Early morning workout.
I hadn’t seen Eve, Tana, and Hayun for a while, and I was pleased to see them exercising on their own, waving at them with a smile, but the atmosphere felt off.
As soon as Tana and Hayun saw me, they sighed, but Eve approached with clenched fists, taking big strides.
I was about to say hello after not seeing her for so long, but Eve spoke first as she stepped closer.
“I’ve been hearing from people that I only read books. Among those stories, one of the most common is that reality and novels are different.”
“Huh?”
Did she always talk this fast?
It had been a while since I last saw her, and I wanted to pinch her cute chubby cheeks.
“In novels, the female and male leads are usually set in stone, so it’s rare for a third party to interfere. If they do appear, they usually have a clear significance.”
Eve doesn’t just read soft romance novels. She has gone through jealousy, betrayal, infidelity, desire, murder, and more.
Having experienced countless love-related events through books, she’s like an unscathed warrior in a war.
“They say reality can be quite unexpected, and I think I understand that now. As soon as the school trip ended, rumors about you suddenly dating some random girl started circulating, right?”
Oh, here we go again.
Thinking about how I got pushed around by Rin yesterday and then how Sen crashed through my window at night gives me a headache.
I grabbed Eve by the head and shook it gently.
“Get a grip. Do you think I’d suddenly date some weird girl? I’m already taken.”
I am confirmed in a relationship with Eris. That’s it!
I felt satisfied with my short but exhilarating response, but Eve puffed her cheeks and huffed.
“That’s not the answer I wanted.”
“I guess since me and Senior Seria didn’t go on the school trip together, strange rumors started spreading. Let’s not get swayed by that, and let’s just work out.”
Ignoring Eve, who continued to pout beside me, I greeted Tana and Hayun who were following behind.
“Long time no see. You look a bit tanned?”
“I spent all day riding at Taemin Plateau. I’m sick of riding now.”
“I liked it. I heard it had a similar vibe to my mother’s hometown.”
Tana clapped her hands excitedly at Hayun’s words.
“Oh, right! Did you know? Hayun got hit on by locals during our stay at Taemin Plateau a whopping…”
“Hey! We said we wouldn’t talk about that!”
Hayun hurriedly covered Tana’s mouth, but there was one more person who traveled to Taemin Plateau with us. The ever-curious Eve chimed in to reveal the answer.
“Thirteen times in total! Since you stayed for a week, if you had one more, it would have been twice a day. Too bad!”
“Ah, I’m not disappointed at all!”
As Hayun just mentioned, since Taemin Plateau was home to tribesmen from the East, her looks obviously struck their fancy.
“Impressive.”
Honestly, I was amazed.
Eve and Tana didn’t lack in appearance either, but perhaps it had to do with the local flavor?
“…Thanks.”
Maybe she wanted a different kind of response?
Hayun fiddled with her pants, giving a vague reply.
“I’m back.”
Just as Sen, who occupied my room yesterday and turned into a cat, arrived, our long-lost morning workout finally began.
*
Seria Deloa.
Known as the female Ares, she was the one behind the rumors about dating Daniel McLean. Today, on the weekend, she was sprawled on her bed, fast asleep.
The beauty was proving that she sleeps a lot with her entire being and finally woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in a while.
“Oh, it’s a beautiful day.”
The blessings of Helios were pouring through the dorm window. Though she wasn’t particularly religious, today she felt grateful for the deities for no particular reason.
Normally, on weekends, she would bring a few decent male students who followed her like a tail to the city, feasting at fancy restaurants or shopping for luxury goods, but today was not one of those days.
“They probably know by now, right?”
Thinking about how her followers had wept, pleading that it wasn’t true, perhaps by now, Daniel’s room was filled with curse letters?
And they would be ecstatic.
“Seria-senpai is dating Daniel?” They’d be bouncing around in their rooms, giddy with excitement, right?
It was a kid who had liked her ever since their theater days. He’d likely come running to her soon.
After taking a long shower, Seria adorned herself with light makeup and accessories like earrings and necklaces.
She planned to get revenge on Diana McLean, who had bullied her in the past, by targeting her younger brother, Daniel McLean.
She thought to herself how she perfectly acted on the advice: Shoot the horse if you want to catch a knight.
At the moment she opened the door, momentarily forgetting that Daniel was probably feeling flustered, she declared…
“Finally opened.”
A girl who shouldn’t be in the 4th-year dorm was gently pushing Seria aside to enter.
With her short reddish-brown hair, slightly oversized hoodie, and a lollipop in her mouth, she was Mei Plov, the infamous street queen even among the 4th-years, despite being in the 3rd year.
“Let’s have a little chat, senpai.”
