Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Genius
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The next day.
After class ended, Isia approached me, asking for help with preparing for club activities. She said it so boldly that my response came out just as bold.
"No."
At my words, Isia froze with a sound like crack!! She stared at me in a daze, as if she'd never expected this, looking like a stone statue lost in bewilderment.
Her eyes seemed a little teary, but that had to be my imagination.
I ignored the pfft from Sophia behind me.
"I'm busy."
"Oh? Lee Seong-hoon is busy. Two words that shouldn't go together, yet here they are. Why not just say it straight: 'I don't wanna. Do it yourself. You're the maid anyway'?"
Shut up. I pressed down on the head of the chatterbox beside me and explained my reason for being busy. Truth be told, I brought her along because I was too lazy to explain myself.
The blue-haired girl with the emotionless face looked at me. When she tilted her head, I dragged her over and planted her in front of Isia.
"This one."
I pointed at Shin Chae-yeon once.
"That one."
I pointed at Kim Tae-hyun sitting off in the distance. That should make it all clear, right?
I have to watch these two spar, so I can't. There, explanation complete.
Everyone around us tilted their heads in confusion, their faces saying they didn't get it.
Come on, Shin Chae-yeon, don't you tilt your head too. I called you yesterday.
As everyone tilted their heads, Isia spoke up.
"Um."
Fidget.
Her gaze was fixed on the floor, so I couldn't see her face well, but her pouted lips were in plain view. Her index fingers, touching together, kept wiggling.
"I... I can't do it alone..."
I need someone to do it with... Isia said, her fingers moving even more. Anyone would think they were worms.
"Is it too hard to do alone?"
At my words, Isia looked up. Gone was the dazed expression; now she gazed at me with eyes full of expectation.
"Th-there's heavy stuff too, so maybe I need a guy~?!"
This time, she grabbed her hair and twirled it wildly. Why does she keep twirling it like that? Is the classroom that hot? Her face is red.
It is getting summery, after all.
"So you need a strong club member."
Isia nodded. Not just once, but several times, emphasizing the need for a man.
Her eyes sparkled, which was a bit intimidating. Well, moving magic tomes and such probably requires a lot of strength.
Dark attribute magic is mostly destructive, so she can't even use spells.
But.
"It doesn't have to be a guy."
"Huh?"
"Pfft!!"
A burst of laughter and a startled yelp came at the same time. I turned, grabbed Sophia's hand as she covered her mouth and laughed, and ignored her.
"Huh?"
I ignored her momentary confusion and pulled her along, then handed her hand over to Isia.
The two bewildered girls looked at me. I gave them a thumbs up.
"Club member."
Nod.
Raphael, standing beside me, nodded.
"Strong."
Nod nod.
Raphael nodded even more vigorously.
"You two get along."
Shake shake.
Now that's something to nod about, you.
"Good?"
At my words, the two stared at me in a daze. Raphael suddenly jumped forward and gave a thumbs up.
"Genius."
I know.
"Ah~"
A snack approached my mouth from the side. I ignored it and stayed still, but every 30 seconds came an "Ah~."
It's been about three minutes now.
Shin Chae-yeon, sitting next to me, smiled as she held out the snack. She seemed ready to keep this up until I ate it, but I felt like I shouldn't.
"If Seong-hoon won't eat it, I'll— Never mind, sorry."
"Ah~"
"..."
It was too much pressure, so I finally opened my mouth. Tasty. Sweet.
"Eating alone again."
"I ate because I wanted—"
"Ah~"
I reluctantly accepted another snack shoved in. I should eat this slowly. If I finish it, another will come, so I savored the sweetness.
"But why make Chae-yeon fight?"
Shin Chae-yeon asked solemnly, holding a stick snack. No real reason. I just wanted to see how strong Kim Tae-hyun is.
"You've marked her as your maid. The moment Lee Seong-hoon's maid radar locked on, it was over."
"Shut up."
I smacked the blonde's mouth twice for her nonsense and came up with a plausible excuse.
"Wanted to see how strong the sword clan's prodigy is."
"Didn't you see during the ranking matches? I fought well."
"You're not the prodigy."
At that, Shin Chae-yeon shoved a snack into my mouth. I was already eating, but she kept pushing.
"Hey, are you mad—"
"No. Ah~"
"No, you're mad—"
"Ah~~~"
"You're mad."
