episode_0184

I received an urgent call from Kanzaki and left the academy’s main building.

Near the campus entrance, Baek Ayun came into view, heading somewhere with an expression I had never seen on her face before.

…A little further away, Kanzaki was crouching, her face tear-streaked.

Soon, our eyes met, and she shook her head with an utterly distraught expression.

-Sob, sob, I’m sorry! I couldn’t stop her!

It was as if she was saying that. I pressed a hand to my forehead, but nonetheless, I quickly moved to block Baek Ayun’s path.

She paused briefly, looking up at me.

“…Move.”

But then, with a voice so cold it was hard to believe she was speaking to me, she tried to pass me. Almost reflexively, I grabbed both of her hands.

Grab!

“…”

“…”

At that, Baek Ayun’s expression, which had seemed intent on smashing everything in her path to move somewhere, softened strangely.

The strength drained from her body slightly, like a puppy that had been given a tranquilizer.

It felt a little apologetic to use such a comparison, but that was exactly how it felt.

With an awkward expression, I held her wrists and pulled her closer.

“L-Let go.”

Baek Ayun flinched, reacting a little late. She raised her eyes and glared at me, trying to look scary.

It seemed she had consciously put on that expression, but it was much cuter than the naturally cold gaze she had just given me.

“…Calm down first, Baek Ayun. What do you intend to do by just blindly rushing off like that?”

I spoke to her in a gentle, coaxing tone, like one would to a child. In any case, I had to stop her from acting purely on impulse.

I, too, had heard the news about Gwon Hwang, that old man, from Yang Chan-ho just before receiving Kanzaki’s message. So I could well understand why Baek Ayun was so shaken.

However, the fact that the special S-rank Awakener, the Fist Emperor Gwon Hwang, had gone missing with his fate unknown, meant there was a good reason for it.

Unless it was a natural disaster, this was inevitably the work of another Awakener.

No matter how I thought about it, I could only imagine a situation where S-rank monsters or higher were running rampant. What could Baek Ayun do if she went there?

“Get a grip. Do you think you can do anything against S-ranks? It seems your nose has gotten a bit high just because you’re at the top of the academy.”

I deliberately spoke a few more words in a sharp tone.

“You know perfectly well that you won’t be of any help if you go. It would be better to request support from other S-ranks…”

“…Shut up.”

Baek Ayun cut me off mid-sentence, biting her lip tightly.

She snarled at me, her expression even fiercer than before.

“I don’t know what happened to Grandfather right now… So are you telling me to just stay put and wait until I hear news? How do I know what that next news will be?!”

“…”

“Maybe, maybe. I really don’t want to think about it, but maybe—right now, Grandfather…”

“…Baek Ayun.”

Baek Ayun, unable to continue speaking, soon trembled slightly and lowered her head.

Even so, how could I bring myself to say anything more direct to her in that state?

I reluctantly sighed deeply, gently patting her back.

“Your current feelings, I wouldn’t dare to presume to know. But I assure you, I don’t think the Elder would want you to come looking for him. I can guarantee that.”

“…”

“And is the Elder just any ordinary Awakener? He might be in danger, but he will, he will definitely be safe.”

Baek Ayun didn’t answer, but clung to me, trembling slightly in my embrace.

Rubbing her forehead against my chest, it seemed she was under considerable emotional distress.

“First, let’s go see the President-nim. For now, perhaps that man might be the most helpful…”

“…I won’t. Hyunjin.”

“Huh, what?”

That’s what I thought.

Thwack!

Until Baek Ayun suddenly slapped my arm away.

“?”

Was it truly the strongest close-combat prowess? My physical abilities were already excellent, comparable to most close-combat types, but Baek Ayun broke free from my grasp in an instant.

In a moment of surprise, Baek Ayun pushed me away with a crestfallen expression, as if she couldn’t help it.

“I’m just sorry.”

“…What…?”

Whoosh! Before I could even express my confusion, Baek Ayun’s slender leg swung in a broken motion, aiming for my temple.

It was an accurate and sharp roundhouse kick. Her skirt fluttered widely, and her leg, imbued with considerable magic, came rushing towards me to kick me—

Crack!

Of course, I reacted quickly and managed to conjure cold energy.

Her leg and ankle froze solid before they could strike my temple.

“Ugh.”

