Min Arin of the Mado Min Family.
Alias: the Little Griffin of the Mado Min Family.
In the game, she was a character who sharply divided players’ opinions due to her dishonest, shrill, and haughty personality.
Some said that, contrary to how strong-willed she looked, being treated like the weakest member of the party had its own charm.
Others said she was just annoying.
But either way, no one denied that she was an indispensable character in the party.
‘Because among magic-type characters, she had the best performance.’
As befitting someone from the Mado Min Family.
Min Arin boasted outstanding performance as the mage responsible for the party’s firepower.
Her performance was so good that other mage characters could not keep up.
On top of that, she learned skills belonging to the magic system quickly, and she could broaden her spectrum not only into magic, but also into black magic and white magic.
Compared to characters specialized in black magic or white magic, her performance fell short.
Even so, it was better than not being able to do it at all.
Of course, in exchange for such outstanding performance, she did have one flaw in addition to her personality.
‘Her stamina was god-awful.’
True to the setting that she had read countless spellbooks and cultivated magic since childhood.
Min Arin was at a level where she could do almost nothing outside of magic.
Her athletic ability in particular was disastrous.
Her HP gauge was noticeably tiny compared to her MP gauge, her recovery speed was slow, and she showed weakness in defense.
Because of that, after pouring out a huge burst of firepower once, she often had to fall back to the rear.
Players who obtained her had to focus on raising her stamina early on.
That was why I had said it before.
Everything was founded on stamina, and mages were no exception.
“Haneul’s class still isn’t over, so let’s wait at the cafeteria first. We should at least grab seats.”
“Do whatever you want. Where are we going?”
“To Inyeon Hall, where you can see Springlight Lake. I heard the view there is nice.”
“…That’s far from here. My legs are going to hurt….”
“Think of it as taking a walk.”
That was also why I had repeatedly emphasized stamina to Yeon Haneul over the past five years.
As a result, she had mastered not only magic but also hand-to-hand techniques.
She had enough stamina that she did not find it difficult to carry around a heavy iron hammer in device form.
She was exactly the mage that I, as a stagnant-water veteran in my previous life, had wanted so badly.
Unlike Min Arin with her trash stamina.
I stared intently at her as she matched my stride beside me.
“…”
“Wh-what? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was wondering if your conscience doesn’t hurt, since some people are walking on their own two feet while someone else is riding a staff and flying.”
“Ugh… Wh-what do you care! What does it matter how I get there!”
“It doesn’t matter. That’s why I was just asking if your conscience doesn’t hurt.”
“…It doesn’t. It doesn’t hurt at all, okay? If you’re jealous of me, then you can use footwork or whatever too.”
“If you get into the habit of relying on mana, your body becomes dull. It’s not like we’re in a hurry, and it isn’t that far. You should walk this much yourself.”
“Hmph, aren’t you just so great.”
“But I guess even mages are different. Haneul walks when it’s not too far, saying it’s exercise.”
“…”
“Maybe that’s why she became top of the class.”
“Kuh… Fine! I’ll walk especially for you, all right!”
Because I brought up Yeon Haneul’s name.
Min Arin, who felt a sense of rivalry toward her, grimaced and got down from the staff she had been riding.
Soon, she swept the red hair falling over her shoulder back with a flick.
“Do you think I can’t walk or something…? Let’s go! Are you going to keep standing there?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Min Arin strode forward.
I chuckled as I followed her, who was walking with extra force in her steps.
She had a surprisingly simple personality.
‘I have to make her exercise like this, at least.’
Just like when I had played the game.
I intended to improve Min Arin’s trash stamina and raise her.
Of course, walking like this would not cause any major change right away, but if small changes piled up one by one, she would eventually be different beyond recognition.
Meanwhile, for me, who had Yeon Haneul as my childhood friend, her value had fallen compared to my previous life.
In both talent and skill, Yeon Haneul was a complete straight upgrade over Min Arin.
