Chapter 114

“Joy will be a pro member, and Eddie will be a regular member.”

That was the result of the Plameus admission test as announced by Kylie.

Exactly as expected.

Eddie pressed down the corners of his lips to keep from showing his satisfaction.

Joy was also trying hard to hide her joy.

As a result, both of them had a strange expression that didn’t look happy.

But Kylie didn’t mind and continued to ask them.

“Will you accept the results? The choice is now yours.”

One might have passed as a pro member but want to enjoy it only at a club level.

One might have passed as a regular member but have the heart of a player.

Therefore, the final decision to join was up to the applicants.

And Eddie and Joy’s answer was, of course.

“Yes, we accept.”

An affirmation.

* * *

The next day, a notice was posted on the notice board within the academy grounds.

The notice stated that two new members had joined Plameus.

The campus was abuzz all day with the somewhat sudden and surprising news.

The names of Eddie, Joy, and Plameus were constantly on the students’ lips.

And naturally, the news became a rumor, and the rumor gave birth to speculation.

“He’s on the verge of being expelled, and now suddenly Plameus? Hah, his intentions are so obvious.”

“He’s probably just trying to find some foothold within the academy. After all, Kylie Penrose is in Plameus.”

“If that’s really the case, he’s a fool. That move shows he doesn’t understand the Penrose family’s customs at all.”

“That’s about the extent of what you can expect from a street orphan.”

Most of the speculation was about Eddie.

And it all started from the mouths of the Kirhausen faction.

They looked at Eddie with even more disdain and inflated the speculation as if it were fact.

On the other hand.

In the case of Joy, who had applied with Eddie, the atmosphere was generally one of understanding.

The sports clubs had an established tradition of accepting anyone who was physically capable, regardless of their status.

Besides, Joy had already been showing a tendency to distinguish herself as a commoner.

It was only natural for her to try to join Plameus, an organization as influential within the academy as the student council.

It wasn't entirely positive, but since it was within expectations, there was no dramatic backlash either.

‘This is why this admission plan, at the very least, has no downsides.’

Eddie thought as he walked through the stinging gazes.

Fortunately, Kylie had made the expected decision without any surprises.

With this, Eddie had secured an opportunity to confirm Kylie’s intentions.

There was no reason to approach her hastily.

‘Even regular members have no restrictions on using Plameus facilities. A chance encounter disguised as a coincidence can be arranged at any time.’

If Kylie becomes wary of him, then he can use the backup route, Joy.

If it comes to that, Joy’s eloquence will be the key, but Eddie trusted her, who had been working hard all this time.

This operation was certainly satisfactory in many ways.

Eddie swallowed a smile as he passed the common room and went up to his room.

He threw his things roughly on the desk and threw himself onto the bed, feeling a dull muscle ache.

Eddie let out a small groan and massaged his arms.

A dull pain that was nothing compared to the pain from Rakan’s Claw fragment.

Still, it had been so long that the feeling was all the more unfamiliar.

‘Leo was right. I should take up Rancross seriously, if only for rehabilitation.’

He had to at least pretend to play Rancross to approach Kylie anyway.

So he thought he might as well work hard at it, not just pretend, and give his disciple less to nag about.

Just as he was thinking that.

Tap- Taptap-

A small noise came from the window.

Eddie turned his head to identify the source of the noise and lightly flicked his finger to open the window.

Then, Leodimir’s paper bird, which had been tapping on the window with its beak, flew in and landed on Eddie’s hand.

The paper bird unfolded itself and returned to its original form as a letter.

Eddie watched it for a moment, then briefly averted his gaze.

His gaze was directed at the spot where Marcel’s bed used to be.

‘Now that he’s gone, there’s no need to hide my communication with Leo.’

After a brief, newfound sentiment, Eddie read the letter.

The content of the letter was simple.

Congratulations on successfully joining Plameus with Joy.

And a request to work hard at Rancross as part of his rehabilitation.

And in the postscript, there was information about the General Student Council meeting scheduled for a week later.

The General Student Council meeting was something that had been decided while Eddie was lying in Corkis.

That was why Leodimir seemed to have been worried that Eddie might not know about it.

Worrying about his health, worrying about his work.

“You seem to be very worried about this immature master of yours, Leo.”

Eddie smiled faintly and folded the letter.

Unlike Leodimir’s concerns, Eddie was fortunately well aware of the General Student Council meeting.

The secret was none other than the grade-level notice board he had installed in the common room.

Eddie frequently checked the notices posted on the board as he passed through the common room, and among them was one about the General Student Council meeting.

‘A week from now, he said.’

The General Student Council meeting was not something to worry about right away.

So Eddie pushed the thought of the General Student Council meeting to a corner of his mind for a while.

Then he closed his eyes and rested for a bit.

Eddie finished his rest around the time the sky turned red with the sunset.

Eddie did some light warm-ups in his room and then headed to the Rancross practice field.

The muscle pain in his arms and legs was still stiff, so his steps toward the practice field were not very willing.

But how could one live doing only what one wants?

Especially in this life, where there were so many tasks to do.

He couldn't afford the luxury of dividing things into what he wanted to do and what he didn't, like in his past life.

* * *

And so, Eddie visited the Rancross practice field every day after school.

