Chapter 34
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Scandals Have No Romance (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Haha, shall we call it a day? Great work today, Hero."
Lisroom flashes a bright smile before turning and heading out of the training grounds.
Once he's gone, I'm the only one left in the now-empty training field, lying on the ground and staring up at the vast sky. Summer has passed, and the slightly cooler air wraps around me. Surrendering to that refreshing chill while lying there, even the hard stone floor feels comfortable.
Especially after hours of training like this.
The spot where Lisroom and I trained is littered with countless marks and debris. With the journey about to begin soon, we've mostly been focusing on offensive and defensive magic—nothing but sweeping the surroundings clean. For now, that's what magic means to me.
My body is gradually growing tougher. I hardly feel pain anymore from the hits I take during training with Sio. My mind keeps getting honed as well. No more submitting after just one or two defeats.
Even as I grow stronger so quickly, sweat still drips down, soaking my nape. A wry chuckle escapes at this inevitable physiological response after just a few hours of training.
"You're working hard again today."
The voice that drifts in while my eyes are closed, resting, is incredibly gentle. It's a voice that always brings me peace, lingering by my side. So when I turn my head, I see a face gazing intently at me. A welcome face.
"Hey, Seren."
"Yes~ Hello, Arsius."
She smiles softly as she calls my name. Ever since that incident, Seren has dropped the title of Hero and started using my name.
- Hero, would it be okay if I called you by your name?
What's the big deal with a name? The weight of "Hero" had always felt burdensome to me, so I agreed without hesitation.
"What are you thinking about so deeply?"
Seren leans in closer when I space out. She's so close that our faces are almost touching, so I tilt my head back as I speak.
"I told you I'm Ansiu, didn't I? You've been calling me Arsius this whole time. I was wondering when I'd hear you say it properly."
"Eh~? Am I not saying it right? Arsius?"
"No~ you're not, Seren Grace. And could you drop the honorifics altogether?"
I've never seen anyone use both a family name and honorifics like that before, so at least spare me that.
"Oh! Is it really okay to call you like that...?"
Her face flushes pink as she asks. I can see her trembling eyes and fidgeting fingers. What's so embarrassing about just a name?
"It's just a name. What's the problem?"
"Uwaaa... Okay. Arsius..."
I'm left a bit dumbfounded by her now squatting beside me, head bowed low.
"Arsius..."
"Yeah?"
"I like you..."
"That's a no."
Minors are absolutely off-limits.
"Eek!"
Thwack—
Ouch.
Seren must have picked up some bad habits somewhere; lately, she's been hitting me like this.
"Ah~ I should have just pounced on him back then and made it a done deal."
The Saintess Candidate sighs in her room. The steak and soup before her remain untouched as she pours out her longing.
"If I had, even Arsius wouldn't have been able to leave me behind, right? He's not the type to shirk responsibility~ He wouldn't abandon a woman he's shared intimacy with... Ah, I really should have jumped him."
And her maid, Karin, who attends her, is at a complete loss.
"S-Saintess Candidate...! Even so, you can't say things like that...!"
Karin's ears turn red at the Saintess Candidate's explicit words. She can't even lift her head, pleading for her to stop, on the verge of tears because she never wanted to know this side of the holy, noble, compassionate, and kind Saintess Candidate.
"Come on, stories of love between a Hero and a Saintess are fine~"
But the Saintess Candidate doesn't care at all. Having been tainted by the ways of the world through trials and tribulations, she's now the slyest woman in all of Pretoria, and that compassionate smile she wears before the crowds is nothing but a thick mask.
"Ah, no way. He wouldn't have found someone back home, right...?"
She pauses briefly. Karin looks up at the sudden chill in the Saintess Candidate's voice. The expression on her face is that of a woman harboring resentment, on the verge of having her mate stolen away.
If he did, I might just fall into depravity.
As the Saintess Candidate's aide, all Karin can feel is a headache.
Scandals—other people's love lives—are always prime fodder for gossip.
In good ways or bad, they flow from people's mouths, emptying glasses and filling bellies.
On a small scale, it's chit-chat about a neighborhood friend's partner. On a larger one, it's celebrities' private lives. That's become the norm in society, burning away time.
How much more so for stories about hunters, when gates open, monsters swarm, and supply can't meet demand?
Especially if it's an S-rank hunter drawing all the attention.
It's indescribable.
- Isn't that guy the boyfriend of Lee Yuna, that hunter?
- Looks like it? Wow, he is handsome. Guess that's the level that catches Lee Yuna's eye...
No.
- Whoa, are they dating? Huge news. Think she'll take a photo if we ask?
- Lee Yuna doesn't do that stuff, does she? And he's the first guy she's been seen with like this.
I cover my face.
Should I blame myself for keeping the cafe appointment? Or her, sitting across from me so casually, sipping coffee and looking at me? Not sure, so I just cover my face and sigh.
"Lee Yuna."
"Yes...?"
Her voice sounds calmer than anyone's, leaving me exasperated. She must know how famous she is—why does she seem so oblivious?
"There's a scandal about us. Why are you so calm?"
"Yes. Is that a problem...?"
"When did I become your lover? All I remember is hunting monsters in gates together."
"That doesn't seem like much of an issue...? Just ignore it."
Even though I've known her after all our time together, her nonchalance makes me laugh in disbelief. I'd seen this side of her, but I never imagined she'd be this indifferent even about her own love life.
"It's bothering me. I have zero interest in becoming famous. And getting known as the fictional lover of a famous S-rank hunter? That's even worse...?"
"Ah... Then why not just date for real? If it's true, it wouldn't matter...?"
"Are you insane?"
Like that's possible out of nowhere.
"Pardon...?"
Ah, I said it backwards.
But it's true.
"No, even if you don't care, I'm bothered by being seen together. Aren't you way too nonchalant about life?"
"Well... I don't really care about other people. They're worthless, irrelevant to me... "
Wait, then what am I?
"I'm one of those other people too...?"
"No... You're... different, Ansiu."
"How? I'm just like them to you."
She hems and haws as I stare in disbelief.
"You... shine..."
"Pardon?"
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
"Only you shine... You glow, full of color. In this drab world, you're the only one shining. That's why you're different."
She sips her coffee after saying that, leaving me full of questions.
"You're really weird. If it's not a concept, you're actually crazy."
"That's mean... But it's true."
Her slightly downcast face looks genuinely hurt, which is novel. She rarely shows emotions, so those drooping lips and eyes are just intriguing.
"Anyway, let's stop going to gates together until the scandal dies down."
I get to the point. It's what I came here to say, no hesitation.
"My phone won't stop ringing, and the mail piles up—it's annoying, so I need a break for a while...?"
As I say that and stand to leave, I catch her expression twisting, mid-sip. Whatever I said upset her so much that her face crumples in hurt, stopping me in my tracks.
"Uh... Why? You don't need me for gates, right?"
She shakes her head vigorously.
"It has no meaning if it's not with you, Ansiu..."
- Whoa, hear that from Lee Yuna? No meaning without you.
- Whoa... So sweet... Wasn't she always so cold...? Love changes people that much.
- I'm gonna puke sugar.
The real commotion comes from the other cafe patrons overhearing.
I flop back down and bury my head again. Covering my face, I sigh.
What the hell... Why is she doing this...?