Chapter 11: Scandal (2)

"Hello?"

"Ah, hello."

Lucy had her platinum blonde hair tied in a ponytail and was dressed in her uniform, fitting for the student council president. I focused on looking at her face, trying not to let my eyes wander to her body.

"Can I sit here?"

"Ah, yes. It’s fine."

But suddenly sitting together like this?

Lucy, seemingly indifferent to my surprise, casually placed her clutch bag on the seat next to her and hung her coat over the chair.

"Do you like that?"

"Huh?"

"Clair Rose Latte. The owner told me no one but me ever orders it. He was about to remove it from the menu, but he kept it after seeing my face. It’s nice to know someone else orders it too."

"Ah... Yeah, I like it. The spicy kick at the end is pretty addictive."

"Right? Right? Why doesn’t anyone else appreciate this?"

Sip.

She ordered two Clair Rose Lattes and slurped them noisily, grumbling as she drank. It was kind of cute.

Honestly, I felt like giving her my drink too.

Heroine Status Window

[Lucy]

- [ Affection: 25 ]

- [ Lust: 15 ]

- [ Appetite: 30 ]

- [ Fatigue: 70 ]

Her affection had gone up by 5 since our last meeting. I hadn’t even done anything, so why did it increase?

"Sorry about earlier at the cafeteria. I wanted to talk to you, but there were too many eyes on us."

"No, it’s fine. I was rude the other day as well. I never imagined you were the student council president."

"It’s okay. We both messed up, so let’s just move on."

Swoosh. Lucy leaned forward, locking eyes with me. Her face suddenly got so close that I instinctively leaned back.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It’s just weird. We’ve barely met, yet whenever I see you, I feel comfortable—like an old friend."

"..."

The only explanation was that ’the heroine’s mindset was properly set.’

If she felt familiar with me, I’d gladly take it. It made things easier.

"Then you can talk casually with me. I’m a first-year, after all."

"Really? Then I’ll talk casually, but you should do the same."

"Understood, President."

"I said to talk casually! We’re only two years apart."

"Still, how could I..."

Glare. She gave me a dissatisfied look.

"Repeat after me. Noo-na."

"N-Noona."

"Heheh... Ahem. Good. Call me noona from now on. Even better if you say Lucy-noona."

"Okay, got it, Lucy-noona."

"Khhhf..."

She reacted like an older student hearing ’oppa’ from a younger girl, covering her mouth and fidgeting.

’Why is she this easy? Lucy...’

One word—"noona"—and she was completely knocked out.

Had I ever made a girl laugh just by calling her noona? I felt oddly proud.

I watched Lucy chuckle with her hand over her mouth, a satisfied smile on my face.

Click!

Just then, I heard the sound of a camera shutter from the large window.

Looking in that direction, I saw a man wrapped in a black coat running away.

"That bastard."

I jumped up, ready to chase after him.

"It’s fine. Sit down, Yaze."

"Why? That was a paparazzi. If I go after him now, I can catch him."

Even though I was on the mage route, catching a fleeing civilian would be no problem.

"That guy’s no ordinary civilian. Even if you catch him, he’ll just deny taking the picture. Besides, a single photo of me with a guy won’t mean much. It’s fine."

Lucy seemed resigned, as if she had dealt with this before.

"Wait, you’re saying he’s an awakened? A paparazzi? Does this happen often?"

"Yeah, I lost count. I never thought I’d have to deal with this when I’m not even a celebrity."

Lucy let out a sigh and slurped her Clair Rose Latte.

’The stalker incident is about to start.’

If you followed Lucy’s route, the main event—the ’Stalker Incident’—would trigger soon.

The protagonist gets closer to Lucy by resolving this case with her.

I already knew who the stalker was, but if I intervened too early, I’d just be dismissed as a lunatic.

"By the way, I saw your one-on-one sparring video. You’re pretty skilled."

"Huh? How did you see that?"

"It was uploaded on Every Day. So it was posted without your permission."

My video being online wasn’t a big deal. The real issue was the ’Stalker Incident.’

I had to be involved in that event. Not at the start, but when Lucy started struggling with it.

Sorry, Lucy, but that’s the best way to win you over.

"... Well, it’s fine. Um, noona. Just in case—"

"Hm?"

"If you ever need help, let me know right away. I’ll do whatever I can. You saw what I can do."

"Hehe. Alright, thanks."

Lucy looked at me like a proud older sister watching her younger brother grow up. It was a little embarrassing.

"Then I’ll get going, Lucy-noona."

"Okay. Take care. Ah, wait!"

She rummaged through her clutch bag and handed me something.

