Chapter 173: Summer and With It, Trouble (5)
D5gZ-Thump1VE
FuWRlHer heart skipped a beat.b9lY
HEQmWOShe couldn’t feel anything else – neither the beautiful scent of flowers nor the refreshing breeze of the dark cave and the buzzing cicadas. Her entire mind was focused on the man right next to her.32yU
DKZaCGwJust the mere fact that she was next to him gave her joy. Her heart was beating so fast that it was feeling strenuous, and she felt like she was in a foggy dream. However…EkeCHz1
pnYaHua was happy.nFt
fToIt was relaxing and peaceful.CtJ5j
WBHxYet, all things must come to an end.7mNY4
YC6I7“Huu~. That was fun. It’s a bit of a shame that we had to have dinner inside the garden though.”8MP7EX
NLVPArriving in front of the hotel by carriage, they got off onto the dark streets.ttTegs2
D8zW“Did you enjoy the day, my lady?”4enkB
zPrKorin asked with a grin as he reached out for her hand. Hua shyly whispered a soft reply.eZgR
xZl“Nn…”dYLp5L
saMIt was really, really fun. She didn’t know why but… it was still a very enjoyable day for her.Tpq
DeULCj“And you?” she asked.ejwuQ
OtEFxr“Hnn?”vctph
BUTsO“Was it… fun?”8fSNz5
zwZThat question immediately put a smile on Korin’s face. Seemingly happy at the fact that the jiangshi girl, who used to be indifferent to the feelings of others, was now asking about another person’s experience. Korin replied with a smile.1kbx
Swlm2N“Yeah. Today was fun.”vjk0
HKK“Really?”h9KwCM
ACRNh“It would be a great idea to go outside with everyone. We should bring along Alicia and Senior Marie next time.”xLh7
Jb6Qu『I knew Oppa would say something like that.』87z
nV4Ran heaved a sigh and grumbled a complaint, but unlike her, Hua wasn’t disappointed. She was similar to Korin in the sense that they were dense and slow to understand things that weren’t spelled out, so… all Hua thought was that Korin must have considered this as an outing of friends because she didn’t specify it enough.huBI7lG
jakUNow that Hua was fully aware of her feelings, she poured out 100% of her honest feelings.dUWY9b
jbj77“When I see you, my face turns hot.xXOw
lZOi“But I feel comfortable when I’m with you.7827P6S
gTKw“My heart races when you touch me.MJgp
dQx“It’s hard to touch but… I still want to be next to you.wBMmr
NTuVGk“And when I see you with other girls… I feel upset.”qPAUZa
znyIBShe revealed her honest thoughts without a single lie. Following that was the conclusion she had come to.6FDp0
0rSIiE“I… think I like you.”1YUmCMF
VMRX00GThe girl straight-forwardly confessed that she was in love. What came after that was something extremely sudden and impulsive.jibE7gL
NWhfWrapping her arms around his neck, she stood on her toes to decrease the gap in height.1EWP4
gYcR“Huh?”yuBg
taPPnjsJust like that, she kissed him on his lips. Korin, on the other hand, was frozen stiff like a statue with his eyes wide open.knL
em8zY2After the short yet seemingly long kiss, her feet came back down to the ground.M9MpPc
2Jybz“…Sorry.”bgYCUIn
pO5With her lips now wet, Hua looked up at him and gave a curt apology.YHFG
DTij7l“Did that make you feel bad?” she asked.iqwVS
PJPa0y8“N, no. Not at all…”RAU
rAymRPvKorin blankly replied with his eyes wide open, for he hadn’t expected Hua, of all people, to suddenly do something like that. Hua, however, seemed embarrassed yet rather satisfied by her own impulsive action.RElpAD3
S4JYUN“I… think it felt good.”ZSdLIz
c5bY3The corners of her lips pointed up as her eyes came slanting down into a crescent. It was a smile – an enormous improvement from her previous apathy.AN5l
aQUiJS“W, wait. Hua…!”M1u
ayb“Hello, it’s Ran now.”CGZBu
DTWmvThey changed places in the blink of an eye. Thinking of her sister who hid behind her due to an explosive surge of embarrassment, the blue-eyed girl smiled.LnV6u
deC3K“She had to muster up a looot of courage. Didn’t such a straightforward confession suit Hua quite well?”xFauoX
bRKE5d“…Right.”0GCqDS
d9AMKorin appeared surprised by the fact that he was now being loved by both of the sisters. Ran wondered whether she should continue the confession that Hua started, but decided not to. She decided to dedicate today to Hua, and only take a little bit of commission in the process.mcs
