CH 5

‘Interesting.’ He smiled as if he found me amusing. The corners of his mouth went up crookedly. Does he know that an expression like that could look like he is looking down at his opponent?

It reminded me of Blossom. Bolton wouldn’t be a luckless guy in glasses, at least to her. Perhaps he would be even more unctuous than Nadon’s twins, known for being debauchers.

I suddenly wanted to see it, so I tapped on the air asBlossom did. Of course, nothing happened at the fingertips of Ariel Dalton because she’s not Rosemary Blossom.

Instead, Professor Moore shouted, “Now pair up, let’s start a mock sparring in pairs!”

I was so flustered that I looked around, but I couldn’t make eye contact with anyone.

“Bolton!”

I held onto Bolton desperately as he began to take the lead to make room for the students to face off.

“I’m sorry, but can you spar with me?”

“Are you serious?”

I was completely serious. It was better to fight well even if I lost against Illestia’s Paladin than to hear Professor Moore say, ‘Dalton, if you have no one to spar with, come here. I’ll deal with you.’ and receive the sympathy of my juniors.

Bolton’s jaw dropped in disbelief. It was the first time he made such a funny face in her 10 years at Fitzsimmons Academy.

10 years: If someone is confused, she said 10 years because they are in 5th grade= 5 years in Academy and Ariel has been repeating 5th grade 6 times now, so minus the first 5th grade= Another 5 years.

In any case, since he was in the position of a teaching assistant, he had no reason to refuse my challenge. The Paladins of Illestia were not the type to go easy when it came to swordsmanship. And soon, I was beaten mercilessly like Pedro Cantrell.

But even in that miserable situation, I gained something. As I was coming down after the sparring, a group of female juniors came up to me and said that they admired my courage and skills and suggested taking classes together in the future. I held my bruised side tightly, pretended to be a very cool senior, and nodded.

***

“Ariel, I heard you were crushed by Marquis Bolton?”

“Let’s just say I was defeated.”

Kyle picked a fight as soon as he saw my face. Although the incident had only occurred in less than thirty minutes, it seemed that it had already reached far. Kyle Villard, the famous ‘wide foot’ of Fitzsimmons, knew everything that happened on campus.

Wide foot: A person who has a wide range of interpersonal relationships. They are usually diligent, do not shy away from anyone they meet and have the characteristics of being friendly and helpful.

There was something only he knew, even if it did not happen on campus. When the hell is Kyle Villard going to tell me what he’s been hiding? I felt sad for no reason, so my lips protruded.

“You smell like medicine.”

“Then sit away from me.”

“How could you say that to your only friend?”

When I smelled my hair and sleeve, I frowned but did not retort. I didn’t have the energy to deal with him any more, so I glared at Kyle and fell face down on the desk.

“Ari.”

“If Professor Houston notices me, just say I’m dead.”

“Does it hurt a lot?”

Do I even need to say it?

“You should try it yourself; a 20-minute full course wooden sword massage from a paladin of Illestia.”

I placed my forehead over my crossed arms and murmured. Fierce drowsiness swept over me, so the  words I later spoke were almost incomprehensible. Kyle, as if he still had pranks to play, called my name a couple times, but when he got no reply, he quickly went quiet.

Soon there was a rustling sound, and my surroundings darkened. Kyle must have taken off his uniform jacket and covered me with it. Thanks to that, I was able to sleep well until Professor Houston left the classroom. The professor was completely oblivious to the suspicious pile of clothes lying next to Kyle Villard.

***

After dinner, I went to the library. I wanted to return to the dormitory and rest right away, but I had to write a report on the ecology of monsters in the southern part of the continent by the end of the week.

Over the past five years, the exam questions have been different each time, but the assignments have always been the same. Since it was already the fifth report I was writing, my pen moved quickly. At this rate, I might write a report for the tenth time.

Come to think of it, what is the use of sitting down and describing the mating method of wyverns to satisfy Professor Monahan’s perverted desire? I’m going to be screwed anyway.

After a lot of idle thinking, I lost the motivation to do the assignment, so I stretched out and rolled my eyes to find something interesting in the scenery around me.

On the extremely long library reading table, two bags had lost their owners. As I looked closely, one of them was Briana Mosley’s bag, which I had saved this morning from Ariel Dalton’s bag, which was tainted with horrible germs.

It wasn’t unusual to find Bree  or traces of her in the library. When asked to pick the smartest student in Fitzsimmons, Bree, whose name would come out even before using both hands, studied hard, unlike me, whose name had no hope of getting mentioned even after counting with ten toes. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she almost lived in the library during the exam period.

However, the owner of the other bag is unusual.

“Ari, long time no see.”

