Chapter 75: Yuria (2)

I almost got beaten like a dog with a fork for saying something careless without filtering.

Rubbing my forehead, which had been flicked by Baron, I said, “Why are you acting like this, seriously? Is it because of those two-timing rumors, Baron?”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you say it wasn’t true?”

“Exactly! There’s no connection, no spark, no chemistry between me and Yuria, I swear! We’re just senior and junior, honestly.”

“It always starts with a senior becoming an ‘oppa,’ and an ‘oppa’ becoming a ‘honey.’ That’s how it’s always been. History proves it. Do you know how the knight couples from the Academy started? From mentor and mentee.”

A sigh escaped me.

Just…

I’m. Going. Crazy.

This guy… is the Head of Student Affairs?

From what angle?

How is this man supposed to guide cadets and maintain the Academy’s educational order?

Isn’t he just a hardcore marriage-obsessed creep?

“Get a grip, Baron. You’re the Head of Student Affairs right now. Do you want to get me disciplined for disrupting public morals?”

“Everyone on the faculty knows that relationships happen under the table at the Academy. They know and turn a blind eye and right now, I’m not sitting here as the Head of Student Affairs,

Gerard.”

“Then what?”

“A senior in life and this is…”

A wistful smile crept onto Baron’s lips.

“…the tearful advice of a man who’s faced bitter failure. A man—and a knight—must know how to protect what’s his. That’s it. That’s enough.”

Saying that, Baron downed his teacup like it was a shot of liquor.

“….”

Why did the mood suddenly get so heavy?

I just wanted to go home.

* * *

“Seriously, Yuria liking me?”

I lay on my bed.

“Let’s think about this logically. Why would Yuria like me?”

I didn’t even need to think logically.

The face of Gerard in the mirror was just the kind of face girls would hate.

Gloomy, with heavy dark circles, sharp, slit-like eyes that looked intimidating and scars to top it off.

Was my personality any better? Nope.

Even before I was transmigrated, I was a loner.

I’d never even spoken to a girl, and my antisocial tendencies had landed me in counseling.

Charm?

Are you kidding me?

If being good at games counted as charm, then maybe I had some.

Hmm. Thinking about it again, I really am a guy with not even a speck of good qualities.

But strangely, I couldn’t sleep.

The conversation I’d had with Baron earlier that evening kept swirling in my head.

Even as I denied it, I couldn’t help but chuckle like air was filling my lungs.

Why? Because it felt good.

Let’s be real—when the top beauty in the Academy might have a crush on you, who wouldn’t feel good? You’d have to be a eunuch to hate that.

Of course, this was all just the baseless fantasy and personal wish of the old bachelor, Baron Tesda.

I knew it couldn’t be true, but his words had planted a seed, making me wonder “What if?” and “Could it be?”—keeping me up all night.

I understood Baron’s perspective, though.

Being alone for so long, where else would he vent his loneliness?

When something like this happened to a cadet he cared about, he must’ve gotten excited.

He never achieved it himself, so he was probably projecting onto me.

“But sorry, Baron. It’s not me.”

I was certain Yuria’s issue was Ivan.

The timing matched perfectly.

Ever since she started hanging out with Ivan, Yuria’s skills had been declining.

If she liked me, she would’ve shown signs of losing focus earlier, right?

But there had never been anything like that, no matter how hard I looked.

I went to talk about how to separate Ivan and Yuria, but instead of answers, I got weird talk.

In the end, I just wasted time.

“Ugh, no sleep for me tonight.”

I left my room and headed to the dorm supervisor’s office.

The dorm supervisor, Rubinus, tilted his head when he saw me.

“Cadet Gerard? What’s the matter?”

“Can’t sleep. Can I take a walk around for a bit?”

“Why didn’t you say so during roll call?”

“Sorry.”

Hmm. Rubinus tapped the desk, then nodded willingly.

“I’m only allowing this because it’s you, Cadet Gerard.”

* * *

Late at night.

In the empty training hall, a slender shadow moved alone.

In front of her stood a massive punch machine, its blue eyes glinting as it swung its fists.

Then—

Thwack!

With a loud sound, her figure staggered.

Knocked back by the impact, she bent at the waist, panting heavily.

“Hah! Hah!”

But gritting her teeth, she stood again and faced the punch machine.

She pressed the switch.

Boom! Boom! The punch machine unleashed a barrage of fists.

Exactly five seconds later, she took another hit to her shoulder and stumbled back.

In the end, she collapsed onto the floor.

The heartbeat she hadn’t noticed before now pounded loudly in her ears.

Her breath rose to her chin.

The floor felt unusually cold against her sweat-soaked back.

The moon, visible through the window, shimmered in her vision.

But soon, clouds covered it, and the training hall was enveloped in pitch-black darkness.

Only then did she, Yuria, begin to trace the flow of time she had pushed aside for training.

“What time is it?”

Yuria let out a deep sigh.

After that incident in the morning, aside from a brief stop at the dorm, she hadn’t left the punch machine.

Yet, there was no progress.

No, worse—she could feel herself regressing.

“Why is this happening?”

She asked herself, but she already knew the reason.

A few days ago, Gerard and Karina had gone missing.

From the moment she heard the full story, she felt herself growing impatient, pushing herself into a corner.

“Gerard-senior is amazing. How did he take down another villain?”

“Right? But I’m curious about something.”

“What?”

“Why were Gerard-senior and Karina together in Blue Dragon Hall?”

“Huh? Could they be…?”

Yuria had overheard her peers’ conversation while passing by.

At first, she felt happy.

It was praise for Gerard, after all.

Gerard’s happiness was her happiness, and when he was praised, she felt good even though it wasn’t for her.

