Ch.169169. Return to Your Studies.

The weekend incident had the news buzzing. A new monster had saved an entire airplane.

Public opinion was gradually becoming more favorable.

-Were only the masked ones bad?

-No, we should still be careful of all monsters.

-Thinking about the masked beings, wearing a mask itself was already a trap.

-I thought there were good masked beings…

Both public opinion and interviews with Jaegers all claimed that they had been saved.

[If you ask what’s different between something fighting for us and a masked being, honestly, I don’t know. But that monster suddenly helps without saying anything.]

[I don’t know how to distinguish them. Not wearing a mask? And it looks more like a new species rather than an existing monster. It threw itself from the air to save us. It appears more erratically than masked beings. As if it knows something.]

The news was full of various stories.

Ariel was also watching the news while having a meal with her parents after a long time.

They were successful business people and Jaegers from Ireland.

To be precise, her husband was more famous as a Jaeger, while her mother was more renowned as a businesswoman.

They occasionally came to Korea like this to spend quality time with Ariel.

But at this moment, all of Ariel’s attention was focused on the TV.

Her father cleared his throat.

“Is something bothering you?”

Hearing the gentle voice, Ariel quickly turned her head.

“No, Father. There have been various incidents in Korea lately.”

“About that…”

“If you’re going to tell me to return home for safety, I won’t.”

Ariel spoke firmly.

And her father’s face fell.

“My child is already… rejecting me…!”

“Come on, don’t make such an unsightly display in front of our child.”

Her mother intervened, as if soothing a child.

With long hair and a calm impression opposite to Ariel’s. Ariel’s posture naturally became more demure.

“Korea has always been a place where monsters appear most powerfully and frequently. Monster occurrences too. Honestly, as parents, we were worried about sending you here.”

“Connor protects me well. I’m learning from him every day now. Plus, I’m also receiving training from the Magician Guild. How about that? I’m doing well, right? Mama?”

In front of her parents, she’s like a puppy showing affection. She sends her gaze with a bright smile.

“Daddy. Don’t worry about me. I’m receiving incomparably better training here. I’m definitely staying here until graduation.”

“This father is so proud of you. How admirable… But I’m sad that I can’t see you often.”

At his whining voice, her mother stopped her father once again.

“Don’t show such a weak side to your child. If that’s your wish, I’ll let you stay. How is school life?”

“It couldn’t be better.”

Her father watched with a smile, but suddenly his expression turned serious. As if targeting something, he began building up toward his daughter.

“School life is enjoyable, isn’t it? You have friends, and it’s a place of learning.”

“That’s right.”

“Someone like my daughter would be popular anywhere. No, you are popular! You’re my daughter after all!”

With emphasis on his last words, he now brought up his main point.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Really? There’s no way my daughter isn’t popular… That’s not right.”

Ariel sighed.

“Daddy. Would you believe me if I said no? I know what you’re getting at. Why don’t you just ask directly?”

“That Dojo… Hyun? What’s his deal?”

“Didn’t I tell you before? He’s just a friend.”

“Then why was there an article saying you two are lovers? That punk must have done something to you…”

“Now, now, calm down.”

Her mother immediately intervened.

“It’s just the media exaggerating, right?”

“Of course. Who would care about someone like Du Jonghyun? He does like me, that’s why those rumors started. He’s in a lower class and doesn’t even have a summoning spirit, but he’s somewhat smart. That’s all. I’ve received help from him a few times, and he might do well if he develops that talent. What’s certain is that he’s arrogant. Oh, and… Du Jonghyun has the worst sense and gave me a strange doll as a gift?”

At this moment, her parents realized that Ariel’s words were all over the place.

“…”

“…”

They looked at each other and nodded.

“So how do you really feel? Is it really just friendship? You can be honest. I’ll hold him back.”

At her mother’s gentle voice, Ariel’s face turned red.

A moment of contemplation.

But it was enough of an answer for her parents.

“Introduce him to us sometime.”

“What? No. I don’t like him.”

“Hmm. Let this father see what kind of punk he is!”

“Absolutely not! I said no!”

With a bright red face, Ariel stormed off.

But her parents only became more convinced by this unfamiliar reaction.

*

I returned to school on Wednesday. Unavoidably explaining that I had food poisoning.

Eun Serin checked my forehead as soon as she saw me.

“Don’t overdo it. That’s why you get sick.”

“It’s because I ate something bad.”

“For Jonghyun and Dohyun’s sake, this week’s focus is on rescue methods and responses according to terrain. You’ve seen it once last year, right?”

I recalled that whale while testing last year.

Back then we started outside, but now as second-years, we begin fights under various conditions.

Eun Serin taught the theory first.

As in Jeju Island before, there are various equipment that can be used underwater.

