episode_0067

*****

Since ancient times, there has been a saying in the hero industry that those with heavy hips will not succeed.

This is because most of the main work a hero does is outside. Exterminating monsters, arresting villains, and even investigating and responding to various paranormal phenomena. If you are a hero, it is no different from running on foot, whether in training or on the field.

In the hero industry, corner detectives cannot exist.

“So, in some ways, not being able to stay in front of a desk for a long time is the quality of a hero──Wow!”

“Gong. Boo .Hae.”

“Okay, I’ll sit down, I’ll sit down! Let’s not grab the horns from behind and press on them… .”

It doesn’t hurt or anything, but it’s harder to get up than if you press your shoulder. Because the height is so high, does the principle of a lever apply?

At my declaration of surrender, Raon stopped pressing with his weight and went back to sit next to me.

“Since last time, the number of times Raon grabs the horn has increased exponentially.”

“It was in a perfect position to catch, so I caught it without even realizing it. … Are you feeling very uncomfortable?”

“Well, it’s not that bad.”

“Right? Of course it’s ARMY!”

Actually, getting caught by the horns isn’t something I really like. Still, the sad thing about men is that when a girl hesitates and says something like that, it’s hard to reject it.

If you look at the way he hugged me as soon as he said yes, it would have been completely intentional.

“Do not attach. away. It’s not like girls are clinging to each other carelessly. And if you guys grab it by the horns, you die.”

“I didn’t even think about it.”

“Me, me too… .”

“I want to touch it.”

“Me too. I want to touch it.”

The male group of Jeongyoung and Hwain answer without looking in this direction. On the other hand, the female group of Bobbin and Marie are looking at us with bright smiles and bright eyes.

… Once again, if a girl makes that kind of expression, I will omit it below. In the end, a situation arose where all three girls were fiddling with my horn.

Fortunately, the place chosen for the study group was a cafe, so even if I made a little noise, I didn’t have to bother the people around me.

“What can I say, it’s smoother than I thought.”

“Right? I thought it would be a little rougher since I have horns.”

“Solid, do it.”

“Because I deflected the iron ball’s attack without any problem.”

The girls were talking about the horns, giving their own impressions. Of course, my sensibilities are not those of the dragon race, so even if I am praised for my horns, it is difficult for me to reply. It’s better than being told you’re ugly, though.

However, in terms of sensation, it is not much different from stroking your head. If you’ve ever experienced it, you’ll know that it’s not a very good feeling to be patted on the head by younger girls. Maybe you have a special taste.

In the end, it wasn’t long before I shook my head and shook off the kids’ hands.

“Now, let’s study. Study. If I keep doing this, I won’t be able to concentrate.”

“Army was the one who brought up the strange sophistry first.”

“I will reflect… .”

Anyway, this meeting is a study meeting. Using studying as an excuse, the girls felt disappointed but returned to their seats.

Marie was touching it even with her eyes closed. In a way, it is amazing to think that the desire to touch the horns has surpassed even the instinctive disgust.

Anyway, the only way to avoid being a girl’s toy is to study hard. I concentrated on my studies once again, diligently transcribing the notes the other kids had lent me.

I promised myself that I would focus better this time because I had an opportunity, but I didn’t last very long. The biggest reason is that there are too many things that are different from what I know.

For example, this part here. The textbook states that the only case where a monster in a dungeon returns to magical power is when the dungeon core assimilates with the local dragon vein.

However, in rare cases, the same phenomenon may occur when the dungeon creator manages all elements within the dungeon. One example is that when I entered the Sphere Shrine’s dungeon, all the artificial dinosaurs I caught were scattered by magic.

In addition, things I knew became outdated knowledge, or facts revealed in the original work were not yet revealed and were being used as other hypotheses. If it’s just one or two, you might ignore it, but if you keep seeing it, it becomes impossible to do so.

In the end, isn’t it inevitable that I end up like this?

“Ah—! I don’t know, no, I won’t!”

“But you agreed to give anything if you lost the bet.”

“Why don’t you just listen to me? They also have respect, so how difficult would it be to ask them to do something? If it’s really difficult, you can say it’s the second time.”

“Wow, that’s shameful.”

“The hero’s attitude, no… .”

Marie’s eyes turned cold, but I had no choice. There are less than two weeks left until the exam.

It’s difficult to cover 2 semesters, but you have to cover 1 semester as well? haha. I’d rather give Jun-seok a grand job and teach the other kids! It would be possible to do so.

