Chapter 36: Redheads don’t die! (2)

The duel between Hyunwoo and Yushin was set for lunchtime.
Until then, it was decided that Yushin would be in charge of Selena’s safety.
Naturally, Hyunwoo protested, but Yushin declared he wouldn’t duel otherwise.
From Hyunwoo’s perspective, who wanted nothing more than to crush Yushin immediately, he had no choice but to back down.
However, Yushin’s mind was already elsewhere, not on Hyunwoo.
This was because he recalled the middle-aged man from his dream who had warned him of this situation.
‘Could it be that the one called the Sage is attached to this guy?’
‘But I don’t sense any sign of it.’
I can’t be sure just from his current appearance.
I’ll find out one way or another once the duel starts.
So, until then, I should decide on the members for the duel.
“I should go.”
“Athena and Yuri should go.”
“Alright, I’ve been wanting to land a punch on that guy too.”
Of course, even if we were “deciding” on the members, there were only two people available to go.
Hayoung was too weak to participate.
On the other hand, the opponents were strong enough to be in Class A.
It would be tough for Hayoung, who had the power of an average Class C student.
Hayoung knew this as well, so she didn’t insist on joining.
But she couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
‘If I were stronger, could I have been of help to Yushin?’
Hayoung didn’t hide her vexation.
If only I were a little stronger, or even if not that.
If I had a special power, I’m sure I could have been helpful to Yushin.
But for now, there was nothing she could do.
*
News of Yushin’s duel with Hyunwoo also reached Seolyeon’s ears.
However, Seolyeon surprisingly didn’t go to see Hyunwoo, but came to find Yushin instead.
“I heard the news.”
“That you’re dueling the red-haired guy?”
“That’s right. And he’s not ‘the red-haired guy,’ he’s Hyunwoo.”
“You know him?”
“Mm, he’s my younger brother.”
What kind of trick is this now.
Yushin was dumbfounded.
Is she trying to pressure me by revealing he’s her brother?
Like, if you win this duel, you’ll get nothing from me?
“So, are you asking me to go easy on him?”
“No, I came to tell you there’s no need to hold back.”
“Huh?”
“Everyone knows that Hyunwoo is my younger brother.”
However, Yushin’s prediction was wrong in a good way.
Seolyeon, on the contrary, urged Yushin not to hold back and to fight him properly.
The reason was simple.
Through this incident, she had finally realized that Hyunwoo was running wild.
She didn’t know the full extent of what he had done, but it was clear that he wasn’t in his right mind.
Therefore, she hoped Hyunwoo would come to his senses before it was too late.
Perhaps sensing her wish.
Yushin, after a moment of thought, nodded.
“Even if you hadn’t said anything, I was planning to go all out.”
“That’s a relief.”
“But isn’t he your precious younger brother? Is it okay to ask for something like that?”
“Truly caring for someone means pointing out their faults clearly.”
Seolyeon answered Yushin’s question resolutely.
Perhaps, because she had been too lenient with Hyunwoo until now.
He might have ended up going astray because of it.
‘I hope he comes to his senses after this.’
After that, Hyunwoo had been completely avoiding meeting with Seolyeon.
This came as a significant shock even to the steadfast Seolyeon.
My own brother is avoiding me?
Could it be that the way I’ve been guiding my brother has been wrong all this time?
Is that why my brother is avoiding me?
Thanks to this, Seolyeon was at a loss, unable to do anything.
How can I lead the disciplinary committee when I’m like this?
Seolyeon gave a self-deprecating smile, but for now, she had no solution.
She could only place her hopes in Yushin.
“So? What’s the plan?”
Yuri couldn’t care less about Seolyeon’s feelings; she was only focused on winning the upcoming duel.
It wasn’t just that she disliked Hyunwoo for hitting on her.
More than anything, she also had a desire to prove her own worth in this fight.
However, Yushin and Athena themselves weren’t thinking much about it.
This was because no matter what happened, they didn’t believe they would ever lose.
But the nature of their thoughts differed from each other.
“We have me and Athena. We could win this with our feet tied behind our backs.”
“There are no tricks in a sacred duel. We will simply fight fair and square and win!”
“….”
Yushin was, to put it nicely, brimming with confidence, and to put it bluntly, showing an arrogant attitude.
Athena, on the other hand, said the duel itself should be enjoyed.
It was only natural that Yuri, the closest one to a normal person, was getting a headache.

Finally, lunchtime arrived.