"Put your number in."

___

Every Day.

The internet community used by Primrose Academy students.

It was a hub for ability-related issues, guild information, new dungeons, and other useful intel shared among students.

Naturally, there was also a free board on the site, and on Wednesday night, a single post completely overturned Every Day.

[Breaking! Student Council President Lucy spotted on a date with a guy?]

The post contained nothing but a single photo.

A picture of Lucy covering her mouth with one hand as she laughed, while a young man sitting across from her smiled.

No matter how you looked at it, it was a photo of a couple enjoying a date.

This post received over 500 upvotes and shot to the top of Every Day’s post list.

[Honestly, does it even make sense for Lucy to not have a boyfriend?]

[No way, boyfriend? There was a similar photo last time, and it turned out to be just a junior from the student council.]

[Nah, that time the guy was way below her level. Look at this guy’s face. Pretty and handsome people always end up together. Damn.]

[Die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die.]

A single, seemingly insignificant post dropped like a meteor into the once-calm community and spread at an incredible speed.

[Breaking! The guy’s identity revealed.]

[Who is he? A model? A celebrity?]

[He’s Yaze, a freshman in Primrose Academy’s A-Class. He’s in my class, lol.]

[Whoa, seriously? A freshman? Even as a second-year, I haven’t had a conversation with Lucy yet. I’m heading to A-Class tomorrow to establish dominance.]

[If it’s Yaze, isn’t he the guy from that one-on-one sparring video whose eyes glowed gold? He looked insanely strong.]

[This message has been deleted.]

[Lol, look at them deleting and running away immediately.]

Yaze.

He had already caught the attention of the professors and Ezra when he defeated the Stage 7 Scrap Golem in the last exam, but most students still didn’t know who he was.

A one-on-one sparring video against Ivy had been uploaded, but not many people realized that it was him.

[That Yaze guy hit Stage 5 in the virtual beast training today and even took down a Stage 7 Scrap Golem in one go.]

[What? How does someone at Stage 5 get into A-Class?]

[He cleared up to Stage 7. Besides, isn’t he dating the chairman’s granddaughter? If that’s the case, nothing’s impossible.]

[This just isn’t fair, lol. He’s got the looks and the skills. The sense of deprivation is unreal.]

[But above all, dating Lucy is the biggest hit. Agreed?]

[Agreed, lol. He really has everything.]

The ones most shocked were the first-year A-Class students.

"Hey, did you see Every Day? There’s a rumor that Yaze Orpheus is dating the student council president."

"What? Seriously?"

A-Class was noisier than ever that morning.

One male student expressed his frustration.

"What the hell does Yaze have that lets him date Lucy?"

"Are you seriously asking that? With a face like his, he could live off his looks alone for a lifetime."

"..."

A female student dropped this brutal truth, leaving the male student sulking as he slumped back into his seat.

The school year had only just begun, and there hadn’t been many big incidents yet.

So it was only natural that the scandal between Yaze and Student Council President Lucy became a hot topic.

Of course, there was no official confirmation that they were actually dating, but Yaze’s name quickly spread across Primrose Academy.

Just then.

Rattle—

The person at the center of the storm, Yaze, entered the classroom.

___

Friday morning.

Today was scheduled to be a theory class day with no sparring. So I had spent last night grinding magic training. I had already finished reading through the theory textbook once and skimmed through the key research papers, so I decided to take a break from studying theory for a while.

"Haah, I’m so sleepy."

Waking up in the dormitory was starting to feel familiar.

As I pulled back the curtains, the unpleasant morning sunlight wrapped around my body.

Since I wasn’t the type to take morning showers, I simply washed my face and hair before drying off.

After getting dressed in my cadet uniform, I stepped out of the dormitory. It still felt like I was back in college, and so far, I was enjoying it. So far.

On the way to class, I noticed that people were staring at me more than usual. A group of guys in the corner whispered while glancing in my direction. Was it just my imagination?

"Yaze... blah blah..."

"... Kill him..."

I couldn’t hear everything clearly from a distance, but my name was definitely being mentioned. Maybe it was because of the one-on-one video that Lucy-noona mentioned yesterday.

Feeling uneasy, I quickened my pace toward the first-year academic building.

Rattle—

As I entered A-Class, all eyes in the room turned to me.

But they didn’t look away. They just kept staring at me.

What the hell, why is everyone acting like this?

Over thirty people were silently staring at only me. It was kind of scary. Should I just turn around and leave? I was seriously considering it when Kim Younghan approached me.

"Good morning."

"Oh, good morning. But what’s with the atmosphere? Did something happen?"

