“Elisa, did you do what I mentioned yesterday?”
As lunch settled in and everyone fell into a lethargic mood, Martina naturally sat next to Elisa and pulled out her study materials. This was practically her designated seat for the past few days.
Elisa hesitated for a moment at the question before nodding her head.
“I… asked him…”
“What did he say?”
With the question, Martina recalled the object of Elisa’s secret affection from the other day. No matter how you looked at it, that face was marred with scars and burn marks, like something straight out of a beast’s lair, especially when compared to Karina’s appearance.
But according to Martina’s investigation, despite his rough exterior, he was quite an intellectual who had received love calls from various guilds.
A splendid combat ability befitting a saint’s escort knight.
Rumor has it he’d easily suppressed the 3rd Platoon Captain, who was supposed to rely on his family’s name and didn’t have an ounce of skill himself. He was said to have broken through a Rift with a group of trapped students during finals and returned, and he was even rumored to be working on a project with Principal Merlin.
‘It can’t all be true.’
Even with the cosmic energy flowing through the universe, I doubt anyone could reach that level. It was a reasonable judgment. Even genius Laperinne, the outstanding swordsman Lewis, and the top-ranked Shuri in the Magic Department were all rather mediocre outside their respective fields.
Knights don’t know how to cast spells,
And wizards surely have no idea how to wield a sword.
But one thing seemed clear.
‘He seems to have fewer limitations than most.’
Cooking, architecture, metallurgy, sewing, intricate device crafting, weaponry, survival skills in the wilderness, remarkable resourcefulness.
His versatility justifies why he might be the escort of the world’s most noble being, the saint. It’s easy to understand now why there would be so much competition.
‘What sort of human receives love calls from over ten different guilds? Is he even human?’
And those were guilds from entirely different fields. Rumor even had it he possessed a wizard certification, leaving Martina to face a headache each time she collected information about him.
It was hard to distinguish what was true and what was false.
“W-well… um, Johann seems to be a… a place of… comfort for my heart…”
“Comfort for the heart, you say?”
Martina’s expression turned serious.
With the difficulty already high, it just got even more complicated. She stared intently at Elisa and asked,
“Was that all?”
“Yes, yes…”
‘Did she just make a vague excuse, or is she genuinely thinking that way?’
Honestly, I couldn’t even be sure if he was truly interested in girls.
This was the same guy who walked past Millia, whose looks rivaled Elisa’s, without showing any reaction at all as she made a bold approach. It was clear that trying to appeal to him would be as useful as a chocolate teapot.
I desperately needed some way to resolve this situation.
‘It was easy for Lewis and Shuri since they already had feelings for each other… but this… this is tough.’
“For now, please try to make contact with Johann and gather more information. What’s his favorite food, what are his hobbies, and what are his main interests…”
Knowing your enemy is key to victory.
In the end, information is crucial in any fight. Martina kept her mind busy and sorted through her thoughts.
‘For now, appealing to him becomes more important the more we end up on the same battlefield. I feel sorry for Millia, but I’m on Elisa’s side for now…’
“And how about we have a little ‘class’ together?”
“A-a class?”
Elisa looked at her in shock at the sudden statement. Martina gently smiled at Elisa’s adorable reaction and opened her mouth to explain the meaning of the class.
That was when it happened.
“Martina, I’m sorry, but I would like to discuss the assignment…”
A sudden voice interrupted, and Martina turned her gaze to the side. She spotted a female student who had a somewhat flashy appearance.
“Bella, we’re in the middle of a conversation, so let’s talk about the assignment later…”
“Isn’t our group assignment more important than your love advice?”
“We still have about two weeks until the group assignment deadline. And love advice doesn’t take that long, either.”
“We don’t just have a group assignment, you know.”
Bella’s sharp voice twitched Martina’s eyebrows.
Bella glared at Martina with a cold look, unaffected by her glare. As the two rivals locked eyes in a standoff, Elisa, now an innocent bystander, nervously looked back and forth between both.
“Y-you shouldn’t fight…”
“Elisa, it’s not a fight.”
“Right, we wouldn’t possibly fight, would we?”
Yet, even as they said that, neither of the two broke eye contact. The staring contest had already turned into a battle of pride. From Martina’s standpoint, engaging in a nerve battle with Bella, who constantly clashed with her since the second semester began, was exhausting, but she refused to lose the war of looks.
Once you lose that, you’ll be on the losing end forever.
But Bella, seeming to find the staring contest trivial, turned her gaze toward Elisa. When their eyes met, Elisa flinched and tried to avert her gaze, but Bella didn’t care and continued speaking to her.
“Elisa, instead of discussing love advice, how about we practice magic more?”
“Uh, w-well, um…”
“Oh my, is that something a third-place student should be saying to the one who ranked first last semester?”
Martina’s jab ignited a fire in Bella’s eyes. With a hurt look, Martina crossed her arms and glared at her. Sensing a fight brewing, Elisa recoiled in fear.
That sight only fueled Martina’s anger further.
“Bella, apologize to Elisa right now.”
“I was just making a suggestion.”
“…Behaving like that will lead to regret. Bella Asher.”
“Will it really?”
Bella shot a menacing look at Martina before turning her gaze back to Elisa.
“As I mentioned earlier, I was merely giving sincere advice. It’s not vague nonsense. Since it seems you aren’t in the mood to talk, let’s discuss this next time.”
Bella gave Elisa one last look before returning to her own seat. Students nearby, who had been on edge watching the scene, sighed in relief and looked at Martina. Though her face clearly expressed displeasure, she didn’t grab Bella.
Since it wouldn’t matter anyway.
“Elisa, are you okay?”
“Yes, yes…”
“Don’t mind what Bella said. She’s just being spiteful.”
Elisa nodded with a dark expression.
——————–
“What nice weather.”
As I was watching Karina and the kids chatting, someone unexpectedly spoke to me.
I turned my head to see a face that was both unfamiliar yet familiar staring back at me.
Why are you talking to me?
I stared hard at the unpleasant girl. Why on earth was she addressing me?
There was no reason for her to be coming onto me. She seemed like the type who wouldn’t approach me for any reason.
Regardless of my bewilderment, the troublesome girl spoke in a strangely sultry voice.
“Your name is Johann, right?”
“…That’s right.”
I averted my gaze back to Karina’s back of the head, intending to feign indifference.
I had no desire to entangle myself with an annoying girl.
“I’ve heard a lot about Elisa. They say you’re quite capable…”
“…”
“Oh my, are you ignoring me?”
“I’m busy.”
“Isn’t it okay for just a bit? Surely no one would dare mess with the saint.”
While that wasn’t entirely untrue, it was also not something I could accept without hesitation. Didn’t those crazed people wreak havoc just a few months ago? Plus, this world might look peaceful on the outside, but inside it was rotting away, just waiting to collapse. It wouldn’t be surprising if a traitor popped up among the students.
Especially if it’s coming from this one right in front of me, it raises all kinds of red flags.
“No.”
“Elisa was kind enough to speak to you, and you respond with rudeness…”
So what?
This annoying girl can’t seem to help herself. With a spiteful tone, she mentioned Elisa’s name while harboring a gaze full of jealousy. I shot her a disdainful glance and cast the dismissal spell once more.
“Leave.”
“Ugh… Fine.”
Wow, she’s ferocious. I glared at Bella’s retreating figure and turned my gaze back to Karina. The pink hair shrouded in a veil.
Staring at her pink hair that cleanses the eyes just by looking at it, I couldn’t help but frown at the sudden variable.
…Why did the antagonist contact me?
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.