Ch.190Misunderstanding, Just a Misunderstanding – 2

As soon as I beckoned them to come over, I sensed two energies rapidly approaching from a distance.

One burned hot like a raging flame, while the other discharged flashes like rolling thunder.

Whatever they were, any ordinary person—no, even a decent superpower user—would immediately flee from such an intimidating presence.

According to Rina Lee, she had stumbled upon us purely by accident.

She said she’d been following me secretly to surprise me when she found me laughing and chatting with some strange woman.

From their perspective, I can see how this situation could easily be misunderstood.

Of course, I feel completely wronged. What other woman? Do they think I’m crazy?

One is The Crimson Witch, the other is The Yellow Madwoman. I’m already overwhelmed with just the two of you.

And compared to them, Emily’s charms are clearly inferior.

Why on earth would I be crazy enough to look at another woman?

“Arbiter!”

“Oppa!”

As soon as the two of them burst in, I immediately explained the situation.

A guest from England, students who would attend the Alliance Academy.

I mentioned that she happened to be an acquaintance of Minseong Kang and Hakjun Ma, so I helped arrange a sparring match.

And crucially, that Hyunwoo Lee himself had wanted the match, so I simply facilitated it.

“…Is that all there is to it?”

After hearing my explanation, Soohyun Kim’s eyes flashed as she posed her question.

Those red eyes that usually looked so pretty now appeared terribly frightening.

With slight exaggeration, I felt the urge to escape from there immediately.

I can’t cower here. I’m innocent, so why should I shrink back in fear?

That would only backfire. I need to be confident—even more confident than usual.

“Is there something else you want to know? That’s really all there is to it. Why? Do you need more rivals?”

“N-no, that’s not it. It’s just that you two seemed so friendly when you were talking earlier.”

That apparently really bothered Soohyun.

From my perspective, since I was the one making the request, I tried to smile as brightly as possible.

But for someone who didn’t know the circumstances, I can see how that might have been uncomfortable.

“Soohyun Kim is right about this. You have no idea how brightly you were smiling earlier, oppa!”

“What do you mean? How was I smiling?”

“Like this. Like this—”

Rina Lee pulled the corners of her mouth up as far as possible and flashed a wide smile.

It looks a bit strange since she’s forcing it, but it’s still nice to see.

But more importantly, was I really smiling that excessively? That can’t be true, can it?

“It’s not a lie, it’s true. She says there was reason to be suspicious.”

Hmm. It seems my old habits from my civil servant days are showing up again.

When was it? I once dealt with a civilian with my normal expression, and they immediately went ballistic.

They demanded to know why I was sitting there with an expression that seemed to look down on people.

Saying that someone who eats tax money should treat citizens with respect when they come in.

‘Even thinking about it now makes me angry, that bastard.’

Among those who complain about taxes, I’ve never seen one who actually pays much.

The ones who really pay a lot tend to live quietly, while the ones who contribute peanuts make the most noise.

Anyway, after that unpleasant experience, I made it a habit to show a smiling face.

Better to smile and curse inwardly than to get cursed at for not smiling.

“I’ve developed a habit of smiling when dealing with people. It’s a habit from my civil servant days, so please let it slide.”

“…I see. Alright. If you insist, Arbiter, I’ll believe you.”

Fortunately, Soohyun, who had been verging on obsessive behavior, quickly backed down.

I was worried she might demand more, but she didn’t cross the line.

“Ehhh? Hey! Are you really letting this go just like that?! You should dig deeper!”

It seems our Yellow Madwoman has different thoughts on the matter.

“The Arbiter says nothing happened, so I should believe him.”

“Wow… just a moment ago you looked ready to break that foreign woman’s waist!”

Um, Rina? The term “foreign woman” sounds really strange coming from your mouth.

If we’re being honest, you’re the one with the most exotic appearance here.

“You seem to have forgotten, but your eyes were full of killing intent earlier. You know? You looked ready to devour that foreign woman, and now you’re acting like this?! Was I the only one feeling that way?!”

Despite Rina’s outcry, Soohyun tilts her head and asks, “Did I really?”

Hmm. I think I understand why Rina described Soohyun as witch-like.

Just moments ago she was clearly burning with fiery rage, but now she’s completely calm.

And then instantly shifting all blame to Rina—truly witch-like behavior.

“Anyway, Ms. Irina, please stop and trust what the Arbiter says.”

“I will! If you say so, I won’t argue anymore! Who would benefit from that?”

‘I’ve been had again, sheesh,’ Rina mutters.

Then suddenly she concludes that this is all Hyunwoo Lee’s fault!

“Why are you suddenly bringing up Hyunwoo?”

“Why? Because Hyunwoo made a strange request to you! So you came to deliver that request, and we happened to see it! So in the end, it’s all his fault!”

