Chapter 222
Chapter 222
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Sacred Martial Games' Opening Ceremony and Social Gathering
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The Sacred Martial Games' opening ceremony and social gathering took place in a massive hall on the third floor of the hotel.
Since the social gathering started right after the ceremony ended, we had to change out of our uniforms into party attire beforehand.
I wondered if a social like this was really necessary for an event centered around teenagers, but it seemed the Sacred Martial Games organizers wanted to emphasize "交流" over "competition."
"......Ugh, what a hassle."
I checked my outfit in the mirror.
I didn't want to look like I was trying too hard, so I just threw on a basic blazer, but standing like this made me feel oddly like "Kim Jinwoo."
"......This should be fine. Nice and casual."
Alright, time to go.
I left my room, took the elevator, and arrived on the hotel's third floor, where the social and ceremony were being held.
The moment I got there, I spotted Lee Seojun, dressed sharply in a sleek black suit like a model.
He noticed me too and waved happily.
"Oh. Kim Seonwoo~ Looking sharp?"
Lee Seojun looked me up and down and said.
"......Sharp? It's barely different from the uniform. Oh, right, where are the others?"
"They've either gone in already or haven't arrived yet."
"Hmm. Alright? Let's head in for now."
"Yeah."
Lee Seojun and I entered the third-floor hall.
Stepping inside, we were greeted by a crowd of people all dressed to the nines.
Considering the number of Sacred Martial Games participants, it was quite a turnout.
That was because it included organizers, teachers, association members, and researchers from Wigen, among various other professions.
"With this vibe, it feels like the social's already started."
"Yeah."
"But where are the others?"
Lee Seojun looked around.
"There's Lee Hyunju over there."
I pointed toward the corner where she was standing alone, stuffing her face with snacks.
Lee Seojun glanced at her and chuckled.
"Oh, yeah. I'll go talk to Hyunju for a bit."
"Sure. Go ahead."
With that, I sent Lee Seojun off and was left alone.
Feeling bored, I grabbed a piece of fruit from a nearby table and popped it in my mouth.
Munch munch.
—Hey. That's Kim Seonwoo, right?
—Yeah, it's him. The guy next to him earlier was Lee Seojun, I think.
Just then, whispers in various languages drifted toward me from around the room.
They were students from other magic academies. Their eyes were filled with wariness, as if sizing me up.
The stares were so blatant that, while eating my fruit and glancing around, my eyes met a familiar face in the crowd.
A cute girl with her hair in twin buns.
It was Yang Ying, the top student from the Chinese Magic Academy.
Our eyes met, and she quickly looked away.
As if she had no interest in someone like me.
Yang Ying was a character with almost no presence in the original story.
But her unique magic had stuck vividly in my memory.
She was an augmentation-type wizard specializing in spear arts, with a secondary ability to summon a horse-shaped spirit for mounted combat.
She gave off the vibe of a general from Chinese history, which I thought was pretty cool.
"Kim Seonwoo."
Then a voice called me from behind. I turned to see a woman with flashy blonde hair and exotic features.
"Lily Rose."
Lily smiled at me with her eyes and said.
"Long time no see? I've missed you."
I've missed you.
She said it like we were lovers reuniting after ages.
"......Missed me, huh."
"For real. Didn't you see me posting your pics on SNS every day?"
I popped another fruit in my mouth and swallowed.
"You're bragging about stalking me like it's something to be proud of?"
"Oh? Stalking? That's harsh."
Lily feigned offense with an eye smile.
"Posting pics of me on SNS every day—what else would you call that?"
"......Uh. Fan love?"
Her words left me momentarily dumbfounded.
Lily Rose, a fan?
It didn't suit her strong sense of pride at all.
"It's true. I've been following your exploits online. Heard you took down that Disease Archmage last time? And the heavy rain spell too. You've been on fire."
Lily chattered excitedly.
Then, realizing she sounded too thrilled, she suddenly clamped her mouth shut.
"......Anyway, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's morning round one team event. Hang in there till the end in the individual matches too, so we can face off in the finals. Though I bet you'll manage just fine."
"......Yeah, sure."
"See you around."
