Chapter 102: Volunteer? Activity (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 102: Volunteer? Activity (3)
The Flower Arrangement Club was participating in volunteer work.
Naturally, that meant the RoFan crew, including Daisy, would be there.
That much was obvious.
Furthermore, since Senior Loreliya regularly did weekend volunteer work anyway, there was a very high probability she would be there as well.
This, too, was expected.
I was the idiot.
I should have considered the possibility of those two meeting.
I was so focused on the Flower Arrangement Club’s participation that I hadn't even thought of a scenario where they crossed paths.
…To be honest, I usually didn't pay much attention to it.
To others, they might look like rivals competing for one man.
But since I knew exactly why they had each become my "lover," I figured they wouldn't care much about each other.
In fact, both of them usually gave off the impression that they didn't mind.
However, there was one fact I had forgotten: Senior Loreliya has more pride than one might think.
Wasn't the whole reason she asked me to be her fake lover just to show off to the collateral branches of her family who visited during the Founding Festival?
And just before she almost gave up on her engagement to Prince Esid.
She was the type of person who trained desperately with that Fire Spammer to try and beat Daisy in the magic sparring exam, just so she could say she gave it her all.
Loreliya Jeyka.
She gives her best in everything.
Even an affectionless engagement was a family matter, so she gave it her all.
She even gave her all to volunteer work, which others did just for a hobby or for credit.
It was her way of living without regrets… but at the same time, it was largely influenced by her nature of absolutely hating to lose.
And Daisy was quite similar in that regard.
Thinking back to the original work Violet mentioned, Daisy was a proactive character who tried to fight on the front lines even when she hadn't learned combat techniques and was being protected by the RoFan male leads as a pure healer.
Now that she’s walking the Path of the Overlord—to the point where Prince Ellen, the strongest in the world, and the Magic Spammer princes are aghast, and I’m on guard because she looks like she’ll overtake the Minor Sword Emperor any day now—that tendency has only grown stronger.
Taking the lead to resolve incidents.
No matter how much of a fantasy this was, that was a difficult thing for a woman to do in a medieval society.
…Honestly, considering the Holy Kingdom Restoration, it didn't make sense regardless of gender, status, or any other factor.
In any case, while a big reason Daisy moved like that was her inability to tolerate injustice.
One couldn't ignore her competitive streak—the way she would desperately try to climb over any wall standing in her way.
She never backed down from a fight.
If you didn't look closely, you might say, "Daisy did that?" because of her unique aura and gentle personality.
But if you asked Violet, who always watched her from the side, or Senior Loreliya and the Fire Spammer, who worked themselves to the bone to fight her, they would nod their heads violently.
To be honest, I felt a bit wronged.
I didn't know these personalities would create such synergy.
It was partly because the two of them never really had a proper conversation.
And even if they had, it would have been before I existed as a fake lover.
“……”
“……”
That’s why I really didn't expect it to be this bad!
Daisy on my right, and Senior Loreliya on my left.
Someone might think of this as having a flower in each hand, but to the person involved, those flowers felt more like man-eating plants.
“Ugh.”
In the middle of this clash of Conqueror’s Haki, the junior who had followed me couldn't even breathe properly.
I felt sorry for him as he broke out in a cold sweat, his eyes darting back and forth.
But the two women emitting this pressure showed no intention of stopping.
“Se-Senior. I need to go to the bathroom for a second…”
“Go ahead.”
In the end, the junior, unable to endure any longer, chose to flee.
For someone named Marco, his endurance was surprisingly low.
Seeing his staggering back as if his legs had gone weak, it looked like it would take him a while to return…
“……Ah.”
He collapsed.
Watching the junior suddenly drop like a frail, sickly heroine and fail to get back up, I was left speechless.
For the record, our Mr. Marco was not a frail, sickly girl who didn't live up to his name.
On the contrary, he was a warrior with a sturdy build, fit to be a royal guard.
…It seemed that no matter how trained the body was, it couldn't withstand this Haki.
After handing the collapsed junior over to the organizers and returning, this was the current situation.
The Fire Spammer was tearfully begging for forgiveness, and while I was away briefly handling other business, Senior Loreliya and Daisy had reclaimed their spots on either side of me.
…In the meantime, seeing the Fire Spammer subtly distancing herself was truly absurd.
On one hand, you have Daisy, whom you treated as a rival to be overthrown.
On the other, you have Senior Loreliya, whom you became close with by joining forces to overthrow the former.
Why are you running away?
When I sent him a look saying that, he hissed like a terrified cat, making me let out a sigh.
“I wonder why no one is coming.”
Since I felt their gazes on me at that sigh, I made up an excuse.
“Indeed.”
“There were so many people outside…”
“……”
“……”
They both nodded at my fairly plausible excuse.
But the Fire Spammer and I were at a loss for words.
Wait, you really don't know?
How are ordinary people supposed to endure the Haki that even a royal guard, handpicked by the royal family, couldn't stand?
“I was looking forward to it since they said it was a counseling job…”
“Was it something to look forward to that much?”
“Yes! I’ve always wanted to do a confession at a cathedral. It’s not as private as a confessional, but this feels similar, doesn't it?”
Seeing her speak with sparkling eyes, it seemed she really did want to do a confession.
