28. I Have a Boyfriend (3)
When he woke up, he had a girlfriend.
Baek Yuseol was personally living through that absurd phenomenon.
"I'm your… what, exactly?"
Thinking he must have misheard, he asked again, and Flame answered with a very apologetic expression.
"…Boyfriend."
At a restaurant somewhere on Arcanium Street.
Called out by Flame, he had come to eat dinner on her dime, only to hear a fairly ridiculous story.
He should have sensed something ominous when she offered to buy him a free meal.
Baek Yuseol had forgotten even to move his spoon as he asked back:
"No, why?"
"Well, um… there was kind of an urgent situation."
Baek Yuseol had heard the rumors spreading all over school today too. He had thought from the start that Jeremy showing interest in Flame was not a very good development.
Jeremy's route was, with about a ninety-nine percent probability, basically no different from a bad ending, so he had been thinking about ways to help separately—
but he had never imagined he'd end up helping in such a ridiculous way.
"Yeah… well, if this helped, then I guess that's good."
"Mm… thanks. I'll treat you to meals often instead."
Having roughly understood the situation, Baek Yuseol resumed moving his spoon and asked:
"Why me, of all people?"
"…I did think of Hae Wonryang for a second, but that would've been kind of difficult."
She had plenty of male friends around her who could have pretended to be her boyfriend, but they wouldn't have been able to handle Jeremy.
Hae Wonryang, at least, probably could handle him, but he genuinely had feelings for her, so she wanted to keep some distance.
Even if it was only pretending to date, once she gave him an opening, a man's heart would only grow more confused over time.
She wanted to remain friends with him.
And to do that, she had to maintain clear boundaries.
For that reason—
Baek Yuseol was an excellent choice.
He was the type who wouldn't care in the slightest no matter what kind of shit Jeremy pulled, and whether they pretended to date or not, there had never been any feelings between them in the first place, so they could act comfortably without pressure.
"I see."
Just as she had expected, he didn't look all that bothered. If anything, his reaction was more like he was relieved this could be dealt with in such a simple way.
"Do I get paid for my part-time boyfriend stand-in work?"
"…I'll buy you meals often."
"That labor cost is way too cheap."
Even while grumbling, Baek Yuseol's mouth kept taking in food.
Flame propped her chin on the table and stared blankly at him.
A boyfriend.
Wasn't that basically a mythical creature?
Even if it was just acting, the thing she had never managed to get even in her previous life was something she had only gained after reincarnating.
"Anyway… I really am sorry about this. I'm sure you have a girl you like, Ahjussi, so I'm just causing trouble."
"…?"
Even while eating, Baek Yuseol expressed his confusion with just his eyes.
"Like? Who?"
His original age was twenty-nine, so if he went around liking high school kids, that would make him a criminal.
And even apart from that, it was hard to really connect in conversation with kids who were more than a whole generation younger than him.
So his preference was people around his own age.
It was only natural for Baek Yuseol, who didn't really have anyone in school he liked, to react like that.
"…You don't have anyone you like?"
"I don't."
Flame was slightly taken aback.
'Wasn't he someone who regressed because he loved Eizel?'
She had believed that the whole time, but apparently it wasn't so.
Since she hadn't specified anyone in particular, there was no reason for him to deny that he liked someone if that were true.
She wanted to ask him if he was serious, but there was one large wall standing between Baek Yuseol and Flame.
Hadn't they promised each other that they would only ever tell fifty percent of the truth?
Even though they looked close now, the two of them were people who would never be able to completely reveal their true feelings to one another.
Just as she, as someone who had transmigrated into a romance-fantasy novel, seemed to be under some sort of restriction, Baek Yuseol, as a regressor, would surely have restrictions of his own as well.
She badly wanted to ask, but had no intention of crossing that line.
"…Well, anyway. Just suffer through this for about a month. I'm counting on you from here on out."
Since she had already said they were dating, then even if later she came up with one excuse or another and claimed they had broken up, for now it would be best if they actually acted like a real couple.
That way, she could completely tear out the seed Jeremy had planted.
Romance, huh.
For both Baek Yuseol and Flame, it really was not an area they were strong in.
The next day, lunchtime.
As they sat across from each other eating, Flame was the first to ask:
"Ahjussi. What do high schoolers usually do when they date?"
"How would I know?"
If they had at least been adults, they could have gone out drinking or something, but if two minors met up, he genuinely had no idea what they were supposed to do.
Still, they'd have to follow along with what other people normally did…
"Isn't it enough to just eat together or something?"
"…Ahjussi, seriously, don't ever date later on. I feel sorry for whatever woman gets stuck with you."
"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't."
"That's kind of sad, actually."
"But do we really have to act like a couple?"
"We just need to pretend to be dating for at least a month and make sure nobody finds out it was a lie."
If they did only that, then all the groundwork Jeremy had laid would become useless.
"Ugh. What a pain."
He could feel the stinging gazes around them.
Right after the dating rumor(?) involving the famous Crown Prince Jeremy had exploded, she had immediately gone and said she was dating another guy, so it would be stranger if people weren't paying attention.
