[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 102: A Surprise Kiss
The scent of dawn tickled my nose.
As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw the dark surroundings still cloaked in shadow.
'What ti is it?'
When I tried to sit up, I felt sothing constricting .
As expected, Iris was hugging tightly.
She was fast asleep, snoring softly.
On the opposite bed lay Hania, sleeping.
She wore a neat silk sleeping cap and rested in a perfectly straight posture—
The epito of peaceful slumber.
Watching my girlfriend sleep like that, I couldn't help but think:
'Co to think of it...'
The contract relationship with Hania seems to be nearing its end, doesn't it?
With that thought, I carefully twisted my body.
Having been hugged by Iris in my sleep multiple tis,
I'd developed a technique to escape her grasp.
Successfully freeing myself from Iris, I quietly left the room.
Stretching my stiff body, which had been held in place, I realized we were in the dorms.
'I've been out cold for a while.'
It seed my fatigue had piled up without noticing.
Before arriving here, I had been training almost daily.
Clearly, my body had taken the chance to completely rest.
'More importantly, where is my actual room supposed to be?'
Since Iris had dragged off without asking, I had no idea.
'Forget it.'
With dawn approaching, it didn’t really matter.
The sun would rise soon anyway.
In fact, this was perfect.
At this hour, it was about ti to check on that person.
'Lucky my body woke up out of habit.'
Deciding to make it part of my morning training, I headed out for a jog.
The crisp autumn air greeted as I stepped outside.
Thanks to that, my spirits were high.
I felt like I could tackle the day with energy.
Maintaining a steady pace, I began running.
At the sanctuary of the great hero Wolfram, there was a cathedral dedicated to him and the divine.
As I approached the cathedral, I noticed so early-rising theology students.
In addition to students from Zerion Academy, there were many from other academies as well.
They didn’t pay any particular attention.
After all, morning prayers weren’t uncommon even among regular students.
But today’s prayer session was different from usual.
Two individuals, escorted by guards, began approaching the cathedral.
The students gathered around gasped in admiration, clasping their hands in prayer.
The two figures were regarded as symbols of the Holy Church.
The noble saintess,
Saint Narea of Acrede.
And the holy man,
Siriel of Eden.
Both symbols of the Holy Church had arrived at the cathedral together.
My gaze landed on one of them: the saintess, Narea of Acrede.
Her platinum-white hair shimred like sunlight.
Her eyes sparkled with an almost transparent clarity.
She was slightly shorter than average, and her face bore a gentle smile.
Seeing her, I couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
'No matter how many tis I see it, she hides it so well.'
Her concealnt skills were always astonishing.
Beneath that pure white dress, surely, her true self must be screaming.
But she had no choice.
As a saintess, nobility was essential.
Yet what she embodied was far from nobility—
It was the symbol of unbridled desire.
She had no option but to hide it.
She feared the faithful would look at her instead of the divine.
At that mont, my eyes t Siriel’s.
As always, he gave a benevolent smile before entering the cathedral.
I followed him inside, watching the crowd of students.
The small cathedral was bustling with people eager to catch a glimpse of the saint and the holy man.
The two stood before the statues of Wolfram and the goddess bestowing her blessings, offering their prayers.
Under their prayer,
The cathedral filled instantly with a sacred aura of blessings.
Yet my eyes quietly scanned the place.
Earlier, during the international tournant, I had hinted at a death.
Act 4, Scene 2’s main storyline was pivotal,
An event that would make Lucas’ heroics known worldwide.
Shaken by the act of killing Nikita with his own hands,
This would be the incident where Lucas finds the strength to rise again.
[Act 4, Scene 3: The Saintess’ Assassination]
Preventing the saintess’ assassination was the key objective of this episode.
And the person targeting her life was here.
My gaze fixed on soone in the back.
The figure standing there was a cardinal.
After observing him for a mont, I turned away.
The ti wasn’t right yet.
The saintess’ assassination would occur imdiately after the preliminary rounds concluded.
'While Zerion Academy has diverged significantly from the original story, the others have remained on track.'
Due to Lucas’ absence, Zerion Academy’s tiline had drastically shifted.
But for the other academies, events had unfolded as expected.
Thus, the saintess’ assassination was unlikely to be rescheduled.
After the failed assassination attempt, the Holy Church would be turned upside down.
This was a necessary event for what was to co.
It was the stepping stone to exposing Duke Robliage, who had struck a pact with Demon Sovereign.
The assassination attempt was essential to bring him into the narrative spotlight.
'Having confird the event will proceed as planned, that's enough for now.'
As I left the cathedral, I encountered soone I seed to cross paths with far too often.
"…Hannon Irey."
Calling my na softly was none other than Eve, the Unyielding Azure Fla.
We’d just t yesterday, and here she was again.
"Eve, good morning. Did you co for morning prayers?"
I smiled, but she glanced toward the cathedral.
"Sothing like that."
Suspicion glead in Eve’s eyes as she looked at .
