Chapter 329: No, I Said Let’s Just Enjoy the Festival Normally! (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 329: No, I Said Let’s Just Enjoy the Festival Normally! (1)
Lamia.
She was Lilac’s younger sister, only a year apart from him, and an Awakened who possessed a fairly rare Phantasmal Beast-type Talent.
However, despite her innate talent, she had lived a life far removed from the spotlight or much attention. The reason, of course, was her brother.
Lamia had spent her entire life being compared to Lilac.
Furthermore, most people who approached her were usually more interested in her brother than in her.
It wasn’t as if she had grown up facing severe discrimination at home. Her father and mother were the type who didn’t place much importance on such things, in a good way, and Lilac, though annoying, was a relatively kind older brother.
It was simply that she hated the subtle glances she received from the outside world.
— Oh, is she Lilac’s sister?
She hated the eyes that subtly judged her.
— Should we be friends~?
She hated how people tried to use her to get closer to Lilac.
— Huh? She’s not as great as I thought…?
She hated the eyes that expected things on their own and then looked on with disappointment.
— O-oh, what a unique Talent~?
She hated her own “ugly” Talent that paled in comparison to the sparkling, brilliant Lilac.
And what she hated most of all was…
— Wow, your brother is so cool… Mia. Could you introduce me to him~?
…The absolute garbage reality that every girl she fell for ended up falling for her brother.
I loved you, you bitches…
Well, if I’ve said this much, you can probably tell that I’m not actually on very good terms with that brother of mine—Lilac.
I have more than enough reasons to dislike him.
Unlike me, he’s competent, incredibly popular with girls, and even has a decent personality.
I know I’m the one in the wrong, but what can I do? I’m jealous.
Ah! I want to be Lilac too! If I were Lilac, I would never leave the girls who liked me alone!
I would have taken one to bed every single day and built a harem kingdom!
Anyway, it’s not like I hate him enough to kill him. It’s just that, well, my relationship with Lilac was just a bit worse than that of an average pair of siblings.
But it seemed that, as of today, I might be able to send a little bit of gratitude Lilac’s way.
“Ah, are you Lilac’s sister? You don’t look as much like him as I thought. You’re cute, unlike Lilac.”
The moment I met her.
I was seized by an impulse I had never experienced in my life.
Her vivid red eyes were like rubies containing twinkling stars, yet at the same time, they held such depth that they felt like a crimson sea.
She looked like she was only wearing light, basic makeup, but combined with her long eyelashes and the structural beauty of her face, she was far more beautiful than if she had used any unnecessary tricks.
Her face was elegant, yet her smile held a strange, mischievous charm—she was exactly what I had dreamed of.
Though it’s a liiiiittle disappointing that she’s flat-chested, that didn’t really matter.
If I think about it, it might even be better if she said something like, ‘My chest is small…? Is it okay…?’ while acting all shy right before I strip her.
Flat chests are a status symbol, after all! Of course they are…!
“…Um? Are you okay? Your face looks a bit red.”
Even her voice is slightly husky for a girl…! This type is always incredible in bed!
Hey, Lilac.
For the first time in my life, I’m feeling a sense of gratitude toward you.
Thank you for being born in the same year as this ‘unnie’ and for being in the same class as her…!
“A-ah, helloooo…!?”
Ah, I was so nervous I accidentally bit my tongue…! What do I do…?! Could she tell I’m nervous?!
“Hmm, well, even if you’re his sister, most of his friends are people you’re seeing for the first time, so it might be a bit scary.”
No, I’m just nervous because you’re so charming, unnie.
“But I’d like it if you had a good time while you’re here.”
I’m having a great time just looking at your face, unnie.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“T-then, by any chance.”
“Hmm?”
“Could you tell me your name…?”
“Me? My name?”
“Yes, yes…!”
She seemed quite puzzled, but she soon gave me a bright smile and told me her name.
“I’m So-hyun. Kang So-hyun. I’m somewhat famous, have you never heard of me?”
“Yes, yes. I’m not very close with my brother…”
Well, the truth was that I had intentionally ignored all news related to Leilan Academy because of that brother of mine.
Anyway! That smiling face is killer…! If I had known an unnie like this existed, I would have looked up everything, Lilac be damned…!
I’ve wasted half my lifeeee…!
* * *
…Her expressions change really fast.
Lamia.
She’s Lilac’s younger sister, who doesn’t appear much in the original work.
Since she wasn’t a character with much of her setting revealed, I honestly didn’t know her that well either.
If I had to pick the one thing I remembered, it was that she had an inferiority complex toward Lilac.
To be honest, when I first saw her, I was worried because she had the vibe of a delinquent from a manga and was scowling.
But after actually talking to her, she seemed to have a fairly timid and gentle personality.
She kept hesitating when she spoke, her face turned red easily, and although it wasn’t obvious because her default expression was the ‘cool’ type, seeing her chuckle at minor jokes made me think she probably liked humor quite a bit.
Above all, seeing her radiate an aura of wanting to get closer to me—a senior she was meeting for the first time—she probably had a personality that was quite easy to befriend.
“Here are the Tomato Meatball Pizza and Mediterranean-style Seafood Fried Rice you ordered.”
“Oh, we didn’t order these drinks?”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s a service provided by the entire class to the family of our class representative, Lilac, so please enjoy them without any burden.”
