Vol 3. Chapter 86: How Many People Do You Plan to Reel In?

Just as Vinny was thinking, Shicodale’s hand pressed down on his shoulder from behind and brushed past him.

This was the sort of thing Vinny figured he’d have to solve himself. Why? Because in a situation like this, chances were his teammate wouldn’t be able to help at all.

So when Shicodale suddenly clamped a hand on his shoulder from behind, Vinny was that shocked—because this was completely unlike anything Shicodale would normally do.

Then Vinny thought of a possibility.

“I bet you two, from this moment on, won’t get a single point.”

Shicodale’s lips curled. Those almond eyes that were usually full of soft autumn water were now overflowing with a sharp, predatory, in-your-face grin.

What the hell?!

Vinny’s eyes went wide.

That tone—so familiar yet so strange.

Don’t tell me... Black Shicodale just logged in??

Vinny sucked in a sharp breath.

What the hell is going on? How did Black Shicodale suddenly come out? It’s not like Shicodale’s facing some life-or-death crisis right now. It’s just a points-hunt with no mortal danger...

“Oh?”

Faced with Shicodale’s sudden change, the two Imperial students were shocked too. After all, they were in the same class; everyone had seen what Shicodale was usually like. To put it bluntly, this moon elf who looked as delicately pretty as a girl was timid as a quail, and extremely introverted. Aside from talking to his roommate Vinny and fellow-elf Milian, he barely interacted with other classmates at all. If someone took the initiative to talk to him, he’d stammer and then look to Vinny for a cue.

He was basically Vinny’s little tagalong. Other than being pretty and refined, he seemed utterly useless.

On a normal day, aside from thinking he was good-looking, everyone just saw him as a harmless mascot: no sense of threat, no real strength. If not for his ridiculously high looks, he’d just be a complete nobody in class that no one even noticed.

Good-looking, sure—but unfortunately, a boy. Though that did attract a certain niche crowd with... particular tastes.

All in all, everyone thought he was just a non-aggressive mascot. So what he was doing now truly stunned these two Imperial students, who were relatively familiar with Shicodale’s usual temperament.

Especially that aggressive expression on his face—even though they hadn’t talked much to him before, they still felt that this expression did not belong on Shicodale’s face at all. The contrast was huge; there was a weird sense of dissonance. But if they tossed out their fixed impression of him, it actually felt... pretty fitting.

“Hahaha, Dale, I thought you were usually the shy, steady type. Didn’t think you liked talking big this much.”

After a brief daze, one of the Imperial students joked, clearly not taking it seriously.

“Exactly. Normally you blush and stammer like a little girl, so how come now you’re spouting big words without blinking?” the other chimed in.

“Talking big? Hehehe. You two stupid humans—I’ll make the afternoon version of you regret what you just said.”

Shicodale’s smile was delighted, his words dripping with absolute confidence. It was enough to make the two Imperial students wonder if they’d never really known what Shicodale was like before—and this was him showing his true colors.

“Sure, then we’ll see who’s laughing at the end.”

Of course, they didn’t believe it. They didn’t think this mascot Shicodale could actually do anything to them. At the end of the day, they just couldn’t believe this usually invisible, doormat-looking little pseudo-girl had any earth-shaking ability.

And even if he did—so what? The competition rules clearly said students were forbidden from attacking each other. Violating that would cross Carillian Academy’s red line. At best you’d be expelled, and if injuries or deaths occurred, you’d be put on trial.

Hurting the innocent was a major crime anywhere.

“Hey, Dale...?”

Vinny wanted to speak but hesitated. He had no idea what to call the other right now. Calling him “Classmate Dale” like he did with the normal Shicodale felt off—but he couldn’t exactly call him “Black Shicodale” to his face either, right??

“Shh.”

Before Vinny could step forward, Shicodale turned around. His scallion-white forefinger pressed lightly under Vinny’s chin as he said, utterly relaxed, “Leave it to me. You just stay quiet on the side and watch.”

