Though when Do Gyeonu was with her, she had hoped he would focus on her.
Unfortunately, even as he dealt with her, his attention was on Yeon Haneul.
There was no way Min Arin failed to notice his gaze turning toward her time and again.
‘I’m your opponent. Look at me, not Yeon Haneul.’
She could find no opening to worm her way into Do Gyeonu’s heart.
For Min Arin, who had seized a chance to be alone with him thanks to Min Hwiseong’s arrangements, it was a blow to her pride.
In a fit of anger, she had downed glass after glass of champagne despite not being able to hold her liquor well.
‘That damned Yeon Haneul, Yeon Haneul, Yeon Haneul! Why did I have to fall for someone like him…?’
An idiot who was always going on about Yeon Haneul and had a truly filthy lack of tact.
And yet, a bad man who made people’s hearts flutter with his subtle consideration and understanding.
After cursing Do Gyeonu inwardly, Min Arin dispelled her drunkenness with magic.
Only then did some of her anger subside.
‘Just you wait. I’ll make sure your eyes turn to me, not Yeon Haneul.’
As someone of the Mage Min Family, she could not let her heart break so easily.
She could not give up like this.
She did not want to resign herself and step back.
Having refreshed her mood, Min Arin walked out onto the terrace to participate in the game.
‘Watch closely. See who wins.’
Among those who had stepped out onto the terrace was Yeon Haneul, whom she considered her rival.
Min Arin’s competitive spirit blazed up.
Before the game began, she took a step forward to provoke Yeon Haneul.
As it happened, Yeon Haneul was also approaching, as if she had business with her.
It was then that someone cut in between them.
“Oh my, Arin. You’re participating too? Are you sure that’s all right? Everyone will be watching, so what if you end up with poor results or make another ugly scene…? Why don’t you be careful before you regret it later?”
“Yang Jihui… so you were here too. If you came, you should have shown your face. Where have you been hiding all this time?”
“There were so many people gathered around you, I just couldn’t find a chance to speak.”
Yang Jihui of the Mystic Yang Family, one of the five great magical houses.
Seeing her, with whom she had never been on good terms, Min Arin frowned.
Judging by her sarcastic tone and attitude, it seemed she had come looking for a fight.
“Arin, it’s not that I don’t know your skills, but wouldn’t it be better to withdraw this time? There’s a high chance Yeon Haneul will win… What will you do if you lose to Yeon Haneul again and embarrass yourself? And I’m here too. Me, the one who placed second after Yeon Haneul in the first-year magic track this term. Compared to that, you’re third, aren’t you?”
“Hmph, what do grades matter? And even if you’re higher than me this time, how do you know what’ll happen next time? You only got lucky and grabbed second because I messed up the midterms. Do you think it’ll be the same next time?”
“Someone said luck is also part of skill. And can you guarantee what will happen next time? You never know. I might be better than you next semester too.”
“Yang Jihui….”
Yang Jihui shrugged smugly.
Unable to find a proper retort, Min Arin could only grit her teeth in displeasure.
Just then.
“Arin.”
Yeon Haneul called Min Arin.
As the disciple of Hong Yena, the Seven-Colored Witch, she could not help but draw people’s attention.
Yang Jihui immediately changed her stance as well, putting on an affable smile.
“…Oh my. Hello, Haneul. This is our first time meeting like this, isn’t it? I’m Yang Jihui of the Mystic Yang Family. As you may know, I was the runner-up in the magic track this term….”
“Sorry, were you? I didn’t know. Hello.”
But whether Yang Jihui showed goodwill and offered a handshake or not.
Yeon Haneul walked past her as if almost ignoring her, then stopped in front of Min Arin.
Then she spoke as though issuing a declaration of war.
“I’m not going to lose to you.”
“….”
Never once until now had Yeon Haneul revealed her competitive spirit first and provoked her in this way.
This was the first time.
For Min Arin, the unexpected situation left her flustered.
At the same time, feeling as though she had been acknowledged by her made the corners of her mouth twitch.
Composing herself, Min Arin replied.
“Look who’s talking. I’m the one who won’t lose to you, all right? Get ready to lose.”
* * *
A ring shone as if announcing its presence, floating high in the night sky.
It was the goal.
When I looked up from the terrace, I could see people gliding around it.
‘Now that’s a rare sight.’
It was not a scene one could see in everyday life.
At last, it felt like I had truly come to the Mage Min Family, said to be the foremost in the magic track.
