Complete Victory Festival 4

She lost.

It was an undeniable defeat.

Lee Ha-yul was simply at a loss for words.

She still couldn’t believe it.

An incompetent.

An incompetent had defeated her.

And fairly at that.

…How?

It didn’t align with Lee Ha-yul’s common sense.

Incompetents are inherently worthless.

That’s why they blame others for their own weakness.

That’s why they hurt others.

Lee Ha-yul doesn’t lose to such people.

There was no way she could lose.

Because she had been working hard not to until now.

Yet she was defeated.

So cleanly.

By a pure difference in skill.

Why was that?

Could it be that she’s saying it’s different?

Even among incompetents.

Han Seo-yeon.

Despite wearing black hair, the symbol of incompetence.

She wasn’t underhanded.

It was a fair, head-on match.

A pure difference in skill.

Because Lee Ha-yul wasn’t foolish enough to not know or deny this.

She just couldn’t understand why.

It was too sudden to accept.

A voice echoed in her head.

The words saying she doesn’t consider herself incompetent.

The words saying she does so for her precious people.

Words that don’t feel like they belong to an incompetent.

She closed her eyes.

Lee Ha-yul took time to think alone on her hospital bed.

She won.

She grasped victory.

Cheers could be heard from around.

Han Seo-yeon felt no sense of accomplishment.

Only more things to think about.

Was this right?

Was this okay?

What will happen to Lee Ha-yul because of this?

“Congratulations, Seo-yeon.”

“I told you! That you’re strong!”

She sees smiles.

She saw those smiling because of her victory.

Seeing that, she had no regrets about winning.

Just lingering attachments swirling around.

Trivial afterimages embroidered her mind.

A girl who would have surely been saved originally.

A girl who might have been ruined by Han Seo-yeon’s selfishness.

Sacrificed to an older sister’s selfishness of wanting her younger sister to live a happy life.

“Good job.”

But let’s forget about it for now.

Honestly, she was tired.

In some sense, it was harder than giving it her all.

To use full power against a weaker opponent without killing them, what an incredibly arrogant thing to do.

“There’s still some time until the practical exam. Rest well.”

The waiting room.

Han Seo-yeon obediently welcomed that kindness.

She even tried being a bit greedier.

“…It would be more comfortable if I could rest my head on your lap.”

Actually, she didn’t know its effectiveness.

She had never slept with her head on someone else’s lap.

But it was a situation she wanted to experience at least once.

It was too much to ask out of the blue.

It hurts even knowing she’ll be rejected.

“Alright.”

…It wasn’t too much?!

“Lie down.”

“Ah, wait─”

Before she could say anything.

Michaela’s slender hands embraced Han Seo-yeon.

A soft sensation approached the top of her head.

“Is this okay?”

“…Yeah.”

A lap pillow.

She didn’t expect it to be allowed so easily.

Warmth reaches the tips of her skin.

She feels the trembling of breath and the pulsing of the heart.

A sensation of warm body temperature.

“Can this really make you more comfortable?”

“Yeah. It’s super comfortable.”

A person’s lap isn’t made of cotton.

No matter how you think about it, a cotton pillow should be much more comfortable.

The previous Michaela would have thought so.

“Is that so.”

For some reason, she had somewhat different thoughts now.

“…Senior.”

“What is it?”

“Have you given a lap pillow to anyone else besides me?”

To allow skinship so easily.

Even Han Seo-yeon, who actually tried being spoiled, couldn’t understand.

The deduction was made that Michaela might have allowed skinship to others with her characteristically dry yet kind personality, unless she was completely smitten with Han Seo-yeon.

“No. I haven’t.”

“Am I the first?”

“Of course.”

She didn’t like that.

It wasn’t to her liking.

“To begin with, the only person around me who would make such a request is you.”

She wants to monopolize this lap.

She doesn’t want to give it to others.

It wasn’t just the lap she wanted to monopolize, though.

“Then if someone else besides me asks, would you give them a lap pillow too?”

Possessiveness.

Was it an inappropriate statement for a friend?

“No.”

The senior always does things that are easy to misunderstand.

“I did it because it’s you.”

“…”

“That’s all.”

Of course, Han Seo-yeon didn’t misunderstand needlessly.

Words saying she did it because they’re somewhat acquainted.

Words saying she doesn’t do this carelessly to others.

It was just that, nothing more.

“…Senior always seems mean.”

She knew full well it was just that and nothing more.

Even knowing that, she couldn’t help but feel excited.

The one who falls in love first loses.

It couldn’t be helped.

“You seem especially kind today.”

“I saw your expression.”

Michaela said.

“It looked somewhat anxious.”

“…Was it that obvious.”

“Aren’t we friends?”

With such a kind voice.

Unconsciously, fatigue melts away, tension loosens, and reassurance sets in.

“Rest.”

“Okay. Senior. I’ll sleep for a bit…”

Strength gradually left her.

She closed her eyes with peace of mind.

It felt like she could have a good dream.

─Boom!

It was a false feeling.

Somehow nothing matched up.

Even though she should know the original work.

“Kyaa!”

“It’s an explosion! Everyone run away!”

“Wh-what? What’s going on!”

A thunderous roar sounded.

An explosion sound from an unknown location.

“Stay calm!”

“Please move in an orderly fashion following the agents’ guidance!”

It’s noisy.

It was an afternoon where sleep was impossible.

A pillar of fire rose.

Acrid gunpowder smell and smoke swirled.

The actual destructive power was nonexistent.

It was a showy destruction with just a loud explosion sound.

That alone was enough to disrupt tens of thousands of tourists.

“There were two infirmaries in total, right?”

At each end of the Academy.

Lee Ha-yul, who was carried out, would be in one of them.

After a brief search, it wasn’t this one.

