Chapter 23. Elise is a Heroine

Chapter 23. Elise is a Heroine

----------------------

『A side quest has been transmitted.』

[The Start of Socializing Begins with Conversation]

Elise is a very particular character.

Engage in a conversation that suits her tastes for at least 30 minutes!

- Reward: Small increase in Elise’s affection. Random stat +1

----------------------

I spoke to Elise, who was fixated on her smartwatch.

“That’s unexpected.”

“...What is?”

“You don’t seem like the type to do this. The PR Department sounds like a hassle.”

Elise’s daily routine is [attend school, study, train, go home]. I understand that she needs to grow stronger for the sake of her home country’s guild, but she even avoids socializing, leaving her with few close acquaintances.

And yet, she joined the PR Department? This would only interfere with her routine.

“Hmph. Listen well. It’s not that I hate hassle, I just hate wasting my time.”

“Hmm. I think I get it.”

“I don’t want to waste my time hanging out with classmates who are of no benefit to me, wandering around cafés for hours just for a sweet dessert, or scouring malls for pretty clothes.”

“Ah, so then what about the PR Department?”

So, she dislikes anything that takes away from her self-improvement. Then why did she come here?

“Why are you asking something you already know? Of course, it’s because of President Moon Surin. She’s Korea’s most promising talent. Isn’t that the same for you? You seemed pretty close to her earlier.”

Elise thinks I joined for the same reason—networking with Moon Surin.

“We’re close, but I didn’t join for connections.”

If I had to be honest, I joined because I wanted to seduce the Student Council President.

“That’s a common excuse.”

Elise turned her head, as if she had lost interest in the conversation.

Seriously, this rude girl... I need to hold back. I have to endure.

But, damn, a beautiful girl acting all haughty is kind of attractive.

She acts like this because she knows she’s pretty.

I’m not criticizing her—looks are a part of one’s abilities too.

I just learned something useful from Elise.

Seeing her act like this, I think I should be a bit more reckless myself.

Anyway, this conversation isn’t going well.

To clear the quest, I need to talk about something Elise is interested in. She looks bored.

But that’s okay.

No matter how exceptional she may be, Elise is still my heroine.

“Do you know much about cocktails? I’ve taken an interest in them lately.”

Twitch.

Elise’s ears twitched. She acted indifferent, but she was listening.

“A new cocktail bar opened in the academy’s shopping district. Their gin and tonic is amazing. They use premium gin, top-quality tonic water, and, for the first time ever, magic ice. The freshness is incredible.”

“...Where is that?”

Elise was hooked.

Honestly, I already knew her preferences, so this quest was never going to fail.

I remember everything about Elise’s route.

Cocktails, books, movies, classical music—I know all of her hobbies.

“... Gin-based cocktails are the most refined. Some old folks consider it cheap liquor, but nothing can match its distinct aroma and crispness.”

“Surprisingly, we have similar tastes.”

“I used to drink a lot of Pink Lady and Singapore Sling.”

“...I liked those too.”

We ended up chatting for over 30 minutes.

Elise kept pretending she wasn’t interested, but the system message didn’t lie.

『Quest Complete!』

Elise must have enjoyed our conversation.

*

I stepped out of the PR office, heading back to the dormitory.

Elise, as soon as our conversation ended, went straight to training.

“Are you leaving now?”

“Yeah, I have things to do.”

As I was leaving the Student Council room, Moon Surin called out to me.

“Now that you’re in the PR Department, we’ll be seeing each other more often.”

She flashed a bright smile. No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t just a friendly smile—it was filled with affection.

... I was sure of it now.

Moon Surin. This scheming noona.

She created the PR Department just to bring me into the Student Council. Since bringing me in alone would look strange, she also added a pretty first-year girl.

That girl was Elise.

The butterfly effect is terrifying.

I met Moon Surin earlier than in the original storyline, at the café.

Because of that, she started liking me sooner.

Since her traumas haven’t developed yet, she’s much more proactive in approaching me.

She formed the PR Department to recruit me into the Student Council, and to make it seem natural, she brought Elise in as well.

Ah, my head hurts.

‘... It should be fine, right?’

This wasn’t in the original story, but Elise wasn’t a major figure in the club arc anyway...

It should be fine. Yeah, it should be fine.

There’s no turning back now. On the bright side, I’m building connections with the heroines, so it’s a win.

“See you next time, noona.”

“Mm, take care, Hoyeon.”

Moon Surin only calls me by name when we’re alone. Since I also call her “President” in public, it’s fair.

Leaving behind her smiling face, I exited the Student Council room.

I needed to wrap up today’s tasks.

The last thing on my list was submitting my application to Lucy’s social club.

