Male Lead, Don’t Push, Pull! - Chapter 24

 

In his department, it was not uncommon to encounter people with violent tendencies.

 

Kyle wanted to keep Vivian safe, as far away from such dangers as possible.

 

After all, she was the daughter of the Marquis de Rosiere, the man in charge of the military affairs of the Empire.

 

Kyle’s head was filled with these thoughts about Vivian on the night of the courage training.

 

There, Lionel Blackfill, the leader of the upperclassmen, called out loudly, “So, is everyone here?”

 

He was a seventh-year student and the president of the swordsmanship student council. His skills and personality earned him the respect of the other students. It went without saying that the professors trusted him.

 

The new students lined up in front of Lionel.

 

Kyle stood at the front.

 

Currently, the only people here were the new students who had just started and the seventh and sixth years, including Lionel.

 

The absence of the eighth-year students was understandable. They were all busy preparing for graduation and rarely showed their faces.

 

But Kyle found it suspicious that the other grades were nowhere to be seen.

 

Maybe, as Vivian had said, they were all hiding in that mountain to bully the freshmen.

 

Would that mean Franz was up there too?

 

“Whew.”

 

Kyle sighed at the thought that something annoying was about to happen.

 

Once everyone had gathered, Lionel called out, “Looks like everyone’s here. Now, I’m going to tell you what you need to do tonight to become a true student of the Swordsmanship Department. I’m only going to tell you once, so listen carefully.”

 

“Yes!”

 

“What you must do tonight is simple: climb this mountain and bring back the mark at the top. There will be someone waiting to hand out the marks, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.”

 

Kyle looked up at the mountain behind him.

 

The sun had already set, and the mountain was bathed in dark silence.

 

“We’ll move in teams of two. I’ve already assigned the pairs, and since we have an odd number of freshmen, the last group will be a trio.”

 

Kyle checked his group. Sure enough, his group was last.

 

The people he’d been placed with were people he’d only said hello to once in passing.

 

That was until Franz began targeting him and instructing him in reckless training exercises; after that, they quickly avoided him, lest they come under fire themselves.

 

“Oh, hey….”

 

As if on cue, the two men looked reluctant as Kyle approached them. They said hello, but there was a nuance of reluctance. Kyle just nodded nonchalantly.

 

“Now, one of you from each group, come forward and take this.”

 

Lionel had another student hand out one balloon per group. Kyle took the balloon.

 

Balloons of all colors floated in the air.

 

As the freshmen flicked the balloons with their fingers, Lionel spoke to them.

 

“Give these balloons to your seniors who are waiting for you at the top and they will hand out marks in return. So here’s the question, what should we do with them until we get to the top?”

 

“You have to be careful not to pop it.”

 

“Yes, that’s right, if you pop the balloon, you’re automatically eliminated, so protect it well. Of course, if you lose it, you’re also eliminated, and then you’re out.”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Let’s go.”

 

The young students assigned to groups began to walk out towards the dark mountain.

 

Some looked excited about the adventure, the others looked terrified.

 

Within five minutes, one after the other, they entered the mountain.

 

Kyle waited patiently for his turn.

 

“Argh!”

 

About thirty minutes later, he heard a scream from deep in the mountains.

 

Birds flew in and out of the silent mountain where darkness fell.

 

The students who were waiting for their turn swallowed hard, and the upperclassmen giggled at the sight.

 

“Something terrible must have happened.”

 

“Eek! Help!”

 

“Ugh, again.”

 

The upperclassmen were thoroughly enjoying the plight of the freshmen.

 

As time passed and more freshmen entered the mountain, the intervals between screams became progressively shorter.

 

The remaining ones were now just shivering.

 

Kyle wondered what the hell was up there that was causing the screams.

 

Nervousness was evident on their faces, especially those who had been paired with Kyle.

 

“Okay, last team. Your turn.”

 

Lionel gestured for them to move in.

 

The others, except for Kyle, couldn’t seem to find their feet.

 

They rolled their eyes around, searching for help, but there was no way the upperclassmen would acknowledge it.

 

Finally, Kyle spoke up.

 

“I’ll lead the way, and you can follow behind me.”

 

Taking a deep breath, Kyle headed up the mountain without a second thought.