The opposite side.

She must be where Captain Maeng Jeong-hwan headed.

“…Given that level of artifact, he shouldn’t be at a disadvantage in combat power.”

As a military general, Major General Kim Il-soo knew the personal information of all cadres.

So he could tell.

Captain Maeng Jeong-hwan wasn’t that strong of an Awakener.

He’s not a Player.

Yet he had been negligent in his efforts.

He was a man whose limit was the rank of captain.

Nevertheless, he shouldn’t be at a disadvantage in combat power.

Major General Kim Il-soo was confident in achieving the operation’s objective.

“…What’s going on?”

A shock resounds.

Lee Ha-yul, who was lying in bed, sprang up.

It’s when everyone is focused on the Complete Victory Festival.

There was no one in the infirmary.

Except for her alone.

The infirmary was basically soundproofed.

For the well-being of seriously injured patients.

Even in such an infirmary, the air of commotion seeped in.

She checks the time.

It’s before even the preliminaries have started.

There were few reasons for commotion.

“Could it be…”

If so, it must be unintentional commotion.

And considering recent events at the Academy, the answer naturally emerged.

Of course, it’s just a conspiracy theory piecing together circumstances.

It was nothing more than the worst assumption.

However, Lee Ha-yul, as student council president, had to keep in mind that worst possibility.

“Ugh…!”

Her body feels heavy.

Far from her usual condition.

Still, she had to go.

She was strong.

Different from incompetent weaklings.

She could do the right thing.

“Found you!”

And thus she came face to face.

“Who are you?”

“What, ‘Who are you?'”

With a muscular giant of a man, but looking like a pig.

“Who taught you that! Where did you sell your manners!”

Suddenly spouting nonsense.

No, rather than nonsense, a military impersonator yelling like a superior to a subordinate.

Students and citizens gather.

In one place, trembling with anxiety.

Fortunately, there were no casualties.

Professional hunters, led by professors, arrived at the scene.

The hero was absent due to being busy.

There was no day without a schedule for her.

“…To think they would commit terrorism on the main school building.”

“Quite bold terrorists indeed!”

These were the reactions of Han Seoyeon and Baek Da-eun respectively.

Utterly ordinary student reactions.

It hadn’t been a month since terrorists attacked the students.

In the midst of this, another terrorist attack occurred.

Whether this terrorist was related to the previous one was a mystery, but the only certain fact was that terrorists had touched the Academy again.

“But it seems they underestimated the Academy too much.”

However, there was little of the same tension as before.

“To directly target the main school, of all places…”

It was clear that a terrorist attack had occurred.

It was also a fact that the security had been breached.

However, the circumstances of the hunting ground and the main school were completely different.

Enhanced countermeasures to prevent a recurrence of the previous incident.

Once the incident occurred, those in charge gathered promptly and took action.

The fact that no one died was proof of this.

The matter would soon be easily resolved.

That was the common view held by everyone.

“…Yeah.”

Only Han Seo-yeon couldn’t think that way.

“I, guess.”

She knew a terrorist attack would occur.

‘Why is the terrorist attack today…’

But that was originally supposed to happen a day later.

It shouldn’t have been today.

What could it be?

What could have acted as a variable?

Why did Maeng Jeong-hwan carry out the terrorism already?

No, is it even Maeng Jeong-hwan carrying out the terrorism right now in the first place?

Whatever the case may be, one thing was certain.

The original work had been twisted─

‘…Wait a minute.’

She suddenly turned her gaze.

“Han Seo-yeon? Is there something you’re looking for?”

“…Lee Ha-yul,”

She’s not here.

The blue-haired girl.

“Where is Lee Ha-yul…?”

In that place where everyone should be gathered, only she alone was not visible.

“I’m not sure.”

“Maybe she’s helping the professors? Since she’s the student council president.”

Thinking rationally, that would be the correct guess.

‘…’

But what is this?

This anxiety?

“Where are you going?”

“…Surely, you’re not thinking of going to look for her?”

She had to go.

Right now.

“You don’t need to do that!”

“That’s right. Seo-yeon, you don’t need to do that.”

They tried to stop her.

“Things like that, like last time, once is enough. There are professors and other pro hunters around now. You don’t need to do anything particularly.”

It was a young sister’s worry.

“You can just stay safe normally.”

Sorry, but she couldn’t accept that.

Han Seo-yeon couldn’t be normal.

She had to be the protagonist.

That was her responsibility for twisting the original work.

“It’s not like that.”

She lied.

“Just going to the bathroom for a bit.”

She left them.

She ran at full speed.

Maybe it was her imagination, but she felt like she made eye contact with Michaela.

Again.

Her sister was trying to shoulder everything alone again.

She had to go.

She had to move.

─Beep.

A text message alert sounded.

[Until the terrorism is resolved, don’t move a single step from that spot. Stay safe.]

Grind.

It was the deep consideration of parents as vast as the ocean.

“Manners? I’ve never seen someone like you before?”

Lee Ha-yul sneered.

It was a sneer directed at the man in front of her.

“…A female student dares to talk back?”

It wasn’t very effective, but.

He ignored her and continued talking.

“You don’t seem to be a civilian.”

“Of course not! I’m a proud soldier of the Republic of Korea Army!”

“…Ha.”

She had guessed from that stupid attitude, but to think he was really a terrorist.

“Not a soldier, but a terrorist, right?”

She raised her sword without hesitation.

The opponent is a terrorist.

Even that incompetent had subdued one before.

She swung her sword.

No, she tried to swing it.

“…What the.”

Strength wouldn’t enter her body.

She couldn’t feel her mana.

Something on a different dimension from mere accumulated fatigue.

“Heheh!”

Captain Maeng Jeong-hwan’s mouth bloomed wide.

He looked like a drooling pig.