Chapter 14: The Kind of Person Every Academy Has (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 14: The Kind of Person Every Academy Has (3)
Hmm, it was a rather strange feeling.
“Actually, there was something I really wanted to say to you.”
Standing beside me was a boy whose natural brown hair shimmered in the sunlight—a boy anyone would describe as a handsome, heartwarming youth.
Lilac.
He was the first protagonist of this novel, a character of the Absolute Good alignment, and in my eyes, a guy who felt like the slightly lacking son of a friend.
“Do you remember what happened on the day of the entrance ceremony?”
“Of course. We almost all died because of that terror attack.”
Well, technically, everyone should have died.
“Everyone survived back then thanks to you. Since I was one of those people, I felt I had to thank you.”
He seemed to remember me drawing aggro by acting like a lunatic.
“You’re the one who actually stopped it.”
Hmm, hearing a thank-you from the protagonist is a bit of a novel experience.
“No, I couldn’t have stopped it alone. Everyone was safe because you, Yu-hak, and the professor were all there. Truly, thank you.”
He wasn’t wrong.
In reality, he didn’t yet have the ability to handle a terrorist attack that would have caused massive casualties all by himself.
“…Don’t mention it.”
But it wasn’t something I deserved thanks for. If anything, I would have died if Lilac hadn’t been there.
“And honestly, I was scared back then, but you gave me courage. Thank you for telling me not to be a coward because we could stop it. I’ve wanted to say this for a while, but you went straight to the infirmary afterward, so I didn’t have a chance to meet you.”
“Well, for something like that… Huh?”
Wait, did this crazy cheat-code bastard actually hear that?
“You know. By any chance, was that also your doing?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Like hell I didn’t. Of course I knew.
He was currently suspecting that I was the one who had buffed him.
Basically, cadets had no way of knowing each other’s Talents unless they disclosed them personally.
Of course, each student’s information was recorded in the Academy Secret Database, but ordinary cadets had neither the authority nor the means to access it.
“…Is that so? If that was thanks to you too, I was going to thank you for it.”
“You have too many things to be thankful for. Just like apologies, if you overdo gratitude, its value drops.”
“Haha, I suppose that’s true. Still, thanks to you, I was able to save our friends, and I feel like I’ve found a bit of a path forward since that day. If it wasn’t you, then never mind. Let’s go grab some lunch.”
Oh, fortunately, it seemed the protagonist had managed to grasp even a sliver of that higher-tier sense he used that day.
Yes, yes, grow strong quickly. Even if munchkin stories get a lot of flak, the trend these days is still fast growth.
Frustrating characters aren’t popular. Not at all.
But is this guy seriously trying to eat lunch with me right now?
“…You’re eating with me?”
“Hmm? I thought we agreed on that.”
“No, I thought you just said that as an excuse to call me out for something.”
“Hmm? It just happens to be lunchtime, and I don’t have many friends yet.”
Hey, you bastard, what about your childhood friend? Why are you eating with me?
But I couldn’t point that out.
It would be weird if a guy I was meeting for only the second time knew whether he had a childhood friend or not.
“Ah, right. I have one more friend I promised to meet in front of the cafeteria. Is that uncomfortable for you?”
Ah, thank goodness. It seemed this madman hadn’t forgotten his childhood friend.
In that case, my answer was already decided.
“Yeah, it’s uncomfortable.”
“I-is that so?”
He seemed flustered, likely not expecting such a blunt rejection, but I had a valid reason.
Lilac, buddy. At least for the first day, just eat with your childhood friend, the two of you.
It’s obvious she’ll think I’m just some random guy wedging himself in to interfere.
Just as I was about to make an excuse and bail, someone approached us.
“Oh, I was wondering when you’d show up, but you’re earlier than I thought?”
“Kang Ha… Han-hee?”
Shit. I almost called her Kang Ha-ni by mistake. If I had, would that faint smile have turned cold in an instant as she tried to beat the truth out of me regarding how I knew?
“Why are you stuttering? People will think I’m bullying you. Come to think of it, we didn’t set a time to meet this morning~ So I was waiting.”
For some reason, in Kang Ha-ni’s mind, it seemed we were naturally the kind of people who ate lunch together.
“Hmm?”
