply, but I ran off quickly.

And just like that, I came to see Sharin last.
She was in the Magic Studies room, sketching out a magic blueprint.
But now, she had buried her head in my chest, rubbing it side to side.
“Why am I the last one? The laaast?”
Maybe because she was the last teammate I picked up, she was pretty ticked off.
“You’re the most important asset, so I had to be careful about when to bring you in.”
“Hanon, your lies are getting worse. I can see right through you.”
Looks like she’s learned to sniff out my lies like Mirinae does.
Truthfully, the only reason I came to her last was because of the route—
The first-year Combat Studies building and the second-year Special Studies were just closer.

I lightly picked up Sharin, who still had her head pressed into my chest.
I have no idea what this girl eats—how is she so light?
I set her down on Professor Beganon’s chair.
She sat quietly and puffed out her cheeks just a little.
Cute. What’s with the sudden cuteness?
“So what’s with the chair?”
“There’s a deep story behind it.”
Sharin nodded like she understood and leaned back into the chair.
“So what disaster’s going down this time?”
“You say that like I cause a crisis every time.”
“Don’t you?”
Sharin tilted her head like there was no way I didn’t.
I could only feel wrongfully accused.
“This time, I’m focusing entirely on conquering the Demonic Palace.”

Target: the 6th floor.
There’s something there I need to make progressing through the next scenario easier.
I’m planning to go all in to get it.

After hearing my determined answer, Sharin stared at me in silence.
“So, when’s our wedding?”
And then, completely out of the blue, she asked that.
I stared at her, speechless.
As usual, she had that lazy expression that gave away none of what she was thinking.
“You seriously planning to marry me?”
“I think it’d be fun to marry my husband.”
Sharin was still sticking to calling me her husband.
Seems like she enjoys seeing me flustered when she does.
“But my husband keeps playing around with other girls.”
“You know how things went with Vinesha.”
“I wasn’t talking about that.”
Sharin pulled her knees up a little and wrinkled her nose.
“You smelled just like Seron’s perfume.”

Before coming to Sharin, Seron had hugged me pretty tightly.
That must’ve left her scent on my clothes.
‘No way.’
Was the whole rubbing-her-head-on-my-chest thing just an attempt to erase that scent?
It’s a stretch, but lately, whenever I look at Sharin, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things.
And ever since my engagement was confirmed, those thoughts have only intensified.

“Husband, husband.”
While I was making a conflicted face, Sharin spread her arms wide toward me.
“When are you giving me my accessory?”
“I was planning to buy one next time I go out with Seron.”

Sharin launched herself at me and buried her head in my chest.
I ended up rolling on the floor from the impact.
While sitting on top of me, she started tugging at my cheeks mercilessly.
My face felt like it was about to fall apart.
“That’s okay? You think that’s okay?”
“That’s literally the only time I can go out.”
“Then you should go with me.”
“But I already promised Seron.”

Sharin grabbed my cheek tight.
“I’m your fiancée.”
“That’s true.”
“Seron’s a friend.”
“That’s also true.”
“Then who’s more important?”
She asked like it was the easiest question in the world.

I stared at her for a moment, then slowly sat up.
When I did, Sharin slipped down and ended up sitting on my lap.
My lips moved as if trying to form words a few times.
But I couldn’t ignore this anymore—it felt wrong to keep pretending.
I had reached a conclusion in my heart.

“Sharin, can I ask you just one thing?”
Her eyes blinked brightly as she looked up at me.
“Do you… like me?”

I never thought I’d live to see the day I’d ask something like this.
For someone like me, who’s never had much to do with women, it felt like a terribly arrogant question.
But really, the first thought that came to mind was, ‘Why me?’
My self-esteem in romance, broken long ago, had become this small and pathetic.

More than anything, I couldn’t think of a single reason why Sharin would like me.
In Seron’s case, there was the whole backstory with Vikarmern.
So her love made sense.
Vinesha’s situation came from emotional neglect.
It was short-lived, but her feelings were understandable too.
Isabel’s was a love-hate dynamic. Iris saw me as her emotional support doll.
All of those made sense. I could get it.

But Sharin—I just couldn’t understand.
The affection she showed me was clearly beyond the bounds of friendship.
She didn’t even realize it, but whenever our eyes met, she’d smile in that sleepy, lazy way.
That look, so different from the indifferent one she gave everyone else, stood out clearly.
Even her friends Isabel and Rina would sometimes glance at us strangely—but she never seemed to notice.

And lately, that behavior had only intensified.
Ever since the engagement stuff, Sharin had been openly jealous.
A definite, clear kind of jealousy—like she didn’t want to lose me to anyone.

I couldn’t understand it.
Maybe it was because I’d forgotten how to love.

