Opening Gate [Illustration]
A week had already passed since we entered Academy City.
That time had made us at least a little used to sharing the same room.
Only a little.
Even if we had known each other for five years, when you live in the same space, you inevitably discover things you never knew before, and the ways you show consideration also change.
Especially between a man and a woman.
Because of that, quite a few incidents had happened.
‘Still… it wasn’t bad.’
In a way, that week had been time that allowed the two of us to understand each other much better.
It might sound ridiculous, but I felt like I learned more about her in the week we spent together than I had in the five years we had known each other.
Of course, I couldn’t forget that spending that week together had only been possible because those five years had laid the foundation.
In that sense.
“Want me to brush your hair?”
“What?”
The morning of the practical exam.
After finishing my preparations to leave for Geumgang Academy, I asked Yeon Haneul, who was sitting in front of the vanity brushing her hair.
Her reflection in the mirror looked at me as if I had said something completely out of nowhere.
“Why, all of a sudden?”
“Every time I saw you brushing your hair, I wanted to try it once too. Can I do it to commemorate us living together all this time?”
“I don’t think commemorating living together and brushing my hair have anything to do with each other… And living together? What if someone hears that and misunderstands?”
“Why? We did live together.”
“We stayed together.”
“Same thing.”
“It’s completely different to me, okay? And if you say we lived together in the past tense, it sounds like we got divorced or something. We haven’t even… gotten married yet!”
“No one would think—”
“I would.”
“Sometimes I really don’t understand you.”
“Gyeonu.”
“What?”
“That’s exactly what I want to say. Sometimes I really don’t understand you.”
Yeon Haneul stopped brushing, let out a deep sigh, and glared at me through the mirror.
Apparently, the week we had lived together hadn’t meant anything after all.
“Then let’s compromise and say we slept together.”
“…Hey, do you not think that would be even more misleading?”
“But it’s all true.”
“We didn’t sleep together, and we didn’t live together. Let’s compromise and say we stayed together.”
“Same thing.”
“It’s different. Different. Completely different, okay?”
There was a book she had lent me before.
In that book, I think it compared women to Mercurians and men to Martians.
I hadn’t understood it well back then, but now that we were clashing over a single word, I felt like I finally did.
Between men and women, there must be an invisible distance as incomprehensible as the distance between Mars and Mercury.
Not only between men and women, but perhaps for any person to understand another, that much distance had to be narrowed.
“So I can’t?”
“My hair isn’t a toy, you know?”
“I’m good at brushing hair. I’ve brushed Yeeun’s hair a few times before. I’m good at tying it too.”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
“I also brush Mongshil’s fur—”
“Am I a rabbit?”
“You’re Yeon Haneul.”
“Haa… You want to brush it that badly?”
“Of course.”
Even so, when I pushed hard, Yeon Haneul would give in with a face that said she had no choice.
In the end, Yeon Haneul shot me a sidelong glare and raised the brush in her hand.
It was a signal to take it.
“Fine. But only for a little while, okay? Because of you, I might have to fix my hair all over again and end up late to the exam site.”
“Yeah, got it. Don’t worry. It’s not like your hair will be ruined just because I brush it badly.”
“You never know.”
I took the brush Yeon Haneul handed me and stood behind her.
When I touched her loose hair, I saw her rabbit ears twitch.
“I won’t ruin your hair. Don’t be nervous.”
“Who said I was nervous…”
“Oh, really? Then I’m brushing it.”
The hair resting on my palm was incredibly soft.
It was something I thought every time I saw it, but the pale sky-blue hair that matched Yeon Haneul’s name was nothing short of mysterious.
That hair of hers…
“Ah… You’re pretty good at doing it without hurting me.”
I brushed it carefully.
She had been subtly tense about leaving her hair in my hands, but gradually, the strength left her body.
“How is it? Refreshing, right?”
“Refreshing is kind of a weird way to put it, but you are good.”
“But you have quite a lot of white hairs.”
“…What?”
“Ah, right. Your hair was always like this, wasn’t it?”
“You startled me… Don’t joke around.”
“Yes, yes.”
After we finished getting ready like that.
We headed to Geumgang Academy.
* * *
Since there were so many applicants to Geumgang Academy, the first practical exam was held at several different locations.
