Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Fiancée's Jealousy and a Forced Date
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Th-that...!
Inside the faculty office.
I was talking with Professor Ran about this incident.
"It's been postponed?"
"Yeah, there's just too much to investigate now."
First place in the first-year survival exam.
Even after such a huge accomplishment, the award ceremony wasn't happening right away.
'So the professors think there's a traitor among us too.'
The Conceptual Monster known as the Outlaw of the Wilderness had come to slaughter the cadets en masse.
Once a monster like that shows up, it makes sense they'd deem it too risky to gather all the cadets in one place for an award ceremony.
No one was hurt, but it could have turned into a disaster, so I couldn't exactly blame them.
'The other kids must be baffled, though.'
Not only did they get eliminated in less than a day,
but a Conceptual Monster showed up at the very same spot aiming for a mass slaughter?
They probably felt more bewildered than confused.
Like arriving late to the scene of a catastrophe.
The kind of emotion where it's like, "That happened right where I was?"
Still, pushing ahead with the ceremony just to validate the kids' feelings would have been idiotic.
"Anyway, about that—could you maybe hold off a bit on picking your menu option?"
This mid-term evaluation wasn't just about individual rankings.
'Class competition.'
It was combined with that, and naturally, there were separate rewards for the class competition.
One of them being the menu selection right, which Professor Ran was asking to delay.
"Ah, sure, no problem."
"Thanks."
The academy was on high alert right now, so it made sense.
Having something like a menu change lighten the mood in the middle of all this would loosen things up.
The moment vigilance slipped, it'd be harder to sniff out the traitor.
'Targeting only the first-years means it's the Main Villain from the novel.'
In terms of difficulty, the first-years were the hardest to attack out of all the grades.
Even with the survival exam going on.
Launching a mass slaughter raid while all the first-year professors were on high alert?
If they just wanted to damage Hero Academy, there'd be no need for such a method.
It wasn't like they were crushing promising sprouts in advance—nothing had even been confirmed yet.
In other words, it looked like a mass slaughter on the surface, but underneath was a ploy to take out the novel's key characters.
'Obviously, most of the key characters are first-years.'
Just look at me being a protagonist candidate.
Plenty of kids who could positively influence the world after graduating normally in the future.
'Who the hell could it be?'
Actually, narrowing it down with the encyclopedia wasn't impossible.
Five suspects in total.
But the problem was none of them clearly screamed "mastermind."
'Can't act rashly here.'
The enemy was powerful enough to infiltrate a Conceptual Monster into the survival exam.
Strutting around in front of someone like that, claiming to know the future without evidence?
That'd be the same as begging them to kill me.
The upside was that I'd caught the Conceptual Monster solo, boosting my profile.
Which meant the traitor probably wanted me dead first and foremost now.
"Uh... no. I've kept you too long. Sorry, you can go."
"Yes, ma'am."
After a stretch of silence with Professor Ran, I stood up.
Even as I left the office and walked the halls, my mind stayed on the traitor.
It felt like the prelude to the novel's real story kicking off.
'Nah, it's probably just heading that way. Nothing this proactive has happened before.'
An artificial raid, worlds apart from natural incidents like the Hungry Mouth.
But the outcome hadn't followed the future timeline, so...
"They might try approaching me a few times first..."
"Looks like another girl is approaching you, huh?"
A familiar voice cut into my thoughts.
"Huh?"
"'Huh?' isn't an answer. Your fiancée's asking if there's a new girl."
A bold voice matched by flashy golden hair fluttering about.
Even in the standard cadet uniform, her aura made her look like luxury personified.
"No answer? Don't tell me it's true?"
She had that refined noble air you could spot from afar.
My fiancée-to-be, Heila.
Heila Radmos.
Born into a house that prized honor and nobility above all,
she had grown into the perfect representative of her family.
Not content with instantly claiming a top spot after transferring into Hero Academy—the world's greatest—she kept pushing herself relentlessly.
A genius who never grew arrogant.
That was the moniker attached to Heila,
and she herself had thought it fit her perfectly.
'Kim Geon-ho.'
Her fiancé-to-be, soon to be her husband.
The more she learned about him, the more she realized her own weaknesses.
'People aren't just what they seem on the outside.'
Yet Kim Geon-ho's actions clashed so hard with his appearance it gave her whiplash.
He looked like he'd strut around as some spoiled Wastrel Son from a powerful family,
but he'd booted everyone from the portal to solo the Little Giant—and this time, evacuated the rest to take down a Conceptual Monster alone.
Realms beyond innate talent.
Results born only from bone-grinding effort.
The more Heila learned about Kim Geon-ho, the deeper she fell into a maze.
'His everyday behavior is pure Wastrel Son, though...'
Openly declaring he'd date multiple women wasn't enough;
asking for a handjob in the infirmary, then getting up to who-knows-what with Marren this time.
She hadn't seen it, but man and woman alone in a room? Obvious.
And before that, rumors of him dating some other girl and even kissing her.
The worst as a girlfriend, but hilariously, the best as a man.
The ultimate ideal every guy envied!
Rich, decent personality, a shady past that somehow worked in his favor.
Family background beyond loaded, and his strength went without saying.
Even better, this wasn't his peak.
Considering he was still in his growth phase, his potential was immeasurable.
If the women around him weren't such heavy hitters, or if he were single, he'd have a horde chasing him.
Men wanted to befriend him; women wanted to be his partner.
That was Kim Geon-ho's current standing.
Heila, fully aware of it, always tried her best to be gentle with him.
But.
"Looks like another girl is approaching you, huh?"
Standing before Kim Geon-ho made her seething anger impossible to suppress.
"Huh?"
"'Huh?' isn't an answer. Your fiancée's asking if there's a new girl."
A brief silence from Kim Geon-ho here.
Even that irked her.
"No answer? Don't tell me it's true?"
"Nah, come on. Why would I make another girl when I have such a pretty fiancée?"
Slick as ever.
Kim Geon-ho flashed his signature grin and sidled up, slipping an arm around her waist.
"Get off! Picking up nothing but bad habits!"
Smack!
Heila swatted his hand away, but her lips curved up despite her words.
"I'm only using those bad habits on you, honey, so it's fine, right?"
"...You're not just using them on me!"
Heh heh.
Heila forgot her original goal for a moment, venting her anger before quickly reining it in.
She knew dragging the conversation like this would just pull her into his pace.
"I came to sort out the engagement schedule. Why aren't you answering your phone?"
"Oh, uh, I was lost in thought..."
"Whatever, we met now, so it's good. About that schedule—how's this weekend?"
"That fast?"
Was an engagement something you rushed like that?
Even for two major houses, wasn't this too hasty?
Reading Kim Geon-ho's thoughts, Heila continued.
"Truth is, we'd love to do it tomorrow if we could. But..."
"But?"
"Th-that...!"
Huuuuh—!
She froze!
Heila started to speak, took a deep breath, then pointed straight at Kim Geon-ho.
"Th-the Mountain Lords said we should take some time to get to know each other before rushing it...!"
"And...?"
"D-a date... they said we should...!"
A date had been on the cards anyway.
But the family proactively setting it up was a whole different story.
And the course the Mountain Lords suggested was insanely intense.
"An overnight at the amusement park...! Then the engagement after... we have to."
"Oh, really?"
Grrr.
Heila looking shy for once?
'Can't hold back an erection.'
Kim Geon-ho suddenly craved a quick wank.