Chapter [NaN]
[Song Cheon-hye: Lose]
vs
[Hong Yeon-hwa: Win]
“Woooooaaah—!”
The audience roared loud enough to shake the arena.
It felt like a finals match.
Everyone’s long-standing curiosity was finally satisfied, and the superiority between the promising students of the Ruby Magic Tower and the Topaz Magic Tower had been decided.
They’d only fought once, and there was still a long road ahead. But for the foreseeable future, Hong Yeon-hwa would be seen as the one on top.
Shin Byeong-cheol cried out in anguish.
“Oh heavens! Must you take even my small, certain happiness from me?!”“Was it ever that certain to begin with?”
As had been hinted during the betting phase, Song Cheon-hye still lacked a lot of control, and whenever she faced a stronger opponent, her limits could be exposed.
No one had expected her to be overwhelmed this badly by Hong Yeon-hwa, though.
Shin Byeong-cheol struggled to regain his composure, murmuring self-hypnosis under his breath.
“No, no…it’s just one loss. It’s not over yet; anything can still happen.”
“Well, true, but…”
Trailing off, I casually scanned the waiting area and quickly spotted Song Cheon-hye.
“She’s completely out of it.”
There wasn’t a person there. Just one lifeless jellyfish.
She stared blankly at the ground, sluggishly drifting along with the waiting line.
Normally, no matter how tough things got, she’d at least try to put on a brave face for the crowd. But now, it looked like she didn’t even have the strength for that.
Just how much did losing to Hong Yeon-hwa shake her?
“Hey, Miss Song! Pull yourself together! Chin up and push through!”
Shin Byeong-cheol shouted encouragement at the top of his lungs, but there was no way she heard it.
In the end, Song Cheon-hye entered her next match without having recovered mentally and lost again. This time without even showing half of her true ability.
“My… happiness…”
Shin Byeong-cheol began turning into a jellyfish himself.
Judging by the look of it, both of the Group 3 candidates he bet on had been eliminated.
He was probably back in the red.
Whether that mattered or not, I gave him a glance and turned my eyes to the center of the circular arena.
Whooooooooooosh!
The entire arena was now engulfed in surging waves of flame.
Every time Hong Yeon-hwa twirled her staff like a conductor, those waves roared even louder.
“She’s having the time of her life.”
In stark contrast to the jellyfish Song Cheon-hye, Hong Yeon-hwa was unleashing her abilities at 200%.
One after another, she crushed every opponent in her path. And eventually, she secured her spot in the finals.
– Bwahahahahaha! The finals!! That’s my girl, alright!
Cutting through the roar of the crowd, Hong Yeom-baek’s voice rang out.
Instead of making a disgusted or annoyed face like usual, Hong Yeon-hwa answered with a bright smile and a wave.
She must be in an exceptionally good mood.
Then, her gaze turned toward me, and her expression brightened even more.
She hurriedly trotted up the stairs.
Stopping right in front of Shin Byeong-cheol, she glared fiercely at him.
– Glare!
Shin Byeong-cheol quickly looked away, cleared his throat a few times, and awkwardly got up from his seat.
“Ahem, hmm, can’t see the match too well from here. Maybe the view’s better from the side…”
With that, he vacated his seat, and Hong Yeon-hwa promptly plopped herself down in it.
She beamed brightly as she chattered away to me and Seo Ye-in.
“Thanks! I just did things the way I usually do, and it really worked.”
“No need to thank us. In the end, it’s because you did well.”
“No, no! The support messages really calmed my nerves. And the sparring last week helped a lot too. I got so used to you two… I could read all of Song Cheon-hye’s moves.”
Normally, she’s a bit reserved and keeps her distance when dealing with me. But maybe because she’s so overjoyed right now, that distance seems to have disappeared.
She looked so cheerful and full of life that I decided to just let her enjoy it.
While Hong Yeon-hwa was happily chatting away, two faculty members appeared from somewhere.
Both were dressed in business suits and wore their hats pulled low, so their faces were hard to see.
They walked right up to where I was sitting and spoke.
“Kim Ho?”
“Yes.”
“We need you to come with us for a moment.”
At first, I thought it was another issue with the Blood Cult. But the moment I properly looked at the two, I noticed it right away.
What the—this is a disguise.
A very sloppy one, at that. Obviously fake.
It was clear they didn’t even really intend to hide their identities.
Their true identities, no need to even say it, were Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so.
They were trying to stifle their laughter and the corners of their mouths trembled as they each spoke.
“You must, come with us, quicklyyyheh.”
“There’s no ti-hi-hime… to waste.”
Shin Byeong-cheol seemed to catch on immediately as well but deliberately kept staring straight ahead.
Because he knew full well….if he ruined their fun, his skull might get ruined too.
Next, Seo Ye-in glanced up at the two mischievous troublemakers.
Then she looked at me with her eyes clearly asking, “Are you seriously going with them?”
The only one still oblivious was Hong Yeon-hwa with her eyes wide in anxiety.
As for why Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so showed up in disguise….I had a pretty good idea.
They’re trying to sneak me out for a bit.
With Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa sitting on either side of me, it felt awkward to ask them to scoot over and I didn’t want to be rude.
They probably figured it was better to just make up an obvious excuse and “borrow” me for a while.
It seemed like a well-meaning gesture, and honestly, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to watch Group 4’s preliminary matches with the two of them.
I could always go back to sitting with Seo Ye-in for the finals.
So, I gave a small smile and said,
“I’ll be back in a bit. Watch with Hong Yeon-hwa for now.”
“……”
Seo Ye-in’s face was as expressionless as always, but this time, there was a faint hint of displeasure.
Still, she eventually gave a small nod.
I got up from my seat and began walking away, following the two “faculty members”.
Feigning innocence, I asked in a clueless tone,
“Teachers, may I ask what this is all about?”
“Kim Ho, you’ve committed a serious crime.”
“What exactly did I do wrong?”
Jegal So-so glanced at me and answered,
“You’re under suspicion of violating Article Qyu-Qyu and Article Sho-Sho.”
“Those are real charges?”
“Yes. It’s what you get when you don’t play with Qyu-Qyu and Sho-Sho for too long.”
“Then I suppose I really am guilty.”
“That’s right, you rascal.”
Dang Gyu-young poked my cheek playfully, then kept walking ahead.
Naturally, the place we were headed was still part of the spectator stands.
It was far enough from our original seats that I couldn’t see Seo Ye-in or Hong Yeon-hwa anymore.
As soon as we arrived, the two “faculty members” shed their disguises and reverted to their school uniforms.
They sat on either side of me, with me in the middle.
At some point, Shin Byeong-cheol had followed us and now offered a bundle of snacks like a tribute.
“Ladies, please help yourselves.”
“You’ve been working hard, Byeong-cheol. Group 4, right?”
Jegal So-so asked with a soft smile.
Shin Byeong-cheol scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin.
“Hehe, so you knew. It’s almost my turn anyway. But it’s just an eyesore, so you’re better off not watching.”
“Still, I’ll be cheering for you.”
“Thank you, noona! I’ll be back!”
Shin Byeong-cheol gave a deep bow, then marched toward the stage with a look of solemn determination.
As I watched him go, Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so simultaneously turned their gazes toward me.
And at the same time, both of them subtly curled their lips into a smile.
Dang Gyu-young brought a churro up to my mouth.
“Young monarch, say ah~!”
“That’s right, young monarch. Eat that, then have some of this too!”
Jegal So-so stood by with a few caramel popcorn pieces in hand.
As I opened my mouth to obediently accept whatever they offered, they set down a full snack set in front of me.
“Young monarch, won’t you share a bite with me too?”
“Young monarch, I really love popcorn, you know!”
“If you’re getting something, shouldn’t you give something in return?”
“Don’t you think so?”
“This is just chaotic.”
You’d think I’d be used to their tag-team nonsense by now.
Anyway, I fed churros and popcorn to both of them, and they giggled like they were having the time of their lives.
In the middle of this back-and-forth snack exchange, Dang Gyu-young asked,
“Win a lot?”
“So far, yeah.”
Both Hong Yeon-hwa and Lee Seong-hyeon had made it to the finals without a hitch.
“Who are you betting on for Group 4? Since Byeong-cheol’s out, you can go through me.”
“Let me take a look first.”
I slowly scanned the stage.
Familiar faces popped up here and there.
Filtering only for those with real skill, the ones that stood out were Song Cheon-gi, Kim Gap-doo, Hong Ye-hwa, Mo Yong-jun, and Han So-mi.
“Song Cheon-gi senior will make it to the finals, right?”
“Hundred percent.”
Dang Gyu-young answered without hesitation.
Even if they were like oil and water, she still acknowledged his skill.
From what I could tell, Song Cheon-gi, along with Namgong Chang-cheon, was one of the strongest contenders for the championship.
Having boldly declared that he would stop Dang Gyu-young from reaching the quarterfinals, dropping out halfway wasn’t an option.
And since his skill was widely recognized, there would no doubt be an overwhelming number of people betting on him.
On the flip side, the odds wouldn’t be very exciting.
So Song Cheon-gi was out.
After a bit more thought, I finally named my first pick.
“I’m thinking of betting on Gap-do senior.”
“You really like that guy, huh?”
Dang Gyu-young gave me a curious look.
I mean, how could I not?
I’d mooched off him more times than I could count.
Of course, it wasn’t personal affection that led me to pick Kim Gap-doo as my top choice.
“He’s actually pretty skilled.”
Not long ago, I had seen him clashing with the disciplinary committee at the third temporary storage site.
From what I could gauge, his skill level was among the upper tier, even compared to the club presidents.
On top of that, when aiming for a quick win, he didn’t hesitate to launch sudden attacks. He was very practical in a real fight.
Unless something unexpected happened, I figured he’d make it to the finals.
Maybe recalling the same incident, Dang Gyu-young gave a slight nod.
“I’ll bet on Gap-doo too. Who’s your second?”
“Either Mo Yong-jun or Han So-mi.”
The two were so evenly matched that it was hard for me to decide.
Back during the first semester placement test, Mo Yong-jun had lost to Han So-mi by a mere 3% in health.
I didn’t know how much the two had improved since then, but the gap couldn’t be as wide as it was between Hong Yeon-hwa and Song Cheon-hye.
And if their skills were close, then it all came down to the luck of the draw.
So while I was deep in thought, Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so casually chimed in.
“I saw Han So-mi last time. She was pretty good.”
“I think Jun is going to make it through.”
Then they looked at each other, seemingly puzzled.
“But isn’t the disciplinary committee ranked higher? You said Han So-mi won during the placement test, didn’t you?”
“She’s more part of the swordsmanship club than the committee. And that match was only a 3% difference. That was half a year ago. I’ve been keeping an eye on Jun. I know how good he is.”
“But you haven’t seen Han So-mi lately. I’ve seen both of them, okay?”
Their bickering started to escalate.
Then, at some point, they both turned to look at me.
“Come on, be honest. It’s Han So-mi, right?”
“You’ve seen how good Jun is, haven’t you?”
I felt a slight wave of dizziness.