Subtle Changes
Following the incident in the Great Forest of Spirits, this was the second time the main heroine had fainted. At this rate, one had to wonder if she had some kind of passive skill for passing out. Well, she did overexert herself. It was only natural that she collapsed.
"Wangnon, it's time for dinner."
Just then, a voice drifted into my ears. It was Card Belikman, my roommate.
After being sent to the infirmary, I had received prompt treatment. Wounds inflicted by sword qi are slow to heal. Because the treatment took longer than expected, I ended up being carried back to my room by the healers.
Between the earlier fights and that final clash with Ban, it had been an incredibly grueling mock battle—enough to completely drain even my stamina. So, for today at least, I focused entirely on recovering.
I felt Card stride over and stare down at me. How annoying. I wished he would just go away.
"Babe, if you don't get up right this second, I'm going to plant a big fat kiss on you."
"Oh, for fuck's sake."
A curse slipped out of my mouth at his sweet, mocking tone. Card threw his hands on his hips and cackled. What a crazy punk.
"Yo, nice to see you, Number Fourteen."
Fourteenth. That was my final rank in the mock battle. Although I hadn't quite made it into my original target of the top ten, I had achieved something much greater: I had forced Ban, the lazy genius, to fight seriously and defeated his resolve. I had undoubtedly left a far deeper impression on everyone's minds than any of the actual top ten.
And the same goes for Isabel. To make matters worse, she hadn't even gotten the fight she had been looking forward to. She was probably absolutely fuming.
"Card, what about you? What's your rank?"
"Me? Heh, eleventh. Higher than you."
Card smirked boastfully. But knowing his secret, I merely snorted. Just like Ban, this guy could have climbed much higher if he wanted to. He simply decided that now wasn't the time to reveal his hidden trump cards.
"Who's first?"
"Sharin, as usual."
Worthy of her reputation. Still, a part of me felt disappointed. I had prepared a secret weapon with Sharin to surpass Ban and climb even higher, but I hadn't even gotten a chance to use it.
The battles were much more intense than I anticipated. As if to remind me that this world was no game, reality proved far harsher than my meta-knowledge suggested.
Especially the extras. The battles against the minor characters I hadn't even considered were surprisingly grueling. Now that this world was reality, those extras were real people, and they fought desperately to raise their ranks.
I need to broaden my perspective. Even if I have to adjust my plans, I cannot allow any setbacks. I learned a great deal from this mock battle.
"So, Wangnon, are you eating dinner or what? Since today was the mock battle, Marie personally supervised the cooking."
"Why did you wait so long to wake me up? You should've done it immediately. Stop dragging your feet."
"Wow, talk about shameless."
Head Maid Marie's culinary skills were so outstanding that even the Imperial Palace had tried to recruit her as a royal chef. If we arrived late, the other students would sweep up all the food, leaving nothing behind.
Bickering with Card, I left the room and headed down the stairs. Perhaps because of how fiercely I had fought, my body still felt stiff.
"Ah."
As I was descending the stairs, I crossed paths with someone walking down the hallway. The hallway light reflected off her exposed forehead, creating a blinding glare. I instinctively rubbed my eyes. Realizing what I was doing, her eyes widened in shock.
"Y-You!"
Her ponytail whipped through the air as she trembled with rage. The girl with the prominent forehead was none other than Seron Parmia, one of the quartet who constantly slandered me. Among the four, Seron was the unfortunate soul who had been the first to fight me.
"Hey there, Number Thirty."
"Don't call me Number Thirty! And I'm not even ranked thirtieth anymore!"
Wait, didn't she drop to thirtieth after losing to me?
"Seron is nineteenth," Card chimed in from beside me.
How did this guy even know that? It seemed that after her defeat against me, Seron had clawed her way back up using her remaining matches. Well, her skills were never meant to be stuck at twenty-ninth anyway.
"You had an upset stomach during the last mock battle, right?" Card asked with a bright grin. Seron's expression hardened as she glared at him.
"How does a Magecraft student like you even know that?"
"I make it a point to remember all the pretty girls."
"If you flap your gums like that one more time, I'll rip your mouth open. You look like a buttered potato."
Why did she compare everyone to crops? The moment her eyes met mine, Seron's face contorted in anger.
"What are you looking at, you burnt sweet potato?"
She sure was feisty. I silently stared at her. Not backing down, Seron glared right back. Despite the brutal beating she had received from me, her spirit remained unbroken. Staring at her made my neck ache. When I raised my hand, Seron's shoulders flinched violently. She instinctively took a step back and lowered her stance. It was a reaction engraved into her body. No matter how stubborn she was, she couldn't forget what had happened to her today. Watching her react like that, I simply rubbed the back of my neck.