Cheon Yu-hak—or rather, Loser Yu-hak—who seemed to be enjoying the festival well enough despite having lost, gave a bright smile.
For the record, most of the female visitors today had been very satisfied with the service provided by Cheon Yu-hak and Lilac.
“Ah, okay.”
But the girl who had been radiating an aura of wanting to get closer to me just a moment ago was gone, replaced by a girl with a cold, stiff face who was openly radiating discomfort.
Oh, Cheon Yu-hak is actually flustered for once.
That guy is aware that he’s handsome, so he hasn’t had many experiences being openly rejected by women.
However, Cheon Yu-hak was indeed a professional.
It was quite impressive to see him retreat while trying his best not to show his embarrassment.
I’m going to tease the hell out of him later.
“Well then, I hope the three of you enjoy your meal. Lilac will be on break soon, so it should be fine to wait for him at this table.”
Anyway, since the timing was perfect, I tried to leave as well, but unfortunately, Lamia—who had returned to her ‘I want to be friends!’ state—caught me.
“Oh, are you leaving already? Could you stay just a little longer?”
Hmm. So she doesn’t like all seniors? What are the criteria?
“That’s strange. Our daughter isn’t the type to open her heart easily to anyone.”
“Ah~ Mom! What are you talking about! You’re going to make the senior misunderstand!”
“Hmm? Senior? Mia, you said you’d never enter Leilan Academy even if you died…”
“Ah! Dad! What are you talking about! Leilan Academy is my dream, my hope, and my future! Where else would I go if not here! I’ve made up my mind!”
“I-is that so?”
…They’re a fun family to watch, but I can’t just stay here forever.
Then again, it felt a bit wrong to just brush off a friend’s younger sister’s request.
So, what should I do?
While I was quietly thinking about that, fortunately, a new guest arrived, allowing me to turn my head for customer service.
She looked a bit disappointed, but it seemed she had no intention of interfering with my work.
Now, the problem was…
“Oh, you really are cross-dressing!”
“…I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to visit, but this idiot… no, this guy insisted on coming.”
“…You’re wearing flashier clothes than yesterday?”
Was it the fact that the visiting members were a surreal combination of Yu-hak’s father, my father, and Ha-ni’s father?
“…What brings you all here?”
“Ah, it’s nothing else. We were thinking. This is a pretty decent festival as it is, but don’t you think it lacks a bit of excitement?”
“…You mean you were thinking that, not ‘we’.”
And then, Cheon Mu-jin let out a fierce laugh and said something quite unsettling.
* * *
Meanwhile, in a corner of the Academy.
“…This is boring as hell.”
In the middle of a festival where everyone was having fun, there was one person who wasn’t enjoying it at all.
Kim Il-han, a 4th-year student from The World’s Greatest Sword.
He was in a foul mood because his proposal to convince the members of The World’s Greatest Sword to cause a scene in Kang So-hyun’s class and then persuade Ha-ru again had been rejected.
However, he didn’t have the courage to go find Kang So-hyun and act out on his own either.
After seeing the video of his ranking tournament match that the club president had shown him, he had trembled at the thought of what he had almost done, so what more was there to say?
“…I thought I’d be able to spend time with Ha-ru.”
Possessing a one-sided affection mixed with pity and admiration, he had originally intended to reconcile with Ha-ru during this festival.
He had at least harbored the thought of saying things like, ‘I’m sorry for saying such harsh things,’ and ‘I’m sorry for judging you from our perspective.’
But when he actually sought her out with the club members to apologize, her eyes were so cold and she put up such a wall that he couldn’t even attempt a conversation, which made him angry and led him to do something incredibly stupid.
“Ah, damn it. She could have at least listened to what I had to say.”
Of course, that didn’t mean there was any excuse for him; it was just that he felt wronged in his own mind.
Well, it wasn’t like there was anything he could do about it.
In the current Academy, there were almost no so-called delinquents left, nor anyone who could potentially become the seed of an incident.
Even the villain organizations were quite stagnant, so what more needed to be said?
So, normally, his story should have ended here.
It should have been a story that ended with him just whining to himself.
However, whether it was good luck or bad luck…
An opportunity of some kind came to him.
“Student.”
“…Yes?”
An old man spoke to him.
He was an old man with a very alien atmosphere, but strangely, Kim Il-han didn’t feel the need to be particularly on guard, so he approached the old man.
He had a twisted personality, but he was still a hero cadet.
Was the problem that he wasn’t such a piece of trash that he would be rude to an old man?
“I came here because I wanted to see my granddaughter. But I can’t seem to find her class. Could you help me out?”
He wasn’t in a very good mood, but he eventually decided to grant the old man’s request.
He didn’t know the exact reason, but he felt like he had to.
“So, what is your granddaughter’s name, sir?”
“My granddaughter?”
“Yes.”
“Aisha Livias.”
For a moment, a sense of dissonance flickered across the old man’s face as he spoke his granddaughter’s name, but Kim Il-han soon tilted his head as that sense of dissonance faded away.
“Just follow me for now.”
Without knowing what kind of person the old man behind him was.
Without knowing what kind of seed he was about to let cast a shadow over the Academy once again.
“Thank you.”
Without even properly perceiving that the old man’s smile was twisted in an alien way.