“…W-What’s the matter?”
What on earth brings a delinquent like her to visit so suddenly? Everyone knew Mei was close to Daniel, but the 4th years had no way of knowing the details.
She couldn’t understand why Mei was suddenly pushing her against the wall.
“You know about the rumors that you’re dating Daniel, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’ll give you just one warning. He’s mine, you know? Don’t you dare get too comfortable.”
Though she used polite language, her tone sounded like a threat. Seria Deloa felt a rough fear wash over her, nodding her head faintly.
Satisfied with her reaction, Mei slowly released her grip, stepping away from the wall.
“You’re popular and pretty, senpai, so just go after some other dude. You could easily catch someone better than him.”
“Y-Yeah…”
With a satisfied smile, Mei pulled the lollipop from her mouth like a cigarette.
“It’s a good thing I came. If Elise or Rin had been here instead of me… Oh gosh, senpai, you should be really grateful to me.”
“…”
“Then I’ll take your silence as understanding, and I’ll leave now.”
Waving her hand, Mei departed, and Seria was left trembling like a mouse in front of a cat.
But who was Seria, after all?
With her pride as high as the title of female Ares, she was the type who needed to take the lead when it came to men.
Though it was scary, it was also exhilarating.
“Daniel McLean, is more popular than I thought?”
Thinking back, even during the theater, Rin had shown her affection, and other girls had subtly attached themselves to him.
If one had to categorize Seria’s romantic type, she was more akin to a Viking.
Plunder, plunder, plunder.
Perhaps she was more of a worst type than Ares, who kept them around while giving them some leeway.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Seria checked herself in the mirror again. Beautiful, and she was ready for the battlefield.
With confident strides, she marched out the door.
It was the start of a very long day.
*
“…Everyone seems to have gotten stronger than I expected?”
I murmured while watching the workout party finish up. Maybe they heard me, as Eve and Tana shared a sly smile even amid their heavy breathing, forming peace signs with their fingers.
“If we worked that hard, it’d be weird if we didn’t improve.”
“Look at these slender legs!”
“Check out my waistline!”
“Here we go again.”
They’d immediately get all hyped up just from getting a little praise, which made me chuckle. Looks like I can raise the training intensity a bit more.
“Ugh!”
“Is it because the kid has big boobs that she isn’t flexible at all?”
“W-What does that even mean?!”
Right away, I turned my attention away from the two debating that back-and-forth, who were now stretching together, to Sen and Hayun who were in the middle of a duel.
It might seem a bit much to be dueling so early in the morning, but the two appeared to be moving with familiarity.
‘They definitely grew at Batian.’
Normally, Hayun, being a swordsman, would have an advantage over Sen, an assassin, but today they seemed evenly matched.
Hayun seemed a tad flustered by her sudden improvement.
I was about to suggest we go have some breakfast while watching their duel when…
A group of male students came rushing towards us.
They looked like they were protesting, tying headbands around their heads and holding up a massive banner.
No, it wasn’t like a protest.
This was a protest.
Directed at me.
[Let’s break Daniel McLean’s fangs!]
[Men who only see women as tools are trash!]
[Don’t disturb the academy’s morals!]
[Break up with Senpai Seria!]
“……”
*
“Whew.”
Eris, the Guardian of Yggdrasil, took a deep breath in front of the Elgrid alumni, checking her attire. Next to her, the witch Adriana gave a smile and teased her.
“You look beautiful even without trying, you know? Why worry so much when you’re an elf?”
“Still, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him, so I should at least prepare.”
“…You have a point. It has been a while since you’ve seen him.”
Since Daniel had acquired a bad reputation with the witches of the Black Forest, Adriana was actually scared of seeing him after a long time.
However, noticing Adriana’s troubled expression, Eris gently patted her shoulder.
“Don’t think like that. We’re working hard for information to return Diana back to normal. Daniel will understand you well enough.”
“I hope so.”
Murmuring while brushing her braided hair, Adriana’s steps were heavy. Unfortunately, they were sidetracked by a raucous dwarf and a time-constrained beastman.
“Come on, let’s go already!”
“He’s really putting in a lot of effort just to see that human who became a Dragonkin.”
The team comprised of the seven dwarven masters, led by Meister Hatsim Bellock and Lord Raizer, set out on a journey to restore those who were transformed into Dragonkin by the Tudogs.
They had come to the city of Elgrid where the Aios Academy is located, for a brief respite.
“Then about what I mentioned last time…”
“If you mention the Daniel horse transformation thing again, I might actually kill you.”
In a good mood, Adriana tried to poke him again, but Eris blocked her with an ominous smile that revealed her fierce killing intent.