"Ugh!"
Realizing how she had just reacted, her face flushed a deep crimson. Steam practically bilowed from her forehead.
"You can be a tomato. A bruised tomato."
I decided to give her a nickname of her own while I was at it.
"Eek... y-you...!"
Seron trembled with rage before snapping her head away. Then, she turned on her heel and fled like a startled rabbit. Card watched her go, then leaned in with a curious look.
"What on earth did you do to make Seron act like that?"
"Slammed her into the ground and punched her right in the face."
"Pfft, you really gave her a beating. You know, feisty girls are actually pretty cute when they become docile."
I looked at Card with sheer disgust.
"You have terrible taste."
"It's an excellent taste. Seron might snap at everyone else, but she's the type to be incredibly soft on her own man. Give it a shot. It'll be fun."
I let his words go in one ear and out the other.
When we arrived at the cafeteria, it was packed, just as expected. Since everyone had worked hard during the mock battle, today was the day to feast on some greasy food. I joined the crowd and quickly grabbed a tray.
"Young Master Hanon, you worked hard today."
Head Maid Marie greeted me as she handed me my food. It seemed she was greeting every single student individually. With so many students, that required incredible dedication. I suppose that was what it took to be the head maid.
"Ah, Wangnon, looks like there are no seats left because we got here late."
Just as Card said, the cafeteria was completely packed.
"Should we eat outside?"
There were tables set up outdoors, but it was too much of a hassle to walk all the way out there. Just then, an empty spot caught my eye.
"There's one over there."
"Oh, sharp eyes."
As I headed toward the table, Card quickly followed. But the moment I set my tray down and sat...
"Oh."
I realized a moment too late who was sitting across from me. Orange eyes gleamed from beneath a bob of honey-blond hair.
"...You."
It was Isabel Luna. Sitting beside her was Sharin, who was happily munching on a whipped cream churro served for dessert. When our eyes met, Sharin waved her spoon at me in greeting. Her complete lack of table manners was classic Sharin.
"Yo, Isabel," Card greeted her first.
Isabel gave him a brief nod before turning her gaze back to me, staring so intensely I thought she might drill a hole through my face. Ignoring her glare, I sat down, picked up my fork, and stabbed a piece of steak. Even then, I could still feel her piercing gaze.
"Even a dog is left in peace when it's eating."
"Don't treat me like a dog."
"And here I thought you were a Labrador Retriever."
"Pfft."
Sharin snickered, covering her mouth. When Isabel glared at her, Sharin quickly lowered her head and went back to eating her churro.
"You know the results of the mock battle, don't you?"
Sure enough, Isabel brought up the mock battle.
"If you're asking me to apologize for that..."
"I don't accept this result."
Her orange eyes locked onto mine. I could read the burning desire within them—the absolute determination to end this with her own hands.
"I will defeat you with my own hands and force an apology out of you. So make sure you climb higher next time."
I see. I realized something. Isabel is changing, little by little. Only now did I notice that the dark circles constantly shadowing her eyes had faded. Her once-frizzy hair was well-groomed, and she had put on a healthy amount of weight, suggesting she was eating properly. Her lips, which had always been dry and chapped, had regained a hint of color. To defeat me in the mock battle, Isabel had been training relentlessly on her own. And to see the fruits of that training, proper meals, sleep, and rest were essential. The results of training don't appear overnight. Thus, from the day she met me, Isabel must have forced herself to eat and sleep. The physical proof of her efforts was right before my eyes.
"...Why are you smiling?"
I hadn't even realized I was smiling.
"I'm scoffing at you. That's never going to happen."
Until the day comes when you can live your life without me, Isabel, I have no intention of losing to you. Hearing my sarcasm, Isabel pouted and stood up. Her tray was already empty. She glared at me, as if remembering one last thing she wanted to say.
"...And I'm not doing this because of you. It's for Lucas."
Her words carried a sharp warning. Ah, she heard. The day those girls had picked a fight with me, Isabel must have overheard what I said when I stood up to them. It seemed that had only fueled her defiance even more.
"Sharin, let's go."
"Mmhmm~"
Sharin stood up, slipping a straw into her juice bottle. When our eyes met, she gave me a subtle, knowing smile. I had made a promise with Sharin to act as Isabel's enemy for her own sake. This smile was her way of telling me she was playing her part well.
"Here, you can have this."
Sharin handed me her half-eaten churro. I frowned deeply at it.
"You already took a bite out of it."