Baek Ayun hopped in place with an expression of dismay. It was a struggle to somehow maintain balance with her leg frozen.

“…This brat, how dare you be so rude to your Older Brother.”

And I immediately put on a stern expression and snatched her ankle.

“L-Let go.”

“No. Shouldn’t ‘I’m sorry, Older Brother’ come first?”

“Can you please not joke around at a time like this…?!”

This isn’t a joke.

I’m quite serious.

To not understand my insistence on this title, you are truly disqualified as a younger sister. I added a charge of impudence and lifted Baek Ayun.

“…Eh?”

I wasn’t just talking; I really grabbed her ankle and lifted her arm upwards.

Baek Ayun was forcibly lifted by my magic-infused strength.

Since she was so small and her leg was heavily frozen, lifting her itself was quite easy.

However, it was clearly a posture where I would also fall if I maintained it for too long.

“Heave-ho.”

Using the momentum of lifting her, I swung my arm with a swish.

So what would happen?

“Ah, oh…?!”

It was simple. Baek Ayun flew through the air with one leg like an ice pop, twisting her body after several meters.

As the proverb goes, even a gizzard shad, when rotten, is still a gizzard shad [meaning that someone with true talent will show it even in adverse conditions]. True to a master of close combat, she showcased a flexible landing.

She then looked up at me with an incredulous expression and began to throw a fit.

“D-Did you just throw me? Is that what you did?! Hyunjin!”

“I can hear you without you shouting. You can speak softly.”

“Hyunjin…!!!”

Hmm. Her voice volume had increased, so it seemed she was truly angry. Her eyes, as she looked at me, were filled with shock and betrayal.

I watched her for a moment, maintaining silence.

Whoosh!

“…”

Through Blink magic, I instantly appeared behind Baek Ayun. She flinched, trying to turn around urgently, but—

“Too slow.”

“Gah…?!”

I was faster, roughly seizing the back of her head.

I pushed her, almost slamming her roughly to the ground.

A crunch! followed by a crash!

“Ah, ugh.”

It seemed she had tried to guard with both arms, but the impact of hitting the ground was not small, as Baek Ayun let out trembling, disjointed sounds.

Seeing her reddened forearms, a sense of guilt welled up, as if I had done something bad…

But I couldn’t help it. This was all for Baek Ayun’s sake.

“No matter what, I can’t let a kid who’s determined to go to Istanbul on a whim just go.”

“…U-Ugh.”

“Do you even know where Turkey is located?”

“W-Well, I guess. Africa…?”

“…”

Strictly speaking, it’s somewhere between Europe and the Middle East of Asia, so I would have considered any part of the Eurasian continent as a correct answer.

How could she so perfectly avoid every limited choice?

Looking back, her written exam scores weren’t that good either.

Among my acquaintances, the only model students were Cheon Soyul and Kanzaki.

At the same time, I felt a pang of emotion, and I gently stroked Baek Ayun’s head.

“…It’s no use being gentle now. H-Hyunjin, you’re already out of my good graces. You cruel person.”

“I told you to call me Older Brother.”

“You still haven’t given up on that?!”

No, why? You secretly liked calling me that too, didn’t you?

‘She was the one who used that title first, anyway.’

This brat, her attempt to backtrack now didn’t sit well with me. Just as I narrowed my eyes, about to add something more.

“…Phew, enough of this useless talk.”

Baek Ayun glared at me with an exasperated expression, mumbling to herself.

And then, her eyes gleaming with a determined look, as if she had resolved something.

“I’ll propose a deal, Hyunjin.”

“What?”

“If you let me go now, and come to Istanbul with me, I’ll let you have your way with me in the airplane bathroom.”

I froze for a moment, looking down at her.

She gave a cute wink.

My rigidity was short-lived, my contemplation not long, and my decision and response came even faster.

“Okay, deal…”

“Deal my ass.”

Thump!

“Ugh.”

And suddenly, Cheon Soyul appeared from behind and smacked me right on the head.

She looked disdainfully at me, clutching the back of my head, and Baek Ayun, who flinched.

“You two are truly just beasts. One female, one male.”

“…”

“Leaving everything else aside, if you do that on a plane, it’s not just a nuisance; it’s straight-up news material, you perverted creeps?”

She snarled in an incredibly fierce voice.

Even if I had ten mouths, I would have nothing to say.

Baek Ayun and I awkwardly fell silent.