At the end of a two-month vacation that could be long or short, countless students were returning to Elgrid from their hometowns.
With excellent transportation options both on land and water, students were arriving at their dorms without a hitch. Even though there were still about two days until the start of the new term, most students were already staying in their rooms, just in case.
And here, we find the troublemaker girl, May Plov, who had been dragged back to her home by her cousin, the dean, right at the start of vacation. This vacation had been a truly boring time for her.
Since her aunt, the dean, had blackmailed her, saying she wouldn’t tell her father that she was a delinquent student, she had to stay home and practice filial piety during the break.
While she was able to spend good time with her family, she felt regretful because there was a male student she wanted to spend vacation with.
‘They said they were going to Yggdrasil.’
Did she really meet that elf? What happened after they met? May Plov couldn’t hold back her curiosity and confidently walked through the boys’ floor.
“Hey! This is the third floor!”
Beldament, who used to be the leader of the delinquents but became May’s henchman and friend after his defeat, exclaimed in surprise, but she ignored him and walked past.
‘Not enough time to deal with you!’
She wanted to see him right away. Ugh! She wanted to punch that silly face and shout, “Haven’t you missed me at all in these two months?” and then sneak in a kiss!
“Ugh, I can’t take it anymore. Daniel, here I come!”
Yes, let’s do this. It’s been two months since they last met, so she had to make a strong impression.
“Hey, Daaaaaniel! Didn’t you miss your sister at all?!”
Bursting into Daniel’s room with a bright smile, May exclaimed.
“Eh?”
“Hmm?”
Inside, two somewhat unique girls were unpacking.
“What, who are you?!”
Startled, May glanced at the nameplate on the door — Daniel McLean. It wasn’t wrong, was it?
“Hurry, close the door!”
One of the girls, Hayun, urgently urged May to close the door in case someone was watching from outside, so she reluctantly shut the door.
Though she couldn’t understand why Hayun was there, what truly baffled her was the cute little girl with light gray hair.
She looked around eight to nine years old, and from the looks of it, the things being unpacked seemed to belong to her.
“What are you doing here?”
Why was this little kid unpacking in Daniel McLean’s room? Hayun began to think about how to explain the situation.
Though she didn’t explain everything that happened in Bethel, she vaguely shared that Michelle’s family had completely fallen apart after her father got transferred for a trial.
But there were still people who could harm her, so they decided to take care of her until Daniel returned.
“Until Daniel comes back?”
“He said he’d be back after stopping by some forest.”
She didn’t bother mentioning it was the Forest of the Demon Realm. May slowly tilted her head and looked down at Michelle.
“You said your name was Michelle, right?”
“Yes, that’s right! You’re May, right?”
“Hmm? How did you know?”
Michelle responded with a big smile, “It was obvious! My uncle told me that if someone looks like they have a bad personality, that must be May!”
“Oh?”
So this little brat had been talking behind her back while she was gone? May smirked deviously, thinking about how she’d take revenge when she returned, but Michelle added quickly, “But you’re trustworthy! If anything happens, my uncle said to come find you because you conquered the school with your fists.”
Ahem, “That’s true.”
Alright, revenge becomes kissing. She had originally intended to, but since she hadn’t had a chance, May, via miraculous calculations, created a plan for a kiss.
“Anyway, until Daniel comes back, Michelle will be using Daniel’s room, so you should be careful not to get caught by others.”
“……Got it.”
Nodding her head, but May felt strangely uncomfortable.
‘Why does it feel like we’re oddly close?’
Though she knew Hayun was friendly with Daniel, that was all. There was no strong friendship feel, but right now, it felt like waiting for her husband at home with her daughter.
“Well, during vacation…”
Just as May was about to grill Hayun for details, a strange thump thump thump caught their attention.
Heavy footsteps were approaching, and it sounded like other students were running away. Eventually, the door burst open.
“Daniel! You didn’t come to your hometown during vacation?”
A girl in a fifth-grade uniform, who looked strangely similar to Daniel, stood there.
“……Huh?”
Both May and Daniel reacted the same way.
However, unlike May, she didn’t freeze; she immediately shut the door and locked it, wrinkling her face.