 

***

 

Hiding behind a rock, I peeked my head out and looked around.

 

Nope, no one’s around.

 

Shivering, I rummaged through the backpack at my side. I pulled out a sandwich I’d packed from the canteen for a quick dinner. It was my favorite tuna sandwich.

 

“A-are we allowed to do this here?” Daniel, who had followed me, asked nervously. He looked like a frightened rabbit.

 

As I nonchalantly pulled the wrapper off my sandwich, I tilted my head.

“Huh? What?”

 

“You said that the Swordsmanship Department is holding a courage training today. Is it okay for us other students to be there?”

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. That’s why I didn’t eat dinner and came early for fear of getting caught.” I waved my hand dismissively.

 

But Daniel’s expression didn’t lighten, as if to say that it didn’t matter.

 

In fact, he wasn’t even in my plans.

 

‘Vi, Vivian, good evening.’

 

I bumped into Daniel as I passed by the front of the restaurant.

 

We chatted for a while, and then I realized it would be more fun if he came along, so I offered to take him along.

 

“Where are we going?

 

“Hehe, it’s a secret.

 

That’s how Daniel ended up following me all the way to the mountains without knowing anything.

 

Of course, now he seemed to regret following me a little.

 

“But Vivian told me that the seniors from the Swordsmanship Department would be here in a little while.”

 

“Yes, I did.”

 

“If we get caught, we’ll definitely get kicked out.”

 

“Oh, no, don’t worry. I’ve thought of everything.”

 

“But… ub!”

 

I shoved the sandwich into Daniel’s mouth as he continued to chatter.

 

Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise.

 

“Is it good?”

 

Daniel nodded slowly, his mouth full.

 

I knew he’d like it. From what I could tell, our academy had the best tuna sandwiches.

 

“Once you’re done eating, I’ll tell you the plan.”

 

We sat side by side and began to eat our sandwiches.

 

Apparently in a hurry, Daniel ate his sandwich in a rush. Then he waited patiently for me to speak.

 

Ugh, that’s a lot of staring.

 

Eventually, I gave in to the unspoken pressure and finished my sandwich.

 

After clearing the trash, I pulled something out of my bag.

 

“What’s that?” Daniel asked curiously.

 

“This is what we’re going to wear. Just wait. … and voila!”

 

I pulled out a white cloth.

 

A white cloth with round eyes drawn on the face and a smiling mouth underneath!

 

That’s right. Today I was going to play a ghost.

 

The novel I was possessing was a ropan novel written by a Korean. So, I realized that even events like courage training are a figment of my imagination based on Korean experiences.

 

The rule of thumb for courage training was to dress up as a ghost to scare your opponent.

 

I chose to dress as a ghost because I knew I would be found out quickly if I showed my entire face.

 

Dressed as a ghost, I will sob as I dance the hula.

 

“What do you think, do I look like a ghost?”

 

“No….”

 

Daniel was needlessly cold. I pouted my lips.

 

Of course, I wasn’t going to stop just because he objected. I caught him off guard and pulled the same ghostly outfit over his head.

 

“Ah, Vivian!”

 

“Come on, don’t do that. I don’t know because I can’t see properly in the dark anyway,” I chided him.

 

“Ha, but my seniors told me that people in the Swordsmanship Department are very fierce, so if we get caught, we could be in real trouble. Come on, let’s go down together,” Daniel pleaded pitifully.

 

“Eh, it’s okay, don’t worry….–”

 

“–Hey, what are you guys doing?”

 

An unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted the argument.

 

Daniel jumped in surprise and saw two people in light training clothes behind him. They were students from the Swordsmanship Department.

 

“Who are you guys and why are you in our area?”

 

I quickly scanned their faces.

They were tall, as most of the Swordsmanship students were, but judging from the fact that they had a strangely youthful look about their faces, they were probably in their second or third year.

 

That was good.

 

I lowered my voice as best I could and mimicked a gruff voice.

 

“You guys? Now, the young ones are trying to win over the seniors.”

 

Daniel let out a muffled scream at my provocative remark. His pale face was a sight to behold.

 

But it was also a brilliant choice.

 

Both of them flinched back in response.