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Chapter 54
Jaeyllin cast a sideways glance at another team whose meeting still hadn’t ended.
Among the many students, she could see the familiar side profile of Stephan, chattering away with his usual enthusiasm.
He was the main culprit behind why Jaeyllin still hadn’t left the lecture hall and was lingering instead.
Since that brief conversation with Stephan right after the committee meeting, she hadn’t been able to talk to him for an entire week!
For others, going a week without talking to a friend might not mean much, but for Jaeyllin it was different. Ever since entering the academy, there hadn’t been a single day when she hadn’t communicated with Stephan.
On days when they didn’t share classes, she met him at the clubroom or cafeteria, and if even that wasn’t possible, they still chatted through the community system.
In the past, she used to bump into Stephan several times a day just in the academy hallways, but strangely, these past few days there hadn’t even been those chance encounters.
She had tried several times to strike up a conversation with him, but every attempt had failed.
Is he… avoiding me?
Just then, as Stephan turned his head while chatting animatedly with Sasha, their eyes met.
Jaeyllin smiled and raised her hand, but before she could even wave, Stephan quickly turned his head away.
It wasn’t her imagination. Stephan was definitely avoiding her.
Her hand, left hanging awkwardly, slowly dropped back down.
She thought about waiting in the clubroom until Stephan showed up, determined to talk to him somehow. Forcing herself to tear her gaze away from him, she made up her mind.
If she stayed still like this, she might end up growing distant from Stephan forever. That was the last thing Jaeyllin wanted.
She turned and started walking toward the lecture hall exit. At that very moment, Stephan turned his head back toward her. The face that had been full of excitement just moments ago was now clouded with gloom.
But Jaeyllin, already turned away toward the exit, didn’t notice.
Why?
Her shoulders drooped.
Did I do something wrong? Or did I disappoint him somehow?
Stephan would never avoid her for no reason.
Lost deep in thought, Jaeyllin walked through the lecture hall doors—so distracted she didn’t even notice Lionel leaning casually against the exit, and passed right by him.
That was something the usual Jaeyllin would never have done.
“Jaeyllin?”
Lionel called her name, but she didn’t hear, just kept walking.
Instead of calling again, Lionel quietly fell in step beside her.
What could she be thinking so hard about that she doesn’t even hear me calling her?
He noticed the faint furrow in Jaeyllin’s brows.
Hmm. Come to think of it, she wasn’t just lost in thought. Her hands, clasped together, were trembling slightly with unease.
When we parted ways in the lecture hall just a moment ago, she was perfectly fine. What happened in such a short time?
Lionel rubbed his chin slowly with his fingertips, his mood sinking for no clear reason.
Jaeyllin realized his presence much later than he expected.
Noticing a shadow fall across her face, she quickly stepped aside toward the wall, thinking she was blocking someone’s path.
But even after a while, the presence beside her didn’t fade. Curious, Jaeyllin turned her head—and was startled to see Lionel’s sweet, honey-like smile filling her view.
She froze, surprised that Lionel, who had left the classroom earlier, was now standing right beside her.
“Uh, uh?”
“What are you thinking about so deeply? You didn’t even hear me calling you.”
Lionel asked lightly, as if it were nothing serious.
Jaeyllin just stood there blankly, unable to answer. Her reactions were definitely slower than usual.
Lowering his eyes slightly, Lionel tilted his head to meet hers and gave a wry smile. Then he gently pressed her again.
“Hmm?”
“O–oh… I’m sorry. I just… I just had something on my mind for a moment…”
“Is that so?”
Lionel didn’t reveal the reason he had followed her. He simply waited in silence, wanting to hear what she had been thinking.
Normally, at this point, people couldn’t resist spilling their thoughts without him even needing to ask. But Jaeyllin was different.
Fidgeting with her fingertips, not knowing what to do, she suddenly changed the subject.
“Um… c–class ended quite a while ago, but you’re still here.”
