How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

Aside from the rare stationary gates, this was probably the only way to the top.

If the scammer had known this precious key was here, he would’ve surely told me to grab it. But since he didn’t, it was clear he had no idea about it either.

But an item the scammer doesn’t know about? That game addict?

“No, I want to take this.”

In this world, “keys” are incredibly valuable items, as the scammer mentioned when he obtained the Beastman tribe’s key. In the original novel I read, keys were often central plot items.

So, this key would likely be useful somewhere. Better keep it.

After gathering the items, I bowed my head to the inner part of the warehouse.

“Thank you.”

As soon as I left the gate without hesitation, the gate where the fox’s warehouse had been disappeared instantly, as if it were an illusion. Now, only the full moon was reflected in the lake.

Feeling like I had just awoken from a dream, I walked along the icy path back to the group. It felt surreal, but the items in my hand confirmed it was real.

“Welcome back.”

The scammer, who had been pacing, quickly ran over to me.

“Here, the will-o’-wisp!”

When I handed him the will-o’-wisp, he swiftly stored it in his inventory. Was it that important of an item?

I don’t know. I’m too tired to care.

The zombie chase and the encounter with that mysterious creature had drained my energy.

“You did well.”

“Welcome back!”

“You made it back safely~!”

“……”

I greeted the waiting club members, ignoring the scammer as usual.

Ihana didn’t say anything, but she silently waved in welcome.

When the members asked what I had brought back, I showed them the fox-tail tassel and the key.

As I explained about the key, I only mentioned the fox’s blessing.

The scammer muttered, “Was there something like that…?”

From that, it seemed clear this was an item that didn’t appear in the game.

After finishing our conversation, we dragged our tired bodies back to conclude the noisy night.

Of course, the scammer had to take a lot of scolding from everyone.

“That was dangerous.”

“Yeah.”

“Seriously, why did you give Nahyun something so dangerous~?”

“You should’ve kept it yourself!”

“…It was inevitable.”

The sad part was that, amidst all this, I had to pretend to have forgiven him and defend the scammer.

“Stop it, everyone! I’m fine!”

Go on, keep it up!

Damn, it felt like customer service all over again!

And the next day.

“I’m sorry!”

I was bombarded with a storm of apologies.

“I must have been possessed by something! I’m really sorry!”

As soon as we entered the classroom, the former human zombies lined up to apologize. A lot of people visited us.

They confessed their crimes, saying they didn’t know why they had done such things, and left gifts of apology.

One of them, who had handed me a strange letter, even wrote a letter of apology to make up for it, but I politely declined that.

No, they had just been used by the scammer. They didn’t need to go that far.

“It’s okay.”

I decided to use this as an opportunity to boost the scammer’s reputation.

“If you’re really sorry, could you take good care of our Yoo-han?”

“Are you my mom or something?”

The scammer, sitting next to me with a slightly flushed face, grumbled but didn’t refuse. Clever guy.

And so, after a long time of apologies, peace finally returned.

And then came exam season.

The midterm exams consisted of both theory and practical tests, with a few days of rest between them.

So, we stopped training for a while and started studying together.

By the way, Ihana had also joined us for training at some point. The scammer was pleased. You happy?

Anyway, during the study sessions, the one struggling the most was…

“Hmm… This is a tough question even for us.”

Me.

I should mention that I’m a government-supported awakener. Even though I have knowledge of the original novel, the information I know is highly specialized.

Meanwhile, the scammer, with his full-blown nerdiness, turned out to be the best at grasping the theoretical aspects of the exam.

You happy? You gaming addict.

As everyone else seemed to be on track for high scores, the study sessions gradually became more like tutoring sessions just for me…

What surprised me the most was that Ihana turned out to be unexpectedly good at explaining things in a way that was easy to understand.

“So, this happened because of the decline in the awakener society.”

“I got it!”

She usually didn’t talk much and seemed like the type to focus only on her own tasks, but she was quite proactive when it came to teaching.

Sometimes, when the scammer would pat my head, or when Choi Su-jung would pinch my cheeks, or when Na Yoori would hug me tightly, I’d notice Ihana quietly watching. It almost seemed like she wanted to do the same.

…It must be my imagination, right?

Anyway, thanks to the tutoring from my clubmates, my knowledge gradually increased.

I was getting confident enough to brag to the kids at the orphanage that I now understood the world of hunters quite well.

While I was reviewing stories that might interest the kids later, I smiled a little.

Back at the orphanage, I was the one teaching them. This was a refreshing change.

Studying together without having to struggle alone was actually kind of fun.

And so, I safely passed the theory exam.

On the day of the theory exam, we decided to skip training and go hang out at a café instead.

As we sat in the café, we began to check our answers.

My score wasn’t bad. While I couldn’t match the others, who were all top-tier students, it was still decent. Really.

“Wow, amazing!”

“You did well.”

Na Yoori always cheers me on, but it’s rare for the scammer to compliment me or for the seniors to say nice things, so I blushed a little.

The answer-checking session soon turned into a half-teasing, half-complimenting session focused on me. I realized this must be how Dum-dum felt before.

“Nahyun, here.”

Just when my face had flushed enough for Dum-dum to silently offer me a cold drink, pressing it against my cheek, the praise finally stopped.

…I felt embarrassed, but oddly enough, it made my heart feel warm. I tried to put on a calm smile again.

At that moment, Dum-dum, who had been staring at me for a while, mumbled,

“…Sometimes it’s okay to relax.”

“Huh?”

“You seem too tense.”

“Because of the exam? Is it that obvious?”

“…”

Yeah, I’ve been stressing out over the exam. Part of it is the pressure to do well.

And there’s a big event coming up soon.

I smiled brightly at Dum-dum and said,

“Got it. Thanks. Let’s do our best together!”

“…Yeah.”

Dum-dum silently turned his gaze away and put the exam papers back in his bag. After the answer-checking session, we chatted about random things.

By the way, ever since the incident with the marble, Na Yoori had barely spoken to the scammer.

Even during study sessions, there was a weird sense of a barrier between her and the scammer.

Today was no different, as Na Yoori only asked,

“You used to drink only espresso, didn’t you?” when the scammer ordered a caramel macchiato.

“Yeah, well… I just, you know, like sweet stuff nowadays.”