Feeling that reality sink in, I decided to watch the game from the terrace while cheering on Yeon Haneul and Min Arin.
A moment later.
“We will begin the game now. The first ball will serve as a warm-up, so I have chosen a slow one worth 10 points.”
“….”
From the neighboring terrace where the game was being conducted, Min Hwiseong infused his voice with mana and spread it through the surroundings.
In his hand, he held a blue ball the size of a soccer ball, with the number 10 written on its surface.
The game began with the sound of a whistle as he threw the ball.
Fweeeet!
The blue ball left Min Hwiseong’s hand and rose into the night sky.
People busily flew through the night sky to catch it, swinging their lacrosse sticks.
The lights created by the Mage Min Family’s employees illuminated them.
‘Someone caught it.’
At that moment, a man riding a surfboard scooped the blue ball, which had been evading people, into his lacrosse stick.
Just like that, he flew toward the goal to score.
But there was no way the others would simply stand by and watch.
They tackled him directly to steal the ball or used magic.
‘Even if you snatch the ball, it’s a problem like that.’
In the end, unable to withstand the concentrated attacks, the man lost the blue ball and plummeted toward the ground.
Then the people of the Mage Min Family who had been waiting elsewhere quickly rescued him.
Not long after the game had begun, the first eliminated player had appeared.
Meanwhile, the person who had seized the blue ball after the fierce struggle quickly swung their lacrosse stick and threw the ball toward the goal.
That was when Yeon Haneul moved.
‘Nice.’
While the blue ball flew in an arc toward the goal.
Yeon Haneul, whose white-blue hair was recognizable even from afar, suddenly shot out.
Catching the ball with her lacrosse stick, she promptly drove it into the goal.
“The first person to score has appeared. Yeon Haneul, 10 points.”
Min Hwiseong praised Yeon Haneul.
I clapped to honor her performance.
However, the game was not over yet.
In the thirty-minute game, she had merely taken the first 10 points.
I decided not to get overly excited and continued watching.
“The next ball is worth 30 points. This one will be a little faster than the last.”
The yellow ball Min Hwiseong brought out second was smaller than the first.
And it was swift and clever.
It confused the people chasing it, causing them to collide with one another.
Many of those swept up in the unexpected accidents could not control their fall from the air and, just like before, had to receive help from the Mage Min Family’s employees.
This time, there were many eliminated players.
That was when Min Arin stood out.
‘What’s gotten into Arin…? Is it because she trained in physical techniques during the semester?’
Just as the yellow ball broke through the encirclement and shot upward.
Min Arin created flames to prevent pursuit from catching up and cleaved through the night sky.
Then, soaring on her staff, she snatched the yellow ball.
Immediately afterward, it went into the goal.
“Min Arin, 30 points. Well done. Then… this time, I’ll use a smaller and faster one worth 50 points. Be careful. This fellow can use simple magic as well.”
Min Arin had suddenly taken the lead by 20 points.
Then Yeon Haneul, as if intending to make up the point difference with the third ball, used dark elemental magic.
Her magic, which possessed an attractive force that pulled objects in, shook off the others and drew the third ball toward her.
Just when it seemed she would reclaim the lead like that….
‘What are those two doing?’
As if she could not stand to lose, Min Arin put the fourth ball into the goal and reversed the situation.
After that, the process of the two of them overtaking and being overtaken by each other continued.
At that point, the others could no longer even dream of scoring.
‘Aren’t they both getting too absorbed in this? Arin, sure, but I never thought even Haneul would be like that….’
Min Arin and Yeon Haneul were clashing over possession of the ball and trying to defend the goal.
Watching them collide with such momentum, as if neither would yield an inch, I could not close my mouth.
At last.
‘…Haneul, isn’t using your Gift cheating?’
With only the final ball remaining, Yeon Haneul even activated her Gift.
As she tried to defend the goal against Min Arin, she multiplied into nine people in an instant.
As if to oppose her.
───!!!
‘…When did she learn that?’
Min Arin unleashed fourth-tier pure magic and created illusions that copied herself.
Unlike Yeon Haneul’s clones, the illusions of her, which had no physical substance, covered the night sky.
Soon after, the Yeon Haneuls and the Min Arins rushed at one another and became tangled together.
‘You two… really don’t want to lose, do you….’
My tongue moved on its own in disbelief.
It went beyond admiration; I was dumbfounded.
Now, I could no longer tell how the situation was unfolding or who had the ball.
Giving up on grasping the tide of battle, I decided to quietly wait for the result.
