Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Isteir
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Isteir picked up the phone shortly after the connection tone sounded.
"Hello?"
"It's me. Kai."
"Ah... I know. You really pulled it off?"
The voice of Isteir coming through the Status sounded a little softer than it had when we'd met that morning.
Surely, it was because she recognized my true worth?
"I told you I would. It took some doing, though."
"I saw it too. Your opponent was pretty impressive."
"You were watching?"
"Yeah. Well... I'm a D-rank ranker myself, after all? I was watching while handling my own matches."
Ah, right. I'd forgotten—pilots come to this place to compete, obviously.
"So, now you have to do your matches?"
"That's right... You haven't eaten yet, have you?"
"No. I was waiting for a free meal."
"Pfft. That confidence of yours... My last match is at 1:40. Can you wait?"
"I was planning to watch anyway. I'll kill time waiting."
"Great. I'll call you when it's over."
"Sure. I'll be cheering for you."
There hadn't been any matches for Isteir during the D-rank bouts that morning, but it seemed they were all clustered in the afternoon.
I'd originally planned to go hunting in the afternoon, but with a beauty like Isteir offering to buy me a meal, I decided to take the whole day off while resting up.
I headed back up to the spectator seats and watched the matches at a leisurely pace.
I'd half-worried someone might recognize me, but nothing like that happened.
I wondered if I was coming down with celebrity syndrome. People's gazes felt overly conscious all of a sudden. It was probably because this face of mine was so ridiculously handsome—I was dealing with all sorts of nonsense because of it.
I refocused and kept watching the matches, but as expected, none of the D-rank ranker bouts caught my eye.
Then, finally, Isteir's match came up. It arrived right when I was starting to get bored.
She picked what I assumed were her main Valkyries.
They were the same ones I'd seen in the Orc Forest before.
Lushan, Edern, Holla, Stella, Garujan, Tear.
Excluding Edern, they were all A-rank Valkyries.
Just owning five A-rank Valkyries put her at a decent level as a pilot.
But the problem was that in a 6v6, you had to pick nine Valkyries and then ban three.
In that process, only two of her five main Valkyries could actually remain.
That was the reason D-rank ranker fights were so lackluster.
They forced themselves into 6v6s, but with such a small Valkyrie pool, they couldn't show their true skills and had to fight using non-mains.
It was a transitional phase. A gateway they had to pass through to grow further.
I didn't think I'd need to go through any such gateway, but since I didn't even have eight main Valkyries yet—including Sua—I didn't feel the need to challenge it right away.
I planned to return to the Colosseum only after I'd gathered at least twelve.
Showing up with half-baked skills in front of the crowd would just make me look worse than I had back in E-rank.
Isteir's situation wasn't bad at all. Her opponent was in an even worse spot.
Isteir managed to keep at least one A-rank Valkyrie, but her opponent couldn't even hold onto two.
The result was a massacre.
The enemy was brutally torn apart by Lushan, the A-rank Valkyrie.
Holla provided solid support from the rear, staunchly protecting Isteir's B-rank tank, while Lushan the spirit archer swiftly collapsed the front lines.
Winner: Isteir!
Maybe my expectations were too high, but it wasn't exactly captivating. Still, the crowd erupted in cheers.
In truth, if it wasn't a nail-biter or a high-value clash like the one with Seon-an, drawn-out matches could get boring fast.
A one-sided sweep like Isteir's was probably more refreshing and entertaining by comparison.
But... still.
Isteir was certainly near the top of the food chain in this world, but if she got complacent here, she'd never climb higher.
I'd told her she needed to grow instead of hanging around places like this, but she was the one who truly needed that growth.
I could guess why someone with five A-rank Valkyries had been wandering the Orc Forest.
Isteir went on to win her 1:40 match as well.
Amid the crowd's cheers, she showed a faint smile.
Having swept both her matches today left her looking refreshed.
Shortly after she left the arena, my Status vibrated.