I accepted the incoming snacks while watching the arena. It was just a rented training room, really.
No audience but us. Those two did it because I asked.
Kim Tae-hyun didn't object either. Just nodded.
The two walked out from opposite sides. One walked calmly with a sword. The other trudged along with a knife.
I swallowed the snack forcefully and approached.
"Don't hold back. Figure out who wins and starts on your own. I just need to watch you fight."
Shin Chae-yeon nodded. Kim Tae-hyun glanced at me and asked, as if he didn't get it.
"This is fine?"
"Yeah."
"Can't figure you out."
He shrugged and took his stance, so I headed back to my seat.
"You still owe me two wishes. You know demons have to grant wishes if they make a contract, right?"
"Isn't it the other way around?"
I'm a livelihood demon. I said that and sat back down.
"A true demon. Great demon. Heir of Asmodeus."
Shut up.
"I'd like you even if you're a demon."
I don't care about your tastes. Ignoring the noisy pair, I watched the sparring area.
Like true masters' fights where words are unnecessary, these two—who trained daily—needed no words.
Without a single exchange, they moved on some signal. I have no idea what.
This is a masters' fight?
"That was the sound of a water drop as the signal, right, Seong-hoon?"
"Where's the water? Stop reading so many comics."
"In the comic I read recently, it was always a water drop!!"
For real? I glanced at the aspiring master just in case.
"No idea."
Yeah, figured. I quietly watched their fight.
Ching—!!
"Hm."
Kang—!!
"Hmmm."
I furrowed my brow at the constant clash of combat sounds. Definitely high level.
Future Sword Saint and protagonist— of course it's high. The problem? No matter how I look, I can't tell who's ahead.
They seem evenly matched.
"Chae-yeon's getting pushed back."
"Yeah? Can't tell."
"She's losing ground bit by bit."
Really? Even so, this confirmed it. Kim Tae-hyun was definitely weaker than in the original.
If it were canon, Shin Chae-yeon wouldn't stand a chance against him, but now she's clashing swords evenly.
That alone made me smile, knowing my efforts weren't wasted.
"Wow. You set up the fight and now you're smiling? Seong-hoon, you're—"
Ignore.
It ended soon enough. Of course it'd be nice if she won, but he's the protagonist—he had to win.
Shin Chae-yeon looked to the sky as Kim Tae-hyun sheathed his weapon.
This seals it. Just keep things like this from now on.
I'm doing well.
"..."
Shin Chae-yeon sat dazed, rubbing her stinging forehead. The reason was simple.
The spar earlier.
She got along with Lee Seong-hoon, and he'd saved her life once, so sparring at his request was no big deal.
Losing didn't matter either. It wasn't official, not in front of her father—just a casual match.
But then Lee Seong-hoon approached, smiling.
—What? Down because you lost?
—I told you to do it, so sorry if you're bummed.
—No one wins all the time. If you do, you're a robot. Robot.
—Oh, robots mess up too, you know? That AlphaGo thing lost once because of a mistake.
—Look at the girl next to me. Only thing she's good at is messing up, but she's confident.
—Take it back! Take it back!! Don't charge at me!! You're acting cool!!
It shouldn't have mattered. She wasn't thinking anything, but he spouted weird comforts.
The last one didn't even land because of the charging blonde.
She wasn't upset at all from the start. Not at all. Yeah. Not at all.
"Daughter."
At the voice calling her, Shin Chae-yeon snapped out of her thoughts. They'd come here after the spar.
She'd been summoned to report on the weekend events and Lee Seong-hoon.
"How was it?"
How was it. A very curt question, but Shin Chae-yeon understood and answered right away.
The weekend events. She explained everything he did on the 11 Islands and his strength.
He was fine amid the 11 Islands' mana. Unaffected. Killed a shadow in two hits that even she couldn't. And so on.
There was more to tell. Lee Seong-hoon had caused that much chaos.
As she spoke, she adjusted her headband. The stinging forehead no longer hurt.
Talking about him made her forget the pain.
Inevitable. Shin Chae-yeon had only ever heard shouts her whole life.
Endure. Don't mess up. Get stronger.
No empty comforts. She'd grown like a tough weed.
Grown strong by being forcibly trampled.
Maybe that's why those words slipped from her mouth.
"He seems like a good person. Much better than I thought."