Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Impossible
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“Lady Bella! Good morning!”
I gave a light wave to the fan who greeted me with an energetic smile and praise. It was just a simple gesture, but the girl clutched her cheeks with both hands, unable to hide her joy.
How enviable. To be able to smile so brightly like that. All I felt was complication after complication.
Azure Flame Guild.
It was a familiar name. I'd heard it in my past life and in this one too.
It was a guild that had already approached me once with a membership offer. An elite group formed under the leadership of Adelin Silveniar.
Just looking at the members alone made it one of the empire's top guilds, destined to spread rumors far and wide.
But why was that name surfacing at this point in time?
The protagonist could only join Azure Flame three years from now. More precisely, after graduating from the academy.
No matter how much freedom the Kairen Chronicles allowed, this timing made it impossible.
So I wanted to dismiss it as some absurd rumor. But where there's smoke, there's fire. There had to be a reason for such talk.
In the end, I had no choice but to check it out myself.
“Yeah, that's right. I joined Alensia's Azure Flame.”
The Painter Girl's words made my heart sink.
Alensia joining Azure Flame itself might not be the core issue. In fact, considering the opportunities and comrades she'd gain from it, it could even be a net positive in the end.
But still, it was way too early.
The timeline had advanced far too much.
The option of Azure Flame only opened up for the protagonist after academy graduation. Even if she took the dropout route, it would still be at least a year later.
The reason was clear. Azure Flame was no ordinary guild. It was a high-tier guild that even a mid-to-late game protagonist, fully specced out, could barely handle.
The guild had earned its fame by achieving feats no other guild could, one after another.
Feats that could put lives at risk. Things the current protagonist couldn't possibly shoulder.
One wrong move, and this world's protagonist could vanish one day.
“What? Getting nervous that she's catching up?”
The Painter Girl smirked, twisting her lips.
“Come to think of it, it's been a while since your last match with Alensia, right? If you fought now, you'd be pretty shocked.”
It was playful provocation. But sadly, I had no intention of playing along.
“Where's Alensia right now?”
“...What? This is a first. You asking about her first.”
Alensia was at the academy's training grounds. Using even break time for training. Maybe she was even more of a workaholic than me.
But thanks to that, I could face her alone in the empty space.
“...Bella?”
Alensia's deep gray eyes widened round. She clearly hadn't expected me to seek her out first.
A brief silence fell. The ever-gentle protagonist stood with her lips pressed tight, waiting for my words.
In the end, I spoke first.
“I heard you joined the Azure Flame Guild.”
Alensia smiled faintly. There was a hint of bitterness in that smile somewhere.
“So you were interested in Azure Flame?”
“Won't academy life be busy enough? You sure you can handle it?”
“I'll make it work somehow.”
Unlike me, the protagonist seemed unconcerned. That casual optimism only fueled my anxiety more.
“You can't.”
I pointed out the reality bluntly.
“...What?”
“Azure Flame Guild. I know it well. You're not ready for it yet. You need to grow more.”
“......I know that.”
The protagonist stepped toward me. I had to tilt my head up slightly to meet her taller gaze.
“But I'll handle it myself.”
“You'll get seriously hurt. You.”
I glared, taking a step closer to her.
“In my eyes... it just looks like you're trying to hold me back, Bella.”
The protagonist showed no sign of accepting my concern. Her resolute gray eyes held a determination no words could pierce.
Stubborn as ever.
Once she set her mind, that unyielding gaze was exactly like her game counterpart—it never wavered.
I didn't want to break that stubbornness. The choice was ultimately hers. Stepping in to change someone else's path felt borderline arrogant.
I just hoped Alensia wouldn't get hurt.
“Bella.”
The protagonist called my name. Her gaze carried not kindness, but a heavy fighting spirit.
“Let's spar.”
The tip of the wooden sword that had been slicing the air now pointed straight at me.
“Spar?”
“Yeah. I want to know just how far I've come.”
A challenge from my rival. No reason to refuse.
As a sign of acceptance, I slightly hiked up my skirt hem to make it easier to reach the garter belt on my thigh.
A fleeting thought crossed my mind then.
What if I lost this spar? Would the protagonist back out of Azure Flame?
Alensia choosing a path not in the game was probably because of me, with high likelihood. Maybe her sense of me as a rival influenced her decision.
If she beat me, she might reconsider joining Azure Flame.
Hmm.
I decided against it.
It felt too much like deception. Plus, intentionally losing would be seen through immediately by the spirit in her bracelet.
“Here I go.”
Alensia's voice signaled the start. It was a low, resolute tone, far from the first words she'd ever spoken to me.
No goodwill in it. Not even friendliness.
Only a clear resolve to surpass me.
The protagonist kicked off and charged.
You'll be pretty shocked if you spar with Alensia again.
The Painter Girl's words flashed through my mind. And I quickly realized it wasn't an exaggeration.
In the blink of an eye, her wooden sword thrust toward my chin. I dodged by turning my head slightly, but the blade twisted trajectory and came at me again.
For a while after, she held the advantage in attacks.
Fast. And now with feints too.
The sharp, refined energy in her sword had evolved several levels beyond before. As expected of the protagonist. She gripped growth faster than anyone.
But still, she had a long way to go. Compared to Roselia, she was far too slow.
After a few exchanges, her attack patterns became predictable. I pre-positioned scrolls along her sword paths. That alone blocked all her assaults effortlessly.
In the end, her wooden sword flew in an arc far away, and the protagonist tumbled to the ground.
“You're strong as ever.”
“......”
The protagonist brushed off her hips with a faint smile. Seeing her relieved expression, I was certain.
No matter what, she would join Azure Flame.
So there was only one thing I could do: help ensure she didn't get hurt.
I pulled out the stack of scrolls from my left side—the ones untouched unlike my right. I picked ten and handed them to the protagonist sitting on the ground.
“Stick one on yourself in emergencies.”
“...What?”
Don't get hurt, idiot.
I decided not to say that. It wasn't something a rival would say.
“...Bella, I can handle it on my own.”
The protagonist refused my scrolls.
But this time, I was the stubborn one. I needed her to take these if I was going to relax even a little.
“Prove it. Come back safe and return these ten to me.”
“Pity?”
“No.”
“Then why give them?”
Her serious gray eyes waited for my answer.
A moment's hesitation. I chose a rival-like response.
“Having someone chasing my back doesn't feel all bad.”
From that day on, Alensia balanced academy classes with Azure Flame Guild activities.
How she managed that grueling schedule was beyond me. I couldn't help but admire the protagonist's stamina anew.
But I was confident I wouldn't fall behind in effort.
“We will now announce the top freshman at Solentia Academy.”
The headmaster's clear voice echoed through the grand hall.
“Cadet Bella.”
My name was called. Countless cadets' gazes poured toward me at once.
I ascended the stage calmly, expression unchanged. The headmaster handed me a bouquet with a pleased look. Cheers erupted from below the podium.
“We expect great things from you going forward, Cadet.”
“Thank you.”
I was recognized. By the headmaster herself, no less—the highest authority at the academy.
Suppressing the smile bubbling up inside and maintaining a blank face was a full-time job.
Soon after, the runner-up freshman was announced.
“Cadet Estella.”
A girl with pale pink hair stood beside me.
I'd never met her in person, but she was impossible to miss. And it wasn't just because I was a reincarnator.
“Kyaaah! You're so pretty, Saintess!”
The flood of cheers for her alone hinted she was no ordinary figure.
One of the early members sticking by the protagonist alongside the Painter Girl. Saintess Estella. A character who grew alongside the protagonist.
The headmaster's speech soon concluded, and I descended the podium with Estella, each cradling our bouquets.
Estella bolted straight toward someone. A faint blush on her cheeks conveyed pure excitement.
That fresh, bubbly demeanor from the girl. There was only one person who could make the Saintess light up like that: Alensia.
But no.
The Saintess's footsteps led to the very last person I could've predicted.
“Camilla! I got runner-up! What do you think? Pretty impressive, right?”
The Saintess bounced like a child, eyes sparkling with thrill.
Beside her stood a girl so expressionless she made the Saintess's energy seem dull.
My little sister, Camilla.
She rolled her eyes and shoved the Saintess away.
“...Annoying.”
“Come on! At least compliment me once!”
In that unbelievable scene, I blinked blankly.
Did she sense my gaze?
Camilla's eyes turned to me.
Looking at my stunned face, she brought a hand to her mouth and mouthed words.
'I told you I had a friend.'
Thud—
The bouquet slipped powerlessly from my hand to the floor.
Impossible.
This had to be a dream.
Camilla... had a friend?