Lena gripped my clothes tightly, clearly unhappy about the situation, but I couldn't just ignore Jazlyn's orders.
"Sister Lena, I really have to go this time. Let's hang out later, alright?"
"Ugh… Is Jazlyn more important to you than I am, Zeon?"
"Sister, it's not like that. This is an official matter. You're more important to me."
"Okay then. But you have to make it up to me later!"
"Promise!"
Reluctantly, Lena seemed satisfied with my answer and left.
Once she was out of sight, Gopi nudged me with a sly grin.
"So, who's that?"
"My girlfriend."
"Oh, so you like 'em young, huh?"
"Lena's actually older than me."
"She just looks young, I guess."
"Looks don't matter, Brother Gopi. But you need to keep this between us."
"Is there a reason to hide it?"
"Please~"
"Heh, probably because you're not exactly proud of it, huh? Don't worry, I respect your taste."
Gopi misunderstood why I wanted to keep it a secret. He thought I was embarrassed about dating someone who looked younger, but in reality, I was planning to use this secrecy to deal with Jazlyn and Calere later.
Gopi suddenly asked, "But wait… is she a dwarf?"
"No, she's human."
"Ah, got it."
Gopi's question made sense. Dwarf women often look much younger than human women, almost childlike, though some are more voluptuous. Meanwhile, dwarf men are rugged and muscular, with thick beards that grow sideways.
We continued walking toward the royal guardroom in the club building. As we entered, I noticed Jazlyn seated in a luxurious office chair, with Paris, Calere, and several Silver Badge seniors sitting around her.
"Gopi, Zeon, you're here. Please, take a seat."
Jazlyn gestured for me to sit, and I couldn't help but feel my standing in the SS had risen considerably.
A buzzing sound broke the silence.
'Flies… in here? And no one cares?'
Since everyone else seemed to be ignoring it, I decided to do the same and focus on Jazlyn.
Once Gopi and I had settled down, Jazlyn spoke with a serious tone.
"You all saw the announcement about the martial arts competition, right?"
"Yes!"
"I will be participating in the team competition with all of you. There are ten people here, which is the exact number required for the team event. So, I ask that none of you enter the individual competitions and focus entirely on the group event. Any objections?"
"No!"
"My sources tell me that the Kasha Clan, the World Tree Guardians, and the Hammer Guild are all sending their elite members for the team competition. These are formidable opponents, but we must win—both for the honor of humanity and my own reputation. Are there any questions?"
Elves and dwarves, among other races, also attended the academy. Elves were a long-lived species known for their tall stature, beauty, and long ears. The World Tree ruled their kingdom, with the High Elf Queen receiving guidance from it. Elves had an affinity for nature, and most were spirit users, excelling at archery. The World Tree Guardians were a group of elf students from the western continent, working to make the academy more in tune with nature.
Dwarves, on the other hand, were short and stocky, with male dwarves sporting large beards. Their kingdom lay beneath the mountains to the south and was ruled by dragons. Though dwarves had no talent for magic, their resistance to it was strong, and they were master artisans when it came to crafting magical tools and weapons. Dwarven men typically donned heavy armor, wielding shields and hammers, while dwarven women often worked in construction, building magic guns, cannons, and golems. The Hammer Guild, comprised of dwarf students from the southern continent, specialized in crafting and researching magical tools and weapons.
There were notable heroines on both the elf and dwarf sides, but meeting them would require traveling to their respective kingdoms, which wasn't an easy feat. It wasn't something I could accomplish right now. [T/N: Hehe]
According to the novel I had read, Jazlyn's team would clash with the Kasha Clan in the semifinals, only to be brutally defeated. All her teammates would be gravely injured, and she would lose her composure. In the third-place match against the World Tree Guardians, the team would still be too broken from their battle with the Kasha Clan and lose once again.
Joan, one of the SS members, raised her hand to ask Jazlyn a question.
"Jazlyn, may I ask why you're forming a team with us? Wouldn't it be more effective to team up with stronger students like Paris or Calere?"
Jazlyn gave a slight nod. "That's a good question. If I wanted to, I could use my influence to bribe the competition officials and form a team with the school's top students, ensuring victory. I have the power and resources to do that. But if I did, rumors would spread that I'll do anything to win. And once rumors spread, they're impossible to stop. I don't want that kind of notoriety. Instead, I'll prove my worth by winning with a team of loyal subjects that I've personally chosen."
"Jazlyn… I swear my loyalty to you!" Joan exclaimed passionately, and the other SS members echoed her sentiment, gazing at Jazlyn with admiration. With a proud expression, Jazlyn seemed to accept their loyalty as if it were only natural.
"In the team competition, I'll be acting as your strategist. Recently, the Magic Tower developed ear radios, and I've purchased ten of them. While the range for communication is limited, it will be more than sufficient within the competition grounds. I'll guide you through every step of the match," Jazlyn explained.
