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Sharin Sazaris.

One of the most unpredictable figures in the Flame Butterfly arc.

Beneath her lazy eyelids, her eyes seemed to hold a galaxy as she quietly stared at me.

Just that gaze made me feel like she could see right through me.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Are you still half asleep?”

I tried to deny it.

“Then I'll go ask the professor~.”

I quickly reached out and grabbed her by the back of the neck.

“My bad. Please stop right now.”

Using an expert like her was unfair.

Fight with cunning and fabrication fair and square.

With her neck held, Sharin glanced back at me.

When I let go of her, she twirled around.

“I really like the fresh cream bread from the school store during lunchtime.”

“I hate greasy stuff.”

“But I like it.”

I barely held back a sigh.

“So I just have to bring it to you at lunchtime?”

“Yup, yup.”

This is the price of keeping her quiet.

“See you then~.”

Sharin waved lazily before heading off towards the building of the Department of Magical Studies.

Watching her back disappear, I turned on my heels as well.

She may be capricious, but she keeps her promises.

At least until lunchtime, she wouldn’t go blabbing to anyone.

‘First things first.’

Time to do my duty.

Even if I have to be disliked by Isabel, I can't afford to be hated for being lazy.

* * *

Once again, I managed to irritate Isabel during the morning classes.

Lately, the looks from the girls have been getting fiercer and fiercer.

The guys, sensing the hostile atmosphere from the girls, didn’t seem eager to approach me either.

Thanks to that, I’m having a peaceful school life.

Given how busy I am, I couldn’t care less about making friends.

‘Focusing on the main tasks at hand is enough for now.’

Gotta put out the biggest fire first.

I packed up my things and left the classroom.

I saw students heading off to lunch just in time.

I joined the crowd heading to the cafeteria.

Normally, I’d pick something simple for lunch and then head off to the student council room to find Nikita.

But today, something came up, so I couldn’t follow my usual routine.

In the cafeteria, I bought a fresh cream bread and a red bean bun for myself.

I also grabbed tea and some drinks.

I carefully put everything into a bag and was about to head out when I noticed a familiar face on the other side.

Surrounded by a crowd of people was a young, exhausted-looking boy.

With messy brown bobbed hair and large, round glasses.

The most famous first-year student right now, a spirit summoner who made a contract with a Spirit Lord—Foara Silin.

“Foara, why don’t you join our team? I can recommend you to the professor for a special admission.”

“What are you talking about? Foara’s going to join our team! Get lost, you back there!”

“Stop being so greedy! You all have a spirit summoner in your team already! We don’t even have one!”

And thus, the crowd was fighting over Foara.

They were trying to secure a talented person like him in advance for the upcoming Dungeon Tournament after the mock battles.

In the Dungeon Tournament, team members are crucial.

The depth of the dungeon a team can reach depends on their capabilities.

That’s why the mock battles are more like a self-promotion event.

A chance to show strong teams that you have what it takes to be recruited.

Professors also try to create the strongest teams possible, making the results of these mock battles incredibly important.

But some students are sought after regardless of the mock battle results.

Foara was one of those exceptions.

‘First-year students usually need about half a year of training before entering the dungeon.’

However, occasionally, some outliers emerge.

At Zerion Academy, special classes are set up for such individuals.

Originally, Foara wasn’t part of the special class.

But since he managed to make a preliminary contract with a Spirit Lord, willingly or not, he was now part of the special class and set to enter the dungeon with the senior students.

Of course, Foara hadn’t decided on a team yet.

That’s why the students were flocking around him like that.

‘Poor kid.’

Or is he really that pitiful?

Thanks to his contract with a Spirit Lord, his life is set on an easy path now.

Thinking about it, there’s nothing to pity.

I’m the one who should feel sorry for myself for not even getting a glimpse of a spirit despite trying hard.

“Ah, Senior Hannon!”

Suddenly, Foara spotted me and called out my name.

Why is he calling me at this time?

Looking at him with a puzzled expression, I saw his eyes glisten like a lost puppy.

They seemed to plead, ‘Please, save me from this.’

The students surrounding Foara turned their gazes to me.

Their eyes asked, ‘Who are you?’

Oh, what an insolent look.

Some of them were even third-year seniors.

But their looks didn’t intimidate me at all.

It’s because the glares from the girls in our department are much sharper.

I approached Foara and grabbed his arm.

The students’ eyes grew sharper.

“I have some student council business. I’d like to take Foara with me. Is that a problem?”

I showed off my student council badge confidently.

The students hesitated and then backed off.

I savored the thrill of authority.

After all, Foara is currently a member of the student council too.

If I said I needed him for council work, they couldn’t argue.

The students glared at me with resentment.

It was the look of someone who lost their prey just as they were about to catch it.

Oh well, too bad.

Why don’t you join the student council too then?

Shout it out—power is the best.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

I led Foara outside, and only then did he take a deep breath of relief.

He then bowed deeply to me.

“S-Senior Hannon, thank you so much! You really saved me!”

“You’ve had it tough too.”

Come to think of it, Foara had something peculiar.

I decided to ask him about it while I had the chance.

“Foara, do you plan to boycott the student council at any point?”

“Huh? N-No! I would never do such a thing!”

Foara frantically waved his hands in denial, so vigorously that his glasses went crooked.

‘So he doesn’t have any plans like that for now.’

Well, Foara’s life has completely changed.

But I’m still a bit concerned.

The world has already changed a lot from how it used to be.

If he doesn’t join the boycott, the influence of the boycotters will weaken significantly.

