Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 48.1
Several more battles broke out over the next few days.
The Transcendent known as the Necromancer did not reappear, but the tension and edginess that came with the word ‘battle’ itself grated harshly on people’s nerves.
They launched small and varied surprise attacks, as if trying to probe the extent of Acteon’s newly revealed ability.
Though the crystallization of mana was a unique trait, there wasn’t much else that stood out.
Even so, Acteon handled it all skillfully, sometimes concealing the full extent of his capabilities, other times pressuring the enemy.
Uskal, which had been poking and prodding at Tyr Platoon, or more precisely at Acteon, seemed to quiet down once they had a decent grasp of his power.
It looked like they had decided that provoking him carelessly would cost them more than it was worth.
It would be a stretch to call it a ‘feat’, but it was enough to etch the name Acteon Brondearn into the minds of the entire platoon.
Even so, Mitchel and the other platoon members remained lukewarm in their attitude.
Though they praised Acteon, they also seemed worried about something.
While reattaching Acteon’s bracelet, Mitchel offered some advice.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. These aren’t major battles, so conserve your strength while you can.”
“That’s right! Or are you that desperate for praise? I heard kids from noble families get raised real strict. If it’s affection you’re after, I’ll spoil you plenty. Aww, so cute, seriously.”
“I haven’t been pushing myself beyond my limits, so I’m fine. I don’t need stabilization yet, either. And…”
“And?”
The senior sitting next to Acteon, who had been fiddling with his bracelet, mimicked his tone.
“Stop petting me already. You’ll wear me out.”
I held back a laugh as I watched Acteon being treated like the clear baby of the group.
The cheeky seniors didn’t stop teasing him for even a second.
“Pfft, wear you out? Why? You saving that pretty face for someone special?”
“……”
“For that senior you trail around like a duckling?”
“Bansi, the kid’s about to snap. Ease up.”
“Oh, yeah? I’m scared, so I better run away now.”
Bansi was a senior who had graduated five years ago and was Mitchel’s peer from the academy.
She scurried off and then clung to me instead.
“Hehe, I’m taking your precious senior with me, you know? You’d better watch out.”
“I don’t mind. If that’s the choice senior makes.”
“Wow… Then what if I just up and kidnap her? What happens then?”
Acteon smiled silently.
Though he hadn’t done anything, Bansi let out a scream, sensing the chill.
She quickly released the arm she had looped around me, unsettled by the subtle threat.
“…Lippey, he scares me.”
“It’s okay. He listens well. If I tell him not to do something, he won’t.”
“That’s what makes it scary… I feel like my words won’t mean a thing to him…”
She grumbled that all she wanted to do was tease the baby, but she was the one getting cornered instead.
The platoon members laughed at her surrender, each throwing in a word or two while enjoying this rare moment of peace.
“Man, how long’s it been since we had peace like this?”
“Who knows. I just hope there’s no more missions or ambushes. Ever.”
Since the first day, I had been gradually adapting to the peculiar rhythms of the platoon as I ate and slept among them.
It wasn’t just that I got swept up in the atmosphere.
By blending in with the fortune-telling crowd and joining in their idle chatter, I ended up gathering a lot more information than back when it was just Acteon and me racking our brains.
Even now, it was the same.
A few people were curled up in their sleeping bags like cocoons, snoring away.
Someone else yawned and began tidying the area out of habit.
Some were doing light stretches and exercises outside the tent before jogging laps around the unit.
Others, holding frayed-edged cards, were in the middle of a game when they called out to Mitchel.
“Mitchel, you haven’t done today’s fortune yet. Come on, get the cards out.”
“What am I, your servant? Or your junior? Just ‘cause you ask doesn’t mean I have to do it.”
“Fine, don’t. But our rookies haven’t had a reading yet. You could at least do that.”
“If you’re tired of tarot, go read something else.”
“So cold. Look at us, stuck here instead of graduating like fresh-faced cadets.”
As the jeering piled on, Mitchel rubbed his forehead.
He mumbled something under his breath, and from the sound of it, it seemed like swearing had become second nature in this place. I’d better watch myself.
Not content with just teasing Mitchel, the seniors decided to drag Acteon and me into the fray like ghosts pulling people underwater.
Bansi finally hauled the two of us over and plopped us down among the tightly gathered seniors.
Mitchel, now reluctantly seated in front of the blanket, looked back and forth between me and Acteon.
“Who wants to go first?”
Acteon blinked at me with a clear gaze. What’s that about?
Lately, his fortunes really did seem cursed.
‘No, wait. It’s all because of me, isn’t it…?’
From the very beginning, getting tangled up with me after I picked a fight with the Crown Prince. That’s why he ended up here.
But maybe I misunderstood what that look meant.
“Acteon first.”
“No, please read senior’s first.”
Huh?
As we kept pushing the choice back and forth, Mitchel gave us a blank stare.
“…What are you two doing?”
“It just feels like he’s got bad luck hanging over him these days.”
“…Me?”
“Isn’t that right?”
The back-and-forth caught the attention of the seniors, who began chiming in one by one.
“Hey, are you two… no, wait. Are you dating?”
“I thought there was something going on. Is it real?”
“…No?”
What the hell are they saying.
As I stood there baffled, Bansi patted Acteon on the back.
“No? Really? This?”
“If this is what you call nothing’s going on… that’s rough. You’ve got a lot to answer for.”
“W-Wait…”
With everyone jumping to conclusions, I was at a complete loss for words.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
