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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Bang! Bang!
Despite the early morning, the sound of fireworks lifted the spirits of the students.
From the academy entrance to the inside, various stalls set up by classes and individual students filled the space.
The laughter and cheers of people who seemed to have waited just for this day poured in.
The four-day-long, much longer and noisier than expected, festival at Aios Academy had begun.
“Wow, there really are a lot of people.”
I watched from the classroom window, and Tana grumbled.
“Look at you, having fun by herself. Hey, if you’re bored, come and serve.”
Our Class 3E was running a pancake stall. Tana was in charge of serving, and Eve was cooking inside, having made them a few times for her siblings.
“Ughh!”
Eve struggled to carry five stacked chairs. I couldn’t just watch her struggle.
“Ah, give it here.”
I supported the bottom of the stacked chairs with my palms and lifted them. Eve was surprised by the ease with which I carried them.
It wasn’t too heavy, so I took ten chairs in total, five in each hand. Eve followed behind, humming happily.
“Thanks.”
“I’ve been doing cardio to lose weight lately. This won’t do, after the festival, it’s back to strength training.”
“If I push Daniel down the stairs now, will he die?”
A chilling statement, but she stuck out her tongue playfully, signaling it was a joke.
Sorry, but I’m not joking. I really am going to start strength training after the festival.
My little Eve is going to become my big Eve.
With more muscles.
Oblivious to her future and humming a tune, Eve’s cheerfulness melted my heart.
Tana followed us, laughing and asking if it felt good to be helpful, then suddenly tilted her head.
“Weren’t you supposed to meet with the play team?”
“Oh… Yeah, Hayun said she’d join them to sell some stuff.”
Go, Hayun, fight!
Wishing Hayun luck, I shuddered at the thought.
“Being there just means chatting and eating with them. It’s just annoying.”
I heard that the entire play team was meeting under the guise of fostering camaraderie, but such gatherings were just a hassle for me.
“Then come to our stall and have some pancakes.”
“Yeah, I’ll make some for you.”
“I don’t really like sweets, but maybe I’ll try one.”
As we headed to our Class 3E tent, I noticed students running around and quickly covered my face with a chair.
After they passed, Tana stuck out her tongue.
“Ugh, with so many outsiders around, why are they running around like that?”
“Weren’t those May’s gang members?”
“Yeah. Looked like they were searching for someone.”
Right.
They were May’s gang, and I knew who they were looking for – me.
‘I’m not going to make it easy for them.’
I agreed to spend the four days of the festival with May, but I had no intention of sticking to it.
‘Let them find me if they can!’
I wasn’t planning to spend all four days with May.
Lately, she’s been a bit too much…
At the Class 3E tent, I put down the chairs and sat on one, taking a moment to hide and wait. Soon, Eve came over, wearing an apron, with a plate of steaming pancakes.
“What syrup would you like?”
“Any is fine.”
“Okay.”
Eve handed me the fork, waiting to see my reaction. I deliberately overreacted to her delight.
Feeling an overpowering sense of defeat, I couldn’t help but push Eve away and stand up. She looked at me with a hint of disappointment.
“Hmm, yum. This is delicious. I usually don’t like sweet things, but this is good.”
While the pancakes were tasty, it’s not like there’s much difference between pancakes.
Still, Eve, beaming with joy, shared her thoughts.
“My siblings at home love them, so I used to make them a lot. Days with the smell of pancakes meant a happy family.”
I had heard that Eve’s noble family, being from the outskirts and relatively small, was quite like an ordinary household.
“That’s nice.”
A warm and sweet scent in the house does give off a feeling of a harmonious family.
As I nodded and munched on the pancakes, Eve leaned in with a bright smile.
“Right? Isn’t it great? That’s my dream too. To create a family and make pancakes in a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere with my children!”
A surprisingly humble dream.
‘Or is it not that humble?’
If I can’t stop Rin, humanity only has ten years left. To fulfill her dream, she’d need to marry and have children quickly.
