Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Completely Different Hearts
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As Luna moved her lips without a sound, I found myself focusing on them for a moment.
And I roughly understood what she meant.
‘Don’t… get… closer… to Millia?’
Just as I was wondering if I had understood correctly, Luna repeated the movement with her lips, confirming I had heard right.
A warning not to get any closer to Millia.
And the moment I realized it.
“…”
I couldn't help but let out a silent laugh.
“Hm? Han Cheon-seong. Why the sudden laugh?”
Millia must have seen me, as she paused eating her dessert to ask. I just shook my head.
“Oh, it's nothing. The dessert just looked so good, I guess it made me smile.”
“…Really? I didn’t know you liked desserts that much.”
“Well, I don’t dislike them.”
I wasn’t a fan of overly sweet desserts, but I did quite enjoy things like apple pie, which had fruit pulp or purée.
As I thought this, I glanced at Luna. She was poking at her dessert with a fork, as if she hadn't been looking at me at all.
‘Seriously, she thinks like a child.’
The thought of Luna, fretting over the possibility of me stealing her best friend, struck a chord with me.
And now I finally understood. Why Luna had been so quiet and silent. Why she had so meekly accepted sitting with me. All of it.
Wasn't it likely because she didn't know what I would do?
It felt less like she was trying to simply block my approach and more like she was here specifically to tell me not to get close to Millia.
Luna was the type who couldn’t stand uncertainty. She must have realized that simply rejecting me wasn’t the answer.
*Stab.*
As I cut a bite-sized piece of my apple pie and brought it to my mouth, I found the situation strangely fascinating.
The fluttering in my chest I'd felt while looking at Millia had already subsided, and in its place, the answers to my various questions were filling the void.
*Clink. Clink...*
Time passed as we each ate our desserts and calmly enjoyed our drinks.
The only conversation that flowed between us was me humoring Millia's curious questions. Luna only spoke up very occasionally to join in.
And all the while, Luna’s gaze was fixed.
Ever since she had mouthed those words to me, her gaze had been fixed on me.
She kept sneaking glances at me, trying to act casual, but her eyes held a desperate plea for me to heed her words. And that look of hers was, well… both absurd and cute.
The ill feelings I’d held toward Luna until now melted away like snow.
‘So I was struggling all this time, trying to read the mood of a girl who’s basically a child.’
The fact that I had wasted so much emotion harboring ill will toward Luna… it made me feel like the fool.
Luna was simply expressing her feelings, showing her true self. In fact, it was an incredibly pure display.
It wasn't as if I were a child forcefully snatching a toy from another, yelling, "It's mine!" when they had already claimed it.
I thought about it for a moment, weighing my options.
‘If I get closer to Millia here…’
If that were to happen, Luna would undoubtedly resent me deeply. It was obvious she would come to hate me or at least make her dislike for me clear. When it came to Millia, Luna was reckless.
But on the other hand, if I could use this strange relationship to my advantage… wouldn't that change everything?
Luna's trait.
—Battle Cure.
Among the many traits, healing types were exceptionally valuable. And among them, Luna's Battle Cure was so effective it was practically cheating.
It was so outstanding that it couldn't possibly be considered a mere rare trait; even readers of the original story often called it unbalanced.
There was a reason Luna was one of the main heroines. People even joked that it was just heroine plot armor.
In a crisis during the latter half of the story, it was Luna's Battle Cure trait that miraculously saved Leonhardt when he was on the brink of death. If I could get on her good side, it would be an incredibly reliable trait to have.
In the days to come, with field training and off-campus assignments, danger would be lurking everywhere. It wouldn't be strange to get injured at any time. If I could count on Luna's goodwill… nothing could be more ideal.
*Clink.*
As I brought another piece of apple pie to my mouth, I found myself viewing this reality with cold detachment.
—Luna and Millia.
Key figures in this world, characters of great importance.
It would be laughable to say I had the right to choose between them, but a similar possibility seemed quite plausible.
Then, suddenly, I noticed Millia subtly looking my way.
“…”
“…”
As our eyes met in silence, Millia gave a soft smile and abruptly looked away. It was almost as if she were flirting, making it seem like she had feelings for me.
But what those feelings were… I wasn't sure yet.
‘It’s just… strange.’
Luna, a heroine of guaranteed value, was worth prioritizing over everything else.
No matter how many priceless, high-grade potions I acquired, they would never compare to the Battle Cure trait that Luna would later master.
What in the world could be more valuable than having your life saved?
As my thoughts deepened, I began to have strange thoughts about Millia instead.
The idea that Millia had fallen for me at first sight, or that she liked me, seemed like an overly optimistic view of the situation.
As I looked at her, the fluttering in my chest had now completely vanished.
“Han Cheon-seong. Where are you heading after the café?”
Millia’s sudden question startled me.
“After the café?”
“Yeah. We still have a lot of time left after this. Neither Luna nor I have any plans. If you’re okay with it, would you like to go to the training hall together?”
Her unexpected suggestion made her intentions even more unclear to me. But ironically, it fit my own plans perfectly.
