Chapter 91

"I'll handle it, so don't worry about it."

Sighing, she ignored him and approached the side where the extras were.

"Ah! It's a black-eared beast!"

"I, I'm not tasty!"

"R, Run away!"

Watching the students scatter in panic, she sighed inwardly.

Anyway, it was time to really go to the room.

*

Aris retracted her outstretched hand and bit her lip.

Her face turned red.

Aris grabbed her head.

"How could I act so shamefully in front of a junior...?"

Shame washed over her like a tidal wave.

When she was drunk, she acted like a spoiled child, and when she woke up, she stubbornly denied her true identity from the shock of being discovered.

This situation was not his fault.

All the responsibility and blame lay with her.

She was the one who got drunk and the one who held him back and slept with him.

"To think I would shift the blame onto a junior and even threaten him... "

It was something she shouldn't have done as a senior.

"I've lost my senior status."

And to top it off, she called him a black-eared beast.

Even if Kim Deok-sung revealed Aris's secret right there, Aris would have had no words to say, no matter how many mouths she had.

She was that shameful yesterday and today.

But Kim Deok-sung was different.

He even said he would keep her secret and didn't react to her stubbornness.

Instead, he comforted her, telling her to calm down and return to her usual self.

"I owe him... a debt."

A sense of indebtedness weighed heavily on Aris's heart.

Suddenly, the words Kim Deok-sung had said to comfort her came to mind.

To calm down and return to her usual self.

"Usual self..."

Aris's face turned red.

[The little one is a kind boy. He's a young man with the qualities of a hero.]

Aris remembered the words of Yoshizaki Seira, which had echoed in her ears.

In the big city of Tokyo, far from her hometown.

Yoshizaki Seira, the only person who knew Aris's secret and true identity, was the principal.

Seira had started talking about Kim Deok-sung with the face of a girl in love.

When Aris heard this, she felt a slight jealousy towards Kim Deok-sung.

Deep down, she couldn't accept that Seira's attention, which sometimes felt like that of an older sister and sometimes like a mother, was directed at someone else.

Aris shook her head.

"It's a shameful and ugly feeling."

Aris blushed and bit her lip.

Now she understood.

Why Principal Seira praised Kim Deok-sung so much.

He was actually a kind person, despite his seemingly gruff exterior.

If he weren't, he wouldn't have accepted her stubbornness.

"I thought he would be disappointed when he saw my true self..."

Aris knew well that the image people admired was that of a perfect superhuman student council president, a sophisticated and glamorous young lady.

Because of this, she had always hidden her true self.

To avoid being pointed at like she was back then.

So when her true self was revealed, Aris was sure he would be disappointed and say something harsh.

But he didn't.

He accepted her as she was, without disappointment, even her dialect and childlike behavior.

Unlike others.

The jealousy melted away like snow, and an indescribable emotion filled her heart.

Aris's heart raced.

"H, How can he so naturally say things that move someone's heart...? He's dangerous. Kim Deok-sung..."

Aris shook her head.

She hugged the large teddy bear, Kumachan, and muttered into its face.

"But... it was really warm."

His embrace, where she had fallen asleep.

So warm that she didn't want to leave, even while acting spoiled.

Thanks to that, Aris was able to get a good night's sleep for the first time in a long time.

It felt like she was back in her hometown...

"W, What am I saying!"

Aris shook her head.

"This isn't the time to be distracted. I need to finish the overdue work... "

She tidied up the scattered documents on the table.

But despite her expressionless face, Aris's heart was beating uncontrollably.

Are you dating?

Shuei Hero Academy.

In the principal's office.

Sitting behind a large desk, the white-haired girl, Yoshizaki Seira, held her phone to her ear and spoke with a serious voice, her red eyes sparkling.

"Is that so? That's surprising. To think the League's influence had reached Meijin Academy..."

Seira bit her lip after hearing the details from Aris.

