Page 135

After being teased by Grantoni and Musika in the Special Arts hallway for my playful exchange with Seron, I managed to calm Seron down and send her away.

“You’re just going to comfort one girl and then run off to meet another, aren’t you?”

Seron glared at me sharply, but to me, it was a ridiculous accusation.

So, I gave her a firm response.

“Yeah, I’m going to see my fiancée.”

I heard Seron scream at my answer, but I quickly ran away.

That’s how I ended up coming to see Sharin last.

Sharin was in the Magic Arts room, drawing magic blueprints.

But right now, she was burying her head into my chest, rubbing it back and forth.

“Why am I the last one? Why am I the laaaast?”

Since she was the final team member I picked up, she was clearly upset.

“You’re the most important asset, so I was being extra careful.”

“Hannon, your lies are getting worse. I can see right through you.”

I guess even my lies don’t work on her anymore.

The truth was, I came to see her last simply because of the route I took.

The First-Year Martial Arts Department was closer, and then the Second-Year Special Arts Department was the next stop.

Even now, with her head still buried in my chest, I lightly lifted her up.

I had no idea what she ate, but she was absurdly light.

I placed her on Professor Vega’s chair.

She sat there quietly and puffed up her cheeks slightly.

Cute.

Where did she learn to act all cutesy?

“But why the chair?”

“There’s a deep reason for that.”

Sharin nodded as if she understood, leaning against the chair’s backrest.

“So, what kind of trouble are you getting into this timeee?”

“You talk as if I cause trouble every time.”

“Aren’t you?”

Sharin tilted her head as if it were obvious.

I couldn’t help but feel wronged.

“This time, I’m focusing entirely on raiding the Demon Dungeon.”

The goal was the sixth floor.

There was an item there that I needed to progress smoothly through the next scenario.

I was determined to obtain it at all costs.

Hearing my determined response, Sharin stared at me blankly.

“When are we holding our wedding?”

She suddenly dropped that completely out of nowhere.

I stared at her, dumbfounded.

As always, her expression was unreadable.

“Are you seriously planning to marry me?”

“I think it’d be fun to marry my husband.”

Sharin still insisted on calling me “husband.”

It seemed like she enjoyed my flustered reactions.

“But my husband keeps playing around with other girls.”

“You know how things were with Vinesha too.”

“I’m not talking about that.”

Sharin pulled her knees up slightly and scrunched her nose.

“You reeked of Seron’s perfume.”

Before coming to Sharin, Seron had hugged me tightly.

Because of that, I guess my clothes had absorbed her scent.

‘No way…’

Could it be?

Was that why she rubbed her head against my chest—to erase the scent?

It seemed like a stretch, but lately, I’d been having all sorts of thoughts when it came to Sharin.

And after my engagement was confirmed, those thoughts had only intensified.

“Husband, husband.”

While I was lost in thought, Sharin stretched her hands out toward me.

“When are you giving me my accessory?”

“I was planning to buy one when I went out with Seron soon.”

Sharin immediately dove into my chest.

I ended up rolling onto the floor.

Sitting on top of me, she grabbed my cheeks and pulled them roughly.

It felt like my face was going to be dismantled.

“Is that right? Huuuuh?”

“That’s the only time I can go out.”

“Then you should go with me.”

“I already promised Seron.”

Sharin firmly grasped my cheeks.

“I’m your fiancée.”

“That’s true.”

“Seron is a friend.”

“That’s also true.”

“Who’s more important?”

She asked as if it were the easiest question in the world.

I silently stared at her for a moment before slowly sitting up.

As I did, she slid down onto my lap.

My mouth opened and closed a few times.

But then, I realized that continuing to avoid this question would be rude.

I had reached a conclusion in my heart.

“Sharin, can I ask you something?”

Sharin blinked and looked at me with wide eyes.

“Do you… like me?”

I never thought I’d ask something like this in my lifetime.

As someone who had never been involved with romance, it felt arrogant even to ask.

After all, my first thought was, ‘Why would she?’

My long-shattered confidence in romance made me feel incredibly insignificant.

More than anything, I couldn’t think of a single reason why Sharin would like me.

Seron had a clear reason—our past connection as Vikamon.

So, I could understand her feelings.

Vinesha’s case was due to emotional deprivation, leading to a temporary attachment.

Her affection, too, made sense.

Isabel had a love-hate relationship with me.

Iris saw me as an emotional support doll.

I could understand all of those.

But Sharin was different.

Her feelings toward me clearly went beyond mere friendship.

She didn’t realize it herself, but whenever our eyes met, she would always show a sleepy, gentle smile.

Her eyes, which seemed indifferent to everyone else, looked noticeably different when directed at me.

Even her friends, Isabel and Rina, would sometimes give us knowing looks.

Yet, she remained completely unaware.

And recently, that tendency had only grown stronger.

Ever since my engagement was announced, she had shown obvious jealousy.