“The most classic method is using lights to send color signals.”

A signal light with seven colors flashed before our eyes.

Red means emergency, yellow means slow down, blue means no enemies nearby.

Black indicates injuries and is one of the most important colors along with red.

“Usually if you have abilities, you don’t use these, but there could be monsters that restrict our abilities, so you need to carry multiple means. Looking at incident records related to this…”

Before our eyes, we saw a short video of a Jaeger who died after losing his transmission means due to overconfidence and drifting in the current. It was terrifying. Even though he had defeated all the monsters and there was no danger, he died helplessly because he had no means to call for help.

“Carrying at least three methods is basic. Including your own ability, that’s about four.”

Eun Serin taught us rescue signals and showed us basic signal lights.

They were similar in size to those used by police and military police, able to change into seven colors.

“Green if there’s a problem. By the way, in our generation, blue and green were used similarly, so be careful when distinguishing them.”

That’s really old-fashioned. Like stories of the blue Earth, green Earth.

After the theory class, during mealtime.

Ariel sat next to me as if it were natural.

“Du Jonghyun. Have you heard?”

“About what?”

“About electing grade representatives in early April.”

Is that what Geum Dohyun was talking about?

“Dohyun was campaigning hard?”

“Yes, good that you know. You’ll vote for me, right?”

“Who else is running?”

Ariel’s expression changed again.

“Why does that matter? Is there any other girl more suitable than me? Stop talking nonsense and give me your vote.”

“…”

For a moment, I thought of a certain Mr. Go Gildong, but quickly dismissed it.

“Even if I wanted to give you my vote, you’d have to appeal to me…”

“You, Du Jonghyun? Do you want a date or something?”

“No. What I want is…”

But at that moment, Seol Yuhwa approached. She was holding a tray and passing by when she looked at us with a cold gaze.

“If you really want it, I’d prefer you not do such indecent things. Ariel. It lowers your dignity.”

“…What’s it to you?”

“Begging Jonghyun like you’re threatening him is ugly, isn’t it?”

The atmosphere instantly became bleak. I thought I should quickly defuse this situation, so I intervened.

“Let’s not fight. I’ve only heard about the election, so I don’t know much, but is it just one boy and one girl for grade representatives?”

“Of course. If there were multiple representatives, it would dilute the representation. Du Jonghyun.”

“So who else is running besides Ariel?”

At this point, instead of answering, Ariel responded with her eyes.

Because those eyes moved directly toward Seol Yuhwa.

“Yuhwa, you too?”

“I’m still thinking about it. Even if I run, I won’t beg for votes, so just give it to the most representative person.”

After Seol Yuhwa left, silence enveloped the place.

From this point on, Ariel began to act noticeably proper.

She suddenly started caring about her appearance, which she usually ignored.

For example, she used to cross her legs and tie her top at the waist, but now she wore everything neatly.

Looking at her like this, she seems cute, trying to act like a lady.

However, when the practical training began in the afternoon, the situation changed.

Because Eun Serin formed teams, and again I was in a team of five with Seol Yuhwa, Ariel, and others.

“Oh my goodness.”

However, since the two weren’t speaking to each other, at least it was less noisy.

We were to perform missions underwater while wearing diving suits.

“Make sure to check the hostage signals and cooperate unconditionally. Just communicate well with signals.”

Honestly, these are all things I learned before my regression. However, since it’s the first class, I should be tense.

At that time, Lee Minseo from the same advanced class got angry.

“Du Jonghyun. You don’t even know because you’ve been absent. Why are you talking like a leader?”

“Ah, sorry. Sorry.”

Right, the others have done this before me, so my attitude is inappropriate.

I obediently yielded the leadership and participated. In the water, the current started to speed up, and we confirmed each other’s positions with signal lights.

First, as it’s the beginning of the second year, the situation is simple.

Rescue the structure, touch the target point, and bring back items according to the number of people.

These items have scores written on them, and the focus is on how quickly we accomplish this.

I think we did well, communicating with fluorescent lights underwater.

But the problem occurred at the end.

In a situation where Ariel requested help with a high-scoring structure, Seol Yuhwa didn’t help.

She went in another direction from the most visible position.

“…”

I immediately followed the two and succeeded in clearing, but that’s not all there is to it.

After class, we entered the study case.

When it was time to discuss our shortcomings and what to improve, I raised my hand.

“I think we all did well enough… but there’s one problem. Ariel, Seol Yuhwa. Are you going to keep messing things up?”

It’s a mountain we eventually have to climb.

I pointed out the problem between the two, and both showed blank expressions.

Alright, let’s do this. It’s better to nip discord in the bud.

“You’re both aiming for grade representative, right? Do you think ignoring each other will work?”

As soon as the topic of grade representative came up, the two’s gazes began to change rapidly.