episode_0171

“Don’t hit me too hard… Okay… ?”

Even after hearing that my ranked opponent was pitiful, I didn’t show any particular reaction. I just left this one sentence behind.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m particularly upset about it, because I could definitely feel the trustworthiness in her voice.

Perhaps he was taking my victory for granted. Perhaps he was more concerned about his reputation.

It’s been a few months since I entered the cradle.

I think the suspicions I felt when I first showed up have almost disappeared now. I have firmly maintained my position as the top student in the first year, and I have also been through many things.

Except for the third-year students who had never seen me in person, and some students who were so jealous that they couldn’t tell right from wrong.

However, in terms of aspects other than skills, there were still many false rumors going around.

He has a cruel and vicious personality, and is said to have forcibly taken in several female students and made them work as slaves.

Although some of the students I had become close with actively defended and explained myself, I could not completely dispel such malicious rumors. And finding the cause was not a difficult task.

There were many people in this academy who thought that I and Yeonminha had to be the axis of evil. To those people, reality probably wasn’t that important.

Of course, my personality flaws played a part in those rumors. So, unless someone was causing trouble right in front of me, I didn’t really care about reputation.

However, when I think about my current situation, which is different from when I entered school, Yeonmin-ha’s worries are valid. It will affect not only me, but also the Black Lotus family and Yeonmin-ha.

But now.

I was worried about something other than reputation.

***

A library with hundreds of magnificent bookshelves reaching up to the ceiling. A corner seat where you can always sit.

Next to me, a female student wearing glasses and a hood pulled down over her head was absorbed in the explanation.

“Look carefully. This is the Walther curve, which shows the upper limit of the particle amount for each life cycle of a wizard. Here, what each variable means is… ”

A few strands of golden hair fluttered out from the bangs. Behind the glasses, eyes that resembled emeralds were visible.

“… Do you understand?”

“… ”

“Hey.”

When I came to my senses at the sound of a sudden, Jin Ye-seo, who was tracing the curves with various equations drawn in a jumbled manner, was glaring at me.

“You were thinking of something else. I tried so hard to explain it to you, but you weren’t even paying attention… ”

“No. I was listening.”

I immediately denied it because my heart ached, but Jin Ye-seo didn’t seem to believe me.

“Really? Then calculate it by applying the formula I just told you.”

Jin Ye-seo said, handing me a piece of paper with the question written on it. After thinking about it for about five minutes, I managed to write down the answer.

“… 2512R?”

“… That’s right. You solved it well.”

Then Jin Ye-seo nodded with a dissatisfied expression.

“Still, it took too long. What level is your particle operation technology now?”

“Article B.”

“You said your goal is to become a technician. Then, aside from memorization, the calculation time should be shortened significantly from now. Somehow, you should solve one problem in less than a minute… ”

This strange appearance was the result of a contract we made. I would accompany Jinyeseo in her sparring, and in return, Jinyeseo would help me with my studies.

And Jinyeseo was a much better teacher than I thought. As I listened to her explanations, I felt like I was naturally understanding the problems I had been struggling with. For me, who always struggled with my academic performance, she was truly a rain shower in a drought.

Well, that means it would have been like that if there had been no external factors like now.

“So, to explain further… ”

“Hey.”

“… Aren’t you going to concentrate? Why?”

Jin Ye-seo, whose explanation was interrupted, glared at me again like an angry cat.

But I couldn’t help but ask.

“Are you okay?”

After this request period ended, there was a change in the rankings of the first year students. I still maintained 1st place, and Jinyeseo once again dug into the top 10.

He said that he only got a few performance points by putting his name on a friend’s external request.

However, she gained windfall profits as several students, including her friend Moon Yeo-ul, failed to get the nomination and lost a lot of points.

Since I hadn’t even thought about it, I was extremely flustered when Jinye Seo picked my name during the ranking draw.

The aftertaste still haunts me to this day.

“What?”

“The ranking match is in two days.”

“What? I was thinking… what am I thinking about… ”

However, Jin Ye-seo still responded with an indifferent expression. It wasn’t much different from when she had chosen my name herself.

“This is already the third ranking match. I should get used to it now.”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about. If I lose this time… ”

I knew the situation Jin Ye-seo was in now. Because of the promise she made with her mother, the landlady, she was destined to be forced to marry someone if she lost just once.

I had heard the story from her friend Haewon a long time ago, and after becoming close with her, I often heard her make self-deprecating jokes about how she would be sold like a mare.

Of course, Jinyeseo was really annoyed when he couldn’t kill me. I’m not kind and I don’t have a big heart. Considering my narrow body and my personality that explodes like a bomb that’s been set on fire, I’m closer to being a petty person.

So, honestly, I wouldn’t have cared at the time. And that’s true.

I guess I just thought she looked good. She was just a pebble that blocked my path at every turn.

But things are different now. We are friends who have overcome the swamp of death together and saved each other’s lives. In front of them, factions have long since become a minor issue.