But those last words planted a massive unease in her heart.

Does Gerard-senior even need me?

At first, she sought him out to learn more, driven by a strong desire to grow.

Gerard was the one who led her to the uncharted path of a magic swordsman—a mentor she respected and was grateful for.

But now, her thoughts had changed.

She didn’t need Gerard to grow.

She wanted to grow for Gerard.

To stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him as a knight.

That was the dream and goal Yuria now held.

But—

It feels like Karina fits better by his side than I do.

In terms of background, connections, skill, and reputation, Karina surpassed her in every way.

Especially hearing about that situation, it seemed Karina could even make up for Gerard’s shortcomings.

They said Karina played a big role in saving the hostages…

And her?

She only called him out to train, to learn, to eat together.

“I’m such a burden.”

Muttering in a flat voice, Yuria squeezed her eyes shut.

She felt like she might burst into tears.

“What do I do?”

She could feel him slipping further away.

Gerard was still running forward.

Taking down villains, earning recognition from professors and faculty.

He’d keep climbing higher.

Of course, a part of her still wanted to catch up to him.

But when she thought of Gerard—

And imagined Karina standing beside him—

Her heart ached for some reason.

Is this an inferiority complex?

She didn’t know.

What she did know was that these thoughts were piling up, chipping away at her confidence, and now even her belief in herself was breaking.

Stage 4. I used to clear it so easily.

Now it felt like a wall.

She suddenly remembered the first time she cleared Stage 4.

Gerard’s expression, his tone, his voice—they were still vivid in her mind.

That longing slipped out of her mouth unconsciously.

“I knew you could do it.”

Yes.

That’s what he’d said.

Words she wanted to hear again.

The voice she needed most right now.

Then—

“Do what?”

Yuria’s eyes snapped open.

“Senior?!”

There, standing before her, was Gerard.

* * *

I had a hunch and came to check, and sure enough, she was here.

I walked over to Yuria, who was frozen, staring at me from her lying position, and plopped down beside her.

Her head jerked stiffly to follow my movement—somehow, it was kind of funny.

“Asleep?”

“No, I was just… resting after training.”

Yuria sat up.

She was drenched in sweat, looking like a mess.

Her clothes were covered in dust and torn in places.

The punch machine’s punches weren’t that strong, so this meant she’d been hit and knocked down a lot.

Has she been training this whole time?

Come to think of it, though I called her my right arm, I hadn’t paid her proper attention lately, using various excuses.

Then I heard the faint rustle of her clothes.

Yuria had buried her face between her knees.

In a quiet voice, she asked, “You saw, right? Today.”

If she meant her struggling with the punch machine, yeah, I saw.

“What do I do? I’ve been practicing since earlier, but I’m not getting better. It feels like I’m falling further and further behind.”

I glanced at her.

Her voice was trembling unsteadily at the edges.

“My peers say it’s a slump. That everyone goes through it. That just like our seniors overcame it, we can too. But, senior, I’m scared. What if I keep falling like this? What if I can’t…”

Overwhelmed by emotion, she paused.

Then, exhaling lightly, she finished,“…keep the promise I made with you? I’m worried.”

I tilted my head.

“Promise?”

“You forgot? I promised to help you earn merit points through the mentor system.”

Oh, right. I remembered.

We’d made that deal in the beginning.

In exchange for being her mentor, Yuria would aim for an excellence award in the mentor system to help me.

I’d forgotten because my perspective and expectations of Yuria had changed so much since then.

“You forgot, didn’t you?”

“Hm? No, I wasn’t worried because I believed you’d definitely keep it.”

Yuria stared at me intently.

Her obsidian-like eyes demanded the truth.

I instinctively knew.

If I lost this staring contest, the mood would go straight to hell.

…Luckily, I won.

[Focused Gaze] for the win.

“Ow, my eyes.”

Yuria closed her eyes.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She wiped her face with her sleeve.

“Tch, this is just because my eyes hurt. I’m not crying.”

“Didn’t think you were.”

“Anyway.”

Yuria buried her face in her knees again.

“I don’t think I can keep that promise. I feel like I’m going to betray your trust. You believed in me, but I’m too lacking, too talentless to live up to your expectations.”

Her despair and gloom felt like they could burrow into the ground and shatter it.

At this level of negativity, I briefly wondered if she’d turn into a demon or something.

Then I fell into thought.

Setting emotions aside, I analyzed the situation as objectively as possible.

What? Was it really because of me?

Bullshit, my mind was a chaotic mess of emotions doing backflips.

Not because of Ivan?

I wasn’t showing it, but I was freaking out inside.

Calm down, Gerard. It’s because of me, but that doesn’t mean she likes me.

Or does it?

If she has good feelings for me, isn’t that why she’s so desperate to keep her promise?

My head was a mess.

But I knew one thing—this was a big deal.

My reason was wandering aimlessly, thrown off by this unexpected situation.

At least it wasn’t because of Ivan, so I felt good about that.

But…

Was it because of the seed Baron planted earlier?

Or had I been gaslit in the meantime? His words kept replaying in my head.

“Didn’t you say it yourself? When young men and women hang out together, feelings develop.”

“If we’re talking about hanging out, Yuria’s spent more time with you than Ivan. Doesn’t that mean, in terms of timing and logic, you’re the trigger, not Ivan?”

“Do you know how the knight couples from the Academy started? From mentor and mentee.”

Back then, I denied Baron’s words, but maybe deep down, I’d been holding onto a sliver of hope.

That hope, once sparked, was growing stronger by the second.

“Yuria.”

“Yes?”

Thinking about it, this was something I needed to clarify now, for the sake of the future.

So I asked straight up, no hesitation.

“Do you like me?”

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