Episode 99. 1-on-1 Duel (5)

“Ah… If it’s like this, I absolutely have to get first place.”

Actually, I thought losing on purpose to Nam Daeun in the finals was the right thing to do.

Already, if I went down the Nam Daeun route, things would get too complicated, and I’m still uneasy about making enemies with the Buyer Guild, who hold Nam Daeun’s weakness.

Of course, if I mobilized all my connections, it might be manageable, but I wonder if I really need to go that far.

Anyway, in half a year, my position will become more solid, and my abilities will grow even further.

Dealing with it then would be much easier.

But all the heroines are at affection level 1…

“This is quite significant.”

Currently, the heroines are Lucy, Lumi, Nam Daeun, Alice, Moon Surin, Im Sol, Liliana, and Baek Ahyoung, making a total of 8 people.

A whopping level 8 affection quest.

“Sigh… Maybe I should just win it all.”

Whether it’s the Buyer Guild or whatever, if I just work hard, won’t that be enough?

For now, just going for it doesn’t seem too bad….

[The match between A-Class Cadet Alice and A-Class Cadet Nam Daeun will begin shortly! Spectators, please take your seats.]

For now, I’ll watch the match and then decide.

On the screen, Alice and Nam Daeun were facing each other in the training arena.

It seemed they were already ready.

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Match start!]

As soon as the match began, Nam Daeun closed the distance with Alice and charged in.

With agile movements, having closed the distance first, Nam Daeun swung her sword.

Alice, rather than close combat, would prefer to clash swords briefly and then create distance.

This is because in a pure sword fight, she couldn’t beat Nam Daeun.

Ultimately, it’s a battle of whether Alice can get a proper chance to use magic, and there’s no way Nam Daeun would give her one.

Vines that sprang from thin air wrapped around Nam Daeun’s arms, hindering her movements. Nam Daeun quickly cut through the vines and lunged at Alice.

Alice blocked the sword strike while drawing a magic circle, and as a pillar of fire soon erupted from the ground, Nam Daeun jumped back, creating distance.

“That’s high level….”

They’re definitely on a different level than the other cadets.

The two continued to exchange blows.

At first glance, it seemed even, but in my opinion, this time too, Alice was going to lose.

Thanks to her congenital mana disorder, her limit would soon arrive.

“….”

Alice, who had been continuing the match, her expression momentarily stiffened.

The mana charged with magic stones had run out.

From then on, Alice adopted a passive fighting style.

She tried her best to block Nam Daeun’s attacks and look for an opening, but Nam Daeun didn’t let her.

Instead, she increased her body’s speed and pressed the attack even harder.

“Kuhh!”

Nam Daeun’s spatial dominance means her reactions to events within her domain also become faster.

Therefore, as the distance between them closed, Alice was inevitably pushed back, and with the reduced frequency of her magic use, she couldn’t keep up.

In the end, Alice’s body accumulated more wounds, until she finally allowed a deep gash to her chest, leading to her defeat.

[The winner is A-Class Cadet Nam Daeun!]

Alice, looking frustrated, bowed her head and trembled slightly, but soon composed herself with a composed expression and stepped off the training stage.

“Until her mana disorder is fixed, she definitely won’t cut it.”

As for the method to fix Alice’s congenital mana disorder, I naturally know it.

It’s practically the core of the Alice route.

Confronting Alice’s older sister, Irene, and curing the mana disorder.

Completing these two tasks means Alice’s capture is almost complete.

Alice’s capture timing is similar to Nam Daeun’s.

A villain capable of curing the mana disorder appears in the mid-to-late game, so until then, perfect capture isn’t possible.

In the game, it was a very frustrating element, but for me, this is actually better.

Casually getting close to a heroine you can’t capture will only lead to more work and hardship.

For some reason, Alice’s affection level has surged, which is a bit baffling, but since it’s already increased, I hope it stays this way until the capture route becomes available.

[The long-awaited Victoria Academy 1st Year 1v1 Duel. Only the finals remain. The ultimate match between A-Class Cadet Lee Hoyeon and A-Class Cadet Nam Daeun! To allow the athletes final condition checks, we will take a break before commencing!]

After the semifinals ended, a break of about an hour opened up.

“What should I do now…?”

First, I stepped out of the waiting room.

Staying in the waiting room the whole time felt stifling.

The waiting room for the main tournament qualifiers is now only used by Nam Daeun and me.

