Out of everyone attending the class, I was the first to finish.
After leaving the Cultivation Hall, I checked the time on my smartphone.
“5:42 p.m….”
It was a decent time for an early dinner.
Or I could wait a little longer.
“What should I do….”
With time unexpectedly left over, I stood there, lost in thought.
I did not mind eating alone, but if possible, it would be nicer to eat together with someone.
I sent a message to the group chat, wondering if anyone else had already finished class like me.
[Me]: Anyone done with class?
[Me]: I just finished
Usually, the group chat would turn noisy not long after I sent a message, but this time it stayed quiet even as time passed.
The read receipts did not disappear.
It seemed everyone was too busy with class to check their phones.
“Ah, someone read it.”
At that moment, one read receipt vanished.
Not long after, someone replied.
It was Lisa.
[Lisa]: I’m still in class…
[Lisa]: The instructor says since it’s the first day, we’re doing a full two hours ㅠㅠ
Even a princess raised to be a role model for others seemed to hate class.
Maybe she had grown too fond of hanging out with us lately.
I let out a small laugh at the frustration that came through her messages.
[Me]: Just sneak out
[Lisa]: I can’t do that, what if I get caught and scolded by the instructor
[Me]: Just don’t get caught
[Lisa]: I’m not like Gyeon-woo…
[Lisa]: I don’t have the courage…
[Me]: Everyone’s like that at first, it’s fine. Just close your eyes and try
[Lisa]: Have you ever sneaked out, Gyeon-woo?
[Me]: No, I haven’t
[Lisa]: ;;;;;;
That was the end of it.
There were no more replies from Lisa.
She seemed to have decided to focus on class.
“In the game she was so obedient, but now she even checks messages during class. Does that mean her personality’s changed? Eun-bi, Ha-neul, and the others must have corrupted her.”
Unfortunately, no one else checked the chat after that.
It could not be helped.
I could either wait until their classes ended or go eat dinner alone.
Before deciding, I sent one last private message to Yeon-ha-neul.
“Ha-neul usually does not check her phone much during class, but personal messages are different.”
For both of us, it was the same.
We had set separate notifications so we could check each other’s messages immediately.
Ever since we argued over communication issues back in middle school, we had kept it that way.
Unless she was inside a gate, she would reply quickly.
As expected.
[Me]: Ha-neul, what are you doing? Are you in class?
[Yeon-ha-neul]: I’m in class right now
[Yeon-ha-neul]: What’s up?
[Me]: I just missed you
Maybe because she was in class.
Even after Yeon-ha-neul read the message, no reply came for a while.
When her response finally arrived, it was very short.
[Yeon-ha-neul]: Me too 🙂
Just two characters and an emoticon.
Had she stayed silent all that time just to send this?
Or had her message been cut off because she was listening to the lecture?
“For that, nothing else seems to be coming, no matter how long I wait….”
Either way, I was not her, so I could not know.
Still, at this rate, the conversation would never move forward.
I decided to get to the point.
[Me]: I just finished class
[Me]: I was thinking we could grab dinner together if you had time, but if you’re still in class, I guess I should wait
[Yeon-ha-neul]: Wasn’t it your master’s class? It ended earlier than I thought
[Yeon-ha-neul]: I already have plans later, so I can’t have dinner with you today
[Yeon-ha-neul]: I told you earlier too, did you forget again?
[Me]: Ah, right
After reading her messages, the forgotten memory finally resurfaced.
Now that I thought about it, she had mentioned at lunch that she had dinner plans.
She said she was going to eat with a girl she had gotten close to during the entrance exam.
“I never imagined it would be Cha Eun-sol from the Circulation Cha family….”
I had only learned that recently from Yeon-ha-neul.
Until then, I had not paid much attention to the girl she befriended, which made it all the more surprising.
What a coincidence.
It was absurd that Yeon-ha-neul herself had only known Cha Eun-sol as someone from a prestigious family until I told her the details.
“Ha-neul and Cha Eun-sol….”
Honestly, their friendship felt unexpected.
It was hard to believe that Yeon-ha-neul, who was shy around strangers, had approached her first, and even harder to believe that Cha Eun-sol, who showed little interest in others, treated Yeon-ha-neul so warmly.
I was even curious about what had happened between them during the entrance exam.
“For me, it’s a good thing.”
Cha Eun-sol was a member of Kang Han-byeol’s party.
Among the members of the 145th batch, she was the hardest character to recruit after Nam Yu-ri.
If Yeon-ha-neul was close to her, it would be easier for me to create opportunities to interact with her in the future.
I could only welcome that.
[Me]: Eat lots of good food
[Yeon-ha-neul]: Yeah! I plan to 😀
[Me]: Get along well with Cha Eun-sol
[Yeon-ha-neul]: I was going to anyway, even if you didn’t say it
[Me]: How about suggesting she join a club with us?
[Yeon-ha-neul]: A club? The one you mentioned earlier?
[Me]: Yeah, the New Exploration Club
[Yeon-ha-neul]: Hmm… if I remember later, I’ll ask Eun-sol once
If I could bring Cha Eun-sol into the club, managing her would become easier.
