I Became the Male Lead who was Clinging onto the Female Leads

TL/Editor: Raei

Schedule: N/A

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

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Everyone had left the beach.

Eustia, left alone, slumped to the ground.

A deep shadow was cast across her face.

"So I've been rejected after all."

She had confessed her feelings to Eugene, only to be turned down.

It wasn't that she hadn't considered the possibility of rejection.

After all, six days of following him had led to nothing.

Her sudden confession was a decision made in desperation on the last day.

She had hoped to start a romance by making the other party fall for her, but there hadn't been a single sign of such interest from him.

Her plan had been to initiate the relationship with her confession and then, over time, make him grow fond of her.

Having the advantage of her beauty, she had believed there was a fair chance he would accept her confession.

If Eugene had been an ordinary man, he might have dated her without truly liking her, thinking he could just enjoy the moment and then discard her later.

She was confident that the moment he accepted her confession, she would be able to capture his heart.

However, she was rejected.

There was no slow capturing of the heart; she was blocked by a wall right from the start.

"Why..."

For her, it was incomprehensible.

She might have felt better if he had rejected her for not being his type or something similar.

Standards of beauty varied greatly, and even someone as beautiful as Eustia might not appeal to Eugene's tastes.

But that wasn't what Eugene had said.

He simply stated,

'I cannot date someone I do not like.'

Such a notion was alien to her.

To her, love was merely a means to an end.

It wasn't just her; most nobles shared this perspective.

The fact that most noble marriages were arranged for political reasons left no doubt about this.

People in the world dated without love, and spent their lives with someone they didn't love.

It was paradoxical, but it was the reality.

Therefore, Eustia couldn't understand Eugene.

Although Eugene himself could not bluntly say 'I barely have time for personal training, let alone to spend on a girl I don't sincerely like,' and had instead made an excuse...

Suddenly and unequivocally, she was rejected by him.

"Life really isn't easy..."

Eustia lifted her head to look at the darkening sky.

A droplet fell.

"On my nose... Is it going to rain?"

It was strange for the island, where the flow of magic usually promised warm and gentle days, to show signs of impending rain.

“The heavens don't care.”

As the rain threatened to pour down on my already miserable situation, I felt tears welling up.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, the drops from the sky became a downpour.

As I sat there, surrendering to the cold onslaught of rain, my entire body soon became drenched, and a chilly sensation enveloped me.

It wouldn't have been surprising if I caught a cold.

'A cold? Fine.'

Eustia didn't get up.

Giving herself over to the pitter-patter of rain brought a little comfort.

Whoosh—

She lost track of time as the rain continued to fall on her, the drizzle turning into a torrential downpour.

The thickening rain lashed against her.

“It might be time to get up.”

Continuing to be soaked had somewhat lifted her gloomy spirits.

The cold now seeping into her bones made her shiver.

“Let's go back.”

Eustia slowly rose to return to her original spot.

But then, a suffocating murderous intent was felt from behind.

“...!”

Her body stiffened like stone, and breathing became difficult.

"What in the world..."

She couldn't remember ever being targeted with such malice in her life.

Only a truly dangerous entity could emit such a threatening aura.

What kind of being was behind this?

Eustia turned around.

“Screech.”

She laid eyes on a creature she had never seen before.

“What on earth is that...”

Although its full form was obscured by the rain and darkness, there was no mistaking it—a spider.

The beast's size surpassed that of any large predator, but it was unmistakably the grotesque form of a spider.

"What is going on?"

She had never seen such a giant spider before.

She had heard tales of encountering spirits in the forests of strange magical islands, but this creature was beyond her understanding.

“Screech.”

The spider approached her.

Eustia's pupils quivered uncontrollably.

She had not anticipated such danger and had not brought even a wooden sword with her.

“I have to run.”

Fleeing was the wise choice.

Eustia immediately turned and ran.

Boom!

But as lightning struck from the heavens, the murderous intent released by the spider weighed heavily upon her.

It was an overwhelmingly powerful intent, rendering her legs immovable.

“Ugh...”

Moments before, as the spider had drew closer, she had failed to sense its presence.

There was a vast gap in power between her and the spider.

But she had to escape if she wanted to live.

“Gah...!”

Biting her lip so hard it nearly bled, Eustia finally broke free from the killing intent and sprung into a run.

“Screeech!”

The spider unleashed a vile stream of purple liquid from its grotesque mouth.

The fluid arced through the air, striking Eustia's back and bursting on impact.

“Gah...!”

Agonizing pain spread throughout her body, feeling as though her muscles were seizing up.

Strength gradually drained from her legs.

‘No... this can't be happening...’

She gritted her teeth, trying to run, but her legs wouldn’t obey.

Thud.

Tripping over her own feet, Eustia fell face-first into the sandy ground.

‘Why is this...’

