How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

“That’s….”

“What did you just do? Why did you put a ring on your older sister’s left ring finger? Are you out of your mind? Do you want to die?”

Before Na-yuhan could argue back, Kang-yu approached smoothly. With his head tilted in a strange angle, he started to rap in a cold voice.

“Left ring finger…? …Ah!”

Only then did Na-yuhan seem to realize where he had put the ring.

He didn’t think too much about it, but come on, Kang-yu, that’s a bit of an overreaction.

“No, it wasn’t meant like that…!”

His face reddened in embarrassment as he stumbled over his words.

“It wasn’t intended that way, but it happened… it happened naturally… he’s a playboy…? A playboy is touching my sister…? Do you want to die?”

And Kang-yu didn’t hold back.

“Calm down.”

Thanks to Kang-yu’s sudden outburst, Park Si-woo seemed to be trying to calm him down.

“Yuhan is a playboy, but this time he didn’t mean it that way. It was just unconscious.”

That was not true.

He was pouring oil on the fire.

Kang-yu’s neck tilted at an even stranger angle.

With a murderous glint in his eyes, I screamed silently.

Damn it, possessed Na-yuhan! Why are you a playboy!

“Uh, uh! Kang-yu! Are you unhappy about it being on your left ring finger? Then I’ll put it on my right ring finger!”

“Don’t wear it at all!!!”

“You’re a sniper, right? Isn’t it uncomfortable to wear a ring?”

“Hmm… then….”

I glanced at Na-yuhan. He looked quite sullen.

Seeing his glum expression made it a bit difficult to ask him to change it to another item instead of the ring.

Why are you making me worry for no reason!

“Let’s hang it on a string and wear it like a necklace!”

Just then, Na-yuri, who had appeared out of nowhere, interjected with fiery eyes.

“Wearing it on your left ring finger is nonsense!”

“Y-Yeah…”

Na-yuri seemed to have her own strong objections too….

Kang-yu was still pouting, but at least he finally accepted it.

“Nyaha~ You two are a couple ring~”

“…Couple ring….”

“Senpai, shush!”

“…Just throw it away!!!”

“It’s a couple necklace with Kang-yu too! Wow, a couple necklace!”

In the end, we were only able to disperse after causing quite a commotion that day.

Na-yuhan seemed to be stuck on the term “couple ring,” mumbling things like, “I didn’t think of that, but it might not be bad…”

What a fool.

***

The next morning.

By the time Kang-yu and I arrived at the academy, news of the fixed gate we had cleared had already spread widely, and the kids were whispering among themselves as they saw us.

However, unlike the last time we cleared a fixed gate, this time the feeling was not one of “Could it be?” but rather “Of course.”

“Those kids again… Amazing.”

“Considering the materials that came out, they must have made a lot of money! I’m so jealous!”

“Eh, even if we discovered it, we wouldn’t have cleared it, right?”

For some reason, my face felt hot, so I absentmindedly wiped it with the back of my hand.

Kang-yu, sitting next to me, shrugged his shoulders, looking proud and cheerful. He was cute.

As the kids, curious about the details, flocked around Kang-yu, he cheerfully recounted the story of that day without any hesitation.

He really was sociable.

I laughed along as I watched Kang-yu excitedly talk about his exploits.

“Good morning.”

“Oh, Si-woo! Good morning!”

Park Si-woo naturally sat down in the empty seat that had formed.

It seemed he had come to school early, even though it was still early.

Na-yuhan, who usually arrived around this time, was nowhere to be seen, likely busy with dungeon cleanup.

Park Si-woo, who sat next to me, suddenly pulled out a can of drink and handed it to me. It was my favorite drink with chewy jelly in it.

I noticed Kang-yu also had an aloe juice that he liked on his desk, indicating he had bought it for his friends.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Park Si-woo replied indifferently while popping open what seemed to be his share of an ion drink. It seemed like he had something he wanted to talk about.

I also opened my can and looked at him.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing. I just thought… why aren’t you wearing the brooch?”

Feeling pricked, I awkwardly smiled.

Unlike Park Si-woo, who was wearing his brooch proudly, I always carried mine around but never wore it.

“Well, you know, because of my ability…”

“I see.”

“I’m sorry….”

