“That’s right. Among lovers in Korea, there’s a culture where girlfriends make gimbap lunchboxes to gift to their boyfriends,” Bella said in a calm voice.
Hearing this, Olivia’s face turned bright red up to her ears.
“Th-th-there’s no need for such nonsense!!!”
Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and yelled out.
“W-w-wait, a couple? That’s impossible! I can’t even imagine that! A scoundrel like him and a noble French princess like me dating?! Th-that’s a situation that would never exist until the universe ends! France would turn upside down!!”
It was absurd.
Though she did acknowledge it.
Sometimes, she might even see a shadow of her brother in him…
“Anyway, that’s not true. You’re completely wrong!”
Olivia shook her head vigorously.
That absolutely cannot happen.
She placed her hand over her heart and took a deep breath.
“D-don’t ever talk about such useless things again! Bella!”
Olivia, hugging her pillow like a doll, looked at Bella with a pouty face.
“Understood, Your Highness. So, what will be the menu?”
Back to the menu talk.
Olivia shut her mouth.
She rested her chin on the pillow she was hugging.
“Uggghhh…”
Olivia groaned.
Her pretty brow tightened.
No matter how much she thought, there was no sharp idea.
“How about gimbap, then? In Korea, it’s not just for couples; it’s a popular lunchbox item exchanged between family and friends as well.”
“Y-you should have said that earlier!!”
Olivia opened her eyes wide in annoyance.
She muttered under her breath.
“I was worried for no reason. I thought there might be some useless misunderstanding… Ugh…”
Olivia’s cheeks flushed a deep red.
“Then I’ll take that as a decision for gimbap.”
“Do as you please, Bella. Hmph.”
Bella smiled at Olivia’s rough reply.
Buried in her pillow, Olivia searched for gimbap on her phone.
‘Gimbap, what kind of food is this?’
Her gaze fixed on the gimbap pictures on her phone.
Bella quietly smiled as she watched her.
*
What absolute nonsense.
She shook her head to dispel the pointless thoughts.
Since entering school, every day had been so spectacular that pointless distractions seemed to be increasing.
She took out her phone and texted Han Seo-Jin.
[Did you call me, candidate?]
A quick reply as always.
[I have a request.]
[Please feel free to tell me.]
[Olivia and I have decided to go cherry blossom viewing this time. I was hoping you could spread this rumor around the academy. Something like, ‘me and her are going to Inokashira Park to enjoy the cherry blossom festival.’ Is that possible?]
Nishizawa Eri.
To lure her in, a rumor was needed.
Specifically, a rumor that Olivia was going cherry blossom viewing with her.
“Hey, I heard a rumor that you’re going on a flower viewing with me.”
Once Nishizawa Eri hears that, she’s definitely going to tail me.
That’s one more force to deal with the gate and Vulture.
The more power, the better.
That way, I have less to do.
“Let’s see how everyone rolls in the mud.”
I can’t be the only one to get dirty.
Everyone else needs to roll around in the muck too.
[That’s totally possible. Please trust me.]
[You come along as a guard too. Not too close, but like a shadow from afar.]
[Understood. It’s an honor, recruit!]
After seeing Han Seo-Jin’s last message, I turned off my phone and put it in my pocket.
All the cards are on the table.
What’s left is the duel with Shinozaki Rin and the cherry blossom viewing.
Here we go again.
Shuo Hero Academy.
Main Arena.
At the very top of the huge circular stadium resembling a soccer field, there’s a sky lounge.
The special seats where only academy VIPs can sit give a clear view of the student duels.
A man walked into the lounge, furnished with luxurious sofas, wine coolers, and various drinks.
A middle-aged handsome man with green hair and gloomy eyes.
The President of the Japan Hero Association, Shinozaki Ichiro.
A sultry voice whispers in his ear.
“It’s been a while, Ichiro-kun.”
Ichiro turns his gaze toward the source of the voice.
There sits a girl.
A beautiful girl who looks about 15, dressed in a black gothic dress, with a frilly hairband and a black lace parasol in her left hand.
Her face carries a seductive smile that doesn’t match her appearance.
Her white hair sways.
Her blood-red eyes fixate on Ichiro.
