The Bet
After the festival ended, Jeong Hayeon stepped into a nearby café. She sipped her coffee slowly, replaying the day's events in her mind. The festival had been the worst. Not a single one of the places she was supposed to visit with Radeon had been checked off. Still, it wasn't all terrible. Nam Doyun's clumsy attempts to comfort her—chattering away at her side—had actually been kind of cute.
"If my swordsmanship really turns out to be more beautiful than his, how about you give up on him?"
Jeong Hayeon let out a small snort of laughter. He'd gone so far as to say something so ridiculous just to look good in front of her. Honestly, it was a little adorable. But it was still nonsense. She'd never once seen that guy use a sword. In contrast, Radeon had been swinging one since he could walk, a hardworking training fanatic who never slacked off. On top of that, he possessed an overwhelming, innate talent for swordsmanship. There was no way Doyun could possibly beat him.
She didn't read any deeper meaning into what Nam Doyun had said. He'd probably just blurted it out because he wanted to impress her. The usual bravado boys that age put on when they like a girl. Yeah, that had to be it, she thought.
Ding-ding—
The café door opened, and a girl walked in. Jeong Hayeon waved at her.
"Over here, Minseo."
She came over and sat across from her.
"Hey, Hayeon. You said you had something bothering you today. What happened?"
"It's not really... anything else."
Kim Minseo was one of the few friends Jeong Hayeon could open up to without holding back. Hayeon hesitated, then finally spoke.
"The truth is... I like someone."
"What? For real? That's huge. Who? Who is it?"
Kim Minseo's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Well... that's a secret, but anyway, there's someone I like."
"Okay. And?"
"The person I like... doesn't seem interested in me at all..."
"What? Seriously?"
"Yeah..."
"...That doesn't even make sense?"
"What doesn't make sense?"
"I mean, with your face, Hayeon, even a guy who wasn't interested should start paying attention, right?"
"......"
"Or maybe you just haven't confessed yet?"
"...If I confess and get rejected, we couldn't even stay friends. Just imagining that hurts too much. The thought of not even being able to stay friends with him..."
Jeong Hayeon made a pained expression.
"Aww, don't worry about that. He's not interested because you haven't confessed. With a face like yours, Hayeon, any guy would welcome it with open arms."
"You really... think so?"
Jeong Hayeon smiled shyly, her cheeks turning pink.
"Of course. Come on, Hayeon. Have some confidence. If you confess, all one hundred out of one hundred guys would say yes."
"...You think?"
"Absolutely. Hayeon, what you're lacking isn't feminine charm—it's confidence. Just be confident."
"...Thanks."
"So when are you going to confess?"
"...I was thinking of calling him right now."
"Really?"
"...Yeah."
Jeong Hayeon fiddled with her phone. She began dialing Radeon's number.
I was sitting in the café and happened to overhear Jeong Hayeon and Kim Minseo's conversation. That was one of the worst possible routes. In that scenario, Jeong Hayeon confesses to Radeon, gets rejected, falls into deep despair, and ends up contracting with a high-ranking demonic being. I had to stop that from happening no matter what.
I quickly left the café and dialed Jeong Hayeon's phone.
Ring—
Inside the café, her phone started ringing.
Jeong Hayeon's phone rang.
[Call - Nam Doyun]
Jeong Hayeon tilted her head in confusion. Nam Doyun...? Why was he suddenly calling?
"Minseo, I'll be right back. I need to take this."
"Sure."
Jeong Hayeon stepped outside the café.
"Hello?"
She answered the phone.
"You didn't forget, did you?"
"Forget what?"
"That if I show off swordsmanship more beautiful than Radeon's, you'll give up on him."
"What?"
Had he taken that seriously? She'd just answered without thinking because his attempt at bravado was cute, but this guy was treating it like a real promise.
"Why should I listen to anything you say?"
"Because Radeon will never give up on Cha Jiyun."
".....How much do you even know about Radeon to say something like that?"
Her expression darkened.
"You already know it too, don't you? That Radeon won't give up on Cha Jiyun."
"......Hey, watch your mouth."
"Putting all that aside, you already answered me. You said if I display swordsmanship more beautiful than Radeon's, you'd give up on him."
"...You were actually serious about that?"
"Yeah. It wasn't a joke. I meant it."
"......"
"I'm going to have a spar with Radeon at the next festival. You can just come watch then."
"......"
Jeong Hayeon stared blankly. Had this guy taken some weird pills? He was really serious about that?
"Say something that actually makes sense. I've never even seen you use a sword. You're saying you'll beat Radeon?"
"Yeah. I was completely serious."
"You're insane."
Jeong Hayeon hung up the phone.
Ring— Ring—
The moment she ended the call, it started ringing again. Jeong Hayeon lightly ignored it. He'd probably get tired and give up soon.
[‘Nam Doyun’ - 10 Missed Calls]
Ring— Ring—
"......"
But the phone kept ringing. Jeong Hayeon let out a deep sigh and finally answered.
"You clearly said it. If I show off swordsmanship more beautiful than Radeon's, you'll give up on him."
"Yeah, I said that. So what?"
"Keep your promise. If I win, you give up on Radeon."
"Why should I listen to you?"
Nam Doyun let out a heavy sigh. It didn't seem like she'd listen to him at all. Maybe it was time to poke a little.
"Ah... or are you scared that Radeon might actually lose to me?"
"...What kind of bullshit is that?"
"Otherwise there's no reason to reject my offer. Since Radeon will win anyway."
"....Fine. What if you lose?"
"If I lose?"
"Yeah. If you lose, what will you do?"
"If I lose? I'll drop out of the academy."
".....What?"
"You're giving up on Radeon. I should at least stake something of equal weight for the bet to be fair, right?"
".....Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I'm serious."
She let out a disbelieving laugh. There was no way he could display swordsmanship superior to Radeon's. This wasn't even a real bet. It was a game Nam Doyun was guaranteed to lose.
"Alright. If you really beat Radeon—or even if you manage to land a single hit during the sword duel—I'll give up on him."
"Really? You promise."
"Sure. If you actually win, that is."
Jeong Hayeon hung up the phone. At this point, he should give up on his own. He'd even staked dropping out of the academy. Logically, it was impossible for him to even graze Radeon once. There was no way he'd go through with a fight he was obviously going to lose. Especially not with dropping out on the line.
The next day, during the end-of-day homeroom.
"Alright, everyone worked hard today. You all know that starting tomorrow, external instructors invited from various guilds will be coming, right?"
"Yes."
"If there's a guild you want to join, make sure to go take the test. That concludes today's homeroom."
Elphon Academy had partnerships with several top guilds and mercenary groups. Those organizations would select promising candidates from the academy, and upon graduation, they'd recruit them into their ranks. For the academy, having its graduates join prestigious guilds and mercenary companies greatly boosted its reputation. Since it was mutually beneficial, the system had been maintained without change.
"Of course he wouldn't actually do it."
Jeong Hayeon muttered under her breath. She hadn't heard a single word all day about Nam Doyun challenging Radeon to a sword duel. If he had really applied for one, the rumor would've spread across the entire school by now. Jeong Hayeon let out a small laugh. So it really was just empty bravado. Well, it wasn't exactly wrong of him. There was zero chance of him winning that fight anyway. It was the perfectly rational decision, especially with dropping out on the line.
With that thought, she walked over to Nam Doyun, who was sitting behind her.
"Hey, Doyun. Hi?"
"Yeah."
Nam Doyun answered dryly.
"You made the right choice."
"About what?"
"Not going through with that bet we talked about yesterday."
"What are you talking about?"
"You were going to have a sword duel bet with Deon, right? You're not doing it anymore?"
Slide—
At that moment, the front door opened and a student burst in.
"Guys! Huge news! This is insane!"
In an instant, every student's eyes in the class turned to him.
"What's got you so worked up?"
"Nam Doyun and Radeon are having a sword duel at the next festival!"
"What? For real?"
"Yeah. Posters just went up all over the hallway. They're officially dueling at the next festival."
"Whoa, that's crazy."
"The top student versus the dead last? Isn't that way too obvious?"
Jeong Hayeon stepped out into the hallway for a moment to check the poster herself.
[‘Nam Doyun’ vs ‘Radeon’ (Sword Duel)]
"......"
Jeong Hayeon stared at Nam Doyun in silence. Was he crazy?