Chapter 20

“Another fainting spell, just like in the Steel Forest.”

At this point, maybe I’ve got a fainting passive or something.

“You overdid it, didn’t you?”

Fainting was the least I could expect after all that.

“Wang Non, it’s time for dinner.”

And right at that moment, I heard a voice in my ear.

My roommate, Card Velik, of all people.

Since I got sent to the hospital, I had received treatment quickly.

The wound from the sword was healing slower than expected.

Thanks to that, my treatment took longer than anticipated, and I was transferred back to my room.

Along with the previous battle and the last round’s fight, it was an incredibly grueling mock battle that left me feeling completely drained.

So today, I was focusing on recovering my body.

I could feel Card approaching, gazing down at me intently.

How annoying.

I wished he would just go away.

“Honey, if you don’t get up right now, I’m going to lay one on you.”

“Geez, ugh.”

His overly sweet voice made me curse under my breath.

Card had his hands on his hips and was chuckling away.

What a crazy punk.

“Hey, nice to see you. 14th place.”

14th place.

That was the rank I received in the mock battle.

Though I didn’t make the goal of being in the top 10, I still achieved a significant victory over the lazy genius, breaking his spirit.

I’m sure I left a bigger impact on the minds of those ten higher-ranked than I did on the rest.

‘And the same goes for Isabel.’

After all, Isabel didn’t get to participate in the battle she was looking forward to.

She must have been fuming.

“Card, what rank are you?”

“Me? Hehe, I’m 11th, higher than you.”

Card laughed smugly.

But knowing his secret, I scoffed.

He could easily climb higher like the others if he pushed himself.

It just wasn’t the time for him to reveal his hidden cards.

“Who’s the top rank?”

“Sharine again this time.”

As expected.

But still, it was disappointing.

I had prepared my trump card to surpass Sharine and climb up higher.

But I didn’t even get a chance to use it.

‘The battle was more ferocious than I anticipated.’

This world was teaching me that it wasn’t just a game after all.

‘Especially.’

The battles of characters not even considered were far tougher than I expected.

Those extras were just like real people now.

They were desperate to raise their ranks.

‘I need to widen my perspective.’

No matter how I adjusted my plans, I couldn’t let anything go wrong.

I learned a lot from this mock battle.

“So, Wang Non, are you going to eat dinner or what? It’s a mock battle day, so Marie prepared the food herself.”

“Why did you take so long to wake me? You should have done it right away.”

“Wow, talk about the pot calling the kettle black.”

Marie, the head maid, was a chef good enough for the royal palace.

If I went late, the other kids would have taken all the food, and there would be nothing left.

I bickered with Card as we left the room and headed down the stairs.

Maybe it was because I fought so fiercely, but my body still felt stiff.

“Ah.”

Just as I was going down the stairs, I ran into someone coming from the hallway.

The light hit their bald head, causing a glare.

I rubbed my eyes first.

Noticing my action, the other person’s pupils dilated.

“You, you!”

The frizzy-haired girl’s anger was blowing in the wind.

The person showing their bald head was one of the four who dragged my name through the mud.

Seron Parmia.

She was the unfortunate one who fought me first among the four.

“Hello there, 30th place.”

“Don’t call me 30th! And I’m not even in 30th place!”

Didn’t she become 30th because she lost to me?

“Seron is 19th.”

Card explained from the side.

How did he know that?

It seemed Seron made the most of her remaining chances to rise after losing to me.

Not to mention, she didn’t have the skills to be in 29th place to begin with.

“Last time in the mock battle, you had a stomachache, right?”

Card grinned while glancing at Seron.

This made Seron glare at him with a serious face.

“How does a magic arts major know that?”

“Pretty girls remember everything.”

“If you talk out of turn one more time, I’ll rip your mouth open. You look like a butter potato.”

Why does she always compare people to crops?

When our eyes met, Seron’s face contorted.

“What are you staring at, burnt sweet potato.”

She’s feisty.

I quietly gazed at Seron.

She didn’t flinch and stared me down as well.

She must have been terribly humiliated.

Her spirit showed no signs of breaking.

Staring was making my neck ache.

As I raised my hand, Seron flinched as if my gesture startled her.

Her feet instinctively stepped back, and she crouched down.

That was an ingrained reaction in her body.

Even if she was Seron, she couldn’t forget what happened today.