Our girl in disguise finally noticed the protagonist standing beside me and shifted her gaze.
“Oh? Ah! The Freshman Representative.”
As expected, Lilac was already a celebrity of sorts, and she recognized him immediately.
Well, he wasn’t just any Freshman Representative; he was the one who caught a terrorist and even did an interview, so of course he’d be famous.
“Ah, you already had company? You should have said so. I’ll ask my friend if it’s okay if we all eat together!”
No. You bastard, that’s not it!
I wanted to scream that, but it was already too late.
“Lilac~!”
The culprit behind why I wanted to avoid eating with Lilac on the first day had already spotted us and was approaching.
She was a beautiful girl with pink hair so long it almost seemed like a joke.
She had a gentle impression and a smile playing on her lips.
But you know what?
In web novels, there are only two types of pink-haired characters.
Either an impossibly kind Saintess, or a total bitch.
And unfortunately, the Pink Chihuahua currently trotting toward us was a character who boasted a level of bitchiness toward everyone except Lilac that bordered on the latter.
Lee Yu-na.
The same age as Lilac, she was a healer and a victim of the “Heroine Dies First” trope in the childhood friend position.
At least her death in the original work was for the sake of Lilac’s awakening, so there was slightly less backlash—like hell there was.
The few readers the story had were at each other’s throats in the comments because the author killed her off too.
On the surface, she was a girl with a fluffy, cotton-candy-like atmosphere, but as is often the case with the pink-haired-cleric-childhood-friend combo, her obsession with Lilac was insanely deep.
It seemed she hadn’t even seen anyone else besides Lilac at first, as she only acknowledged our presence once she was within arm’s reach before asking him.
“Who are they?”
Subjectively, the temperature of her voice dropped by about two degrees compared to when she had called out “Lilac~” just moments ago.
Two degrees is a drop that could potentially kill a person based on body temperature, but our blockhead Lilac, true to his role as a novel protagonist, wasn’t a delicate enough human to notice such a change.
“Ah, a new friend. I’ve mentioned him before, right?”
Ah, this bastard finally did it.
There was a scene like this in the original work too.
The scene where he coaxed his roommate, Kang Ha-ni, into meeting the three of them for the first time. The moment he called her a “new friend” there, that Pink Chihuahua started picking a fight with Ha-ni.
What? Isn’t it a cliché for an obsessively jealous heroine to pick a fight with another heroine?
Think carefully.
Kang Ha-ni is currently disguised as a man.
It was the same in the original work.
In other words, that woman’s jealousy and territoriality were so severe that she felt threatened even by other men.
She scanned me for a moment with eyes that lacked any warmth.
“So you’re the one who cheered Lilac on that day?”
Huh, she’s not picking a fight with me.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Thank you. But just so you know, I’m the one closest to Lilac.”
Who said otherwise…? I wouldn’t be his best friend even if you paid me.
“Hey, stop joking around~ He was going to decline because he already had company, so I had a hard time bringing him along.”
She glanced at me.
What now? Is she going to slap me while saying, ‘How dare someone like you reject our Lilac’s invitation?’
“At least he has some common sense.”
Ah, it seems she forgave me because Lilac said he dragged me here against my will.
She was infinitely generous when it came to Lilac.
She had essentially granted permission for us to sit together.
Eating a meal between the protagonist and the main supporting cast.
No matter how I thought about it, I felt like I should give up on the idea of enjoying a peaceful meal.
* * *
The student cafeteria wasn’t as crowded as I expected.
The high prices probably played a part, and the slight differences in class dismissal times were likely another reason.
“So you two are roommates. It’s quite a coincidence that you both entered early during the break and ended up as roommates.”
“Right?”
Lilac, possessing a personality that allowed him to befriend people quickly, threw questions at me and Kang Ha-ni. Currently, the conversation was flowing with Lilac and Ha-ni leading it, while Lee Yu-na chimed in occasionally.
Me?
I was currently in the depths of despair, reflecting on the fact that I had lived my life in South Korea without ever knowing that a vegetable like eggplant could be this delicious just by being grilled.
When I realized the thing I had picked up without thinking was grilled eggplant, I despaired, recalling the texture of steamed eggplant namul. But then I realized that eggplant was originally meant to be grilled and brushed with a special sauce.
