Ch.168Would You Like to See My Cat? – 1

Clang, clang, CLASH!

At the training grounds located in the Superpower Academy, a man and woman are exchanging blows with “real swords.”

The sparring match is so fierce it makes onlookers’ skin crawl.

They attack without hesitation, aiming for spots that would cause at least serious injury if hit properly.

Their movements aren’t merely for practice. This should be considered “actual combat.”

It’s so intense that people are wondering if they’re really fighting and if someone should stop them.

Even though they’re not ordinary people but students with combat experience, they’re still concerned.

Even the teaching assistants have come out, arms crossed, watching with worried expressions.

Among all those people, only two individuals maintained completely unfazed expressions.

CLANG!

“Oh. They’re picking up the pace. Are they trying to finish this soon?”

“Probably? When my junior acts like that, there’s always a reason.”

The ones exchanging opinions in perfectly calm voices are Dasom Yoo and Hana Kang.

In the past, they would have been extremely tense, but not anymore.

They’ve seen this situation so many times that they’ve adapted without even realizing it.

And the ones engaged in this brutal sparring match were, of course, Hyunwoo Lee and Soohyun Kim.

“Hup!”

Hyunwoo suddenly switches his sword to his left hand and thrusts it forward.

As Soohyun slightly turns her neck to dodge, he throws a punch as if he’d been waiting for it.

It’s not a simple punch. It’s a deadly strike infused with magical power.

Hyunwoo, from the Weaponry Class, is performing a technique that supposedly only those from the Martial Arts Class can do.

“Having a dual class is really advantageous. Someone from Weaponry Class using Martial Arts Class magic manipulation.”

Dasom Yoo shakes her head as if she’s fed up.

Swinging a sword filled with magical power and then suddenly launching martial arts magic.

Unless you knew it was coming, you’d be caught off guard instantly.

Though the difference in magical manipulation ability between Weaponry Class and Magic Class is somewhat less.

The magical manipulation of Weaponry Class and Martial Arts Class are distinctly different.

If one had to specify, Weaponry Class is about continuous concentration, while Martial Arts Class is about balancing concentration and dispersion.

It might not be a big issue when facing monsters, but it’s crucial when facing villains.

When you’re tracking one magical flow and getting used to it, suddenly a completely different magic appears?

Unless you’re exceptionally skilled, your response will inevitably be delayed.

BOOM!

At that moment, an explosion sounds from the training grounds, and the sparring pair steps back.

Soohyun Kim, who also has a dual class like Hyunwoo, had cast a fire spell in that brief moment.

If it had hit properly, even Hyunwoo would have suffered quite serious injuries.

But both Hana Kang and Dasom Yoo, who’s sensitive to injuries, remained unmoved.

This too was a situation they’d experienced many times. And despite this, Hyunwoo always emerged unscathed.

“Wow. That one was really sharp, wasn’t it?”

Yes, just like now.

Everyone thought he’d be engulfed in flames, but Hyunwoo was completely relaxed.

The teaching assistants with enough skill understood the situation, but most students were confused.

Soohyun Kim, who was facing Hyunwoo, provided the explanation.

“Looks like you knew I was going to use magic. I even did a double incantation.”

“I saw a tell! Normally, magical power should flow out like this, but it was cut off in the middle. That’s when I knew. Ah, the first spell is a feint, and there’s going to be another one.”

Hearing Hyunwoo’s words, the watching students look at Soohyun in shock.

Wielding a sword as someone from the Weaponry Class is already difficult and mentally taxing enough.

And during all that, she was performing a double incantation, which even those from the Magic Class find challenging.

It’s hard to believe she was barely a Bronze rank just a few months ago.

“Alright, juniors? Let’s wrap this up and head to the next lecture, shall we?”

As Hana Kang steps in, both fighters lower their swords and step back.

The fierce aura of wanting to kill each other instantly disappears.

Hyunwoo laughs, saying today was fun too, hahaha!

To which Soohyun shrugs, saying it was nothing special.

The ones who couldn’t adapt to this change were the watching students.

“Soohyun.”

As she was organizing her sword and about to head to the classroom for the next lecture.

The one who stopped her was, of course, Hyunwoo, who was cleaning up.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

Once Soohyun gave her permission, Hyunwoo glanced around cautiously before speaking.

“Is something wrong?”

“Pardon?”

“No. I felt during our sparring that you seemed unusually sharp today, if that’s the right way to put it. At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but maybe it really is?”

At those words, Soohyun inwardly flinched.

She had tried to hide it, but it seemed Hyunwoo already knew everything.

If that’s the case, her efforts to not show it were in vain, she muttered to herself.

“Is it really just your imagination?”

Soohyun continued cleaning up while throwing the question back.

After pondering for a moment, Hyunwoo tilted his head and then shook it.

“To be honest, I’d say ‘no.'”

“Really?”

“Yes. The sharpness I felt from sword to sword, the collision of magical powers against my skin, it’s still vivid. If there’s one thing I trust, it’s my instinct.”

As a teammate, he’s expressing concern without overstepping boundaries.

It’s natural. Taking care of a teammate’s condition is what teammates should do.

“I’m anxious.”

“…Um, I’m not sure how anxiety relates to the sharpness I felt earlier.”

“They’re related. You might not know, but it’s a really unpleasant feeling. Ah, maybe I should say I’m uncomfortable rather than anxious? Hmm… what exactly is it? It feels like there’s a stray cat in the house.”

Soohyun continues to show signs of anxiety.

And beside her, Hyunwoo makes a nonsensical comment, “What, did you leave fish at home?”

Meanwhile—

“Let’s go, Mole! Hehehe! Mom, Dad! Your filial daughter has finally set the date!”

Rina Lee, having finally caught The Mole, excitedly jumps around as she comes through the portal.

Following her, Seojin Baek, who has become ‘The Mole’, starts by saying he absolutely doesn’t accept this.

“Filial daughter? If you have any conscience, stop it. Your parents seem to be worried sick because of you.”

“What are you saying! Is there a more filial daughter than me?”

Wanting to ask if that filial daughter might be a fire-attribute one but forcibly holding back.

Seojin Baek had returned to Korea a day earlier than scheduled.

*

Where should I be most careful in the current situation? The Superpower Association? No.

Obviously, it’s Soohyun. She’s supposed to return tomorrow.

But in reality, she’s returning today, a day earlier, and plans to be with Rina.

Soohyun didn’t seem to want to monopolize me.

While she was wary of Rina, she didn’t harbor resentment or hostility.

Perhaps Soohyun, despite saying she dislikes it, is subconsciously accepting it.

But that’s one thing, and emotionally, it might be different.

Especially in the current situation, I also need to worry about the ‘hiding it from her’ part.

So I thought about being honest only with Soohyun, but Rina caught onto that.

“I’m using my wish token, do I need to report everything?”

Right. The current situation arose because of the wish token I offered.

The important thing about using that wish is Rina’s intention.

I quickly realized there was no benefit in bringing up Soohyun more.

Even if I tell the truth later, for now, let’s stay quiet.

While cursing my past self once more for overusing wish tokens.

“So, where are you planning to go? If we get caught wandering around, I won’t take responsibility.”

“Ugh. Was Seojin oppa always a man without responsibility?”

“In today’s world, that’s gender discrimination. Dividing men and women like that.”

As I joke, Rina bursts out laughing.

“I’d like to go to Seojin oppa’s house, but…”

“But?”

“I’m worried. That witch, Kim Soohyun, might come looking for us.”

Oh. Correct. I was worried about that too.

Is it because she’s The Crimson Witch? Soohyun has a frighteningly good intuition.

The scenario of Soohyun suddenly showing up while I’m at home with Rina?

Just imagining it makes my hands and feet tingle with fear.

“So let’s go to my house!”

“…That’s a strange conclusion. How did we get to your house from there?”

And also? There’s a more important point.

“I heard last time that your parents live right below you.”

“Yes. My parents live downstairs, and I live alone upstairs. Why?”

“What if your parents sense something? Will that be okay?”

“Huh? Why would my parents know? If anything, they’d welcome Seojin oppa with open arms!”

I’ve known for a while that they think well of me.

The problem is they might misunderstand that you’re holding me hostage.

If we tell them we’ve done something, they’ll probably ask a similar question.

– If our daughter forced you, please wave a carrot! –

That reaction will definitely come out. One hundred percent. I guarantee it.

“Besides, my parents aren’t home right now. They have something to do and won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon.”

“Don’t tell me you calculated all of this, caught the Russian mole, and now caught this mole?”

“I can’t deny it! Ahahahaha!!”

After that, we also went through the trouble of evading the boundary personnel to maintain secrecy.

When an S-rank deliberately conceals their presence, they really can enter without anyone knowing.

“Are you sure your parents aren’t home?”

“I told you they’re not. And it’s not like your parents dislike you, so what are you worried about?”

Isn’t it impressive for a man to do something while a woman’s parents are downstairs?

“Stop worrying. Let’s go in quickly. You can also see the cat while you’re here.”

“Cat? You have a cat?”

When I came to Rina’s house last time, there was no cat? I didn’t see any signs of one.

“I got one recently. It’s really pretty! You won’t regret it. Oh, do you dislike cats?”

“Not at all. If I had to choose, I’m more of a cat person than a dog person.”

“That’s a relief!”

What’s a relief? By the way, I didn’t know Rina would keep a pet.

I’m a bit curious about what kind of cat she got.

…There’s none? Wait, where’s the cat?

I’ve entered Rina’s house, but there’s no cat, not even cat hair.

Meanwhile, as soon as we entered her house, where did she go?

Just as I was thinking maybe this was another one of her jokes,

Rina, who had gone into the room, comes running back to me.

“Hey, are you joking again? I don’t see even a shadow of a cat…”

“Meow~”