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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Meddler
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Card Bellickman.
He was Jerion Academy's infamous blond good-for-nothing.
Not only did he shamelessly flirt with women,
but he also constantly caused trouble related to them.
In Act 1, he needlessly bothered Lucas's childhood friend, Isabel, leading to a fight with Lucas.
Despite his appearance, his skills were surprisingly decent, and Lucas struggled quite a bit.
But upon hearing Isabel's encouraging voice, Lucas drew on his strength and defeated Card.
'A textbook progression, indeed.'
I felt a bit of kinship with him.
After all, I was also one of the extras defeated by the protagonist.
However, one difference between us was that I faced expulsion from the academy.
Whereas Card, instead of bothering Isabel, transitioned into the role of the protagonist's advisor, often giving relationship advice.
Perhaps that's why.
Card had one unique characteristic that caused trouble.
'The Meddler.'
Card was a meddler.
In other words, he just talked a lot.
"Young Master Card, this is Young Master Hanon Ailei. You'll be sharing a room starting today."
Card, having heard the introduction from Marie, the head maid, looked down at me.
My disguised height as Hanon was significantly shorter than his.
Perhaps because of that, Card casually rested his elbow on my head.
Oh, you little shit?
"Yeah, I know. This guy's famous."
Card flashed a sly smile.
"It's fortunate that you two are acquainted, then. I shall take my leave.
Young Master Hanon, your luggage is inside, so you may check it."
Marie didn't pry into the matter.
She was the head maid of the dormitory.
Regardless of rumors, she treated everyone residing in the dormitory equally.
So, as she offered a polite bow and left, Card waved goodbye to her.
Meanwhile, I casually shoved Card's arm away.
Then I strode briskly into the room.
"The little runt's a bit prickly, isn't he?"
Sorry, but that doesn't faze me.
My real height is actually 3cm taller than yours.
After all, my original self, Vikarman, is a handsome man with a striking face and height.
I didn't reply to Card's comment and instead checked the bag on the bed.
The neatly arranged luggage was still inside.
"Kkonon."
Card's voice continued from behind me.
Just as expected, the meddling guy seemed to have no intention of stopping his chatter.
What's more, he'd already arbitrarily changed my name and was calling me that.
And of all things, he picked one with a terrible ring to it.
"Call me by my proper name."
"Heh heh, what do you mean? It sounds good, doesn't it? Or are you just lacking confidence?"
I looked at him for a moment.
Then, I let out a short laugh.
It's fine. He'll find out soon enough.
Card, unaware of the meaning behind my significant laugh, blinked.
Then, he shrugged as if it didn't matter.
"So, I heard you had a big fight with Isabel."
Card, despite his appearance, belonged to the Department of Magic.
That's why he hadn't directly witnessed what happened in the Department of Martial Arts.
"You cursed Lucas the moment you arrived, right? Isabel definitely would've gone ballistic. She and Lucas were really close. They probably would've become lovers someday, don't you think?"
I finished checking my luggage and closed the bag.
No problems here.
"Lucas is Isabel's trigger. You really pushed her buttons."
Now, I should wash up and get some sleep for tomorrow.
There's still a lot to do.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
And for the first time, I faltered.
My head slowly turned backward.
Then, Card, whose eyes met mine, flashed a sly smile.
"You did it on purpose, for Isabel's sake."
"I have no idea what nonsense you're talking about."
I brushed it off nonchalantly.
"After what happened to Lucas, Isabel has been incredibly unstable lately.
Even though she's popular and everyone around her tries to look after her, nothing's changed."
Her childhood friend, with whom she'd grown up her entire life, had died.
At that point, it was as if a part of Isabel's heart had crumbled.
"She looked like someone who'd lost her will to live, wasting away.
It got so bad that when I tried talking to her, she didn't even flinch, just responded with a simple 'yeah'."
Isn't he putting himself down too much?
But Card didn't seem to care, clicking his tongue.
"Honestly, I thought if Isabel kept going like this, she wouldn't recover and might even follow Lucas."
Card had read Isabel perfectly.
No, maybe it wasn't just Card.
Many people around them had sensed that Isabel's condition was serious.
"Isabel needed something to redirect her attention. And that's where…"
Card pointed a thick finger directly at me.
"You planted the motive of rage in Isabel."
"That's an over-interpretation."
"Of course, it could be an over-interpretation."
Card didn't particularly deny it.
Instead, he raised the finger that had been pointing at me.
"So, I'm just telling you. Even if it's just for a while. I hope you continue to be the driving force of rage for Isabel."
I stared at Card blankly.
"Do you… like her or something?"
Card had a history of hitting on Isabel.
So, when I asked, Card let out a snicker.
"I like all women. They're all charming."
In Card's eyes, as he said that, there wasn't much sincerity.
"But before anything else, Isabel is my friend's childhood friend."
My friend.
I knew well who he was referring to.
The protagonist, Lucas.
It was a reference to him, who was no longer there.
"Even for my dead friend's sake, I can't just stand by and watch his childhood friend go astray."
Card genuinely considered Lucas his friend.
His friend had died.
He also wanted to prevent his friend's childhood friend from going down the wrong path.
Understanding his intentions, I packed my bag and pushed it away.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of retracting my words."
"Oh, that's good news."
No matter what, he was also worried about Isabel.
Aside from being a meddler and a flirt, Card was inherently a good guy.
"So, why are you wearing bandages? Don't tell me you're cross-dressing or something!"
This bastard?
My face stiffened.