Naturally, you couldn’t just go to any exam site and take the practical exam; you had to go to the place assigned according to your examinee number.
“I was worried we’d get lost since the grounds are so big, but thankfully, they’ve marked the direction to the exam sites well.”
“Mm, let’s see. We are…”
“Suyang Hall is over there. Let’s go.”
By coincidence, we ended up taking the practical exam at the same place.
After arriving at Geumgang Academy, we followed the route indicated by the academy.
The closer we got to the practical exam site, the more the crowd that had been swarming from the front gate began to thin out.
At last, we entered Suyang Hall.
“…”
“…There are a lot of them.”
Room 105, Suyang Hall.
After stepping into the practical exam site, I looked over the people who had arrived first.
They were looking at me too.
But the gazes fixed on us were intense.
“Gyeonu…”
“Don’t be scared. What are you scared for?”
“That’s not it. I’m telling you to be careful.”
“I know.”
Perhaps having felt those gazes, Yeon Haneul quietly grabbed the hem of my clothes.
I stepped forward as if to shield her and tried to find the reason why their gazes lingered on us in particular.
Soon, I realized why.
‘Is it because of our admission tickets?’
Yeon Haneul and I had solved every question, turning our admission tickets black.
Because of that, we had attracted the attention of the other examinees.
Meanwhile, I could hear them whispering here and there.
“They solved all thirty questions?”
“Wow, black…”
“Damn it, why did I have to be assigned to the same place as guys like that?”
“We’d better not get involved with them.”
Surprise, admiration, lamentation, and so on.
That was what the examinees were saying.
Among them, however, there seemed to be some who knew about us.
“If it’s black, they must be from a prestigious house. Who are they?”
“Wait, if she’s a demi-human with rabbit ears… Isn’t she the disciple of the Lady Witch of Seven Colors?”
“The Witch of Seven Colors had a disciple? This is the first I’m hearing of it…”
“Hey, is the Witch of Seven Colors our friend? If you’re going to become a Hunter, you should know to add ‘Lady’ after her title.”
“Come to think of it, I heard at the Magic Hall that the Lady Witch’s disciple was applying to the academy this year too. Damn, so she applied to Geumgang Academy.”
“Then who’s the kid beside her? He’s black too…”
As Hong Yena came to be called the Witch of Seven Colors, her fame had grown.
She was also scheduled to take office as an instructor at the academy starting this year.
Because of that, it seemed Yeon Haneul had become fairly well known.
“Ugh… This is embarrassing…”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? Just enjoy it. You’re going to become even more famous than this from now on.”
Yeon Haneul herself seemed unfamiliar with being recognized by the examinees.
I laughed at her reaction and shrugged.
‘Now then, let’s hear what they say about me.’
I couldn’t help but be curious.
I decided to listen closely.
“If it’s the person beside her, it’s probably that kid. They say the Lady Witch of Seven Colors’ disciple has a friend she’s known since childhood.”
“Ah—that guy?”
Yeah, me.
The childhood friend of the mid-boss.
“Seeing the sword at his waist, I guess it really is him.”
“Who is he?”
“You know, that swordsmanship prestigious house!”
“Which swordsmanship prestigious house?”
“The Divine Sword Do Family!”
“…One of the Ten Great Families?”
“He’s from the Divine Sword Do Family?”
Yeah, me.
The promising talent currently expected the most from the Divine Sword Do Family alongside Do Sieun.
“It’s Do Gyeonu of the Divine Sword Do Family. No doubt about it.”
“I heard this year’s student council president at Geumgang Academy was from the Divine Sword Do Family, but this is the first I’m hearing of Do Gyeonu.”
“You don’t know Do Gyeonu? Did you not go to the Swordsmanship Hall?”
“Why? Is he famous?”
“He’s famous! Haven’t you heard the story about how he couldn’t even catch a single rabbit and became a laughingstock in his family?”
“Ah! The Rabbit of the Divine Sword Do Family!”
“That story’s famous. Whenever the kids at the Swordsmanship Hall didn’t want to train, the instructor would constantly tell us not to end up like that…”
…This was the first time I realized my story had been that famous.
My mood suddenly soured.
“Still, Rabbit is an old story now.”
“I heard he changed at some point. In a good way.”
Yeah, this was what I wanted to hear.