"But it's yummy~"
"I have my own, you know."
Sharin tilted her head, murmuring, "But it's so good..." before walking away. She really was an eccentric girl.
"Junior, it seems the seat across from you is empty. Mind if I sit?"
Just as I was about to scoop some soup, another presence appeared in front of me. I looked up to see silver hair swaying gently. It was Nikita Cynthia, our academy's Student Council Vice President.
"Of course. I actually saved this seat because I figured you'd come by, Senior."
I gladly offered her the spot.
"Hehe, I'm glad I have such a thoughtful junior. It's so crowded today that finding a seat was quite difficult."
She smiled warmly and sat down across from me.
"Junior, you worked hard in this mock battle. It was truly impressive."
"I'm flattered. You watched?"
"Of course. As your senior, how could I not watch my junior in the Student Council fight so hard?"
Nikita really seemed to have a soft spot for me.
"Fourteenth place. Climbing that high from forty-eighth is no small feat. You did wonderfully."
Usually, I was the one showering her with praise. Receiving it from Nikita today felt rather strange.
"Now, about the reward..."
And there it was—the most important topic.
"Unfortunately, you didn't make it into the top tier."
The "top tier" of the mock battle referred to the top ten. Since Nikita's promise of a reward was contingent on me making it into the top ten, it was a bit of a shame.
"And here I was, already planning our honeymoon. How tragic."
"I'm sorry, but I am not in a position to marry just anyone. I can only marry someone chosen by my family."
Rejected. That made it two confessions and two rejections. More importantly, my jokes were starting to lose their effect on Nikita. She had clearly grown far too accustomed to my teasing. Well, nothing to be done about that. Time to get serious.
"Though, if you achieve something so great in the future that my family practically begs to have you, then perhaps it might be possible."
"I shall become a hero starting today."
"Hehehe, I was only joking."
"The Cynthia family is my new goal in life."
"J-Junior, I said it was a joke."
"I will conquer the Demon Palace and stand at the very peak of the world."
"Junior?!"
I'd have to adjust my future plans accordingly. Seeing the deadpan seriousness on my face, Nikita began to panic.
"...Sometimes, I really can't tell where your jokes end and your sincerity begins."
"I am always sincere."
"Junior, as I've mentioned before, my ideal type is someone tall. If you grow a bit taller, I might at least give it some thought."
Nikita politely turned me down. Three confessions, three rejections.
"Hmm, Wangnon is plenty big in other areas, though," Card chimed in with some completely unnecessary commentary. When I glared at him to shut up, he merely shrugged.
"Anyway, Wangnon, is it just me, or have you been talking exclusively to the academy's most famous figures since we got to the cafeteria? Do you actually possess some kind of hypnotic charm?"
"Right now, I wish I possessed the magic to shut your mouth."
"That would require a massive amount of mana. My mouth never stops."
"I'm planning to sew it shut while you're asleep tonight."
"Great. Maybe I'll sleep in another room tonight."
What a clown.
"By the way, Junior."
Nikita called out to me, subtly pushing her carrots to the side of her plate. She had the palate of a child and couldn't stand carrots.
"How are you planning to form your party for the Demon Palace expedition?"
The expedition party. She was referring to the team we would form to enter the subterranean Demon Palace. Having proven my worth in the mock battle, I was bound to receive invitations from all over.
"I wonder. I haven't really thought about it yet."
In truth, I had already planned everything out, but it wasn't something that would happen just because I wished for it.
"Could you take Poara into your party?"
"You mean Poara?"
Poara Silin, the first-year who had contracted with the Spirit Sovereign. Thanks to that contract, he had recently been promoted to the special class.
"I'm sure plenty of other teams would love to have him."
"The other students place far too much expectation on him. Excessive expectations often lead to ruin."
There was a saying that high expectations lead to great disappointment. If people expected too much from Poara and he failed to deliver, they would inevitably be deeply disappointed. That wouldn't end well for either party. Nikita likely wanted to take Poara under her own wing, but the third-years explored much deeper floors than the first and second-years. It was simply too dangerous to bring Poara there.
"But I feel like you wouldn't let that happen, Junior."
She was right. After all, I didn't expect anything from Poara in the first place.
"What does Poara think about this?"
"When I brought it up to him today, he practically begged me to arrange it."
Poara, the contractor of the Spirit Sovereign. I pondered the offer for a moment before nodding.
"Sure, I'll do it."
There was no reason to refuse. This was a good opportunity to build a closer relationship with him.
I wonder which teams will reach out to me. I only hoped it would be the ones I had in mind.