She had sensed something fishy about the sudden cancellation of the exchange match with Meijin Academy.

She had suspected the League might be involved.

But when the suspicion turned into reality, Seira's cheeks trembled with anger.

"Those damn bastards..."

To Seira, the League was the archenemy who had killed her comrades of Five Crowns and her beloved man, leaving her with scars that would never heal.

The faces of her four comrades who had died pointlessly at the hands of the League's influence came to mind.

Seira closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her boiling anger.

'I need to stay calm.'

She wanted to rush to Kyoto or mobilize the association's full force, but if she acted too conspicuously, the safety of the students sent to Kyoto for training would be at risk.

If the League had taken over Meijin Academy, it meant the entire city of Kyoto was in their hands.

The Kyoto branch of the association was likely under the League's control.

The League was the organization that had assassinated the great hero, Kensei, who had saved the world.

If she acted rashly in a fit of anger, she could lose everything.

She needed to be cautious.

[Yes, that's why I'm requesting support.]

"I would love to send support, but..."

She had no choice but to trust Aris.

That's why she sent her in the first place.

[Kim Deok-sung has requested to send Kamia Ritsuko to Kyoto secretly.]

"That's not a problem. I'll send her immediately."

Ritsuko's status as Seira's slave was still a secret.

The League likely hadn't obtained that information, so she could use Ritsuko as an additional force.

"This time, our little one has done a great job. I should praise him when he returns."

Seira smiled, a slight blush on her face.

Summarizing Aris's report, the biggest contributor to the success of this training mission was Kim Deok-sung.

He had persuaded Kasumi, turned her into a double agent, extracted information from the enemy, and suggested sending Ritsuko.

All these ideas came from Kim Deok-sung.

Seira's heart raced.

'He really is like him.'

Seira bit her lip.

The more she saw him, the more she saw the image of Kensei.

Kensei, the leader of Five Crowns, had mediated between clashing comrades and saved everyone with a meticulous plan.

Just like Kim Deok-sung now.

Seira shook her head to clear the image of Kensei.

[That's the end of the official talk. Principal, um... Is there anyone else around?]

Seira heard Aris's voice.

She finally came to her senses and asked back.

"No, no one is here. Is there something you need to talk about?"

Since the first day of enrollment, Seira had taken care of her like family.

She knew Aris was about to share something important privately.

[Ugh...]

The groan coming from the speaker.

Seira waited silently for her response.

"Onee-chan. I... I was discovered by Kim Deok-sung..."

The Kansai dialect burst out.

Seira's red eyes widened.

"By the little one? What happened?"

[Well...]

Seira listened to Aris's explanation and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha. They say even a kappa can drown in a river, but to think the great Aris would reveal her secret to the little one while drunk! And what? You even slept together?"

[D, Don't tease me... I'm embarrassed...]

Aris's embarrassed voice.

"It's been a long time since I've seen our A-chan so embarrassed. Before enrollment, on the day of the preparatory gathering, you were like a country girl who had just come to the city. Huh. I miss those days."

Seira smiled playfully.

Having helped Aris with her act of being a lady and keeping her true identity hidden, she found the current Aris both adorable and welcome.

[But, but Kim Deok-sung said he would keep the secret... Is it really okay? Can I trust him? Onee-chan. Of course, it was my mistake, but... still...]

Aris rambled.

"If it's the little one, or rather, him, you can trust him. Aris. Because... he is kind."

Seira's face turned red.

[O, oh...]

Aris's voice trailed off.

Hearing the word "kind" brought a sudden wave of embarrassment and relief.

Seira laughed at the waver in Aris's usually calm voice.

"By the way, our A-chan isn't falling for the little one, is she? The other juniors who are after the little one might not leave A-chan alone."

[O, of course not! K, Kim Deok-sung is just my junior... I'm grateful that he kept my secret, but... N, no, that's not it!]

Aris jumped up, denying it.