tnsz“Oppa. Can you lower your back for a minute?”Fdv5pWc
mwB“Huh? O, okay…”OvQ
j2u4Unlike Hua, who wrapped her arms around his neck and forced him to bring his body down, Ran asked Korin to bend his back to match his line of sight with hers.CpC
6sAyNRan could have done an abrupt kiss like Hua but… she didn’t want to do the same thing as her sister. Even though they were sharing the same body, she thought that things like this had to be done in a different manner, precisely because they shared one body.xYQs
Usy7BWhile Korin stood there nervously, Ran brought her lips to his ears and whispered in a ticklish voice.kI6pTR
1CBWR4“We are sisters so if you do it with Hua, you have to do it with Ran as well.”yXlPWgw
tjB“Huh?”i01o7
C7ZKIShe then gently bit on his earlobes. Even though it didn’t hurt in the slightest, Korin was about to stand back up from that sudden and daring move, but Ran moved before he did.e8uyP7r
nXQM“You have to equally love us both, okay?”tMRPk
8wnWRan smiled after wrapping her arms around his neck. Then, slowly but surely, at a speed that would leave behind a strong impression… she aligned her lips with his, which had previously been wetted by her sister’s lips.TChFxy
JoDAfter that short yet memorable kiss…YyHwqV
eCLL8“Please dream about us tonight.”wi1
Mq2mRan chuckled with blushing cheeks. She then walked away in satisfaction, leaving behind the agitated and clueless Korin.0BtO
aRRIKShe hopped back in joy. Her feet were clearly as light as a feather.gku3
wvO“Uhh…”aJ0rN
ktAw4nkKorin blankly stood there as he watched the black-haired girl dance into the hotel like a butterfly. Flabbergasted by the unbelievable turn of events, he stood there for a while before coming to his senses.zQDRuua
uKE“Huh? Huhh?”NFiQgN
LGa03dWithout going after the girl who was now in the main lobby of the hotel, he placed his hands over his face.nvgXqs
r6KUROx“T, this is not good for the heart, guys…”Hlu
kyqMarie, Ran, and now Hua… Unable to support his weight, his legs gave in.jhdr8NK
A4pa2Meanwhile, oblivious to Korin, there was someone near the windows of the 12th floor of the hotel, gazing down at him. Those eyes did not leave him until he was out of sight.Sb7Rz
wIOV***Q08Sg
4n4cNv“Oh right, Oppa. You have to come to our academy, so keep that in mind.”4HBjCqF
IEw0DBThat was on a certain weekend afternoon.18f
ECqWia“O my dear beloved sister, Sia Lork. Don’t you think it’s common sense to talk about the context before you say that and ask for my opinion?”DaJwt9
5uhH5M“O my dear beloved brother, Korin Lork. Do you think your opinion matters?”uqKP9is
GywV7kn“Say that again, you little shit?”yJqK
T3K7cEI thought about giving her a punch, but it might become troublesome if I, a top-tier knight, were to punch my sister who was a normal civilian, so I scrapped the idea.S12mDwj
wi6Pufhp!XYN9
4iocnVFThat was when my damned sister let out a scoff.pIfy
yQzCNui“You are asking to get punched right now, aren’t you?”ryOEu
TkR8“Try it then. I know you can’t hit me.”sAz
HbGmkAS‘I might die if you punch me, you know?’ she added.S1uydH
JEiClu“Fuu… Damn it. Yellow card for you.”zsu9
Kptsl“I stopped you from being smacked and chased out of the house by Dad, shouldn’t that offset it?”0tLa0zM
1yhM2“Damn it…! I will let you off just this once!”RZOMdQ
ZnqFmsRight when that short skit on the boring summer afternoon was about to come to an end…kNV
IaE“Oh right, Oppa. Did something happen between you and that sister?”UzKUw
pfiRuAA“Huh?! Hnn? Why are you asking that?”Eue9H
3tD“You look very sus.”z1LWo0
leAkwY“Nothing happened okkwey! Stop jumping to conclusions!”Ipc
Uq5“Alright, alright,” Sia replied with an irritating look on her face.p4A
cxNcDang it… That reminded me of the date I had with Hua a few days ago. I could still… vividly remember the kiss.4Sumr
SEMGc『I… think I like you.』La8Uvd
qfzXV8『You have to equally love us both, okay?』hfXV
DRKD2UH“Fuu…”jsgilWd
aMmAs expected of sisters. Even though they were completely different types of people, both of them were gifted at playing with a man’s emotions…N5v
