Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: ...Huh? Top Scorer?
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"Over here! Tail! Over here!"
Yujin bounced up and down as he shouted.
"They say this place has amazing desserts!"
Sure enough, just as Yujin said, it was clearly a popular spot.
And for good reason.
'There are so many people. Like, seriously.'
The crowd was swarming like a horde of ants.
Tail gave an awkward smile and said to Yujin,
"Yujin, it's way too crowded..."
At that moment, Yujin's eyes lit up as he peered through the throng of people.
"Oh, good! Not too many people today?"
Huh?
"I was prepared to wait five hours, but looks like two hours tops! Isn't that great, Tail?"
Tail froze for a second.
'Is this guy for real?'
Yujin's eyes sparkled like stars, clearly relieved.
Seeing him like that, Tail swallowed a sigh.
'Sigh. Should I be grateful it's not five hours?'
In the end, after waiting two solid hours, Tail—his soul utterly drained—finally got to buy desserts with Yujin.
"Dude, you gonna eat all this?"
Tail let out a disbelieving chuckle.
No wonder—he was staring at the ornate tray Yujin held, piled high with about five different desserts.
"You sure you can finish it? You just ate lunch, remember?"
Yujin shot him a glare.
"What're you talking about? Of course I can. Dessert stomach's separate."
"What kind of nonsense is that? Humans need at least three hours to get hungry again."
"How would you know?"
How? I learned it somewhere.
As they bickered their way up to the second floor of the cafe, Tail's eyes widened.
"...Huh?"
He'd locked eyes with someone very familiar.
Flowing sky-blue hair and deep blue eyes.
Pale, flawless skin, a petite face no bigger than a fist packed with delicate features.
"...Alice?"
Even Yujin blurted out in surprise.
Yes, it was Alice.
And she had a mountain of desserts stacked beside her.
She sat there primly, eating them one by one.
'Whoa. Even worse than Yujin.'
You really can build a mountain out of desserts.
Who knew.
'Yujin’s the modest type, then.'
As that thought crossed his mind, Alice spotted Tail and Yujin, her eyes widening in surprise.
She gave an awkward nod.
Tail and Yujin nodded back slightly in greeting.
'She might feel uncomfortable, so we should sit somewhere else.'
Just as Tail turned to head to another table,
he felt an intense, persistent stare boring into him.
He turned toward the source.
Whoosh.
Alice quickly whipped her head away.
'Ah.'
Tail figured she probably wanted to eat together.
'Maybe she's super shy and that's why she's been so quiet?'
Could be.
And this wasn't an elf village—it was a human empire.
Living alone in a place with no familiar faces would inevitably bring loneliness.
'Out of everyone here, I'm the one she's built even a little rapport with, so maybe she wants to hang on to that?'
The thought popped into his head.
'Whew. Fine, whatever. It's just eating.'
With that, Tail whispered to Yujin and approached Alice together.
Alice looked up as they drew near, gazing at Tail.
Tail smiled and said,
"Alice, mind if we join you?"
Well, if she said no, nothing to be done.
Alice nodded slowly, her expression blank.
"...Sure."
And so the three of them ate their desserts in silence once more.
Tail never once asked Alice something like, "Are you eating all that by yourself?"
It looked like way more than one person could handle, but even Tail—who didn't know much about women—knew asking that would get him torn to shreds.
How much time passed like that?
Yujin glanced at Alice and finally spoke up.
"Alice."
Alice, mid-bite of dessert, shifted her gaze to him.
"If it's not too rude..."
Yujin asked ever so cautiously,
"Could I ask how old you are?"
Alice blinked.
"Oh, uh. They say the academy doesn't check age when applying, so I didn't mean anything big by it..."
Maybe she wasn't an adult, Yujin thought, fumbling his words.
Alice replied in a dry, nonchalant tone.
"I'm 193 this year."
"I'm 193 this year."
"...Huh?"
Yujin's eyes blinked slowly.
193 years old?
His mouth fell open slightly.
But Tail, who had seen it coming, didn't react.
'Well, she's an elf.'
Elves typically lived around a thousand years.
An elf with such a long lifespan living to two thousand? That said it all.
'193 is like human age of 19 or 20, right?'
Practically an adult.
"S-s-s-sorry!"
Thinking he'd been rude, Yujin's cheeks flushed red.
Yujin had lived his whole life in the monastery and never met an elf before, so he wouldn't know.
Alice showed no reaction either.