She would also have more chances to get close to others.
Leaving Cha Eun-sol in Yeon-ha-neul’s care, I ended the chat.
“So I really am eating alone.”
It was a shame, but it looked like I would be having dinner by myself for the first time in a while.
After eating, I would head to the Training Hall and do some personal practice.
That was when the group chat came back to life.
[Kang Han-byeol]: Gyeon-woo, are you eating alone? I was getting sleepy in class and was thinking about sneaking out anyway. This works out
[Me]: What, you were actually going to sneak out?
[Kang Han-byeol]: Attendance was already checked, so it’s fine! I’m confident I won’t get caught
[Kang Han-byeol]: Where are you right now?
[Me]: Your execution is honestly top-tier
[Me]: As for where I am…
…Is it really okay for the protagonist to be like this?
I felt a bit dazed, but in the end, I had dinner with Kang Han-byeol and even trained afterwards.
It was a surprisingly fulfilling day.
There was no need to feel burdened just because Cha Eun-sol was from the Circulation Cha family.
Even my childhood friend Do-gyeon-woo was from the Divine Sword Do family.
Yong Hae-rang, Min A-rin, and Lisa, whom I was close to, all had high status as well.
There was no need for formality when meeting as friends.
To begin with, Cha Eun-sol was not someone who cared about social rank.
“She said Eun-sol arrived first….”
Yeon-ha-neul headed toward the back gate at the appointed time to meet Cha Eun-sol.
Finding her was not difficult.
She stood out because she was that pretty.
“Ah, there she is.”
Wearing a yellow blouse and jeans, Cha Eun-sol was leaning against the stone wall beside the back gate, gazing up at the sunset.
Her green eyes, seen again after a long time, added a mysterious air to the scene.
Yeon-ha-neul walked a little closer and called out to her.
“Eun-sol!”
“…Ah. Hi?”
Cha Eun-sol, who seemed lost in thought, reacted to the voice.
Turning her gaze toward Yeon-ha-neul, she slowly lifted her hand and waved.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Just getting by. What about you? You look like you’ve been doing well.”
“Huh? Do I?”
“It shows on your face.”
The awkwardness of meeting again after a long time quickly faded.
Recalling the impression she had of Cha Eun-sol before, Yeon-ha-neul relaxed.
The two chatted quietly, exchanging updates about their lives.
“Let’s not just stand around here. We should talk while walking. We might have to wait in line.”
“Yeah, sure. Let’s go eat already. I’m hungry.”
Near the academy’s back gate, where the dormitories were clustered, a food alley had formed.
They headed to a tripe restaurant known for being good.
Just in time, one seat was available.
After sitting down, they looked over the menu.
“Eun-sol, is there anything you want to eat?”
“Everything. All of it.”
“All of it? We might not be able to finish that between the two of us.”
“My stomach is a black hole, so it’s fine.”
“You look slim, but you eat a lot. Is it that you don’t gain weight easily? I’m jealous. I’m not like that. Look here, see how my arm has fat?”
“It’s soft, like jelly. That’s nice. Want to touch mine too?”
“Wow, there’s barely anything to grab. I’m jealous. Anyway, should we choose the menu? Ordering everything from the start feels like too much. How about we order two servings first and add more if we need it?”
“That works for me.”
“How about vegetable tripe? I’ve had it here before, and it was good.”
“Let’s add sundae, glass noodles, and rice cakes too.”
“Rice cakes are good. And for drinks… can you drink alcohol?”
“Do you want to drink?”
“Yeah, tripe goes perfectly with soju….”
“Then I’ll drink.”
A short while later, the food and alcohol arrived.
Vegetable tripe sizzled loudly on the large grill.
Yeon-ha-neul placed some tripe on a perilla leaf, wrapped it up, and put it into her mouth.
She took a shot of soju as well.
Her rabbit ears perked up.
“Ah, it’s so good! What do you think? It’s good, right?”
“Yeah, you picked a great place. I should come eat tripe here whenever I crave it. Yum.”
“Gyeon-woo knows a lot about things like this. Oh, Gyeon-woo is the childhood friend I told you about before. That’s him. Do-gyeon-woo.”
Chew, chew.
Cha Eun-sol nodded while stubbornly working through a piece of tripe that refused to chew easily.
After finally swallowing, she spoke.
“That name sounds familiar.”
“Mm, you’ve probably heard it at least once. He’s from the Divine Sword Do family. Same as you, one of the Ten Great Families.”
“Really? Yum.”
“And he enrolled this time as the runner-up.”
“I skipped the entrance ceremony….”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“I was just sleeping.”
“You shouldn’t do that.”
“But I do remember you enrolling as valedictorian.”
“Oh! You knew?”
“We’re friends. Yum.”
From what Yeon-ha-neul had realized through staying in touch with her, Cha Eun-sol seemed to be the type who was indifferent to almost everything.
That made Yeon-ha-neul strangely happy, knowing that Eun-sol showed interest in her.
She felt proud for no clear reason.
At the same time, another thought crossed her mind.
“Gyeon-woo told me to get along with her, didn’t he?”
