episode_0008

“Excuse me?”

I furrowed my brows slightly at the sudden suggestion from Yoo Seolhyun. She had never approached me first in the game before.

“Why me?”

Yoo Seolhyun ranks 7th in the entrance rankings.

There must be countless trainees who want to team up with her.

Known as a genius of creativity, she received direct training from Yoo Gapryeong and her combat abilities are on par with male protagonists.

Having mastered expensive martial arts and tactics since childhood, her physical abilities far surpass those of ordinary trainees.

Except for Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan, she is considered the most powerful force here.

“Not interested?”

“It’s not that I’m not interested.”

Yoo Seolhyun chuckled and asked, and I quickly turned my head sideways.

“There are plenty of other capable trainees besides me, right?”

“Indeed, when considering only combat abilities, there are many more capable trainees.”

She nodded with a relaxed expression.

“However, we don’t know the theme of the assessment right now, do we?”

I know, though.

I’ve seen it enough in the game.

“Hong Daye also mentioned selecting team members based on various situations, so it’s not a good idea to just consider combat abilities, right?”

Yoo Seolhyun looked at me with a subtle smile.

“They said you were excellent in tactical simulations for the Great Monster Battle and as an operator, right?”

“I wasn’t bad.”

“I heard you never missed first place.”

It was the result of studying diligently in writing and theory, knowing well that my talent as a hero was significantly lacking.

I wanted to pass the Union Academy with Jin Soyeon and become a great hero no matter what.

…Until I recall memories from my past life, that is.

“Since we don’t know what kind of assessment it will be, I wanted to have a tactically skilled person as one of my team members. Oh, and don’t worry. We already have enough combatants.”

“Hmph.”

Yoo Seolhyun smiled mischievously and gently patted the shoulder of the girl standing next to her.

The girl with two braids that hung down straight was glaring at me with sharp eyes.

She didn’t seem to like me much, but she endured it because of Yoo Seolhyun.

“Seonari, right?”

Seonari.

Ranked 17th among the freshmen.

Despite her petite stature that resembled a middle school student, she was a martial arts prodigy with incredible strength.

She had been with Yoo Seolhyun since childhood.

Admiring the beautiful and haughty Yoo Seolhyun, she played the role of driving away bugs that bothered her.

‘Seonari…’

From Seonari’s perspective, I probably wasn’t very likable.

She was the type of character often seen in subculture genres, like ‘I love my sister~.’

“Hmph. You already know my name?”

“It’s been about a month.”

With this level of power, we could compete with Lee Siwoon or Kang Daehan’s team.

Yoo Seolhyun and Seonari had skills that were not inferior to male protagonists, so they wouldn’t fall behind.

“To be honest, I don’t find your combat abilities very reliable, but since Nari and I are close-range dealers and tanks, we needed a support or long-range dealer. You’re decent with a bow, right?”

“You’re Lee Jinhyuk, right? You’re lucky. Did you think you could find a team this good with your skills?”

I scratched my chin for a moment at Yoo Seolhyun and Seonari’s words.

Although she was saying this and that, I knew it was all just a facade.

There was no convincing reason for it.

There were plenty of trainees more useful and tactically helpful than me from the start.

Nevertheless, the fact that Yoo Seol-hyun approached me must mean that there is definitely another hidden agenda.

“Is it because of So-yeon after all?”

I couldn’t help but feel a strange annoyance and discomfort at the way Lee Si-woon’s behavior towards Jin So-yeon and Yoo Seol-hyun was completely different.

Knowing Yoo Seol-hyun’s personality, she wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

Being pushed aside by an ordinary (?) girl from a humble background would surely hurt her pride in many ways.

“She was always like that even when we played games.”

One of the events that would occur when the number of times Jin So-yeon and Lee Si-woon met exceeded a certain threshold was seducing, not seducing, Jin So-yeon’s boyfriend and causing him to fall into a dilemma.

One of Yoo Seol-hyun’s character settings was to provoke conflicts by seducing the lover of a girl who annoyed her, or making the girl think that Yoo Seol-hyun liked her and causing her to break up with her, etc.

She had a pretty malicious and petty personality, fearing that she might be seen as a villain.

“I didn’t expect Yoo Seol-hyun to make a move so soon.”

I discreetly turned my head towards Jin So-yeon and Lee Si-woon.

They were engaged in various conversations amidst the crowd.

“Is Si-woon being more proactive in approaching her than in the game?”

Since Si-woon couldn’t be proactive in the game because Jin So-yeon and I were dating, she often hesitated before being consumed by jealousy.

As a result, Yoo Seol-hyun directly confronting Jin So-yeon was something that would happen much later than now.

But things are different now.

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

Because I had originally intended to join the same team as Yoo Seol-hyun.

I had already prepared several stories to persuade her.

“Alright, if you guys are okay with it.”

“Yeah, you made a good choice.”

Yoo Seol-hyun subtly smiled with a mysterious look in her eyes.

Ah, already starting, Yoo Seol-hyun.

Most men would be captivated if a woman of that beauty gave them a slight smile, but knowing Yoo Seol-hyun’s character setting, I couldn’t help but remain indifferent.

“Oh, but there’s one condition.”

“Huh?”

Yoo Seol-hyun expressed her doubt with a puzzled look.

“A condition?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s unexpected.”

At that moment, Seo Na-ri’s face lit up, as if she had rescued someone by the river and was now trying to steal their belongings.

“Hey, Lee Jin-hyuk. Are you in a position to set conditions now?”

“Na-ri.”

“Huh?”

“Can you keep it down?”

“Oh, uh, okay.”