A substitute had appeared for her, who could never be replaced in the game.
‘If it were a player who hated Min Arin, they’d probably say, why raise Min Arin too when you can just raise Haneul in this situation?’
I could fully understand.
But this world was reality.
Unlike in the game, there was no limit on the number of characters I could deploy when entering battle.
The more, the better.
Two was better than one.
That was why I intended to recruit Min Arin as a companion.
Above all.
[Personal Information]
Name: Min Arin (Female · 17 years old)
Alias: Little Griffin of the Mado Min Family
Affiliation: Geumgang Academy
[Owned Gift]
Sage’s Eye
[Physical Abilities]
Stamina: 43
Strength: 41
Endurance: 47
Agility: 45
Magic Power: 78
Luck: 36
Remaining Points: 0
The Gift shown in Min Arin’s status window, Sage’s Eye.
Her Gift excelled at analyzing phenomena made of mana.
It set her apart from Yeon Haneul.
There was no reason to give her up.
“What? Why are you looking again?”
“Just because your eyes are pretty.”
“…Wh-what!? What did you just say….”
“We’re here. Let’s hurry in.”
I took my eyes off Min Arin’s status window.
Then I led the flustered girl into Inyeon Hall.
Perhaps because it was lunchtime, the first-floor dining area was crowded with students.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I don’t like standing in line, so let’s eat something we can get quickly.”
“Then let’s do that.”
At this rate, we might not even get seats.
Nodding at Min Arin’s words, I ordered food from a place where the line was not long.
The food came out almost immediately after we ordered.
We took our trays and set out to find seats.
Fortunately, there was a good spot.
‘Nice view.’
It was a window seat overlooking the full view of Springlight Lake.
Outside the window, the lake sparkled with rippling sunlight, and spring petals floated on the surface of the water.
It was a lake with scenery so beautiful that students wanted to take pictures.
They said red autumn leaves floated there in fall, and that seemed like it would have its own charm too.
‘Haneul will like it when she sees it.’
It was thanks to Do Sieun’s useful information.
Feeling satisfied, I sat down on the inside to enjoy the view.
But then.
‘Huh?’
Min Arin sat beside me and put her tray down on the table.
I turned my head toward her.
She was glaring with force in her eyes.
Her face seemed a little reddish.
“What, why, what.”
“I was just wondering why you’re sitting next to me when there are seats in front too.”
“I’m saying this because you might misunderstand, but there’s no special reason, okay? It’s just that when your friends come later, I don’t want to sit awkwardly next to them, okay?”
“Ah, I see.”
The empty seats across from us looked a little lonely, but what she said did make sense.
Because of her shy personality, Yeon Haneul would also want to sit beside someone she was close to, not sit awkwardly together with Min Arin, whom she would be meeting for the first time today.
I had to be considerate of her.
Of course, it was worth considering the possibility that she would sit next to me too.
‘If possible, it’s better to sit by the window.’
If she sat beside me like Min Arin, it would be hard to enjoy the nice view.
While waiting for her, who would arrive soon, to see the lake and admire it, I slowly ate lunch while exchanging occasional words with Min Arin.
And not long after, she and Go Eunbi finally arrived.
“Ah, Haneul, Eunbi. Over here. I got us good seats, right? The view is really….”
“Gyeon, u?”
“Wow! I guess it’s true that it’s prettiest to see in spring. It’s really pretty! But why are the two of you sitting so close together? How interesting.”
“…”
Yeon Haneul tilted her head terrifyingly as she called my name.
There were thorns in Go Eunbi’s words.
Did I do something wrong?
I racked my brain, but I could not figure it out.
In the meantime, unlike her usual self, Min Arin readily greeted the two of them.
“Hello? You must be Gyeonu’s friends. We saw each other yesterday, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Min Arin of the Mado Min Family, in the same class as Gyeonu, sitting next to Gyeonu during class, and chosen as a representative together with Gyeonu. Let’s get along.”