“Who are you, and where’s our Daniel?”
Enter Diana McLean, Daniel’s older sister.
*
Until the first semester break, fifth graders were away for practical classes in different regions. Not all fifth graders went to the same place; everyone had their own missions, and they could return to the academy once they passed inspection at their assigned locations.
Of course, those missions were no walk in the park. Those who finished early got to enjoy their vacation, while the others had to invest their time until the break was over.
In that sense, Diana McLean was one of the fastest to complete her practical classes.
She had been assigned to the border known as the Dragon’s Boundary, where the Dragonkin and humans coincided.
Diana operated alongside the Guardians at the boundary.
For reference, the Dragon’s Boundary had no border control or entrance but only a fence made of barbed wire and iron bars —there was no entrance.
There was a treaty forbidding humans and Dragonkin from invading each other’s territory.
With absolutely no trade, it was a situation where they completely left one another alone. Here, her role was to prevent anyone from crossing the boundary and to shoot on sight if a Dragonkin crossed into human land.
“No, I received a letter saying Daniel is facing expulsion. So I quickly wrapped things up and was trying to return.”
Hearing this, May felt a pang in her heart and averted her gaze.
“But then, I got another letter while on my way back. It said everything was already resolved. Since it would be vacation when I got back anyway, I just headed straight home, but Daniel’s not here!”
“We went to Yggdrasil with Rin.”
“Yeah, heard it from Ares.”
Before Diana could respond with disinterest, she turned to look at Hayun.
“You went too?”
“Yes, I did.”
“That’s great, then let me ask just one thing. Why did he go there?”
“……”
Diana scratched her head in confusion while Hayun glanced at May and Michelle.
Michelle might not know, but May was somewhat aware of the situation.
Thinking it was a sibling matter, Hayun answered Diana.
“Daniel likes an elf, so he went to confess his feelings.”
“……Did I mishear that?”
Picking at her pinky, Diana asked Hayun to repeat herself. Hayun reiterated her words.
“Our Daniel likes Rin!”
Diana questioned if there was some misunderstanding, but Hayun shook her head.
“Seems like Rin and Daniel have sorted things out.”
“Well, then did he confess?”
“Did he succeed?”
May blurted out urgently, unable to contain her curiosity. Hayun paused for a moment, then nodded.
“That side also said something similar about liking Daniel. However, since she’s still a student, she seems to want to take her time with it.”
“Wow! Our little brother is amazing!”
“Our brother is quite the catch, huh?”
That was a satisfactory answer, and Hayun praised herself internally.
Starting from helping with the Eris conquest, Daniel often sought love advice from Hayun, and she had heard about how Daniel was struggling with May’s confession.
“……”
May blankly stared at Hayun, and Hayun kept her mouth shut.
There was no reason for her to lie.
Thinking this way, May’s heart sank, and she felt tears welling up for no reason.
But she managed to hold it together.
“Well…”
She even tried to lift the corners of her lips a bit.
“That’s great.”
The boy she liked had succeeded in confessing. Though they weren’t dating yet, that was just a matter of time.
May felt an intense sense of defeat and leaned against Daniel’s bed.
Even after two months, the strange smell of him continued to stir her feelings.
“Ugh, so Daniel’s not here, huh? Then I’ll be off.”
Diana McLean coolly left.
After she left, May also slowly got up to head out, but just then, two more people entered Daniel’s room.
Rin and Elise.
While Rin understood, Elise couldn’t seem to grasp May’s reaction.
However, their conversation felt unusual.
“Did Daniel say he owns you?”
“Yes, so what about it?”
May stared blankly, wondering what she was hearing.
She wanted to share the pain of her unrequited love with them.
“Daniel already has someone he likes. He promised to date that person.”
Annoyed by the women still clinging to the notion they could still love him, May pointed out their naïveté.
May thought sharing pain lessened its weight, so she wore a triumphant smile.
“Yeah, I know. But I have a stronger bond with Daniel than that.”
“What does it matter? Whoever he dates, I still have him.”
“……”
What the hell are these crazy chicks?
The words “unrequited love” had already vanished within May as she felt the weight of irritation surging against these unhinged women.
