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Chapter 74: Huh?! What’s Wrong with Seron...?
It was the morning commute time.
As I headed to the girls' dormitory to meet Hania, she walked out as usual with Iris.
Iris looked particularly tired these days, perhaps because her insomnia had worsened.
She raised her hand the moment she saw me.
She looked like the Empress of Steel, chasing warmth.
But, once again, I remind myself that I cannot let her hug me here.
When I shook my head, Iris wiggled her fingers as if disappointed.
“Hannon.”
Hania approached me quietly.
“Can you do that transformation thing from last time one more time?”
I blinked.
“You mean when I turned into your appearance?”
“Yes, that one.”
“It’s possible, but...”
My gaze turned to Iris.
“It’s because of Iris, isn’t it?”
“...Yes. She hasn’t been able to sleep properly lately.”
The last time she held onto me, Iris slept well.
It seems like she wants to rely on that again.
“Alright.”
I must manage Iris’ nightmares as well.
If she falls victim to them, things could get very troublesome.
“Wait, I’m coming too!”
At that moment, Isabel appeared.
She approached us, her legs trembling slightly.
“Isabel, why do you look like that?”
Hania asked curiously, and Isabel glanced at me briefly.
Then, with a slightly awkward expression, she scratched her temple.
“I had... um, a morning session with Hannon.”
As a member of the Martial Arts, it must have been embarrassing for her to be this worn out from training.
She cleared her throat repeatedly.
Hania stared at the two of us with a blank face.
“...I always thought something was strange between you two. When exactly did you become that kind of pair?”
Hania’s gaze felt a bit odd.
“It just happened, kind of.”
Isabel looked at me for support as she fumbled for an excuse.
“But we’re going to keep doing it!”
When Isabel showed her resolve, Hania’s face turned faint with confusion.
“...Shouldn’t you stick to the duties of a student? What if something comes of it?”
“Hmm? Isn’t that a good thing?”
What Isabel meant by ‘something’ was muscle.
What Hania meant by ‘something’ was far more precious and delicate.
“Well, I mean, it’s nice, but still....”
Hania stammered with a flushed face, trying to explain herself.
Eventually, she bit her lip, unable to find the right words.
“...Isabel, you’re bolder than I thought.”
“Am I?”
Their conversation wasn’t lining up at all.
“You were training with Hannon this morning, huh?”
To bring their dialogue back on track, Iris intervened as the voice of reason.
Hania whipped her head toward me, and I simply shrugged.
I had figured out what the conversation was about halfway through, but it looked fun, so I left it alone.
Hania’s gaze grew sharp.
I might get a jab to the side later.
“Oh no, we’ll be late. Let’s hurry.”
With that, I quickly started walking.
* * *
After the morning’s commotion, Isabel’s strange behavior continued.
First, Isabel sat next to me.
As a result, Hania was on my left and Isabel on my right.
Seron was pushed all the way to the far corner.
She stared at me, her face showing disbelief.
Sitting between the two most beautiful girls in the class—it was only natural for her to react that way.
“Isabel, why are you suddenly sitting next to him?”
“What got into you?”
During the break, the girls gathered around Isabel, trying to uncover the truth.
Isabel glared at me briefly before answering.
“Well, you have to help someone who’s hurting.”
Before I knew it, I had become ‘the hurting person.’
“...Isabel, you really do have a soft heart.”
Seron swatted my hand away and curled her finger, beckoning me closer.
When I lowered myself to her level, she spoke quietly.
“Something weird happened to me recently.”
“You finally blinded someone with your forehead beam, huh?”
“You wanna die? Seriously!”
I should probably stop joking around.
“So, what happened?”
“You’re in the student council, right?”
“Yeah.”
“There are students planning a boycott recently.”
So the news had even reached Seron’s ears.
It must have seemed urgent enough for her to run to tell me, a student council member.
I tilted my head curiously.
“Seron, you don’t have friends other than me to hear stuff like this from.”
When I hit the mark, Seron’s lips pursed.
From that action, I figured something out.
“...You were recruited, weren’t you?”
“Uh, um, I-I didn’t join!”
Seron had unintentionally become a lone wolf.
She used to hang out a lot with me or Card.
But lately, Card had been busy playing spy on a mission and rarely showed up at the martial arts department.
As for me, well, let’s not even go there.
The two top-tier idols of the martial arts department are keeping close tabs on me.
Poor, shrinking Seron couldn’t even approach me.
When I gave her a pitying look, she scowled.
“Why are you looking at me like I’m pathetic? That’s really annoying, you know.”
“It’s okay, Seron.”
“Ugh, seriously, stop looking at me like you’re saying, ‘Oh, you poor soul who knows nothing about love.’ That makes me want to punch you.”
I patted her shoulder again.
And she pushed my hand away.
So heartless.
“Hah, maybe I should just get a boyfriend. This is ridiculous.”
“...You? A boyfriend?”
“Oh, please. If I put my mind to it, I could get a boyfriend in no time.”
“Sure, I’m sure there’s a world out there where that’s possible.”
A world where Seron Parmia is popular.
...Is there, though?
“There is! I’m telling you, there is! Besides, I’m waiting for my prince charming!”
“What prince?”
“Someone way cooler than you, Lightning Sweet Potato.”
“Wow, I’m amazed that your imagination is this creative.”
Seron started cracking her knuckles.
“Lightning Sweet Potato, it’s been a while since you last got hit, huh?”
Watching her, I shrugged.
“Can’t recall ever being hit by you.”
And then Seron lunged at me.
Of course, I dodged everything.
My dodging skills have been improving by the day.
I can now avoid Seron’s pathetic punches entirely.
“Ugh, just get hit already!”
“Why would I let you hit me?”
Breathing heavily, Seron eventually gave up trying to punch me.
Then, she glanced at my neck.
Where is she looking?
“What’s that pendant? I’ve never seen it before.”
Oh, I must have moved too much, and it slipped out briefly.
I tucked the pendant back in.
“It’s something like an investment for the future.”
“It looks expensive. Are you planning to sell it?”
“Something like that. I’ll use it for a trade with someone someday.”
Seron looked at me incredulously and sighed.
“Ugh, anyway, there are people planning a boycott. I don’t know the details, but just be careful.”
“Yeah, and don’t you get roped into it. Even if they say there’s a good-looking guy there, don’t follow him.”
“Hmph, do you think my standards are that low? You think I’d follow something like that? I’d have to be an idiot.”
The self-proclaimed high-standard Seron.
And then that day,
I witnessed an unexpected scene.
An abandoned building, the third-floor chemistry room.
There stood Seron, her face bright red, shouting at me in my disguise as Vikamon.
“I-I’ll join the boycott!”
Seron was an idiot.
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