Well, I’ll do my best to prevent Rin’s rampage.
“I’ll try.”
As I idly toyed with the pancakes and muttered to myself.
“Excuse me?”
Eve’s eyes widened. I realized I’d said something wrong.
“No, I didn’t mean that. Sorry. I misspoke. Really, I’m sorry.”
Despite my attempts to clarify, Eve just stared blankly, then whispered with a small smile.
“Please try.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
Eve abruptly turned and left.
‘This idiot.’
This makes me no different from Ares.
I sighed deeply, filled with self-loathing, and watched Eve making pancakes, her face slightly red.
“Sigh,”
It’s clear that Rin and May have feelings for me. They’re too forward for me not to notice.
And probably Eve too.
‘…Sorry, but.’
I stared blankly at the sky for a moment, firmly resolving myself.
After the festival, I’ll make it clear and straightforward to the three of them.
I have someone I like, and I have no intention of having a romantic or physical relationship with any of them.
With Rin, there’s a risk of her going berserk, but seeing how she’s managing to control herself lately, she must be adapting.
“Ah, I miss Eris.”
Muttering to myself, I sensed someone approaching from behind.
It was Althric and Seria, the fourth-year seniors.
Both were looking down at me, seated, with a strange atmosphere.
Althric had a look of ‘I shouldn’t have heard that,’ while Seria wore a curious smile.
‘Huh?’
Weren’t they supposed to be at the play rehearsal meeting right now? Althric cleared his throat and spoke.
“Daniel, it seems you’ve forgotten about today’s meeting, so we came to fetch you.”
“Ah…”
So they came to take me to the meeting.
Following Eve and Tana seemed the lesser of two evils, considering I didn’t want to cause a scene or distance myself from them. As I walked, Althric approached me, adjusting his glasses.
“So, you’re after Seria too, huh?”
“Excuse me?”
I was caught off guard by this rather bold assumption. Althric, while glancing at Seria walking ahead, whispered to me, and I couldn’t help but frown at his remark. Misinterpreting my reaction as shyness, he patted me on the shoulder reassuringly.
“Seria is indeed beautiful. From her emerald-like hair and eyes to her kindness towards everyone.”
“I don’t need a description.”
“Yeah, you probably know. But be careful, she’s considered one of the most beautiful seniors, and has many rivals. There are even some aggressive guys in her fan club.”
“I’m not interested in her.”
“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. Just be cautious. I wouldn’t want to lose a talented junior like you. We’re destined for success with Veritio’s connections. I hope to share a professional stage with you someday.”
His lack of listening skills was astonishing. I checked his ears to see if they were actually open – they were, and impeccably clean too.
“Why do you think I’m interested in her?”
Finally calming down, I asked Althric, who responded with a sly smile.
“I heard you saying you wanted to see Eris.”
“What does that have to do with…”
I was baffled until a sudden realization hit me. Seria Deloa, playing the heroine Eris, was the love interest of Ares in the play.
“Ah.”
I facepalmed, resolving to be more careful with my words, but we had already reached the auditorium where the drama team was gathered, enjoying a feast of food.
Rin waved at me cheerfully, and May glared as if she could shoot fire from her eyes.
“Let’s go this way.”
Suddenly, Seria grabbed my hand and led me to where the seniors were seated. She sat me down and started serving me various foods.
‘Why is she doing this?’
If she heard Althric’s comment, she might think I have feelings for her. But this level of friendliness was unusual.
We weren’t that close, even though we interacted during rehearsals.
Rin’s expression turned stoic as she glared at us, and May mouthed a warning.
“Why are you doing this?”
Confused, I asked, but instead of answering, Seria tried to feed me a cookie, saying, “Ah, open up.”
Meanwhile, I felt the burning stares of others, especially jealous looks from senior boys.
Glancing at Ares, who was uncomfortably sandwiched among girls, and then at Seria offering me a cookie, a realization dawned on me.
‘She’s like a female Ares?’
My expression involuntarily twisted in dismay.
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