I tried to calm myself.
“They say he isn’t like he used to be, but honestly, the Rabbit anecdote is so strong that who knows if it’s true.”
“They said he never had a chance to show his face in public all this time. Isn’t it just that the Rabbit story got strangely well known?”
“Wouldn’t people from prestigious houses know?”
“They seemed half in doubt too…”
“But I heard they don’t call him Rabbit anymore and call him by another title now?”
“What title? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“There’s another one besides Rabbit?”
“What’s certain is that people from the Divine Sword Do Family call him this now.”
The examinees’ gazes poured over me.
Receiving those gazes, I confidently straightened my shoulders.
Praise for me reached my ears.
“Lion bastard.”
“They call him a lion bastard.”
“That… an insult or a compliment?”
“Probably a compliment, right? If it were an insult, they would’ve called him rabbit bastard.”
“Isn’t lion bastard an insult? If it were a compliment, wouldn’t they call him a lion cub?”
“Lion bastard, lion cub, lion bastard, lion cub, lion bastard…”
“Lion bastard. Somehow, that one rolls off the tongue better.”
…Fuck.
Hundreds of people were saying the same thing.
My face twisted.
To the point where my hand moved to my sword without me realizing it.
“Gyeonu, no! Hold back! Stop!”
“I was just thinking I should warm up before the exam. This works out nicely. I’ll just—”
“What are you planning to do with a sword!?”
“A sword exists to cut, so I should cut.”
“If you do that, you’ll commit murder—”
“It’s fine. I can fight with the reverse-edged sword.”
“What happened to telling me to enjoy it? How can you act like this!”
“Are you and I the same?”
“Still, calm down. There, there… What are you going to do if you cause trouble for no reason and get disqualified?”
Hoo. I held back because Yeon Haneul stopped me.
Instead, I decided to remember those bastards’ faces.
If I met them during the exam, I wouldn’t let them off.
* * *
“Hey! Do Gyeonu!”
“Over here! Over here!”
“So you were assigned to the same place as us!”
The triplets were at the exam site too.
Seeing us for the first time in a week, those guys waved their hands, looking happy to see us.
I walked over to them and focused on the admission tickets pinned to their chests.
‘Still, they aren’t completely colorless.’
The triplets’ admission tickets were red.
They must have worked pretty hard in their own way while acting separately from us.
It had been worth drilling them for five years.
It was never mentioned in the game, but I had a feeling the triplets who appeared in the game probably hadn’t received red.
Probably.
If not, I’d have to work them even harder than now.
“What’s with that face?”
“Why does it look like you’re praising a mutt?”
“It feels strangely unpleasant.”
“Whatever. Congratulations on not being eliminated before even taking the exam. You got a decent amount of bonus points too. Looking around, it doesn’t seem like there are many people with red or higher.”
“Are you really the one to say that?”
“Wow, black… Seriously, how did you solve them? Did Haneul help you?”
“For now, it seems like you two are the only ones in this exam site.”
“That does seem to be the case.”
Even without the triplets telling me, I had already finished assessing the examinees around us.
There was still a little time left before the first practical exam began, but for now, it seemed Yeon Haneul and I were the only ones who had solved all the questions.
It was then that Go Eunbi approached.
“Wow, you guys were assigned to the same exam site too! We meet again here. You remember me, right?”
“I remember your name. It was Go Eunbi, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right! You didn’t forget. I remember your names too. Gyeonu and Haneul, right?”
To think I had ended up at the same exam site as Go Eunbi.
Seeing her again made me feel glad.
She seemed to feel the same way.
Just then, she gave a bitter smile.
“But it turns out both of you are incredibly famous. I was really shocked when I heard what people were saying just now, you know? I didn’t do anything wrong to either of you, did I?”
“No, you did. That time you tried to touch Haneul’s ears.”
“Ah… I was rude back then, wasn’t I? I did apologize last time, but if I upset you because of that, I’ll apologize again. I’m sorry, Haneul.”
“No! Don’t. Gyeonu is joking right now. I wasn’t upset, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Oh, is that so? I thought… Then can I touch them just once?”
“No.”
“Aww, so close…”
Yeon Haneul, hiding behind my back, still seemed uncomfortable around Go Eunbi, but even so, she said what needed to be said.