Did I look like soone incapable of attending morning prayers?
Well, she wasn’t wrong.
Religion and I didn’t mix.
The irony was, Eve wasn’t exactly religious either.
She believed in herself, not the divine.
The fact that she was here ant she sensed sothing ominous.
'The Unyielding Azure Fla carries the power to vanquish evil, after all.'
Unconsciously, she must have sensed the sinister aura lingering around the saintess.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
"I see."
For so reason, Eve’s gaze was piercing.
Just as I was about to excuse myself, she called out abruptly.
"Wait."
Stopping in my tracks and turning toward her, I saw her furrow her brows slightly.
"Are you sohow connected to the Holy Church?"
"No, not at all."
I had no relation to them whatsoever.
Despite my truthful answer, Eve only furrowed her brows without saying much.
She doesn't believe , does she?
"Then, I'll be going now. I need to prepare breakfast."
Even though I could feel her gaze lingering on my back, I left her behind without hesitation.
* * *
Back in my original room at the dormitory,
I changed into the Zerion Academy uniform.
The Zerion Academy uniform wasn’t just made of high-quality material; it also had restorative magic cast on it.
It wasn't bad as combat attire either.
Outside, things were already bustling.
It was only natural since dignitaries from all over the world had gathered to watch the International Individual Tournant.
By now, the results of the preliminary rounds must have been announced worldwide.
The news of the first prince, Ergo Parazon, being eliminated would have caused quite the uproar.
Of course, his elimination was purely because he broke the rules.
There was no disparaging of Ergo's skills.
"Are they planning to reveal Parazon's Sword after the tournant?"
Announcing it now would just be overshadowed by the prestige of the tournant.
It seed they decided to return quietly to their holand.
Hoping that he properly apologized to Seron, I opened the door.
"Aagh!"
The mont I opened it, soone standing in front of the door got hit on the head.
Caught off guard, I quickly checked who it was.
It was a familiar face.
Seron Parmia.
She was there, clutching her slightly swollen forehead.
"Seron?"
Since when did she morize my room?
When I called her na, Seron slowly rubbed her forehead.
"Sheesh, you should check if soone's outside before opening the door."
"Maybe you're just too short to be seen."
"Says the guy who's barely taller than ."
Hearing that, I grinned.
At my reaction, Seron flinched and bit her lip.
She knew very well how much taller I actually was.
But soon, she stopped biting her lip.
Instead, she glanced around.
Most people were still busy preparing for the morning.
And early risers had gone to morning prayers.
The dormitory halls were quiet, with all the doors shut.
After confirming this, Seron exhaled softly.
When I looked at her quizzically, she wiggled her finger.
"Hey, Prince Sweet Potato, lean down."
"What is it?"
"Sothing to tell you about Prince Ergo."
So she went to apologize.
At least he's soone who keeps promises.
‘Is she going to scold for causing this ss?’
Knowing Seron, it was possible, so I obediently leaned down.
And then, I felt a warm sensation on my cheek.
It was such a novel feeling that my brain couldn’t imdiately process what was happening.
When I slowly turned my head, I saw Seron pulling her lips away from my cheek.
Her face was flushed bright red, and she clutched her collar tightly, trembling all over.
She looked ready to die of embarrassnt.
I stared at her in disbelief.
Seron, biting her quivering lips, finally managed to speak.
"I-I-I told you I'd plant a kiss on you one day!"
"You..."
Seron was trembling like a leaf.
If she was going to get this embarrassed, why did she even do it?
Watching her made feel embarrassed.
"N-Next ti, I'll do even more! So keep trying to tempt !"
With that shriek, Seron darted off, her short legs moving in a waddling gait reminiscent of a penguin.
I touched my cheek, a faint chuckle escaping my lips.
I had no idea what that laugh ant.
* * *
And Hannon had no way of knowing.
The mont Seron impulsively kissed him on the cheek—
"Oh, uh."
"..."
Two won had witnessed the scene.
Sharin Sazaris.
And Isabel Luna.
Sharin's gaze slowly drifted to Isabel.
She was silently staring at Hannon with an unreadable expression.
Even Sharin couldn’t grasp Isabel's emotions this ti.
No, co to think of it, Isabel's emotions had been increasingly hard to read lately.
Especially when it ca to Hannon, Isabel seed unnervingly obsessed.
What started as the worst possible relationship had sohow spiraled into a complicated dynamic no one could untangle.
One thing was certain: Isabel relied on Hannon for emotional support far more than anyone imagined.
Sharin knew this reliance had surged since the boycott incident.
"Rin."
"Yes, Belle?"
"I'm going to win this tournant."
With those words, Isabel turned and left.
Sharin watched her retreating figure and sighed.
Then, scratching her head with a complicated expression, she muttered to herself.
Isabel was one thing, but...
For so reason, Seron's impulsive action left Sharin feeling uneasy, too.
It was an unpleasant sensation.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Reviews
All reviews (0)