“Betting? Why should I do it?”
At the suggestion of betting, Judit showed a negative reaction, but everything was settled with just one word from the ever-capable protagonist.
“Sounds fun, let’s do it. I’ll let you win, Judit.”
Yuren Star Dust. A man who receives the world’s worth of unfairness until he dies of old age, with no guarantee of even surviving that long.
Judit sighed in apparent discomfort but eventually nodded in agreement to Yuren’s confident request. It’s natural for people to find it hard to refuse a request from someone they like.
It was decided that each person would take turns shooting the bow five times.
Me and Erpin as one team, Judit and Yuren as the other. It might look a bit childish, but the losing team would grant the winning team one wish.
But then a serious problem arose.
“Wow.”
“Hooh.”
I let out an exclamation at the incredible sight, and Judit hurriedly covered Yuren’s mouth who couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ah, uh, ah?”
In the first round, I scored 8 points, Yuren 9 points, and Judit scored 5 points. Then it was Erpin’s turn.
Pulling back the bowstring went well enough. Though a bit clumsy, the posture was decent, and Erpin handled the bowstring more smoothly than Judit.
So I thought Erpin had a certain level of skill, but…
Erpin’s arrow drew a very high parabola and weakly hit the ground.
“Sorry… I haven’t been close to archery much…”
“Don’t be nervous, focus on your arm strength. You’ll do better.”
Shooting a bow in front of others must have been a big burden for Erpin. We still have four more rounds for a comeback.
Erpin’s problem is surprisingly simple to explain. Pulling the bowstring is fine, but the moment of release is problematic.
Due to extreme tension, there’s a tendency to release the power concentrated in the arm when letting go of the bowstring, causing the arrow to draw a high parabola like just now and fall to the ground without even coming close to the target.
Since Erpin is a genius, I believed that understanding the cause step by step would help overcome this quickly.
“I, I’m sorry…”
With the previous four rounds now finished, we had five total.
By the way, Erpin scored 0 points four times in a row.
There’s some skill, but that tension is the problem. If not for it, hitting the target would’ve been easy. It’s just frustrating to watch from afar.
My current scores are 9 points, 7 points, 7 points, and 8 points.
Yuren has 9 points, 10 points, 9 points, and 10 points.
Judit has 5 points, 6 points, 5 points, and 6 points.
Erpin scored 0 points, 0 points, 0 points, and 0 points.
With the match clearly decided, Erpin hung his head low, fidgeting with his hands.
“It’s my fault… sorry…”
“It’s alright.”
Just for coming with me, helping open doors using his mastery of object manipulation—a top-tier magic, and even accepting a random bet proposed by me without hesitation… He’s done more than enough for two people; it’s certainly far from deserving the treatment as if he did less than one.
I didn’t want to see Erpin, who usually appears cautious, take on such a serious expression all by himself.
“Is it really necessary to have one more round? We’ve already won.”
“I get it, but let me give Erpin one more chance.”
I grabbed Erpin’s wrist and guided him to the shooting spot. Handing him the bow, I whispered in his ear,
“Use object manipulation to hit the center. Make it satisfying.”
“B-but isn’t that cheating? Is it even allowed?”
“Frankly, no one here will say anything. Even if you score 20 points here, the result won’t change.”
Despite my whisper, Judit still cut in with a sharp voice.
“I don’t care, stop making ridiculous remarks about adding plus 99 points like it’s a training camp.”
“Don’t worry, you don’t know what you think of me, but it will absolutely not happen.”
Erpin, still clutching his bow and arrow, couldn’t move his hand.
“Isn’t this the moment you’ve been most frustrated so far? If it’s alright with you, we can stop here. If you want to shoot, go ahead.”
With determination, Erpin tightened his lips and widened his eyes.
Pulling the arrow and bowstring the same as before, but this time is clearly different from the four times he scored zero.
Not only is his posture more stable, but there’s no fear in his eyes. Most importantly, his hand pulling the bowstring wasn’t trembling at all.
“Then… though a bit embarrassing…”
Just like when he used object manipulation to unlock a lock, the wind pressure swirled around Erpin, making his long hair sway wildly.
Yuren let out an “oh wow,” and Judit was equally impressed. I stared closely at Erpin’s side profile from a hair’s breadth away but safely out of the wind pressure.
A face that transcends mere prettiness and evokes admiration.
Small stature that triggers protective instincts in men, a gentle and shy-looking face, subtle sensuality in his usual dark complexion.
Heroines in dating sim games represent the ultimate in beauty. Compared to them, Erpin’s beauty, which doesn’t fall behind, is proof that he’s quite a handsome person.
When determined, Erpin released the bowstring, and the arrow sailed straight forward, not in a high parabola but in a straight line.
When the arrow hit the bullseye, there was a “crack” sound as the target cracked.
Unsurprisingly, the target couldn’t endure the impact, shattering into pieces within ten seconds.
“I, I’m so sorry!!”
Erpin immediately bowed deeply to Judit and Yuren, repeatedly apologizing.
Watching him shoot arrows, it made me feel sorry for involving him in the bet in the first place.
“I thought this before and again now. Top-tier magic requires a great deal of mana, right? How do you use top-tier magic without strain? Wasn’t it object manipulation you used just now?”
