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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The last day of the festival.
Classes continued as usual, despite the festivities outside. It was difficult to focus. The lectures were boring.
Sepia stood in the hallway after class, sighing as she looked out the window.
‘I want to go on a date. I want to walk around the campus with Ethan, arm in arm, eating ice cream.’
But how did one even ask someone out on a date? She had asked Vivian yesterday, and Vivian had given her a simple answer.
‘Just ask him if he wants to enjoy the festival together.’
‘…Just… message him and ask him out?’
‘Or you could invite a friend.’
A friend? She didn’t have any friends. Tia, Tesha, Anya, and Arthur were all she had.
‘If you see him with his friends, ask him if he wants to join you for lunch.’
If it were that easy, she wouldn’t be agonizing over this. She wished she could just bump into him.
‘I… I want to see him… alone…’
She hadn’t seen Ethan on campus for the past few days.
‘Vivian, what about this? I’ll use Hessia as an excuse. I’ll bring her a present.’
It was a good way to earn brownie points with Hessia. She couldn’t see Ethan alone, but Hessia was fine. She liked children.
Vivian chuckled at Sepia’s suggestion.
‘I have acquired Ethan’s schedule.’
‘What?’
‘Wait near his classroom and use the “coincidental encounter” strategy.’
The “coincidental encounter” strategy.
Pretend to run into him and suggest doing something together. ‘Oh, I was just about to get lunch. Want to join me?’ Something like that.
Sepia’s eyes lit up.
‘Thank you, Vivian! I won’t forget this.’
And so, Sepia waited for Ethan outside his classroom. She had arrived an hour early, just in case his class ended early.
She was starting to wonder if she had made a mistake when she heard the sounds of students leaving the classroom.
Ethan emerged, along with Arthur.
‘Ah… I didn’t think about Arthur being there…’
She should have known. But thankfully, Arthur had a girlfriend.
“Arthur, let’s go get some…”
“Oh, Arthur and Ethan! What a coincidence!”
Sepia greeted them, lightly punching Ethan on the shoulder.
“Sepia?”
“I saw a familiar face, haha!”
Her acting wasn’t as good as Vivian’s, but she was trying her best.
“Really?”
Thankfully, neither Ethan nor Arthur seemed suspicious.
“I haven’t had lunch yet. Want to join me?”
“Sorry, I have plans…”
Arthur held up his buzzing communication crystal. It was probably a message from his girlfriend.
“Really? You should go then! Your girlfriend is waiting!”
Sepia seized the opportunity. Arthur nodded.
“Right? That’s a shame. I thought we could have lunch together.”
Arthur waved goodbye and left. Sepia and Ethan were alone in the hallway.
Everything was going according to plan.
“Ethan, want to grab some lunch? I don’t want to eat alone.”
“Sure.”
Sepia cheered inwardly. They walked across the campus towards the cafeteria.
“Last day of the festival! Don’t miss out!”
Sepia stopped. She saw a display of stuffed animals.
She loved stuffed animals, especially teddy bears.
“What are you looking at? Ah…”
Ethan followed her gaze. It was a carnival game where you threw pebbles at stuffed animals to knock them down.
‘Sepia likes teddy bears.’
He thought for a moment. The teddy bear in the middle was probably the one she wanted.
‘She’s been giving me free magic lessons every weekend. I should win it for her.’
“Want me to win you that teddy bear?”
“What?”
Sepia’s eyes widened in surprise. Mana was prohibited in these games.
Even enhancing your vision with mana was considered cheating.
It was difficult to win without using mana. The stuffed animals were heavy and difficult to knock down.
“The teddy bear in the middle?”
“Y-yes…”
The stall owner, sensing an opportunity, chimed in.
“Last day of the festival! Give it a try!”
“I’ll play.”
Sepia didn’t get her hopes up. She didn’t want to be disappointed.
Ethan wasn’t likely to win without using mana.
“Here’s your mana detector.”
Ethan strapped a red device onto his wrist. It was a magical tool that detected mana usage. It would beep if he used any mana.
It was the same device he had seen at a magic shop in Eastvan.
“You get three tries. And no using mana.”
The stall owner handed Ethan three pebbles. They were about the size of Go stones.
“Which one is the most expensive?”
“You want the most expensive one? That teddy bear in the middle. It’s handmade by a master craftsman.”
Perfect.
If he was going to win, he might as well win the most expensive one.
“And the second most expensive?”
“That dragon plushie.”
It was a common question. Everyone wanted to win the most expensive prize.