Sure enough, it was a call from Isteir.
"Good match."
"You were watching?"
"Of course. Watched it all."
"Hehe. Where are you?"
I could hear her mood brighten just a bit from her tone at my words.
"Out front of the Colosseum square?"
"Got it. Heading there."
I hung up and waited out front in the Colosseum square first.
Girls passing by kept stealing glances at me standing alone, but none asked for an autograph.
Then I noticed one woman staring at me persistently, hesitating as she fidgeted.
She seemed to steel herself and start approaching.
But she suddenly froze, looking all antsy.
I wondered why, and that's when Isteir appeared at my side, waving.
Seeing me with a beauty like her, the woman turned on her heel.
'A little disappointing. She was cute.'
"You're here?"
"Yeah. Hungry, right? You waited all this time because of me."
"Starving. What're you buying?"
I could see Isteir chuckle softly at my words.
'What? She's even prettier when she smiles?'
Her usual blank expression blooming into a slight smile made her look incredibly radiant.
"Hmm... Wanna walk a bit? I know a great spot nearby."
"Lead the way."
We walked together, chatting about this and that. Mostly about Valkyries.
"Why'd you only bring one D-rank Valkyrie to that forest?"
"Ah... There's a story there."
I couldn't very well say I'd opened my eyes and suddenly been there.
"Hmm... I don't know the details, but that was incredibly dangerous. What would you have done without me?"
Isteir put on a stern expression as she spoke.
"I'm already incredibly grateful. I might not even be here without you."
"Good thing you know."
Her expression softened right away at my words.
"No foods you can't eat?"
"As long as it's not insanely spicy, I should be fine."
I'd never traveled to places like Thailand or Vietnam, and I'd never even tried anything with heavy curry. It wasn't my taste to begin with.
Anything besides that should be okay.
Maybe because it was a Korean game, there was plenty of Korean food around, and even things like pizza were Korean-adapted versions rather than authentic Italian.
Thanks to that, I hadn't struggled with meals since arriving here. Lucky break.
"Good, then. The place I'm taking you is a nice pasta spot with a cozy vibe."
"Sounds perfect."
Pasta place—probably had tonkatsu too? Pork stir-fry or kimchi stew would be great, but pasta sounded worth trying.
We arrived at the restaurant under Isteir's guidance. It wasn't flashy or huge, but the lighting and interior gave off a pleasantly intimate feel.
Exactly the kind of place women would love.
Having never been to a spot like this with a girl before, I felt a little tense. Especially with someone as stunning as Isteir.
Isteir entered and naturally claimed a table by the window.
"What'll you have?"
She politely handed me the menu first.
"Hmm... Everything looks so good."
Lots of eye-catching options. Since I'd never been to a place like this, every dish looked tempting.
"I'll go with this."
"Volcano Spicy Chicken Pasta? You must like it hot."
"Yeah... I can handle spicy. Love it, actually."
I almost let slip that I was Korean. Korean spice pride and all.
"In that case, I'll get aglio e olio for pasta... You're a guy, so you'll want more. How about a sirloin steak?"
"Oh... Yeah, perfect."
I'd been hoping for tonkatsu, but steak? No reason to say no.
"And a red wine. You drink, right?"
Isteir was going all out on the order, clearly intending to treat properly.
I had no reason to refuse.
"Sure. Let's have a glass. You're really going all-in today."
"It's basic for a pilot."
Seeing her smile as she said it made me freshly appreciate just how lucrative being a pilot was.
I mean, I was on the verge of buying a 2-billion-won mansion myself.
While waiting for the food, we chatted idly. Isteir had seemed pretty stoic at first, but today she was in a good mood and quite talkative.
Or maybe I was just reading the atmosphere wrong.
She was a woman I clicked with surprisingly well.
I wasn't much of a talker usually, but living with this face had boosted my confidence. The words flowed easily.
The mood was ripening nicely.