I rubbed the back of my neck after watching her.

“Ugh!”

She quickly realized what she had just done, and her face turned beet red.

Steam seemed to rise from her forehead.

“You’re a tomato. A beaten tomato.”

In turn, I gave her a nickname as well.

“I-ii!”

Seron shook in anger and turned her head sharply.

Then she bolted, tail between her legs.

Card, watching her leave, tilted his head with a curious look.

“What did you do to make Seron act like that?”

“Slammed her to the ground and punched her in the face.”

“Hehe, that’s quite the beatdown. You know, it’s funny when tough kids become docile.”

I shot Card a disgusted look.

“Your hobbies are disgusting.”

“It’s a great hobby. Seron acts tough to everyone else, but she’s utterly weak when it comes to her guy. Just play your cards right; it’ll be fun.”

I simply let it slide.

As I entered the dining hall, sure enough, it was packed with kids.

Everyone must have been starving after the mock battle.

It felt like the day for filling up on food.

I joined in and quickly grabbed some food.

“Lord Hanon, you’ve worked hard today.”

As I picked up my plate, Marie greeted me.

It seemed she was greeting each student individually.

With so many students, it was quite the effort.

That’s how she kept her position as head maid.

“Oh, Wang Non, looks like there’s no seat since you’re late?”

As Card pointed out, the dining hall was filled to the brim.

“Should I eat outside?”

There were tables set up outdoors as well.

But going around felt like a hassle to do, regardless.

Just then, I spotted an open seat.

“There it is.”

“Oh, good eyes.”

I headed there first, and Card quickly followed.

As I placed my tray down to sit, I belatedly noticed the person across from me.

Amidst her honey-blonde bobbed hair, a crimson gaze sparkled.

“…You.”

It was Isabel Luna.

Next to her sat Sharine, munching on the cream churros.

She greeted me with a spoon when our eyes met, displaying none of the proper dining etiquette she was known for.

“Yo, Isabel.”

Card was the first to greet Isabel.

Isabel half-heartedly acknowledged him with a glance before staring directly at me.

Her gaze could pierce through steel.

I took no heed of it and sat down.

Then, I lifted my fork to take a piece of steak.

Isabel’s sharp gaze only intensified.

“In a meal, I’d rather get interrupted by a dog than by you.”

“Don’t treat people like dogs.”

“I thought you were a Labrador Retriever.”

“Pfft.”

Sharine stifled a laugh, covering her mouth.

When Isabel shot a glare at her, Sharine quickly ducked her head to finish her churros.

“You know the result of the mock battle, right?”

As expected, Isabel referenced the mock battle.

“If you’re expecting an apology for this…”

“I don’t accept this result.”

Her crimson eyes locked onto me with fierce intent.

I could read her desire reflected in those eyes.

She was resolute in finishing this with her own hands.

“I’ll take you down and demand an apology after.”

Got it.

I realized.

‘Isabel is changing, bit by bit.’

Even now, her dark circles that used to shadow her eyes looked lighter than before.

Her once dry hair now looked maintained, as if she’d been taking care of it, and her figure had recovered the right amount of healthy weight.

Her lips, which always seemed cracked, had gained some shine.

Isabel had been training hard in solitude to win against me in the mock battle.

And to yield the results of that training, she needed regular meals and rest.

The outcome of her training wouldn’t appear overnight.

So Isabel must have forced herself to eat and sleep from the day we met.

That effect was now manifesting visibly.

“…Why are you smiling?”

I didn’t realize I was smiling.

“I’m not laughing at you. That won’t happen.”

Until the day you can live without me.

Isabel, I’m not planning on losing.

After hearing my sarcasm, Isabel pouted her lips and stood up.

Her tray was already empty.

It seemed she had a little something more to say, as she shot me a fiery glare.

“…And I’m not doing this because of you. It’s for Lucas.”

Her declaration came with a warning.

‘She heard.’

That day when the girls picked a fight, I had said those words while standing up to them, and Isabel had listened in.

Through that, it seemed Isabel felt even more defiance rising within her.

“Sharine, let’s go.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Sharine stood up after putting straw in her juice bottle.

She exchanged playful smiles with me as our eyes met.

I had promised Sharine to be her enemy for Isabel’s sake.

That surely meant I was doing well.

“I’ll give you this.”