Suddenly, my name was spoken by an unctuous voice, as if butter had been poured down his throat instead of the bread that was served for breakfast.

“Can you call me Dalton, Walsh? My ears felt like they’re going to rot.”

“You don’t have to be so cold. We were once something to each other after all.” 

“What’s the point of that if it’s already in the past? We aren’t now. You have to live with the gratitude that I was only cold to you and you didn’t get beaten by me. Every morning you should pour water toward the female dormitory and pray that I would not  kill you.” 

Recalling the dummy’s crotch that became soft after the sword training, I fired ferociously, causing Walsh to shudder. Pathetic bastard.

“I-I know you’re jealous of B-Brianna Mosley.”

“… … .”

I didn’t even want to rebut what he said. Instead of Walsh who’s hesitantly grabbing two bags, I glared at my half-finished assignment as if it was a mortal foe.

“As I said before, Mosley is like a bus stop. A place to stay for a while and then pass by. You are the hometown that I go back to. So stop being angry an—”

“I think you’re mistaken, Walsh.”

I couldn’t stand it when he started talking shit about Brie. 

“You are not the one I am angry with. I’m angry with myself for having dated an asshole like you for three years. You’re not worth getting mad at. Did you understand?”

“Hey, Ariel—”

“Does having a small dick mean having small ear holes? I told you to call me Dalton. Or better yet, just don’t call me at all.”

“… … .”

Adam Walsh was red to the tips of his ears and was breathing heavily. I didn’t want to do anything to him beyond that, which was fortunate for him. If I did, he would end up looking like the dummy from the swordsmanship training.

‘You’ll regret it,’ Walsh murmured grimly just before leaving the library. 

I responded with my middle finger, which I made more flamboyant by adding decorative gestures.

As Walsh stomped away, a noise came from between the bookshelves. Soon a man walked out with his hand halfway up as if he had been caught doing something bad.

In his one hand was a very thick book. The title was hard to read, but judging by the worn leather cover, it looked like an old book.

“Illestia?”

“Sorry, Dalton. I didn’t mean to listen to your conversation.”

Certainly, Illestia couldn’t be that kind of person, so I shook my head moderately to express that it was fine.

“You’re not planning on publishing an article in the Fitzsimmons Times about Ariel Dalton slandering her ex-boyfriend’s dick, are you?”

“Of course not.”

I said it as a joke, but Illestia responded with a very solemn attitude. A handsome index finger touched his handsome lips.

“I will take the heartbreaking news of Adam Willie’s private part to the grave.”

“It’s ‘Walsh’, Ilestia. I thought you knew all the students because you knew my name even if I didn’t tell you, but I guess it wasn’t the case.”

At my joking accusation, Illestia smiled shyly and left with the book he was holding.

I felt like I was really dazzled by that shining smile, so I smacked my fist on my eyelids, and  barely swallowed a small scream with my two palms at a fact that suddenly hit my head.

‘Adam Willie’ was the name of the pig character with Walsh’s face that I created with Bree the second time I was in 5th grade. There was no way the sixth Illestia knew that.

***

[R♡, Flowers bloom in the desert of Nadon.

On the third of March, an angel came down like a ray of light to the Fitzsimmons Academy which was shrouded in dark clouds. It was R-Hallelujah-Blossom.

The exceptional student, who has the name of a rose but has the pureness of a violet, instantly captivated the arrogant Fitzsimmons.

There was also a story that the prince with the frozen heart finally had his heart melted.

However, in the eyes of our reporting team, it was still too early to tell (although that may not be the case soon!). Rather, there was someone else who was floundering under her magical charm.

Nadon, the man who grew up in a country of hot passion and set the hearts of many students and even faculty members on fire with his eyes burning like flames.

(omitted)

A student council member who asked for anonymity, told the reporting team, “I’m trying to cut off all of my dirty threads for her,” adding “I confidently and honestly revealing that my heart belongs to her.” ]

“What is this douche-like confession?” 

Brianna muttered in a sleepy voice. I agreed.

Glenn Chavez of the newspaper department has been around the dormitory since dawn, shouting out ‘Exclusive!’, so I got two copies, one was for Bree. There was an article published about Blossom.

This was not surprising, as it had been the case for the other five Marches as well. To be exact, I was expecting it.

But Bryce Nadon? Not Keran Illestia?

It was still the same even when I rubbed my eyes and tried reading again, wondering if I had read it wrong because I was sleepy. Bryce Nadon, Nadon’s youngest prince and Edgar Ramos’s twin brother, was named along with Blossom by the infuriating writing skills unique to Fitzsimons Times. 

In the other five Marches, no one other than Illestia had ever been the main character of this article, so this was truly an anomaly.

What’s changed this time?

As I pondered, I suddenly remembered what had happened in the library.