The fact that the fate of such a person lies in my hands… doesn’t come across as all that pleasant.

Moreover, even if he wanted to, Jin Ye-seo hated that family’s policy so much that it made her shudder…

“Don’t give up.”

“What?”

“I said I won’t go.”

But Jin Ye-seo responded calmly. It was the same even when asked again.

She was just calm, like someone who had no worries about the future.

“Huh? Hey. What’s with your attitude? Why are you so cocky?”

Jin Ye-seo spoke in her characteristically arrogant and blunt tone, reminiscent of her old self.

“But… ”

“If anyone saw this, they’d already think you won. Huh?”

Then he raised the corners of his lips and said with a mocking laugh.

Even so, I don’t feel any particular resentment anymore…

“You barely won today by a single point. If you keep growing at this rate, I think you’ll surpass me on the day of the ranking match?”

It wasn’t entirely wrong. I was also well aware of her abnormal growth rate.

Perhaps in terms of natural talent, he can’t even compare to me. Didn’t the captain do that often? He said he’d never seen someone so terribly untalented as me. Just roll around like a dog and beat him with your body…

Of course, that doesn’t mean I agree with her. We still have two years and countless hours of practical experience behind us.

But even if they catch up someday, not yet…

“Ah. Just in case, you’re not thinking of letting me look after you, are you?”

Jin Ye-seo’s gaze glaring at me becomes more fierce. It’s as if she’s warning me.

“I can tell right away if you’re being considerate or not. If I see any signs of that, I’ll abstain right away. And I’m breaking up with you. For life.”

“… ”

I’m going crazy. I can’t do anything.

But breaking up? Isn’t that something that only happens between friends?

He also thought of me as a friend.

“… I told you. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. I will win no matter what. Even if the opponent is you… That determination doesn’t change.”

Jin Ye-seo, whose expression had suddenly relaxed, spoke in a slightly softer tone.

“If you… are thinking of me even a little bit… ”

And the last words she whispered rang in my ears all day long.

“Please do your best… to deal with me.”

***

The final ranking match of the first quarter was unusually crowded.

Considering that the number of third-year students had increased due to their temporary return and that this was their last chance to show off their skills before entering the social period, it wasn’t all that strange.

The names on the scoreboard rise and fall in a jumble according to the scores. The announcer’s loud voice resonates in all directions through the amplifier.

Among them, there was a training ground that was particularly packed with spectators.

“There’s no such thing as a real bad relationship… ”

“So… ”

Even though the two parties involved had not yet revealed themselves, the arena was already heating up with heated debate.

A rivalry that is considered comparable to or even greater than that of Baek Seo-yeon and Yeon Min-ha last year.

A bad relationship that is no different from an enemy.

Even compared to Baek Seo-yeon and Yeon Min-ha, who avoided confrontation in the ranking matches, the two clashed unusually often.

However, today’s atmosphere could be said to be a bit one-sided.

Baek Seo-yeon, a second-year student at Cradle, is everyone’s idol and cherishes Jin Ye-seo quite a bit.

And some people, knowing what would happen to Jinye Seo if she were defeated, started to feel sympathy.

“Tsk tsk… How did I end up like this… ”

In the stands. A third-year boy with a dignified expression and a name tag that read ‘Cheon Su-ho’ clicked his tongue and said.

“A forced engagement? Should I step forward and save her? Well, if you ask me, there’s nothing I can’t do… ”

Someone’s handprint was still cold on his arm.

“That’s right. Why did the other person have to be that guy? ”

A freshman with a sullen look. Kook Jae-ryong grumbled as he spoke. His tone was full of the expression of someone who was displeased.

It was commonplace for a mature third-year student to dote on a rookie freshman, but it wasn’t a particularly desirable combination.

“You’re such an arrogant bastard… ”

A deep anger rose on Cheon Su-ho’s face as he thought about the freshman who had embarrassed him in front of his junior whom he had been aiming for.

“I will repay this disgrace a thousandfold in the social period tournament. How dare you… Oh, is this the beginning? ”

As the bell rings to signal 10 minutes to go, everyone’s attention is focused on the training ground. Soon, the main characters of the day appear from the doors at both ends.

On one side, a tall, bizarrely masked male student. On the other side, a female student with exotic beauty, shiny blond hair and green eyes.

The cheers and cheers were getting more intense. However, the two of them didn’t seem to care and just kept glaring at each other as if they were going to kill each other, closing the distance between them.

Just by looking at their gazes, which seemed to be animosity towards each other, it was not difficult to guess the relationship between the two.

But soon a strange commotion began to spread among the audience, who sensed something out of the ordinary.

“Huh… ?”

“Wait a minute… That’s… ”

Their gaze was focused on Jin Ye-seo’s waist the whole time.

And what was visible there was a sharp blade that didn’t look like a weapon used by a magician of the emission system at all.