Then, Sharine handed me a churro.

I scrunched my face at the sight.

“You were eating that!”

“It’s delicious.”

“I have my own, you know?”

Sharine tilted her head, muttering, “It’s good.” before leaving.

She always was an odd one.

“Junior, looks like there’s an empty spot at the front. Mind if I sit?”

As I tried to scoop some soup, another presence appeared in front of me.

Looking up, I saw silvery hair fluttering.

Nikita Cynthia.

The vice president of our academy.

“Of course! I saved that spot thinking you’d come!”

I gladly made room for her.

“Hehe, I’m lucky to have you as a junior. It’s hard to find a seat with so many people around.”

She took a seat right in front of me.

“Junior, you did great in this mock battle. It was impressive.”

“Oh, don’t be modest. Did you see it?”

“Of course I watched my junior’s heroic efforts.”

Nikita seemed quite fond of me.

“14th place? Climbing up from 48th isn’t easy, you did really well.”

Usually, I was the one giving compliments, but today it felt weird receiving one from Nikita.

“So about the reward…”

And then the most important topic came up.

“Unfortunately, it seems you didn’t make the top ranks.”

The top ranks in the mock battle referred to the top ten.

Nikita had said she would give a reward only if one made the top ranks, so that was truly disappointing.

“I was even planning a honeymoon. What a bummer.”

“Sorry, but I can’t just marry anyone. I can only marry the person my family has arranged for me.”

I got shut down.

Two confessions, two rejections.

At this rate, it seemed my jokes were losing their charm on Nikita.

It felt like she was getting accustomed to my humor.

Oh well.

Maybe it’s time to get serious.

“Still, if you make an accomplishment great enough that our family would want you, it might be a possibility.”

“I’ll become a hero starting today.”

“Hehe, I’m just kidding.”

“The Cynthia family will be my goal from now on.”

“Whoa, junior!?”

The serious look on my face seemed to fluster Nikita.

“…Sometimes I can’t tell where your jokes end and your seriousness begins.”

“I’m always serious.”

“Junior, I told you before, but my ideal type is someone tall, I wouldn’t mind considering you if you grew a bit taller.”

Nikita politely declined.

Three confessions, three rejections.

“Hmm, Wang Non is big in other ways.”

Meanwhile, Card chimed in with something nonsensical.

When I shot him a look to shut his mouth, Card shrugged.

“Wang Non, is it just me, or do you seem to be chatting only with all the famous people in our school here at the dining hall today?”

“I wish I had a magic power to make you shut up right now.”

“You’d need quite a bit of magic for that. My mouth won’t stop.”

“I’m thinking of sewing it shut while you sleep tonight.”

“How about I crash in another room tonight, then?”

What a useless guy.

“Speaking of which, junior,”

Nikita pushed aside some carrots and called out to me.

Nikita had a childish palate and couldn’t eat carrots.

“What do you plan for the Magic Academy group?”

Magic Academy group.

It referred to groups formed when entering the underground magic maze.

Having done well in the mock battle, I was sure requests were coming from all sides to form a group.

“Well, I haven’t thought of anything yet.”

In truth, I had thought of several plans.

But it wouldn’t simply happen because I wanted it.

“Could you put Poara in the group you’re in?”

“Poara, you mean?”

The first-year Poara Silin, who had formed a contract with the Spirit Sovereign.

Thanks to that, he had been upgraded to a special class.

“I’m sure people from all over would want Poara.”

“Other students have extremely high expectations of Poara. Those high expectations can often lead to failures.”

There’s a saying that expectations lead to disappointment.

If people put too much faith in Poara and he ended up underperforming, it would naturally lead to significant disappointment for them.

That wouldn’t be a good outcome for either them or Poara.

Nikita surely wanted to recruit Poara so she could manage him herself.

But third years entered floors much deeper than the first and second years.

Having Poara go along with that would be out of the question.

“But I doubt that will happen with you as part of the team.”

Given that I had no expectations of Poara at all.

“What did Poara think about this?”

“When I casually asked him today, he said to please consider it.”

With a Spirit Sovereign like Poara, I paused for a moment before nodding in agreement.

“Sure, why not.”

There was no reason not to take him along.

This could also help me build a better relationship with Poara.

‘I wonder which team will come to invite me.’

I sincerely hope the team I’m considering reaches out.