'Eh. Asking age isn't a crime.'
Tail rested his chin on one hand, muttering to himself as he scanned the dessert shop interior.
That was when he noticed it.
In one corner of the cafe, another person—like Alice—had built a dessert mountain beside them.
It was a single girl.
Her long silver hair swayed, and her dark eyes held an oddly chilling aura.
Her pale, soft-looking cheeks puffed out rhythmically as she ate.
Her pert red lips never stopped moving.
The doll-like beauty of the girl drew glances from those around her, only for them to eye her dessert pile with dismay.
Nom nom nom.
The desserts vanished rapidly.
'She eats like a champ.'
Tail found himself staring at the girl without realizing.
But then.
'Kinda familiar?'
Like he'd seen her before. That aura, that subtle pressure—it felt familiar.
At that moment, the girl's black eyes turned to Tail.
Their gazes clashed in midair.
And then.
'Huh?'
The girl smiled.
It was like sunlight piercing through icy frost—hard-won and radiant.
For some reason, he couldn't tear his eyes away.
That was when,
"Tail?"
Yujin's voice came from beside him.
Tail finally pulled his gaze from the girl and turned to Yujin.
"What? Know her?"
Alice had also paused her eating to look at Tail.
"Nah. If she was that pretty, I'd definitely remember."
Tail shrugged it off.
"Yeah... you're right. She is really pretty."
Yujin nodded.
"Anyway, you done eating?"
"Ack! No!"
At Tail's words, Yujin hurriedly picked up his chocolate muffin.
Doesn't this guy feel full yet?
Tail chuckled and said,
"Knew it. You're stuffed, aren't you?"
"Am not. I can finish it."
"Then hurry up. Alice is almost done, and you're still on your second?"
"Ugh, come on! What can I do if I'm slow!"
Alice let out a soft chuckle at their bickering.
"Oh? You laughed."
Yujin's eyes sparkled.
But Alice quickly schooled her expression back to blank.
"I didn't laugh."
She replied in her usual curt tone.
"You did! I saw it. Right, Tail?"
Both Alice's and Yujin's gazes turned to Tail.
Tail smirked playfully.
"Hey, she says she didn't. Can't argue with the person herself."
Yujin pouted.
"Argh, I swear I saw it."
"What? She said no. You must've seen wrong."
"Sigh... Feels like I got pranked by a nymph."
As they bickered again, Alice secretly let a faint smile slip.
Alice. She had come to the empire to earn her brother's approval.
But once she arrived, the loneliness hit hard.
No one to chat or laugh with every day.
And she wasn't ready to mingle with humans yet.
That was when she met Tail.
Hard to trust a human like him.
But oddly, being around him put her at ease.
-Kyahaha~ Pretty big sis! That uncle guy's here again!
Maybe it was because Ren liked Tail so much.
Tail's hair fluttered in the gentle breeze.
"Hey, just let me eat it."
"No way!"
Tail and his friends were still arguing.
The sight felt so natural, like she belonged right there with them.
Maybe that's why the loneliness welling up today felt a little less sharp.
Then Ren circled Alice excitedly.
-Sis! Don't you like that uncle guy?
'He's human.'
Alice sent back telepathically.
Ren tilted her head.
-Human?
'Yes. He's a different race from us.'
Don't trust humans.
Humans see elves as tools.
Alice knew that well.
How cruel and brutal humans could get.
'Once was enough.'
Alice's eyes darkened.
And the next day arrived.
Tail tossed and turned in the pouring sunlight.
Knock knock knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
"Coming!"
Already awake, Yujin opened it.
"Whoa! Tail! It's from Pharaon Academy!"
Tail sat up slowly and took the letter Yujin handed him.
Meanwhile, Yujin tore his open and scanned it quickly.
"Yes! I passed! You?"
Yujin beamed as he rushed over.
Still half-asleep, Tail ripped open his envelope.
And the contents read,
The above student has 'passed' the entrance exam.
"Oh. I passed too."
As Tail went to slide the letter back into the envelope,
'Huh?'
There was an extra sheet of gold-colored paper inside.
A bad feeling washed over him.
What’s this?
Why’s there another one?
He slowly pulled out the gold paper and read it.
Student Tail has been selected as the top scorer of the entrance exam.
Congratulations.
...Huh? Top scorer?
The top spot that the main character struggled so hard for?
Tail's eyes blinked slowly.
'Am I seeing things?'
It snapped him wide awake.