Ichiro bows politely to the white-haired girl.
“How have you been, Director?”
“Oh, it’s not often I’ve been well since that day ten years ago. Did you say that knowing?”
The white-haired beauty, the director of Shuo Hero Academy.
‘White Empress’ Yoshizaki Seira.
The only survivor of the Five Crowns scans Ichiro with her gaze.
She takes a sip of the wine held in her right hand.
Although it’s absurd considering her appearance, Seira is actually over 60 years old.
Before such an ancient being who has lived since the pre-catastrophe era, even the great Shinozaki Ichiro wouldn’t dare be reckless.
“That wasn’t my intention. I apologize.”
Ichiro bows his head.
For Seira, ten years ago is a forbidden topic.
That day, she was betrayed and nearly killed by her cherished disciple whom she treated like a child.
The reason Seira appears as a 15-year-old girl is that she hasn’t yet regained her prime strength due to that day’s wounds.
“I was joking. Come, sit down.”
“Yes, Director.”
Ichiro takes a seat.
The plush, luxurious sofa hugs his back.
As Seira snaps her fingers, the black lace parasol in her hand floats up into the air.
Swish.
With her hands free, Seira fills the wine glass in front of her.
“Drink up.”
“Thank you, Director.”
Ichiro takes a sip of the wine.
The warm alcohol fills him up.
“So, what brings you here today? Did you really have to come all this way because you wanted to observe that recruit?”
Seira clicks her tongue.
“Tsk. Kids these days, tsk tsk. They don’t know how to respect their elders.”
She rarely shows up at the academy unless it’s a significant event.
There’s really no reason for her to observe a first-year duel class.
Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t outside observers for the first-year classes.
Shuo Hero Academy is the best in Japan and one of the world’s top hero academies.
The world’s top-notch prestigious Hero Academy.
Scouts from numerous defense companies and clans worldwide are currently watching from the stands to assess the skills of the first-year students.
However, it’s unprecedented for the President of the Japan Hero Association to personally attend.
She had no choice but to step in to match the stature of the attendees.
“Sorry.”
“Hah, apologizing now is like trying to scoop up spilled water. Just answer my question. Is it because of your daughter? Or is it Akira’s son? Or is it both?”
“Well…”
Ichiro chuckled at Seira’s audacity to casually mention the name of Japan’s legendary hero, the Sword Master, whom he had adored and loathed all his life.
“I’ll just say it’s a whim.”
“You’re such an insincere one.”
Seira clicked her tongue while sipping her wine.
She pressed a button on the remote control on the desk.
“The match for Akira’s son is just starting now.”
Beep.
The large monitor in the lounge turned on.
A scene unfolded with a blonde thug holding a pistol and a dark-haired pretty boy, Kurosawa Yuji, wielding a Japanese sword, facing off.
“Which side do you think will win?”
Seira threw the question at Ichiro.
Ichiro closed his eyes.
“If that spoiled brat loses, he doesn’t even qualify to call himself the son of the Sword Master, Akira Kurosawa.”
To Ichiro, the Sword Master, Akira Kurosawa, was that kind of existence.
No matter how hard he tried, reaching him was something impossible, like touching the sky.
It was the wall he had desired to surpass countless times but ultimately couldn’t even in the end.
The fact that the only surviving heir of such a great hero was merely F-rank did not sit well with him.
“Looks like Akira’s son will win.”
“Think what you want.”
Considering he beat Shinozaki Rin, there is potential.
But he still didn’t measure up to the level of calling himself the son of the Sword Master.
Ichiro could not yet recognize him as the successor of the Kurosawa’s swordsmanship.
He still could not accept the world overshadowed by Kurosawa.
“The Sword Master was a great man, but a star that has already fallen. I must erase all the shadows he left behind in this world.”
The future would belong to the Shinozaki clan.
Ichiro vowed this.
It was the last stand of someone who could never surpass the Sword Master, who both admired and hated him for his entire life.
“The match is over. Akira’s son has emerged victorious.”
Ichiro opened his eyes.
His eyebrows twitched.
“The next match is… Your daughter vs. the Korean student. I’ve heard there’s a lot riding on this match. Are you okay with that?”