As she chatted cheerfully with Cha Eun-sol, Yeon-ha-neul recalled how Do-gyeon-woo had shown subtle interest in her.
“What is it about Eun-sol?”
It was not a romantic interest.
Yeon-ha-neul could say that with certainty as someone who had been his childhood friend for five years.
Because of that, she was not upset about him paying attention to another girl.
“I wish he’d only look at me, though….”
…To be honest, it was a little uncomfortable.
Still, it was within a tolerable range.
Part of her also wanted to proudly introduce the friend she had made to Do-gyeon-woo.
The problem was one thing.
“She’s too pretty.”
“Yum? What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing. You’re just so pretty the more I look at you.”
“Yum? Ha-neul, you’re pretty too.”
The problem was that even from another girl’s perspective, Cha Eun-sol’s beauty was striking.
Her green eyes, in particular, left a strong impression.
Compared to that, Yeon-ha-neul’s red eyes naturally reminded people of the crimson eyes unique to monsters.
Because of that, she hesitated to introduce Eun-sol to Do-gyeon-woo.
What if, by chance, even once.
“What if Gyeon-woo falls for Eun-sol?”
She would end up losing both her childhood friend and her friend at the same time.
It was something she never wanted.
It probably would not happen, but the fact that she could not completely deny the possibility frightened her.
“….”
“Yum yum.”
Watching Cha Eun-sol eat tripe with visible enjoyment, Yeon-ha-neul sank into deep thought.
In her heart, she wished that Eun-sol and Do-gyeon-woo would remain strangers.
But it was her childhood friend’s request.
There was no way she could refuse him.
“Sigh….”
“Yum? What’s wrong?”
In the end, Yeon-ha-neul made a decision.
With a large wrap stuffed into her mouth, she spoke to Cha Eun-sol, who tilted her head in curiosity.
“Have you decided on a club yet? If not, do you want to join one with me?”
“A club? What kind of club?”
“It’s called the Mystery Exploration Club. I’m joining with my childhood friend and some others.”
“Sounds like a hassle….”
“The club members say they go around observing mysterious phenomena every weekend and then hunt for good restaurants, or something like that….”
“I’ll join.”
Without asking another question or raising an objection, Cha Eun-sol agreed immediately.
She had expected academy life to be full of fresh and stimulating experiences.
Contrary to her expectations, life at the academy was far from satisfying.
It was fun only at first, but as time passed, it turned into a repetition of dull days.
“This is boring.”
She was getting sick of it. She was bored.
Even so, she could not act however she pleased in pursuit of her own amusement.
There were rules and norms that humans were expected to uphold.
To live as a human, one could not break that order.
“It’s suffocating. I can’t breathe. It’s irritating.”
For Nam Yu-ri of the Soft Star Nam family, who thought herself lacked humanity to begin with, it was especially stifling.
At least within her family, she had been free to indulge in deviation.
She had come to the academy seeking freedom away from her family, never expecting to feel more oppressed here than at home.
Stress piled up.
“Should I just enter a gate using coins?”
Since she could not go around killing random people, she wanted to slaughter every monster she could until she felt better.
No, even animals would do.
She wanted to feel alive by killing something that was alive.
Nam Yu-ri spent her days harbouring such impulses.
If given a trigger.
“Why are those kids laughing like that? What’s so fun? I’m this bored. I kind of want to kill them all.”
The impulses she had suppressed felt like they were about to explode.
At that point, she would no longer be human, but a monster.
Clinging to her wavering reason, Nam Yu-ri passed by students promoting their clubs.
“What’s the next class….”
She did not want to think about it. It was boring.
It was a class she had already learned back in her family, anyway.
She decided to skip the remaining classes.
By committing a small act of deviation, she might at least feel some stimulation.
At this rate, she felt like she would die.
That was when she heard it.
“Is anyone interested in mysterious phenomena that occur in the academy city!? We’re the Mystery Exploration Club, and we go around the academy city observing mysterious phenomena…!”
“Huh?”
Perhaps pushed aside in the battle for good spots by other clubs, the students promoting their club were standing in an awkward location.
They caught Nam Yu-ri’s eye by chance.
She stopped walking without thinking.
Before she knew it, their words piqued her interest.
“After observing mysterious phenomena, we all go explore famous restaurants together! Our club president is extremely knowledgeable in that area! We’re holding a trial session this week, so come check it out if you’re interested!”
“…Restaurants?”
That single word stirred a memory.
A memory from the entrance exam.
The image of playing a question game with Do-gyeon-woo in the banquet hall of the Phantasmal Hotel resurfaced vividly.
When feeling depressed or irritated, what do you do?
Back then, in response to the question written on the card.
What had Do-gyeon-woo answered?
“I take a walk. Going outside and breathing the fresh air clears my head. Or I look for something delicious to eat.”
“I see.”
“You should try it sometime.”
“Gyeon-woo did say something like that….”
Recalling that answer, Nam Yu-ri felt a sudden impulse and stepped toward the students.
With a bright smile, she spoke.
“I’d like to participate in the club trial session. What do I need to do?”
And so.
An inevitable coincidence took shape.
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