.｡.:✧ Chapter 31 ✧:.｡.

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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*Sweep sweep*

Lost in thought while day dreaming, I was snapped back to reality when Amanda, the teacher in charge of Class E, tapped my shoulder and chided me to focus. Today was the big cleaning day.

Although I managed to escape the more obvious indoor cleaning tasks, cleaning, in general, was still a bother.

*Sigh.*

There was a lengthy speech from the dean about cleaning up the school after the recent events. No matter how much I glared, the dean deliberately avoided my gaze and insisted on proceeding.

“There you are, Daniel.”

Eve approached me with the rustle of a bag. Tana was in another area, so Eve and I ended up cleaning together.

“Don’t you find this annoying?”

“Hmm, a bit, I guess? I would rather have a day dedicated to reading.”

“I finished the book you recommended last time.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

Her eyes sparkled as she asked. I smiled awkwardly and nodded.

“Yes, but why does the protagonist suddenly become the final boss?”

“That’s the fun part! The hero, who guarded the world from its end, turned out to be the harbinger of apocalypse!”

Is that supposed to be interesting?

Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but I did find the book intriguing enough to give a casual reply. Just then, a girl with white hair intruded into our conversation.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t just barge in like that.”

“Ah, you startled me.”

Sen, a former member of the Chokugen Faction.

I wanted to ask her about Tudogs but refrained, considering Eve’s presence and the fact that I had no reasonable explanation for my knowledge.

‘Well, it’s a pity, but I’ll hold off for now.’

After all, I was the only one who knew about her past with the Chokugen Faction.

“Why suddenly ask?”

Trying to maintain a cordial relationship with Sen for potential future needs, I asked gently. She crossed her arms, muttering as if talking to herself.

“It’s just, Ares has been looking really down lately.”

“……”

“Ah, Ares?”

Eve glanced at me cautiously.

“Don’t ask me about him anymore. I don’t know much these days.”

I only said that much because it was Sen. If it were Ares’ followers like Arni or Elise, I would have rudely dismissed them.

“Hmm, right? Sorry, I’m not so sharp when it comes to these things.”

Sen apologized with a giggle.

Eve seemed a bit flustered by the situation, but I asked nonchalantly.

“So, why do you like Ares?”

Hayun approached Ares under family pressure, pretending to like him. Was it the same with the Chokugen Faction? But Sen answered plainly.

“Hmm, because he’s handsome!”

“Alright, you can go.”

I sighed and gestured her away. Sen laughed again, waving cheerfully as she left.

Then Eve cautiously asked.

“Doesn’t it seem strange to you?”

“What does?”

“Well, I mean… it seems contrived?”

Hearing the word ‘contrived,’ I almost patted Eve’s head in praise.

Exactly, Sen’s emotions seemed entirely forced.

Like a formula used in flame magic, Sen appeared to be programmed to show certain emotions in specific situations.

‘Poor girl.’

I had heard that in places like the Chokugen Faction, suppressing emotions was a top priority from a young age.

Initially, I thought Sen was overly emotional, but after a few encounters, I realized it wasn’t the case.

Her emotions were dead, and she overcompensated with fake, unconvincing emotional displays.

‘Her liking for Ares is probably without real reason.’

It was merely an action fitting for someone her age, imitating others.

Her choice of Ares was influenced by the majority of girls liking him.

“Don’t worry about it. Nothing good comes from getting involved with her.”

Eve, just stick to reading books at home.

My dear little Eve!

After taking Eve with me to get the trash bags checked by the professor, we headed towards the incineration plant.

It was a school-wide cleaning day, so there was a long line at the incinerator. At the end of the line stood May and her gang.

The boys from her group who had seen me talking to May before glared at me, but I ignored them and took my place in line.

“By the way, I recently learned a bit of dancing from Tana.”

“Dancing?”

I was puzzled by this sudden topic, but it seemed she brought it up to pass the time while waiting in line.

“Look, look at this.”

As I gave her a curious look, she started dancing the ‘This and That’ dance in her own way.

Her movements were small enough not to attract attention from others, more like rhythmic movements than actual dancing.

“So, how is it?”

“Cute. I thought you were a hamster.”

“It’s supposed to be a sexy dance.”

“…”

Tana is the real problem here.