When I think of Kang Seo-yoon’s eyes, I feel a little worried. Still, when it comes to studying and putting an iron plate on one’s face, wouldn’t everyone choose the latter? At least that’s the case for me.

“You guys should know this too. There are things that work and things that don’t work for people! According to common sense, it’s better to develop your own potential than to put effort into meaningless efforts, right? The fact that education in our country focuses on individual potential also raises the possibility of such a possibility.”

“I think I’ve realized that when ARMY talks too long, it’s mostly nonsense.”

I got caught. However, after realizing this, the countermeasure taken was to grab the horn and press down, so perhaps Raon has also developed a bad habit.

“Eight, you must be suffering! What about you guys!?”

“Huh? Me?”

Raon, who was tilting his head as if wondering, smiled and patted his head. That’s right, this guy. I hope it’s easier for people who already have it all in their head!

“Hwain are you!?”

“Because my practical score was not very good. I studied hard to somehow make up for it.”

That is also a factor that makes a good decision as a team leader. I already knew this, so next time!

“Enough to get a license. It’s hard to go around the cracks alone with just your student ID.”

“I’m not very confident in my practical skills either. If you get expelled, it’s not like death──, it’s that big of a deal, yes!”

“The teacher taught me. This and that.”

The other three also smiled strangely and gave various reasons.

I definitely remember seeing a smile like that a long time ago. When I was going to school in my previous life. When people who are good at studying are asked if they studied well for a test, they smile like that and say, ‘Good enough?’ I heard they said the same thing.

Well, it’s okay, you deceivers! Draw a sunflower on the OMR card!

“Hey, this place is full of deceivers. I need a colleague, a colleague… .”

“Where has all that confidence gone when you made the bet?”

“But this time, there is a basis.”

At that time, I really thought I knew everything. Especially in special subjects, I thought that getting a perfect score was a given. I never thought it would turn out like this.

Now, the only way left is to create a magical mechanical pencil by writing numbers on each side of the mechanical pencil.

“I have a question. Ami, are you that blocked? When I saw him studying, it didn’t seem like he knew anything.”

As I was looking around to see if I could find a name pen, Bobbin spoke to me. Have you come to deal a final blow to my tattered mentality?

I roughly explained the situation. In the past, I learned a lot from following Sia. However, because the knowledge is old and close to field knowledge, there are quite a few parts that do not fit with school studies, etc.

Bobbin tilted his head once after hearing what I said.

“That doesn’t really matter, right?”

“That’s right. Other people’s circumstances are inherently good things. The world survives with only one’s own strength… .”

“Isn’t that what you meant? Well, it’s a bit confusing trying to explain it in words. Let’s solve this problem first.”

Bobbin immediately thought of it and created a problem. It was truly a question that felt like something that would appear on a test.

However, the content included parts that I did not know exactly. In this case, if I tried to solve it using only my knowledge──… what?

“Is this number 3?”

“That’s the correct answer.”

As I froze at the unexpected result, the other kids also peeked their heads in to see what the problem was. And when the children saw the problem, they let out an exclamation of realization and each created several problems for each child.

Surprisingly, I was able to get almost all of them correct.

“Wow, that’s fascinating. Is it like this?”

“The written test is a multiple choice test.”

According to Bobbin, in most multiple-choice tests that are not calculation questions, the degree to which each answer is close to the correct answer varies. If there are five options, three make no sense at all, one is confusing, one is correct, and so on.

So, I can solve the problem by making a rough guess with what I know and filtering out the parts that are completely wrong. It was a unique case because I was at an age where I had holes in my knowledge, but knew everything else accurately except for the holes.

“Of course, it won’t work if you completely misunderstand it like Warwolf. Still, if you study those aspects properly, you will get pretty good results.”

Bobbin, with his grinning smile, looks like the god of studying. If this wasn’t a cafe with other people, I would have immediately bowed down and worshiped.

“Ha… . Thank you so much. I survived thanks to you, really.”

“What? Actually, it’s not a big deal. It seems like it’s an academy that regular students go to, so it’s common sense.”

It goes without saying, but there is no such thing as an academy for special subjects. Hero school students train when they have time to go to the academy. This is a blind spot because there is no workbook or anything like that, so there is no need to solve multiple-choice questions.

Of course, that doesn’t diminish my gratitude for Bobbin.

“I will definitely repay this favor.”

