How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

I didn’t expect them to chase me this far! Were they eavesdropping?

Seeing Min Jae-yoon’s state, I urgently gestured to the guards who were raising their guns.

“Wait a moment!”

Just as I was trying to stop the guards, I heard something that I couldn’t ignore.

“Nahyeon is going to someone more precious to her. Yeah, no one would ever cherish someone like me anyway…”

“That’s not true.”

I immediately denied it.

I decided to ignore my surroundings. After all, what mattered right now was Min Jae-yoon.

I placed my hands on her shoulders, looked into her eyes, and spoke clearly.

“I like you.”

I had developed feelings for this soft and gentle girl while looking out for her.

So I hoped that this insecure girl would become a bit brighter.

“So please don’t think that way. Don’t believe that no one likes you.”

I could feel the boiling black energy slowly calming down.

Finally, Min Jae-yoon seemed to have completely contained her raging power. Then she said something astonishing.

“Then can’t Nahyeon just stay close to me…?”

“That can’t happen.”

That would be difficult. I have too many people I like, and I don’t want to abandon them.

Min Jae-yoon’s face twisted in distress. Still, I continued speaking.

“I can’t cut off all my relationships and live only with you.”

Upon hearing that, Min Jae-yoon hung her head low.

“…I don’t want that. I can do that, but why can’t you…?”

Then, without looking back, she dashed toward the classroom.

As I blankly watched her retreating figure, a cheerful voice suddenly interrupted.

“Teens are at a great age to build friendships!”

“Yggdrasil?”

“Hmm! I have a message to deliver, so I waited!”

A message to deliver? I had no idea what it could be. Yggdrasil said with a cheerful smile.

“You know it’s almost the field training season, right? In June. You’ll be able to meet some familiar faces then.”

“Familiar faces?”

“Yeah. They say they’ll be bringing gifts as well.”

Gifts, huh… Cash would be great for a gift. No, that’s not it.

“Can you tell me who it is?”

I’m a bit apprehensive about running into a con artist, but it can’t be a scammer, right?

***

“Not a chance! By the way, the gift is a surprise!”

Tch.

I had to return to the classroom feeling somewhat uneasy.

In the classroom, Min Jae-yoon was slumped over her desk, sniffling.

Should I comfort her warmly as ‘Kang Nahyeon,’ the character I’m playing, or whisper sweet words saying that I’m only here for her? I thought about it but decided against it, as it seemed like I would be toying with her emotions.

“Min Jae-yoon.”

If my appearance and words towards her were all lies, and she found that out, I felt like she wouldn’t trust people anymore.

Min Jae-yoon is a child who gives her all in everything. If I promise something, she would definitely do her best to hide my true nature.

“Let’s talk during lunch.”

So that should be fine.

At least with one person, I should be able to show my true self.

Min Jae-yoon slightly lifted her head to look at me, silently nodding. I absentmindedly fiddled with the Holy Ring again.

Thus, the class time filled with silence passed by.

“What… what’s wrong?”

What surprised me was that Min Jae-yoon spoke to me first.

Min Jae-yoon hesitated, making eye contact with me, then looking down again, repeating the same action.

“I have something I want to say about our conversation earlier.”

I led Min Jae-yoon to a nearby training ground.

This training ground, made specifically for the focused surveillance inspection team, was smaller than a training facility but was very sturdy.

I grabbed a drink from the vending machine and handed it to Min Jae-yoon.

“Why did you think I would abandon you?”

As soon as I brought it up, Min Jae-yoon’s magical energy started to ripple.

It’s okay. This is a training ground. No one is going to get hurt.

“W-well… it’s because Nahyeon has too many precious people…”

“That’s not a reason to abandon you.”

“I-I’m the kind of person who gets thrown away easily.”

It seemed like Min Jae-yoon didn’t hear my words as her magical energy began to swirl violently.

“So please cherish me the most.”

Tears started to stream down Min Jae-yoon’s face.

“Just let me be by your side. I’ll give you everything. So, so….”

I took a deep breath and spoke firmly.

“Once again, that’s not possible.”

More strongly.

“I’m sorry, but my family is too important to me—no, they are the most precious people to me.”

For a moment, Min Jae-yoon was silent, then she asked weakly, her eyes filled with emptiness.

“Then what if you don’t have a family?”

The dark magic began to thicken, wrapping around the training ground.

“If your family disappears, does that mean I become your first?”

I heard a crackling sound from somewhere. An abandoned drink can rolled on the floor, making a clanging noise.

“If you try to kill my family, I will do everything I can to stop you.”

“Why?”

That was not a question looking for an answer.

“Why…?”

Min Jae-yoon mumbled like she was going mad, curling up.

“I thought I finally… finally made a true precious person!”

She buried her face in her knees for a while. Then, when she lifted her head again, she was surprisingly smiling brightly.

For a moment, I hesitated at that crazed smile.

“I thought of a good way. If we die together… Nahyeon will be mine forever, right?”

In contrast to her innocent smile, the dark magic began to go berserk.

Crack!