“Uh... huh?”

Vinny had no idea what to say.

Then he watched Shicodale walk up to the two Imperial students, head tipped back, gazing up at them with a meaningful look.

“Wh–what are you doing...?”

For some reason, both Imperial students felt their hearts clench. This dainty, overly pretty moon elf was clearly shorter than they were, but his aura was overwhelming, completely smothering the two of them.

“Don’t forget the competition rules. If you dare lay a hand on us, our magic cards will sense it immediately, and the instructor will rush over!” one of them warned.

But like this, they just looked like prey driven into a dead end, putting on a last show of bluster in a corner.

“Don’t be so tense.”

Head tipped back, Shicodale’s mouth curved. “You were just talking such big game a moment ago. How come you’ve suddenly turned so cowardly now? Is that what a ‘real man’ looks like?”

“W–who says we’re not?! And you’re the one who looks the least like a man here, okay, Mr. Moon Elf?” the Imperial student shot back. “We human men are way more manly than you effeminate elf men!”

“Is that so?”

Shicodale flicked his hand. Two things that looked like seeds flew out and landed on the Imperial students.

“You—what did you just do?!”

Seeing this, they instantly tensed. “You broke the rules! I’m reporting this to the instructor—you attacked other students!”

“Come on, Mr. Self-Proclaimed Manly Human, don’t be in such a rush.” Shicodale chuckled. “Which eye of yours saw me attack you?”

“You just cast a spell on us! How is that not an attack?!”

The Imperial student scrambled to check his own status, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t find where that seed from before had gone.

That spooked them. People said elf magic went a different route from human magic. Human spells were mostly straightforward destruction, but elf magic came with all kinds of annoying effects. Once it latched on, it was hard to shake.

“I did cast a spell. But it wasn’t an attack spell. I didn’t hurt you, and I didn’t restrict your freedom. In fact, what I cast on you just now was a protection spell.”

Shicodale arched a slim brow. “That’s not an attack spell at all. The rules only say you can’t attack other students. They don’t say you can’t cast buffs and protection magic to keep your classmates from getting hurt, do they?”

“Protection magic... a buff spell??”

The two Imperial students looked at each other, eyes wide.

“Yup. You two will understand the effect soon enough. It’s purely protective magic.”

Shicodale said that, but with his arms folded, his chin tipped up, and that arrogant, bad-intentioned smile on his lips—it was very hard to believe him.

“We don’t want any protective buff magic. Cancel it right now, or we’ll report you to the instructor and get you disqualified from the competition!” one of them said, extremely on edge. “You seriously violated the rules!”

“Report me. I’m waiting.”

Shicodale grinned. “Once they run the checks and find out it’s not an attack spell at all, what do you think the instructor will do if you’re the ones making false accusations? Maybe cancel your qualifications instead?”

“You—”

The two pressed their lips together.

And honestly, that line from Shicodale did manage to shake them.

“I already told you—it’s a protection spell. It’s my care and concern for my classmates. However you look at it, it doesn’t count as ‘attacking’ a student. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and walk a few steps. You’ll know soon.” Shicodale smiled.

Unlike Aesphyra’s calm, effortless, elegantly confident smile, Black Shicodale’s smile was wild and domineering. Compared to the stammering Shicodale from before, it was like two extremes.

“Vinny, forget about them. Let’s go.”

Once he’d explained, Shicodale didn’t bother with whatever those two Imperial students were thinking or what their expressions looked like. He grabbed Vinny and left.

Before this, Vinny had always been the one to take point. Now, their roles had reversed—Shicodale was the one leading.

“Wait! You elf—did you put some kind of curse on us? Cancel your spell right now!” one of the Imperial students yelled after them.

“I already said, it’s not a curse, it’s a blessing. And you honestly think I’d want to bless you forever? Dream on, self-deluded humans. Ugly faces and dirty thoughts. I feel like I’m wasting magic just spending even a sliver of mana on you. This blessing lasts until the end of today at most.”