The other waiting rooms had no name tags and were empty.

In the quiet hallway, a lone drink vending machine, whose user was unknown, stood alone.

Maybe I should head to the spectator seats.

Kim Young-han and Lucy and Lumi would probably be there too.

I went down from the floor with the waiting rooms and headed towards the spectator seats.

“Hello?”

Just then, someone slid up beside me and spoke.

“Oh, hi. I watched your match.”

“Thanks. Though I lost.”

Alice said with a gentle smile, continuing.

She even came up to greet me first; seriously, why has she become so nice?

★ Heroine Status Screen

[Alice]

• [ Affection: 62 ]

• [ Lust: 25 ]

• [ Appetite: 30 ]

• [ Fatigue: 20 ]

Current Status: I think I need to have a consultation with the Saintess too.

‘Consultation…?’

What kind of consultation is she talking about?

And looking at me, why is she thinking that?

I’ll have to ask Baek Ahyoung about this later.

“Where are you going now?”

Alice asked first.

“Just, I was thinking of going to the spectator seats to see the others.”

“You probably shouldn’t go. There are reporters everywhere, so it’s really crowded.”

“… Then I’ll have to go later.”

If I get caught by reporters and make even one mistake, it’ll be a real disaster.

“Good luck in the finals. But don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Okay. You take care of yourself too.”

Alice waved goodbye cheerfully and disappeared.

It was nice seeing a pretty girl become so kind.

But it’s a bit disappointing. She had this tsundere charm, which I kind of miss.

Since they said the spectator seats are crawling with reporters, should I head back to the waiting room?

I retraced my steps back.

I went back into the waiting room, intending to meditate, but someone was standing in front of the drink vending machine that had been left alone in the hallway earlier.

‘What the…?’

Seeing Nam Daeun’s profile, I instinctively hid behind a wall.

Nam Daeun was staring intently at the drink vending machine, mumbling something.

★ Heroine Status Screen

[Nam Daeun]

• [ Affection: 31 ]

• [ Lust: 20 ]

• [ Appetite: 30 ]

• [ Fatigue: 33 ]

Current Status: I want that sweet Mint Choco… but if I drink this, I’ll have to walk when I go to meet Dahee…

Maybe it’s because I acted nice at the supermarket yesterday; my affection level rose from 11 to 31.

What’s this ‘sweet Mint Choco’?

Ah, whatever. Let’s just approach her.

“Hello?”

“… Hi.”

Nam Daeun blinked at my sudden appearance.

Well, it is a bit strange to act friendly with someone I’m about to fight.

I naturally tapped my smartwatch on the payment terminal.

• Please select your drink.

Among the drinks, there was one called ‘sweet Mint Choco’. I moved my finger towards the banana milk next to it, pretended to slip, and pressed ‘sweet Mint Choco’.

“Huh?”

Clunk-

“Ah, I pressed the wrong one.”

Clunk-

I pressed the banana milk again to get a drink, and said, looking flustered,

“What should I do with this? I don’t drink Mint Choco. Would you like it?”

“Huh…?”

Nam Daeun replied hesitantly, seeming awkward that I was suddenly talking to her.

“Since I don’t drink Mint Choco, I accidentally bought it.”

“… If you’re giving it to me, I’ll gladly take it.”

Nam Daeun blushed shyly as she accepted the Mint Choco.

Why is she blushing?

★ Heroine Status Screen

[Nam Daeun]

• [ Affection: 31 ]

• [ Lust: 20 ]

• [ Appetite: 30 ]

• [ Fatigue: 33 ]

Current Status: Was it that obvious I wanted it… And he even pretended to buy it by mistake…

‘How did she know?!’

My acting was flawless… She’s definitely sharp.

“Oh, sorry if you felt bad. I just wanted to buy it for you. There’s no hidden meaning.”

If my act was discovered, I had to apologize.

Just in case she thought I bought it out of pity, which would surely upset her.

“I’ll drink it well.”

Fortunately, she didn’t seem offended.

“I need to get back to the waiting room. See you later.”

Nam Daeun ended the conversation and started to leave.

But I felt a bit regretful.

With only the finals left, and Nam Daeun’s affection level rising, having a bit more conversation seemed like a good idea.

Opportunities like this don’t come easily.

“Nam Daeun.”

“Yeah?”

In the end, I stopped Nam Daeun as she was about to enter the waiting room.

