I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy

I had a very biased and negative perception of parties, but others didn’t feel the same.

There was someone right in front of me who showed interest in the party.

“Party…”

Seo Ga-yeon looked at me with eyes full of expectation.

Since most women were crazy about parties, I could understand her feelings.

‘Because it’s England.’

To be honest, I was somewhat looking forward to it as well.

My prejudices and preconceptions were based on Korean parties. Since England had a noble culture, it might be okay.

“Let’s try on some dresses or suits from our family.”

“Frankly… I always think your clothes’ fit and hanger appeal are excellent, but why do you insist on wearing those ragged clothes, whether they’re gym clothes or hoodies?”

“I don’t particularly cling to them, and they’re not ragged…”

I just kept them around because I liked the shapes and colors.

“If you wear clothes carelessly with that face, they look ragged. So, how many sets of those do you have?”

“About three sets each for top and bottom…”

“Huh.”

Ershil gave a laugh of disbelief at my excuse.

“Anyway, this is a party. I’m not one to fuss over formality, but given the venue, I have to be formal.”

As she said this, Ershil’s eyes sparkled.

“A suit… white might be nice.”

“With your fair skin and child-like complexion, white would harmonize well with your black hair.”

The maid next to Ershil looked at me with shining eyes.

“It would be good to trim your hair too. If you rely only on your natural looks and just go around like that, you’ll regret it later.”

“I… I’m about to become a transcendent being…”

“How about makeup?”

“Basic makeup is enough. Your skin would look darker with more.”

But my words were ignored.

The two women were discussing how to dress me up.

“Black would suit you too… given your good base, there’s hardly anything that wouldn’t look good on you.”

“In this case, the partner would be the problem.”

Ershil said, her eyes twinkling.

Seo Ga-yeon flinched momentarily.

“Who will be the partner?”

This was a significant issue.

I instinctively felt it.

If I had one of my girlfriends here, I would have chosen without hesitation, but there wasn’t one here.

‘Wait, can’t I just call someone to solve this?’

At Ershil’s question, both Seo Ga-yeon and the maid froze.

“…Miss.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“I have something to tell you.”

The maid took Ershil somewhere.

I could listen if I wanted to, but that would be rude.

“Who will Seo-ha go with?”

“…Who knows.”

Honestly, choosing someone was a bit awkward.

There were Kim Seo-hyun, Seo Ga-yeon, Seolhwa Ryeon, and Ershil here.

‘Choosing a third party might be an option.’

While I was pondering this, I heard a knock on the door.

I opened it with black energy, commonly known as Nyeom.

“Hoho, quite a neat method.”

“…Weren’t you supposed to see us at the party?”

“No, the more I thought about it, the more I figured our Seo-ha would be in trouble.”

Who was ‘our Seo-ha’?

Looking at him incredulously, Merlin laughed cheekily.

“By the way, aren’t you looking for a partner?”

“…”

“When there are so many women, you could choose someone completely unknown.”

Seo Ga-yeon looked at me with anxious eyes.

“Or, going with several women might be an option too.”

“…You’re more of a hero than our king.”

Merlin said this with a laugh.

“But why did you come here?”

“There was a third option. For political reasons… choose the Knight King as your partner, and our England and your guild could form an alliance.”

“Political reasons…”

“Not a bad proposal, right?”

Merlin said this while looking at me.

Still.

I couldn’t quite grasp what this man was thinking, always smiling with a mischievous look.

“But it’s not really necessary.”

“Puhahahat!”

Merlin burst into laughter at my words.

“Ah, you’re right. In this world, there’s no one stronger than you. Even the great hero called the Returner would be outmatched in terms of power.”

“Is Seo-ha that strong?”

“Yes, child of the stars. He’s just one step away from becoming a transcendent, but his power can be compared to celestial beings. Even though the Black Sun has fallen and he can only draw 10% of his true power due to his forced descent… he’s still special.”

Something moved in Merlin’s eyes.

As if observing me.

‘Fairy sight?’

A power only allowed to fairies.

That which saw through the essence was known to see through most things, but it didn’t work on me.

‘Is it because of the abyss within the black?’

While unifying the black.

Various powers had mixed. Among them, the power known as the abyss ‘devoured’ such forces. A very useful power. I strongly felt that the Black God didn’t leave the abyss behind for nothing.

“Then I should be going. Oh, the Knight King might be disappointed, but I’ll console her.”

“…I have one question.”

“What is it, child of the stars?”

“The Knight King isn’t a woman, right…?”

“Hm…”

Merlin looked at me blankly.

“The Knight King is quite unique. Her power follows more from her ancestors.”

“Ancestors?”

“Simply put… the Knight King has a talent like a vessel. Although her innate talent is remarkable, I’ve never seen a human surpass her in this aspect. Ah, I did see someone similar in Korea.”

Merlin glanced at me.

“Anyway… most of the Knight King’s power comes from that vessel. She inherited the bloodline of the Dragon God and the Giant race, like King Arthur.”