Go Eunbi looked disappointed at Yeon Haneul’s knife-sharp answer.
But Go Eunbi was Go Eunbi.
As if nothing had happened, she quickly recovered her energy and changed the subject.
“But if you’re from one of the Ten Families too, then there are two people here who belong to the Ten Families. I overheard people talking a little while ago, and they said that kid over there is from one of the Ten Families too.”
“Really? Who?”
There was someone from the Ten Families here?
Drawn in by Go Eunbi’s words, I looked in the direction she pointed.
“Oveer there.”
“…”
“You see the boy in the black martial uniform? The one with really tanned skin.”
“Ah, him.”
“They said he’s from the Chivalrous Yong Clan. Do you know him? He’s been looking at you since earlier too.”
“…I don’t know him. Not yet.”
“But you look like you do.”
“I’ve heard rumors.”
“Ah, I see.”
Short sports-cut hair with his bangs swept up.
Fierce, sharp eyes.
A black martial uniform that matched his hair color, yet stood out all the more because its style didn’t fit the times.
The muscles and small scars revealed beyond that uniform.
And finally, skin that looked sun-browned, enough to captivate a woman’s heart.
Depending on how you looked at him, he had the air of a mountain bandit; from another angle, he looked like a pirate.
‘So he was in the same exam hall too.’
People from the Ten Families were bound to get involved often with the protagonist, Kang Hanbyeol, and that man was one of them.
No, rather than merely being consumed as a character for the sake of the plot, he had quite a significant role.
Just like me or Go Eunbi, that man was also a character the player could raise—in other words, one of Kang Hanbyeol’s party members.
“Ah, I think he’s coming this way?”
“…”
The Chivalrous Yong Clan, one of the Ten Families.
Its direct descendant, Yong Haerang.
“Do you think he has business with you?”
“…Looks like it.”
Yong Haerang got along so well with Kang Hanbyeol that it wouldn’t be strange to call him Kang Hanbyeol’s soulmate.
「Kang Hanbyeol & Yong Haerang」
—Kang Hanbyeol!
—Yong Haerang!
—Cross!
There was even a scene like that in the game, and their personalities had many similar points.
So much so that in the community, the two of them sharing friendship…
‘Let’s stop thinking about it. Maybe because it was my previous life, but I don’t remember it well. Yeah.’
In any case.
I liked Yong Haerang quite a bit.
Even if his hot-blooded character type was divisive depending on the person, he was a dealer with fairly solid performance.
Above all…
‘Now that’s a real man.’
Look at that skin and those muscles!
How cool was that?
If Yong Haerang hadn’t been treated as a gag character, hadn’t been fiery and combative, simple and ignorant, and uninterested in the opposite sex, he surely would have been hugely popular.
If Kang Hanbyeol hadn’t been the protagonist, he might have been the protagonist instead.
“You’re Do Gyeonu of the Divine Sword Do Clan, right? If you solved every problem, that must mean you’re that strong! Nice to meet you! I’m Yong Haerang.”
That Yong Haerang held out his hand.
I decided to respond to Yong Haerang, who wore a black examinee tag.
“Nice to meet you. Seeing as yours is black too, you must be pretty capable.”
“I solved them with grit and fighting spirit! If we get the chance next time, how about having a match with me?”
“…Sure, if the chance comes someday.”
I had known already, but still.
To use “let’s spar” as a greeting—he really was quite combative.
The scary thing was that it wasn’t just an empty greeting.
Since I had little intention of sparring with Yong Haerang, I naturally promised him some distant future.
‘If I become sparring buddies with him, I’ll be in big trouble. He’ll chase me around asking to spar at the drop of a hat.’
Separate from whether I liked him, forming a human relationship was clearly a different matter.
The best policy was to avoid troublesome things for no reason.
‘I’ll leave becoming sparring buddies with Yong Haerang to Kang Hanbyeol.’
Getting rolled was the protagonist’s role.
As someone who wasn’t the protagonist, I just had to roll around moderately and take whatever I could get.
‘I’m glad I’m not the protagonist.’
It was wonderful.
Feeling thoroughly satisfied like that,
I exchanged words with Yong Haerang.
Not long after that.
“Anyone who enters the exam hall from this point onward will be considered disqualified! We will now begin the exam!”
The first practical exam began.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss