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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Although I had mentioned Heaven Len, we weren’t in a position to rush to the Len family mansion right away.
The winter break would start soon after the competition ended, so we could prepare calmly then.
“Yawn, do we really have to watch this?”
“Daniel, if you yawn that loudly elsewhere, people will say you lack manners.”
“But it is boring.”
As I muttered, letting out a yawn full of boredom, Eve, sitting right next to me, chided me while Tana agreed.
Eve was munching on the popcorn we had bought earlier, but her eyes were slightly dark and narrowed, making her look quite tired.
It seemed like she was eating popcorn to stay awake.
“Did you sleep late last night?”
I had gone to sleep late too, but since I had many nights of staying up late in my previous life, it wasn’t much of a problem for me.
Eve yawned in response to my question.
Perhaps because it suddenly came out after she had just cautioned me, she covered her mouth a little late.
“Huuah, we stayed up late chatting last night.”
“What could you two have so much to talk about when you’re always together?”
“It wasn’t just us, Hayun and Sen were there too.”
Tana, who had been irritably tapping the seat in front of her with her foot at first, was now killing time by tapping to an active rhythm.
Most of the Aios Academy students were now sitting in the seats of the massive Bairn Stadium, watching the Pales Academy students practice.
We could watch the opposing team so openly because we shared the practice venue, and this was the only suitable place.
Pales could watch our practice too, so both sides could know about each other’s strength and aces in advance.
Of course, the psychological warfare in this situation would be another interesting aspect.
Since I couldn’t participate due to my injury anyway, I was just blankly eating popcorn with Eve.
Another yawn came, and Eve popped a piece of popcorn into my mouth.
“I’m bored.”
As I mumbled while chewing popcorn, Eve suddenly stood up and said she had thought of something fun.
“I learned a dance from Tana yesterday, want to see it?”
“What dance?”
“Eve’s on the cheer squad,”
Huh?
I turned my head so quickly it made a whooshing sound to look at Eve, who smiled bashfully, embarrassed.
“The class president recommended me. He said it would be good if I did it.”
“Tana, do you have a handkerchief? I’m tearing up.”
“Here.”
I wiped my eyes with the handkerchief Tana handed me.
Was this really the same shy Eve?
Seeing our little Eve growing up so much filled my chest with pride.
“Look, it goes like this.”
I nodded as I watched Eve move with effort.
“How is it?”
“Tana, lie down.”
Tana lay down as if she had been waiting for this.
The pride in my chest disappeared just two seconds after it had begun.
“This is your fault. How could you teach her movements that look like rhythmic gymnastics with that body?”
“I think it’s entirely my fault too. Eve did nothing wrong.”
As we conversed in serious voices, Eve blushed and immediately started throwing popcorn at us.
“You’re really mean!”
While catching the thrown popcorn one by one, I added that it was amazing.
“Try moving your body more flexibly. Wave? I think it would be good for you to teach something like that.”
Tana, who had been lying down, got up and dusted off her hands before answering.
“That just now was a wave.”
“……”
“Daniel is really, really mean.”
Wait, but this isn’t my fault, is it?
I gave Tana a look asking for help with an aggrieved expression, but Eve plopped down in her seat and suggested.
“Then why don’t you try it, Daniel? I’ll watch with my eyes rolled back to see how good you are.”
“I’ve never done anything like that before.”
When I answered casually because I couldn’t be bothered, this time Tana chimed in energetically.
“I’ll teach you! I was bored, so this is perfect!”
“Well, I was bored too… Alright, I’ll learn it.”
So I received a crash course on wave dancing from Tana for about 10 minutes.
“Ooh!”
I performed the wave so cleanly that Tana, who had taught me, gave me a standing ovation.
She praised me highly, saying I could even dance in a theater troupe or something.
“……”
But Eve was glaring at me with her cheeks puffed out.
Seeing that she was clearly upset, I tried to comfort her first.
Our little Eve tended to overeat when stressed, you know.
“Eve, you only learned it briefly in the early morning yesterday.”
“I learned for 3 hours yesterday.”
Ah, this won’t do.
No matter how I approached this topic, there were only traps laid everywhere.
Was this what it felt like when there were only hunters and no prey on a mountain?
Thinking it would be better to just stay silent, I kept my mouth shut and sat down in the chair.
“Daniel is really, really, really mean.”
“I’m sorry, please forgive me.”
“Take my forgiveness punch.”
As I was trying to stop Eve, who had immediately clenched her fist and raised it, I noticed Hayun and Sen coming up the stairs towards us.
“Did you see well?”
“You’re back! Hayun, Sen! Listen to this! Just now, Daniel…!”
Eve ran over and hugged Hayun.
They seemed to have become much closer than before, having talked until the early morning yesterday.
Hayun was also smiling and welcoming Eve.
Sen quietly sat down in Eve’s seat, taking advantage of the moment.
“So, how was it? Do you have any rivals?”
I wondered how it went after she went to watch the Pales Academy mana volleyball team practice, but her expression looked good.
“There are none. I’ll kill them all.”
“…When you say that, it somehow sounds like you really might, so restrain yourself.”
“Sorry, it’s a habit.”
When someone from the Chokugen Faction said they were going to kill someone, it really sounded like they might do it.
Eve, who had been grumbling about Sen taking her seat, immediately sat down next to Sen.
“Hmm, volleyball shouldn’t be a problem. But the large-scale battle might be a bit tough. That gray-haired boy seemed quite formidable.”
“Gray hair? Ah, could it be Anton Signir?”
Hayun’s words, as she stretched, immediately brought that guy’s face to mind.
She confirmed it was him.
“Yeah, that’s right. Come to think of it, didn’t you have a run-in with him on the first day?”
I had gotten into an altercation with Anton when I tried to teach him a lesson for spouting lewd comments about Eve, and yesterday, I had beaten him up without anyone knowing.
“But their numbers seemed to have decreased. It looks like some kids can’t participate due to injuries.”
“……”
“Why that expression? You look like someone with something to hide.”
“Ah, it’s nothing?”
I had beaten Anton’s gang quite violently yesterday, breaking something on each of them.
I had only given Anton a nosebleed though.
But since I hadn’t heard anything since, it seemed these guys were keeping their mouths shut, probably knowing it would be embarrassing.
‘Well, it would be embarrassing to say they all got beaten up by a guy with one broken arm.’
A satisfied smile spread across my face as I looked down at my right arm, still in a splint.
Hayun looked at me with suspicious eyes, but what could she do with just suspicion?
She just let it go.
At that moment, Sen spoke nonchalantly.
“I heard the professors saying they must have been beaten up by thugs at night.”
“Which professors?”
“Pales.”
She heard Pales Academy professors talking?
I, who had just said not to suspect based on mere suspicion, immediately began an interrogation based on suspicion.
“Why were you listening to their conversation?”
“…I just happened to overhear.”
“How often do you have such close contact with Pales to just happen to overhear? You’re lying!”
“……”
Sen’s eyes darted around.
It looked like she was struggling to avoid my interrogation, but she couldn’t escape the net now.
“Tell me honestly. What did you do?”
Finally, Sen bowed her head and confessed, fidgeting with her fingers.
“I went to try and eavesdrop on their mana volleyball strategies.”
“Well done. You’ve thrown fair play to the dogs.”
“They said that to win, you should use any means necessary and thoroughly crush the opponent until they cry, and that’s the proper etiquette towards the opponent.”
“Who said that? Did the Chokugen Faction leader teach you that?”
I thought the Chokugen Faction’s roots had sunk so deep in Sen that she was getting overly invested even in student sports, but an unexpected name popped up.
“Tana did.”
“……”
When I turned my eyes to the seat next to me, Tana was already far away, as if she had anticipated this.
She hurriedly changed the subject.
“Everyone! Let’s go! It’s time for our practice!”
Tana shouted exaggeratedly, watching Pales enter.
I opened my mouth to say something, but just sighed and followed.
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As Pales Academy’s training ended, Aios students poured out of their seats onto the field.
It was the only time when Pales and Aios came closest.
The intersecting students either deliberately ignored each other, avoiding eye contact, or openly growled and checked each other.
Berman, the epitome of delinquents and May Plov’s right-hand man, was no exception.
With his hands in his pockets, chest thrust forward, he glared at Pales with the fiercest expression he could muster, but…
A neat-looking bespectacled boy, Hendrick, stood before him.
Hendrick approached and made an expression as if he found Berman endearing.
“You said those things, but you really did a number on Anton. It’s a shame he wasn’t injured, but his strength has definitely been reduced. I left a bag in the men’s locker room locker 103, go pick it up. Thank you.”
In Hendrick’s hand, which was extended for a handshake, was the key to locker 103.
Not understanding the situation at all, Berman just went with the flow and took the key.
‘What’s going on here?’
Anton Signir got beaten up?
Yesterday, they had just gone to May’s room wanting to hang out, but no one was there, so they ended up playing poker among the guys out of disappointment?
Although he had no idea what was happening, Berman’s eyes gleamed.
At any rate, some unexpected money had come in.
He struggled to hold back the urge to rush and check during practice breaks, waiting for the rest period.
He called the other three friends who had gone to see Hendrick with him, and also noticed Daniel McLean sitting in the seats, avoiding the sun.
‘Ah, forget it! He’ll just tell us to return it.’
If he mentioned it, he might have to spit out the rice cake he had already eaten.
In the end, as the four of them headed to the locker room together, they ran into May, who was resting.
“Hm? Where are you guys going?”
When May, who was hanging out with other girls from her gang, asked, Berman awkwardly smiled and tried to brush it off, but then he saw this as an opportunity.
“Is there anything you want?”
“Hm? Anything I want?”
The name of a certain man immediately flashed in May’s mind, but since this wasn’t something Berman could do anything about, she shook her head.
“Not really?”
At her innocent answer, Berman smiled and replied.
“Think about it. I’ll buy you something.”
“What’s with you, since when did you have money?”
May scoffed and dismissed him.
He thought it was a natural reaction, but Berman liked her even more because her answer wasn’t swayed by money.
So the four of them immediately opened locker 103 and checked inside.
Indeed, the money bag they had seen yesterday was sitting there nicely.
Zip.
The cash was visible as they opened the bag.
Their eyes rolled back and they cackled for several minutes, but then it suddenly occurred to them that they shouldn’t leave this here.
“Let’s all go together and leave it at the hotel.”
It was a suggestion tinged with suspicion that if only one person went, someone might secretly pocket some, but everyone agreed.
They all had the same thought.
They were delinquents after all.
Judging that no one would think it strange if they skipped competition practice, they quickly headed out of the stadium, but…
“Well, well, they’ve come out.”
“Little ones, that bag looks nice, doesn’t it?”
Some big men approached them as if they had been waiting.
Berman, being a delinquent, could tell right away.
These men were no ordinary thugs.
That was why he asked, already overwhelmed by the atmosphere without even realizing it.
“W-Who are you?”
“Us?”
The man with a ponytail shrugged and answered, grinning so wide his gold tooth was visible.
“Pirates.”
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[somebody boutta get a royal ass whoopin lol and i dont mean berman and the gang]
