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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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‘…This is crazy! What happened?!’
Though she maintained a calm exterior, Mijuran was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
She remembered falling asleep in the chair, but nothing after that.
Now, she was waking up in Lee Seok-hyun’s bed, his chest pressed against her back, a warm sensation radiating through her clothes.
‘I have to stay calm.’
As a princess of Mudanad, maintaining her composure in the face of unexpected situations was second nature. She quickly spoke, knowing that any hesitation would only make the situation more awkward.
“I’m glad you’re finally awake. You look like you had a good night’s sleep.”
The words felt a bit forced, but Mijuran pressed on, relieved to have regained control of the conversation.
She was about to steer the conversation towards safer territory, to create an opportunity to escape unnoticed, when…
“…Seok-hyun… what are you doing?”
Meiri appeared in the doorway, her expression cold, her voice sharp.
Up until that point, Mijuran had thought she could salvage the situation.
She could explain everything away as a misunderstanding, a simple mistake.
She’d dozed off in the chair, then, in her sleep, had somehow wandered into Seok-hyun’s bed. Nothing had happened. It was all perfectly innocent.
She had to explain, especially since Meiri seemed to be directing her displeasure solely at Lee Seok-hyun.
‘I can do this. I just need to explain…’
If only Lee Seok-hyun hadn’t spoken.
“Meiri, want to join us?”
“…Seok-hyun?”
“…Seok-hyun, what are you saying?”
His words, a single, seemingly innocuous question, completely derailed her carefully constructed explanation.
It wasn’t just a game-changer; it was a game ender. He’d pressed the self-destruct button.
“I just thought… it would be nice if we all… chatted together… here… in bed…”
His explanation, overly innocent and naive, was so outlandish it only served to highlight the absurdity of the situation.
It was the kind of thing a five-year-old, maybe even a three-year-old, might say. Mijuran’s mind went blank, her thoughts scattering like ashes in the wind.
‘A boy and two girls, chatting in bed? What possible scenario would warrant such a thing?’
Did he really think that made sense? She wanted to demand an explanation, to unravel the tangled mess of implications, but she couldn’t. She was the one who’d climbed into his bed, and Lee Seok-hyun had been unconscious.
‘What am I supposed to say?’
While Mijuran desperately tried to salvage the situation, her mind racing through a thousand possible explanations, Meiri’s reaction was far simpler.
‘Oh, I should just join them.’
She hadn’t even registered the potential impropriety, her mind operating on a different level entirely.
Meiri, raised in Shinmibi, had received little to no formal education about human relationships, especially romantic ones. Such concepts were considered unnecessary, a potential source of confusion and distraction.
The fairies of Shinmibi valued purity above all else, and romantic relationships, with their messy emotions and subjective interpretations, were seen as a threat to that purity. While they received basic social instruction, matters of the heart were left unexplored, untouched. And the consequences of that educational gap were now playing out in real-time.
Perhaps the sheer absurdity of the situation had overloaded her processing capacity, leaving her mind blank. Whatever the reason, this was her reality.
“Mijuran, why are you so tense?”
“Wh-what? Oh… n-nothing…”
“Then I’ll come join you.”
Meiri, oblivious to the implications of her earlier anger, walked towards the bed.
‘I wonder why I suddenly felt… annoyed with Mijuran…’
She pushed the thought aside and, as usual, attempted to climb onto Lee Seok-hyun’s lap, then, noticing Mijuran’s presence, settled down beside him instead.
–Scootch.
Mijuran’s eyebrow twitched at the movement.
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‘Well, that worked out better than expected.’
The situation, initially disastrous, had been salvaged by his quick thinking and years of experience navigating complex social situations.
While his initial attempt at a casual invitation had backfired spectacularly, his subsequent explanation, or lack thereof, had diffused the tension, creating an opportunity for a swift and relatively painless escape.
Meiri had been about to dig in her heels and refuse to leave, but Gainard’s perfectly timed arrival had saved the day. He must have sensed Lee Seok-hyun’s return to consciousness and rushed over immediately.
“How are you feeling?”
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Gainard, genuinely concerned, put him through a series of stretches and a quick physical examination.
And he wasn’t alone. Lee Hwa-ryeong and Kerrar, also present, joined in, their concern evident in their meticulous examination. The sight of three prominent professors fussing over a single student was a rare and precious thing.
Satisfied that he was unharmed, they nodded in relief.
“I’m so glad you’re awake, Lee Seok-hyun. We were all quite worried.”
“We should share this good news.”
“Ah, yes! Gainard, could you update everyone?”
Lee Hwa-ryeong and Kerrar, after showering him with expressions of concern, suddenly remembered their other duties and excused themselves.
“Things have been rather hectic. My apologies.”
“No, I should be the one apologizing. I caused you all so much trouble.”
“Lee Seok-hyun, sometimes you seem far too mature for your age. Not that it’s a bad thing, but… I’d like to see you act your age occasionally.”
Gainard’s gentle reprimand was followed by a more serious tone as he shifted to the main topic.
He wouldn’t have brought up the competition if Lee Seok-hyun had shown any signs of distress, but seeing him so alert and composed, he decided to proceed.
“The competition will resume after a one-week break.”
As expected.
Suspending the competition indefinitely after a demonic attack would only embolden them, further fueling their arrogance. Resuming the competition was the only logical course of action. However, he was surprised by the length of the break. A mere seven days after an Archdemon intrusion?
‘They’re really pushing themselves.’
This meant the academies were working together, coordinating their efforts, implementing security measures at a breakneck pace.
With the combined might of four top-tier academies focused on bolstering their defenses, even the wind would need their permission to blow.
“What about the team matches? Will they be restarting from the beginning?”
“The format has been changed. It was originally a tournament-style elimination bracket, but now, each academy will face every other academy once.”
“Why the change?”
“It was deemed more in line with the spirit of the competition. To foster exchange and collaboration, rather than simply focusing on winning. While it will take longer, this format allows for more interaction between academies.”
This new format was certainly more in line with the exchange aspect of the competition.
Each academy would compete in three matches, and the academy with the best overall record would be declared the winner. In the event of a tie, an additional match would be held to determine the victor.
‘And the more opportunities for observation, the better. The guilds and knight orders will have more chances to assess the students’ abilities, and we’ll have more data to analyze.’
The longer the competition, the more information they could gather, which would be invaluable for future recruitment and training strategies. The only downside was the extended schedule, but that wasn’t his concern.
“And another thing…”
Gainard proceeded to fill him in on the events that had transpired during his coma.
His rising popularity, the potential for unwanted attention during the upcoming matches, the mountain of gifts from guilds and knight orders, and how to handle them—
He received a crash course in navigating the social complexities of Mirinae Academy, a side of the game he hadn’t experienced in his previous playthroughs.
“I believe that covers everything.”
“Thank you.”
“Ah, and one last thing…”
What now? The shift in Gainard’s demeanor was subtle, but noticeable.
He’d been kind and gentle, almost paternal, but now his tone was serious, his expression stern, his words measured.
‘Is this something so important that it warrants interrupting his earlier updates? What could it possibly be?’
A sense of unease washed over him as Gainard continued.
“While Mirinae Academy doesn’t explicitly forbid romantic relationships, excessive… entanglements… are discouraged.”
“What?”
Lee Seok-hyun stared at him, dumbfounded. Just what was he talking about?
Gainard, misinterpreting his expression as shock and guilt, nodded knowingly.
“I understand. It’s easy to be… distracted… when surrounded by so many admirers. But true love, Seok-hyun, blossoms when two hearts connect, not three.”
“…No, really, what are you talking about?”
He tried to deny it, to explain the misunderstanding, but Gainard seemed to have already reached his own conclusions.
“While I wasn’t aware of your… popularity… I want to ensure that, as an impartial instructor, no one gets hurt. Heartbreak at a young age can be… quite traumatic.”
“No, Professor, wait. You’re misunderstanding. What exactly are you…”
“You might want to deny it, but… well, a boy and two girls in bed together… ahem… These kids these days are so… precocious…”
“Professor! Please! Listen to me!”
Gainard, seemingly having said his piece, ignored Lee Seok-hyun’s protests and stood up.
“True love, Seok-hyun…”
He could have simply left, but he paused at the doorway, a sly grin spreading across his face like a mischievous raccoon. It was a disturbingly unfamiliar expression, a stark contrast to his usual image of a stern, honorable knight.
“I support your… endeavors…”
His echoing words, dripping with innuendo, lingered in the air as he finally left the room.
‘He wasn’t entirely wrong, though.’
He couldn’t deny that the situation had been potentially compromising. He decided to stay silent, swallowing his frustration.
‘No one else is allowed in my bed. Ever.’
That was his new, unwavering resolution.
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If you read premium releases for this novel as soon as they’re released, you may have noticed that this is a repeat of chapter 107. I had accidentally skipped over a chapter when uploading, this has been corrected so please go back and read the updated chapter 107.
Thanks for the chapter