"I'll show you my dick."
Right here, right now.
Even if my height is compromised by this disguise, I'll prove that other things aren't lacking.
"Ah, I'm not really interested in men."
Anyway, this guy's meddling and chatter just ruin all his good points.
***
The next day.
It was still before sunrise, a tranquil dawn bathed in a bluish light.
A time when everyone was still asleep.
There was a man running through the forest, his breathing a steady rhythm.
Who was running through the forest now?
Who else but me?
It was me.
It had already been an hour since I started running.
I kept running without getting tired.
'I kind of vaguely knew this before, but…'
I looked down at my legs, which continued to move forward without stopping.
'Vikarman, this guy's stamina is truly something else.'
These legs had been running for over an hour.
Yet, unyielding, these legs could still run further.
'Why on earth was Vikarman in the Department of Magic?'
Vikarman Niflheim, the person I had transmigrated into.
When he attended Jerion Academy, he belonged to the Department of Magic.
Honestly, Vikarman had almost no magical talent.
It wasn't as if he had no magical talent at all, like Nikita.
But he possessed truly minuscule magical talent.
With such talent, and having entered the Department of Magic,
Vikarman achieved almost nothing in magic, and his grades in the Department of Magic scraped the bottom.
'The reason Vikarman liked Nikita was…'
A sense of kinship and admiration.
Someone who, like himself, was born into a magical family yet possessed no magical power whatsoever.
Despite that, Nikita didn't give up and rose to vice-president through sheer effort.
Seeing her, who was in a similar situation but stood in stark contrast, Vikarman couldn't help but fall for Nikita.
That's why Vikarman persistently tormented Lucas, who was Nikita's rival.
Because Lucas kept disrupting the achievements Nikita had built up.
He simply couldn't tolerate it.
However, Vikarman was repeatedly defeated by Lucas, unable to even put up a fight.
Lucas, having awakened the Flame of Valor, had top-tier grades even in the Department of Martial Arts.
How could Vikarman's paltry magic possibly work against such a Lucas?
However, the problem was Vikarman's stamina.
Despite not having the Flame of Valor like Lucas, his stamina was inexplicably good.
Even as a mage, this guy would take Lucas's fierce onslaught and spring right back up.
'They called him Tumbler Vikarman, didn't they?'
Vikarman was often talked about in online communities, with people asking why a mage had such incredible stamina.
Thus, the communities evaluated Vikarman as such:
'A character for practicing skill combos.'
Meaning, a character whose stamina was intentionally increased to allow beginners playing 'Flame Butterfly' for the first time to get used to the controls.
A character designed to provide various experiences by intentionally boosting his stamina.
The problem was, who had transmigrated into such a Vikarman?
'Me, that's who.'
Yeah, well, at least his stamina is good.
He's good at marathons, after all.
My legs are worth a million dollars.
'Good stamina is the greatest advantage.'
Before I entered Vikarman's body.
Although I had to quit due to an injury in high school, I had exercised for quite a long time.
I remembered how to move my body.
I remembered how to use my eyes.
And those memories, combined with Vikarman's stamina, significantly boosted my efficiency.
'Is it because this guy's body is so good?'
Honestly, my physical skills had already reached their peak, like in my prime.
So, since I already had good stamina,
I further developed it by jogging every morning since the day I transmigrated.
Didn't the old saying go, 'Cultivate your strengths first'?
Stamina is power.
I run today, too.
Just then.
Whoosh!
I heard the sound of something being swung near my ear.
Whoosh!
The sound was incredibly clean and repetitive.
Moreover, the sound was quite heavy.
My gaze naturally followed the direction of the sound.
There, a girl stood, her long blue hair tied back, exhaling softly.
A girl with long blue hair.
She had a delicate, ethereal aura.
However, seeing what she held in her hand, one would immediately realize that thought was mistaken.
Clutched in her hand was a greatsword as massive as the girl's own height.
And the moment I saw it, I realized who she was.
The First-Year's Greatsword Ironwoman.
Aisha Bizwell.
I don't know who gave her that nickname.
One thing was certain: it suited her incredibly well.
I had never seen anyone wield a greatsword with such brute force before.
'Now that I think about it.'
When I was playing as Lucas back then.
Aisha's morning event could only be seen once.
The event triggered after getting caught up in a ghost incident at the girls' dormitory in Act 4.
While secretly returning to the dormitory in the morning, you'd hear the sound of something heavy being swung.
If you chose to follow the source of the sound at this point,
you would meet Aisha training in the morning and exchange a few words.
The problem was, that would briefly delay you, causing the head maid to catch you for staying out overnight, leading to dormitory demerits.
It was a kind of trap event.
'Lucas had limited activity time, but…'
Now, it was reality.
A morning jog could easily be done if you got permission from the maid on duty beforehand.
That's why I was seeing an event that would normally only appear in Act 4, much earlier.
'It's an event I don't need to worry about much right now.'
I didn't bother speaking to Aisha and continued running.
WHOOOOOOSH! CRASH!
Until a greatsword flew right in front of my nose, almost flattening me.
"...Oh, for heaven's sake."
I gasped in horror, seeing the greatsword lying there, having shattered the stone-paved ground.
If I had been hit directly, oblivion or whatever, I would have died today.
"Oh, oh-oh-oh, a-are you alright!?"
Aisha's startled voice reached my ears.
Seeing Aisha rushing towards me, I quietly let out a breath.
Seriously, trying to kill me just because I tried to skip one event is a bit much, don't you think?