"It’s because of you. Scandal guy."

I barely had time to think, "Scandal guy?" before the events with Lucy from yesterday came rushing back.

"Wait, this is about the photo with no— I mean, the president?"

"Yeah. The whole academy is in an uproar over that one picture. Are you really dating the president?"

Hmm, what would happen if I said yes?

The best-case scenario: I’d end up dating Lucy. But that wasn’t my goal. My goal was to win over all the heroines.

The worst-case scenario: I wouldn’t get with Lucy, and my affection points would drop.

Yeah, I should just smooth things over.

"No, we just happened to meet at a cafe. We both like the same drink, so we exchanged a few words, and that was it."

"You expect me to believe that? You sat together just because you both like the same drink?"

"We had met before."

"... Really? That’s a relief."

Kim Younghan’s expression still had a hint of discomfort, but what could he do? I was saying it was true.

"See? I told you it wasn’t true."

"Yeah~ I know all about you throwing a fit about quitting the fan club."

"Can you shut up for a bit?"

I passed through the noisy classroom and took my seat.

There was still some time before class started, so I took out my smartphone, and a new message popped up on the screen.

[Yaze, you’re not really dating the student council president, right??]

The sender was Iris.

I glanced at Iris, but she was chatting with Ivy as if she didn’t know anything.

[I told you, I’m not.]

[Really? Whew.]

Anyone would think she was already dating me. There was no need to reply further, so I ended the conversation.

"Alright, good morning, everyone."

Right on time, Professor Kim Jinhyuk entered the classroom. As always, he was dressed in a black suit with slicked-back hair.

"Good morning. I have an announcement today. Starting next week, first-year students can also participate in club activities. You must choose at least one club and submit your decision by next Friday..."

After the dull announcements ended, everyone busily prepared for the morning classes.

"Ugh, next class is Mana Research. What a pain."

"Why? I’m actually looking forward to it. They said it’s the most practical course at the academy."

Mana Research, huh? It was a theory class but heavily focused on practical application.

It was practical and taught a lot of skills necessary for active Hunters, so I was looking forward to it.

"Hmm."

I needed to focus on my heroine strategy, but I had been too immersed in academy life lately.

I had plans with Iris over the weekend. To start making progress with Nam Daeun and Ezra, I had to at least be a threat to their rankings in both theory and practice. Lucy wasn’t in the same grade, and the last heroine was someone I planned to meet over the weekend.

For now, the only heroine I could talk to immediately was... Ivy.

I looked around the classroom. Ivy was packing her things for the Mana Research class alongside Iris.

★ Heroine Status Window

[Ivy]

- [ Affection: 27 ]

- [ Lust: 5 ]

- [ Appetite: 40 ]

- [ Fatigue: 20 ]

★ Heroine Status Window

[Iris]

- [ Affection: 35 ]

- [ Lust: 30 ]

- [ Appetite: 15 ]

- [ Fatigue: 40 ]

Their affection levels weren’t bad.

Should I go talk to them? Since Iris and I were in the same group, I could use that as an excuse to start a conversation.

"Iris, did you send our photo to the professor?"

"Ah, Yaze, yes! I sent it right away that day."

"You two seem pretty close."

Ivy spoke with a slight edge in her voice. For someone with 27 affection, she sounded quite sharp.

Ivy was unnecessarily strict when it came to Iris’s friends. She didn’t realize that her own presence made it hard for Iris to make new friends. Iris wasn’t the type to voice complaints, which created a cycle of frustration.

"Hey, Ivy. Iris and I are in the same group, so we should get along."

"Well, I guess. You’re not a bad guy, Yaze. But if you meet with her privately, I won’t let it slide, got it?"

"Haha, that won’t happen."

"..."

"What’s with you, Iris? Why did you suddenly go quiet? Anyone would think you actually made weekend plans with him."

"N-no, nothing like that."

"..."

Iris’s eyes wavered as if she had nowhere to look. She must be bad at lying.

"...Hey."

"Looks like we’re done with the assignment, so I’ll be going. See you later, Iris. Bye, Ivy!"

In situations like this, leaving quickly was the best option. After all, I was the ’bad guy’ Yaze.

"Hey, Yaze! Get back here! What did you do to our pure Iris?!"

"Ivy, wait, let me explain! No magic in the classroom!"

Wasn’t this what being a bad guy was all about?

***

Author’s Note: Quick heads-up on the word "Noona!" It’s a Korean honorific used by a younger guy to address an older female friend, sister, or ally. When Yaze calls Lucy "Noona," he’s just showing respect and closeness to someone older. Hope that helps!