Elsia. What the Hell?
I got absolutely pummeled by the Heavenly Demon for a while. Most of it was just one-sided violence, but I did manage to learn a few things during that beatdown.
"Heavenly Demon, sir, how exactly do you use Death Beam?"
"I'm going to beat you until you change that name. For now, assume you're reinforcing your arm with internal energy."
The Heavenly Demon raised his hand and pointed his fingertip at me.
"You also circulate your ki from the heart to the desired area and back again, right?"
"It's not ki, it's mana. Mana is also a Chinese character, so why don't you use that term?"
"It's a blasphemous word! Anyway, imagine that a portion of the ki flow at your fingertip doesn't circulate but leaks out instead."
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint haze rose from the Heavenly Demon's fingertip. The haze grew thicker over time, as if it was gradually condensing.
"Then every time the ki flows, it would keep leaking in that direction, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Gather the leaked ki and release it through the sweat glands."
"People without sweat glands can't use it?"
It was a surprisingly realistic yet unrealistic condition. But the Heavenly Demon said there was still a way.
"In that case, you can make a hole by cutting the tip of your finger. The efficiency is just terrible, though."
"If you drill a massive hole in your palm and fire it like that, it'd basically be a repulsor gun."
The moment I said "repulsor gun," the Heavenly Demon reacted.
"You mean that man of steel? I don't think highly of him."
"Why not?"
"Isn't he just a childish brat who can't understand his opponent in that movie where he fights the American general?"
A contemptuous evaluation of Brother Stark. This was something I absolutely could not forgive.
"You're expecting understanding after siding with the guy who killed his parents? Are you insane?"
"Ahem! He's a rotten human being from the start!"
"Fuck this, let's go again. Don't slander Brother Stark."
"I shall prove that the American general was in the right."
And so we went back to the dueling arena and had another brutal fight. I obviously lost, but since I managed to bite off one of his ears, we called it a draw.
Anyway, that was the end of the personal lessons disguised as violence with the Heavenly Demon. Coincidentally, the last day of our sessions happened to be the day of the World Tree representative vote.
As soon as practical training ended, Hye-ji, Jeong Ayeon, and I headed straight to the voting station. Maybe because it was evening, the place was completely empty except for the voting supervisor, who was dozing off. We had successfully gamed the system.
No need to wait around pointlessly.
Getting lunch late has its advantages. Voting works the same way.
The moment I received my ballot, I stepped into the voting booth and marked YES without hesitation. When I came out, Jeong Ayeon was just stepping out as well.
But Hye-ji...
"...How long is she going to take?"
"She must have many concerns. Please be understanding."
Hye-ji stayed inside the booth for a long time. It was obviously because of the conflict between two opposing emotions. The rational desire to screw over that long-eared bastard Lucianer, and the hatred toward massive breasts.
After quite a while, Hye-ji finally emerged with a deathly pale face, walking as if all strength had left her body. She must have voted yes. Seeing Hye-ji, who hated breasts so much, made my heart ache. All breasts are precious, after all. Big ones, small ones...
People without breasts aren't even treated as human, but Hye-ji gets an exception.
If you say that out loud, you're dead.
***
The next day, the voting results were announced across the entire academy. It wasn't just posted on bulletin boards everywhere; even the academy app on our phones sent out notifications.
Right on cue, a group of exhausted researchers crawled out of the voting station. They were staggering toward the research building. It was a clear case of human rights abuse—forced to count votes all night and then go straight back to experiments.
This body shall henceforth consider all professors utter pieces of shit.
I should just take their heads as the Professor Slayer.
To get straight to the point, the voting result was an overwhelming YES. First of all, Lucianer’s terrible reputation from his comments about the World Tree played a huge role. It was only natural that the image of the opposition faction he led was severely damaged. On top of that, while their anti-campaign might have been normal at first, they kept getting reported multiple times yet continued their reckless, no-holds-barred tactics without any improvement. As a result, even people who might not have voted yes ended up doing so out of pure anger.
What a bunch of idiots. If you're going to manipulate people, at least do it properly.
At this rate, even Goebbels couldn't pull it off.
The voters included elves, academy students, professors, and staff. Researchers were naturally excluded. The reason given was that they weren't considered human, so they couldn't be given voting rights.
Wouldn't it make more sense to deny voting rights to that bald Professor Pilyong instead?
Truer words have never been spoken. Honestly, isn't it weird for a bald man to be voting for anything?
At that moment, I spotted Lucianer in the distance. He was screaming in denial, desperately trying to rip down the posted results. He had completely lost it. Then, as if hoping for a miracle, he pulled out his phone to check something. He was probably looking for some hopeful public opinion on the academy's anonymous forum.
A brilliant idea suddenly flashed through my mind. Without hesitation, I opened the academy app and started writing a post. The location: the anonymous board.
There is no such thing, you long-eared bastard!
The big tree you chose!
The dogshit election that got completely destroyed!
You can NEVER overturn it, you long-eared bastard!
As long as it's not me~~~~~!
The moment I posted it, countless comment notifications started ringing. Of course, I didn't check any of them. It was obvious what kind of replies would be coming. Thanks to my little stunt, I couldn't stop laughing. I walked toward the classroom with a huge grin plastered on my face and threw the door wide open.
Hye-ji and Jeong Ayeon looked at my face with worried eyes.
"Looks like Shinu has finally reached the end of the line."
"Young master... it was an honor."
"No, you fucking idiots. I'm not dead yet."
I quickly wiped the smile off my face, wondering what the hell they were thinking. But Hye-ji had already fallen into her delusions and began muttering with a dark expression.
"Don't worry, Shinu. After I kill you, I'll follow right behind you."
"No, fuck. Please don't go down some ambiguous yandere route. I don't want to add more tags."
"...So as long as it's not ambiguous, it's fine?"
"Is that your preference, young master?"
"Fuck. Seriously."
I briefly explained why I was grinning like an idiot. Only then did Hye-ji and Jeong Ayeon look relieved.
"I thought you had crossed a river you could never return from."
"I thought the same."
"What the hell do you guys usually think of me?"
Both Hye-ji and Jeong Ayeon tilted their heads at the same time, as if I'd asked something obvious.
"A crazy bastard."
"A crazy bastard indeed."
She says you're a crazy bastard.
"You fucking bitches."
Hye-ji, Jeong Ayeon, and the voice in my head all overlapped perfectly, as if they shared one heart and one mind. Then Hye-ji and Jeong Ayeon bumped fists, celebrating that their hearts were in sync.
Jeong Ayeon used to be the normal one. She's starting to get weird too.
From what this body sees, you seem to be the root of all evil.
The moment I felt a slight despair at this unavoidable reality, the front door of the classroom quietly opened. The classroom had been noisy, and there was no sign of it dying down. That was only natural, since no sound had come from the door until it opened.
But the instant someone stepped through the gap, the classroom fell silent as if cold water had been poured over it.
Two people had entered. One was the blonde elf who had verbally delivered a death sentence to Lucianer. The way she walked slightly behind suggested she was acting as an escort.
The other was the pink-haired elf who had been elected as the World Tree representative. She looked exactly like the poster—same clothes, same appearance. It was like she had stepped straight out of a painting.
The pink-haired elf walked to the center of the lectern and slowly scanned the classroom. After looking at everyone, she opened her mouth. A very gentle, soft voice flowed out.
"Hello, everyone. I am Ersciana of the Sky Butterfly Tribe, who has been elected as the World Tree representative. First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for being elected thanks to your precious votes. Though I am lacking, I will strive to become an elf worthy of the position of World Tree representative. Once again, thank you so much, everyone."
When she finished speaking, Ersciana bowed. Her movements were slow, elegant, full of dignity, and beautiful like a work of art.
She's on a completely different level from that long-eared bastard last time.
That one was just a beast. And he's in heat all the time, too.
When Ersciana lifted her head after the bow, she was met with thunderous cheers and applause. Hye-ji clapped with a sour expression, clearly half-hearted, while Jeong Ayeon simply nodded.
But Ersciana's behavior was strange. She didn't pay any attention to the cheers and kept turning her head this way and that, as if urgently searching for something. When she couldn't find what she wanted and looked slightly disappointed, the escort elf whispered something in her ear.
Then Ersciana's gaze turned toward me, and her face brightened into a radiant smile.
"Ah, it's you! The one who fought and defeated Lucianer, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. My name is Kim Shinu."
"I've been so eager to meet you. I really wanted to know what kind of person you were."
At that moment, a number appeared above Ersciana's head and a mirror fragment formed. The number above the escort elf's head also went up. Unfortunately, the escort elf was at an awkward distance, so no mirror fragment appeared.
But something felt off. The escort elf, who had been looking back and forth between me and Ersciana, was now smiling faintly. On the other hand, Ersciana stood there for a moment with her mouth slightly open, staring blankly into space. Then she snapped out of it, turned back to me, and introduced herself again.
"Hello, Kim Shinu. My name is Ersciana."
Ersciana stared at me with eyes full of intense longing. After a brief pause, she spoke.
"Please call me Elsia."
Elsia suddenly took both of my hands in hers. The unexpected contact made my face gradually heat up. But the moment Elsia smiled brightly and spoke...
"Darling."
My world stopped for a moment.