“Yeah. I had something to do.”
He meant it as I had something to do with you, but Jaeyllin didn’t take it that way. She simply assumed he had other business here.
“Oh, I see. Well, I’ll be going now then. Take care of your work.”
As she tried to leave with a halfhearted farewell, Lionel hurriedly blocked her path and went straight to the point.
“Jaeyllin, I need you for something.”
“M–me?”
Jaeyllin pointed to herself with wide eyes. At last, she managed to pull her thoughts away from Stephan and focus on Lionel.
“Yeah. Do you have another class right now?”
“No, I don’t…”
“Then, if you’re not busy, could you spare me a little time? Do you mind?”
Normally, Jaeyllin would have been delighted, unable to hide her excitement. But today was different. She already had something she needed to do—wait for Stephan in the clubroom and somehow talk to him.
Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse Lionel’s request.
She figured it wouldn’t take long, and besides, it was nearly impossible for her to turn down someone she liked. The clubroom could wait until after.
Lionel wanted to see Jaeyllin separately because of the monster combat class.
As they walked to the training grounds together, Jaeyllin had to lay out everything she could do, down to the tiniest detail.
The kinds of schematics she could draw, the maximum amount of mana she could output, the types of designs she could execute in real combat—she revealed every last bit of her capability.
Once at the training grounds, she ran back and forth between obstacles and targets under Lionel’s instructions, again and again.
Only when her arms and legs began trembling uncontrollably did Lionel finally give her the signal to stop.
Completely drained, Jaeyllin collapsed into a chair in the corner of the grounds.
Lionel came over and handed her some water.
“Th–thank you.”
“Mm. Jaeyllin, your stamina is really… terrible.”
At his blunt words, Jaeyllin’s shoulders drooped like a punctured balloon. He had never pointed something out so directly before.
I must have been really hopeless if even Lionel-sunbae is saying this…
She felt dejected. She always wanted to show him her best side, but things kept turning out the opposite of what she wished.
Noticing her sulky expression, Lionel smiled faintly.
“It’s fine. You’ve never really trained your body, so it’s natural. Besides, you’re good at magical design.”
“N–no, I’m not…”
Though flustered, she felt as if she could float into the sky at his praise.
“Rested enough? Okay, then stand up and hold your hands out in front of you.”
Jaeyllin, confused by the sudden request, stood up awkwardly and slowly extended both hands forward—like she was being punished.
“No, not like that. Here.”
Standing opposite her, Lionel curled one of her hands into a fist, then gently wrapped his own around it.
“Push.”
His hand was warm. Jaeyllin tried to ignore his body heat as she timidly pushed against his palm.
There was no strength in her fist at all. Naturally, his hand didn’t budge an inch.
“That won’t do. Push hard—hard enough to actually move my hand.”
He spoke firmly.
“Y–yes!”
She gathered more strength and pushed harder than before, but still his hand didn’t move.
Strangely enough, Lionel wasn’t even putting in much effort.
So she threw her whole body into it, pushing with all her might.
The result was the same.
With one hand behind his back, Lionel easily held her off with just the other. He looked completely relaxed.
Why isn’t this working?
Stubborn now, Jaeyllin struggled harder, straining with everything she had. Her face flushed bright red from the effort, but Lionel’s hand remained perfectly still.
“Your physical strength is not just lacking—it’s severely lacking.”
Lionel delivered the final blow with a gentle smile.
“Your biggest problem is that when an enemy gets right in your face, you have no way to defend yourself. Of course, people like Adrian and I, who are good at close combat, are supposed to protect you—but in the upcoming exam, that’ll be difficult.”
“B–but how could I possibly…”
“I’m not saying you have to fight monsters head-on. But at the very least, you need to be able to hold out until help arrives. I’ll train you until finals.”
“O–okay…”
Her voice came out small. She could handle magical design, but building enough raw strength to face monsters? That, she wasn’t so sure about.
