Ch.259254 – Reconciliation

“Professor Cheon!”

“Hmm?”

His response came a beat late.

Looking at his graduation album photo compared to Professor Cheon now, I could really feel how much he’d aged.

He might be considered young-looking elsewhere, but compared to his teenage years, time had certainly been cruel.

“I’m sorry for hurting your feelings. About saying we’ve only known each other for a year… I know it’s late to mention this, but that wasn’t how I truly felt…”

If nothing else, I truly regretted saying that.

Especially during these past seven months since Professor Cheon adopted me, I feel I’ve received so much affection.

Honestly, if a decades-younger child had spoken to me so disrespectfully, I would’ve been furious too.

“NoName.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. And I’m the one who should apologize.”

“What? Professor Cheon, you don’t have anything to apologize for.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about you. I know you’re not the type to make such videos thoughtlessly. You just didn’t want people around you getting hurt because of you, right?”

“Yes…”

“I’m truly sorry for not understanding your circumstances better.”

Yoonseul was the biggest victim in this terror incident.

It gave tremendous trauma to a girl who was already dependent on anti-anxiety medication.

Even though I visit her daily for aura therapy and reassure her everything will be okay, traumatic events aren’t easily forgotten.

“Professor Cheon. I’m not weak. I’ll become the strongest person in the world within a few years.”

“But you know what, NoName? Even if you become the strongest person in the world, I’ll still worry about you just the same.”

“Is it because of Ms. Ham Cho-rong?”

“…!”

Professor Cheon’s eyes trembled slightly.

As expected.

Principal Gu On-yu was right.

The reason why Ham Cho-rong, who was strong enough as an individual to change the course of war, could fall victim to a mere airplane bombing.

It was because she always positioned herself as the strong one, acting only according to rationality.

The terrorists disguised themselves as common criminals just trying to extort money from Ham Cho-rong, and lured her onto the aircraft.

No matter how many perpetrators there were, Ham Cho-rong would never have lost in a face-to-face confrontation.

In the end, unable to detect the cunning hidden within human imperfection, Ham Cho-rong met a miserable death at 10,000 meters in the air.

Even if she had carried mana stones or wands containing sufficient source mana, analysis suggested that hundreds of layers of visibly charged magic arrays covering the aircraft would have prevented even her final struggle.

That’s probably why the exception clause for invisible magic charging was created.

Since magic can be hidden in an invisible state when visibly charged, the government indirectly prohibited this practice.

“Professor Cheon, it must have been really hard for you.”

The grief of losing a lover in an accident is immeasurable.

All I could do was offer this small comfort by his side.

Perhaps someday, I’ll occupy a much larger portion of his life than Ham Cho-rong did.

“I was actually a little happy thinking that you cared for me as much as you cared for her.”

“Principal Gu On-yu saying unnecessary things.”

“Why are you like that? I saw your childhood photos and thought they were nice.”

“Huh?”

“The academy graduation album. You were really cute.”

“So that’s what you two were doing behind my back? Gossiping about me?”

“Haha. You should have set a better example first. It’s karma, karma.”

“NoName, teasing adults will get you in trouble.”

Professor Cheon lightly bonked me on the head.

It was a very gentle impact, but I pretended it hurt while rubbing my head.

“I deleted the video like you said. Did I do well?”

“You didn’t delete it, it was censored. My goodness, now you’re lying too… NoName, you might need another scolding.”

“Oh, you’re quick with the news. I thought you wouldn’t know since you don’t use VTube or social media much. Can’t you let it slide just this once?”

In the end, our positions remained unreconciled.

But just being able to face each other and laugh comfortably like this made me feel at ease.

After all, Professor Cheon had considered my position, and I came to understand the infinite affection and attention he pours on me.

Meanwhile, Yu-na couldn’t believe that I had a big fight with Professor Cheon.

“NoName gets angry too?”

“Have I only shown you my nice side all this time?”

“Well, aren’t you nice? NoName isn’t nice?”

