Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Elise is a Heroine
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⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 『Sub Quest Transmitted.』 [Conversations Mark the Start of Popularity] Elise is an extremely picky character. Try sharing a conversation that suits her tastes for at least 30 minutes! - Reward: Elise's favorability slightly increases. 1 Random Stat I called out to Elise, who was glued to her smartwatch.
"That's pretty unexpected."
"...What is?"
"You don't seem like the type to do this sort of thing. The promotions club sounds like a hassle."
Elise's daily routine was a rigid cycle of [commute, study, training, return home]. I got that she was an international student with obligations to get stronger for her home country's guild, but... she brushed off every approaching student, so she didn't have many friends.
And yet, she joined the promotions club? That would only disrupt her routine.
"Sigh. Listen up. It's not that I hate hassle—it's that I hate wasting time on pointless stuff."
"Hmm. Kinda getting the vibe."
"I don't want to spend my time hanging out with classmates who offer zero benefit, wandering cafes for hours chasing some sweet dessert, or scouring malls for cute clothes."
"Ah. So what about the promotions club?"
In other words, she hated anything that stole her self-improvement time. So why join the promotions club?
"Why do you think? Obviously for the connection to Club President Moon Soo-rin. Korea's top prospect, right? Isn't that why you're here too? Sounded like you're tight with the Student Council President."
Elise had joined the promotions club to network with Moon Soo-rin, and she assumed I'd done the same.
"We're friends, sure. But nah, not for networking."
To be precise, I'd joined the Student Council to woo the president.
"Typical excuse."
Elise turned her head away, looking like she'd lost interest in me.
Damn, that attitude... Patience. Gotta hold it together.
But a pretty girl acting all sassy? Kinda hot.
She knows she's gorgeous, so she lets loose like that.
Not cursing—just facts. A pretty face is basically a superpower.
Learned something valuable from Elise.
Seeing her like this makes me wanna cut loose more myself.
Anyway, the conversation wasn't flowing well right now.
To clear the quest, I needed to chat about her interests. But she seemed bored with me.
No worries, though.
No matter how elite you are, Elise, you're still my heroine.
"Hey, you into cocktails at all? I'm kinda obsessed with them."
*Twitch.*
Elise's ears perked up. She was pretending not to care, but those ears heard everything.
"There's this new cocktail bar in the academy mall. Their gin and tonic is insane. Premium gin, top-shelf tonic water—obviously—but they claim it's the world's first to use mana-infused ice. The refreshment hits different."
"...Where's that at?"
Elise was starting to bite.
Truth was, I'd memorized all her tastes. This quest was doomed to succeed from the start.
The Elise route was etched in my memory, of course.
Cocktails, books, movies, classical music—I knew her hobbies inside out.
"...I think gin base is the coolest. Sure, there's that old folks' stigma of it being cheap booze, but nothing beats that unique aroma and crisp bite."
"Surprisingly, we match up."
"I used to knock back Pink Ladies and Singapore Slings a lot."
"...Same here."
And just like that, we chatted for over 30 minutes.
Elise kept up the disinterested act to the end, but the system window popping up didn't lie.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 『Quest Complete!』 Elise must've enjoyed our talk.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I stepped out of the promotions room to head back to the dorms.
Elise bailed right after our chat, saying it was training time, heading to the training hall first.
"Heading out now?"
"Yeah. Got stuff to do."
Moon Soo-rin called out to me as I left the Student Council room.
"At least now we'll run into each other more in promotions."
Her face bloomed into a full smile. No mistaking it—that went beyond simple fondness into straight-up affection.
...Yeah, it's confirmed.
Moon Soo-rin. You cheeky big sis.
She created the promotions club just to pull me into the Student Council. Couldn't make it just me without raising eyebrows, so she tossed in one pretty female freshman.
That was Elise.
Butterfly effect is terrifying.
I'd met Moon Soo-rin earlier than in the original, at the cafe.
Result? She fell for me faster.
Her trauma hadn't hit yet, so she approached me more aggressively.
