Chapter 413: Peaceful Daily Life at Leilan Academy (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 413: Peaceful Daily Life at Leilan Academy (4)
When I opened my eyes to the delicious aroma wafting through the air, I saw a familiar figure busy cooking.
“So-hyun, what are you doing?”
“Ah, breakfast is almost ready.”
Seeing him answer while working hard with an apron tied around his waist made me want to laugh.
He always acts like this after he’s gone a bit overboard.
It’s not like I’m hurt, and I was the one who suggested we do it, so I don’t know why he’s being so attentive.
For a moment, the memory of what we did yesterday flashed through my mind, making my face feel like it was about to catch fire. But since the warm, fuzzy feelings took precedence, I figured it wasn’t so bad.
…If I hadn’t told him to stop there yesterday, would we really have gone all the way without a condom?
I feel like I might have missed out a little, but I still want to fight by his side for now.
“What are you thinking about so deeply? Do you feel unwell somewhere?”
“No, I’m in great condition, so don’t you worry.”
Actually, it was a bit tough because we were so intense yesterday, but strangely enough, saying I was in good condition wasn’t a total lie.
My body felt lighter than expected, the tension had bled away, and I’d regained some peace of mind.
“Mmm, your cooking skills are getting better by the day.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
Thanks to this, I felt like I could win today’s match without any problems.
* * *
“…I mean, I said I’d win easily, but that was too easy.”
Ha-ni walked out with a dissatisfied expression after pulverizing her challenger just two seconds after the match began.
Well, of course it turned out like this.
Our group has already reached a level where no one among the cadets—honestly, even among regular heroes unless they’re top-tier—can stand against them.
There was no way a few decent cadets would be a match for her.
“…I feel like an idiot for being nervous.”
“Hey, I think it’s good that you give it your all no matter who the opponent is.”
“Well, still. I mean… no, you’re right. It’s better than being careless.”
“And Ha-ni, your match ended quickly because you only had one challenger. If you look at Ga-eul, you won’t be saying that.”
Ha-ni tilted her head in confusion, then looked toward Ga-eul with a pitying gaze as she remembered her situation.
A total of eight cadets had earned the right to challenge us this time, and Ga-eul was boasting overwhelming popularity, being challenged by five of those eight.
She had already finished her first opponent dominantly, so one would think they’d be scared. Yet, perhaps because they thought Ga-eul was still “doable,” no one showed any intention of canceling their duel.
“Ah, um… Ga-eul has gotten really strong now, so why are they all acting like that?”
“They might think she’s the weakest among us, but besides that, honestly, just looking at her, Ga-eul’s image is a bit…”
“Ah, right…”
She has a slightly fierce look that’s somewhat halfway there, so she isn’t exactly terrifying.
To put it simply, when you look at her, you get the feeling that even if she hits you, you won’t die.
It’s not so much a problem with Ga-eul as it is that the rest of us are too bloodthirsty.
Ha-ni and Cheon Yu-hak never hold back, and since Lilac’s win rate is invisible, they probably judged that Ga-eul was the best bet.
[W-Wait a second…! Why are you trying so hard?! The match is already decided!]
[Aaaah…! Even if I fail, I can be of help to the next person who faces you…! I’ll make sure to wear you out even just a little more!]
[Only the winner can join the Student Council anyway, so why are you so full of the spirit of cooperation?!]
…Mmm, on the screen, Ga-eul was being systematically and unfairly targeted.
Actually, in terms of raw power, Lee Yu-na might be weaker than Ga-eul now, but people would be reluctant to face Yu-na for a different reason.
[Crazy…! You’re crazy…!]
The moment a senior wielding a sword lunged forward, Yu-na caught the blade with her bare hand and then used the Holy-Demonic Energy in her blood to shatter the sword.
If a normal person had done that, their fingers would have been sliced off, or at best, their skin would have been shredded.
[Mmm, that stings.]
Her mangled fingers healed in an instant, returning to a clean state without a single small scratch.