‘I’ll win two. One for Sepia, and one for Hessia.’
Ethan threw the first pebble. His Combat Intuition activated.
The pebble flew between the stuffed animals, narrowly missing.
“Two tries left! Two tries left!”
The stall owner shouted, drawing a crowd.
Sepia anxiously watched Ethan.
‘Okay, I’ve got it.’
Ethan threw the second pebble. It flew like a fastball, striking the teddy bear.
The teddy bear fell to the ground.
“Hold on. No using mana.”
The stall owner checked the mana detector. It read zero. He hadn’t used any mana.
“I still have one try left, right?”
“Uh… y-yes.”
Ethan aimed for the indigo dragon plushie. The pebble struck its target.
The plushie wobbled, then fell.
‘Two… two for me?’
Sepia was speechless. The stall owner, on the other hand, was heartbroken. He felt like he had been robbed by a professional.
But a promise was a promise.
He reluctantly handed Ethan the two plushies. Ethan gave the teddy bear to Sepia.
“Here’s a present. Thanks for the tutoring.”
“W-what? T-thank you!”
Sepia hugged the teddy bear tightly. She was happy, even with just one.
“Who are you giving the other one to?”
“It’s for Hessia.”
Sepia couldn’t argue with that. It was better than giving it to Tia or Tesha.
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The next day, in the club room.
“Heehee, hehehe.”
Sepia couldn’t stop giggling.
She had even slept with the two teddy bears last night.
‘I have to show this to Tia and Tesha.’
Tia and Tesha arrived. Tesha tilted her head, looking at Sepia’s cheerful expression.
“Sepia, what’s with the good mood?”
Sepia had been waiting for that question. She pulled the teddy bear out of her spatial pocket.
“Ta-da! Ethan gave this to me!”
“Wow, it’s so cute! I wanted that one! It’s the grand prize, isn’t it?”
Tesha had even tried to win it herself. She had failed miserably.
“That’s right! It’s handmade by a master craftsman!”
Sepia had discovered that it was a limited edition item. It was no longer available for purchase.
Tesha’s reaction made Sepia even more smug. She glanced at Tia.
They had promised to be honest with each other.
So, it was okay to brag.
“That’s nice. I’m so jealous, Sepia.”
“What about you? Anything new with Ethan?”
“Me? I… I slept with Ethan.”
“What?!”
Sepia was speechless. She had asked, but she hadn’t expected that answer.
“But we promised not to confess!”
“I didn’t confess. It just… happened.”
Tia’s shocking confession stunned them both.
‘What a bitch…’
Sepia hadn’t even slept with Ethan properly. Their encounter during the summer had been a drug-induced haze.
“That’s practically the same as a confession!”
“It’s… different. I was going to keep it a secret, but… we’re not supposed to have secrets from each other…”
What could she say to that? It was just shocking.
“And Sepia, you also slept with Ethan… You’re actually the one who’s furthest ahead, aren’t you?”
That was the impression she had given. But if Tia knew the truth, she would laugh in Sepia’s face.
Sepia remained silent.
‘They’re… discussing… who slept with Ethan…?’
Tesha’s eyes widened. She had been raised in the sheltered environment of the imperial palace.
‘Is this… what dating is like outside the palace?’
She also felt a pang of jealousy. Didn’t Ethan like her?
It felt like he was losing interest and turning his attention to others. Had anyone ever made her feel this way before?
Never.
‘I… I’ll have to be more proactive…’
Tesha clenched her fists, a determined glint in her eyes.
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Weekend. A social gathering in Central Ward.
Tia sat quietly in a corner. She had come to maintain her social connections.
It had been six months since her last social gathering.
‘I made a fool of myself that night…’
She still cringed at the memory. But she couldn’t avoid these events.
‘I’m here, but…’
She recognized a few faces, but there was no one from the academy. No Ethan, no Sepia, no Tesha, no Sylvia.
‘I should have asked Anya to come with me…’
Tia sat alone at a table, resting her chin on her hand.
Kanion Amos, a second-year student at Neydia, spotted Tia and grinned. She was alone, so it would be easy to approach her.
‘She’s cute. She’ll make a good number eight.’
Kanion, a descendant of the hero Luke Amos, was popular with the ladies.
He was also a Spirit Summoner.
He was talented in both swordsmanship and spirit summoning. He decided to use spirits as a conversation starter.
“Hello. You’re Tia Erze, right?”
Tia’s blue eyes looked up at him.
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