Why did she have to teach her such things, making it awkward for me? She probably said something absurd like ‘If you dance sexy with Eve’s body, all the boys will be brain-dead!’.

I naturally turned my gaze away as Eve pinched my side lightly and pouted.

“You’re really mean.”

“I feel a bit wronged here.”

As we were bantering, May, who was in front of us, turned around, surprised to see me, and approached.

“If you were behind me, you should have said something.”

“I couldn’t be bothered.”

Truthfully, it wasn’t just out of bother, but also because her gang deliberately formed a wall to keep May from seeing me.

Suddenly, May’s expression changed to annoyance.

“Bothered? Should I use my wish to really bother you? Want to run around the academy all day?”

May looked at me arrogantly, nose in the air. Her gang chuckled and watched, but then I coldly responded.

“Sorry, but that wish has expired.”

Her arrogance faded instantly as she clung to me.

“Aw, why! I’m sorry! I won’t use it like that, so don’t make weird threats!”

“Yeah, it’s over.”

“I’m saying sorry! I’ve been thinking every day about what to make you do!”

That makes it sound even less likely.

Now that May, who had become the empress of the backstreets by subduing all the delinquents at Aios Academy, was whining like a child, her gang looked on in shock.

“This isn’t right!”

“Okay, okay, calm down.”

May needs to keep controlling the delinquents. I couldn’t let her lose her unique charisma, so I let her win this round. She beamed and nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s how it should be. This is the way of the martial world.”

What is she talking about?

Somehow May joined our conversation, and Eve chimed in. While we were talking, someone tapped my shoulder from behind.

“Hello.”

Rin stood there with a faint smile, but there was a subtle tension in the air.

“Hi.”

After yesterday’s incident, I thought our interaction might be awkward, but it was surprisingly normal.

“Ah, hello.”

Eve greeted with a nod, but May, arms crossed, remained silent, seemingly harboring negative feelings towards Rin.

‘It seems like all of Ares’ admirers act this way.’

I remembered how Tana had been competitive towards Rin, and now May seemed to follow suit.

“We cleaned around the pond area. Where were you, Daniel?”

“We were on the west side by the wall.”

“Isn’t it dirty there? I’ve seen students littering around that area.”

“Yeah, it was quite dirty.”

“By the way, did you know? In our academy’s pond…”

Rin chattered away. Her friends were around, but she seemed to be talking to me exclusively.

Eve and May just stood by, seemingly out of place.

‘This is Rin’s charm, captivating even after transferring to third grade.’

Her ability to shine seemed even more prominent here than in the village. If it weren’t for her strange tendency to cause world destruction, she’d be a girl everyone liked.

“Agh, she talks too much.”

It was May who broke the flow, hands in her pockets, grumbling.

“My ears hurt, talk less.”

“Ah…”

May’s timely interruption didn’t elicit a response from Rin, but her friends quickly became defensive.

“Why do you talk like that?”

“Is Rin okay?”

“She’s just trying to hurt her on purpose.”

Despite the mounting criticisms, May remained unfazed, casually rolling a candy in her mouth. Her entourage, as if on cue, joined in, demonstrating her influence.

“Hey, what did you say?”

“It’s like they’ve never been hit, acting all tough.”

“If you don’t want to end up crying, better watch it.”

In a typical academy, students would back down at this point. But this was Aios Academy, where most students were confident in their abilities, even among the nobility.

Rin’s friends, instead, became more assertive, ready to defend her.

“Do you have any snacks?”

“I have peppermint candy.”

“Peppermint candy?”

“It helps me stay awake when reading.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.”

Eve and I were stuck in the middle, watching the unfolding drama. If there had been something like beef jerky, it would’ve been an entertaining show.

The noise escalated, drawing attention from other students. Just as things seemed to get out of hand, Rin intervened.

“Sorry, I got too excited talking with Daniel. He doesn’t dislike me, you know.”

A strange way to defuse the situation.

“Huh?”

May looked at Rin in disbelief, and even Rin’s friends seemed puzzled by her context.

But Rin just looked at me, smiling.

“Right? You don’t dislike me, do you?”

I felt pressured. Despite the tense atmosphere, Rin clearly wanted to hear a specific response from me.

“Yeah, I don’t dislike you.”

Scratching the back of my head, I replied softly, and Rin looked a bit disappointed.

“Wish you had said it the same way you did before.”

She seemed fixated on something strange.

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