[Senior. Why do you look so terrified? You’ve been attacking me unilaterally for ten minutes already. I haven’t even laid a hand on you yet.]
For some reason, she was fighting while taking hits she could easily avoid. Even though she isn’t immune to pain, she’s picked up a strange habit.
I wonder if she realized after her fight with Aisha in the previous ranking tournament that there are psychological elements one can utilize in a fight, not just simple combat power.
In addition to the visual shock, the fear of one’s attacks not working is no joke.
I know because I went through it a lot in the 1st Timeline.
Well, if I were to offer a tiny bit of an excuse for Lee Yu-na, it’s that she doesn’t act like this toward just anyone.
The problem was that the senior had provoked Yu-na before the sparring match began.
What did she say? That once she joined the Student Council, both Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak would fall for her?
She had a charm-type talent, her skills weren’t bad, and she knew how to provoke an opponent, but she really should have picked her target more carefully.
[Why are you trembling so much? You’re making it look like I actually did something to you. Right, Senior?]
The moment Yu-na’s blood-soaked hand caressed the senior’s cheek—despite Yu-na herself having no wounds—the senior must have remembered her sword being shattered.
The poor senior screamed and fainted…
Slap!
[…Ah?]
[Oh my, I’m sorry. It was an emergency, so I performed some first aid. You’ll forgive me, right?]
No, she was about to pass out, but Yu-na coated her hand in divine power and slapped her awake.
[W-Wait, I surren—!]
[Shh. A patient needs absolute stability, so leave it to me. I’ll make you feel better in no time.]
[I’m sorry for what I said…! I’m really sorry!]
[No, it’s fine. You’re allowed to say what’s on your mind, Senior. It was a bit much to say you’d do something to my Lilac, but I understand.]
Slap!
[So, Senior, please rest easy and receive my treatment. You want to join the Student Council, don’t you? It would be a shame to give up here, so I’ll make sure you’re able to fight again.]
“…Ah, um. She’s not trying to make that senior permanently incapacitated, is she?”
Ha-ni spoke worriedly, but I wasn’t actually that concerned.
“Mmm, she doesn’t seem to be in an extreme rage, so she’ll probably let her off after she faints about two more times.”
“…She has to faint twice more even when Yu-na isn’t livid?”
Ha-ni. You’re only saying that because you don’t know how much Yu-na has softened.
In the 1st Timeline, she used to turn people into half-cripples while saying she could fix them, driving them into a psychological corner so they’d never dare act up again.
Now, she’s not even hitting the body and is letting her off after just instilling some psychological trauma.
You could call it tremendous progress.
[Senior, you need to keep your head up. Why are you trembling so much? Come on, say it again. Look me in the eye. Say it again. You were doing so well earlier.]
[I’m sorry…!!!!!!]
[That’s not what I heard earlier. I’m just asking you to say it again.]
Slap! Slap! Slap!
[Is that really so difficult?]
…She has progressed, right? Shit, I don’t need to go stop this, do I?
Fortunately, by the time Ga-eul defeated her third challenger, Yu-na’s mood had improved enough to allow the senior to faint, and the senior was able to safely(?) lose consciousness.
“Ah, right. Ga-eul.”
Yu-na’s impact was so strong that I almost missed what Ga-eul was doing.
Well, naturally, Ga-eul was fighting well too.
I thought it might be a bit tough since she had to fight five consecutive matches without rest.
[I may fall like this! But the next person won’t be the same…!]
[Gwaaaah?! You too?!]
Ga-eul screamed as her opponents used tactics to drain her energy by focusing entirely on defense and evasion.
By the way, I didn’t know we had someone with that kind of talent in our academy.
If you asked whether it was a foul or not, it seemed to be just barely on the line, so it was hard to intervene.
I didn’t know that talent could be used in such a way.
Eventually, by the time Ga-eul had beaten down four of her challengers, her fifth and final opponent appeared.
It was the opponent I had been watching closely, a possessor of a quite unique talent.
B-rank Talent: Smile World.
A talent that temporarily increases the cooperation or affection of people within a designated range.
For an ability that manipulates psychological aspects, it has low versatility, but because the manipulation is subtle, there’s a high probability the target won’t notice.
It seemed useless, but I see it can be used to manipulate a situation by fostering cooperation ‘for a single purpose’ like this.
And naturally, he positioned himself as the final runner to create a situation where he could fight a exhausted Ga-eul.
[Ugh…]
And he was raising Ga-eul’s affection level to make it hard for her to attack him.
Truly an impressive ability…
[I-I’m sorry, Ga-eul…! But the other kids worked so hard, I can’t stop here…!]
…Huh? That’s not acting. Can that ability only be used both ways? You mean if he raises the opponent’s affection, he ends up liking the opponent too?
I thought he was showing off some incredible intellectual play, but it was a significantly flawed ability.
No, wait.
Actually, that makes it an even more dangerous ability right now.
Since this is a test to prove their qualifications, our kids need to show an overwhelming performance.
In other words, a time-out wouldn’t be a draw; there was a high chance it would be perceived as a loss.
Ga-eul is usually quite indifferent to others, but she becomes incredibly weak toward anyone she perceives as being on her side—that is, anyone she feels affection for.
In terms of ability, he could be considered Ga-eul’s counter.
Just as I was wondering if Ga-eul could overcome this in a situation where I couldn’t help—
[Ah.]
A purple whip infused with demonic energy struck Ga-eul’s opponent.
[G-Ga-eul…?]
For a moment, even I was startled, but looking closely, that wasn’t Ga-eul.
Even without using Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, her eyes were dyed purple, and a different energy was billowing from the single horn sprouting from her head.
…Oho, so he raised Ga-eul’s affection, but he didn’t raise the affection of the demon ‘Bel.’
[D-Don’t do this! Ga-eul, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden…!]
[Ga-eul is under a lot of stress right now because of you, you know? And if Ga-eul gets stressed, the person watching me from over there might get really angry.]
Hmm? Is she talking about me? Come on, you can lose a little in a cadet sparring match, why go that far…
[You! Might! Just! Be! Doing! This! To! Win! The! Match! But! I! Might! Be! Obliterated! Do! You! Understand?!]
Oh, as she whipped him with every word, the senior, who had been barely holding on, began to flee in tears.
…Maybe it’s just my imagination, but her eyes look sharper, and she feels more like a real villain than a petty one, which is a bit fresh.
Honestly, Ga-eul often says she’s received help from that girl, so I don’t really have any intention of just obliterating her anymore…
[What?! If that person suddenly comes to obliterate me because I didn’t help Ga-eul, can you take responsibility for that?!]
[Ga-eul! I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about?!]
“Her performance is pretty good, isn’t it? I should give her a scare every now and then in the future.”
I thought I saw Ga-eul—no, Bel—flinch through the screen as she was beating the senior, but surely it wasn’t because of me.
[I-I overstepped my bounds, didn’t I?! P-Please forgive me just this once!]
By the time Bel finally knocked the senior unconscious and returned control of the body to Ga-eul, the gazes of those watching the arena toward Ga-eul had changed significantly.
[I-I wasn’t the one who did that?!]
Well, Ga-eul denied it, but who besides me would believe her?
“Wow, Ga-eul’s gotten quite violent, hasn’t she?”
“Tell me about it…”
I want to defend her, but I have no way to do it. Sorry, Ga-eul.
Anyway, after watching Ga-eul’s match to the end, it was about time for me to get ready.
“…Anyway, I’m heading out too.”
“Yeah, okay. But I really didn’t think anyone would actually challenge you.”
“I didn’t know either.”
I was actually surprised, but surprisingly, there was exactly one person who challenged me today—not Lilac or Cheon Yu-hak.
“The President of the Cooking Research Department, was it? They had a strange fighting style.”
Since it was someone I wanted to test out myself anyway, it worked out well, but…
“…Why do I feel so uneasy?”
For some reason, I couldn’t shake this strange sense of foreboding.