Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: It Seems Like 10 Minutes with Me Felt Better Than 10 Years with You~?
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“Glacis! If you can hear my voice, answer me!!”
In a remote corner of Ark.
Seol Harin's voice echoed hollowly.
“Glacis! I brought snacks! Come out already!”
Kang Ju-hyuk stood beside her.
A rare hero chosen by three Constellations.
The man selected as a rookie drawing attention solely for that fact alone—the true protagonist of the Academia world.
But he wasn't all that impressive in appearance.
An average face and average build.
He had such a kind demeanor that he came off as naive.
“Glacis……”
The exhausted Seol Harin came to a stop.
Her shoulders slumped.
“Where the hell did you go……”
It hadn't been long since she arrived on Ark Island, and her Constellation Glacis had vanished.
The shock hit her hard.
Glacis was a loyal Constellation.
A friend she'd shared a long time with.
She was as close as family in the Seol household.
Life without Glacis was unimaginable.
When she ate, Glacis ate too.
When she trained, Glacis trained too.
When she slept, Glacis slept beside her.
Glacis was in every memory, tangled up with joy and sorrow.
“Harin. Don't worry too much. Glacis will come back soon.”
“...Thanks.”
Her childhood friend Kang Ju-hyuk.
Having him there was at least some comfort.
“She's probably just a bit startled by the new environment.”
“Yeah……”
The two weren't lovers.
They'd never even kissed, let alone held hands.
Theirs was a flirtation without any skinship, going on for over ten years.
Now that she noticed, they were standing a little close.
Their gazes met in the middle.
The atmosphere felt strangely off.
“Ju-hyuk. Thanks for helping me.”
“This much is nothing. We're friends, right?”
Seol Harin bowed her head.
Then she muttered softly.
“...Just friends?”
“Huh? What'd you say?”
“Nothing……”
He must have heard that much.
Kang Ju-hyuk must have poor hearing.
Seol Harin didn't passionately love Kang Ju-hyuk.
But she'd always assumed she'd end up marrying him someday.
There was one reason.
'He's the only guy who can handle me...'
Seol Harin wasn't your average girl.
The heir to a chaebol family, a genius hailed as the next Sword Saint.
Her tough personality kept ordinary men at bay, despite her stunning looks.
There were moments when things seemed to progress, but she never found a guy she truly liked.
Insecure men,
She really hated guys who showed weakness in front of her.
By contrast, Kang Ju-hyuk was a friend from childhood.
No other man treated her as comfortably as he did.
He might not be the best, but she figured he could be a solid second choice for a partner.
That was when it happened.
“Hey!!”
A rough voice rang out.
Overflowing with excessive confidence.
The kind of voice that grated just from hearing it.
“So this is where you were? Took me forever to find you. Heh heh heh heh.”
Kim Taeyang.
The trashy thug who'd ended up next to her on the plane by chance.
The bastard appeared, grinning sleazily.
“...What are you doing here?”
“Hah? I told you, I came to find you!”
“I have no business with you.”
“Hey, hold up. Is that guy next to you your boyfriend? Heh heh heh. Acting all high and mighty, I wondered what kind of dude you'd be dating, but he's even more pathetic than I thought!”
Seol Harin waited briefly for Kang Ju-hyuk's response.
She hoped he'd man up and retort.
But Kang Ju-hyuk was a gentleman.
“Harin. Who's that guy?”
“...No one important. I'll handle it, so just stay out of it.”
The fact that he treated her so comfortably already made Kang Ju-hyuk special.
With that in mind, Seol Harin stepped forward.
“Stop causing a scene and move along. I have no patience left for you.”
“Hey. Is that how you treat someone who came to help?”
“……”
Seol Harin's eyebrow twitched.
Something was off about the thug's demeanor.
A sneer like he knew everything.
'Did this bastard kidnap Glacis or something...?'
She suddenly recalled the look in his eyes on the plane.
A filthy gaze lusting after her Constellation.
“Fine, whatever. If you're not interested, forget it.”
“Wait... You know where Glacis is?”
“Yeah. Saw her wandering around without her owner, so I came to find you. Heh heh heh. So much for a 'loyal Constellation.' Hilarious.”
Kim Taeyang flashed a smirk.
His neat teeth gleamed.
They looked as healthy as his burly body.
Which only pissed her off more.
“...Where did you see Glacis?”
“Over there. In the food waste dump.”
“Food waste... dump?”
“Yeah! You didn't feed her snacks on time, so she was scarfing down garbage!!”
“Quit talking nonsense!!”
Glacis eating food waste?
Her noble Constellation?
Absurd.
She could no longer tolerate this man's bullshit.
So.
She decided to ensure she'd never have to see him again.
Conveniently, she had a way.
A legal method to boot him from Ark.
“You... Do you know how the entrance exam works?”
“Hah? Why would I care about that crap? This body's getting in anyway!!”
“It's one-on-one sparring. Top scorers from the first round get to pick their opponents.”
One-on-one duel.
Losing didn't mean automatic failure.
But failing to show anything raised your elimination odds sky-high.
Seol Harin was confident.
Even without Glacis,
She could crush this thug bastard in one go.
Drown him so thoroughly he couldn't even breathe.
“I'll nominate you.”
Whoooooooosh────!!
A razor-sharp killing intent dominated the area.
Kang Ju-hyuk, standing nearby, startled back in shock.
But.
Kim Taeyang didn't budge an inch.
“Kyahahahahaha!!! Can't stop laughing thinking about a stuck-up miss like you under me already?!!!!!”
“……”
Seol Harin could only tilt her head.
She'd made countless powerhouses kneel.
Even active S-rank heroes would stagger under her killing intent.
Yet this guy.
'Got that much guts?'
He wasn't intimidated at all.
Acting like he was the world's top stud.
To an almost extraordinary degree.
'Too stupid to even feel fear?'
Either way, it was just bravado.
Kim Taeyang had guts, sure, but if he were stronger than her, his name would be famous by now.
'Idiots only get a brutal defeat.'
The outcome was obvious.
No need to deal with him anymore.
“Ju-hyuk. Let's go.”
“Yeah.”
Seol Harin and Kang Ju-hyuk passed by Kim Taeyang.
Laughter like “Heh heh heh—” trailed behind them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Even one 9-star Constellation puts you in Korea's top ten rookies.
What if it's not one, but three, four, five... ten?
You'd be fucking insanely strong.
The problem is me.
Kim Taeyang.
This guy isn't the protagonist.
Not even a main character.
Can Kim Taeyang truly handle the power of all those 9-star Constellations?
I'm not certain yet.
Ideally, I'd save the world solo, but if not, I'd have no choice but to rely on allies.
The best allies are the protagonist and heroines.
But this is an eroge world, so their heads are full of loose screws.
Leave them be, and they'll just fuck nonstop, have babies, throw a tacky harem wedding in slutty dresses, and all croak together like dogs on the same day.
These idiots need to get their shit together.
Hey, hey! This ain't the time for flirting!
If you don't train till your empty heads turn you into total morons, this world's gonna end~?
Stealing Constellations is step one.
After that, train the protagonist and heroines into obedient training-obsessed dummies.
That's the goal.
In that sense, having Seol Harin as my entrance exam opponent was great news.
“We will now begin the Ark entrance exam. All candidates, please take your seats in the waiting area.”
Ark's training ground.
—Though calling it that, it was more like a massive Olympic stadium.
Ark students and professors packed it to the brim.
“Nomination rights are given based on first-round scores. Candidate Seol Harin, please step forward and name your opponent.”
Seol Harin walked to the center.
The noisy arena fell silent.
“……”
It was only natural.
Her opponent was Korea's most spotlighted rookie, Seol Harin.
Getting picked by her meant most would lose without a fight.
In other words, elimination confirmed.
And that unlucky protagonist was.
“Kim Taeyang. I nominate you.”
Me.
“Kim Taeyang who?”
“Dunno. First time hearing the name.”
“Kim Taeyang? Isn't he... Kim Tae-gun's son?”
“What? Kim Tae-gun? For real??”
“No way……”
Whispers spread.
Something about Kim Tae-gun.
Curious, but with the duel looming, I couldn't ask. So I stepped forward.
The stadium, packed with hundreds of eyes.
Seol Harin and I faced off.
“……”
“……”
Excessive attention from the sidelines.
Dagger-like killing intent flew from Seol Harin.
The pressure was immense—I wanted to bolt—
“Hah─?!!! You weren't kidding about nominating me?!!! You really think a inferior bitch like you can take on this body?!!!!!!”
My mouth stayed as foul as ever.
“Don't try too hard. Miss, and I might kill you.”
“Hey, hey!!! You better not pass out from the shock!!!!”
The staredown ended there.
With tons of candidate duels ahead, things moved fast.
“Live weapons permitted. Constellation intervention allowed. Victory when opponent's mana shield drops below 50%.”
Beep─
The signal blared.
Seol Harin charged me at once.
Her weapon: a long sword.
Mine: bare hands.
I thrust my palm forward.
Like firing a blast of wind.
Controlling my breath with perfect chocolate abs,
I roared from my dantian.
“YAMERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“……?”
Seol Harin halted amid her fierce momentum.
“...What trick is this now?”
“Wait till my Constellation's ready!!”
“Constellation? As if a thug like you has—”
Woof!
Glacis burst in at the perfect moment.
Barking wildly, she bounded over energetically.
“G-Glacis!”
Seol Harin's eyes followed Glacis.
Arms wide to welcome her.
But.
Glacis blew past Seol Harin and jumped into my arms.
“Heh heh heh. You nearly got me in trouble being late.”
Woof woof!
I stroked Glacis's body wildly.
She immediately rolled over, belly up, begging for more.
And seeing that, Seol Harin.
“G-Glacis……?”
Her pupils shook violently.
“W-What... is this……”
“Hah? Still haven't figured it out?!! She's not your Constellation anymore!!!!”
“L-Liar, right? This is a joke, Glacis…?”
Seol Harin strode toward us.
Glacis didn't even glance her way.
Because I'd ordered her not to beforehand.
Ignore Seol Harin.
I gave Glacis another command.
Not that she's called Glacis anymore.
“Pomi! Block that clueless bitch!!”
“P-Pomi…?”
Pomi instantly went on guard.
Grrrrrrrrr─
Her former owner, now a stranger.
Pomi bared her savage fangs at her.
Just hours ago like family, now enemies reuniting.
Seol Harin froze in place.
“Glacis…? What are you doing there…? Your owner is me…! I'm your bonded hero!!”
Woof! Woof woof woof!!
I stroked Pomi's head and answered for her.
“Oh yeah. You two were together for ten years?”
“……”
“Looks like ten years with you weren't even worth ten minutes with me. Heh heh heh.”
Thud─
A crack formed on Seol Harin's face.
Like a shattered windowpane.
“Ten... minutes…?”
“Yeah. Took Pomi exactly ten minutes to roll over for me.”
Clang.
The sword hit the ground.
The moment ten years of friendship was crushed in ten minutes.