The excitement of the first day of the competition still lingered even after the match had ended. Despite the evening moonrise, all the hotel guests were buzzing with stories about today’s battle soccer.
The more I listened, the more May’s lip corners twitched upwards.
“Are you enjoying it a bit too much?”
Rin gave May a subtle hint from the side, and May cleared her throat but stood tall.
“It’s about my husband receiving compliments; of course, I’m happy.”
“I’ve been wondering since last time, why do you call Daniel your husband? He seems uncomfortable with it.”
That wasn’t wrong. Daniel had become very reserved in romantic matters due to Eris, the elf.
Especially in Rin’s case, even though she was partially possessed by the Goddess of Death, she didn’t want to add excessive stress to Daniel, having more or less forced herself onto him.
But May shook her head while sucking on a candy.
“On the contrary, this is the opportunity, you idiot.”
“Wh-what? Idiot?”
In purely physical terms, she was way less than him, so how was she the idiot? Rin felt a rush of irritation but continued listening to May.
“Hey, what do you think Daniel will decide in the end?”
“……”
“I assure you. That jerk will definitely say he still likes elves.”
That wasn’t wrong. Rin felt the same way, and the reason Daniel McLean was struggling was that he couldn’t forget Eris from his past life.
It was too hard to see the current Eris as a different person from the past Eris, making his life difficult.
“The fortress wall is his heart. No matter how much we cling to him, he totally ignores us.”
“Hmm.”
The more she thought, the more frustrating it became.
If only Rin had had a bit more courage when they were living in the village.
‘If that had happened, we could have been dating.’
Wasn’t she the one trapped inside that fortress? Daniel had told her he had a crush on her when they were in the village.
“But right now, that fortress is under renovation.”
“……”
“Hey, to be honest.”
May pulled the candy from her mouth, stopped walking, and declared with a serious expression.
“I can’t live without Daniel. That bastard has burrowed too deeply inside me.”
It might be a confession that could be embarrassing. But Rin thought she couldn’t lose here and jumped in.
“Since we lived together in the village, I’ve been in love with him for a whole 10 years. I’d say I might love him even more than you do.”
“Are we counting time? In the end, you let an elf steal him, what’s the point.”
“W-well, that’s…”
That wasn’t wrong, and Rin couldn’t counter.
“Anyway, I’m not trying to fight you. I’m saying we should cooperate right now. We need to break down the wall that the big-boobed elf has built.”
“Phew, you’re right.”
If they just let Daniel sort his feelings out on his own, that stubborn fool would never open up to them.
May slowly extended her hand.
“Let’s give it a try. First, we’ll cooperate, and then afterwards, I’ll take the win.”
“Stop talking nonsense. I agree on the cooperation, but if Daniel is too hurt, I’ll side with him.”
“I have that much tact.”
Thus, an alliance was formed.
Rin never imagined she would end up this way with May when the semester started. Back then, they were just delinquent types drifting through school.
‘Definitely need to get my act together a bit.’
Thinking of considering Daniel, Rin held back from getting too close to him. Knowing he felt burdened, she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.
But this resulted in the current situation.
Daniel liked elves, and there were girls swarming around him. Rin thought that in the village, she could slowly approach him, as the girls all liked Ares.
Yet, Daniel McLean’s charm had drawn people in since he left the countryside and entered the world.
‘I should have locked him down in the village.’
What good was regretting it now?
Rin berated her foolish self inwardly and continued to open the door and step into the building.
“Was it room 606?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Since all the guests in the hotel were students, no one found it strange when Rin and May entered.
At the smooth arrival at the door of 606, May knocked.
“Open the damn door!”
“……Are you really going to get it open that way?”
“Just wait.”
Thud!
May had dropped the loving girl act, now showing a more delinquent side.
After kicking the door a few times, some male students from Pales peeked out into the corridor.
The owner of the ruckus, the boy from room 606, also opened the door.
“What’s going on?”
The boy emerging inside wore glasses and was none other than Hendrick. He seemed to have been preparing for bed, clad in pajamas.
“Damn it, you showed up nicely!”
May’s fist punched him right away.
“Haah, I said let’s go inside to do this.”
Rin sighed, holding her forehead.
*
Seeing my right hand move freely made me chuckle. The relief and freshness of unwrapping the tightly wrapped bandages felt liberating.
If my right hand had a self, it would’ve been rejoicing in the fresh air after so long.
“That bastard was already healed but was pretending to be broken?”
