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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Sepia suddenly remembered something she wanted to confirm.
“Vivian, I have a question…”
“Yes, my lady?”
“Isn’t this too obvious?”
Sepia, with her strong pride, felt uncomfortable being so proactive. It felt like she was losing the upper hand in their relationship.
“The book says that if you don’t make your feelings clear, he won’t notice.”
“Hmm… really?”
“The book encourages women to express their interest. It says that men need encouragement to confess their feelings…”
Vivian replied in her usual monotonous tone.
“But I’m curious… does it say anything about women confessing first?”
Vivian slammed the book shut, looking like a wise professor.
“It’s possible. However…”
“However?”
“Ethan might be offended if you confess first. It could hurt his pride.”
“Ah…”
Sepia nodded. Ethan was working hard to become her equal, to earn a diploma from the academy.
Confessing first would be like saying, I’ll take care of you, so just come back to me.
‘Ethan even refused my offer to increase his salary because of his pride.’
“That’s all for today’s lesson.”
“Thank you, Vivian! I’ll try practicing what I learned tomorrow.”
Sepia nodded, a determined glint in her eyes. She was already excited.
The next day.
Sepia anxiously waited for Ethan in the club room. According to Vivian’s “Ethan Behavior Report,” he should be arriving soon.
“Wow, Ethan, your hands are so big. Let’s compare.”
Sepia practiced the line, her final rehearsal.
And just as Vivian had predicted, the door opened. Sepia stopped mumbling.
“What are you doing? Talking to yourself?”
“Ah, um… nothing.”
Sepia replied, trying to sound casual.
“What are you doing here at this hour?”
“Just… studying. I seem to focus better here.”
“Well, finals are just around the corner.”
Ethan sat down on the sofa and opened his textbook. Sepia glanced at him, waiting for the right moment.
“Ethan… your hands… they’re quite big, aren’t they?”
“Huh? My hands? What about them?”
“Nothing, just… I was just thinking. Can I see your hand for a second…?”
The door suddenly burst open, and Anya barged in.
“Hey, everyone!”
Sepia and Ethan’s attention shifted towards Anya.
“Ethan! Let me fight Lien again!”
“No.”
“Please, please, please! Just one more time!”
Anya pleaded, her voice almost a whine. Sepia glared at her, her teeth grinding together.
‘That… that clueless barbarian!’
Anya, oblivious to Sepia’s glare, continued to pester Ethan.
“No.”
“Aw… Then when can I fight him?”
“There’s no point in fighting him now. You should train and come back later.”
Anya stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“Hmm… you’re right. Okay, I’ll train hard during summer break and come back.”
Anya sat down on the sofa. Sepia hadn’t heard anything about Anya visiting the club room today.
The room fell silent.
“Sepia, what were you saying?”
“Oh, right! I was saying your hands are big.”
“Really?”
Ethan looked at his hands, a puzzled expression on his face. Sepia seized the opportunity.
“Let’s compare.”
“Huh? Our hands?”
“Just give me your hand for a second.”
Sepia took Ethan’s hand and compared their hand sizes. As she remembered, his hands were rough, but large and warm.
“Wow, Ethan, your hands are huge! Let’s compare too!”
Anya, ever the clueless one, joined in.
“Wow! They really are big! Mine are pretty big too. Let’s compare, Sepia.”
Sepia gritted her teeth and forced a smile. Just then, Arthur and Tia arrived.
“What are you three doing?”
“Comparing hand sizes!”
Anya replied cheerfully.
“Oh? Whose hands were the biggest?”
“Ethan’s, of course.”
Arthur, intrigued, joined the hand-comparing game.
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“Anya, that damn barbarian! Damn it! Damn it!”
Sepia kicked her blankets, tears streaming down her face. She was furious.
She had disliked Anya from the moment they met on the carriage.
And because of Anya, her plan to ask Ethan to walk her back to the dormitory had been ruined. They had all left the club room together.
“My lady, please calm down.”
“How can I calm down?! Ugh…”
She had planned to initiate natural skinship with Ethan, but Anya had ruined everything. She couldn’t use that strategy again.
“It’s all Anya’s fault.”
“But you learned a valuable lesson, didn’t you?”
“A valuable lesson?”
“Yes, you learned that you shouldn’t try to execute your plan when there are other people around.”
That was true.
Vivian skillfully comforted Sepia.
“My lady, there are many other ways to get close to him.”
“Other ways?”
“Yes, I have at least a dozen more strategies for natural skinship.”
“What are they? Tell me!”
Sepia lifted her head from her pillow and looked at Vivian expectantly. Vivian smiled enigmatically.
“Are you curious?”
“Tell me! Now!”
“I’ll tell you after you finish your studies for today. It’s finals season, after all.”
Vivian placed Sepia’s assignments on the table with a thud.
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It had been a week.
A week of all-nighters in the library with Arthur. It felt like military training all over again.
Even though the final exams were mostly practical, there were still written exams.
I had been living on coffee for the past week.
“Summer break… I need summer break…”
I rested my head on the desk and glanced towards the front desk.
My eyes met Tesha’s.
She seemed to be doing well in her studies, even though she never seemed to study. Tesha quickly looked away, embarrassed.
Of course she was embarrassed. The masochistic princess.
She was probably agonizing over her… unique preferences.
“Ethan, did you hear that the survival team announcements will be posted this afternoon?”
“Yeah, I heard something about it.”
I sat up.
It was time for the announcements.
“Arthur, let’s go check the bulletin board.”
We walked over to the bulletin board.
I scanned the list, looking for my team.
―Tia, Anya, Ethan.
Not a bad team.
Anya could be the tank, I could be the damage dealer, and Tia could provide ranged support.
Our team wasn’t completely unlucky.
What about Arthur’s team?
―Arthur, Reus, Sonny.
I was stunned.
It was the ultimate dream team.
They were all close-range fighters, but they were the strongest in their class.
Reus would probably take the lead, with Arthur and Sonny as the main damage dealers.
‘I’m looking forward to the final exam.’
Reus’s words echoed in my mind.
‘That Achilles guy is going to come after me. And then I’ll have to fight Arthur…’
If I had to fight Reus, it wouldn’t be an easy battle.
I’d rather fight a boss monster solo.
I continued reading the announcements.
I needed to know the team compositions.
Sepia was teamed up with Tesha and Raynel.
Raynel.
He wasn’t a major character in the novel, but I remembered him being an archer.
His midterm scores were average.
Sepia and Tesha were a decent team.
I should talk to Raynel.
The written exams passed quickly. I think I did okay. At least, I hope so.
And then it was time for the practical exams.
All the first-year students received a necklace.
The necklaces were crucial for passing the exam.
If all the members of a team lost their necklaces, the entire team failed.
But as long as one member still had their necklace, the team survived.
“The Necklace Snatch will begin in one hour. As announced, the exam will last for 24 hours. Your priority is to ensure your team’s survival. And remember, the more necklaces you collect, the higher your score.”
Professor Laf’s long and tedious explanation ended, and we were given an hour to prepare.
We had to discuss our strategies and plan for the next 24 hours.
The exam area was the entire northern forest of the academy.
The forest was vast, and we could encounter monsters. We also had to find our own food and water.
It was typical Neydia Hero Academy training.
Of course, there were safety measures in place.
Professors and guards were stationed throughout the forest, ready to intervene if the battles became too intense.
And we were given a healing potion in case we were eliminated.
‘Achilles is going to come after me.’
He might even try to kill me.
Injuries and even deaths during training weren’t uncommon at the academy.
“Ethan, we’re on the same team again…”
Tia said.
“Are you disappointed?”
“What? No, of course not. When did I ever say that?”
Tia’s tone was slightly defensive.
“So, Ethan, what’s the plan?”
Anya asked, her hammer resting on her shoulder.
I explained my strategy. Anya’s eyes widened.
“Do you think that’s possible?”
I smiled enigmatically and nodded.
Operation Achilles Beatdown.
The spectator gods would be entertained.
I couldn’t help but grin.
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