.｡.:✧ Chapter 45 ✧:.｡.

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“You acted really well.”

After finishing the rehearsal and stretching my sore body, I stepped outside for some fresh air, and was approached by Hayun.

Today, I had introduced her to the costume team, and it seemed like the collaboration was going well.

“Professor Veritio does seem like a genius.”

He wasn’t just a playwright; his overall direction, from setting the tone of the play to coaching actors, was impressive.

It felt like my skills improved quickly, but that was limited to the role of ‘Gerry’.

“I heard that people from theater companies are coming to watch. They want to see if any of Professor Veritio’s students are promising actors.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he’s famous for his keen eye.”

Indeed, the casting seemed to match everyone’s personalities, helping them act more naturally.

“But you seemed a bit awkward with Seria, didn’t you?”

“……”

She hit a sore spot.

Seria Deloa.

A fourth-year from Class C, she played the female lead in the play, competing with Rin for Ares’ character’s affection.

Seria was considered one of the prettiest students in the fourth year, but for me, it was more about…

‘Her character name being Eris.’

The name Eris wasn’t rare, but it still felt strange to me.

Every time I had to say lines about ‘possessing Eris’, I felt guilty as if I was inserting my personal feelings into it.

Maybe acting wasn’t really for me.

“Anyway, I’ll be glad when it’s over.”

With all the late-night rehearsals, I was feeling a bit confined and was looking forward to the festival’s end.

Thankfully, there was only one performance on the last day of the festival, so I wouldn’t be too busy.

“Give it your best. Even the royal family is coming to watch this time.”

It was meant to be encouraging, but it didn’t really affect me.

***

“Huff! Huff!”

Despite the late hour, a blonde boy was vigorously swinging his sword – Ares Helias.

The students weren’t allowed outside the dormitory after curfew, and security had tightened after the Hare incident, so he was practicing on the dormitory rooftop.

Though he swung his sword, his mind wasn’t really focused on training, but rather on releasing his frustrations.

“Why?”

The more he thought, the more he was haunted by the fierce gaze of his old friend.

“Why!”

His overzealous swing caused him to lose grip of the sword. Thankfully, it hit the railing and didn’t fall off.

He clenched his teeth, looking at the sword.

Why had he lost?

Back in the village, it wasn’t like this.

He had sparred countless times with Daniel, always emerging victorious.

But it was different here.

He lost in the practical exam and again during the play rehearsal.

Even Zavalanco, a former lieutenant of the Pirate Lord and a gang leader, who Ares thought was invincible, was defeated by Daniel alone.

How could this be?

Rin always said when watching their duels:

‘Daniel could be much stronger if he had more confidence. He’s always hesitant because he’s timid.’

Daniel knew it, but his timidity wasn’t something easily overcome – it was acquired, not innate.

His two friends on either side.

Ares Helias, popular among women for his handsome looks and bright smile, excellent in swordsmanship.

Rin, the first love of all village boys, kind, considerate, and extraordinarily talented in magic.

Being with them, Daniel always felt overshadowed.

Ares knew this but thought his friend would overcome it in time.

But he never imagined that just overcoming this would lead to such a change.

“Damn it, damn it!”

A feeling of helpless defeat enveloped me, inescapable and overwhelming.

The friend who always used to follow me was now standing above me.

This realization provoked Ares’s emotions more than expected.

Ares was kind and considerate to everyone, a popular guy whom most female students fantasized about dating at least once.

But was that genuinely who Ares was? Not really. It made his academy life comfortable and gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.

In fact, despite his fondness for Rin, he never turned away the girls who followed him around.

The sight of remarkable women trailing after him gave Ares a unique sense of superiority.

“Sigh!”

But since Daniel arrived at the academy, things started to change.

From Tana Krista, a scion of the prestigious Mayas family, to May Plov, who had the dean as her uncle, and even Hayun, the Eastern swordsman who Ares had fancied, began to lose interest in him recently.

“No, I can’t stay like this.”

Ares always considered himself superior to Daniel.

And he was determined to evolve his friendship with his first love, Rin, into something more.

As he clenched his fist, a yellowish pattern began to etch itself onto his hand, shining brightly.

“Huh?”

It felt like basking in warm sunlight.

Ares knew what this symbol on his hand meant.

The Sun God, Helios, had chosen him.

***

“Huff, huff.”

While Ares was being chosen by the Sun God on the rooftop, Adriana, one of his admirers in the girls’ dormitory, was busy preparing.

“Like this, here.”

Her windows were already boarded up, and not just that – the boards were layered with numerous overlapping spells.

“That’s enough, that’s enough.”

In Ares’s circle, Adriana was like an elder sister, always considerate and letting others win, but now, the atmosphere was entirely different.

Her eyes were wild, as if swept up in some frenzy.

Her hands moved swiftly, as if even a moment’s delay was too precious to waste.

Her legs trembled uncontrollably.

She kept muttering to herself like a recorded tape, and the phrase she repeated most often was:

“I’m going to survive. Yes, I won’t die. I can live.”

Not going to die.

Going to survive.

She whispered these words to herself, like chanting a spell.

This wasn’t the first time Adriana had exhibited such behavior. She had done the same in her first and second year.

During the academy’s festival, she always repeated such actions and survived. If asked why, the secret lay in her lineage.

The Witch of the Black Forest.

A forbidden, unknown clan living underground in the Demon Forest, hated by the gods and nearly exterminated, surviving like insects underground in the Demon Forest.

The gods despised them for being the only clan among humans who could foresee fate.

Adriana’s enrollment in Aios Academy was because of this trait.

‘There is a man in Aios Academy who can save me.’

She had seen it in a vision during the festival: a swarm of creatures and a powerful force trying to kill her, and a blond man wielding a sword to protect her.

Until her junior year, she searched for this blond man, unsure if he was a student, teacher, or a visitor.

But when Ares Helias transferred in her senior year, Adriana was certain.

He was the one. The only being who could avert her destined death.

So, she threw herself at Ares with everything she had.

“I will survive.”

Witches of the Black Forest were all obsessed with their survival, and Adriana was no exception.

She would give anything to live.

Money, possessions, even her body or heart, whispering love if necessary.

“I will survive! Till the end!”

Four years into facing her fate, the girl was already deeply fractured by the fear of impending doom.

***

The Tree of the Continent, Yggdrasil.

Beneath this magnificent and grand tree, numerous elves lived, protected and sheltered.

This was the elves’ only city and sanctuary.

Entry for non-elves was almost impossible. Illegal intrusion meant instant execution in this sacred place.

The elves, few in number and lacking the greed for titles or material wealth found in humans, lived in a village-like environment.

At the hidden entrance, the Elven Queen spoke to a woman bearing the title of ‘Sentinel’, given only to the greatest warriors protecting Yggdrasil and the elves.

“There’s no need to overdo it.”

“Yes, I know.”

A typical elf with blonde hair, pointed ears, and blue eyes nodded vigorously.

Her beautiful smile was comforting.

“Eris, where are you going?”

A sad-looking child from a neighboring house clung to Eris, who awkwardly smiled and stroked his head.

“I’m going to a city called Elgrid. I should be back soon.”

The child tilted his head, likely unfamiliar with the name Elgrid, having never left Yggdrasil.

“Why are you going?”

Perhaps wanting to keep her there, the child asked again. Eris smiled brightly and replied.

“To meet someone.”

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