“It’s really not that big of a deal. But then, would you like to go to a cafe with me next time?”

“That’s as much as possible──”

“But isn’t this a method that can’t be used in general textbooks?”

At Raon’s words, the overheating happiness circuit stopped working for a moment. Still, wouldn’t general textbooks do anything?

“I have also studied general subjects before.”

“When did you say it was before?”

“Um, so… .”

… About 30 years ago?

When I couldn’t answer and was sweating profusely, Raon created a general textbook problem just like before and handed it to me.

The result can be guessed without even having to say it.

“Magic mechanical pencil, how many times should I draw?”

“Gong. wealth. Do it!”

After that, I studied like a mess.

***

“Ahaha! So what happened?”

“What happens? What happens? I’m dying from studying that isn’t even in the Eight Characters, so much.”

Today is a visit to Sia. He comes to the medical center like this about once every two days. Until now, it was a bit refreshing because most of the cases were just me or both of us being hospitalized.

Maybe that’s why I sometimes feel uneasy when I see Sia sitting on the bed wearing a hospital gown. In this world of recovery magic, long-term hospitalization is often bad news.

Of course, Sia is not that case. It’s just that recovery magic doesn’t work well because of the dragon’s magic. There is no need to worry because I thought about everything and even used contract magic to get confirmation from the doctor.

… When I thought about it again, I didn’t feel refreshed, but rather very agitated. But anyway, it’s almost like my only family now. Even the doctor will understand this much.

“Still, you’re suffering for no reason because of me.”

“… ? No, this has nothing to do with you, right?”

“You’re having a hard time with the written exam. If I were the homeroom teacher, I would have given the test questions in advance.”

“That’s denial!?”

This guy is going to be in big trouble!

Even if I were to give you something like that, I wouldn’t take it. Of course, it would be incredibly convenient to have that! Raon may not have become like his parents who are passionate about education! … Yeah, I won’t accept it either.

Did I look that mean in the first place? I thought he showed a lot of hero-like qualities in his own way.

When I said that while hiding my shock, Sia tilted her head as if she was genuinely puzzled.

“But you are an elementary school graduate.”

“Second, second──What!?”

“Elementary school graduate.”

I graduated from elementary school.

I graduated from elementary school.

Elementary school graduate… .

… Wow, I think I just had a really scary dream. It was a dream where Sia called me an elementary school graduate. I, too, no matter how hard I struggled with general subjects, I still have that kind of dream…

“Are you okay, elementary school senior?”

“Don’t keep acting like a nerd!?”

“But it’s true.”

“Cook,” Sia laughed teasingly. Normally I would have fought back, but the shock I just received was so great that I couldn’t think of anything to say.

If I were to be honest, I think even that was a good shot. The period of great chaos began and I awakened when I was 10 years old. Of course, there is no way I can attend school, so my educational level in this world is exactly the same as dropping out of elementary school.

No matter how good your academic ability is, you don’t want to end up dropping out of elementary school.

“So, I naturally thought that I wouldn’t be able to solve high school problems. Oh, and if it’s a moral issue, don’t worry. Currently, the senior is on an infiltration mission as Hwain’s escort. The association provides the necessary materials to carry out its duties.”

Sia said something for a long time, but it wasn’t very noticeable. The shock I received was that great.

What is it? I feel like I have become a very terrible person because I dropped out of elementary school. It couldn’t look more shabby if you wrote “dropped out of elementary school” next to Ashura Kwonseong. Was I actually a slave to the academic society? ?

As I was doing self-reflection like that, Sia pulled me in. I didn’t really resist, and Sia opened her mouth while holding me tightly in her arms.

“It’s okay. Because I really know what my senior has done. No matter how other people view you, I will always be your ally.”

“Sia… .”

I slightly raised my head and saw Sia’s smiling face right above me. A smile filled with love felt so warm to me.

When I saw that kind smile—

“Ouch!”

──He stabbed Sia’s cheek with the horn.

“Wait a minute, it stings, senior!”

“Why are you talking so proudly? I’m the Four Heroes? There are very few people who don’t know what I did?”

It’s not like I’m some kind of dark hero or something. There is no way an association that is supposed to promote heroes would just leave my achievements as is.

“You were the only one who called me an elementary school graduate in the first place! A senior like the sky, huh? How dare you evaluate me based on my academic ability?”

“Ouch! Okay, okay, so stop stabbing me!”