…But in that confession, there’s bound to be some male lead bastard who secretly confesses his feelings.
Without even knowing the person on the other side is Daisy.
…That actually seems very possible, so I should ask Violet about it later.
“It is strange. Though not many, there were usually people who came to the counseling room saying they had things to discuss…”
Senior Loreliya also nodded with a face that said she didn't know the reason.
…My eyes narrowed even further at her expression and behavior that seemed genuinely clueless.
“Ah, maybe it’s because there’s no guidance? I’ll go out and promote it!”
Even just looking at the Fire Spammer trying to seize the chance to escape immediately, the reason should be obvious.
“This isn't the first time. It’s the same counseling center we always run. How could they not know? Maybe they just ran out of worries because we talk to them every time.”
“True. The number of people visiting the counseling center has been decreasing over time.”
When Senior Loreliya nodded at my words, the Fire Spammer quietly slumped into a corner.
“Then, for practice, shall we do some counseling among ourselves?”
“Among ourselves?”
Senior Loreliya reacted to Daisy’s suggestion.
It was chilling. It felt like a greatsword was flying toward my chest.
“For example, even though I kept mentioning it was my birthday! A story about a lover who didn't even take care of my birthday!”
…That did happen.
I was so focused on returning to the Kingdom during the break that I forgot.
“I heard your birthday was in the spring, so hasn't it already passed?”
“Ah! There’s a bit of a story behind that… By the way, you knew when my birthday was?”
“Because my former fiancé was preparing a surprise.”
“Oh my. If you tell me that, it won't be a surprise anymore.”
“With everyone around whispering about it, there’s no way you wouldn't know.”
“That’s true.”
…I had heard those rumors too.
Sadly, this wasn't Esid’s fault.
It was just, shall we say, the aftermath from Rias.
The devout followers of the Cult of Esid, which was slowly spreading among the first-years, were busy spreading word of Prince Esid’s achievements.
…Being hounded by paparazzi is the fate of a celebrity.
This, too, was all thanks to Esid.
“So I’m looking forward to it. What kind of gift I’ll receive from my lover next month!”
“That is something to look forward to. My birthday is in the summer, so I’ll have to wait a bit longer to look forward to mine…”
“……”
I kept my mouth shut under their staring gazes.
I stared into the distance, trying my best not to turn my head, and made eye contact with the Fire Spammer, who was trembling in the corner.
Seeing the guy with the title of Guardian of Dale trembling like that made me lose even more will to turn my head.
There was never a moment I missed the other members of the Flower Arrangement Club more.
…The problem was that they were all royalty, so they had all been dragged away.
Come to think of it, that Minor Sword Emperor bastard isn't royalty.
Even if he’s been supporting Esid lately, to betray me like this after I supported him so much in the beginning.
No, thinking about it, it made no sense for Violet not to be here either.
Given her personality, she probably anticipated this situation and fled.
…Traitors.
This is why you can't trust people with black, pink, or purple hair.
The moment I thought that, a helping hand descended from the heavens.
—BOOM!
It was a massive explosion.
It was so huge that the ground shook like an earthquake.
That’s right.
The one to save me wasn't some golden generation RoFan male lead bastard.
Nor was it a RoFan reincarnator who knew the original work.
Their name was none other than—
“It’s a Dark Mage!”
The light returned to her dull eyes as the Fire Spammer was resurrected.
The heat of his blazing flames was like a final burst of energy before death.
“What? There’s no way a Dark Mage would come all the way here…”
“Indeed. Sometimes the Magic Department of the Academy fails a large-scale experiment…”
Daisy and Senior Loreliya tried to calm the Fire Spammer, who was shouting "Dark Mage" out of nowhere.
“No. This feeling is definitely a Dark Mage.”
“Mr. Adam?”
I, too, drew the sword I had secretly brought along and insisted on a Dark Mage invasion.
“Is there a reason you say that?”
Normally, I would have shouted "Big Data," the excuse that even made Uncle Aeryun bitter.
“It’s a hunch!”
“Yeah! I had a feeling a Dark Mage would show up today!”
The two of them looked at me and the Fire Spammer as if we were absurd for confidently shouting about a hunch.
“Let’s go!”
“To save the people from the evil Dark Mages!”
The Fire Spammer and I shouted our lines as if we had rehearsed them and escaped from that hell.
“It’s a Dark Mage! Everyone, run!”
Unlike the Academy students, we could smile happily as we watched the panicked people fleeing.
Aeryun was having a miserable time.
“Have these bastards lost their minds?”
He had expected the Dark Mages to come.
Based on that belief, which lacked any concrete information, he had even gone through a long debate with the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, who asked for the basis of his claim that Dark Mages were coming. Aeryun had gone as far as showing his middle finger as the basis.
No matter how much of a veteran Aeryun was, if the Dark Mages hadn't shown up, he might have faced anything from severe disciplinary action to becoming unemployed.
But now, his thoughts had changed slightly.
“I wish they just hadn't come.”
He would have just been fired.
Looking at the twenty Dark Mages and the undead before him, Aeryun felt a strong urge to quit.
“Hwahahaha! It’s a Dark Mage!”
“Nice. To. Meet. You!”
“……?”
Seeing those two who looked even crazier than the Dark Mages, Aeryun had to seriously consider retirement.