“No, how does that even connect…”

“Just wait. I’ll definitely get my revenge on Hyunwoo.”

When Rina mentions revenge, cold sweat runs down my spine involuntarily.

A woman who even the Elders find troublesome is talking about revenge? Hyunwoo, what are you going to do?

“How are you planning to get revenge?”

“From now on, whenever I have free time, I’ll go find him and torment him.”

“Hey, don’t do that. What did he do wrong?”

“I don’t care! Let’s just say it’s for bothering you and bothering me!”

“…So how are you going to torment him?”

I hope she’s not planning to obstruct Hyunwoo’s future or anything like that?

It might seem like a ridiculous concern, but thinking about it again, it’s not impossible.

If an S-Class decides to do something, what in the world could stop them?

When someone considered a national asset makes up their mind, who could oppose them?

Especially when it’s not just any S-Class, but “Rina Lee”!

“How am I going to torment him? He wanted to spar so badly that he made you get involved with some strange woman? I’ll go find him right after his match and spar with him myself. I’ll torment him until he never wants to hear the word ‘sparring’ again.”

“…?”

Wait a minute. Did she just say she’s going to fight Hyunwoo non-stop?

That’s her idea of tormenting him? From any angle, that’s just doing him a favor.

“Just wait and see. Hehehe. I’ll make him beg for mercy!”

No, I’m telling you, he’s going to be thrilled about it!

“HAHAHA! WAHAHA!!”

“…”

See? What did I tell you? I said he’d laugh with joy, didn’t I?

If you really want to torment Hyunwoo, you should prevent him from sparring.

The day after I was slightly misunderstood by Soohyun and Rina.

True to her word, Rina stormed in right after Hyunwoo’s match with Emily.

Then, cackling, she shouted, “Hey! Who said you could rest! Get up!” and started sparring with him.

She probably came when Hyunwoo was tired, intending to use sparring as an excuse to grind him down.

She likely planned to legally step all over the annoying guy.

But this time, Rina completely misjudged. This approach doesn’t work on someone like him.

“This feeling like my heart might burst! This sensation of blood rushing madly through my body! It’s amazing! Thank you, Ms. Rina! This is exactly the tension, this thrilling atmosphere I wanted!!”

“What are you saying, you madman!”

My goodness. To think he’d be called a madman by Rina Lee.

That’s impressive, Hyunwoo. Make sure to add this to your life achievements list.

BOOM!— CRASH!—

Rina, startled, sends Hyunwoo flying far away as he charges toward her.

She definitely started out saying she’d torment him thoroughly and make him collapse from exhaustion.

But now it’s the opposite—she’s the one grimacing in disgust.

“Hey, doesn’t that hurt?”

“It hurts! But this pain is proof that I’m truly making an effort!”

“Bullshit! Pain is just pain! What effort? Getting stronger is proof of effort!”

“I heard there’s no growth without pain!”

“From whom?!”

“The Arbiter said so!!”

At Hyunwoo’s words, Rina whips her head around so fast it makes a sound.

Then she looks at me, her eyes asking if this is true.

*nod*

Indeed, I did say something like that to Hyunwoo before.

More precisely, I said it to the Bronze students, including Hyunwoo.

I was worried they might give up midway because it was too difficult.

I wanted to convey that difficulty and pain are natural parts of the process—

“Argh! Since oppa said it, I can’t argue!”

Screaming, Rina slams Hyunwoo into the ground once more.

For reference, she didn’t just grab his collar—she grabbed his sword and drove it down.

“Urrrgh!”

“Will you stay down quietly now?!”

“Not yet! Not yet… I can still go a little more!”

From Rina’s perspective, she’s being careful not to go all-out and hurt my student.

That’s why she’s being extremely cautious, but that’s actually working in Hyunwoo’s favor.

Since she’s keeping him at a level where he can still function, he can keep challenging her!

“Just stay down already!”

From Rina’s standpoint, she can’t treat Hyunwoo like a villain, so she’s holding back.

Unfortunately, Hyunwoo, like Soohyun, won’t give in to moderate damage.

Whether it’s because he’s receiving some protagonist buff or because of his inherent traits, I’m not sure.

But one thing is certain—treating him like she treats Soohyun won’t work at all.

“What kind of cockroach are you?!”

“Thank you!”

“That wasn’t a compliment, you idiot!”

No, it was a compliment. If Rina Lee says you’re persistent, who could argue with that?

As Rina and Hyunwoo’s sparring reached its climax.

“…I need to work harder too.”

“Pardon?”

“An A-Class who can endure against Rina Lee like that. Indeed, South Korea is truly an amazing country. They say the Land of Morning Calm has mastered the art of war, and it seems that’s true!”

“…”

Emily, who had been quietly observing the situation, muttered those words.