With that, Lily turned away in her usual haughty demeanor and vanished somewhere.
Time flew by.
The Sacred Martial Games opening ceremony finally wrapped up. It had been as light and brief as promised.
Just the third-year reps from each school going up on stage to recite the oath together, and a speech from the organizers.
And at 9 PM.
The main social gathering kicked off.
Pleasant music played, and mana-powered lights cast a soft glow around the room.
The subtle tensions between schools from the ceremony had vanished as if they'd never been there.
Creak.
I slipped away from the bustling indoor social and stepped out onto the outdoor terrace.
Coming out from the noisy, stuffy room brought a sense of calm.
"......Nice."
I leaned against the terrace railing on the third floor and took in Wigen's night view.
The research facilities with their unique shapes glowed under the lights, making it feel like a futuristic city.
I set down a plate of fruit and a glass of juice I'd grabbed earlier on a small table.
I bit into a strawberry, and sweetness flooded my mouth.
Munch munch......
I was lost in appreciating the nightscape with it as my side dish when.
Creeeak.
The terrace door opened, and someone stepped inside.
"Oh? Found you. There you are."
It was Choi Seoyun, her hair neatly tied up in an elegant style unlike usual.
"What are you doing out here alone?"
I popped a strawberry in my mouth and stared at Choi Seoyun.
I'd noticed during the ceremony, but her outfit and makeup were different from her usual style—maybe that's why her face seemed to glow especially today.
It even felt like encountering a stranger.
"Noisy and hot in there, so I came out for some air."
"Oh? I was just feeling the same—too noisy and stuffy."
Her obvious line made me chuckle. Choi Seoyun smiled faintly too as she came over to my side.
"But what's that you're eating?"
"Fruit. Try some. It's super sweet."
I picked up a strawberry and held it out to her.
Instead of taking it with her hand, Choi Seoyun leaned in and bit it straight off.
The move caught me off guard.
I hadn't expected her to eat it right from my hand.
"Mmm...... Wow, it really is super sweet."
Choi Seoyun commented casually on the taste as if nothing happened.
I kept my cool and quietly placed the strawberry stem on the plate.
"Super sweet, right?"
"Yeah, is this some kind of hybrid?"
"Yeah. I asked a staff member earlier—they said it's a Wigen specialty bred through research."
"Ah, that explains the different flavor."
Choi Seoyun beamed.
Her smile was infectious, lifting my mood too.
Feeling good made me crave alcohol. Especially in an atmosphere like this, booze always hits different.
But all I was allowed here was orange juice.
I felt a pang of regret inwardly when Choi Seoyun narrowed her eyes.
"I know exactly what you were just thinking, sunbae."
"What was I thinking?"
"You wanted a drink just now, didn't you?"
I flinched in surprise.
Did Choi Seoyun have mind-reading?
"......Huh? No? What's that out of nowhere?"
My throat suddenly dry, I sipped my juice.
Choi Seoyun kept her eyes narrowed, watching me.
"But is alcohol tasty?"
"No idea, never tried it."
"......Come to think of it, you'll be an adult next year."
An adult next year. Time's flown that fast.
Choi Seoyun leaned against the railing and looked up at the sky. Her face was lost in thought.
Soon, her expression turned glum.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just realizing this might be the last year we run into each other at school."
"Yeah. Won't see each other as much after I graduate."
I took another sip of juice.
Sweetness filled my mouth. Sometimes this beats bitter alcohol.
Choi Seoyun, still leaning on the railing, turned her head toward me.
"Sunbae, you mentioned being interested in the Special Response Team before, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I'm thinking of aiming for that too."
Choi Seoyun looked me straight in the eye as she said it.
"I wasn't sure about my career path, but lately I've been leaning toward the Special Response Team and studying up on it. Sure, big guilds pay the best if you want money, but I'm not that into cash. I'd rather do something rewarding, like saving people."
I chuckled.
"You'd excel at anything."
Just like in the original.
"You think?"
Choi Seoyun smiled again.
I chuckled too and turned my gaze to the park in front of the hotel below the terrace.
That's when I coincidentally spotted a familiar face.
A woman with a haughty expression and brown hair.
Daria Tarani.