As Yoo Seol-hyun spoke, Seo Na-ri cowered like a drenched puppy.

Her eyes, which had been sharp, drooped weakly, and her flowing hair swayed like a horse’s tail.

“Tell me about the condition, what is it?”

I slowly opened my mouth towards Yoo Seol-hyun, who was looking at me with a mixture of interest and curiosity.

“You will follow my orders within the tasks related to this assessment. That’s all.”

“Huh?”

Her eyes raised slightly.

“Well… I don’t really want to do that.”

From her perspective, it might be incomprehensible.

She helped me once out of pity, and now I’m trying to act like the captain.

A normal person might have thought, ‘Doesn’t this guy understand the situation?’

But Yoo Seol-hyun, you’re not like that, right?

Aren’t you?

“I don’t think you would have said something like this without any thought, and you must have prepared a means to persuade me, right?”

“If you follow my orders, I promise that our team will be first in this assessment… or at least second.”

Ah, honestly, if luck wasn’t on our side, we might not get first place.

But I was quite confident.

I’m an old hand at this game.

I already know the strategy.

“Hmm. Where does all this confidence come from?”

Yoo Seol-hyun laughed as if she had no idea.

What kind of test is this? I can’t believe you’re saying this in a situation where you can’t even know what kind of test it is.

Even I would have reacted like her.

“It’s fun. The other teams won’t be easy either. It seems like they have good ambitions.”

Yoo Seolhyun quickly glanced at Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan.

No matter how confident she was in herself, she didn’t seem to have the confidence to win against those two in competition.

“Well, whatever. Let’s do as you say. But….”

She asked with a sly smile.

“…What if the results aren’t good?”

“….”

“If the results aren’t good, can you take responsibility? Since it’s the first performance evaluation, I thought it was important.”

You don’t really care much about this performance evaluation.

If you really thought it was important, you wouldn’t have chosen me as a team member in the first place. Don’t pretend.

“Then should we make a bet?”

“…a bet?”

The conversation up to this point was a build-up for this.

For Yoo Seolhyun, the keyword ‘bet’ was very important.

“If you don’t keep your promise to follow my orders, you’ll have to do my chores during your time at the academy. How about that?”

“Huh?”

Yoo Seolhyun’s eyebrows suddenly raised with interest.

It seems she’s interested in the idea of doing chores.

Ah, she really likes this kind of thing.

It was a good idea to memorize the character settings.

“It’s fun. Are you confident?”

“Just so-so?”

“You seem to be taking it too lightly, will you be okay?”

“What?”

“If you can’t keep your promise…I’ll make sure you do it even if I have to force you.”

Yoo Seolhyun’s eyes flickered for a moment.

If she fails, she will never let it go.

Because she is very sensitive about bets.

From a young age, Yoo Seolhyun had gained and lost many things through various bets with Yoo Gapryeong.

Her grandfather never let it go, and whatever the bet was, she had to accept the results.

That’s why for Yoo Seolhyun, betting became a kind of belief and value.

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

If she didn’t agree with the outcome of the bet, she might even involve the power of her household. That’s how important Yoo Seolhyun considers betting.

“Oh, right. Don’t lose on purpose just to make me do your chores, okay?”

“Hehe. That’s a strange thing to say. It’s natural to prioritize your grades over a bet, right?”

No, you prioritize what you’re interested in much more.

Well, even so, Yoo Seolhyun won’t deliberately lose.

She has a strong sense of pride.

“Jinhyuk, were you here…?”

Jin Soyeon, who was approaching with a cheerful smile, suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Jin Soyeon’s gaze met Yoo Seolhyun’s.

Their eyes intertwined.

“Oh, Seolhyun, hi.”

“Yeah.”

Although they had exchanged some words over the past month, they still seemed a little uncomfortable.

Well, the first meeting wasn’t great.

“It’s quite a unique combination. What were you two talking about here?”

“I’m here too?”

“Oh, right. Yeah. That’s right, Seolhyun, I forgot. What, are you saying I didn’t see you because you’re short?”

“Haha, as if? Oh my, our Nari~ so cute~.”

“Stop it, okay? Hey, hey! Don’t touch my cheeks! Are you crazy?!”

When Jin Soyeon tried to touch Seonari’s cheek like she would to a child, Seonari quickly stepped back.

Looking quite disgusted, Jin Soyeon cleared her throat.

Then she looked at me.

“Anyway. Jinhyuk, did you find a team?”

“A team?”

“If not, how about teaming up with me?”

Jin Soyeon stood tall with her hands on her hips.

“Who else would take care of you if not me? Haha. You should really be thankful to me.”

“Aren’t you on the same team as Lee Siwoon?”

“Right, but you know, I was thinking about who else to recruit. I talked to Siwoon about it, and she said you would be okay with it too.”

“Oh, really?”

“As expected, the captain is different, right? Even though Jinhuk said it’s fine to be on the same team as the bottom rank.”

“…I feel like she’s just accommodating you because of you.”

Why is she so clueless?

Is it because she’s the heroine of a reverse harem?

“Anyway, if you don’t have a team, let’s team up.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Ah, come on, you’re pushing me away again. You don’t need to think of it as a burden. Siwoon said it’s fine too…”

“I already have a team.”

“…Huh?”

As Jinsuyeon interrupted and spoke, her eyes blinked.

“Huh? Oh? Wait, you’re already on a team?”

“That’s right.”

“Wait, with who? Who are you on a team with?”

“With me.”

She grinned.

“I decided to be on the same team as Jinhuk this time.”

Yuseolhyun replied with a smile.