At last, all the allotted time passed.
‘Haneul defended well.’
The game, in which no one managed to score the final ball, ended in Yeon Haneul’s victory after she stopped Min Arin from scoring.
* * *
She had not expected Min Arin to use illusion magic.
She had been caught off guard.
For Yeon Haneul, who had inwardly thought that if things became dangerous, she could simply use her Gift to overturn the situation, it was quite a shock.
‘She was prepared for my Gift. That was almost dangerous.’
She had felt it not long ago as well, but Min Arin’s growth was frightening.
Having nearly been deceived by Min Arin’s illusion magic and allowed a goal, Yeon Haneul felt a chill run through her.
She had no choice but to feel a sense of crisis.
‘I can’t let my guard down even more from now on.’
Yeon Haneul resolved not to neglect her training so she would not fall behind Min Arin.
Even if her growth was slower in comparison, she intended to keep steadily advancing.
At the same time, she was relieved.
‘I’m glad I was able to get it.’
The treasure of the Mage Min Family given to the winner of the game, the Guide of the Single Wing.
Looking down at the golden brooch in her hand, Yeon Haneul smiled.
‘I hope Gyeonu likes it….’
She had always only received things from Do Gyeonu.
So this time, it was her turn to give.
If she could follow her heart, Yeon Haneul wanted to gift him the brooch right away.
‘Ah… I don’t think I can right now.’
But Do Gyeonu and Min Arin were surrounded by a crowd of people.
The two seemed busy conversing with them.
Yeon Haneul’s situation was much the same.
“Hello? I watched the game just now. To think you didn’t give an inch against Arin, you were really amazing. I guess the story about you beating Arin in the Academy entrance exam wasn’t just a trick after all?”
“Nice to meet you. You said your name was Haneul? If it’s not rude, may I ask about the magic you used earlier? How did you configure the formula for that kind of output to come out…?”
“You used fourth-tier dark elemental magic. Your achievement is fast. If you don’t mind, could you tell me your secret?”
“….”
The people who had been looking for a chance to speak to her until now swarmed over.
Surrounded by them before she even had the chance to approach Do Gyeonu, Yeon Haneul ultimately had to deal with them.
For her, who was extremely shy around strangers, it could not help but be quite burdensome.
Fortunately, Min Jiwan, who had been watching her condition from beside her, cut off the flow at an appropriate moment.
“Haneul, you look very tired. Would you like to go outside and get some air?”
“…Yes, senior. Please.”
“I told you that you can just call me oppa. Anyway, all right. Come this way.”
In a gentle tone, Min Jiwan invited her and guided her to a garden where she could rest quietly.
Yeon Haneul was grateful for his consideration.
Whatever the Mage Min Family’s intentions were, he was certainly a good person.
However, she did not feel anything for him as a man.
‘I want to see Gyeonu, I want to talk to him. I want to kiss him too….’
There was only one person in this world she felt that way about.
Do Gyeonu.
Sitting on a bench with a view of the fountain, Yeon Haneul let out a bitter smile.
She felt sorry to Min Jiwan, but the conversation she had with him scarcely entered her head.
Because her mind was occupied with picturing Do Gyeonu in her heart.
“Will you wait here for a moment? You look like you want something to wet your mouth, so I’ll go back and bring something to drink. Something light to eat would be good too. Is there anything you’d like to drink?”
“Mm… Anything is fine with me. Thank you.”
“All right. Then I’ll bring something suitable.”
Min Jiwan noticed that Yeon Haneul’s mind was elsewhere.
At that, he decided to leave for a moment in order to change the atmosphere and find a new topic.
“Now I finally feel like I can breathe….”
Having had to be formal with Min Jiwan, Yeon Haneul felt as though she could breathe again.
Leaning back against the bench and stretching her legs out, she decided to relax until he returned.
It was then that she heard someone’s presence.
‘Hm? Is he back already?’
Min Jiwan had returned faster than she expected.
Lifting her back from the bench and straightening her waist, Yeon Haneul composed herself again.
Then she was about to draw a line in her heart and receive him when….
“Why are you sitting there all pitifully by yourself?”
At the voice that came from behind her, Yeon Haneul’s rabbit ears perked up.
It was not Min Jiwan.
It was the voice of someone extremely familiar, someone whose mere presence made her heart feel at ease.
Swiftly turning her head, she smiled brightly.
“Gyeonu!”
Standing where she looked back was her childhood friend, Do Gyeonu.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss