The Villainess in the Romance Fantasy Is Strange - Chapter 65



65. Nineteen, the time to become an adult (1)

In the 21st century Republic of Korea, where I once lived, the concept of coming-of-age ceremonies has almost disappeared.

In this empire, where the custom of counting one’s age by the number of years on January 1st of each year, rather than one’s own birthday, the coming-of-age ceremony is considered a mandatory rite of passage.

Every year, everyone who turns twenty and meets the criteria for adulthood undergoes a coming-of-age ceremony, but the manner in which it is conducted varies greatly from region to region.

For example, in the north, where it is cold all year round and there are many disasters caused by demons, the coming of age ceremony is to cut down a demon’s head and show it to your parents.

The relatively mild and warm South treats the coming-of-age ceremony as one huge festival, where each person dresses up in fancy attire and spends the day showing off their charm.

“Hmm.”

Well, anyway.

I was standing in front of a flower shop, looking at the flowers. The reason was simple. Today was the day that the third-year students of Bern Academy were going to hold the ‘Group Coming-of-Age Ceremony’, a famous event in the Central Continent, so I had to buy a flower for that.

As I look around with my feet planted on the ground, I see many beautiful fresh flowers and artificial plants. However, I don’t see the type of flower I’m looking for.

“Sir, do you need any flowers?”

I was wondering where it was, so I rubbed under my chin and looked around. A woman who seemed to be a clerk walked out from inside the store and smiled at me.

“I’m thinking of buying a rose. For a coming-of-age ceremony gift.”

“Oh, roses for a coming-of-age ceremony gift? Then please come inside. Many people are looking for them, so I put them aside.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I entered the store guided by the clerk. As soon as I took a step, I thought, “Ah, this is a truly professional flower shop.” It was no wonder, because there were more types of flowers displayed outside than there were in the store.

“Here, these are all roses. Pick one and I’ll wrap it up nicely for you.”

The clerk pointed to the artificial flowers in the glass vase.

I went close to the vase and picked out the most lustrous flower.

“Please give me this.”

“Yes, the price is three pennies.”

It’s about 10,000 won. Considering that the coming-of-age ceremony is approaching and that it’s a festival period, I would say it’s a reasonable price.

“Here it is. Please tip what’s left.”

“Oh, thank you! Have a good day, sir!”

I added another penny and was handed a nicely wrapped rose and left the store. Even though it was December, the weather was quite cool and the sky was clear. I guess it would stay like this until mid-January when it really got cold.

I looked up at the cloudless sky and started walking. I wanted to enjoy this moment of leisure, but unfortunately, I couldn’t. After all, in just an hour, there was a ‘3rd year boys’ competition’ as part of the group’s coming-of-age ceremony.

You might wonder what kind of student-to-student sparring is involved in a coming-of-age ceremony, but this is a tradition of the central continent where Leah and I live. It’s like a mixture of northern and southern coming-of-age ceremonies.

They do show off their charms, but they show off their charms through a show of force through sparring… … You can think of it as a special sparring held for that purpose. The reason why it’s ‘special’ is because the grades of the third-year students have already been confirmed, so there will be no more changes in the rankings.

For reference, Leah is first and I am second. The next best is Bern, who beat Stella, and Stella is in fourth place.

“Who is my opponent… … .”

I saw the bracket, but I don’t remember it well.

As I walked, recalling vague memories, I arrived at the main gate of the Bern Academy.

I showed the student council badge to the security guard at the school gate and passed through without being searched, and headed straight to the Academy auditorium where the sparring session was to be held.

Unlike the usual days when it was bustling with students, there were a lot of outsiders who weren’t wearing school uniforms. This is probably because the coming-of-age ceremony is not an event held by each family, but rather an official event held on a grand scale at the national level.

The coming-of-age ceremony of the Empire is practically a December festival held right before the graduation ceremony, so it is bustling with people.

“Wow, there are a lot. There are a lot.”

Why does it seem like there are more people here than at the entrance ceremony?

I made my way through the crowds of people who had come to watch the show, and barely managed to reach the student waiting room.

And I asked the facilitator who was going to help me with the training to verify my identity and to keep a single rose that I had packed.

The attendant, who appeared to be a second-year student, seemed a bit nervous, but he said not to worry as he would give her some money as compensation, and went to store the flowers with a serious expression on his face.

“Well then, that’s enough of the gift… … .”

I opened the waiting room door while muttering to myself. Then I saw a student sitting there who had been given a seed as an excellent student and was waiting to cheer me on.

“……hmm?”

Correction, there were two, not one.

“Oh, Cain’s here?”

As I made a sound without realizing it, Leah, who felt the presence, turned her head.

She found me, and as soon as our eyes met, she smiled brightly. She asked for the understanding of the female student who was clinging to me and linking arms, and then ran quickly to stand in front of me.

“Where have you been? I was worried because you suddenly disappeared.”

I can’t honestly say, “I left for a moment to buy you a present…” So let’s just blurt it out.

“I’m sorry. Something came up that I need to take care of for a moment.”

“Oh, what? Was it something related to the student council?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Why is the student council making someone who is about to graduate work? They should have helped us in every way possible when we were first and second year students. Isn’t this too much? This is total elder abuse. Elder abuse.”

“… … .”

Leah must have said it without thinking, but why does it make me feel uneasy?

I thought that if I thought about it in detail, it would only make me feel worse, so I comforted her a little and sat down on the sofa in the waiting room. Then, the female student who was with Leah, Iris, the third princess of the empire, stared at me with curious eyes.

“hello.”

Chuck, Iris reached out first.

“Is this the first time we’ve met in person like this?”

“Yes, my name is Cain Reinhardt.”

Why is Iris, who is young and not even a student at the Bern Academy, here?

Iris smiled brightly as we held hands despite feeling doubtful.

“Yes, I know because I’ve heard a lot from Leah. You’re Leah’s fiancé, right?”

“… … Ah, yes.”

Everything is good, but ‘our Leah’. I don’t know why, but Iris seems to be secretly showing off the friendship between herself and Leah to me.

I glanced at Leah, wondering if it was just me who felt that way. She smiled wryly and said with her lips, ‘That’s because you like me too much, so please adjust accordingly.’

Well, it’s not hard to match them. When did Leah and Iris become so close that they walk arm in arm? I suddenly became curious and asked with my eyes.

‘Well, about two years ago? We first met at the hunting festival two years ago, and since then we’ve been talking a lot, so it just naturally led to this.’

‘ah…….’

I figured out what was going on. Iris was literally doing this because she liked her friend Leah so much.

Well, Iris is also in an environment where she can’t meet many people her age, just like Bern. Having a friend like Leah who she can talk to comfortably is precious. Plus, our Leah has a good personality and a kind heart, so when she’s around, you feel comfortable and you feel like you want to talk to her all the time.

If you become close to Leah like that, it’s only natural that you’ll feel a sense of possessiveness. I’ve been like that too, so I completely understand that feeling.

“… … Hey, Leah?”

While I was thinking about this and that, Iris, who was looking up and down as if trying to examine my appearance, gestured to Leah. She was telling me to come closer.

As Leah approached, tilting her head, Iris whispered something in my ear so that I couldn’t hear her. I don’t know if she was doing that in a place I couldn’t see, but since she’s doing it in a place where everyone can see, I’m curious. What is she saying?

As I pretend not to care but still feel nervous, I can faintly hear Iris and Leah’s voices.

─You know, Leah, your fiancé. He doesn’t look like an animal, does he? He looks quite gentle and handsome.

─… … Hey, no. Even though Cain looks like that on the outside, his personality is so violent. He’s a total tyrant. Last time, he suddenly came into my room, grabbed my wrist, and kissed me, saying he loved me… … .

From noble mtl dot com

─Gasp… … ! Really… … ?

─Yes, of course. I didn’t say anything, but my heart was so…

“… … ?”

What the. The voice was so quiet that I couldn’t hear properly, but judging from the strange keywords I heard here and there and Iris’s ‘gasp… …!’ reaction, I could tell that they were having a suspicious conversation, even if I didn’t know for sure.

Beasts, love, beds, kisses… … .

Looking at the list of unusual words, I was very curious about what kind of conversation the two of them were having.

When I tilted my upper body, the two seemed to have noticed that I was trying to eavesdrop, as Leah and Iris glanced at me before clearing their throats and changing the subject.

“Leah, when is your fiancé going to spar? Shouldn’t it be around the time the preliminaries are over?”

“Yes, we started a while ago, so it’s almost time to finish now. Once the round of 16 bracket is finalized, the event staff will come and call you.”

“Hmm, then there’s still some time left. Right?”

“Yeah, right?”

“Since we have some free time, why don’t we go for a short walk?”

“Oh, walking is good. If you walk a lot, your body will be healthy, right?”

“… … .”

Are you going to have a conversation where I, the intruder, am not around?

I’m not stupid, and I know that if I leave, there will be some really dirty conversations. So I tried to stop them from doing that by saying that I would join them on the walk.

─Excuse me. Is Cain Reinhardt here?

As luck would have it, the agent opened the door and came in. I had no choice but to get up from my seat, licking my lips.

“Yes, here it is.”

“Oh, you’re here. The preliminaries have just ended, and the brackets have been released. Cain Reinhardt is in Block A, so the Round of 16 will begin in five minutes. If you’re ready, then let’s go. I’ll show you to the stadium.”

Perhaps because I left a generous tip when I left the roses, the attendant was overly friendly.

I followed the neatly dressed agent out of the waiting room and glanced back.

“Cain, I’ll be cheering you on, so make sure you win!”

“I’ll be here cheering you on too, Leah, fighting!”

They say they will cheer you on with their mouths, but with their eyes they are urging you to leave the waiting room quickly.

What is this? It’s obvious even without looking. After I leave, the two of them will probably have a secret conversation again.

“… … .”

It won’t work.

Let’s finish this as quickly as possible and come back.