Jesant smirked, holding a cigarette in his mouth. As the pirate next to him swiftly lit it with a match, he exhaled a puff of smoke.
That wasn’t wrong.
I had thought I’d gotten caught by Eve once.
Last time, when I asked her to take my tray, Eve had said,
“I’ll have to check the bandage later. You’re not lying, are you?”
I had panicked a bit then and rushed to the hospital with May.
“It felt like becoming a magician.”
I had tasted a tiny bit of the joy that a magician would feel showcasing a surprise twist in the climax of a story.
A broken arm?
In fact, I had felt healed already on the carriage coming from Bairn. Having broken bones several times in the Forest of the Demon Realm, how could I not notice those?
But if I had voided my hand’s healing claim, I felt like I’d be dragged around to various events, so I lied about my arm being broken.
I had spent my time alone back when everyone else was practicing, just sucking on lemonade.
Personally, it was the most rewarding time of my academy life.
“But hey, kiddo, did you think we’d all be falling down just because your right arm is healed?”
“Dude, you watch too many novels.”
“Are you going to break it again? Why’d you unwrap the bandage?”
I hadn’t thought that unwrapping it would make the pirates feel anything at all. But from my perspective, it was a perfectly timed moment.
“Shall I start my final rehabilitation treatment?”
Swish.
The sword at my waist was drawn. It was my right hand gripping the sword again, but it didn’t feel awkward at all.
“Ha, you little impolite brat.”
BANG!
Jesant pretended to reach for his cigarette while pulling the trigger with his opposite hand. However, my sword had already deflected the mana bullet.
‘Is that the pistol Sen was talking about?’
Even without being told, I could react at that speed, but having prior information made it easier to deflect.
So they could make weapons like that too.
‘Should I visit the dwarves later?’
Since I had a Maester I knew, I thought they might make me weapons cheaper.
This sword, gifted by my sister, was great, but because I treated it harshly, it was starting to show wear.
“Ha! Nowadays, kids can block bullets and dodge them like it’s nothing.”
Maybe it was out of pride, but Jesant fired a few more shots, but I easily deflected them.
‘Slow speed and if you focus only on the muzzle, it’s not hard to deflect. It’s only suitable for ambushing; if you shoot directly in the open like this, it’s just…’
It became a weapon that could only be seen skeptically. I was getting bored enough to yawn.
“Boss, let’s wrap this up quickly. If we drag this out any longer, the Bairn guards will come.”
“Phew, those rude little brats.”
As he touched the scar on his nose made by Sen, Jesant spat out the cigarette before stepping forward.
“Go and cut off a few limbs, then bring them before me.”
“Yes! Captain!”
Maybe it was because they were pirates, but they shouted something like a rallying cry before charging.
Honestly, if we were measuring breathing, the pirates were overwhelmingly winning. When it came to visuals, even if Eve came out alone, she could devour them all.
Did the pirate running at the front realize he was going to die?
Regardless, it all started with me slicing off his neck.
“Surround them!”
“Get Hans! You bastard!”
“What a slippery little guy! Formulate properly and counter him!”
Indeed, their breathing was good. The sea men had tightly knit formations like nets, but…
Unfortunately, that’s just a net.
It tears easily with a sword.
Guk!
As I pierced through and broke out of the net-like encirclement, they surprisingly maintained their formation and charged.
From all sides came the pirates’ swords. Since it had been a while since I last fought after facing the Priestess of Time, I unconsciously sensed a focus.
“Ugh!”
“What, what’s happening?”
Suddenly, the pirates hesitated and began to step back.
“What’s going on, you idiots?”
Jesant, who had his second cigarette in his mouth, was displeased as he watched his men hesitate, and he approached, drawing out a massive cutlass from his waist.
Several were already dead, and quite some time had passed.
Jesant, wanting to end it himself, also stepped back instinctively the moment he joined the battlefield.
“Phew, yeah. This is the sensation.”
I didn’t know what they were thinking, but a twisted sense of satisfaction rose on my lips.
Upon facing the Priestess of Time, I realized how lost my senses were. This wasn’t just rehabilitation for my broken right hand, it was also a step towards regaining my senses.
Comparing it to the Forest of the Demon Realm, it was vastly insufficient, but it felt like the Sherpa inside me, long asleep, was slowly waking up.
Steeped in the tranquility of academy life, the lethargic student Daniel McLean within was slowly rubbing his eyes awake.
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