As the venom continued to paralyze her, her consciousness started to fade.

Her vision blurred and cleared intermittently as the spider crawled closer.

“Save... me, please...”

Tears welled up in Eustia's eyes.

“Someone... anyone... save me, please...”

With a final desperate plea, she succumbed to the pain and fear, losing consciousness.

Squeak.

The giant spider clutched her in its mouth and retreated to its lair deep in the forest.

This was all just dozens of minutes before.

On the island, the last night's feast was in full swing.

“Drink up, drink up!”

“Drink till you drop!”

“Hahaha!”

The members of the Swordsmanship Club were completely intoxicated, thoroughly enjoying high-spirited festivities.

Even the great archmage, Antonio, was no exception.

“Archmage! Please have a drink with us!”

“Drink! Drink!”

“Tsk. The farther away from alcohol, the better.”

The senior female members of the club coaxed him with their playful whining, but Antonio maintained his dignity, declining with grace.

“Just one drink then.”

He took a generous gulp of wine.

“This is... quite the fine wine! Another, please!”

His eyes widened, and suddenly, he cast aside his usual formal demeanor.

“But you said just one...”

“Quickly now!”

“...Alright.”

The problem was the wine they brought from the Swordsmanship Club—it was exceptionally fine.

The more Antonio drank, the more the exquisite wine seemed to cling to his palate, impressing him.

Giving in, he relaxed his formal stance and joined in the merriment.

“Magic is a profound yet beautiful thing! It’s like this wine, enjoyed under the magnificent night sky!”

“That’s so true, Archmage!”

“I don’t know much about magic, but it sounds impressive!”

“Hahaha.”

Antonio laughed, tipping his head back just as...

Whoosh.

An unexpected torrent of rain began to pour down.

“Oh no, not now.”

“Ah, what a disaster.”

The jovial faces around the feast tightened.

“Does this mean we have to pack everything up?”

“Let’s fold up and wait under the tents until the rain stops.”

“Haah. To end like this.”

Reluctantly, they started to tidy up the grill and other items, clicking their tongues in disappointment at the uncooperative weather.

At that moment, Antonio's resolute cry echoed through the air.

"There's no need for that!"

He rose to his feet, standing tall and immovable as a mountain.

"Archmage!"

"Could it be that you're going to use magic?"

A glimmer of hope sparkled in the eyes of the dimmed spirits of the students.

Their hope swiftly turned into reality.

Rumble!

From the ground, dozens of earth pillars burst forth, reaching sufficient height before spreading wide in the air, forming a vast canopy overhead.

All were struck dumb at the astonishing display of Archmage Antonio's power.

"Let the feast begin anew."

With a sly smile, Antonio traded his staff for a wine bottle, raising it high.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

"Long live Archmage Antonio!"

"Hurrah! Hurrah!"

Antonio, in high spirits, leaned back and laughed heartily.

---

Raei Translations

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'Everyone's enjoying themselves.'

In a corner, Eugene quietly nibbled on meat, surveying his surroundings.

Songs and dances filled the air as everyone indulged in the final feast.

Even the usually stern Antonio seemed relaxed on this last day, laughing and mingling with the students.

'Would anyone notice if someone disappeared?'

Beyond not noticing, it seemed no one would care.

'Is this an opportunity?'

A twinkle flashed in Eugene's eye.

This was the moment he had longed for.

'Time for some serious training.'

After deciding to abstain from alcohol following a meeting with the prime minister, Eugene, despite Cillian's repeated offers of wine, did not drink.

His mind was perfectly clear.

Slipping into the forest, away from the drunken eyes, was as easy as lying down and eating rice cakes.

With the torrential downpour providing cover, it couldn't have been easier to hide and move about.

'Training it is. Training.'

Eugene hadn't trained for six whole days and it was driving him to itch with impatience.

He ducked out of the feast and entered the forest, moving stealthily.

Swoosh!

Minutes into his walk within the forest, he felt the ferocity of the downpour around him.

'This should be far enough.'

In the dense forest, he found a clearing.

Shink.

Eugene immediately drew his sword.

Crack!

'And now there's lightning.'

Thunder roared and lightning struck amidst the downpour.

'The harsher the natural conditions, the better the training.'

Zzt.

Infusing his sword with lightning energy, Eugene began his practice.

Crackle!

The energy dispersing from his sword surged more violently than usual, a ferocious intensity.

'Must be the heavy rain.'

He had noticed before that during rain, the lightning energy was more chaotic.

'Does the concentration of mana influence the surge?'

Should I seek out a place with denser mana?

As the lightning energy shook and moved intensely, the difficulty of the training increased, indicating a higher quality of practice.

'Let's go.'

Eugene followed the trail of dense mana.

For those skilled in sensing mana, this was no easy feat, but for Eugene, it was as simple as breathing.

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