But where was Lucy? She’s probably with Lumi, so I should contact Lumi.

Lumi’s number was saved in my smartwatch, so I opened the hologram interface and sent her a message.

Me: Lumi, are you with Lucy?

Lumi: Yes, why?

Me: I want to apply for the social club. Did you finish the paperwork?

Lumi: Uh… There’s a bit of an issue…

Me: What issue?

Lumi: Um, could you come to our clubroom? It’s Room 205.

I had a bad feeling about this.

Taking the elevator to the second floor, I turned the corner and knocked on the door to Room 205.

“Come in...”

Inside, I saw Lucy looking completely deflated.

“Lucy, what’s wrong? Did something happen to the club application?”

“Well… yeah, kind of. We got the clubroom, and we had a faculty advisor, but then the Student Affairs Office suddenly rejected us, saying there was an error. Then our advisor also backed out. What do we do now?”

Seeing such an energetic girl like this made me want to help her even more.

Well, I was going to help anyway.

“Did anything happen that could have caused this?”

“No, we met all the requirements—clubroom, advisor, a simple social club name, and the minimum three members.”

“Hmm...?”

Then there shouldn’t be an issue.

Wait a minute, those three minimum members include me.

“Just to be sure, the three members are you, Lumi, and me, right?”

“Yeah… you’re not backing out, are you? Nooo, if you leave, our club is doomed…”

Lucy clung to my arm, sobbing, begging me not to abandon them.

She was small, so she wasn’t heavy, but in that position, my hand accidentally brushed against her chest.

However, despite the sensation, my mind was preoccupied with other thoughts.

I had been questioning things about the club since this morning.

There was the strange incident with the Fishing Club, the Club President avoiding me at all costs, and the rejection of our Social Club application.

At this point, even I couldn’t ignore the signs.

And I had a strong suspicion of who was behind it.

The Magic Research Club.

They clearly had a grudge against me, and given their influence, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were pulling strings behind the scenes.

----------------------

『A side quest has been transmitted.』

[Help Lucy and Lumi Establish Their Club!]

There seems to be something shady going on with the club registration process!

Help Lucy establish the club!

Reward: Increase in Lucy’s affection. +3 Random Stat Points

----------------------

The moment I realized this, the quest was transmitted.

As expected, something was definitely up. But even without the quest, I would have helped them anyway—so this was basically a freebie.

“Lucy, remember what I said? Think about how useful it would be to have the Student Council on your side.”

“H-Huh? You’re not abandoning us?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll fix this.”

“Oh!”

“Let’s go to the Club Affairs Office.”

“Okay! Got it!”

The Club Affairs Office was on the 16th floor, just below the Student Council on the 17th.

Since clubs played a huge role in the academy, many students were constantly coming and going to file paperwork and establish new clubs.

Spotting a female student just exiting the New Club Registration office, I approached her.

“Excuse me, did you just register a new club?”

“Y-Yes? Oh, um, our club is just a small hobby club with my friends, but if you really want to join, I could... kick someone out...?”

“No, no, hold on. Relax.”

“Oh... okay.”

I had learned from Elise how to leverage a good-looking face, but I was still clumsy at it.

Elise would have definitely gotten more out of this girl.

“How long did it take you to get approval for your club?”

“Oh, I just filled out the form, submitted it, and got approved on the spot.”

“I see. Thanks.”

Leaving the girl behind, still staring at me, I turned back to Lucy.

Something was definitely off. If the paperwork was correct, it should have been approved.

I walked over to a student handling club applications at the desk.

Fortunately, this time, it was a guy, so I didn’t have to deal with any flustered reactions. He did, however, look at me with clear disdain.

“Hello. I’m here regarding a new club registration.”

“Do you have the necessary documents?”

“Here. It’s a social club with my friends.”

“Alright, let me check... Oh. I’m sorry. The documents are fine, but for some reason, the system is registering an error. We can’t approve it today. Please come back tomorrow.”

“...”

What a lazy excuse. This was the exact same paperwork that had been rejected earlier.

I had resubmitted the same documents just to test this, and sure enough, I got the same response.

After the initial rejection, Lucy had told me that the faculty advisor also suddenly backed out.

This meant that if I entered the exact same documents into the system, the records should show a prior rejection.

But the guy had just said there was no issue with the documents, only that there was an error? Sure, errors happen, but his expression was way too forced.

“You rejected us last time citing an error, and now there’s another error?”

“Yes, that’s how it is.”

“Can I try entering it into the system myself? Something seems suspicious.”

“I already told you no. If you keep pushing, I’ll call a Student Council officer.”