“Since there’s still time before the finals anyway, how about we chat for a bit?”

She probably won’t agree, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Let’s at least give it a shot.

“… Sure? Then come to my waiting room.”

Huh? It worked?

Nam Daeun went into the waiting room first, and I followed.

As expected, it had the same structure as my waiting room.

“….”

“….”

But what should we talk about?

“Yeah, I saw your match against Alice.”

“Thanks. You were good too.”

“….”

What were Nam Daeun’s hobbies again?

Housework? Shopping for sale items?

‘I can’t talk about things like that right now.’

Tring-

Nam Daeun’s smartwatch beeped.

It seemed she got a message.

She glanced at me sideways; is my presence bothering her?

Maybe it’s time to talk with her sibling.

“If it’s urgent, I’ll just leave. See you later.”

“Lee Hoyeon. You… want to be first place too, right?”

To avoid making her uncomfortable, I tried to preemptively leave the waiting room, but Nam Daeun’s words stopped me.

This was the first time Nam Daeun had called me by my name.

It seemed important.

“Uh… yeah. It would be great to win first place.”

I couldn’t say no here.

Otherwise, it would make my struggle to reach the finals seem strange.

“I’ve never shown this to anyone else… Haa.”

Nam Daeun suddenly started a video call on her smartwatch.

“Um…?”

• Unnie!

Hearing the cheerful voice of her younger sister from the smartwatch, I fell silent.

Right now, I’m sitting next to Nam Daeun.

However, I was positioned out of the camera’s frame, unseen.

Even though it wasn’t wrong for me to be there, I felt like I shouldn’t be seen.

“Have you been well?”

• Yep, yep! I saw your semifinal match, Unnie! You were so strong!

“You’ve already seen it?”

Nam Daeun continued the call with her sister, without paying me any mind.

• Wanna see this? I drew a picture of you winning the finals!

“Heh heh. That’s cute. Is that man lying down there my opponent?”

• Yep! A handsome oppa. But he’s no match for you, Unnie!

“….”

In a crooked drawing style, a girl was giving a thumbs up, while a man lay collapsed with ‘x’ marks for eyes.

Is that supposed to be me?

Nam Daeun continued the call with her sister for over 10 minutes.

“Unnie needs to go now. Let’s talk again after the finals.”

• Okay, you have to win! Unnie! I love you!

“I love you too. Dahee.”

Beep-

Nam Daeun ended the call, closed her eyes for a moment, and then looked at me.

“That’s my younger sister. To receive financial support for her hospital bills, I absolutely must get first place in the practical exam. That’s why I need to win.”

“… I see.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t cooperate during the group project. Really… I’m sorry.”

Nam Daeun opening up like this already; did that one successful image management session I luckily had really work?

Of course, she hasn’t revealed everything, but this is still significant progress.

“So… even if I win first place, please don’t resent me.”

Maybe her limit has already arrived?

Human emotions aren’t simple.

A small stimulus can cause significant changes.

Just like a butterfly’s flap can create a huge typhoon, perhaps something similar has happened to Nam Daeun.

Sigh, what should I say to this?

I don’t want things to get complicated by giving a weird answer.

Knock knock knock.

Just then, as if to quell my worries, a knock sounded.

“Cadet Nam Daeun~. It’s time for your final medical check before the finals.”

“Yes, come in.”

Creeak-

“Huh?”

“Hello. Nurse.”

Baek Ahyoung, seeing me in Nam Daeun’s waiting room, her pupils dilated in surprise.

“Y-you were here. Cadet Lee Hoyeon.”

★ Heroine Status Screen

[Baek Ahyoung]

• [ Affection: 87 ] (+0.4)

• [ Lust: 73 ]

• [ Appetite: 30 ]

• [ Fatigue: 35 ]

Current Status: I intended to finish quickly and visit… Why are you here?

She’s planning to visit again.

Is she trying to make up for what she couldn’t do earlier because of Im Sol?

“Nurse. If it’s a medical check, we can do it together right here.”

“Huh…? It would be better to do it separately….”

Baek Ahyoung had a look that said, ‘This isn’t how it was supposed to go….’

Tsk. I can’t tease her further with Nam Daeun watching, so I should stop.

“Just kidding. I’ll wait in the waiting room.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be quick.”

‘I wish she’d hold back a bit right before the finals.’

I need to manage my own condition too.

If she comes to my waiting room, I’ll tease her a bit before sending her off.