Chapter 41
41 – Are You Even a Man?
“That gray-haired girl, such a heroic bearing—truly worthy of being called a Divine Maiden. Her figure’s in excellent shape. Aside from the slightly disappointing chest, she really has an extraordinary presence. I wonder which family she’s from. Hmm… due to some physical shortcomings, I’ll give her an 85 out of 100.”
“Oh, oh! That brown straight-haired beauty’s not bad either! She may not be busty, but she’s tall, and those legs—amazing! With a height like that, she must be from a noble family up north. Very nice, I’ll give her a 90!”
“Hey, Dylin, look, look! That one over there is the eldest daughter of the Kailebes family—she’s been famous in the kingdom for a long time. Tsk tsk, no wonder she’s from a renowned family of Divine Maidens. Fair-skinned and beautiful—no surprise she made it onto the ‘Coleman Golden Flower Rankings.’ That posture and aura… not something your average Divine Maiden could compare with. She gets a perfect 100!”
“…First of all, what the hell is the ‘Coleman Golden Flower Rankings’?” Dylin, unable to endure the incessant babbling of the spiky-haired guy beside him, looked up from his book in silent exasperation.
“Huh? You don’t even know that? Come on, are you even a normal male student?” John shot him a look of disgust. But truthfully, watching his quiet friend sit there reading silently, John couldn’t shake the feeling that Dylin had changed somehow over the past few days.
He’d become… quieter than before.
Curiosity was common to all Divine Children, but Dylin had never been the type to read every time he had a free moment. Still, John didn’t find it particularly strange.
He figured—men change after enduring pain and making hard decisions. That was normal.
What happened with Estrid must’ve hit him hard.
John sighed inwardly.
Dylin hadn’t shown anything on the surface, but John knew—he must still be hung up over it.
Come on, what guy could just brush off something like that? Especially at their age, still learning what it meant to truly let go.
John had long noticed Dylin’s crush on Estrid. Then again, with a princess like her, what guy wouldn’t fall head over heels? If someone didn’t, they were probably from Yan.
John understood his buddy’s pain, and while there wasn’t much he could do, he figured the least he could try was to joke around and lighten things up.
Too bad this stubborn brick wall ignored him completely.
Trying to play the wise old sage now, huh?
“The ‘Golden Flower Rankings,’ as the name implies, are Coleman Academy’s campus beauty rankings,” John explained, wagging a finger. “Seriously—are you even a red-blooded young man? How could you not know that?”
“I know what it is. I’m asking—what’s the point?” Dylin tilted his head.
“What’s the point?! Why do you think we broke our backs to get into Coleman Academy?”
“To learn and better ourselves.”
“My man…” John stared at him in horror.
“What?”
“Have you been possessed by some unclean spirit? Either I’ve gone crazy or you have, because one of us is definitely not right today.”
“It’s not that your answer is wrong,” John muttered, “but it’s just… too right. No normal student talks like that.”
Dylin said nothing.
“I swear, did you get dumped and completely reinvent yourself? From chain-smoking bad boy to noble scholar type?”
“Go watch your pretty girls.” Dylin knew nothing good came from talking to John and buried his nose in his book again.
“Hey hey, come on, let’s be real. Isn’t coming to Coleman all about finding the Divine Maiden of your dreams? Studying 24/7 won’t get you anywhere! Don’t give up just because of one little heartbreak. There are tons of fish in the sea, you know? Why hang yourself from one tree?”
“I’m telling you—keep your eyes on that Golden Flower Rankings. Who knows? Maybe your future partner’s on there.”
“With the way you’re talking, sounds like you came to Coleman to choose a bride.” Dylin quipped.
“Exactly! And I guarantee you—lots of guys are thinking the same way. Think about it—this is the kingdom’s top academy. How many noble Divine Maidens study here? Most of them are the heirs to their houses. If you get lucky and catch one’s eye, boom! You’ve just saved yourself thirty years of struggle.”
“So… what you’re saying is, your reason for studying is to get picked up by some rich lady?” Dylin stared at him blankly.
“No no, not just waiting to be picked! You have to be proactive—those noble girls aren’t going to fall into your lap. You’ve got to make bold moves to win their hearts!”
“Right?”
“I don’t think so.” Dylin gave the spiky-haired guy a side glance. “You’ve got no chance.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Let’s be honest—most Divine Maidens don’t look twice at grassroots Divine Sons like us,” Dylin replied flatly.
“…Sigh. Still can’t let go, huh? Yeah, you’ve definitely been hurt deep.” John patted Dylin on the shoulder, his eyes full of pity.
“?” What was this guy talking about now?
“Sure, you can choose a bride later, but is it really worth fighting crowds just to pick one at a match?”
“I mean, you’re not wrong, but today is different. Hey, do you know why our venue is so packed?”
“Nope.” Dylin gave a cursory glance around the arena—it resembled a Roman coliseum—and remained indifferent.
“Come on, you’ve got to know.”
“Why would I?” Dylin was genuinely confused. “You’re the one who dragged me here early this morning. If you hadn’t, I’d still be reading in the dorms.”
“Please. The moment you saw Estrid’s match scheduled for today, you expect me to believe you stayed in bed with a book?”
“Oh. She’s fighting today?” Dylin nodded. “Which venue?”
“Seriously? What do you think?”
“This one—arena 23?”
“Exactly. Stop pretending. I know you checked the schedule as soon as it came out. You should be thanking me—I snagged these seats early. Without me, you wouldn’t even get to see your ex-lo—ahem—I mean, Estrid.”
“Say that again and I’ll hit you,” Dylin said, smiling without warmth as he clenched his fist.
“Okay, okay! My bad, I meant former crush—ow!” John rubbed his spiky head, realizing he’d better shut up before he got smacked again.
Yep. Still not over her. Otherwise, why get so worked up?
But what John didn’t know was that Dylin wasn’t upset because of Estrid.
It was something deeper—something more instinctual.
Perhaps even Dylin himself hadn’t realized it yet: he now hated when people fabricated romantic rumors about him.
“If something doesn’t exist, then it doesn’t exist. Don’t go spreading baseless gossip about me. Love and lifelong companionship aren’t jokes you toss around lightly.” Dylin’s tone was cold, and even he was surprised by how strongly he felt.