“I am a Student Council officer. Who exactly are you planning to call? Go ahead, let’s see what happens.”

“What? Uh... well...”

There was a reason I was pushing this so hard.

I wasn’t 100% certain, but someone was deliberately blocking me.

Now that I had revealed my Student Council status, only one person from the Club Affairs Office could realistically interfere further.

“Cadet, maybe you should calm down? Aren’t you being a little excessive as a new member?”

Right on cue, the person I was waiting for arrived—the Club Association President, the same guy who had avoided eye contact with me earlier.

I didn’t know his name, and I didn’t care to. I’d just call him Club President.

“Hello, Senior. Our club application has been mysteriously rejected multiple times.”

“It seems like there was a system error. As a Student Council officer, I’ll do my best to resolve it. Please be patient.”

He put on a pleasant smile, but I could see it.

Behind that smile, he was mocking me.

For now, I should back off. I needed to prepare.

Arguing more right now would only put me at a disadvantage.

I had until Friday. As long as I solved this by then, it would be fine.

Once again, Elise was right.

If I had no connections, I would have been completely powerless in this situation.

It was time to put my network to use.

And from now on, I should listen to everything Elise says. Her instincts have never been wrong.

*

After finishing her training, Elise boarded the luxury foreign car waiting at the academy’s main entrance for her dinner appointment.

“You’ve worked hard, young miss.”

The middle-aged man waiting in the driver’s seat spoke to Elise familiarly.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Did today’s training show any progress? Lady Irene back home has been quite worried.”

“You brought up my sister just to piss me off, didn’t you?”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t dare entertain such a disrespectful thought.”

The middle-aged man handed Elise a water bottle with a faint smile.

“As if she has anything to worry about. Ugh, forget it.”

Elise had a deep-seated trauma regarding her sister, Irene, who had tormented her since childhood. The way Irene used to snatch away Elise’s toys and cherished belongings just for her own amusement was still vividly ingrained in her memory.

One of the reasons Elise had chosen to study abroad at Victoria Academy in Korea was to escape her sister’s shadow and find freedom.

“I heard you joined the Student Council. Impressive as always.”

“It’s nothing. They just picked me for my looks.”

“What do you think of this cadet, Lee Hoyeon? You’ll be working closely with him in the PR department.”

Gulp.

Elise, exhausted from training, quenched her thirst before responding.

“He is good-looking. He seems talented, but… something about him feels off.”

“Why? From what I hear, he sounds like your ideal type.”

Glare.

At the teasing remark, Elise threw the water bottle, but the man caught it with a smirk.

“Hmm… It’s nothing specific.”

“Maybe he’s just a thug. Thugs always try to act proper, but you can tell when you know what to look for. Back in my day…”

As the man rambled about his past exploits, Elise’s mind drifted elsewhere.

There was something she couldn’t bring herself to admit.

From a young age, Elise had been showered with praise and envy for her overwhelming talent and beauty.

Maturing quickly, she realized that people’s jealousy and criticism often stemmed from their own inadequacies. Knowing she was superior, she rarely let it bother her.

However, there were only two instances where she had felt genuine irritation and jealousy towards someone her age.

One was Nam Daeun, a cadet at Victoria Academy in Korea.

Elise couldn’t understand why the gods had granted such overwhelming talent and combat prowess to that girl instead of herself.

Her lack of manners and antisocial personality made her all the more annoying.

The other was Lee Hoyeon.

It wasn’t jealousy. His talents weren’t the kind she would envy, as they were in entirely different fields.

But for some reason, he irritated her.

Their conversation had been enjoyable. It felt like she had met someone who truly shared her tastes.

From cocktails to books, movies, and even classical music—they had found endless common ground.

Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was toying with her from above.

He spoke as if he knew her inside out, and annoyingly, his words were often right, leaving her without room to refute him.

When she tried to glare at him in frustration, she found his face annoyingly appealing, making it even harder to be mad.

She was undeniably irritated, yet unable to express it as anger. Instead, she was left with a strange, vaguely pleasant yet frustrating sensation.

“Back in the day, they used to call me ‘Bloodstorm.’ Whenever I appeared, the place would be soaked in blood…”

“Enough. Just stop. I’m starving—let’s just go eat.”

“Tsk. Fine. We’ll head to your usual restaurant.”

“Yeah. And for dessert, let’s go to the cocktail bar called ‘Emilia.’”

“Where’s that? I’ve never heard of it.”

“... Just go.”

“Aye, aye.”

When Elise fully closed her eyes and crossed her arms, the man gave up and started driving.

‘Ugh, what is this feeling?’

Elise hadn’t realized it yet, but she had already fallen into the heroine’s trap.

Chapter end