'No, seriously, why are they all so interested in two perfectly ordinary commoners dating?'
Since she had absolutely no awareness that she herself was not remotely an ordinary commoner, Flame genuinely couldn't understand it.
At this rate, she would have to give up on the idea of just coasting through things lazily. To think she was now doomed to stick close to him like glutinous rice cake whether she liked it or not, simply because of everyone's eyes.
She looked at Baek Yuseol sitting across from her, reading something while eating with one hand.
Whenever he studied, he wore those glasses of his, and somehow they suited him well enough that it didn't look bad at all.
'…Well, a rumor about dating that Ahjussi is a hundred times better than one about dating a guy like Jeremy.'
In truth, both Jeremy and Baek Yuseol were surrounded by nothing but good rumors, so if girls their age heard her say that, they would probably accuse her of whining with a full stomach.
After lunch, Flame parted ways with Baek Yuseol to go attend different classes, and by chance, she had class with a friend who had a boyfriend.
"What do you usually do with your boyfriend?"
"Yeah."
"We just hold hands and take walks together. The eastern garden is full of flowers right now."
"…Is that fun?"
"Huh? What do you mean, is it fun? That's such a weird question. It's just nice because we're together."
That was nice? Walking through a flower garden?
'Romance is hard…'
To think there were things in this world that money couldn't solve. It seemed capitalism was not yet all-powerful.
"I like it even when we're just quietly looking at each other."
"Mm. On days when class ends early, we go out to Rodeo Street for dates too, and that's nice. You don't even have to go far."
"Rodeo?"
Come to think of it, Arcanium had something like that too.
Rodeo Street, which could be thought of as a place similar to Daehangno in Korea, was packed with high school couples, making it a territory Flame wouldn't dare step into on her own.
But if she was going to act like Baek Yuseol's lover anyway…
then maybe it would be a good idea to go to a place like that and at least pretend to be on a date.
"By the way, Flame."
"Mm?"
Her friends grinned slyly as they said:
"You always acted like you had zero interest in guys, but then you suddenly reeled in an A-grade one? How exactly did you seduce him?"
"S-seduce? What are you even saying?"
"Baek Yuseol really doesn't seem like the kind who'd confess first. Didn't you hook him first?"
"I did not."
"Wait, then don't tell me Baek Yuseol confessed first?"
"Wow. I didn't take him for that type."
"I'm jealous."
"But seriously, don't Flame and Baek Yuseol both look so young that it kind of feels like watching little kids date?"
"Oh, right. I thought that too!"
"I saw them walking around together earlier, and both of them looked all fresh and cute~"
What are these brats even saying.
Flame let out a sigh and dropped her head onto the desk.
'That bastard Jeremy…'
To think she had to suffer this kind of humiliation because of that one jerk. She swore firmly to herself that one day, she would absolutely smash him into the ground.
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Magic Combat Practice time came around again.
This time, instead of doing joint training with another class, the S-Class cadets were made to spar against one another.
And by sheer coincidence—
Baek Yuseol's opponent was Hong Biyeon.
Fwoosh!
The starting signal hadn't even been given yet, and yet somehow it already felt as though flames were blazing all over her body.
Baek Yuseol broke into a cold sweat and cautiously watched Hong Biyeon's mood.
Even in the original game, she had earned nicknames like 'Always Angry' and 'Angry Hong Biyeon' because she was more or less always furious, but today in particular, she looked as though she could barely restrain it.
'Did something happen…?'
Whatever it was, honestly, it didn't really matter.
The problem was that I was apparently the target she planned to vent it on. The misery of that couldn't be put into words.
"Mutual salute."
They held their wands vertically against their chests and exchanged light bows.
"Both sides, arm your wands."
They leveled their wands at one another.
"Duel, begin!"
The instant the order was given, Hong Biyeon explosively raised her mana and chaotically summoned a number of small spheres of flame.
From the very start, the air was filled with a feast of fire.
Hong Biyeon's strategy was to overwhelm him with sheer quantity from the opening move.
She had observed Baek Yuseol's battles countless times by now, and had analyzed them closely, so she knew his style well.
His swordsmanship deflected all magic and boasted cutting power and destructive force sharp enough to slice even huge waves apart.
And that wasn't all. The Blink he used so freely rendered the very concept of distance meaningless, and even let him evade killing blows with ease.
"…It won't be the same as the last time we fought, commoner."
Recalling the beginning of the semester, Hong Biyeon fired dozens of flame bullets at Baek Yuseol in rapid succession.
Tutututung!
If he split apart the large spells, and either deflected the small ones or dodged them with Blink…
then maybe all she had to do was bombard him with so much firepower that he couldn't defend or evade it all.
"Keh!"
But he spun his sword like a windmill and blocked every single bullet of flame.
'Of course he wouldn't go down to this much.'
The bullets were only the appetizer.
While Baek Yuseol was busy defending against her magic, Hong Biyeon had already arranged flaming arrows all around the field.
She intended to fire three at a time, force Baek Yuseol to evade, and then drive another arrow straight into the spot he moved to.
[Blink]
Whoosh! Boom!!
Just as expected, Baek Yuseol used Blink to find an opening and avoid the flaming arrows, and Hong Biyeon immediately fired an arrow into that location.
Pakak!
But even those were all deflected by Baek Yuseol.
Yes, for Hong Biyeon, this was a strategy she had put together with sincere effort, but to him, it would amount to no more than child's play.
She knew.
No matter how much she trained, no matter how much stronger she became, she still would not be able to beat Baek Yuseol.
And yet… was it because of that rumor that had been going around lately?
She kept feeling anger well up toward Baek Yuseol, and it made her want to attack him with everything she had.
"Aaaah!"
Fwoosh! Boom boom boom boom!
Masses of flame crashed down and exploded from every direction, pillars of fire shot up to block off his path, arrows of flame pressing in from thirty-six directions kept interfering with his swordsmanship, and whenever even the slightest chance to catch his breath appeared, a wave of fire swept over him.
'Aaaah! I can't block all this!'
Did Hong Biyeon even realize it herself?
Before she knew it, her level had already surpassed 3-Class and was now heading toward 4-Class.
And on top of that, the creativity she had once lacked had now been added in, making her destructive power even more threatening.
'If only I had at least ten seconds—no, even just five…!'
She was attacking wildly from the very start without leaving him any time at all to activate Taeryeong Divine Art, so he had been forced to do nothing but run, completely unprepared.
He had tried somehow to at least use Mana Concentration and cut even a single Fireball, but it was impossible.
Unless he used Taeryeong Divine Art, his offensive and defensive power really did fall this dramatically low.
"I surrender! I surrender!"
In the end, Baek Yuseol threw himself onto the ground with flames all over his body and surrendered first, and the duel ended.
"…Huh?"
Only then did Hong Biyeon come back to herself, and she stared blankly at Baek Yuseol as he brushed off the flames.
'I won? Me?'
Thanks to the Stella Dome's inherent protective effect, Baek Yuseol was barely injured, but his uniform had been scorched pitch-black.
"Are you all right?"
"Whew, well, I probably won't die."
"I suppose you won't have to go to the infirmary, then."
"I think I may suddenly die, actually."
"All right. Go to the infirmary."
After Baek Yuseol withdrew, Hong Biyeon replayed the duel in her mind. The faction members who had been waiting rushed over and praised her.
"As expected, you were incredible!"
"I knew Your Highness would be able to beat Baek Yuseol easily."
"He couldn't do anything against you."
And yet, for some reason, Hong Biyeon's expression did not look pleased in the slightest. Noticing that, Arshuang carefully spoke first.
"Your Highness. Aren't you happy you won?"
"…No. I'm irritated."
"D-did something happen?"
With a look that plainly asked whether they really didn't understand, she spoke to her faction members.
"Can't you tell just by looking? He was going easy on me."
"…Pardon?"
"That commoner used swordsmanship sharp enough to cut even waves before. But this time, he barely even swung his sword properly—he just ran away and surrendered."
"Ah, come to think of it…"
Only then did the faction members recall the duel Baek Yuseol had previously shown against Yuslek.
Of course, Yuslek was far inferior to Hong Biyeon, but he too was still a very impressive mage.
Baek Yuseol's fighting style—perfectly cutting through his magic and digging into openings—had unquestionably been threatening.
But none of that appeared this time.
Hadn't he just kept running away without cutting down any of the flames that he clearly could have cut if he'd fought the way he did before?
'He did this before too.'
When she had dueled Baek Yuseol during the dungeon practical, he had gone easy on her then as well.
Which meant, in the end—
whether then or now… nothing about her had changed.
To him, was she still someone he had to hold back against?
"Ah, Your Highness. Could it be that?"
"…?"
"Baek Yuseol said he walks the path of 'chivalry,' didn't he? I read an old book once, and it said that knights in those days showed unconditional consideration toward ladies."
"Ah, right, that's true."
"Come to think of it, there was something like that, wasn't there?"
One of the principles of the legendary knight's code.
'Lady First.'
It did not simply mean "ladies first."
A knight devoted his life in loyalty to a lady and, no matter what happened, never raised his sword against one.
"But he had no problem hitting the other female students."
"Maybe it means he won't attack only those he personally recognizes as ladies."
—.
The opinions of the faction members sounded fairly plausible.
Baek Yuseol really did seem to be walking the path of ancient chivalry, so it wouldn't be strange at all if he upheld the code of Lady First.
…Which meant, in other words—
that Baek Yuseol recognized Hong Biyeon as a lady…
"…Don't talk nonsense. Let's go back."
Hong Biyeon tossed out the words and turned away, but Arshuang, standing right beside her, saw it.
Her expression had loosened far more than before.
Realizing that the lord she served actually had a more human side to her than expected, Arshuang ended up smiling without meaning to.
Really now—what man in the world could toy with Hong Biyeon's mood that freely?
'He'd suit Her Highness much better than some ordinary commoner girl like that…'
With that pointless thought in mind, Arshuang followed after Hong Biyeon.