The 47-Second Triumph
The finals ended as abruptly as they could, in exactly 47 seconds.
With a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the arena...
The stands on one side collapsed entirely.
The audience in the stands shot to their feet in unison.
Some screamed at the destructive sight, others cheered wildly for the thrilling victory.
And most simply couldn’t stop their mouths from gaping open at this astonishing scene.
In the center of the collapsed arena, amid swarms of purple butterflies...
A small girl stood there.
Han Yuna, a mere first-year middle school student.
In her hand was a sword that hadn’t existed until the moment she stepped onto the field.
It was far too flashy to call it a combat weapon.
The semi-transparent purple blade flashed with every movement.
Whenever it caught the light, it spread like stained glass, an object that had never existed in this world.
An object from the realm of illusion, a weapon that existed only inside Han Yuna’s mind.
Something that should never have existed, and something that should never harm anyone.
Clang!
But the moment Yuna released the illusion object, it dropped to the ground with a clear metallic ring.
It possessed substance while being an illusion.
That was the specialness of Han Yuna the Illusionist.
The opponent who suffered this specialness was pinned helplessly against the opposite wall of the arena, unable to move.
She wasn’t dead.
Yuna had held back, and she had never attacked with the intent to kill.
She had simply struck the weapon to send the opponent out, without laying a direct hand on the body.
“Winner!”
The referee, who had been speechless for a moment, finally regained his composure and shouted.
“The champion of the Academy City Martial Arts Conference is…!”
Following the referee’s announcement, Yuna lifted her head.
Thousands of eyes were fixed on her.
“First-year middle school student Han Yuna!!”
Waaaaaaaah…!!
The roaring cheers of the countless audience members shook the entire arena.
At that, the winner Yuna narrowed her eyes.
It didn’t feel real at all.
She had simply gone out and won.
Of course she was happy, but she tried to keep it from showing, lowering the corners of her mouth as she turned away.
At that moment, one purple butterfly landed gently on her shoulder.
The camera captured the exact moment.
And that photo adorned the front page of every media outlet in Academy City the very next day.
But after that day, there was never again a time when the rising star Han Yuna, who had defeated the martial arts tournament as a newcomer, appeared on the official stage.
Five years had passed since then.
I quietly stared at my phone screen, which was almost completely cracked.
I have no idea how many articles with this title I’ve seen.
Even after five years, such pieces occasionally still appear.
“Where did the new star Han Yuna disappear to?”
“...”
The article continued:
“Han Yuna, who was only a first-year middle school student at the time, dominated the martial arts tournament with overwhelming skill. She received invitations from several prestigious academies, but...”
I scrolled down with a small, self-satisfied smile.
“There are no official activity records to date.”
The article ended with that sentence.
I’ve read it so many times it no longer registers.
“None at all,”
I muttered, setting the phone down on the desk.
And, as always, I looked out the window.
What is my academy that I see outside the window…?
It was old.
Very, very old.
Actually, no need for any fancy explanation.
It was outright decrepit.
Weeds sprouted densely across the field, and the gym’s outer wall had peeling paint.
The main building where I was wasn’t much different.
At least, thanks to my occasional repairs, it was still standing.
It was the academy I had bought with the astronomical prize money from the tournament and wanted to protect because my mother had once attended it.
“Ha.”
In my past life there had been no family, and in this life my gender had changed, leaving me acting very awkwardly, and my mother had cared for me with love.
When that mother brought me to Academy City, I bought the academy because I wanted it to remain.
“This place is toxic…”
At the time it was on the verge of bankruptcy, so I poured every last cent into it, but now it would be less than one-thousandth of that value, right?
Even though it was all in the past, I slumped in the chair feeling a bit ashamed.
“I’m a bum~”
Right now I was a perfect bum.
Actually, not even a bum.
A bum among bums.
A bum who only owned a rundown academy and couldn’t even afford proper meals.
Of course, there was a bigger problem than money.
Because no new students had entered for two years, the Central Academy had already issued a final notice.
If there were no proper results this year, the school would be closed.
It meant that the academy I had poured all my money into might disappear again.
Even if it was just a junk, I had to protect it.
But I couldn’t actively recruit students.
“...”
I stroked the black envelope that had been tossed into a corner of the desk drawer.
I hadn’t opened it, but as always, it was meant to be sold.
“Sell it to you guys.”
“Just hug it and go bankrupt.”
Annoying people.
I didn’t want students who came seeing only me to get into trouble because of weird guys.
That was why I hadn’t done any promotion so far.
But this year was supposed to be the last year at this academy, yet here we were.
A new student had entered after two years.
Even if it was the worst of the worst who had held back for two years…?
Well, whatever.
With this, I had earned another year.
Knock knock.
Hearing the knock after such a long time, she must have come.
“Come in.”
When my permission was given, the door opened.
And when I faced her directly, my words got stuck for a moment.
The female student who entered the chairman’s office was tall.
Even if she was one year older than me, she was genuinely tall.
And her ash-gray hair flowed smoothly down to below her shoulders.
Her straight posture and long limbs gave her an overwhelming presence even when she simply stood there.
Most of all, her eyes were very sharp.
Her piercing gray eyes were staring at me precisely.