Yuren genuinely praised and asked Erpin, not to cover his mistake, but out of sheer curiosity.
An ironic situation where Erpin breaks property but receives no scolding, only praise. Drowned in this paradox, Erpin even held back tears, waving his hands and begging Yuren to just scold him, but Yuren’s praise showed no signs of stopping, even after 3 minutes of non-stop encouragement.
Eventually, Jealousy rose within Judit, who moved to the left of Erpin’s arrow shooting spot and picked up a new bow and arrow.
With more refined posture, she drew and released the bowstring. The arrow flew swiftly, drawing a small curve, striking the 9-point mark of the target.
“How about that, Yuren! I hit 9 points…”
“Do you mind teaching me how to use top-tier magic? Can’t you teach me?”
“It’s based purely on instinct, I don’t even know where to start teaching…”
“Geniuses truly are different. Using top-tier magic by instinct, I’ve never heard of something like that in my life.”
With high expectations, Judit turned back to get Yuren’s praise, but Yuren hadn’t even noticed Judit’s 9-point shot. Evidence by his continued praise for Erpin.
“…”
Deflated, Judit left the archery range expressionlessly, while Yuren eventually caught on to the awkward atmosphere and followed her.
Judit suggested returning to the academy. It was fortunate that she seemed to understand, at least a little, the effort it took for me to find her here.
By the way, Erpin continued apologizing for breaking the target, even while we were heading back to the academy.
“It’s okay, this range is rented anyway, and it’s not expensive. We can pay for it.”
“But that would be a much bigger deal, right? The owner would surely be angry…”
“Well, considering you’ve shown top-tier magic twice right before my eyes, I’ll count this as my entrance fee. I’ll handle the compensation.”
The bizarre combination of Lord Yuren and Lady Judit, with Erpin, who’s known as the rare genius mage.
Because of the many students’ gazes following us, I became acutely aware of how famous the people next to me are.
“By the way, what about the wish? The losing team grants the winning team’s wish…”
“I’ll save it for now. There might be something I want to ask later.”
Judit’s statement vaguely hinted at what she meant.
Two years from now when Crypto Mundust contracts with a demon.
The point when Judit’s family-related trauma is resolved.
Judit was creating leverage to seek Erpin’s powerful help when that moment comes.
Erpin isn’t someone who refuses requests easily, but he always pays off any perceived debt he owes.
“But you’re impressive. You’re already capable of top-tier magic even though we’re the same age.”
“Me?”
“Y-yeah?”
“I want some praise too. Just looking at the scores, you might think you could’ve won without me, but you managed to hit 5 points twice and 6 points twice.”
Ever since we left the archery range, Yuren had only praised Erpin, and Judit’s face was full of envy.
It continued in the same pattern. Yuren repeatedly tried to soothe Judit with praise, while Erpin nervously rolled his eyes according to Judit’s attitude.
Walking for what seemed like forever. Keeping our heads down and walking for a while, we began to see the school gate come into view. Just as I was walking, I addressed Yuren one last thing.
“Yuren, things aren’t good for the first year students right now.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Nipia Princess is treating the first-year class as non-existent, just because there are only two students in A class. And she is trying to reduce its standing. Right now, you’re not even allowed to use the snack bar because you’re missing so many classes.”
“Really? Can they do that in such an esteemed academy?”
“Isn’t Lumere Academy a meritocratic system? A place that values ability over background. Nonetheless, Princess Nipia has high status and solid skills despite her limited influence. And that’s why Dean Sylus lets it happen. And…”
I stopped mid-sentence, unable to believe my eyes.
A violet eye similar to a sapphire. A fox-like smile and piercing gaze. Snow-like white skin and silk-like crimson hair.
For some reason, it looked familiar, and I wondered,
“Have you been waiting?”
The owner of the Frey Trading Company and acclaimed as the best weapons merchant on the continent, President Muse Fairfield. Also, the person familiar to me standing next to her was none other than Xyah.
“Enjoy your date?”
Meeting us at the school gate was unsettling, but the fact that the two of them were together was especially ominous.
Judit looked just as shocked at Muse and Xyah as I did, while Yuren and Erpin, who didn’t know the situation, looked between us in confusion.
“Everyone except Yuren and Erpin, please follow me.”
What seemed like a complex situation was neatly resolved with a single word from Muse.
After sending Yuren and Erpin back, Muse led me, Judit, and Xyah to the newly established branch of Frey Trading located on the Lumere continent, all thanks to Muse Fairfield’s decision to enroll in Lumere Academy.
Upon reaching Muse’s office, we received cups of tea from a staff dressed in elegant clothing.
“You can leave now, thank you.”
The employee quietly bowed and exited, closing the door behind her.
“You don’t need to worry about attendance. I’ve already paid off the professors.”
There was a guest sofa set in every direction. In terms of orientation with me as the reference point, Muse sat north, Judit east, and Xyah west. As we leaned back in the chairs and were about to sip our tea,
“Let’s cut to the chase and the conclusion.”
Very softly, but with a harsh undertone, Muse spoke.
“We know the future. Don’t we?”
A statement impossible to comprehend in a clear state of mind.
“Help me secure the throne.”
