Chapter 29 : You’re cute

Crash—!

“…Phew, I’ve got a lot to say, but first, let me ask what I’m most curious about. Just how the hell did you do that?”

Ryu Jia asked as she stood up, brushing off the debris and dust that had covered her body.

Despite being slammed into a wall reinforced with mana—hard enough to break it—she didn’t have a single scratch.

I already knew she was strong, but seeing it in person left me speechless.

I raised the palm I had used to deflect Ryu Jia and answered her question.

“I parried with this. Someone at your level should’ve been able to see that, right?”

“I know what you did! I’m asking how you did it. You’re just a scrawny guy. I actually put some force into that punch. Even most women who train their bodies can’t react to it, so how did you manage to deflect it so precisely?”

Apparently unsatisfied with my answer, Ryu Jia furrowed her brows and made her question more specific.

To be honest, just like the woman she was referring to, I couldn’t react to her move either.

I knew exactly where it would come from and what kind of attack it would be—but I still couldn’t see it.

What I did was nothing special, just a prediction based on having played countless rounds of Heroic Reversal Saga.

It wasn’t anything like what she was imagining.

“Well, I just… did it because I could.”

Still, there was no reason to expose my hand, so I shrugged and brushed off her question.

And it wasn’t even a lie—“because I could” was true enough that I didn’t feel guilty saying it.

“…Phew, fine. You did it because you could, and it worked, so I won’t press you on that. But what was with that explosion?”

She pointed to my hand, which was red from the blast, and asked again.

If I gave another half-assed answer, Ryu Jia—who tends to act on impulse—would definitely get annoyed.

And since she was someone who could be a huge ally to me, it wouldn’t do to keep hiding things from her.

So this time, I gave her a proper answer.

“It’s one of my traits. My mana has flammable properties. I used that to deflect your punch and trigger the explosion.”

“Your mana is flammable…? That’s pretty amazing.”

As Ryu Jia said, the power really was something else.

I thought I’d used just enough mana to stay within my limits, but just like before, my body couldn’t handle it.

The dull, throbbing pain in my right hand told me I probably had a light fracture.

Still, after going through two explosions, I was starting to get the hang of it.

I had a feeling I could use it without getting hurt next time.

I gathered mana into my right hand using Mana Fluidity to boost my natural healing and continued explaining.

“You’re the second person to know about my trait.”

“I’m the second? So I come right after your family head? Hm…”

At the mention of sharing a secret, Ryu Jia seemed pleased.

In truth, unlike what she assumed, the family head Yang Gajeong didn’t know a thing about me, and the first person to find out about the nature of Solar Limbs was our little one.

“Coming right after your family head, huh… Well, even if we’re not that close yet, it does feel kind of nice to be trusted like that.”

“Haha.”

I didn’t feel like ruining the mood, so I didn’t correct her mistake.

“Well, that’s enough. No more questions. I guess even guys can have their moments. It was definitely my mistake to underestimate you. Though—I still kinda am!”

Feeling pleased after I shared my secret, Ryu Jia crossed her arms and puffed out her chest as she spoke.

The way her chest rested atop her crossed arms was… honestly, kind of violent.

Still, saying it was a mistake to underestimate me but that she still underestimated me was a pretty contradictory thing to say—but it was the kind of thing Ryu Jia could get away with.

The only reason I was able to deflect her attack was because I used a trick.

There was absolutely no way I could beat the red-haired, big-breasted girl standing in front of me right now.

In Daecheon, where a person’s worth is measured by their strength, Ryu Jia was one of the rare few who could afford to live however she pleased.

Resolving to avoid becoming her enemy if I could help it, I looked at her grinning face and spoke.

“Well then, I passed the entrance test. That means I’m in, right?”

“Hm? Ah, right. You passed the test fair and square—no way I’m going to insist otherwise now. Welcome to the Exploding Dragon Club, rookie.”

In a good mood, Ryu Jia cheerfully held out her hand for a handshake.

A handshake, huh… It suddenly reminded me of the day I first met the little one.

She called it weird and unnecessary back then, but honestly, a handshake isn’t that strange.

Smiling faintly at the nostalgic memory, I reached out and took Ryu Jia’s hand.

She offered her left hand, probably because she knew my right hand was injured.

That small bit of thoughtfulness surprised me.

We shook hands lightly up and down, but then suddenly—Ryu Jia seemed to remember something and abruptly broke eye contact.

“By the way, um… earlier, you said that thing… like, ‘starting from today, day one,’ or whatever. I know you meant it as like, your first day in the club. But you shouldn’t throw lines like that around carelessly.”

“Girls might totally misunderstand. I mean, I’m the club captain, your senior, and older than you, so I wouldn’t get the wrong idea, but other girls—yeah, that could cause problems. Since we’re clubmates now, I’m giving you some advice. Got it?”

She said that, all flustered and awkward.

