episode_0024

Cheongsong Academy 10th Class New Student Welcoming Ceremony.

The venue for the event, held a week after the winter break, was bustling and noisy.

With all the seniors from the second year and above gathered, it was notably a female student with teal hair who stepped onto the stage.

Such an uncommon color made onlookers curious about the type of magic she wielded. The most probable guess was that she was a nature-aligned mage.

[Oath. Cheongsong Academy 10th Class Representative, Ryu Seeun.]

Indeed, having been admitted as the top student of the 10th class with overwhelming grades, she was a girl who handled nature-aligned magic, specifically plant-related spells.

Her most striking features were her flowing hair that reached past her eyebrows and her semi-rimless glasses that obscured her deep purplish eyes. Despite them, she possessed an undeniable sophisticated beauty.

‘Even with a beauty-sealing item, it’s not hidden. That’s admirable, isn’t it?’

I mused on such a thought inwardly.

Of course, it was a frivolous thought.

‘Ahem.’

…Anyway, yes.

Ryu Seeun, as she introduced herself, finished the new student oath with a clear voice before descending from the stage, receiving countless rounds of applause.

It seemed that the idol(?) of that class was decided at this moment. At the very least, her buzz was undeniable.

Oh, and to add, for the 9th class, Cheon Soyul, the youngest daughter of Manroe, was precisely that idol.

So what was Cheon Soyul, the eternal idol of the 9th class, doing at this moment?

“…Hey, Lee Hyunjin.”

“What?”

“That kid, isn’t she… that?”

She was sitting right next to me, tapping my innocent shoulder with her fist.

She whispered so only I could hear, subtly gesturing towards Ryu Seeun with her eyes.

“The successor of Black Heaven…”

“…Hm.”

Cheon Soyul mumbled in an uncharacteristically bitter voice.

Of course, my case wasn’t much different.

I let out a brief hum and recalled memories from a few days ago. Come to think of it, I believe I received a related message from my Master-nim.

…As always, I’d only skimmed the preview and ignored it, so I couldn’t recall the exact details, but if I were to roughly piece it together…

“Another Archmage’s disciple, huh…”

That girl with the seaweed-like hair, who was now descending from the grand hall’s stage and returning to her seat, was almost certainly…

…a figure connected to ‘Black Heaven,’ the last Archmage of Korea and the sole male.

I don’t know about other melee-type individuals, but at least in Cheon Soyul’s and my eyes, it was visible.

The distinctive pattern of the unique magic ‘Black Sky’ etched into her two eyes.

*****

The essence of the new student welcoming ceremony wasn’t the representative’s oath or the Hero, President Yang Chan-ho’s too-much-talk. Naturally, the latter even less so.

The core, befitting the name ‘welcoming ceremony,’ lay in the seniors’ greetings to the freshmen, the ‘hatchlings.’

It wasn’t any different during our time, either.

I recalled the old days with a somewhat wistful feeling.

‘…Back then, I thought Senior Seo Harin was a very rational person.’

There was definitely a time when I thought I was lucky not to be swayed by rumors that she was the granddaughter of a chaebol family, the apple of Ilseong Group chairman’s eye…

After hanging out a few times, it was only after receiving a political marriage contract disguised as a romantic proposal (it wasn’t) that I was able to come to my senses.

‘Hmm.’

It was indeed a long and arduous process.

She was one of the two people who consistently sent me messages these days. She wouldn’t give up, even when thoroughly ignored.

Oh, and of course, the other one was my Master-nim.

Anyway, what’s important now isn’t the student council vice president, who’s currently cosplaying as a normal person while guiding the freshman hatchlings.

I shook my head to clear away distracting thoughts, then began receiving greetings one by one from the new students who tentatively approached me.

Right.

Hello.

Nice to meet you too.

You might have forgotten, but I was, after all, the second-ranked student of a class.

And I was also an Archmage’s disciple…

As such, there were bound to be quite a few juniors approaching to get acquainted.

Of course, I didn’t feel any aversion. It was the same for the others, not just me.

There was no need to even mention ‘top student’ Cheon Soyul, and for another example, Baek Ayun was somehow surrounded by burly melee-types, looking utterly drained of her soul.

Well, she does have the prestige of being Gwon Hwang’s granddaughter.

‘Ah, our eyes met.’

I raised my fist once to Baek Ayun as a gesture of encouragement, then turned away, pointedly ignoring her snarling expression.

I’d been feeling a gaze for a while now, and I was starting to realize who it was.

It was so excessively cautious that it took me a while to notice. That subtle gaze even contained an inexplicable emotion…

‘Hostility?’

