[Translator - Clara]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 38: I'm Screwed
Lunchti, an empty classroom for magic studies.
Hannon Irey.
Sharin Sarzaris.
Isabel Luna.
The three of us stood frozen, staring at one another.
The issue here?
Among the three, Hannon is .
From outside the window, the cheerful voices of other students floated in.
The sound of kids returning after lunch.
In the silence that passed between us, the one to finally break it was Isabel.
“...Why are you two together?”
Isabel’s best friend, Sharin.
Isabel’s rival, .
And at a ti when everyone else had gone off to eat lunch, here we were.
Alone, eating bread and chatting casually with each other.
This scene was enough to stir up a storm of emotions for Isabel.
Even I, who believed it wasn’t right to connect everything in life to romance,
could easily imagine how this situation might appear to her.
“I got a proposal.”
It wasn’t who answered Isabel’s question, but Sharin.
The tense expression she had earlier, upon hearing my suggestion, was nowhere to be seen.
In its place, she was back to her usual self, pointing at .
“He asked to join his team for the upcoming group match.”
Hearing this, Isabel’s eyes went wide.
Her reaction made it clear she hadn’t even considered the possibility of asking Sharin for such a thing.
“...Are you two really close enough to make a proposal like that?”
Most of the ti Sharin and I t was during the evenings.
That was when Isabel was often busy training,
aning she wouldn’t know what Sharin was up to at those hours.
She certainly wouldn’t have imagined that Sharin had been teaching magic inscription techniques all this ti.
“Yeah, Hannon really likes .”
What kind of nonsense is this?
I turned to Sharin in disbelief before glancing at Isabel.
Sure enough, she had a look of utter confusion, mouth agape.
The way she stared at scread misunderstanding.
For her, the idea that her rival might be harboring feelings for her best friend?
Yeah, that was a lot to take in.
“Are you serious?”
Why is she taking this so seriously?
“That’s nonsense,”
I said firmly.
When I denied it outright, Isabel looked uncertain, her lips twitching, and then turned back to Sharin.
But Sharin, with her usual lazy smile, didn’t say another word.
This girl…
Through this exchange, Sharin subtly hinted at our relationship.
Close enough to joke like this—our connection wasn’t superficial.
Sharin, known for being aloof and unpredictable,
wasn’t one to grow attached to others easily.
Most people thought they’d grown close to her, only to find her completely distant the next ti they t.
That was the kind of person Sharin was.
Isabel, therefore, was likely the only one Sharin considered a true friend.
And now, here was Sharin, treating —her friend’s rival—so warmly in front of Isabel.
This must have been a huge shock for her.
“Uh, ah, uhh…”
So much so that Isabel seed completely broken.
I glared at Sharin, who glared back with an icy glint in her otherwise smiling eyes.
Oh no.
She’s mad.
Sharin had no patience for people stirring up her emotions,
but I had no other choice.
We needed a strong result in the group match if I wanted to move forward with the plan.
And to achieve that, I absolutely needed Sharin on my team.
I’m desperate here too.
Though it was unlikely Sharin would understand.
“I… I also ca to propose teaming up with Sharin.”
At that mont, Isabel snapped back to reality, refocusing on the original topic.
Like , she’d heard about the group match earlier from Vega.
The ti difference was because I didn’t have anyone to approach for a team,
while Isabel had many people and took her ti talking to them.
The problem was that Sharin, as Isabel’s best friend,
was highly likely to join Isabel’s team instead.
“Sorry, but I asked her first.”
“But agreeing to it is still Sharin’s choice.”
Knowing this, Isabel didn’t back down.
I could feel a subtle competitiveness in her tone—
a determination not to lose Sharin to her rival.
This could get complicated.
If Isabel went all out, there was no way I could win.
I glanced at Sharin.
She seed deep in thought, looking back and forth between Isabel and .
“Alright.”
Finally, Sharin made her decision and raised her hand in my direction.
“This ti, I’ll go with Hannon.”
“Sharin?”
Isabel’s face twisted in shock.
But Sharin looked resolute, showing no sign of changing her mind.
Isabel stumbled slightly before turning away.
“Sharin, you’re such an idiot.”
Calling her a fool, Isabel left in tears.
I never expected her to choose .
“I didn’t think you’d pick .”
“You kept your promise to , after all.”
Sharin’s promise.
She’d agreed to my request on the condition that I beco the reason Isabel kept going.
“A week ago, you were the first one to chase after Belle.”
So she’d noticed.
Sharin had also been searching for Isabel at the city wall back then.
It seed she’d seen there.
“That was my way of repaying you. As for what you said about my father…”
Sharin’s hair swayed slightly as she spoke.
“I’m a little mad. You spoke as if you knew everything.”
Seeing this, I quietly bowed my head.
“I’m sorry.”
I apologized with utmost sincerity.
With Sharin joining, we now had the strongest possible addition to our team.
The strongest addition to our backline, Sharin, has decided to join the team.
Now, all that's left is filling one more backline spot and a healer position.
Surprisingly, the backline issue was resolved faster than expected.
“Hey, Wangnon, how about putting on your team?”
The next day, after finishing the morning classes, Card showed up and made the suggestion first.
“Why the sudden interest in joining my team?”
“Sharin joined, right? Where else could I find a better team?”
Sharin’s skills are extraordinary, completely beyond the norm.
It’s no wonder people would flock to our team upon hearing about it.
But still, how did Card hear about this already?
His ears sure are sharp, as always.
[Translator - Clara]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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'Well, he is in a position where he needs to stay well-inford.'
Given Card’s circumstances, it’s no surprise that he has a knack for picking up on information.