“It’s okay. Just having you carry it around is enough for me.”

As he said that, Park Si-woo’s gaze briefly turned to the ring I had turned into a necklace.

“…No. I’m sorry. I’m a bit… jealous.”

“Jealous…?”

“Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if the affection you should be receiving was from me instead of ‘that.’ Knowing you’re struggling, I might occasionally poke at him because of that.”

“Wh-What do you mean? Ah, could it be the jealousy tactic you sometimes use?”

I recalled the actions Park Si-woo would sometimes take to provoke Na-yuhan.

Did Park Si-woo think that I cared too much about Na-yuhan because I was jealous, just like Na-yuri?

Well, I wouldn’t blame him for feeling that way; after all, it’s uncomfortable to feel like you’re losing a friend.

But I really had no choice in the matter.

“Who knows.”

Park Si-woo vaguely responded as he quickly downed the drink in his can.

“I don’t have as much patience as I thought.”

“Hmm…?”

“I’m trying to hold it in, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up.”

So he’s that jealous…!

I was surprised to learn that Park Si-woo had a strong possessiveness when it came to his friends.

And I found myself cheering him on.

“Go, fighting…!”

“…Yeah. I’ll try my best. So please carry that brooch with you, even if it’s out of sight. Got it?”

“Okay!”

His small smile at my unwavering response made me feel warm inside.

After that, we chatted about various topics until the other kids arrived.

After everyone got to class, before Na-yuhan arrived, Park Si-woo told the others, “Items given by Yuhan are precious, so it would be best to wear them somewhere out of sight.”

Everyone agreed, and they each decided whether to keep the items equipped or put them in their inventory.

I decided to wear mine hidden inside my clothes.

I had previously stored the bracelet I bought from Hae-joo in my inventory to avoid suspicion from Na-yuhan, but the ring I had received could also serve as a substitute for the bracelet.

For some reason, when Na-yuhan finally arrived at school, he looked a bit gloomy while glancing around my neck.

“Class is starting, you little brats!”

And once again, it was time for practical training.

I tried to think about the unsettling events of that morning, but—

“Are you not focused? Not focused? I’ve really become soft. I’ve given you enough room to think about other things….”

“No, it’s not like that, Lord Yggdrasil.”

“I get it. It’s all my fault. Let’s ramp it up!”

“AAAHH—!”

I was swept away by Yggdrasil’s intense training.

When your body is exhausted, all those distracting thoughts vanish….

***

After rolling around all morning without a single thought, we finally started looking into who had the lucky letter by the time lunch rolled around, feeling utterly worn out.

“This older sister and this older brother had it!”

“Huh? Why? Was there a problem with the letter?”

“Well, it turns out it wasn’t a lucky letter but a cursed letter.”

“What?! No way!”

Thanks to our clever and sociable Kang-yu, who had already done some research during the morning assembly, it was easy to break the ice.

Starting with those two, we checked how many students in Class A had received the letter.

In Class A, four students, including Kang-yu, had received the letter.

We explained the situation to them.

At first, some didn’t believe us, but regardless, we made them promise to bring the letter to us if a curse ever activated.

Since we said we would handle the problematic letter, it wasn’t too hard to get that kind of promise.

Fortunately, one of them had passed the letter on not too long ago, so it seemed there would be traces left behind, prompting us to use the magical detection device that Park Yu-ra had made earlier.

According to what Na-yuhan had said, the magic of the letter was gradually changing to the pattern of a curse about to activate.

We had to hurry.

After finishing our investigation in Class A, we moved on to Class B, and Kang-yu said, “I’m glad no one asked for something in return for taking the letter!”

“A fee?”

“Yeah! Since we asked first, they could have requested something in return!”

“…That’s true.”

Min Jae-yoon muttered with a dark expression, as if recalling an unpleasant memory from Na-yuhan’s words.

“…Yeah, there are people who act friendly but betray you when it matters….”

“Those bad guys will definitely get their comeuppance someday,” Shin Ba-ran said with a grumble.

Unfortunately, not everything in the world happens as Shin Ba-ran says…

But the one who instilled trauma in Min Jae-yoon, “that guy,” will be confronted and shaken off by Min Jae-yoon himself.

…Because,