“…”

“Well, no need to glare like that. To conclude, yes, the Knight King is indeed a woman.”

Merlin said this while speaking to me.

“I know you’re keeping an eye on Sung Han-byul, but consider this an old man’s concern. It’s dangerous. Although she has a noble soul like the Knight King, a false god is not an easy entity to deal with.”

I picked up a cookie and put it in my mouth.

Crunch, crunch.

I thought about the false gods.

False god.

False being.

Those called by such names in this world.

In other words…

‘Complete beings. Not gods, not evil gods, but something in between.’

They didn’t need human faith like gods do.

They were solitary, complete entities. Thus, they didn’t grow stronger by feeding on faith or negative emotions.

‘Rather, they gain power by devouring gods.’

That’s why gods either sealed or killed them.

Because they were solitary entities, they were not easy to kill.

You couldn’t erase their memories or kill them like gods by brainwashing humans, and even if you killed them with overwhelming force like evil gods, unless you killed the planet itself…

I looked at Merlin.

Merlin was watching me with a subtle expression.

“Your taste is peculiar. Eating mint chocolate cookies…”

“It seems like Seo-ha and I have something in common…”

“Ugh.”

I unwittingly spat the cookie into the trash can.

The party began.

Many people gathered, but only a very few could enter the party.

Since it was a party hosted by the Knight King, only those with verified status among the British could enter.

Most people came here wearing suits and dresses.

I looked around while putting food in my mouth.

Seolhwa Ryeon, saying she felt nauseous in crowded places, had disappeared somewhere with a pale face.

Kim Seo-hyun had left a message saying he was late because he had some business.

Seo Ga-yeon was next to me, eating food with me, munching away.

“Nom… nom… Seo-ha… nom, aren’t you going to dance?”

“You can talk after you finish eating.”

Gulp.

Seo Ga-yeon finished eating and started talking.

“Everyone’s dancing.”

“I… well…”

I vaguely changed the subject while looking around.

The gazes directed at me here.

“Really, is that the one who killed the Black Sun…?”

“Even when he’s just standing there naturally, there’s no opening. I’ve seen a swordsman who was sharp, but even he wouldn’t have been like this.”

Comments evaluating me.

There were those trying to gauge me, and others trying to approach me.

‘What a hassle.’

I looked around.

As expected, there was no one worth paying attention to.

‘And more boring than I thought.’

Here, they put on airs with more formality.

Pretending to be elegant while bad-mouthing others around. As I went near the window to look outside, I saw a familiar silhouette.

It was Ershil.

Unlike her usual girlfriend-like look, she was wearing an elegant blue dress.

Seeing her like that, she definitely had the air of someone from a distinguished family. Should I say she looked noble?

While I was thinking that, Ershil also looked at me.

She smiled bashfully and spoke to me with her lips.

-Should we go somewhere else?

Something like that…

I glanced at Seo Ga-yeon.

She was engrossed in the food, which seemed to be more luxurious than usual.

‘…I should hire a chef or something later.’

With that thought, I went outside.

“The air is nice.”

Ershil said, smiling brightly.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but the stars in her eyes seemed to sparkle more.

“But I didn’t really expect you to come here.”

“…Did I seem like that?”

“Yes.”

Ershil laughed while bringing her face close to mine.

“You had such an annoyed look. Even though it was fun watching you get your makeup done without much resistance.”

“I’m somewhat used to it.”

“Because you’re the guild master. But, there was no news or photos of you with makeup on?”

Ershil tilted her head for a moment.

She probably didn’t check all of that.

“Anyway, you look good. But how about being alone with me from now on?”

“Isn’t it usually the other way around?”

“Because I’m already troubled by my looks… now you’re dressing well too.”

Haah-. Ershil sighed softly.

“Even with makeup, there’s not much difference, which is funny.”

“…Well, I am pretty good-looking.”

“Ha…”

Ershil looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

“Well, since it’s true, I’ll let it slide this time.”

As she walked briskly.

Ershil spoke.

I looked up at the moon.

“The moon is beautiful.”

“Indeed.”

“…Do you know? Saying the moon is beautiful is famous as a confession from a well-known Japanese novelist.”

“I’m Korean, though.”

“Even among Koreans, many people know that.”

Ershil sighed again.

“So, what do you think?”

In fact, it wasn’t something I needed to think about.

She had been showing her interest all along.

There’s a lot I could say.

‘I have many other women besides you. I’m already dating two.’

I was about to mention these reasons not to, but then I wondered if there was any need to.

‘Um.’

A garbage-like thought crossed my mind.

Ershil looked at me.

I opened my mouth while looking at Ershil.

-I want to see it too!! This body too!!

‘Shut up, grandma.’

Ershil replied moderately to her distant ancestor and cut off the world of consciousness.

She didn’t want someone to share in watching her first time.

Memories for just the two of them would be enough.