The confident, powerful aura she’d had until now was completely gone.

She emphasized over and over that she was older than me, a senior, the club head, etc., but blushing like that while saying it… well, it kind of undermined the point.

That Ryu Jia acting like this?

It was honestly kind of funny.

Normally, the proper response from a good new club member would be something like, “Yes, I’ll be careful from now on.”

But I had no intention of being a model rookie.

The life I aspired to was one of a punk with no sense of hierarchy.

“Pfft. That bothered you that much, captain? You may be strong, but you’re still just a baby. Getting all flustered over one light joke like that?”

“W-what?!”

Flustered by my relaxed reply, Ryu Jia snapped her head up to meet my gaze.

Her red eyes were blazing—she looked like she might explode any second—but this was my moment to take the lead.

I met her fierce eyes head-on and subtly tightened my grip around her hand.

Not enough to turn it into a contest of strength—just enough to make the handshake feel firm and deliberate.

“Eek?!”

Since I was a guy and Ryu Jia was a girl, my hand was naturally much bigger.

Her small hand was completely enveloped in mine.

And like a proper bleached-blonde punk, I raised one corner of my mouth in a sly smirk and said:

“You’re cute.”

“?!!”

“Kuhuhuhu…”

Ryu Jia’s face turned bright red like a flame, and steam puffed from her head as if in a cartoon.

It was the mana reacting to her heightened emotions.

Who would’ve thought Ryu Jia would be this defenseless around men?

In the game, she only appeared as a hidden boss, so I never got to see this side of her.

Feeling the joy of discovering something new as a long-time fan, I released her small hand.

“W-What?! This little brat just teased the mighty club president? You wanna get punished for real?! What kind of cheeky brat got into our club?!”

Snapping out of her stunned state, Ryu Jia puffed up in anger, still blushing furiously.

But saying all that with her face flushed red only made it seem like she was bluffing.

“Heh, too late now. No take-backs. A bold woman shouldn’t go back on her word, right? Let’s head to the clubroom, President. You’ve got to give the new member a proper welcome, don’t you?”

With a smirk tugging at one corner of my mouth, I walked past Ryu Jia toward the Vokryong (Exploding Dragon) clubroom.

“H-Hey! Wait up!”

Ryu Jia hurriedly chased after me, and there was no trace of the confident upperclassman left in her flustered steps.

***

“…”

“Ugh, this is disgusting. Are you some kind of child of darkness or something, President?”

“I’m a child of the Ryu family.”

“Well, then maybe act like it? Seriously, what is this? There’s not a single clean spot in the whole room! What’s the point of the sofa being clean when everything else is a trash heap?!”

“Grrr…”

Ryu Jia clenched her fists and trembled as she watched Yang Woobin, who had somehow gotten hold of a mask and was now cleaning the clubroom.

They’d just met today, yet he seemed to know a lot about her and even had a good grasp of what kind of place Vokryong was.

And yet… he didn’t seem nervous at all.

Normally, just hearing the name “Ryu Jia” would send people running in fear.

She had no idea how to deal with someone like this.

“This guy just keeps surprising me. And why is he so good at cleaning?! There’s not even a speck of dust where he wiped—how is that even possible?”

She wanted to criticize him out of pride, but his cleaning skills far outclassed her own.

She was left speechless.

“I’m taking down this curtain. This doesn’t suit Vokryong!”

Whoosh—!

“Aaack! No! My blackout curtain! It’s essential for naps!”

“Use a sleep mask instead! This thing’s covered in dust and needs to go!”

“Damn it… This newbie…!”

Within just five minutes of entering the clubroom, Ryu Jia had already lost her favorite blackout curtain.

She was starting to feel like if she let her guard down any more, this newbie might take everything—including her dignity.

After all, just one handshake had already exposed the fact that she had no immunity to men, and he even called her cute.

So now, Ryu Jia focused all her attention on Woobin’s every move, praying he would slip up just once.

“…Is this even real?”

But Woobin’s sweeping and wiping were flawless.

Everything he did was beyond her comprehension.

“Is this how my empire falls? Is Vokryong really going to be swallowed up by this guy I just met today…?”

Faced with a performance that left no room for criticism, Ryu Jia was on the verge of giving up and handing over her title as president.

Just as she was about to admit defeat and say, “Fine, Yang Woobin. You’re number one now…”—

“Hey, President. Can I have this flower?”

“Huh?”

Woobin held up a flowerpot containing a vivid red blossom, as red as Ryu Jia’s hair.

For a moment, she almost said, “Sure, take it.” But she quickly swallowed the words and said something else instead.

“Not for free. If you want something, you’ve got to give something back. Impress me. Then I’ll give it to you.”

Thus began her Operation “No Way You’ll Succeed”—a plan to preserve her pride as president.

“I happen to be hungry. Why don’t you go make me a meal or something!”