l9BoL2z“So something did happen! Right!? Right?”noE19im
v0Id0“Shut up… Anyway, what is this thing about the academy?”jMCWvl
oYiekS6“You’re super famous now, aren’t you? My friends wanted to see you.”RATBB
k1j574“Your female friends?”zlXp
vVYqB“…”78nSwzm
ehSUShe looked at me like I was a piece of scum. That in itself was nothing new but… what was it this time?3MJomL
TjxcN“Oppa, do you still want to date more girls?”bAM
RS2Ah9“W, what does that even mean?”Jnl
DX4eGG“There were three of them on that day, weren’t there?”BdL1
2pA“Mhmm…! We are not in that kind of relationship yet.”E8Y
stm1XVTMarie, Ran, and Hua… Huu… three is a bit too many, isn’t it?TWNZ2E
BeuqI“Ah, I mean four and not three. That sister has a split personality, right? Oh, and is that cute puppy-looking girl also one of them?”7BblCZ
YLU7JEF“Huh?”m6W5
E2ui6QWhat are you talking about, my dear sister? What kind of misunderstanding is this?2P7qp
RBW3O0“Anyway, our professor also wanted to know if you could come for a short ‘job introduction’. Maybe as a one-day instructor or something.”xHKdHbb
nt01v1u“I thought it was only in primary schools that kids brought in their family to talk about professions.”z9i
bIk“We live normal lives, okay? Everyone has this fantasy about guardians.”KWZwbkE
y76Jzz“Hmm… fair enough. So all I need to do is go there and show off, yeah?”ocNz
YjvIt sounded like it would be a shame to go by myself. Going around, I asked if anyone had time and noticed that Alicia was the only one who was free on that day.ptHz
Kn3T9“Ah, m, me? I, I can! I don’t have any plans on that day! Ahaha…”gaAmBh5
ybPF1gFor some reason, Alicia had an awkward smile on her face and couldn’t make eye contact with me.W8hhO
6wjebIn any case, it was decided that Alicia and I would be visiting the Royal Academy together.SRoLM2w
2vdObT***IpTFE
gUReGuardians in this world were the target of admiration and respect.ppn
OdjOdOBecause they were superhumans that far exceeded the imaginations of normal people, any one of them could make a living, even from doing something as simple as chores. Medium-graded guardians were usually able to find jobs as garrison captains post-retirement.v8VnjQL
Tb515G6As for the higher guardians above Grade 2, their names would be recorded at least once in the Guardians magazines, which had the most number of subscribers in the entire Kingdom.Lcf7T
GhsumKorin Lork and Alicia Arden.EQriCK
YliThe names of the two of us were widely spread during the past year as two of the greatest rising stars of the time.Ei93i
KRacj0It was nothing unusual since I was someone who went up from Grade 5 to Grade 1 and was the master of the Guardians Guild that made significant contributions in the operation to save Saintess Estelle.YHtA
h79fAs for Alicia, she was one of the successor candidates of the renowned Arden household and a skilled veteran who was promoted to Grade 1 before finishing off her first year.Sram
8GOBAt this point, it was practically without a doubt that the two of us would eventually become semi-Unique Grade, and we were therefore one of the most famous guardians of the Kingdom.DIxpW4V
3EgvTB“There are some knights that have kindly visited us today. One of them is Student Sia’s brother…”tBdne
5GPThe professor started notifying the students of our visit inside the lecture room while Alicia and I waited outside the entrance.LSbj9
Hh5Lp6“Huu… Mr. Korin, I really hope nothing goes wrong.”oeKl1
l4g2g“Well, it’ll be fine. We just have to introduce ourselves, answer a few questions, and liven up the mood.”ACxc
1Bnr“How do you do that?”B5F
WOkam“You just do it.”1Mma
ybaVrIt’s nothing hard.e5LA
lTt“Then let me introduce them to you. Grade 1 Knights Korin Lork and Alicia Arden.”EfH
Xc0That was the signal we had promised. Opening the door, we walked in and were met by a thunderous roar of cheers.teFRY0s
mE7o6c“Waaaahhh…!”AhZGYz
0yMv“It really is Korin Lork! Sia wasn’t lying!”EytpCc
yF1A“Alicia Arden! Captain of the Fifth Sword Squad!”G5hwwuP
G5A9WPCHuhuhu. To the students of the normal Royal Academy living normal lives, we were the knights of their dreams – celebrities and idols.l37hW