“Hmm? What do you think?”

Being called “nice” in that confession letter was actually the first time I’d heard such a compliment in this life.

Of course, it felt good, but…

It’s a bit awkward when I think about the times I used to throw punches first, regardless of whether it was an emperor, pope, or demon lord when conflicts arose.

They were closer to beasts that couldn’t be reasoned with.

And I never treated anyone as a child once they turned 13.

That was the law in the continental nations of my previous life.

That’s why I didn’t hit the hero Klaus, but I did raise him somewhat harshly.

Suddenly, an interesting thought occurred to me, and I tugged on Professor Cheon’s collar to whisper in his ear.

“Professor Cheon, as an apology, I’ll show you something interesting during fifth period.”

* * *

When I went on a trip abroad with Principal Gu On-yu, she asked me to train the children who would compete in the academy competition.

That was also why she readily accepted my transfer and didn’t oppose my departure to the United States.

Since Principal Gu On-yu’s inauguration, the elementary division had lost to Altair Academy for four consecutive years.

The middle and high school divisions weren’t much different, with only one victory for the middle school three years ago and one for the high school four years ago.

If they lost this competition too, it was obvious that this would be her final year in office.

Thanks to Principal Gu On-yu mediating well between Professor Cheon and me, we were able to resolve our conflict.

I should repay that kindness.

The practice duel session might be unfamiliar to those outside the academy.

In the middle of the spacious hall was a square marked with white lines, and inside it stood 21 children, including myself, huddled together.

If we had been given a ball, we could have played dodgeball, but unfortunately, that wasn’t what we were doing today.

“Phew…”

Aura is the manifestation of will.

The first step in handling aura was to convert the supernatural mana phenomenon created by neurons and the aura heart into something comprehensible within one’s own understanding.

In that sense, Ham Cho-rong must have chosen cherry blossoms, similar to her aura color, as her medium.

Maybe I’ll go with azaleas?

Reading Teacher Jackie’s signal, I immediately began my preparations.

I gathered mana with my hands in a prayer position.

The mana, having passed through the aura heart once, became as docile as a pet dog held by the scruff of its neck.

Repeating this process eventually accumulates energy that can truly be called “aura.”

“Um… No Na-me?”

Some children noticed my unusual behavior and asked, but there was no time to answer.

I slightly separated my joined hands, and azalea petals born between them fluttered about.

“First up… yes, Yoon Si-hoo, let’s try with you. Try not to go outside this square, okay?”

“What… what!”

“Tighten your core and hold your ground. You can do it.”

They say Ham Cho-rong always incorporated the principle of rotation when manifesting her aura.

Everything in the world rotates.

The Earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun, and the moon orbits the Earth, creating tidal forces.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the updraft of low pressure rotates counterclockwise, so she adopted atmospheric science itself as her philosophy.

In other words, movement and rotation coexist.

I wrapped all the lost petals around my right arm and took a stance.

Then I extended my palm toward Si-hoo’s torso.

Following a series of natural, flowing movements, a strong vortex was created.

Yoon Si-hoo instinctively bent his knees and lowered his posture, even infusing aura into his legs, but unfortunately, his judgment was a step too slow.

“Waaaaaaah!”

Unable to withstand the strong rotational force, his body was thrown backward.

Thud-

Si-hoo, who had let out an undignified scream, landed on his back on the mat.

“That’s an out. Everyone understands the rules now, right? Conversely, you need to push me outside to win.”

There was a murmur from the parents’ section in the stands.

I slightly turned my head up and made a V-sign with two fingers toward Professor Cheon, who would be watching me.

I hope he’s paying close attention.

I’ll clearly show during this session that I’m several levels above that person.

To make the children listen to me well in the future, I needed to establish dominance from the start.

This is the most effective educational method, as I vaguely heard on television.

What was the name of that program again?

“There Are No Bad Dogs in the World,” was it?

I remember being deeply impressed watching trainer Kang Hyung-guk making nothing but valid points from beginning to end.