IDMWE 18

Chapter 18

In the late afternoon, the second floor of the Central Branch’s main hall was bustling with people for the first time in a while.

These were people who, on a normal day, wouldn’t come even if you grabbed their pant legs and begged them to show up. But the reason they were running here today was…

“I heard this induction ceremony was prepared by that crazy bastard Nathan?”

“Yeah. I heard he threw a fit, saying he absolutely had to be in charge because his most cherished junior was joining.”

“Ah, that girl? I’m curious. There’s no way her physical strength can match a man’s, so how did she become top of the Knight Department?”

“I’m most curious about the one who supposedly graduated with the first-ever perfect score from the Royal Academy.”

“That guy got the first-ever perfect score in *Quantum Mechanics and Fusion Magic Theory*, right? Isn’t he the real crazy one?”

They were sharing stories about the new recruits they’d overheard, bubbling with anticipation.

“And the First Prince is there too.”

“Whoa, if you get paired with the future Emperor, doesn’t that mean you’ll get appointed as a minister or something later?”

“Are you crazy? If I were the Emperor, I’d immediately exile the guy who was my senior.”

The man who said this laughed heartily.

He didn’t even notice that his friend, with whom he was chatting, had suddenly frozen.

“Hey, hey.”

“No, forget exile, I’d keep him by my side and use him as a footstool… What, why are you looking like that?”

The man, who had been having a great time with his imagination, felt the sudden chill in the atmosphere.

*Gulp.* He turned his head and met the eyes of the very person he had been gleefully insulting.

“Uh… h-hi. Hello, Senior Nathan.”

With the appearance of Nathan, the strongest powerhouse in the Central Branch and called ‘crazy bastard’ by his juniors for his dirty personality, the hall fell silent instantly.

Nathan looked at the group of men with a pathetic expression and spoke.

“Why are you, a second-year nobody, here instead of out on a mission?”

“Right, why was I here instead of on a mission? I should get going!”

The second-years, sensing the atmosphere, quickly scampered out of the main hall.

And the seniors, who had successfully put off all their missions, filled the empty spots. They surrounded Nathan and began to talk to him.

“So, Nathan, what exactly have you prepared for this induction ceremony?”

“Hehe, it’s a secret.”

His charisma, which had been terrifying the juniors moments before, was gone, replaced by an excited smile.

This induction ceremony was an event Nathan had meticulously prepared for Leona.

‘And while I’m at it, it’d be even better if I can crush those pathetic new recruits who dare to be Leona’s classmates. Especially that Clenford bastard.’

Recalling the image of Rigan holding hands with Leona, he ground his teeth unconsciously.

“So how many new recruits are there this time, Nathan?”

“Five. Our cute Leona, a wizard, the Prince who’s a spirit user, a necromancer, and the last one is said to be a beastkin.”

“What’s this about? The commander is such a fossil. Hiring a beastkin and a woman, has he lost his mind?”

“Well, it’s good for us if there are more new positions. I wonder who’ll be worth using as a partner.”

The stagnant seniors’ eyes gleamed with anticipation for the new recruits they would soon meet.

It was the gaze of a hawk about to snatch a chick.

Leona entered the main hall, fully pumped up.

‘I’ll knock them all down!’

Leona slowly surveyed her surroundings.

The main hall, the gathering place, had a structure slightly similar to the Colosseum.

There was a large central space for activities, with separate areas overlooking it.

After assessing her surroundings, Leona checked the time.

Since there was still plenty of time before the nominal welcoming party began, she decided to greet her classmates first.

‘And while I’m at it, it’d be good to gauge their strength too.’

Her eyes scanned the vast hall.

Just then, Leona’s gaze fell upon a man who had just entered the main hall.

He had an incredibly large build and soft-looking brown hair.

‘Is he a melee combat type? It’d be fun to spar with him!’

The man looked, with a slight exaggeration, about twice Leona’s size.

Leona, who loved quality muscle, felt a bit of kinship and approached him to say hello.

“Huh? What’s this?”

But Leona soon noticed something strange.

No matter how much she tried to approach him, the distance between them wouldn’t decrease.

Tilting her head, Leona took a step forward.

Then the man also took a step back.

It wasn’t her imagination.

‘What, is he avoiding me now?’

Am I a disease or something? Why is he running away like that? Leona frowned, bewildered.

A competitive spark ignited in her. Pretending to go another way, she suddenly focused ether in her lower body and jumped.

*Whoosh!*

With agile movements, Leona quickly closed the distance and landed softly in front of the man, greeting him.

“Hello?”

Leona smiled brightly. It was the smile she had honed over the years dealing with countless people.

And the man’s reaction upon seeing her killer smile up close was…

…quite peculiar.

“Eeek! A-a woman!”

*Thud!*

Despite his massive size, he began to run away in terror, as if he’d seen a ghost.

“……Hey? Are you okay?”

“D-don’t come any closer!”

Leona felt as if she had become a ruffian harassing a pure country girl.

And while Leona was utterly bewildered by the situation…

Rigan, who had been watching the scene from afar, also found himself in a bewildering situation.

“Rigan, a rival has appeared! What do we do!”

Suddenly, an angel popped out of thin air, shouting.

“This is a big deal, Rigan! Look at that magnificent muscle! What if Leona falls for that guy!”

“No, appearing out of nowhere and saying such strange things…”

Rigan almost unconsciously retorted to the angel, but realizing the stares suddenly focusing on him, he quickly shut his mouth.

‘…Angel-nim, I see you have that kind of taste.’

Rigan mentally grumbled a half-hearted reply to the angel, a look of annoyance on his face.