And he really did his best, holding a racket and sweating while playing Rancross.

From right after classes ended until the lights-out time when the field closed.

Despite his clumsy movements, without a hint of doing it half-heartedly, Eddie practiced Rancross as hard as the pro members.

And the Plameus members who watched him gradually let down their guard.

At first, they had been wary of Eddie because of the rumors they heard.

They heard he had joined to use the sport they enjoyed for political purposes, so there was no way they could see him in a good light.

But that thought changed after watching Eddie for a few days.

Eddie approached it with sincerity, as if he had joined because he was genuinely interested in Rancross.

He didn't try to approach Kylie as the rumors suggested, nor did he try to make connections.

He just came, practiced Rancross diligently, and went back, day after day.

And so, six days passed.

Now, Eddie was being accepted as a member of Plameus, both internally and externally.

Of course, the pro-Kirhausen faction continued to spread the opinion that it was a political move, looking at him with disdain, but his steadfast consistency brought about weariness even in the response to such opinions.

Now, no one looked at Eddie with surprise even when he carried a Rancross racket.

Ignoring the surrounding reactions with his usual aloofness, Eddie stayed at the practice field until lights-out time today as well.

Pang-! Pang- Pang-!

Now, his form when striking the glob was quite natural.

It was still at a poor level compared to the pro members, but thanks to his hard work over the past few days, he no longer felt any muscle pain.

Eddie smiled, imagining a very pleased Leodimir.

‘At this rate, I can avoid the nagging at the next meeting.’

Pang!

Another smash.

Finally letting go of the racket, Eddie looked at the ‘house’ on the opposite court, filled with globs.

Then he looked around at the empty surroundings once more.

It was right before lights-out, so there was no one in the practice field.

Eddie decided to practice just one more time before leaving.

“Hoo…”

He picked up the last glob and readjusted his grip on the racket.

And just as he was about to toss the glob into the air.

“You need to bend your knees more.”

A voice flew in, pointing out his posture.

Eddie froze in the posture he had taken to throw the glob.

Not because he was surprised, but because of the thrill that ran down his spine.

The six days of playing a game of nerves, pretending to be indifferent while doing an exercise he had no talent for, had paid off.

Eddie managed to suppress the trembling corners of his lips and waited for the coming meeting.

Step, step, step-

The owner of the voice walked towards Eddie.

And a moment later-

A Rancross racket, customized in red, came swooping in towards Eddie’s chest.

Following that, words pointing out his posture were heard.

“Your upper body is too far forward. You need to straighten your back more.”

Eddie caught a glimpse of the name engraved on the red racket out of the corner of his eye.

‘Kylie Penrose’

Eddie silently corrected his posture as Kylie adjusted it.

Then, at Kylie’s signal, he smashed the last glob.

Pang-!!!

With a distinctly different impact sound than before, the glob shot into the ‘house’ like an arrow.

Swoosh-!

Unlike the other globs, the last glob was lodged in the deepest part of the ‘house’.

Seeing that, Kylie let out a hollow laugh.

“If I hadn’t corrected your posture, you would have done it with the wrong posture until the very end.”

“I suppose so.”

“When I saw you during the test, it didn’t seem like it was your first time playing Rancross. Don’t tell me you were deliberately acting to get my attention?”

Finally, Kylie threw a question at Eddie.

The suspicion that other scions were slowly letting go of, she still held.

Eddie, thinking her thorough, answered obediently.

“Half right and half wrong.”

“What?”

“I wasn’t acting like I couldn’t do it. I’m really not very athletic. But it’s true that I was trying to get your attention, senior.”

“Why were you trying to get my attention?”

Direct answers and questions were exchanged one after another.

And while Eddie was choosing his words, the lights in the practice field turned off as it was lights-out time.

Now, Eddie and Kylie were subject to demerits according to the school rules.

But that wasn’t important to either of them right now.

No, rather, considering the conversation they were about to have, being in a state of deviance was more fitting.

Eddie and Kylie faced each other in the darkness.

It was Eddie who spoke first.

“Before I answer your question, let me say this first.”

“Go on.”

“I joined Plameus to approach you, senior.”

“I already know that. Probably the whole student body knows.”

“Still, I thought it would be better for the person himself to admit it rather than hearing it from others.”

“That’s true. So, the answer to my question earlier? Is that going to be an obvious story too?”

“No, this will be a bit different from what you expect.”

Kylie gestured with her head as if to say, ‘go on.’

“During the last midterm exam, you showed a favor to the commoner children, including Joy.”

“A favor? Ah, you mean lending this practice field for the mock duel exam?”

“Yes. The reason I decided to join Plameus was because of that favor from you, senior.”

“What does that…”

Kylie tilted her head as if she didn't understand.

Eddie continued to explain.

“I thought you might have been showing interest in me, who had lost his affiliated family, through Joy.”

“……”

“So I wanted to approach you, senior, to find out your intentions. Plameus was the method for that.”

“……”

Having finished his explanation, Eddie waited for Kylie’s reaction.

Kylie looked at Eddie with an enigmatic expression without a word.

But it wasn’t long before she burst out laughing and said.

“Hahaha- Wow… I’ve experienced all sorts of approaches, but this is a first.”

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