“…”
Gyeonu, Gyeonu, Gyeonu….
Min Arin, who had always called me roughly with things like “hey” or “you,” was now calling my name affectionately.
Could it be that she was trying to save my face in front of the two of them?
Did Min Arin have that kind of delicacy?
But I felt bad to her as I thought this, but hearing it like this was a bit… burdensome.
“You two look quite close.”
“…”
And so was Haneul’s gaze.
* * *
Gyeonu had said he would introduce the friend he had made after ending up in the same class.
It was the female student who had been beside him yesterday on the way to the staff room.
“You two look quite close.”
“…”
Long red hair and yellow eyes that seemed as if her genes had been altered by mana.
Though her appearance made her look a little strong-willed, she was, even in Haneul’s opinion, pretty, and even her background was solid.
The Mado Min Family, known as the foremost family in the magic system.
That family’s Little Griffin, Min Arin.
She was someone who had a connection with Haneul as well.
If one asked whether it was a good connection, it was on the bad side.
‘She’s doing that on purpose right now.’
During the final entrance exam.
Yeon Haneul had been ambushed by Min Arin, who tried to steal her exam tickets.
It had been night, when she could barely see the path, and on top of that, she had almost been hit by magic that could have killed her if things had gone wrong. At the time, Haneul had felt a surge of anger.
So she did not simply take it and counterattacked with all her strength.
To begin with, Min Arin was not an opponent who could be brought down with moderate force.
She had to beat her down thoroughly and subdue her until she could not even twitch a finger.
—I’ll be taking these. You really collected a lot.
—Ah….
After rendering her powerless like that.
Yeon Haneul took every exam ticket Min Arin had.
She ignored her even when Min Arin sobbed and begged her not to take them.
Since Min Arin was the one who had launched the ambush first, Haneul did not feel sorry.
—Don’t take them….
But there was no knowing how the person who had been robbed felt about it.
People were rational yet irrational, and therefore self-centered.
From her perspective, she might hate Haneul.
In short, their meeting could be said to have been bad for both of them.
And yet, through Do Gyeonu as the trigger, they had met again.
‘I didn’t think she would become friends with Gyeonu….’
For Yeon Haneul, it was nothing but awkward.
Even if it had been something like self-defense, she had beaten down Gyeonu’s friend, and a problem had arisen in forming a relationship before they could even get to know each other.
She had wanted to get along with her if possible, but it had gone wrong from the very first button.
Furthermore, Min Arin did not seem to like her very much.
As proof.
“Does it look that way? We did get close rather quickly. Since ‘Gyeonu’ and I are in the same class, and we’re both representatives, we naturally have a lot in common.”
“…”
“Are you going to keep standing there? Hurry and sit down too. In the seats across from me and ‘Gyeonu.’”
Sneakily occupying the spot beside Do Gyeonu, she provoked Yeon Haneul.
As if to emphasize that she was close to him, she even made a show of lightly smacking his forearm.
Taking in her actions, Yeon Haneul felt anger boiling inside her.
But if she got angry, she would only be treated as the strange one.
Above all, she did not want her relationship with Min Arin to become any worse than this.
“Haneul, from what I can see, she’s doing that on purpose right now. Should I say something to her?”
“…No. Let’s just sit down, Eunbi.”
Do Gyeonu had introduced her as a “friend.”
From what she had observed as his childhood friend, he was the type to be satisfied with his current relationships and was not proactive in making friends or going out of his way to expand his human connections.
For someone like him to make a friend he wanted to introduce to her not long after entering school was suspicious beyond belief.
“Haneul, let me introduce you. This is Min A….”
“We saw each other during the entrance exam, didn’t we? It’s been a while since then. Hello, I’m Min Arin.”
“…I’m Yeon Haneul.”
There had to be some reason.
Just as there had been when he became friends with Go Eunbi, Yong Haerang, and Lisa, who were sitting beside her.