It was an appearance that was too much for the level of being reprimanded for insufficient attendance.
Of course, I already knew she had been held back because she hadn’t attended enough classes.
“Nice to meet you.”
However, this leader-like wolf girl bowed her waist very politely and unexpectedly.
“My name is Lee Yena. I will be entering this year.”
“...”
I stared blankly at the documents on the desk because of her unexpectedly gentle voice and elegant demeanor, which didn’t match her appearance at all.
Lee Yena.
Age: 18, radiant.
One year older than me.
But first-year high school.
I was second-year.
“Hello, Chairman.”
“Isn’t calling the chairman ‘Chairman’ a bit weird between students? I’m the chairman, but for now I’m the second-year high school at this academy.”
“Understood.”
“In the school, just call me senpai. Even though I’m older than you, since I’m the senpai.”
“Understood.”
Yena bowed her head gracefully without hesitation.
“Yuna-senpai.”
What?
Surprisingly normal?
I stared at Yena, who was bowing her head.
From the documents, I had thought she was a wild friend.
p>The reason for being held back was insufficient attendance, and she was the daughter of a huge conglomerate.
So I had expected her to be wild, but when I actually met her, she was far too tame.
“Welcome. I’m truly glad you came to our academy.”
“Thank you.”
“But you know our school’s situation, right?”
“Yes.”
“You and I are the only ones here.”
“Understood.”
“Yeah. It’s good that you know.”
Knowing but why come?
I wanted to say that, but I didn’t.
Because the person who came was precious, it would be too rude.
But Yena, as if she saw it on my face, raised the corners of her mouth and said.
“The reason I came here is because I just wanted to come. I knew about the situation.”
“Why?”
This time I asked without holding back.
If she really knew everything, why come?
She could have gone to another prestigious academy.
Of course, this place had been prestigious in the past too…
“I’ll explain that slowly.”
Suspicious.
Really suspicious.
But since she was my new student, I nodded.
“Okay. Just break something if you want, don’t destroy it.”
“Yes.”
“Please.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Then, please take care of me, Yena. I’m Han Yuna. Just call me Yuna-senpai.”
At that moment, Yena’s eyes, which had always been relaxed, shone a little sharply.
The first crack appeared on her calm face.
Like catching prey.
But whatever.
No matter how much she flew, she couldn’t beat me in physical strength.
I judged that and decided not to care.
“Please take care of me too, Yuna-senpai.”
Even at this point, I didn’t know what kind of human being I had brought to the academy.
After slowly explaining the academy to Yena, night fell, and I went to work at the small building attached right next to the academy.
Click.
Familiarly unlocking the door with the key and turning on the light.
[LOVE DOLL]
Today’s crazy sign shone brilliantly as well.
“Should I change the name…?”
It was a thought I had had about a hundred times.
But I ended up not changing it.
Because it attracted customers.
I stood in front of the mirror next to the counter.
Currently, I was wearing the exclusive uniform for the shop instead of the neat old school uniform.
A neat one-piece dress mixed with purple and black.
A small butterfly decoration on the waist, and a purple ribbon tied in my hair.
The outfit was not very revealing, except for the shoulders and collarbone.
Originally, the name alone wasn’t a weird shop.
Our shop was clearly healthy.
We had received official permission to open a shop from the Central Academy Council.
There was even a seal attached.
I checked whether the notice attached next to the shop door was well placed.
[No sexual contact with the Love Dolls in this store is allowed.]
[Please appreciate only with your eyes and a bit of skinship.]
Perfect.
If there were guys who misbehaved after reading this, it wasn’t my fault.
Of course, sometimes it happened, but then you just received the compensation fee.
For some reason, only female customers came, so no big incidents had occurred.
“I wonder if even one customer will come today.”
I sat on one side of the sofa and waited for the customer who might or might not come today.
What I did here was simple.
Listen to stories, stroke or be stroked, lightly hold hands, and if they wanted, be hugged like a doll.
Done.
And when time passed, receive money and say goodbye.
Even though I was a strong person who could win the martial arts tournament, there were times when my pride stung at what I was doing.
“But I have no living expenses, what can I do? I don’t want to tell mom that the academy is like this.”
Pride didn’t feed you.
So I just threw it away.
Just like that, today I was complaining in my tsundere way when the shop door opened unexpectedly.
The regulars who always came must be busy because of the new student and couldn’t come.
Who was it?
“Welcome.”
I reflexively put on a sales smile.
“If this is your first visit, please follow the rules first...”
I was about to explain diligently to the customer when I saw who had visited the shop and froze.
Ash-gray hair, gray eyes, and tall stature.
“Oh my. What a coincidence. I didn’t expect Yuna-senpai to be here.”
Yena said to me with a calm smile.
At that, I instinctively realized.
She 100% knew and came.
I closed my eyes and said.
“Get out.”
“Love Doll? What is this?”
“Get out.”
“Did you think Yuna-senpai would be working in such a place…?”
“Get out.”
“Well, I guess I have no choice. Shall I buy it for you?”
“GET OUT!!”
“Ufufu.”
“Don’t laugh and get out!!”
It seemed I had received the only new student of our academy after two years very badly.
I should have known since she was held back for two years…!