Chapter 44. A Widely Spread Rumor

***

A refreshing morning.

It was the first time I had experienced such a refreshing morning in the dormitory.

As I stretched widely, a smile involuntarily escaped my lips.

My mind and body felt incredibly refreshed, with no trace of fatigue.

Although I had dueled with Luna yesterday, I hadn’t overexerted myself afterward. It was surprising how refreshing it could feel to wake up in the morning.

“…”

Suddenly, I noticed a brilliantly shining coin on the table.

The morning sunlight made the golden light captivating, and as I naturally picked up the gold coin, another sense of satisfaction filled my heart.

“This is such an unexpected windfall.”

I had received five months’ worth of salary at once. And so easily too. People say that happiness easily gained isn’t that joyful, but in my opinion, that’s nonsense.

Even if it’s gained easily, something joyful is truly joyful.

Why wouldn’t one be happy when a large sum of money suddenly appears? I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at the gold coin shimmering even more brilliantly in the sunlight.

“I should eat something delicious for lunch today.”

When starting dormitory life, students receive their first month’s living expenses from the academy in advance. I, too, had received 20 silver as a C-Class student.

The money I had saved for months outside the academy amounted to just over 10 silver. Considering expenses like Talent tests and inn accommodation, I hardly managed to save anything.

So I couldn’t even spend that money easily.

Good armament was essential to advance to the next class, B, as quickly as possible. Believing that I needed to acquire a better spear and equipment to increase my strength, I had been trying to save silver bit by bit.

For someone like me… the 1 gold that Grecia had readily given was truly an enormous amount of money.

It was enough to make me feel not just comfortable, but even affluent.

“…By the way, how much money does she have to give away gold so casually?”

Involuntarily, I recalled the words Grecia had said to me last night.

-How much would it cost…?
-Han Chunsung. I want to buy your time.
-Please, I’m begging you. Han Chunsung… stay with me. I’ll pay as much as you want.

Recalling each of her words, I unconsciously rubbed my face.

Just remembering her words made my heart flutter again for a moment.

Remembering Grecia approaching me, speaking as if desperately pleading, made me feel a bit excited again.

Then I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Really, just recalling her words… makes it sound like she was confessing to me.”

She said she would buy my heart with money if needed, and kept saying she wanted to be with me.

It was almost as if Grecia was clinging to me. And I actually felt that way to some extent.

In fact, thinking about it, that’s really true… but.

“The problem is that it’s not romantic feelings.”

If I had seen affection and love in Grecia’s eyes when we met yesterday… perhaps my heart would have been more deeply moved.

But as our conversation continued, I felt Grecia’s endless ambition.

Her desperate and intense desire to move forward somehow, even while pushing her body to its limits. How could I foolishly continue to feel excited while seeing her like that?

The heart flutter gradually subsided.

“…Let’s stop thinking about it.”

I shook my head and prepared to go to the academy.

Even as I quickly showered and changed into my student uniform, the feel of the gold coin in my hand was… special.

Although Grecia had casually given it as a reward, as if it were nothing…

For me, it was a significant amount of money with quite a special meaning.

***

“Hey, look who it is. Isn’t it the talk of the town?”

As soon as I sat down next to David, he spoke up, and I unconsciously shook my head.

“What do you mean, talk of the town?”
“So what happened yesterday? I heard you dueled with Luna.”
“…Has that rumor already spread?”
“Of course. There’s not a single student in the classroom who doesn’t know. There’s been so much talk about you, I couldn’t help but hear it all even if I didn’t want to.”

I let out a small sigh at David’s words.

I thought the duel with Leonhardt had spread more widely and attracted more attention. But the reason was actually different.

‘…Luna Vermont.’

My duel with Luna, who was sitting at the front of the classroom now. No, rather, the rumors had spread again because of what happened afterward.

“David. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not true.”
“…Pfft. Han Chunsung, what do you think I’m thinking?”
“You’re probably thinking something weird about Luna and me, right?”

I could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his mischievous smile.

He probably thought there were some strange feelings between Luna and me.

…It felt odd to see other students around glancing at me too.

ㅡA sudden confession.

From afar, it might have seemed like a comedy, but up close… no, experiencing it directly was an embarrassing and mind-numbing situation.

“Han Chunsung. Really, there’s nothing? You don’t have even a little bit of interest in Luna?”
“Yeah. There’s really nothing like that.”
“Really? I think someone like Luna is good enough to feel that way, Luna is really pretty after all.”

I sighed again at David’s words, which seemed to have concluded that I liked Luna.

‘How on earth am I supposed to clear up this misunderstanding?’

If even David, who had no preconceptions about me when we first met, was like this, it was pretty obvious how others would see it.

“Do you… really think it looks like I like Luna?”
“I’m not certain. I just think it could be possible. No, I’m not saying you’re strange right now, okay? I’m just saying that with a female student as pretty as Luna, it could happen, right? You know too, right? How everyone pretends not to, but often looks at Luna as days go by. Well, she’s that pretty, who wouldn’t look? It’s natural for a man to be interested.”

However, contrary to my thoughts, as David spoke calmly, I began to see it differently.

Saying that I could like her, that it was very natural… Amusingly, I found myself agreeing with David’s words.

Glancing forward from my seat.

I could see Luna smiling softly as she continued her conversation with Milia, and honestly, just looking at her appearance, she was undeniably pretty to anyone who saw her.

It wasn’t for nothing that she secured her position as the main heroine in the RHA world view. She was quite popular in reality too.

Of course, the problem was that she was a complete tsundere among the tsundere types that were considered outdated at that time, so opinions about her were extremely divided.

‘Well, she is… pretty.’

I had felt that Luna’s thinking was childish yesterday, so my negative feelings had largely disappeared, and although I was surprised by her sudden confession, I still hadn’t changed my mind about wanting to become friends with Luna.

That’s how important Luna’s Combat Healing Talent was.

If I could save my life… it was worth enduring this level of rumor.

“…Hey. You’re saying it’s not true while looking at Luna like that?”

I flinched at David’s words and quickly shook my head.

“It’s really not like that. I really don’t like Luna. And I don’t even know why Luna thought that way… Rather, my ideal type is completely different.”
“Completely different? What, is there someone close to your ideal type in the classroom right now?”
“Yeah. There is. She’s right next to Luna.”

Since I was talking to David, I spoke lightly.

ㅡMilia Evellon.

Thinking about it again, she was indeed the closest to my ideal type.

Warmly receiving Luna’s lively conversation with a smile. Just looking at that, her gentle and kind personality was evident.

And her face was cute too. She really was the embodiment of my ideal type.

Although I couldn’t get closer to her right now because of Luna…

“Oh? Are you talking about Milia?”
“That’s right.”
“Milia… Hmm, I think Luna is much prettier, and seems to have more charm too.”
“Ideal types are subjective, right? Even if Luna is prettier, liking someone is a different matter.”

As David and I were having this light conversation.

“Tch… the level of conversation among these commoner bastards is so low…”

Suddenly, an extremely cold voice was heard.

At that, I unconsciously looked in its direction,

I saw a student with golden hair. Gerard was clearly looking at me and biting his lip, and for a moment, I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t speak.

‘Commoner?’

To openly talk about commoners, not even Talents, in the academy. Had this bastard lost his mind?

“Forget it, Gerard. They’re just sticking with their own kind anyway. Why bother paying attention? Let’s not interfere.”

A student who seemed to be Gerard’s companion restrained him and took him back to their seats, and for a moment, I felt my heart sink.

Yesterday too, he had looked at me with inexplicable malice and hostility.

But now that he was speaking so blatantly, I had no intention of just quietly enduring it.

Just as I was about to stand up and approach him instead.

Grab.

Suddenly, my arm was caught.

“Han Chunsung. Endure it for now.”
“…David.”
“We have practical duel lectures starting next week, right? We can pay him back properly then. There’s no need to cause a disturbance unnecessarily.”

David, who had completely erased his previous playful attitude, was coldly lowering his eyes, and I exhaled lightly and nodded.

As David said, from next week on, there would be lectures focusing on practical skills.

Duels between students were surely planned then.

…There was no need to cause a disturbance unnecessarily. When the opportunity presents itself. That’s when we could properly trample him in front of everyone.

Just as I was calming my boiling feelings.

Swoosh.

The classroom door opened.

Click, click.

As Kali, dressed in a black suit, entered, I straightened my posture and renewed my mindset.

It wasn’t even worth paying attention to trash like Gerard.

And today was quite an important day.

I needed to have a proper conversation with Kali and figure out how to use her private training room more…

“…”

Thinking about it, I suddenly held my breath.

“Hey. Did you… do something wrong to the instructor yesterday?”

David whispered to me, but I didn’t know the reason either.

“……”

Kali’s gaze was very fierce. No, it was even colder than that. It certainly wasn’t this kind of gaze when I turned in my test paper yesterday.

‘Why now…’

Why was she looking at me so coldly?

…

As soon as Kali entered the classroom, silence fell inside.

Thud!

Kali, who had been looking around at the students, naturally put down the teaching materials she had brought on the desk.

Even though her gaze had long since left me, I continued to feel an inexplicable chill.

I felt needlessly anxious.

‘This shouldn’t be happening.’

I had to have a proper conversation with Kali today. But now she seemed to be in quite a bad mood.

To the point where I was unnecessarily worrying about whether I should even speak to her or not…

“Student Han Chunsung?”

As she called my name, I swallowed hard and opened my mouth.

“…Yes, Instructor Kali.”