Naturally, the training ground was packed with students who came to watch.
If there was one unchanging truth from ancient times to now, even as mountains and rivers changed.
It was that watching a fight is entertaining.
Moreover, Yushin, whether for good or bad reasons.
Was a student who was a hot topic at the academy.
Despite having been a quiet student during his first year and even until the middle of his second.
He suddenly awakened and reached S-Class, the highest at the academy?
Of course, he was bound to become a topic of discussion.
Thanks to this, Hyunwoo was relatively overshadowed.
This became another reason for Hyunwoo, who already disliked Yushin, to hate him even more.
Yet Yushin himself had no interest in fame.
‘There is nothing as vain as fame.’
Yushin had experienced many things in the fantasy world.
Like a famous adventurer turning out to be a fraud, or even his own hard-earned reputation collapsing in an instant.
Thanks to that, Yushin developed a habit of taking things with a grain of salt when fame was involved.
On the other hand, Yuri, still lacking experience, wore a tense expression.
She didn’t know about that guy Hyunwoo, but the two girls next to him were quite strong.
‘’Iron Arm’ Meyna, and the illusionist Hopran… both are famous for being strong.’
The small-statured girl with light green hair was famous for a sturdy body and immense strength that didn’t match her frame.
It was no wonder she even earned the nickname ‘Iron Arm’.
“Can Athena really win?”
“Why?”
“Her opponent is ‘that’ Iron Arm.”
“Is she famous?”
“Among the second-years, she’s considered the strongest in terms of physical ability alone.”
If Selena is the strongest in terms of firepower, then that girl is said to be the strongest in physical ability.
In other words, I can see her as a physical-type version of Selena.
Yushin narrowed his eyes.
‘Indeed, this is no ordinary match.’
As proof, that girl named Meyna withstood one of Athena’s attacks.
Of course, she was making a face like she was about to die after taking that one hit.
However, this wasn’t because Meyna was weak.
It was simply that Athena was too strong; Athena was a demigod.
And at the same time, one of the heroes who had saved countless kingdoms.
To withstand such a blow from Athena, even if it wasn’t at full power.
The very act of enduring it was incredible for a student.
Yuri shouted with a surprised expression.
“No way! That Meyna is being pushed back in a contest of strength?!”
Yuri’s reaction was probably the typical one.
It’s common knowledge that a Servant is usually weaker than the Hero they’ve contracted with.
However, there was a reason for this.
The Servants, or monsters, that contract with Heroes usually form contracts with those of their own class.
Naturally, there’s no reason for them to contract with and help someone weaker than themselves.
Of course, there are occasional oddballs who make contracts for certain reasons, but those are extremely rare cases.
One cannot generalize based on such a few cases.
‘Kgh! So strong!!’
The small-statured girl with light green hair, Meyna, used both her arms as a shield to block Athena’s attack.
But even that couldn’t block the full force of the blow.
She was continuously being pushed back.
In fact, Meyna was objectively quite strong.
Among the academy’s second-years, there were few who could defeat her in a head-on battle.
What was more terrifying was the fact that she hadn’t even achieved ‘Flowering’ yet.
This was because Hyunwoo had twisted the main scenario, preventing her from growing at all.
Meyna.
In the original main scenario, she was an experimental subject born into her family as a test subject.
Unaware that she was a test subject, she was living an ordinary life when.
One day, after seeing Yushin fight on without giving up.
She became interested in him.
She was originally like an empty can with no emotions.
But by being with Yushin, she came to know the emotion of joy and slowly began to grow like a human.
Of course, it wasn’t just happiness; hardships came along as well.
It was a story where she grew by overcoming them with Yushin.
But because of Hyunwoo’s prior intervention, Meyna lost the chance to overcome adversity and grow.
[You broke everything by yourself?]
[Yes, because I don’t want to see you get hurt.]
[I see, thank you so much.]
Hyunwoo stepped up and solved all the problems by himself.
He belittled Yushin’s methods as frustratingly slow, but because of that.
Meyna lost her chance to grow.
“Impressive, but you are still very lacking.”
“….!!”
Had she grown and achieved ‘Flowering’, she might have been able to hold on to some extent.
But the undeveloped Meyna was ultimately no match for Athena.
Kwaang!!!
Meyna, who had barely endured up to the second attack, had her guard broken by Athena’s subsequent punch.
It was an expected result.
A flower raised in a greenhouse is bound to lack resilience.