“My magic isn’t suited for firepower anyway. It’s better for to join a team with strong firepower already.”
Card is a utility mage.
Having used him before during the Fla Butterfly play, I know that much about him.
With Sharin and Card, the team’s balance would be remarkably stable.
“Hmm.”
When I hesitated, Card’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Watching such a large guy sparkle like that was so off-putting that I couldn’t help but frown.
“What about your original team?”
Card already had a team he worked with regularly.
When I asked about them, he scratched the area around his nose awkwardly.
“Well, one of the girls in the team confessed to , so I just left.”
I gave him a look of exasperation.
Card, on the other hand, had an expression that scread, I’m the real victim here!
“What was I supposed to do? I don’t want to date anyone—I just want to live freely! But staying on the team and ruining the vibe felt wrong too.”
“Hey, Princess Sweet Potato, doesn’t this sound like a pile of garbage talking?”
Before I could respond, Seron—who had approached unnoticed—shot Card a glare full of disdain.
Card, in turn, winked at her.
“If you confess to , Seron, I might consider it.”
“Shut up before I rip your mouth open.”
Seron bristled, her hair almost standing on end, hissing like an angry cat.
Her disdain was now at the level of outright refusal to engage.
Card just found her reaction amusing, laughing as he turned back to .
“Of course, even if Seron confessed, I’d say no. I’d rather stay friends with Wangnon.”
“Do you want to die? Why are you even imagining confessing to you in the first place?”
Seron raised her hand to hit him but glanced at and stopped herself.
“And seriously, you’d better not, Princess Sweet Potato. It’d be a problem if you liked .”
Ugh, what the heck.
“Sorry. I’m into tall, handso, manly types. And you? You’re about as far from ‘manly’ as it gets.”
“Good. From today on, I’ll make sure not to even see you as human.”
Seron squeaked and pretended to run away as I rolled up my sleeves.
If I can joke like this without a second thought, I must’ve been around these two too long.
“So, what were you talking about?”
Seron, who had just arrived after a private lesson with Professor Vega, was unaware of the earlier conversation since the morning class had been training-focused.
“Card’s joining my team.”
“Ugh, no way.”
Seron instantly made a face of disgust.
Tilting my head, I asked her,
“Why not?”
“What do you an why? Having soone like him will ss up the team’s vibe.”
“Why are you the one worrying about that?”
My straightforward question made Seron blink in confusion, tilting her head in return.
“Well, that’s because…”
Seron trailed off, and her eyes gradually widened.
“Wait, wait, Princess Sweet Potato, don’t tell —”
“Nope, not Princess Sweet Potato.”
“Ah, co on! You need ! Without , you can’t even find a proper frontliner!”
“Our backline’s already set with Sharin.”
Seron’s jaw dropped.
Second-year, top of the magic academy.
A genius hailed as one of the best in the century—ntioning Sharin Sazaris’s na flipped her entire deanor.
“Sha—Sharin Sazaris? Why—why would she join?”
“Let’s just say I’m very resourceful.”
After all, I’d already recruited greats like Aisha the Iron Sword, Foara the Spirit Lord Contractor, and even Saint Sirmiel.
With such a track record, there was no room for doubt this ti either.
“With Sharin on board, frontliners will be lining up to join us.”
The news hadn’t spread yet, but it wouldn’t take long.
Soon, plenty of candidates would be begging to join as frontliners.
Realizing this, Seron’s lips twitched.
“W-Wait, then what about ?”
“I was asking you earlier—why are you so concerned about our team?”
I smiled sweetly.
Seron’s face slowly turned crimson as she finally grasped her situation.
Her hand shot out, clutching my collar.
“P-Princess Sweet Potato—no, Hannon, don’t do this.”
“Seron, I think you’d better hurry and find another team.”
“Ah, I’m sorry! I was wrong! My grades have been good lately, right? And my skills are decent too! Please, co on!”
“Exactly. With those skills, any team would be happy to have you.”
Tears welled up in Seron’s eyes as she sniffled to my collar with both hands.
“Wangnon, please! I’ve got nowhere else to go. Please?”
“Seron, when you beg, you should use proper honorifics.”
“P-Please! I beg you, put on the team!”
“You’re still holding your head up too high. And what’s with that weak voice?”
“P-Please! I’m begging you! Put on the team, please!”
She bowed deeply, trembling as she spoke.
Watching her, I reached out to pat her head.
“See? That’s how you ask nicely. Good girl.”
Other students stared at us, their expressions a mix of bewildernt and pity.
But it didn’t matter.
Being branded as part of the “troublemaker trio” ant odd stares were par for the course.
“Waaaaahhhh!”
At that mont, Seron raised her head and looked up at with tear-streaked cheeks.
Gripping my collar, she started shaking wildly.
Maybe I pushed her too far—she looked genuinely broken.
But she still didn’t want to leave the team, glaring at fiercely in silence.
“Seron, if we win first place in the group competition, your parents might give you a bigger allowance, don’t you think?”
Her shoulders twitched.
Seron was notorious for getting generous allowances from her parents, so the prospect of more money was her lifeline.
“With Sharin, securing at least the top ranks is pretty much guaranteed.”
Seron carefully straightened my collar, which she’d been wrinkling monts earlier.
Her tear-filled eyes glimred with hope.
She had already been rewarded generously by her parents after the Gray Forest incident.
Rumor had it her allowance had even been raised.
With that in mind, doing well in this competition would likely an another increase.
“I-I’ll do my best.”
“Good. Let’s aim for first place together.”
Seron’s deanor had done a complete 180, and Card whistled, clearly entertained.
“You’re getting better and better at taming people.”
Taming?
Please.
It’s called effective communication.
[Translator - Clara]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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