Chunks of the training ground started to fall towards the ground. I dodged the falling debris. Fortunately, the Holy Ring activated its power, and Min Jae-yoon’s attack didn’t affect me.

The problem was… Min Jae-yoon’s punches.

Min Jae-yoon’s class is a Berserker. She enhances her body through Berserk and fights on the front lines.

What that means is…

“Ugh!”

As a sniper, I am at a significant disadvantage.

I quickly dodged Min Jae-yoon’s attacks and created distance.

I couldn’t afford to get hit even once. Her physical strength right now is S+!

But dragging it out into a long fight is impossible too. Her stamina is also S+!

“Min Jae-yoon!”

This is how her original specs are; it’s like a scam artist trying to coax someone into a trap!

“Can you hear me?”

I shouted at Min Jae-yoon, but she just smiled and murmured as if she couldn’t hear me.

It was far scarier than reading it in text, making my knees weaken involuntarily.

“Instead, you should have just kept hiding… you should have kept hiding!”

Thick tears were flowing from Min Jae-yoon’s eyes as she approached me.

“Without me knowing! So I wouldn’t find out!”

“I will!”

With those words that seemed to scream out in rage, my voice had risen without me realizing it.

Bang!

A bullet deflected the debris heading toward Min Jae-yoon’s head.

Min Jae-yoon looked at me in surprise.

“I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to deceive you and use you like a fake.”

I looked into her eyes and spoke clearly.

“Yeah. I have many precious people. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t precious.”

Min Jae-yoon’s magical energy swirled, reflecting her turbulent emotions.

“Even if I make other friends, it doesn’t mean we aren’t friends. To become someone else’s precious person, you don’t have to be their best.”

“But if I don’t give my all, if I’m not the only one in their eyes, who would love someone like me?”

“You’re not just ‘someone.’ You’re more than lovable.”

Min Jae-yoon hesitated.

“But I can’t control my strength, I’m weak….”

“You’re not weak. And even if you were weak, that wouldn’t be a reason to be hated.”

As Min Jae-yoon shrank back, her magical energy gradually dispersed.

“Still… I can’t believe it….”

“I’ll stay by your side until you can believe in yourself.”

I was ready for that.

At my words, Min Jae-yoon began to cry like a child. The madness that had once been on her face disappeared, replaced by a gentle, lamb-like demeanor.

Approaching me cautiously with outstretched arms, Min Jae-yoon hugged me tightly and said,

“It’s a promise.”

“Yeah.”

But…

“You can’t break it… or I’ll… chase you to the ends of hell….”

“Y-Yeah.”

Her grip was a bit too strong, Jae-yoon….

But unlike her strong grip, her magical energy transformed into something gentle.

Her magic, which had been like rough, unrefined wood, gradually rounded and gathered closer to her with each breath she took beside me.

Yes. Min Jae-yoon had managed to control her magic at the end of her rampage.

Realizing this herself, Min Jae-yoon looked at me in astonishment.

“Nahyeon, I can control my magic…!”

At those words, I smiled widely.

It was a success.

“That’s great. By the way, don’t you think we need to get out of here quickly?”

When I pointed awkwardly at the broken ceiling, Min Jae-yoon seemed to finally notice the disaster she had caused.

“Ah, wh-what should we do…?”

“Let’s go.”

Even in that moment, Min Jae-yoon had no intention of letting go of me; she held me tightly as she moved.

Due to the immense magical energy she had released earlier, the training ground was almost in ruins, with debris falling from everywhere, but I didn’t get a single scratch.

Min Jae-yoon wielded her dark magic skillfully to protect me.

However, while she expertly knocked away larger debris with her magic, she simply pushed away the smaller ones with brute strength.

She was just swatting them away with her bare hands. She’s really tough. I couldn’t help but laugh.

And outside the training ground…

“Have you arrived?”

There was Yggdrasil.

I didn’t know when she had come, but she was casually leaning against the entrance.

“Ah, hello….”

“Hello.”

Yggdrasil strode over to us and patted Min Jae-yoon’s shoulder, brushing off small fragments and dust.

“I was planning to save you if things got dangerous, but you’ve done better than I expected!”

If you came, you could have helped us out sooner… No, knowing Yggdrasil, she probably would have just watched, thinking it was all part of youth! Part of training! I suppressed a sigh that was trying to escape.

“Hmm! Since the training ground has collapsed, it’ll be hard to train on your own, right?”

Huh?

I felt a sense of foreboding as I looked at Yggdrasil, who was beaming with excitement.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll help you with your training!”

No way.

“Oh, are you not busy?”

Despite her words, Min Jae-yoon seemed unable to hide her joy at Yggdrasil’s offer to help with training.

Don’t be happy. Yggdrasil’s training is hell itself. Well, the results are definitely significant, though…

“Um… the ones I’m currently overseeing have practical exams in the morning, so you could train in the afternoon, right?”

“But we have theory classes in the afternoon as well…?”

“Ahem. I’ll see what I can do through negotiations… or, rather, throwing a fit.”

“Really?”

“Hmm! Just trust me!”

“Wow!”

Anyway, I was finally going to have an exciting training session with Yggdrasil after a long time.

I was excited.