It was a clear sign that she didn’t want to lose me to someone else.

But I just couldn’t understand it.

Maybe it was because I had forgotten what love felt like.

Sharin blinked her large eyes.

Her eyes, reflecting the starry glow of Mirinae, gazed at me steadily.

“Ohhh… I guess so.”

She gently lifted my cheeks with both hands.

Then, as if kneading dough, she squished and stretched them.

It felt as though she was carefully reflecting on something from the past.

Before long, as if she had finished reflecting on everything, Sharin smirked.

The sunset streaming in through the classroom window bathed her in its glow.

Her deep blue hair, shimmering with starlight, glowed under the setting sun.

And within those cascading strands of hair, the smile she wore was captivating—so beautiful that anyone who saw it would find it enchanting.

Like the Mirinae spilling out its light, her smile shone as if she had finally realized the answer to a long-pondered question.

“I think… I like my husband.”

Even the languid way she spoke was unmistakably Sharin.

I looked up at her, my face frozen in shock.

“…Since when?”

“I don’t know.”

Before I realized it, Sharin’s soft hand was gently caressing my cheek.

“That’s the problem—I don’t know.”

A love that even Sharin herself hadn’t recognized.

That love had already taken root in her heart long ago, blossoming into a flower.

Flowers give off a sweet fragrance.

And every emotion I had ever glimpsed in Sharin stemmed from the scent of that very flower.

“That’s why I didn’t notice it.”

Sharin pulled my face closer.

In an instant, the distance between us disappeared.

“I have a ridiculous amount of possessiveness, you know.”

Sharin had never once liked anyone before.

Because of that, she had never even realized her own possessiveness.

Jealousy is, after all, born from possessiveness.

It starts from the desire to not let something of yours be taken by someone else.

“So, husband.”

Her eyes, filled with the light of the Mirinae, gleamed with intensity.

“I have no intention of letting anyone take you from me.”

Before I knew it, Sharin’s pinky wrapped around mine.

“So if you keep making me mad, I’ll lock you up.”

She said those chilling words without a hint of hesitation.

…She wasn’t serious, right?

* * *

Now, after Seron, even Sharin was saying she liked me.

Was this what peak popularity felt like?

I was completely dumbfounded.

‘At this point, maybe Hannon’s face is just a cheat code.’

I struck a V-shape with my fingers under my chin while looking at my reflection in the dormitory bathroom mirror.

Hannon did have a decent-looking face.

Seeing it like this, it kind of made sense.

“Wangnon, my stomach hurts.”

“Card, do I look a little handsome?”

Card scratched his stomach absentmindedly and looked at me.

“You’ve got the kind of face younger women would like.”

But I was actually older than both of them.

“This is about Sharin, isn’t it?”

I turned to look at Card.

Just how much had he been eavesdropping?

Card simply plopped down in front of the toilet, looking bored.

“Wangnon, tell me—how many girls do you think I’ve made cry so far?”

“You really just said something garbage like that without batting an eye.”

“Thanks. But what I’m saying is, I didn’t need to hear it from anyone to know that Sharin likes you.”

Card had an uncanny ability to read women’s emotions.

Naturally, he had already seen right through Sharin’s feelings.

“Even if the person themselves is unsure, it’s obvious to those who are watching. There hasn’t been a single guy around Sharin who treated her the way you do.”

To him, this was just the inevitable finally happening.

“Think about it. Even if someone got engaged due to circumstances, what kind of girl would go around calling their fiancé ‘husband’ all the time?”

“It’s Sharin we’re talking about.”

“Sharin is still a girl.”

Card clicked his tongue, as if disappointed by my obliviousness.

“Anyway, by the looks of it, she’s finally realized her own feelings.”

Yeah, that seemed to be the case.

“In that case, Wangnon, I’ll share an important piece of information with you.”

Card smirked as he spoke.

“Sharin almost never distinguishes people’s faces.”

“Huh?”

“To be exact, she doesn’t bother to. The Mirinae lets people perceive the essence of mana within a person’s body instead. Sharin spends almost all her time in that state. She probably doesn’t even feel any inconvenience from it.”

That was something I didn’t know.

It was never mentioned in the game.

Now it made sense why Sharin had been able to see through the veil bandages using the Mirinae.

She was perceiving the essence of mana itself, so she could sense that something was layered on top of it.

“Of course, if she wanted to, she could look at people’s faces—but it’s too much of a hassle, so she doesn’t bother.”

I realized why Card was telling me all this.

“So… to Sharin…”

“Looks never mattered in the first place.”

And just like that, my confidence in my appearance crumbled.

“Anyway, can you stop looking in the mirror and get out? I’m at my limit here.”

Hearing Card speak with rare seriousness, I left the bathroom.

My gaze, now filled with complicated emotions, turned to the window.

Right now, my team included both Seron and Sharin.

Tonight was the Autumn Demon Dungeon event.

Was this really going to be okay?

A growing sense of unease settled over me.