A Mage Appears, Not a Ninja!
A black-robed figure wearing a red ribbon and a black pointed hat suddenly materialized before the podium. In one hand he held a small wand, while a blue magic circle hovered beside him. The blond, blue-eyed man dressed in classic mage attire spoke fluent Korean.
"Get lost already!"
"The hell are you, bitch? You gonna pay me the money?"
Meanwhile, Jung Ayeon's face had turned ice-cold. From her body radiated a chill far deeper than mere disdain—a pure, seething hatred.
"I believed the promise had been kept. What face do you dare show now?"
"How laughable! To think you would cling so desperately to something so trivial."
"Leave. I have nothing more to do with you."
"Who decided that? Everyone, come out!"
At that moment, roughly ten mages began materializing one after another. They had clearly been lying in wait, weapons already drawn and aimed at us. Their appearances varied, yet every single one of them wore the same mage robes—and every single one of them was female.
The man shouted at the two women closest to us.
"Go bring that woman here!"
The two approached Jung Ayeon in silence. She snarled at them.
"Do not lay hands upon my body!"
"Don't resist."
"Come quietly."
The instant they reached for her, I slapped their hands away. Staring at them with cold eyes, I spoke quietly.
"What do you think you're doing?"
They looked wordlessly toward the man for orders. Enraged, he jabbed a finger at me.
"Who the hell are you to interfere?!"
"Business associate."
The man snorted.
"Hah! I am her fiancé!"
"Fiancé?"
"That's right!"
I shot Ayeon a look demanding an explanation. She muttered in pain.
"A man not even fit to be called father forced this arrangement upon me."
Her eyes looked more desolate than I had ever seen them. Ignoring her expression, the man shouted again.
"Ha! Regardless, the fact remains that I am her fiancé!"
"The promise was never like this to begin with!"
Ayeon shot back fiercely. Just as I tried to pull her toward me—
"Don't touch another man's fiancée!"
A menacing blue mana began to pour from the magic circle in the man's hand, as though he would strike the moment I made a move.
Seeing this, Ayeon wore a complicated expression before slowly walking toward him.
"Do not target the gentleman. I shall walk there myself."
Once Ayeon reached him, the man withdrew his mana as if the matter were settled. A woman beside him asked,
"What about that man?"
"At the very least, cripple one of his limbs—"
Before he could finish, a number appeared above the man's head. His entire body began to tremble violently.
"...What's wrong?"
When the woman pressed for an answer, the man spoke in a frantic rush.
"Don't touch him! Absolutely don't touch him! Not even a single scratch!"
"......Understood."
"Everyone will die. We'll really die."
The woman looked utterly bewildered, yet she merely gazed at him with pity and said nothing more.
Just then, someone burst into the dueling arena, shouting.
"What the hell is this?! This isn't what we agreed on!"
"Sis..."
The intruder was Jeong Bia, Ayeon's older sister.
"You said if Ayeon won, the engagement would be called off!"
"You actually believed that? Interfere any further and even your big sister's fate won't be pretty."
"Fuck."
When the man's mana turned toward Bia, she cursed but could no longer approach. She was normally a capable fighter, so the fact that she backed down suggested either the man's strength or some other hidden reason.
The man ignored Bia and lined the women, Ayeon included, up on either side of him.
"Now then! Everyone, we're heading back!"
With those words, massive wings of blue mana unfurled from his back. At the same time, handle-like protrusions extended outward, and every woman grabbed one tightly with both hands. Just as the man prepared to take off—
"Hey, you fucking bastard, stop."
"What now?!"
I walked slowly toward him, my expression terrifying. Blue mana once again gathered in his hand, aimed at me, while the women clutching the handles prepared to strike in a desperate standoff.
"You son of a bitch. Were you really about to fly away?"
"That's right! What are you going to do about it?!"
I spoke to him seriously.
"Aren't you going to wear seatbelts?"
"Ah..."
"Follow aviation law, you bastard."
"My apologies. I forgot."
As the man muttered something, mana straps resembling seatbelts emerged from the handles. While the other women hurriedly fastened them, I approached Ayeon, who stood at the very tip of the wing.
Ayeon forced a smile at me.
"Gentleman, I am fine."
"Yeah. Don't worry too much."
While fastening her seatbelt, I spoke calmly. The voluptuous curves hidden beneath her usual uniform were now clearly accentuated by the straps. I looked at her with the kindest expression I could muster.
"I'll make sure to spend your money on something important."
"No! Wait just a moment! Fuck!"
"Yangnam! Take off already!"
To keep Ayeon from falling, I pulled the seatbelt as tight as possible before quickly backing away. She thrashed, trying to grab my collar, but the straps restricted her reach. Just then the man began to ascend. With bloodshot eyes, Ayeon screamed at me.
"You fucking gentleman!!! I'll kill you!!! If I can't do it while alive!!! Then even if I'm dead!!!"
With those final words, she vanished into the sky in an instant. Watching her rocket away with unexpected force, I waved.
"Thanks, Midori!!!"
In the end, the award ceremony proceeded with only me on stage. After a brief speech, I collected both my prize and Ayeon's share at once. I immediately shoved the certificate into my pocket; a piece of paper bearing that pig's signature was worth less than kindling anyway.
Just then, Piece roared inside my head.
'Honestly, the backlash from the finals has left me completely exhausted. I probably wouldn't lose, but I can't guarantee a flawless victory.'
'And there's one more reason.'
[응? 뭐가 말이냐.]
Instead of answering, I looked at Jeong Bia, who still wore a hollow expression. She finally noticed my gaze and walked over.
"Looks like you owe us a pretty long explanation."
"...Fine. Follow me."
Thus Hye-ji, Elsia, Caersi, and I followed Bia into a private room deep inside the library. Caersi, whom I'd assumed would return to the paladins, had tagged along instead, claiming this looked far more entertaining.
"Where is this?"
"A rest area reserved for the library staff."
It was indeed a tidy space. Though the furnishings looked slightly worn, they were clearly well cared for.
"Husband! This place is heaven! There are more snacks than in the professors' offices!"
"Hey, glutton. Don't start trouble even here."
"Oh! Hye-ji unni! There's a book called Re: Starting from Zero to Grow Breasts over there too!"
"Fuck! Where?!"
Watching Hye-ji and Elsia rampage, Caersi spoke with exaggerated dignity.
"Everyone's such children. I can't stand how childish they are."
"Caersi. When did you climb into that box? Where did all the contents go?"
".......I suddenly collapsed over there."
Bia, observing the chaos, turned to me pleadingly.
"Please stop them. I'm begging you."
"Stop them?"
I gathered the three together.
"Kids, this room is managed by the librarians, right?"
"Y-yes... it is."
"...I was just going to read books."
"Sorry."
Their excited energy finally began to settle. I patted their shoulders and declared,
"So even if we make a mess, she'll be the one cleaning it up!!!"
"No, you fucking bastard! I told you to stop them!"
"Impossible!"
Bia cursed, but the damage was already done. Only after the three had thoroughly wrecked the place and devoured nearly every snack did we finally manage to talk.
Bia clutched her throbbing head and faced us.
"So what did you want to say?"
"Say it quickly! I still have to eat that!"
"Hey! Can we borrow the books here indefinitely?"
"Is there no catnip air freshener here?"
"Ha... I can't believe I have to ask these idiots for help."
Despite the earlier racket, no one had come to check on us, proving the room was excellently soundproofed—perfect for an important conversation.
Bia composed herself, then suddenly bowed her head to us.
"Please save my sister. I'm begging you."