“It’s just youthful impetuousness. I’m not really concerned.”
“Oh, is that so? Even with a Dōgeza at stake?”
Seira asked playfully with a flirtatious smile.
Dōgeza.
Rin had heard such reports.
Even if she was an adopted daughter, she was still a member of the Shinozaki family.
If she lost in a match where the Dōgeza was at stake, it would damage the family’s prestige.
However.
“Shinozaki Rin cannot lose.”
That’s impossible.
She was a daughter adopted after careful consideration of compatibility and talent.
There’s no way she would ever lose to a mere C-rank student from a small nation named after a genius like Kurosawa or the French Knight Princess.
“You seem to care quite a bit for your daughter.”
“She’s just a useful tool.”
“Tsk, tsk. For an association president, you’re quite insincere…”
Seira clicked her tongue.
Her red eyes narrowed.
Seira knows.
She knows that the man before her actually cares for Shinozaki Rin.
The fact that I’m keeping it in mind.
“What do you think, President? About the outcome of this match?”
Ichiro shifts the topic.
A smirk forms at the corner of Seira’s mouth.
“Trying to change the subject, huh? Fine. I’ll indulge you this once. My prediction is… I’ll bet on the Korean student winning.”
“Looks like your instincts have dulled, President.”
Ichiro’s eyes gleam sharply.
Swish.
Seira fans herself with a silk fan adorned with lace, covering her mouth.
“The student who caused a stir by defeating the French Knight Princess on the first day of school. Shinozaki Rin won’t let herself lose.”
“The Platinum Knight Princess lost due to carelessness. Shinozaki Rin won’t be careless.”
Seira chuckles at Ichiro, who passionately defends Shinozaki Rin without realizing it.
“Alright. I understand. The results will be out soon; we’ll see who the winner will be.”
“Understood.”
With that, Ichiro and Seira fix their gazes on the screen.
*
The protagonist’s match has ended.
The result, unsurprisingly, is the protagonist’s victory.
Not shocking at all given he’s a power-greedy guy.
“Kurosawa won again?”
“No way.”
“Does that mean the last duel’s result wasn’t just luck?”
“How could an F-rank do this…!!”
The audience begins to buzz with cliché remarks.
I look around.
Even though it’s a first-year duel class, the stands are packed.
I can spot second and third-year students among the crowd.
In the distance, the special seats for the scout from the defense company clan are unusually full too.
It’s all because the news of Ichiro’s attendance has spread.
With the President of the Japan Hero Association present, everyone’s hoping to snag some leftovers.
‘This is ridiculous.’
My gaze naturally drifts toward the sky lounge.
Designed so the outside can’t see inside, Ichiro and Yoshizaki Seira, the academy president, must be in there.
‘So Yoshizaki Seira is watching, huh.’
She’s the typical “girl whose age doesn’t match her appearance” heroine character featured in light novels.
In volume 11, her title heroine role revolves around the “betraying disciple.”
The core of the story is defeating the villain, “Professor,” a past disciple out to harm Seira, and healing her wounded heart.
‘Thinking about the Professor gives me a headache again. That guy is ridiculously strong.’
This kind of mess is something the protagonist should handle.
While I’m lost in thought.
“Excuse me.”
Olivia, sitting next to me as always, speaks up.
“Excuse me!”
“What?”
“Aren’t you surprised? That Kurosawa Yuji beat Ishihara?”
I thought it must be something important.
But it’s just a trivial matter.
Knowing the original story, there’s no need to say anything.
I decide to brush it off.
“What’s there to be surprised about? Shinozaki Rin beat him too.”
“W-Well, that’s true but…”
“I beat you too, you know.”
“You didn’t have to say that!!”
Olivia yells.
Eyes from the nearby crowd turn toward me.
“What on earth did they just say?”
“Looks like the rumors are true; he’s treating the princess as his personal maid.”
“Typical of his appearance, he’s a scoundrel… Scary…”
“He must be doing unspeakable things at night! Amazing…”
“I heard they even went cherry blossom viewing together? Shocked…”
“Shinozaki has to defeat that scumbag for sure…”
I can hear the buzz of the crowd.