CsJwA00I might have lacked some ‘customer service skills’ in the last iteration, but it would be different this time. Look at that burning passion in their eyes.1YixK8
cWVIt was time for me to crack open my secret stories!55A
PJK………S3t
TBfmN22……SQq7J3
WSS…kpC4
z0Hx3Although they were about the same age as us, the difference between guardians and normal students was quite dramatic. They viewed us as complete heroes and objects of admiration and focused on our every move.IBVu
4CeqP“It was then. I looked up and the Blood Hound, who was the size of an entire mansion, was looking back at me.FSkS5U
vhe“Its claws were sharper than steel; its hairs were crimson like blood, and its red eyes looked ominous as if it was made by mixing the blood of the worst prisoners of hell.MHg
wziOB“The hound growled and tried to threaten me. It wanted to devour the tiny piece of meat in front of its eyes. There was no turning back, and only a small distance existed between me and the hound.”z2jk
gSOmhFI had to go forward.FWLYxE
yjbaB-Gulp!kgQb
WPR“I could feel the hairs of my skin turning stiff, and all of my senses were focused on the dog. It happened in the blink of an eye. The hound pounced at me!”94hx
v8kNSb“Oh no…!”4kTzz
en79o“Be careful!”50k
YaDUUx8“The hound was enormous like a giant piece of rock, but I took heart. I ran towards the monster; the smell of blood seeped into my lungs and the violent storm fuzzed up my vision but… my mind remained clear and in my hands was the unwavering spear. That was the decider.”TsUP9
IcHV……fTsl
E7uCzo…1AK2WN
nA9b“Huaah… That’s amazing.”XpThjzQ
RibHzIy“That’s all real, right?”YM8
o8QModQ“Of course it is. He’s the one that killed the King of Iron Mountain as well.”wIzcpF
AXa“Technically, that was Alicia Arden.”Ky3K
lYh“But what about the Tower of Mages?”msCHaX
9noinWMy fight with Doggo Kim, who was 3 minutes old at the time, was received exceptionally well by the students. That wasn’t really surprising since it was their first time hearing the story from the actual knight that was involved, after reading it from a newspaper article.XpkcqdP
fp0xVWWell, I did spice things up here and there, but most of the story was true. I was about to end it there when a female student sitting next to Sia on the third row from the back shot her hand up into the air.QDy
XqOThat was Sia’s friend, Jenna, if I recall correctly.Li6
OZKTDwT“Sir Korin! Are you dating anyone right now!”6vZfDRG
Az54BAh~ of course. I was expecting a question like this to come because I had received the exact same question in the last iteration. Back then, I had Lady Miru so I glossed over it but… not anymore.arHzgr
QJM“Currently looking for girlfriends! What about you, Miss Jenna? Any thoughts?”xdhZdN
JYKB“OHHH…!”sZENry
Qrw“Date! Date! Date!”HGsz1Z
yVgHmm~. What a nice response. Now that’s what I expect from young teenagers!YQdRuQ
MPw8s8“Eht…”b0a9Y
oeVHGnI turned around after hearing a strange mutter and saw Alicia flinch. She was stealing glances at me cautiously in a suspicious manner.on6cvvs
xa93“What’s wrong?”np3UE
ak9pN“Heh? N, nothing. Uhh, you’re not dating…?”YZl
vKyr“What was that?”eajWoB
LZTBlAHer voice dropped off towards the end and I didn’t hear what she said. What was going on with her right now?2DPhp
oxxmI whispered to her in a voice that wouldn’t reach the crowd.NgsK
9uBm“Someone might ask you the same question, so think about what you want to say beforehand. They would probably even ask you to date them, so maybe you should think about that too,” I jested.MJJ
Yh6hpwf“Umm…”ZxPt
V1r27Hearing my advice, Alicia lifted her head and looked straight into my eyes. She then tilted her head and asked.PBkl
LHM1fo“Why would I date someone other than Mr. Korin?”NGW
20QsyThe sun was dazzling through the windows of the lecture room, brightening up the faint smile on her face.vF6dtLT
Y3NVtIt took 3 seconds of silence until I… or rather we understood what she said, and…ruOT
IrtGK“…Huh?”DJwCcl
Q81“…Ah.”hQAva
Wd2UAAlicia covered her mouth with an expression that seemed to be saying, ‘Oops,’ as a pink flower started to bloom on her cheeks.g7wN
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