She'd vanished once the social started—turns out she'd left the venue entirely.
Daria was on the phone with a serious look.
I enhanced my hearing with mana, and her voice faintly reached me.
—Yeah, it's going smoothly.
—What? You're kidding?
—......Got it.
I could guess who she was talking to.
The villain pulling the strings behind Daria, the key figure in the Sacred Martial Games arc.
Sipping my juice, I slowly recalled the original story's events for this Sacred Martial Games episode.
In the original, Daria was being blackmailed by a villain in Wigen for some purpose.
Using her only family—her young brother—as a hostage.
The villain targeted her for a simple reason.
Among the five aces competing in the Sacred Martial Games, she was the easiest to exploit.
Lee Seojun and Lily were only children, while Luke and Yang Ying came from world-renowned magic families.
But Daria had no such backing.
Born to an ordinary family, she lost her parents young, leaving just her little brother.
That's why her brother was kidnapped by the villain.
Faced with threats to his life, Daria had only one choice.
Obey their demands.
In the end, she'd become a puppet for the villain's requests in this Sacred Martial Games arc.
......But the outcome wouldn't be good. She was a character plagued by misfortune in many ways.
Creak.
Then the terrace door opened, and a female student stepped in.
I didn't know her exact name, but I'd seen her face around before.
Choi Seoyun's friend, I recalled.
"Oh? Ah, found you. Seoyun-ah. You were here? Took forever to find you."
She said, then spotted me and bowed politely.
"What's up?"
"Teacher Lee Heeyoung's looking for you."
"......Oh, yeah?"
Choi Seoyun glanced at me subtly.
"Go on."
"Yeah, see you later!"
Choi Seoyun replied with a smile.
Wigen Hotel front park.
Daria was on the phone with a grim expression.
[Anyway, let's do this right. Don't you wanna see your cute little brother's face again?]
"......Shut your mouth."
[Huhu. Alright. Oh right, I heard. You're at some social gathering now? Have fun.]
Click.
Daria hung up without a reply.
Her fingertips trembled.
The helplessness of being powerless in this nightmare made tears well up.
"Haa......"
Daria trudged to a bench and sat.
She opened her smart student notebook, and her brother's photo appeared.
She went to the gallery and played a video.
It showed her brother beaming innocently from long ago.
Seeing it, tears finally fell from her eyes.
It was part regret for creating this situation, but mostly longing to see him.
That's when.
Daria felt a strange gaze and looked up.
On the hotel's third-floor terrace, a man leaned casually against the railing, sipping his drink while looking down at her.
She recognized him at a glance.
'......Kim Seonwoo?'
Personally, along with Lee Seojun, he was one of her top two rivals to watch in this Sacred Martial Games.
How long had he been watching? Did he overhear the call?
Her mind filled with questions.
Then Kim Seonwoo spoke.
"Is that pic your brother? He's cute."
Even from three stories up, he could clearly see the photo on her smart student notebook.
Impossible with normal mana control—she vaguely sensed his skill.
Then, for a moment, Daria caught something odd in his words.
What was it? Pondering, she realized.
Kim Seonwoo had spoken in Russian.
With flawless native pronunciation.
"......How long have you been watching?"
He shrugged nonchalantly at her question.
"Not long. You looked so serious, like you'd been dumped by your boyfriend, so I just watched a bit."
Then, in a low, serious tone, he continued.
"Daria."
She shivered involuntarily.
"You've got something bothering you, don't you?"
"......Bothering me? What's that supposed to mean all of a sudden?"
"Your face says it. You looked down during the morning too."
......Did he hear the call?
Kim Seonwoo looked at her and chuckled.
"Yup, you've got worries."
"......And what if I do? What're you gonna do about it?"
He pondered her question with a thoughtful expression.
"If you've got worries, spilling them to someone might help clear your head."
"To who?"
"Me."
Daria narrowed her eyes.
"......What're you saying? Don't you know this is our first time meeting?"
"You never know. I might be able to solve your problem."
Kim Seonwoo added.
"......Think about it."
With that, he headed back inside the hotel.
Daria stared blankly at the spot on the terrace where Kim Seonwoo had stood.
And thought to herself.
......What a weird guy.