“Ah, no, it’s not! Muscles are, well, cool! Anyone would say they’re cool!”

‘Not at all, though.’

Despite Rigan’s deadpan expression, the angel paid him no mind.

“Ugh, poor Rigan, who doesn’t appreciate the beauty of muscles!’

‘…Where on earth did you learn such strange words?’

“From the constellations in other dimensions… Ah, right! This is an emergency, so we should call everyone!”

Realizing what was about to happen, Rigan’s face turned ashen.

‘Wait…!’

Rigan had no time to stop it.

—

**[Terminal Sub-male]: Oh my god! Is today my day or what!**

**[Cavity King]: This dimension must have good water. Everyone’s looks are incredible.**

—

“Ha…”

Rigan felt twice as tired just seeing them.

Whether Rigan sighed or not, the constellations ignored him and said their own piece.

—

**[Ssubong Leader]: A muscular, beastly alpha male with gynophobia! The excessive setup is killing me!**

**[Not Her, Him]: Look, his ears and tail came out because he was surprised. Cute. Should we make a beastkin in our dimension too?**

—

Reading that conversation, Rigan jerked his head up.

Sure enough, the man now had ears and a tail that looked like they belonged on a wolf, which hadn’t been there before.

And seeing the constellations’ conversation, the angel flared up.

“No way, Constellation-nims, you came to help me! We need to connect Rigan and Leona!”

—

**[Only Pure Love]: Right! Everyone, focus and concentrate only on Rigan.**

**[Let’s Live Together]: Sorry, everyoneㅜㅜ But I’ve already got stock in this pairing.**

**[Ruler of the Night]: Regardless of what happens in other dimensions, I only seek my own amusement!**

—

“Th-these traitors!”

Deeply hurt, the angel started clinging to Rigan, whining.

“Rigan! It’s a huge problem!”

‘It’s not a problem for me at all, though.’

“You’re so cold, so cold! How can you be like this to me?”

The angel clung to him, tears welling up in her cute face.

But Rigan didn’t even blink.

“Tsk.”

Seeing her plan wasn’t working, the angel quickly wiped her tears, clenched her small fist, and shouted.

“Fine! They say if you know your enemy and know yourself, you can win! Rigan, let’s go! Let’s spy!”

‘Why would I do that?’

The answer came from the constellations.

—

**[Fallen Power Warrior]: Everyone, did you bring lots of divine power today? Shall we try something strong?**

**[Handful Team]: A wolf beastkin showed up, so how about putting cat ears on Rigan too?**

**[Ssubong Leader]: Or what about going full beast mode with pheromones! How about the hottest trend in our dimension right now, Omegaverse!**

—

“……Grrr.”

Rigan gritted his teeth at the obvious threat.

It had only been a few days, but the angel and the constellations had already become a great team.

‘Is it true that there are only perverts in other dimensions?’

He didn’t know what the ‘Omegaverse’ was, so he’d let that slide, but cat ears!

Rigan would rather die than walk around wearing cat ears.

“Haah. I’ll go.”

In the end, with a sense of resignation, Rigan approached the brown-haired wolf beastkin.

Leona was still following him as he ran away, trying to talk to him.

“Th-there were definitely no women here!”

“Ah, I’m the first woman picked in 150 years. Just stop for a second, let’s talk!”

Rigan stopped Leona and shielded the man behind himself.

“Stop harassing our classmate.”

“I’m not harassing him, I was just trying to greet someone I just met.”

“He seems flustered right now, so do it later.”

At that, Leona looked at Rigan with a suspicious expression, as if wondering what he was up to.

‘Since when was this guy so helpful to others?’

Ignoring Leona’s sharp gaze, Rigan turned his body towards the man behind him.

He was crouching, struggling to hide his large frame behind Rigan’s back.

—

**[Ssubong Leader]: Rigan! Talk to him quickly!**

—

Now the constellations were practically ordering Rigan around like a servant.

Stifling his anger, Rigan spoke to the man.

“Are you alright?”

Rigan mustered all the sociability he could.

Hearing that, the wolf beastkin seemed relieved, relaxing and looking at Rigan with a tearful face.

Seeing the grown man’s pitiful expression, Rigan’s lip twitched involuntarily.

‘Calm down. No cat ears. Calm down…’

As Rigan was trying to compose himself, the man approached him with a grateful face.

“Uh, I’m Sillian! Thank you for helping!”

“Don’t mention it.”

“You’re a really good guy!”

*Clasp—*

Sillian grabbed one of Rigan’s hands with both of his and kept expressing his thanks.

Rigan’s face reflexively scrunched up at suddenly having his hand held by the man.

At the same time, the constellations’ chat window exploded. It was the fastest speed Rigan had seen yet.

—

**[Not Her, Him]: Homo, oh my god!

[Ssubong Leader]: Everyone, take a deep breath and speak on the count of three. One, two, three!

[Fallen Power Warrior]: Blond x Silver

[Handful Team]: Silver x Blond

[Rolling Board]: ㄴ222

[Master of Creating Tension]: The one with the bigger chest gets topped… (*Blocked for content issues.)

[Only Pure Love]: Hey, everyone, you’re straying from the genre! Come back!

—

“Oh no! So the rival wasn’t that guy, but this one!”

Shocked by the scene, the angel burst into tears and flew over to Leona.

“Huh? Angel-nim?”

Leona, finally noticing the angel, began to grasp the situation.

“Leona, this is a huge problem! What if Rigan falls for that gorgeous muscle guy!”

“No, isn’t everyone’s open-mindedness a bit too much?!”

In the end, Rigan couldn’t hold it in and blurted it out loud.