Sharin blinked her large eyes.
In them, I could see the reflection of Mirinae, quietly watching me.
“Huh… I guess I do.”
She gripped both my cheeks and lifted my face.
Then, like it was a steamed bun, she started kneading it this way and that.
It felt like she was slowly savoring some long-buried memory.

After seemingly replaying all her past memories, Sharin let out a sly smile.
The sunset flowing in through the classroom windows bathed her in light.
Her indigo hair, like starlight, shimmered in the glow of the sunset.
And behind that glowing hair, the smile on her face was so enchanting that anyone would find it beautiful.

Mirinae twinkled like a galaxy.
In her eyes, there was a brightness as if she had finally realized the one thing she had been pondering for so long.
“I think I like my husband.”
Even those lazy-sounding words felt so much like Sharin.

I stared up at her, stunned.
“…Since when?”
“I don’t know.”
Her hand was now gently caressing my cheek.
“That’s the problem—I don’t know.”

A love even Sharin hadn’t realized herself.
But that love had long ago taken root and bloomed in her heart.
And flowers give off a sweet scent.
Every emotion I’d seen from her before came from that very fragrance.

“That’s why I didn’t notice it.”
Sharin pulled my face closer.
And just like that, our faces were suddenly right in front of each other.
“Because I have a huge possessive streak.”

Sharin had never liked anyone before.
Which is why she hadn’t even realized the depth of her own possessiveness until now.
Jealousy, after all, comes from a desire to possess—
From the fear of losing something that feels like it’s yours.

“So, husband.”
Her Mirinae-filled eyes glinted with a galaxy’s glow.
“I have no intention of letting anyone take you.”

Her pinky finger quietly curled around mine.
“So if you keep making me mad, I’m gonna lock you up.”

She said it so casually—like it was nothing.
…She’s not actually serious, right?

* * *

Now, with Sharin joining Seron in confessing her feelings for me,
I felt completely overwhelmed—like I’d hit some kind of peak popularity in life.

‘At this point, maybe Hanon’s face is just cheating.’
In the dorm bathroom, I made a V shape under my chin while looking in the mirror.
Hanon was pretty good-looking, admittedly.
And yeah… from this angle, I could kinda see it.

“Hanon, my stomach hurts.”
“Card, do I look kinda hot to you?”

Card scratched his stomach and looked at me.
“You’ve got a face younger girls would fall for.”
Ironically, I’m older than both of them.

“This is about Sharin, isn’t it?”
I turned to look at Card.
Seriously, how much does this guy hear?

He flopped down in front of the toilet, giving me a disinterested look.
“Hanon, man. Do you even know how many girls I’ve made cry over the years?”
“You say that garbage like it’s a badge of honor, huh.”
“Thanks. So anyway, I didn’t need to overhear anything to know Sharin likes you. It’s obvious.”

Card had a sharp eye for women’s feelings.
So it wasn’t surprising that he had seen right through Sharin’s heart long before I did.

“Even if the people involved aren’t sure, there are always those who can see it clearly. At the very least, there’s never been a single guy around Sharin who treats her the way you do.”
Card sounded like he was just waiting for this moment to finally happen.

“Think about it. What kind of girl would go around calling someone ‘husband’ just because they ended up in a fiancé situation by chance?”
“It’s Sharin, though.”
“Sharin’s still a girl.”
Card clicked his tongue, saying I was late to catch on.

“Anyway, judging by how things look, it seems like Sharin’s finally realized her own feelings.”
That did seem to be the case.

“In that case, Hanon, let me tell you something pretty valuable.”
Card spoke like he was about to drop a major hint.

“Sharin can barely tell people’s faces apart.”
“…Huh?”

“To be exact, she just doesn’t bother to. Mirinae can let someone see only the essence of the mana inside a person’s body. Sharin spends most of her time seeing the world like that. She probably doesn’t even find it inconvenient.”

That was news to me.
It had never been mentioned in the game.
And it also explained how she was able to see through the Veil Banadages using Mirinae.
Since she sees the essence of mana, she must’ve noticed something was layered on top unnaturally.

“Of course, if she wanted to see someone’s face, she could. But it’d be a hassle, so why bother?”

I realized why Card was telling me all this.
“Then, Sharin…”
“Yeah. Things like looks never had any value to her in the first place.”

So much for the credibility of my handsome-face theory.

“Anyway, you can stop checking yourself out in the mirror now and get out, yeah? I’m at my limit.”
With Card’s most serious words of the day, I stepped out.

My eyes turned to the window, full of mixed emotions.
Right now, my team includes both Seron and Sharin.
And today’s the Fall Demonic Palace Battle.

Will everything really be okay?
A lot of concerns started to pile up in my mind.