Unable to bear my horn, Sia quickly surrendered. After being released from the hug, I took a deep breath and quickly cooled my slightly heated face.

Sia, you’re suddenly saying something embarrassing. That much is obvious, so there’s no need to say it.

“The tip of that horn is surprisingly sharp. Don’t you have to put something on like a sock?”

“It’s probably less sharp than a sharpie. Anyway, I’m pissed off for no reason, so don’t call me that again.”

“Chet. What do you think? You will soon be graduating from high school.”

I glared at Sia, who avoided my gaze. I’ll have to hammer in another nail later.

“But it’s surprising. Were you also concerned about things like academic background?”

For a moment, I thought he was going to tease me again, but Sia’s tone was calm. I stopped getting a little angry and thought seriously about Sia’s words.

Rather than saying I wasn’t paying attention, it would be closer to say I didn’t have time to care. Until now, no one has found fault with something like that.

In fact, because the time was right, there were probably a lot of heroes like me who didn’t have a very good education. Most heroes graduate from high school. The reason I care about my educational background is probably simply because the idea of my past life remains inside me.

Of course, I couldn’t talk about my past life, so I agreed to Sia’s story. Then Sia’s expression changed to a very lukewarm one.

This gaze judged by potential… . What is it, pity?

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I thought you were a human too.”

“That’s it. There were more than one person like me at that time.”

During the period of great chaos, not only the awakened but also the general public did not receive proper education. At least among my generation, there aren’t that many people who question my educational background.

Considering Sia’s educational background, she can easily recite her unfortunate past.

But when I said that, Sia shook her head.

“That doesn’t exist either. It reminds me of a time when I once heard something bad about a senior. The senior laughed and said that Anti was also interested, but in reality, you had a hard time back then, right?”

… ?

What does this mean?

“No. I’m of the group that thinks antis are also interested, right? That’s why I went crazy like that.”

“A. You don’t have to hide it from me.”

“You hide it and say it’s real?”

After the Internet was revived, he even deliberately chose statements that would upset anti-fans. So, it’s difficult for people to look at me like, ‘I can accept everything.’

At first, Sia seemed to tell me not to flip out, but when she realized that I was serious, she looked embarrassed. It’s not like you’ve been with me for a year or two, so why are you surprised all over again?

But I also became confused by Sia’s next words.

“Then why did you make a bet with Kang Seo-yoon?”

“… ? Why? I told you. Because he seems to be spreading useless rumors──”

“Anyway, the rumors about Jun-seok disappeared, right? The only rumor that remains is that the senior is favoring Junseok, but a senior in the past would not have paid attention to these rumors.”

“That’s… , right.”

surely. In the past, I wouldn’t have paid attention to rumors like that. Wow, doesn’t that make sense then?

No, no, no.

“I still don’t really care. But if my image is tarnished, the painters will feel uncomfortable──”

“My heart aches every time I hear such rumors about my senior. In the first place, why should Hwain be uncomfortable with the rumor that he is the Emperor’s favorite disciple? That sounds like a good rumor to me.”

“Still, there were quite a few jealous looks.”

“What do you think? There was no malice in the jealousy, right? If you’re a normal person, you might feel envious. Painters and other kids won’t understand that much.”

… That too.

To begin with, Fine’s team itself wasn’t received very well. There must have been times when people looked at me with such jealousy.

So, not everyone expressed their opinions on this matter. If you think about it carefully, hasn’t Jun-seok ever questioned his gaze itself since he revealed his abilities?

Then why did those kids look worried?

… Because of me?

“As I said before, I am your senior’s ally. Now, come here. I will comfort you with your accumulated emotions.”

“Uh… .”

Since I had nothing to say in response, I just did as Sia told me and hugged her. Sia was busy saying something or stroking my head, but I continued to spin my own thoughts.

is it? Did I actually have a normal sensibility that felt stressed by such abusive comments, and was I just pretending to be okay before?

However, my previous potential was a mechanism where motivation leads to reinforcement. If you really felt stressed by such abusive remarks, there is no way your potential would have been activated properly.

So did I really not think much of this when the rumor started circulating? It’s a fine person――No, the other kids are fine now. Just think about how you feel.

Did I really feel negative when this rumor circulated?

And a hundred, a thousand, and ten thousand. If you were feeling negative.

What does that fact mean?

So I kept repeating these thoughts with no answer until Sia, surprised by the Doctor’s arrival, pushed me away.

*****