Blink, blink─

As she opened her eyes, she recognized the familiar ceiling and the dark landscape outside the window.

“Hmm… Is it dawn? I must have dozed off last night.”

Shin Se-hee slowly sat up in bed, feeling sticky with sweat.

“……What a disgusting dream.”

She frowned and rubbed her temples, which were throbbing.

“I rarely drink, and now I have this ridiculous dream…”

As she recalled the dream, a sense of disappointment washed over her.

In the dream, she had begged Jin Yuha to include her in his party, going as far as pleading and groveling. It was mortifying to think that she, who should have been the one courted, was instead the one desperately clinging to him.

And to make matters worse, she had been completely submissive throughout the dream, a far cry from her usual haughty self.

It was almost refreshing to see herself act so out of character, but there was no way she would ever behave like that in reality, no matter how attractive his party seemed.

“Haa, I can’t believe he didn’t even consider me…”

This was a significant blow to her lofty ego.

She had expected Jin Yuha to propose a party invitation after witnessing her capabilities in the Kang Do-hee incident, and she had planned to reluctantly accept while imposing various conditions.

But to be completely ignored?

This was a first for her.

She was the one who chose, not the one who waited to be chosen.

“No, this is a power play.”

Shin Se-hee shook her head and smiled. It was only natural. There was no way he wouldn’t realize how valuable and necessary she could be to his future. Jin Yuha had been wary of her from the start, which was why he was cautious about inviting her to his party.

“But this time, his method was wrong. Jin Yuha, since you dared to engage in a power play with me, you will pay the price. Prepare yourself, because it won’t be easy for you to beg and plead for me to join your party.”

Then, Shin Se-hee suddenly cleared her throat.

“Hmm, my throat feels a bit dry.”

She pressed the red button next to her bed.

Beep─

Soon, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Kim, her secretary, opened the door with a worried expression and entered, carrying a tray with a glass of honey water and ice cubes.

“Are you feeling better, Shin Se-hee?”
“I’m fine, just a slight headache.”
“Here’s some honey water.”
“Thank you.”

Glug─

She took a sip of the honey water, feeling the cool refreshment and sweetness slide down her throat, making her hazy mind a little clearer.

“Anyway, we’ve secured the thief who stole the necklace. It was him, as we suspected.”
“Good. Make sure to deal with him properly.”
“Yes.”

Thanks to the information provided by Jin Yuha, they had caught the thief who had stolen her necklace. That thief would now experience the depths of hell for daring to covet her possessions and tarnishing her name.

“By the way, Kim, how long was I asleep?”
“About six hours, it seems.”

Kim glanced at his wristwatch and replied.

“……Hmm, I guess I should get ready and head out soon. I can’t afford to be late for morning training and receiving a demerit.”
“Morning training? What are you talking about?”
“Well, if I drank and slept for six hours, it must be dawn, right?”
“It’s evening…”
“Huh?”

Shin Se-hee furrowed her brows, confused by the conversation.

“Wait, what are you talking about? Did I go to a beef soup restaurant today or something? Please tell me that’s not the case.”
“Yes, you did. Didn’t you ask me to find out where Jin Yuha was today?”
“I did, but…”

Suddenly, the pieces started falling into place in her brilliant mind.

“Ki, Kim! Please tell me I didn’t do anything ridiculous at the restaurant! Please, please tell me I didn’t!”

Shin Se-hee desperately pleaded, her voice shaking.

“Yes, you did. Jin Yuha went there for a meal, and you asked me to escort you there.”
“So, I went to meet him today…?”
“Yes, and after that, Jin Yuha called me so that I could take care of you.”
“……What?”

The conversation wasn’t making sense to her.

“Wait, what are you talking about? Did he call you today while I was drunk?”
“Yes, He did. He asked me to pick you up because you were drunk.”
“Him? He asked you to pick me up…?”

Her pupils shook as if an earthquake had struck.

‘No, it can’t be…’

The conversation wasn’t making sense to her.

As she recalled the dream, a sense of dread filled her.

Begging and pleading with him to include her in his party, only to be ignored as he proposed to that strange woman instead.

‘Is all of that real?!’

And what did I say…?

─ And, and! You’re including other people, but not me! Why her and not me!

Shin Se-hee’s face turned bright red.

‘Ah.’

“Kyaaaahhhh!!! I’m going crazy!!!!”

Shin Se-hee covered her face with her hands and screamed, and the cup she had been holding fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.

.

.

.

The second weekend arrived, and it was the day of the inter-group sparring. We gathered at the training ground.

What’s up with Shin Se-hee? She’s standing there with her face turned away, as if her neck is broken.

“Let me explain today’s inter-group sparring.”

Baek Seol-hee, the instructor, spoke with her usual stoic expression.

“The sparring will be in a tournament format. A total of 32 groups will compete in their assigned training grounds. Today, we will have the round of 32, round of 16, and quarterfinals. So, we’ll have a total of three matches.”

The inter-group sparring was a tournament-style competition. That was a relief.

‘If we keep winning, we’ll eventually face Yoo-ri’s group, right?’

I nodded.

“The semifinals and finals will be held next week, on the last day of basic training, as a public sparring session in the large training ground.”
“So, if our opponents come to our assigned training ground today…”
“It means they will be coming here.”
“Does that mean we’ll have a schedule for moving around as well?”
“No, there isn’t. All the opponents will come to us.”

Baek Seol-hee shook her head and wore a subtly proud expression. After spending nearly two weeks with her, I could now read a little emotion from her otherwise expressionless face.

The night before, Baek Seol-hee had a meeting with the other instructors assigned to the basic training.

─ Se, Senior. Please, just save my face this once…
─ Are you asking me to lead the students to your training ground?
─ That, that’s…
─ Fine. Then let’s settle it with a sword fight. If you can beat me, I’ll personally come to your training ground.
─ No, no, no! I, I’ll go! I’ll go!!! Ple, please put your sword away!!!

In the inter-group sparring, whether you went to your opponent’s training ground or they came to yours depended on the power dynamics between the instructors. The lower-ranked instructors had to travel for all three matches, while the higher-ranked ones only had to receive challengers at their training ground.

As the second-in-command to the Chairman, Baek Seol-hee was in a position where the opponents had to come to her, and the price for this was paid by the students under her. It was an unfair system, but if anyone had complaints, they could always try to climb up the ranks themselves.

I observed Baek Seol-hee’s proud expression and lost myself in thought.

‘Hmm, I wonder if we’ll meet Yoo-ri’s group first?’

32 groups. So, out of the 31 other groups, there was a chance we would meet one of them.

In other words, a 31 in 1 chance.

‘3.2%? That’s a huge advantage!’

The probability of pulling a 5-star character in Velvet Sera was 0.4%. This was eight times higher! If I was the kind of person who pulled Alice with my first single-digit pull, this could definitely happen!

‘If we meet Yoo-ri’s group today, show them our strength, and then make the party proposal, everything would be perfect, right?!’

As I happily spun this scenario in my head,

It didn’t happen.

‘Who are these guys?’

I frowned at the unfamiliar faces of the students and their instructor. They seemed a bit intimidated as they stood there. A short distance away, Baek Seol-hee and the female instructor from the opposing group were talking.

‘Perception.’

“……Haa. Senior, Mad Dog and Cheonhwa is too unbalanced, isn’t it?”
“Shut up, idiot.”
“……Senior.”
“That’s why we have the magic restraints.”
“Even so…”
“Sorry, but this magic restraint isn’t an ordinary magical tool. It was personally crafted by the Chairman.”
“……The, the Chairman?”

Baek Seol-hee nodded.

“Let’s test it out.”

At her signal, the opposing instructor approached us and walked past me to stand in front of Kang Do-hee.

“……Kang Do-hee, student. I’m sorry, but may I take a look at that restraint for a moment?”
“Yeah, sure.”

Kang Do-hee nonchalantly unfastened the bracelet from her wrist and handed it to the instructor.

The instructor, now wearing the bracelet, exclaimed in shock,

“……What! This is too much!”
“Yes, this way, it’s a fair competition.”
“Wah… Hmm? This might actually be doable…”

She furrowed her brows, then

Grin─

“Senior, if I win today, can you not hold a personal grudge?”
“Shut up, idiot.”

The opposing instructor requested a moment to strategize and then gathered her party members.

Soon after,

“Let the sparring begin.”

The inter-group sparring commenced.