Book 1 Chapter 1002
“Nella! Nella!”
“Huh? Iliana, what’s wrong? It’s still a long way until our shift change.”
Nella tilted her head as she watched Iliana run towards her breathlessly.
Nella was currently running an outdoor cafe.
It was a common type of cafe in Rumern and Rumelia City, but it was a form that didn't exist in elf society.
With its unfamiliar and unique atmosphere, elf customers were constantly coming in.
Iliana handed Nella, dressed in a neat waitress uniform, a piece of paper.
“Look, there’s something like this!”
“A beauty pageant?”
Chen Xia, passing by, tilted her head.
“It seems like an event prepared by Kal! The prizes are amazing!”
“So?”
“Nella! Enter in my place!”
“Me?”
“Yeah! If Elana senpai doesn’t participate, you’ll definitely win!”
Iliana clenched her fist tightly.
Watching Iliana, Xia said,
“Isn’t Nella a good match to compete with Elana senpai?”
“No. Even so, Elana senpai feels like she lives in a different world.”
At Nella’s words, Chen Xia and Iliana subtly moved away.
“Wow. It seems like she’s saying she’s the prettiest if it weren’t for Elana senpai. Xia, isn’t that side of Nella subtly annoying?”
“I agree. I knew that naturally beautiful people often have that kind of trait, but… it really makes me feel the distance.”
“You two aren’t exactly bad-looking yourselves!”
Nella shouted at the two whispering and openly bad-mouthing her.
“Anyway, the Women’s Department will win if Nella participates! It’ll be a close match even if Elana senpai participates!”
Iliana gave a thumbs-up.
“You can participate yourself.”
As Nella said, blinking her eyes, Iliana shrugged.
“If Elana senpai participates, only you can compete.”
“If Elana senpai participates, I can’t do anything either.”
“Hey! Be confident! You can definitely win!”
“No… but still…”
“Shall we ask Duran? Duran! Duran!”
Iliana called out to Duran, who was passing by.
“What is it, Iliana Laden?”
“You know, if you compare Elana senpai and Nella, who is prettier?”
“A trivial question.”
Duran scoffed and tried to walk away, but Chen Xia pulled him back.
“Let go, Chen Xia.”
“You just need to honestly tell us what Duran thinks.”
As if a mischievous streak had struck, Chen Xia said with a sweet smile.
Duran, showing a clearly annoyed expression, glanced at Nella.
Nella nervously fiddled with her hair.
Seeing her, Duran said,
“Objectively speaking, Elana senpai has a more beautiful appearance.”
“……”
The light in Nella’s eyes momentarily vanished, and Chen Xia and Iliana flinched.
“Hmm? Duran, you think so? Iliana?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Give me the application.”
“Are you… going to participate?”
“Yeah.”
Nella took the application and left the shop.
Iliana looked at Duran with a dumbfounded expression.
“You’ve got absolutely no tact, do you?”
“I don’t want to hear that from you, Iliana Laden. And…”
“And?”
“Objectively speaking, Elana senpai is more beautiful. But in my eyes, Nella Cavne is far more beautiful.”
“You should have said that first.”
“Nella Cavne knows that Elana senpai’s appearance is exceptional, right? In the first place, at that level, appearance is a matter of taste, isn’t it? I think Nella is more beautiful than anyone else in the world?”
“Then you should have said that first!”
“Nella Cavne left before I could.”
Iliana clutched her head at Duran’s reply, and Chen Xia wore a troubled expression.
“Duran, you’re really clueless too. I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to have a proper relationship.”
“What?”
“That’s right! You might end up making Nella lose interest, you clueless prince!”
At their words, Duran’s expression turned indignant.
“Then what do you two know so much about?”
“At least we have more tact than you, Duran!”
Duran chuckled, watching Iliana say that proudly.
“Still being treated like a child by Leo Flove, huh?”
“……”
“……”
Chen Xia and Iliana’s eyes turned cold.
A chilling gaze was exchanged between the three Knight Academy students.
Just then.
Beep! Beep!
“Hey! You three! Why are you acting like you’re about to fight! You’re scaring the customers!”
Celia, on patrol, blew her whistle and approached.
Beside her was Eliza, who was on patrol duty with her.
Celia, trying to mediate, heard the situation and wore an incredulous expression.
“Are you guys idiots? Why are you fighting over something like that?”
Eliza, who had been listening quietly, sneered.
“A childish fight from the muscle-brained Knight Academy.”
“Hey. You’re not even trying to stop them… And why is the Knight Academy coming up here?”
“Did I say anything wrong? Well, students of the Knight Academy lack subtlety, so they’d be bad at relationships, wouldn’t they?”
Celia glared at Eliza, who smiled.
Iliana, with a sullen expression watching Eliza, said indifferently,
“You’re dating Kal.”
“What’s wrong with Kal!”
“What’s wrong? I thought Kal was a good guy from the moment I first saw him! But you completely looked down on him at first?!”
“Ridiculous?!”
“The noble lady of the Hergin family fell head over heels for Kal, who was just a commoner!”
“Hey! You come at me right now!”
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down.”
“They definitely don’t suit each other.”
Chen Xia calmed down the agitated Eliza, while Duran silently denied the relationship between Eliza and Kal.