‘It’s not an immediate issue.’

I'll think about this more later.

“Um, senior Hanon?”

At that moment, Foara looked at me as if he had something to say.

The way this guy glances around feels annoying.

“What is it? If you have something to say, just spit it out.”

“I’m sorry for not being of much help during the Spirit Forest incident. I just hid and couldn’t do anything.”

Foara said this with his shoulders slumped.

I remember telling him not to come.

It seemed he had been dwelling on it himself.

“I don’t feel like there’s anything you need to apologize for.”

“While you were fighting the Mystery, the only thing I did was make a contract with the Spirit Lord. It wasn’t until after that I realized you had collapsed.”

Foara mumbled his apology repeatedly.

I actually appreciated him not getting involved.

But it seems he thinks differently.

Looking at him like this, he doesn’t seem like a bad guy.

“Forget it. Don’t worry about it.”

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“Still, is there something I can do to help? I don’t want to keep causing trouble like this. My family would be ashamed if I did. I want to do something for you!”

“Not really…”

I was about to say it wasn’t necessary but then paused.

After thinking for a moment, I looked back at Foara.

“Then, can I ask for your help when I need it next time?”

“Yes, of course!”

Foara’s face brightened up immediately.

He looked like a golden retriever.

‘Got myself a good card here.’

A contractor with the Spirit Lord.

There will be many times when he’ll come in handy.

And thinking about it further, I realized I might be able to resolve the boycott issue too.

‘I'll make good use of you.’

After parting ways with Foara, I headed to the Magic Department building.

The students from the Magic Department looked at me curiously as I walked by.

“Hey, that kid is really small.”

“Is he a freshman?”

“I saw a red name tag. Isn’t he someone we haven’t seen before?”

“Wait, could he be the transfer student from the Martial Arts Department?”

Among them, there were a few who recognized me.

Rumors spread alarmingly fast.

It’s surprising how quickly news travels.

I ignored the students’ gazes and kept walking.

While moving, I looked around the Magic Department’s hallways with interest.

Unlike the stark hallways of the Martial Arts Department, the Magic Department had all sorts of things.

‘It is quite fascinating.’

Various magical artifacts were displayed like pieces of art.

While admiring them, I soon arrived at the second-year classroom.

Thanks to most students being out for lunch, the classroom was half-empty.

The problem was, Sharin wasn’t there.

‘Not here.’

I thought she'd be here since she asked me to bring it to the Magic Department classroom.

I guess I’ll just leave it on her desk and go.

Just as I was about to enter, I felt someone’s presence behind me.

As I turned my head, I realized too late that someone’s forehead was right in front of my nose.

Oh no, collision.

Thud!

With a loud bang, both the other person and I fell backward.

“Oww…”

Holding my forehead, I turned to see Sharin curled up, clutching her own forehead.

She looked at me with a pained expression and protested.

“Why did you turn around suddenly?”

“You’re the one who snuck up behind me.”

Once the pain subsided a bit, I approached Sharin and offered my hand.

She grabbed my arm and wobbled as she stood up.

The impact of the headbutt seemed pretty severe.

“Where’s the bread?”

The fact that she’s asking about the bread right away is impressive.

“I brought it. So, where were you?”

“I went to pick flowers.”

“Where are the flowers?”

Sharin’s hands were, of course, empty.

She then raised her drowsy eyes.

“No sense at all.”

“Yep, my sense is intact. Why speak in riddles about going to the bathroom?”

Obviously, I knew what she meant.

A slight look of displeasure appeared in Sharin’s eyes.

“So grumpy.”

“I have a reason to be, after what you did today.”

How could I not be annoyed after making me run an errand for bread?

Sharin glanced at me briefly without responding and entered the classroom.

I followed her in and placed the bag of bread on her desk.

“So, you’re not going to tell anyone about what happened earlier, right?”

I asked while she pulled out the bag of bread and, seeing the red bean bun inside, immediately started unwrapping it.

“Hey, hold on a second.”

I stopped her right as she was about to take a bite.

Sharin looked at me, wondering why I stopped her.

“You asked me to get a cream bun, so why are you eating the red bean bun? That’s mine.”

“Cream buns are too rich.”

“You said you liked them this morning.”

“I changed my mind.”

Should I smack her?

“Heh.”

Then, Sharin suddenly licked the hand I used to block her mouth.

Startled, I pulled my hand away, and she took a big bite of the red bean bun.

Watching her chew with her tiny cheeks puffed out, I sat down in the chair across from her, dumbfounded.

“Thanks. It’s delicious.”

“You don’t seem very thankful.”

“Well, Belle told me I should say thank you when I receive something.”

I sighed.

I shouldn’t have gotten involved with this capricious girl.

I’ve been had.

Reluctantly, I took out the cream bun and took a bite.

As expected, the creamy taste spread in my mouth.

I definitely prefer the red bean bun.

Sharin watched me eat my cream bun intently.

“You said you didn’t want any.”

“Well, things always look tastier when they belong to someone else.”

Sharin leaned in, opening her mouth wide.

“Ahh.”

Her small mouth opened, showing her uvula clearly.

I looked at her for a moment, then instead of giving her the cream bun, I held up my finger.

Snap!

Sharin immediately closed her mouth as if threatening to bite my finger off.

Reluctantly, I offered her the cream bun.

She took another big bite.

She didn’t seem to care about the cream smeared around her mouth.

After chewing and swallowing, she looked at me and tilted her head.

“So why did you buy this for me?”

Let’s smack her.

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