Why do people eat such a delicious vegetable in such a mushy state when it’s this good just grilled?
In short, I wasn’t participating in the conversation because I was too busy being impressed by the food.
“Ah.”
Just then, Kang Ha-ni made a strange sound and looked down at her tray.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t eat cherry tomatoes. I guess one was tucked under the salad.”
Ah, shit.
I forgot while I was contemplating the eggplant.
“Really? Then…”
Lilac said as he picked up his chopsticks.
Oh, this was the scene from the original work where Lilac got flak for simultaneously tanking his favorability with both his childhood friend and his roommate.
Lilac, who had already tanked his favorability with the touch-averse Kang Ha-ni, would try to pick up the tomato with his chopsticks as a gesture of “consideration.” This was an event that would piss off not only the already annoyed Ha-ni but also Lee Yu-na, who was watching the whole thing.
“Lilac!”
Startled by the sudden situation, I ended up calling his name loudly.
Fortunately, Lilac flinched and looked at me before his chopsticks could reach her tray.
“Uh…? Huh? Why?”
“What are you doing after lunch?”
“Huh? I have some time before the next class. I was going to do some light exercise.”
“Really? Then do it with me.”
While I had Lilac’s attention, Kang Ha-ni, who had fortunately grasped my intention, picked up the cherry tomato herself and moved it.
Onto my tray.
Wait, you bastard, why are you giving that to me?
“Really? I’d love to!”
Shit, this will probably tank whatever non-existent favorability Lee Yu-na had for me, but it’s better than the protagonist tanking it with two people at once.
These small cracks eventually lead to major disasters later on.
I’m only helping because he really feels like a friend’s son.
You’d better not screw things up later.
Lilac looked for the tomato again as if he’d just remembered it, but since it had already vanished from the tray, he simply tilted his head in confusion.
“Heh.”
“Hmph.”
Then, the two women looked at me with strange glints in their eyes.
Lee Yu-na, who hadn’t shown a shred of interest in me throughout the entire meal, spoke to me for the first time.
“You’re quite sharp-witted.”
Her voice was incredibly cold compared to when she spoke to Lilac, but surprisingly, for her, this was a fairly favorable reaction.
And Kang Ha-ni was the same.
“Yeah, he’s very sharp-witted~”
Yeah, I helped you out. But shit, eat your own tomatoes.
I don’t like them much either.
When I glared at her with a hint of petty rebellion, Kang Ha-ni, who was looking at me with a chuckle, seemed to have absolutely no intention of ever eating them herself.
Why not just leave them?
One cannot waste crops born from the sweat of a farmer and the essence of the earth.
I’m not joking; you really shouldn’t leave food.
There’s a guy who appears later—somewhere between a villain and a hero—who has a related ability.
* * *
Kang Ha-ni smiled proudly as she watched Kang So-hyun eat the tomato.
Truly, from the very first day I met him, this guy’s ability to read the room was incredible.
If Lilac had taken the tomato from my tray with his own chopsticks right then, I would have been extremely uncomfortable.
I might not have screamed right then and there, but the atmosphere would have turned quite sour.
And though I didn’t know her well, I doubted that girl would have liked it much either.
Yet, seeing him stop Lilac so smoothly, realizing what he was about to do even faster than I did, was a complete departure from his blunt way of speaking and outward appearance.
But does he hate tomatoes too?
His expression was dark the entire time he was eating it.
It was strangely fun to find another thing we had in common.
I felt a bit bad for what I did, but seeing him eat the tomato while scowling felt strangely cute, which made me laugh.
Because I grew up in a strict household, I never had friends until now, but maybe this is what people call being friends?
“You must really like tomatoes?”
“Your eyes must be for decoration.”
“I’ll leave my tomatoes to you from now on.”
“Couldn’t you just not pick them up in the first place?”
“They’re good for you.”
“If they’re so good for you, eat them yourself.”
“Are you crossing the line?”
“Which one of us is actually crossing the line here?”
Yeah, I think I was right.
Watching him spout nonsense about how it’s impossible to make tomato ketchup out of tomatoes made me laugh naturally.
“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go exercise.”
Lilac seemed like a decent guy, even if he was a bit lacking in a sense of personal space, and it felt like I’d be able to make some pretty good friends during my time at the Academy.