‘If only Gyeonu would tell me that reason, I might be able to help him too….’
Unfortunately, Do Gyeonu would not tell her.
He had always been that way for the past five years.
Even so, Yeon Haneul did not try to pry into the secret he was hiding.
She was curious, hurt, and resentful, and at times she wondered whether he really found her that unreliable, but in the end, she trusted him.
She believed that he would not abandon her.
And that someday, he would tell her his secret.
“Well, I’m sorry about what happened back then. We were both doing our best to pass the exam anyway….”
“Let’s agree to forget what happened during the entrance exam.”
“....”
“It was something we both gave and took, wasn’t it? If we’re going to get to know each other from now on, wouldn’t the past only get in the way? I want to get along with you.”
“Wow…. Haneul, you’re so mature.”
“…You were worse than me, you know. Well, fine, good. I was going to say that to you anyway.”
She had no intention of interfering with whatever Do Gyeonu was trying to accomplish.
If anything, she wanted to help him with all her might.
Because what he wanted was also what she herself wanted.
Thus, all she could do was act while interpreting his intentions in her own way.
She decided to maintain at least a decent relationship with Min Arin, even if it was not a good one.
Even so.
‘…This is annoying.’
She did not feel good about it at all.
The very existence of Min Arin made her uncomfortable.
Thinking that the girl, prettier and more sophisticated than herself, would spend a year in the same class as Gyeonu and work together with him as a class representative bothered her.
Moreover, she seemed as if she had been fashioned to be the exact opposite of Haneul.
Aside from the single point that they belonged to the same discipline.
Their atmospheres, personalities, tendencies, and origins were completely different.
Haneul was quiet, while she was fierce.
Haneul was timid, while she was sharp-tongued.
Haneul was introverted, while she was extroverted.
Haneul was a demi-human from an orphanage, while she was a direct descendant of the magical Min family.
They would be compared.
Yeon Haneul had a premonition that she would be compared to her for the rest of her life.
Surely, the other girl felt it as well.
Of course, the world’s evaluation did not matter much to Yeon Haneul.
What mattered to her was, above all else, Do Gyeonu’s evaluation.
As long as he acknowledged her, that was enough.
‘I should be the only mage he needs….’
In that sense, she felt a sense of rivalry toward Min Arin, who belonged to the same discipline as herself.
She did not want to lose to Min Arin.
Lastly.
“Oh, this is good.”
“Really? Then you can have mine too.”
“What? Are you sure you don’t want to eat it?”
“I’m full. So I’ll give it to you, Gyeonu. Enjoy.”
“....”
Yeon Haneul could only feel displeased by Min Arin’s behavior as she flirted with Do Gyeonu while clearly being conscious of her.
‘She’s been going Gyeonu, Gyeonu, Gyeonu, Gyeonu this whole time…. How long has she even known him to keep calling his name like that?’
On top of that, their elbows were touching.
Watching Min Arin hand Do Gyeonu her dessert, Yeon Haneul felt a surge of displeasure.
And she was angry at Do Gyeonu too, for happily accepting it without a second thought.
‘Some of us don’t even have an appetite….’
While someone else was sitting there getting desserts handed to him.
She hated Do Gyeonu.
Clueless Do Gyeonu. Idiot.
That was what Yeon Haneul was thinking when it happened.
“Haneul, you should try one too.”
“…Huh?”
As soon as Do Gyeonu received the dessert from Min Arin, he abruptly placed it on Yeon Haneul’s tray.
She had been glaring at him with intensity in her eyes, and the completely unexpected situation startled her.
Her rabbit ears shot straight up.
“I think it’ll be exactly to your taste.”
“....”
“Wow, Gyeonu, you’re so sweet! But Gyeonu, don’t you have anything for me?”
“Do you want some fries?”
“Isn’t that difference in treatment a little too much?”
“…I’ll buy you something to drink later.”
“Okay, deal!”
“....”