Then she made the promotions club to get me on the Student Council, and to make it legit, Elise joined too.
Ah, headache.
'...Should be fine, right?'
It wasn't in the original, but Elise didn't play a huge role in the club arc anyway...
It's cool. Has to be.
Can't undo it now. Positives? Connections to heroines. Profit.
"Guess so. See you next time, sis."
"Yeah, Ho-yeon. Take care."
Moon Soo-rin only used my name quietly when we were alone. I called her "President" around others, so fair enough.
I left the Student Council, leaving her beaming smile behind.
First, wrap up today's tasks.
Submit the club application for Lucy's social club, and I'm done.
Where's Lucy, though? Probably with Lumi, so hit her up.
Lumi's number was saved on my smartwatch. I activated the hologram and texted.
Me: Lumi, you with Lucy by chance?
Lumi: Yeah, what's up?
Me: What else? Wanna apply for the social club. You finished the paperwork?
Lumi: Uh... well, something came up...
Me: What kind of something?
Lumi: Hmm, wanna come to our club room? Room 205.
A bad feeling hit me. Something's up.
I took the elevator to the second floor, turned the corner, and knocked on 205.
"Come in..."
Inside, Lucy looked utterly deflated.
"Lucy, what's wrong? Issue with starting the club?"
"Kinda... yeah. We booked the room, picked a faculty advisor, but then the club department suddenly claims an error and rejects it. Advisor bails saying they have circumstances too... What do we do?"
Seeing her usual energy drained like this made me wanna help.
Well, I would've anyway.
"Anything that could've been a problem?"
"No. Room secured, advisor on board, simple social club name, minimum three members met..."
"Hmmm...?"
Should be fine then?
Wait—those three minimum members include me, right?
"Obviously, the three are you, Lumi, and me?"
"Yeah... you didn't change your mind, did you? Nooo... without you, the club's toast..."
Lucy grabbed my arm, begging me not to bail, collapsing dramatically.
She was tiny, so no real weight, but that put her chest right against my hand.
Despite the feel, my mind went elsewhere.
Truth was, club stuff had been suspicious since morning.
Fishing club drama, the head club president dodging my gaze, my name on a social club app getting rejected.
Even a pure soul like me had to suspect foul play.
And I had guesses who.
Mana Research Club.
They seemed salty at me, and they had the biggest pull among clubs. Maybe flexing on me.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 『Sub Quest Transmitted.』 [Founding a Club with Lucy and Lumi!] Something shady seems to be lurking behind the club approval! Help Lucy get the club founded! - Reward: Lucy's favorability increases. 3 Random Stats
The quest popped up the second I realized.
Something's definitely fishy.
I'd help anyway, so free quest.
"Lucy. I told you—think how great it'd be with Student Council in the club."
"Eh? You won't ditch us?"
"Don't sweat it. I'll fix this."
"Whoa!"
"Let's hit the club department."
"Okay!"
Club department was on the 16th floor.
Right below Student Council on 17.
Clubs were a big deal here—tons of cadets applying or founding new ones.
Just then, a girl exited the new approvals desk.
I flagged her down.
"Excuse me. Did you just found a club?"
"Y-yeah... Wait, uh, ours is just a casual hobby club for friends, but if you really wanna join, I could kick a friend out...!"
"Whoa, hold up. Calm down."
"O-okay..."
I'd learned from Elise how to leverage good looks, but I was still clumsy.
Elise would've squeezed something extra out of her.
"How long did the new club approval take?"
"Just filled out the form and got approved on the spot..."
"Hm. Thanks."
I left the still-staring girl and turned to Lucy.
Something's wrong.
Perfect paperwork shouldn't get rejected.
Had to talk directly.
Approached a desk cadet.
Luckily a guy—no dramatics.
He eyed me sourly, but I got it.
Ugly friend.
"Hi. Here for new club approval."
"Yes. Paperwork all done?"
"Here. Casual social club with friends."
"Okay, one sec... Ah, sorry. No issues with the form, but system's erroring out. Can't approve today. Come back tomorrow?"
"..."
Lame excuse.
This was the exact form Lucy got rejected on.
Tested it anyway, and yep.
After rejection for "error," advisor cited "circumstances."
Plugging this into the system flags it as fake from the jump.
No form issues, but error?
Possible real glitch, but his awkward vibe screamed otherwise.
"Error last time too, and now again?"
"Yup."
"Mind if I input it myself? Feels off."
"Told you no. Keep pushing, I'll call Student Council execs."
"I am Student Council. Go ahead, call one. Let's see."
"Huh? No, wait..."
I had reason for the nonsense act.
Not 100% sure, but someone was blocking me.
I'd flashed my status, so only one person here could counter.
"Junior. How about chilling? New guy's being too much."
Showtime.
The head club president who'd dodged me earlier.
Didn't care for his name.
Club Leader it was.
"Senior. Hi. Our club's getting mysteriously rejected."
"Looks like a system glitch. As your Student Council senior, I'll handle it. Head out for today."
Club Leader flashed a friendly smile, but I saw through it.
Sneer hiding underneath.
Time to bail.
Prep what I needed.
Arguing more just hurts me.
Time till Friday.
Solve by then.
Elise called it again.
Without connections, I'd eat this BS helpless.
Time to leverage my network.
And from now on, heed Elise's every word.
Never wrong yet.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Elise finished training and hopped into the luxury foreign car waiting at the academy's main gate for dinner.
"Good work, miss."
The middle-aged driver greeted her familiarly.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Any progress in training? Lady Irene back home was worried."
"Bringing up sis to piss me off, huh?"
"Wouldn't dream of it. Never crossed my mind."
The man offered a water bottle with a faint smile.
"What would that sister worry about? Whatever."
Her big sis Irene had tormented her since childhood. Even grown, memories of Irene snatching toys and crushes lingered deep.
One reason for studying at Korea's Victoria Academy: escape her clutches for freedom.
"Heard you joined Student Council? Impressive as always."
"No biggie. Just got picked on looks."
"What about that cadet Lee Ho-yeon? Same promotions club means you'll cross paths often."
*Gulp gulp.*
Parched from grueling training, Elise continued while quenching her thirst.
"He's good-looking. Seems talented too... but something bugs me."
"Why? Sounds like your type."
*Zap.*
She chucked the bottle at his teasing, but he caught it with a chuckle.
"Eh... no real reason."
"Maybe a thug in disguise? They always reek of it, no matter the act. Back in my day..."
He rambled guesses and tales, but Elise's head was full elsewhere.
A truth too prideful for Elise to admit aloud.
She'd grown up showered in praise and envy for her overwhelming talent and beauty.
Maturing early, she realized envy stemmed from others' inadequacies, knew her superiority, so never raged.
But two people irked her with jealousy: Nam Da-eun from Victoria Academy.
Her crushing talent and combat prowess made Elise curse the gods for choosing wrong.
Her rude, antisocial vibe grated too.
And Lee Ho-yeon.
No jealousy. Not worth it. Totally different field.
But annoyingly irritating.
Our chat was solid. Matched my tastes perfectly, first time ever.
Cocktails to books, movies, even classical— all engaging.
But felt toyed with, like he danced above my head.
He spoke like he knew me, nailing it so I couldn't retort.
Meet his eyes to snap? Damn face matches my type, hard to rage.
Irritated but can't blow up, weird good vibes—unsettling mix.
"Back then, they called me Bloodstorm. Show up, and blood everywhere..."
"Enough already. I'm starving. Dinner, now."
"Tch. Got it. Usual restaurant."
"Yeah. Then 'Emilia' cocktail bar for dessert."
"Where's that? First I've heard."
"...Just go."
"Aye aye."
Elise crossed arms, eyes shut tight. He gave up and drove.
'Sigh, what even is this feeling?'
Elise hadn't realized yet, but she'd fallen into the heroine trap.