"I understand!" the SS members shouted in unison.
"To lead you effectively, I need to understand each of your strengths and weaknesses. Fortunately, I'm well aware of everyone's abilities—except for Zeon, the newcomer."
Pride flickered across the faces of the SS members as they heard this.
Jazlyn turned to me and, pointing with her fan, ordered, "Zeon, explain your abilities."
I had a feeling this moment would come. The truth was, I wasn't particularly useful on this team. I couldn't reveal my hypnosis abilities, and my expertise in mental magic wasn't something I could easily boast about. But I couldn't exactly say, 'I don't know how to do anything!' either. So, I settled on the one thing I could claim.
"I'm a mind wizard… and I'm incredibly lucky!"
The room went silent for a moment. Everyone, including Jazlyn, looked confused.
Gopi tapped my shoulder and chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "Come on, Zeon. No jokes right now."
"I'm serious! I've won second place in the Magic Tower's lottery twice!"
A murmur spread through the room, with some people looking impressed.
"I've never even won once! You must be really lucky!"
"Isn't that just a coincidence?" someone muttered.
At that moment, Paris, who was seated next to Jazlyn, shot up from his chair. His face flushed with a mix of red and blue as she angrily confronted me.
"Are you mocking us? How do you even quantify luck? Are you saying I'm unlucky?!"
Jazlyn remained silent, seemingly allowing Paris to vent his frustration.
Paris stomped toward me, his steps heavy on the floor.
Thump, thump, thump—suddenly, he slipped on some spilled water, crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
"Ouch!"
Paris scrambled to his feet, brushing off his clothes. He glared at me, clearly embarrassed.
"Who spilled this water?!"
Gopi sheepishly raised his hand. "Uh… I think that was me. I knocked over my drink earlier and didn't bother cleaning it up. Sorry about that."
Paris shot me one last scowl before returning to his seat, his face sour as if he had just swallowed something bitter.
Jazlyn, tilting her head slightly, mused aloud, "That's interesting. Was Paris falling just a coincidence, or could it be due to Zeon's luck? Let's test it."
She pulled a pencil from her pocket and threw it directly at my face.
The pencil flew with surprising force, a testament to her rapier training.
But just as the pencil neared me, a fly—one that had been buzzing around the room for a while—collided with it, causing the pencil to veer off course and land harmlessly on the table.
The room fell into stunned silence, eyes wide in disbelief. Gopi even leaped out of his chair.
"Zeon's luck is real!"
"Could there really be someone this lucky?"
"First the lottery, then Paris's slip-up, and now even deflecting Jazlyn's pencil!"
Jazlyn leaned back in her chair, deep in thought.
'Hmm… Should I believe in this? Why did Gopi spill the water? Why didn't we notice that fly earlier? Could luck really influence reality?'
Calere, seeing Jazlyn deep in thought, offered a suggestion.
"My lady, how about we all play a round of blackjack with Zeon? If he manages to defeat all of us, we can confirm whether or not he's truly lucky."
Jazlyn considered it for a moment and nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Let's make it interesting—everyone bets 10 gold."
Blackjack is a simple card game. You're dealt two cards to start, and the goal is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. If the sum of your initial two cards equals 21, that's a blackjack, and you win instantly. If not, you can request more cards by saying "Hit." However, if you go over 21, you're "bust" and automatically lose.
Following Jazlyn's orders, I found myself gambling against all nine people in the room, including her. We each had to wager our own money, and I would have to go up against them one by one.
When I beat the first opponent, everyone seemed mildly interested. By the seventh victory in a row, the room had gone completely silent.
Paris, my eighth opponent, looked more determined than ever as he shuffled the cards.
"I'll shuffle these myself," he said with a smirk.
After shuffling thoroughly, he dealt the cards, two for me and two for himself.
'Hmm... a 3 and a 6. Not great,' Paris thought.
"Hit," he said, drawing another card.
'Hah! An ace!' She smiled to herself. Since aces can count as either 1 or 11, her total was now 20—a nearly unbeatable hand.
'As long as Zeon doesn't get a 20 or 21, I have this in the bag,' Paris thought confidently.
"Stay," Paris declared, choosing not to draw any more cards. I followed suit and also said, "Stay."
We revealed our hands. Paris had 3, 6, and Ace for a total of 20. I had 4, 7, and 10, making my total... 21.
"Damn it!" Paris cursed, slamming his cards down on the table and storming off.
Jazlyn was my final opponent.
"No matter how lucky you think you are, Zeon," she said with a sly smile, "luck won't help you against me. My intellect alone will be enough to bring you down."
Jazlyn, always calculating, was determined to outwit me. She shuffled the cards with precision and then handed me two.
This was going to be interesting.
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