“Eliza Hergin. Break up with Kal Thomas immediately. I will pair Kal Thomas with my younger sister.”
“Don’t make me laugh! I’m never giving him up! He’s mine!”
Celia buried her head in her hands, watching her classmates start to make a scene.
Other Rumern students passing by subtly averted their gazes and pretended not to see.
‘Won’t this just give Rumern a bad reputation?’
Celia looked at the elves with a worried expression.
But for some reason, the elves were listening to the conversation with faces full of admiration.
“To be so desperate to win the person they love.”
“As expected, Rumern is amazing.”
Hearing the murmurs of the Seirun students, Celia’s expression strangely changed.
‘No, to anyone who doesn’t know, isn’t this just a messy love triangle? What’s so amazing about it?’
Contrary to Celia’s worries, Rumern’s public image strangely improved.
“As expected, the race of love…!”
‘What’s this “race of love” now!’
As Celia screamed internally.
“What’s all this commotion?”
Then, a chilling voice came from behind.
A voice colder than the coldest north wind blowing in the northernmost part of the continent.
Everyone froze and turned their heads to see Professor Halind standing there.
And behind him stood Professors Sedgen and Artian.
“P-Professor Halind. Well, this is…”
Iliana said, sweating, as Halind smiled cynically.
“You, the top students of the year, are disgracing the school.”
“Uh… Professor Halind. If I may cautiously appeal, I don’t think we’ve disgraced the school yet…”
Iliana tried her best to appeal, looking at the reactions of the surrounding elves.
“Are you disagreeing with me? Iliana Laden.”
“No! We are disgracing the school! I’m sorry!”
Seeing Iliana apologize in a bent shape, Sedgen looked confused.
“What caused such a commotion?”
“Uh… it was about the beauty pageant…”
“Beauty pageant?”
Sedgen’s head tilted.
“A competition is naturally a contest.”
“Yes?”
“Hehehe. And it’s natural for the students I supervised to win, isn’t it? My supervised students are elegant!”
Sedgen proudly brought Celia and Duran to his side and put his hands on their shoulders.
Artian, watching the scene, clapped his hands.
“Ah! Professor Halind! Then, as a punishment, how about making the students participate in the beauty pageant?”
“What?! Why? Why do we have to participate in such a embarrassing competition?!”
Eliza was the first to protest.
Duran also had an unfavorable reaction.
At their reactions, Artian’s expression changed instantly.
“Huh?! So you’re saying you don’t want any punishment despite causing this commotion? Since the semester is ending, detention points are meaningless! If you don’t like it, don’t cause trouble?! If you don’t like that either, then what? Should I pat you down after a long time?!”
Artian, who had become a rod of punishment, had a chilling expression.
“That’s right! Student Celia! Prove it! Our Class 1 is not inferior in beauty, as well as grades!”
“I was just on patrol!”
“Mmm-hmm! I’ll punish you for not patrolling properly! My heart aches, but your partner, student Eliza, is also at fault! So it’s a form of collective punishment! Everything is to prove that the students of Class 1 are superior to those of Class 5!”
“That’s right. My fault is also your fault, Celia.”
Eliza dragged Celia down with her.
Sedgen, who wanted to boast about his students, actively pushed forward.
Halind crossed his arms and looked at Iliana.
“Just participating probably won’t be enough of a punishment for you.”
“It’s plenty of punishment.”
“If you don’t win, you can look forward to next year, Iliana Laden.”
“Only me?! Why!”
“Are you dissatisfied?”
“……No.”
Iliana’s shoulders drooped.
***
“So? You’re participating in the beauty pageant?”
“Hmph.”
“No, I mean, I’d be happy if the competition was exciting…”
Kal scratched his cheek.
“Speaking of which, Kal!”
“Yeah?”
“Did senpai Elena participate?”
Iliana asked with a serious face.
Then Kal shook his head.
“No.”
“Good!”
Iliana clenched her fist.
Even if winning was difficult, placing in the top ranks was definitely achievable.
‘The competitors are strong, though…’
Iliana glanced at her friends, then took out a pouch from her pocket.
“Kal, it must be hard. Please take this…”
“For the record, I’m an announcer, not a judge.”
“You should have said that earlier!”
Iliana quickly put the pouch back in her pocket.
“Anyway, do you think placing will be difficult?”
Kal shrugged.
“Why?”
“Placing is top 3, you know. There was one elf girl who was incredibly beautiful who participated. In my opinion, she’s a candidate for first place in the Women’s division.”
“What? An elf participated in this competition?”
“Quite a few participated.”
Kal showed her the list.
“The disposition of elves seems to have really changed.”
“That’s amazing. By the way, even though Nella is participating, she’s a candidate for first place?”
Chen Xia asked with a puzzled expression, and Kal nodded.
“Ah, she’s going over there now.”
At his words, everyone looked where Kal was pointing.
“What do they call that? Decadent beauty?”
“It’s probably ‘decadent,’ not ‘decaying.’ Besides, for an elf to exude that kind of atmosphere, it’s unique beyond just being pretty.”
Iliana and Celia murmured.
Meanwhile, Chen Xia’s mouth dropped open.
‘Young Master Leo?’