Whether I ended up befriending them or not, my next destination was the C-Class Training Hall.
‘It would be best if I could use Kalli’s private practice room, but…’
That was something I’d have to discuss with Kalli to see if I could go there again. It wasn’t a place I could just come and go as I pleased.
Organizing my thoughts, I smiled brightly.
“I'd appreciate that. I was planning on going to the training hall anyway. So, Luna… what about you? Want to come along?”
I casually directed the question to Luna. Her brow furrowed noticeably for a moment, but as I held her gaze, she didn't look away.
“…Alright. Let’s do that.”
Luna nodded reluctantly, giving me a direct answer.
‘Is this really happening…?’
What had been a mere possibility, something I’d wondered if it could really happen, was now becoming a certainty.
If I prioritized Luna, it seemed possible to develop a relationship where we weren't enemies, at the very least.
If so, the day might come when I could benefit from the cheat-like healing effects of Battle Cure.
“Wow. This is the first time I’ve ever seen Luna respond so calmly to another cadet.”
Millia’s surprised comment made me chuckle.
‘It really is unexpected.’
In the vast original story, Luna only started talking to people other than Millia from the mid-point onwards.
Communicating with Luna, something I thought was only possible for Millia or Leonhardt, was now a path opening up to me.
“Should we get going then? It looks like we’re mostly done with our desserts.”
The desserts in front of us were already more than half gone.
My apple pie and chocolate dessert were finished, and the girls didn't seem to have much interest left in theirs either.
“Okay. Let’s head to the training hall right away. I’m so curious to see what your Level 4 trait is like, Han Cheon-seong.”
“…Haa. Fine.”
In contrast to Millia’s bright reply, Luna accepted with a sigh. I made up my mind.
For now, I'll maintain a reasonable distance from Millia.
My mind was made up.
Of course…
If Millia truly had feelings for me, my thoughts might change,
but for now, improving my relationship with Luna was the top priority.
***
C-Class Training Hall.
As Cheon-seong's group entered the training hall, they found several cadets already engrossed in their own training.
Watching them, Millia subconsciously swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape.
*Sigh…*
Her mood had been strange all day.
She was once again realizing just how upsetting it was when things didn't go according to her plan.
And that feeling of displeasure was particularly strong today.
Her gaze shifted to her side.
“…”
There was the man named Han Cheon-seong, and he was looking not at her, but at Luna.
‘I knew it… He’s looking at Luna.’
In the end.
The thought that this was how it would be filled her mind, consuming her.
Luna was pretty. Anyone could see she was beautiful and charming. Even she, another girl, felt that way.
…Still, for a brief moment, she had been happy.
When Han Cheon-seong first approached, he had eyes only for her.
It was as if he was intentionally avoiding looking at Luna.
When she had responded warmly and engaged him in conversation, his gaze had lingered on her even more. Did this man have any idea how much her heart had fluttered in that moment?
A cadet with the unusual name 'Han Cheon-seong'.
His name and face were both familiar.
She remembered seeing him inadvertently while on her way to Luna, who had been looking for her.
An exotic and unique appearance.
He was different from all the other cadets.
He was the first man to ever catch her eye like that at first glance.
And he… had captured her heart and her gaze to a strange degree.
It happened again during the next day's lecture, and even in today's lecture, she would find her eyes drifting toward him before she even realized it.
And…
When she heard an unbelievable rumor, she was stunned.
—Unprecedented.
He had reached Level 4 with his trait on the day of the entrance ceremony and had fought the top cadet, Leonhardt, to a draw.
When she learned that the unbelievable rumor was true, she knew she had to get close to Han Cheon-seong, no matter what.
Even setting aside her personal feelings—her not-so-ordinary feelings for this man…
there was now a compelling reason she had to befriend him.
Because just by being with Luna, she couldn't move forward.
Her trait simply wouldn't evolve. No matter how hard she tried, it remained the same.
On top of that, her social circle at the academy wasn't expanding either. For better or worse, she was tied to Luna, always by her side.
It wasn't that she disliked Luna. She liked Luna as much as Luna liked her, but…
it was all meaningless if she couldn't advance.
Luna was destined to shine so brightly in the future. She wouldn't be able to stay by her side.
—A Level 1 trait.
A trait that wouldn't level up was the worst-case scenario.
That was why she believed the man named Han Cheon-seong held the answer—the path she had to take, her goal, everything.
‘Level 4 trait…’
She, who was still just Level 1, had to find out how on earth Han Cheon-seong had evolved his trait.
As she calmed her heart and faced the reality of Han Cheon-seong looking at Luna.
Suddenly, Han Cheon-seong’s head turned toward her.
“……”
“……”
And their eyes met.
As his black eyes, tinged with a faint red glow, met hers, her breath caught in her throat.
Something…
Something was definitely different about this man.
“Millia. Why so quiet all of a sudden? Are you nervous now that we're in the training hall?”
He spoke to her with a light, casual smile.
*Thump!*
At that sight alone, her chest…
began to pound fiercely, as if it had a will of its own.