Shicodale gave them a mocking once-over, flicked his ponytail, and turned away.

“So... what do we do?”

Once the two of them had gone far, one Imperial student lost his nerve.

“What else? We follow them.” the other snorted. “Whatever that moon elf says doesn’t make it true. He doesn’t have the guts. We’re absolutely going to steal their points today. What can they do about it?”

“Exactly. Our rankings are below theirs anyway—they can’t challenge us, but we can piss them off. That’s called being in an unassailable position, got it?”

“Right, right.”

It was just an assessment, sure, but it still counted toward the year’s aggregate score. The weighting wasn’t huge, but as long as they got to disgust Vinny, they’d call that a win.

On the other side, in a patch of bushes—

Smack!

Shicodale gave Vinny a light shove, pinning him against an old tree.

“—What?!”

Looking into those eyes—so familiar, yet now full of feral aggression at this distance—Vinny was still a little dazed.

He really hadn’t expected that one day he’d get tree-pinned by Shicodale.

“Long time no see, human. Miss me?”

Shicodale grinned, tilting his head, the question coming out with a wicked edge.

“Uh... l–long time no see?”

Vinny figured he had to say hello at least, but he had no idea how to do it right.

“So, Dale... oh, wait—Black Dale. How’s Dale doing? Why’d you suddenly pop out?” Vinny asked.

“Oh? After such a long time, your first sentence is asking why I popped out?”

Shicodale clicked his tongue.

“N–no, that’s not what I meant. I mean, it’s not exactly life-or-death right now...”

“Tch. And since when am I only allowed to come out at ‘life-or-death’ moments? Did you set that rule?”

Shicodale gave him a sidelong glance.

“No.”

Vinny had to admit, Black Shicodale’s aggressiveness was insane. Every sentence shut him down.

“That little idiot really wants to help you, but he can’t. I couldn’t stand watching anymore, so I came out.” Shicodale explained. “Also, I figured it was about time I showed up again.”

“Huh?”

Vinny clearly didn’t get the second half of that.

“Tsk, human—you’ve been playing it pretty wild, huh? It’s not just that unfathomable silver-haired green-tea circling around you. You even reeled in the Tyrel Empire’s princess. Exactly how many people are you planning to flirt with before you’re satisfied?”

Shicodale laughed coldly.

“I—I didn’t flirt with anyone.”

“Don’t lie. You think you’re fooling ghosts?”

Two fingers lifted Vinny’s chin, and Vinny instantly didn’t dare talk.

“Don’t think that just because I’m not around, you can do whatever you want. Got it?”

“I—”

“Shut your mouth.”

Shicodale bared a smile full of predatory intent. “That little dummy can’t see it, but you think I can’t? You really dare to play dumb with me. You think your behavior gets past my eyes? Yours—and those two human women’s—I see right through all of it.”

“At the end of the day, we’re all women. We all know what the others are thinking.”

“You’re my prey. Got that?”

“......”

Vinny honestly didn’t know what to say to that.

Okay, he knew Black Shicodale existed to protect Shicodale, but the aggression was really off the charts. And he seemed... a bit unhinged.

“So, what exactly did you sprinkle on those two back there?”

Vinny had no choice but to change the subject appropriately.

“Oh? You want to know?”

Shicodale chuckled.

“Uh, it’s not that I’m dying to know. Maybe we should hurry up and go hunt instead? Our points are still at zero. We can’t really go back with a goose egg, right?” Vinny suggested.

“No need. That’d be redundant. We just have to wait and coast. We’ll end up with a very respectable score this hunt.”

Shicodale smiled.

“Huh? Really? Why?”

Vinny still didn’t get it.

“You’ll understand soon enough.”

Shicodale’s voice was meaningful. “Those two idiots are going to pay for their behavior very soon.”