Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Sweet Time with the Lewd Shrine Maiden Widow
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Aika and Anastasia left the café together and headed toward a quiet alley with few people around.
Once she confirmed no one was nearby, Anastasia shot Aika a glare.
"...What the hell are you doing, Aika?"
"What?"
"What do you mean, what! Why'd you butt in and ruin everything!"
"Of course I had to! You think I'd just stand by and watch you put your hands on Lord Rubelt?"
"You applied for a spar with him yesterday too!"
"Aika did it right in front of everyone, fair and square~ Unlike some sneaky coward~."
"Shut up! You've always been so damn selfish!"
"You're the one still scheming behind everyone's back, Asha!"
"Ugh!"
The two ground their teeth, glaring daggers at each other.
But Anastasia broke eye contact first, letting out a deep sigh.
"Haa, what are we gonna do now! Because of you... I have to sing with you in front of Lord Rubelt!"
"How's that my fault! I don't wanna sing with you either!"
Aika and Anastasia, both hating the idea of singing together.
But with Rubelt—their top sponsor, practically a god—wanting it, they couldn't refuse.
Turn down a request from Rubelt Eldra, the heir to the Eldra family and an absolute powerhouse?
They didn't even want to imagine the fallout.
And on top of that...
"To think Lord Rubelt was... a fan of ours from back then."
"Hardly anyone even remembers us from those days."
Back when Aika and Anastasia were idols in a singer duo group.
They'd had modest popularity but never really shone.
Both burned with ambition to grow as idols.
But they clashed over the direction to take, leading to arguments that ultimately disbanded the group.
Still, neither held grudges or questions about why Rubelt hadn't supported them more back then.
Even as fans, they figured he was just one of many who liked their group among several idols.
If anything, knowing the heir to the Eldra family—who was now like an absolute deity—had spotted their potential in their rookie days boosted their confidence that they'd always had what it took.
If there was anyone to blame...
'If only we'd gone with my (Aika's) concept all the way...'
It was the other one who hadn't followed their vision back then.
They glared at each other again before stopping to focus on the immediate problem.
"What're you gonna do?"
"About what?"
"Lord Rubelt wants to hear our old song live. If you forget the lyrics like back then, we're screwed."
"What! I wrote the lyrics! You're the one who probably forgot all the melodies!"
"I made the music! As if I'd forget the pitch! Anyway! We absolutely can't mess up in front of Lord Rubelt!"
"Same here! So...!"
"Yeah! So...!"
"Just for now!"
To nail their old song perfectly in front of Rubelt, the two agreed to joint practice sessions.
Friday morning.
I was heading to school in the limo with Rize, as usual.
Inside, I sorted out my rough schedule.
'Still two weeks until Volume 1 wraps up... Next week, party up with Aika and Anastasia for a dungeon. After entering Volume 2, joint training with other classes and dungeon raids, then midterms—so tackle Maria and Kang Seolhwa around then. Student council president Lisha can wait till second semester without issue... After Volume 2, maybe ramp up stat growth training.'
Ding!
As I wrapped up organizing, my phone—not in Hepai but in my pocket—buzzed with a notification.
'This time of day... gotta be Ayame.'
Part of my daily routine.
Checking the selfie Ayame sends on my way to school.
'Wonder what pic she'll send today... Hm?'
Ayame's selfie today.
It was her in the battle miko outfit Kagura wore, winking and flashing a V-sign.
[This is the outfit I wore back when I was a cadet. Gonna rock this today, hubby♡]
Come to think of it, Kagura's outfit was standard for Yagitsune shrine maidens.
Ayame had worn it back in her cadet days too.
So, not exactly daughter-cosplay—just nostalgic cadet-era clothes.
That thought stirred a forbidden thrill from the visual, mixed with excitement over doing it with youthful Ayame.
"Young Master, you like the photo Ayame sent?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Love it."
"Looks like she's stepping up since it's her turn today."
"Yeah."
I learned later that after the fellowship, the women made a group chat.
They even planned whose turn it was for long nights with me that week.
If there were unavoidable conflicts, those took priority—otherwise, they ran a fair lottery-style draw.
Exception: If I wanted someone not on schedule that day, we'd swap.
Anyway, for the harmony of my beloved harem, I'd follow their decisions as much as possible.
other heroines would complicate scheduling, but no matter how many joined, I'd make sure everyone was satisfied by stepping up my game.
First period.
Before our homeroom teacher, Instructor Dias, started class, she addressed the cadets.
"Midterms are right around the corner. You all know that, right? Unlike regular universities, Prometheus Academy's written exams focus purely on basics, not advanced stuff. Failing even that is truly shameful."
Instructor Dias wasn't exaggerating.
For written exams, Prometheus Academy's standards weren't that high.
If anything, prep school tests were tougher.
Of course, some cadets still struggled.
The academy admitted anyone who'd awakened mana first, regardless of brains.
Even our class had a few gloomy underperformers.
"Isihoon, study hard."
"Rubelt, I'm not that bad, okay?"
Isihoon had studied with me in high school, so his academics weren't weak.
In Blaze Blood, written tests were simple quizzes. Even all wrong kept you mid-to-low tier—the protagonist wasn't hopeless.
So, with my tutoring boosting his study stats, Isihoon was fine.
Besides, Blaze Blood's real test wasn't written exams.
"After writtens, you'll face practicals to grade your built-up skills—so prepare well! The format is..."
Blaze Blood's practicals.
They used academy-made artificial simulation dungeons to test ability.
Cadets entered solo, navigated, fought, and got scored on performance.
Purely individual—no parties.
In the game, you cleared a structured dungeon, battling monsters, until facing the final foe near the end.
Instructor Dias explained the practical format, then continued class.
Notably, she skipped the key detail: the dungeon's final opponent.
By tradition, it was a surprise.
Nothing dangerous—just a little shock value.
Afternoon sparring practice.
I figured Aika and Anastasia would compete fiercely for spars against each other, but they surprised me—starting right away as soon as practice began.
As expected, my hint yesterday about syncing up led to this: practice sparring doubling as stress relief.
Chisaki sparred with Eli; Rize and the others paired with random cadets or rested.
So I...
"Hyaah!"
Clang!
"Ugh!"
"Your distancing's still sloppy, Isihoon."
"Got it... Whoa!"
I was sparring Isihoon to check his progress.
This time, using a spear.
He swung his sword to close in, but each time, I jabbed his openings or wrapped my spear around his blade to neutralize.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
"Rubelt! That parry-deflect thing—can you quit it?!"
"Figure out how to counter it instead of begging me to stop! Come on! You got this!"
"I try, but you block with something else!"
"Duh! It's sparring! Get mad and grow! Can't rely on the game forever!"
"Arrrgh! You bastard!"
Teasing Isihoon is always a blast.
His competitive streak means even if he wants to quit, a little prod reignites him.
Perfect protagonist trait: bounces back from setbacks.
"Huff! Huff!"
"Good work, Isihoon. Here, ion drink."
After our spar, I rested and handed him a drink.
"Gulp gulp gulp! Phew! Rubelt, you only go extra hard on me, huh?"
"Can't you see it's tough love? I want my friend to get stronger—big heart, right?"
"So you admit it's extra hard."
Hey, you're the type who grows from grinding.
Even if I'm final boss material, you need to level up too.
Isihoon chugged it, wiped sweat with a towel, and said,
"Oh yeah, Rubelt. Got time for our club sometime?"
"The volunteer club?"
"Yeah, well... um..."
He glanced around, then whispered,
"Maria says she wants to see you again."