For reasons unknown, ‘she’ was clearly expressing hostility towards me right now.

I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

I wondered if I had committed some rude act deserving her animosity, but no matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t believe so.

Because the opponent was none other than the top new student, Ryu Seeun, the Archmage’s disciple (presumed).

I have absolutely no acquaintance with Black Heaven, though?

In fact, I don’t even know that Archmage’s face.

I vaguely recall my Master-nim saying that the Archmage was a person who disliked being exposed to the media due to their personality, or perhaps not.

‘This is a bit awkward.’

I rubbed my chin, frowning. Still, isn’t she a top-ranking junior from a lower year?

As both a senior and the second-ranked student of the second year, there was nothing good about having a bad relationship.

Should I try talking to her first?

It was around the time I was racking my brain, trying to think of countermeasures.

Click, clack—

Suddenly, the crisp sound of footsteps tickled my ears.

I blinked and checked; it was the sound Ryu Seeun was making.

The attention of the crowd was somewhat drawn to her. That was natural, as she was practically the temporary protagonist of this gathering.

I furrowed my brow slightly. It was because it seemed she was walking toward me.

I’d trust she wouldn’t propose a duel (?) in such a public place, right?

“…”

Still, just in case, should I prepare?

She walked straight toward me, and truly, she was a junior with incredibly scary eyes.

As an inexplicable tension and urgency built up, Ryu Seeun finally stood before me.

Our eye levels didn’t quite match, so I ended up looking down at her slightly.

‘…Seeing her up close, it’s even clearer.’

In her purplish eyes, the pattern of that Black Sky I knew was undeniably etched. It was a phenomenon not commonly seen.

The very manifestation of that dark cloud’s shimmer was the most definitive proof.

She was indeed a mage who had mastered Black Heaven’s unique magic. Though I couldn’t directly tell her exact relationship with that rumored Archmage.

‘Considering her surname and age group, is she his daughter then? Or just a disciple?’

Around then, Ryu Seeun parted her reddish lips.

“…Lee Hyunjin.”

“?”

And she uttered my name.

I blinked.

…What was that? Did she just use informal speech with me? I’m her senior, and unless she repeated a year, I should definitely be older than her, shouldn’t I?

Just then, as I, born in a Confucian country, was foolishly dumbfounded by the sudden disrespect, fortunately, Ryu Seeun added more.

“Are you Lee Hyunjin? The disciple of the Ice Empress Seol Hayeon, Cheongsong Academy 9th Class second-ranked student.”

“…”

Somehow, there was a slight sense of incongruity, but since her outward demeanor seemed polite, I nodded almost instinctively.

Yes, I was Lee Hyunjin. It was an affirmation of that.

Grind…

“…?”

And then suddenly, a surprisingly savage sound pierced my ears.

It was the sound of teeth grinding.

I looked down at the teal-haired girl in front of me, a question mark hovering over my head.

…A small enough sound, just audible to me at this distance.

I doubted it, but had she intentionally controlled it? Seeing her expression remained calm, it somehow strengthened my suspicion.

I stared at Ryu Seeun with a hardened expression, and she, too, looked straight up at me, openly furrowing her brow this time.

At that point, I was certain.

This junior, it clearly seems she holds a grudge against me.

I found myself idly speculating about a possible grudge between my Master-nim Seol Hayeon and Black Heaven Ryu Jinseong, which might or might not exist.

It was around the time I was mulling over such complicated thoughts.

Suddenly, Ryu Seeun swiftly extended her hand.

I flinched reflexively.

Clutch!

Ryu Seeun clutched my wrist with enough force to make even me, a pure-blooded mage, feel a slight pang of pain. And then she pulled.

…And just like that, there was only about a handspan’s distance between us.

“I like you.”

Ryu Seeun confessed to me, grinding her teeth.

… … …

“?”

I felt the concept of ‘answer’ evaporate and fly away from my mind.

…What kind of answer was I supposed to choose and give in this situation?

“After you graduate, come to Cheorwon and marry me. Thank you.”

Moreover, these words were even being added to the situation.

No, seriously. This isn’t a joke, what can I even do…?

‘…What kind of confession is this, like a job interview acceptance notice?’

Thus, in various parts of the banquet hall prepared for the new students’ welcome, all sorts of diverse commotions began to erupt.

Far away, Cheon Soyul’s eye twitched awkwardly.

On the second-floor balcony, Senior Seo Harin wore a blank expression, like a raccoon whose cotton candy had been stolen.

Baek Ayun, who was relatively nearby, flinched her shoulder, then her pupils quivered.

“?”

Why are you doing that too…?