Letting Do Gyeonu and Go Eunbi’s conversation flow past her ears, Yeon Haneul looked down at the dessert on her tray.
Panna cotta, a pudding made by boiling cream and sugar, then setting it cold with gelatin.
She blinked repeatedly as she stared at the pudding topped with garnish.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat it?”
“If Haneul doesn’t eat it, then I will! Thanks, I’ll enjoy it!”
“No, I’m eating it.”
Do Gyeonu asked in a gentle tone.
Go Eunbi deliberately moved in an exaggerated, slow gesture as if to snatch away the panna cotta.
Coming to her senses, Yeon Haneul quickly grabbed the dish.
She scooped up the panna cotta with a dessert spoon and brought it to her mouth.
“How is it? Good, right?”
“Yeah, it’s exactly my taste. Thanks.”
Do Gyeonu chuckled.
A smile spread across Yeon Haneul’s face.
For a while, she exchanged glances with him as he sat across from her, bathed in the spring lake-light streaming in through the window.
Then she turned her gaze toward Min Arin, who was sitting beside him.
‘Did you see that?’
“Ugh….”
With a triumphant expression, Yeon Haneul spoke to her with that look.
Realizing the meaning behind her gaze, Min Arin frowned.
“I wanted to eat that too, damn it….”
* * *
At that time.
Lisa had lunch with the other students in her class to get to know them better.
After lunch, she remained in her seat and began arranging her afternoon class schedule.
‘I was supposed to make my schedule with Gyeonu and the others later…. I should message them and say I might be a little late.’
Do Gyeonu, Yeon Haneul, Go Eunbi, Yong Haerang, and the others.
She had set aside the class times she could share with the people she had met and befriended during the entrance exam.
The remaining credits could be decided when she met them in the afternoon.
After designing her schedule to a certain extent, Lisa, together with Park Sagun, helped the students choose their courses as a class representative.
At that moment, Kang Hanbyeol, who was stretching, caught her eye.
“Hanbyeol, have you finished making your schedule?”
“Ah, for now. There were a lot of classes that looked fun, so it was hard to choose.”
“If it’s all right, may I take a look?”
“Sure, here.”
“Then should I take a look too? Did you put in the class I recommended?”
Kang Hanbyeol, disciple of the Fighting Demon.
Having lived in the mountains and being ignorant of worldly matters, and having boldly declared on the first day of admission that he had entered through special admission, he was someone they had to pay attention to.
Park Sagun and Lisa, who had been asked by their homeroom instructor from the Guardian Bureau to look after Kang Hanbyeol, checked his schedule.
Before long, they were aghast.
“Hanbyeol…. Are you really planning to take all of these?”
“Hanbyeol, this is a bit….”
“Why? Isn’t it fine?”
Kang Hanbyeol’s schedule was all over the place.
There were long gaps between classes, and on some days he had only one class, while on others the classes were heavily crammed together.
The problem was that, in addition to swordsmanship courses, he had chosen courses from other disciplines as well.
Not just one, but several.
“Introduction to Hidden Weapons I, Elementary Shieldsmanship I, Introduction to Basic Magic I, Elementary Spearmanship I, Elementary Archery I, Introduction to Alchemy I…. Hanbyeol, discipline courses require specialization, so it isn’t good to try to dabble in them all like this. Since we’re first-years, we need to focus on completing our own disciplines first.”
“Yeah, she’s right. If you take classes like this, you’ll end up neither here nor there, and you won’t be able to rest properly all semester. If you want to take multiple disciplines, it won’t be too late after you’ve adjusted to academy life. For now, let’s prioritize what you’re best at—swordsmanship.”
It seemed best to remake his schedule from scratch.
Lisa and Park Sagun let out quiet sighs and decided to focus on helping Kang Hanbyeol design his schedule.
Whether he knew how the two of them felt or not,
“I can do all of them well, though?”
Kang Hanbyeol replied with perfect innocence.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss