Hug Me
No matter who it was, if something exciting or interesting happened, their eyes naturally went that way.
Of course, I was no different, and an incredibly stimulating, intense scene drew my gaze at once.
- Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Raging flames devoured most of the space with terrifying hunger, growing larger and larger as they greedily swallowed up every shred of mana left in the surroundings.
And the one wielding that beastlike Yeomhwa was Yoon Hwayeon, the top entrant of Sielm Academy.
Her mastery of mana and command over the battlefield were worthy of her reputation as top of the class. Though she was a magic major, not a combat major like Han Riae, she was still holding her own in close combat against Riae to a surprising degree.
- Whoosh, whoosh, thud!
“Urk…”
Of course, holding her own didn’t mean she was on equal footing. The moment it turned into close combat, Riae kept landing clean hits on her without fail.
- Fwoosh!
But Yoon Hwayeon wasn’t about to lose either, and she retaliated by hurling scorching flames at Riae.
As I’d seen in the friendly match between Miel Norison and Han Riae earlier, Riae’s greatest strength in combat against other people was her battlefield control.
She moved effortlessly from place to place, found the advantage in an instant, and brought the fight to a swift and decisive end.
It was a style only Riae could use, because no other combat major had mana circulation that warmed up this absurdly fast and then turned the body into a weapon with such explosive force.
But that kind of fighting style didn’t seem to work very well on Yoon Hwayeon. It was true that Riae’s mana circulation warmed up at an unbelievable speed, but Hwayeon was casting without any warm-up at all, mixing her fire with the mana already spread through the area and flinging it everywhere, so…
Riae must have anticipated that too, because she was already darting out of the spreading flames and charging straight at Hwayeon.
After several rounds of exchange.
No matter how crazily Riae pumped mana through her body to fight, the fact that she was second place wasn’t just for show, and she was dragging the battle out longer than expected.
Even Hwayeon, who was better suited to prolonged combat, had a smaller core vessel to hold mana than Riae did. And maybe because she couldn’t control her emotions, she’d been throwing fire all over the place until her mana had finally run dry.
- “Want to finish this with one final attack?”
With both sides exhausted, Hwayeon made the suggestion.
- “Sounds good to me…”
Riae looked just as worn out and accepted without hesitation.
Even with my own eyes, I could tell Riae’s mana was almost completely spent.
- Fwoosh…
That same flaming bow I’d seen before, the one that formed burning arrows, appeared once again as Hwayeon drew the string taut and aimed at Riae.
Riae, too, gathered every last shred of mana left in her body and poured it into her arms and legs.
As if they’d agreed to it beforehand, Hwayeon’s arrow and Riae’s figure collided at the exact same instant.
- “Whoa! That looks so cool!”
- “Could you even survive getting hit by that?”
- “I’m voting no, lol. Isn’t Riae the second-place student anyway?”
- “Hey, but I heard Riae scored higher in practicals.”
The cadets traded opinions as if they were watching a legendary action-movie scene.
Whoa… wow…
Far from the crowd of cadets, I just stood there staring with my mouth hanging open.
That was just a cadet sparring match? It was no less flashy or intense than a fight between famous hunters.
No wonder the 273rd class at Sielm was called the golden generation.
- Tap… tap…
- “That little bitch… huhh… I won…”
Amid the smoke that burst apart with a crack, Riae had endured the final attack and weakly muttered as she tapped Hwayeon’s chest.
Hwayeon laughed as if she couldn’t believe it, then collapsed flat on the ground, apparently completely out of mana.
From what I could see, she still had a little mana left, so I thought she’d be fine…
The problem was right next to her.
Having run out of mana entirely, the Yeomhwa blazing only with magic was quickly extinguished, and at the center of the stage stood a swaying Riae.
The problem was that, even to the eye and even through mana erosion, I couldn’t feel a trace of mana left in Riae at all.
Unlike Hwayeon, who was still conscious, Riae was staggering like she might actually lose consciousness any second.
Huh?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my body was already running toward Riae.
The fire barrier had already opened the instant Hwayeon’s Yeomhwa was extinguished, and since most of the cadets had been watching from behind the stage, there was nothing to stop me from getting to her.
“P-Please, wake up!”
Seeing Riae on the verge of blacking out made tears spring to my eyes for some reason.
Why?
For some reason, it felt like she was leaving me behind, and that terrified me all at once. It reminded me of the last time I’d fainted and panic had come crashing down on me.
- Cling
“H-huh?”
“Riae, are you okay?”
Just like Riae had done for me before, I hugged her tightly.
Of course, because of the difference in height, it ended up looking more like I was clinging to Riae than anything else…
“Huh? Ah, yeah, I’m okay now, Paran…”
The lifeless eyes that had looked ready to die in a few seconds regained their light, returning to the usual gaze Riae always gave me.
Her breathing was normal again. Her heartbeat, too. Her hair, though disheveled, still looked like well-kept golden dandelion fluff.
And her ruby-red eyes were looking at me the same way they had when she’d once held me in her arms.
Her core, which had seemed to stop working for a moment, had found its purpose again and was once more generating mana.
Ah…
Feeling Riae’s body return to normal made warm tears spill from my eyes before I even realized it.
“Oh my, Paran! Why are you crying…?”
“Because Riae got better…”
“Heh… I’m always fine, so don’t worry. Now stop crying.”
Riae soothed me in the same soft voice she always used with me, gently patting my head.
It was such a childish thing to say, but hearing her words made my tears stop before I knew it.
“Whoa, for real? She got better just because she met her boyfriend?”
Just as we were laughing playfully while feeling each other’s warmth, Yoon Hwayeon, who had been slowly getting back up beside us, opened her mouth.
Wait. Boyfriend?
“You two lovey-dovey little lovebirds are on the sparring stage right now, you know?? There are plenty of spectators, so could you please get down already~”
Hwayeon rubbed her throbbing head and spoke to Riae and me in a teasing tone.
Only then did I suddenly become aware of where I was standing.
This was a cadet spar to gauge the level of the students in Yoon Hwayeon and Han Riae’s afternoon major class.
And during that class, a male cadet had run up onto the stage. Worse, that cadet was the special-case transfer student who had been making waves on the internet lately, the one people were claiming was romantically involved with Riae.
The idiot who should clearly have been taking special classes was here in the advanced class, being held in the arms of the second-place student, Riae, while she affectionately stroked his head.
Uh…
Wasn’t that the kind of thing anyone would write an article about?
No matter how you looked at it, this was a nuisance. It was absurd.
For someone who couldn’t even handle advanced lectures to be acting like this in an advanced class…
Along with the intense stares from around us, I could feel their emotions and thoughts through mana erosion as well.
Well, envy and jealousy were only natural. There was also the question of why I was here, and the awe I’d been feeling for some time now—the kind I still didn’t understand the reason for.
“Ugh… He’s not my boyfriend! Let’s go down already, Paran.”
“Ah, y-yes…”
Riae snapped at Hwayeon while correcting our relationship.
Not her boyfriend, huh…
For some reason, I felt a little disappointed too.
“Yeees~ yeees~ Could the non-couples please make your exit?”
Hwayeon finished speaking carelessly, as if to say there was no room for argument, and dragged Riae and me off the stage.
.
.
.
After Yoon Hwayeon and Han Riae’s afternoon major class ended, the three of us—Hwayeon, Riae, and I—met up to talk for a while.
And the very first thing Riae did after we met was…
- “Here, Paran~”
She patted her thigh lightly, calling me over.
She’d said she’d make room for me in the café, but for some reason the table had only been set for two.
- Thump
There wasn’t really anywhere else for me to sit, and it felt weird to pull up a chair from another table, and by the time I was even thinking about that, I’d already unconsciously climbed into Riae’s arms.
- “Our Paran is such a good kid, yes he is~”
At the entrance ceremony, even though I’d refused, Riae had picked me up and sat me on her lap. This time, I’d gone and sat directly on her thigh myself.
Riae seemed quite pleased, because she wore a satisfied expression and gently ran her fingers through my hair.
“Excuse me, Mister Paran!”
Just as I was basking in that warm, fluffy feeling, Hwayeon’s voice pulled me out of the vessel of desire I’d sunk into.
“Y-yes!”
“Ahaha, don’t panic. I’m going to order coffee—do you want anything else?”
The sudden volume startled me so badly my words came out strangely.
Um…
I didn’t especially like coffee.
The pure mana from mana erosion kept my mind awake anyway, so I didn’t really feel a need for caffeine, and I also disliked coffee’s bitter taste.
“I-I’ll have hot chocolate…”
While I was studying the menu and thinking it over, the moment I saw hot chocolate, I chose it immediately.
I liked chocolate, so my eyes went straight to it.
“Okay~ okay~ Riae, you just order what you were going to order, then?”
“Yep~ A yuzu smoothie for me~”
Was that the source of the yuzu scent I always noticed? Riae chose a drink made from yuzu as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
While we waited for the drinks, I stayed in Riae’s arms. The place that had felt so uncomfortable during the entrance ceremony now felt warmer and cozier than my dorm bed.
- “Iced latte, hot chocolate, and yuzu smoothie are ready!”
A little later, our drinks arrived, and the three of us gathered to talk.
“By the way, Paran, normally you’d still be in class right now. How did you end up coming to our advanced class today?”
“Um… well…”
In response to Riae’s question, I started explaining what had happened.
Basically, I’d sparred this time with a new weapon, an axe, and in the middle of the match Professor Seres had caused an explosion and class had suddenly been interrupted.
“Really? What in the world happened…? To think a professor would just end class on her own with the cadets still there…”
“Well, that is strange. Mister Paran.”
Hearing my explanation, Riae sounded flustered, and Hwayeon, who seemed to be assessing the situation, spoke next.
“Mister Paran, do you happen to know what kind of person Professor Seres is?”
“Um…?”
Seres Erasian.
My afternoon one-on-one special class professor.
I’d assumed she was some kind of first-grade hunter, more or less.
“Professor Seres… she’s ranked 152nd among first-grade hunters! She even used to operate in the Southwest Abyss!”
“What?!”
I had expected Professor Seres to be a first-grade hunter, but hearing such a high rank out of nowhere left me speechless.
Just looking around me, Professor Han Seohwa, the teacher in charge of Wolchun Class, was ranked 256th.
A hunter with a ranking that was a hundred places higher than that…
Wait.
Then why on earth had she done that during class just now?
The more I thought about it, the less I understood the situation, and Hwayeon kept speaking.