Ch.260255 – Praise

A golden spring bloomed in early autumn.

While watching NoName push children outside the boundary, Professor Cheon couldn’t take his eyes off the flower petals swirling around her.

Azaleas normally have pink petals.

Perhaps that’s why he could see sparks of light pink flickering between NoName’s golden aura.

‘Chorong’s aura…’

The reason he couldn’t stop Ham Cho-rong at the National Martial Arts Competition was due to her unique aura manipulation technique.

Opponents had to either deflect her punches by creating rotational force in the same direction as Cho-rong, or bounce them in another direction.

But in the complexity of combat, it was nearly impossible to read all her moves.

That’s why she could always claim victory.

Had NoName recreated this just from hearing Principal Gu On-yu’s explanation?

Professor Cheon couldn’t help but admire her genius once again.

NoName always had a talent for surprising people.

But Professor Cheon wasn’t the only one whose heart dropped.

“No, Han-gyeol!”

Parents rose from their seats, calling out their children’s names.

Kids flew toward the mats like autumn leaves.

Yet strangely, their faces were filled with joy.

“Wow! NoName, me too, do me too!”

“Make me fly farther!”

“Hey, I was first, don’t cut in line!”

“…? Wait, this isn’t right…”

The rules NoName had announced beforehand were completely ignored.

Led by Yoon Si-hoo, several children screamed “Kyaaak!” as they flew through the air, then gave a thumbs up after gently landing on the mats.

They must have enjoyed the thrill usually only experienced on amusement rides.

Oblivious to their parents’ anxiety, the children kept begging NoName to do the same to them.

Eventually, the teacher had to come over and intervene.

“NoName, can’t you do this normally? Normally! You could just gently push them like this.”

“Ah, that’s… yes…”

Having tried to show off and getting scolded by the teacher, NoName deflated and began pushing the children out of bounds in a more ordinary manner.

The parents could finally relax and sit back down.

“Whew… I thought she was amazing when I saw her on TV, but seeing her in person leaves me speechless.”

“True geniuses really are different…”

“Twenty children couldn’t handle that tiny girl. It’s even more impressive that she shows such courage in front of twenty people.”

The parents all praised NoName, but these were words they barely managed to speak.

In reality, their brains struggled to process what they had just witnessed, and why the homeroom teacher remained so calm about it all.

The magic scholar from Raon Clan kept bouncing his leg nervously while focusing on her every move.

‘This definitely isn’t the boldness of an eight-year-old.’

It’s natural for anyone who isn’t a well-trained fighter to close their eyes when a fist comes flying.

In contrast, NoName didn’t even blink as she predicted and responded to children darting in all directions.

He couldn’t help but admire how she maintained her position amid the chaos.

That kind of ability wasn’t created through individual effort or education—it was pure talent.

“NoName could easily compete with the upper grades, couldn’t she?”

“You must be looking forward to the competition, sir. I thought NoName was just good at studying, but she’s talented in this area too.”

Since it was impossible for their children to defeat NoName anyway, the parents emphasized their shared affiliation with Cephiron Academy and praised her future contributions to the upcoming competition.

Professor Cheon glanced at NoName.

She was flicking the forehead of a classmate who kept tugging at her clothes.

It was only during these ordinary moments of play that he could glimpse the innocent expression appropriate for her age.

The game eventually ended, leaving NoName alone in the arena.

The homeroom teacher gathered the eliminated children with their parents and explained the purpose of the lesson.

“Second graders, it’s really important to maintain your position when casting magic. In today’s class, we’ll practice standing firm even when someone pushes you from the side. Everyone pair up and stand facing each other.”

When a caster’s position changes significantly while casting magic, the concentrated mana immediately disperses.

That’s why coordinate transformation is important in magic circles, but it was too complex to teach second-grade elementary students.

So academies across the country developed this curriculum for their classes.

“NoName, let’s organize the cones on the floor with the teacher.”

“Yeeees.”

As the fifth period combat practice was coming to an end, Professor Cheon turned his head and contradicted what the parents had said earlier.

“NoName will not participate in this year’s competition.”

“What?”

“Why not!”

“Isn’t this a golden opportunity for her to make a name for herself, sir?”

“That’s right, if it’s a health issue, we know a famous doctor who could—”

“That’s not the issue.”

Of course, since NoName’s body wasn’t completely healed, such concerns weren’t entirely unfounded.

But there was a more fundamental reason why she couldn’t compete.

[For the safety of participants, children under 120cm in height are prohibited from competing.]

It was a moment when everyone learned about an internal foundation regulation that had never been relevant until now.

* * *

“No Na-me, want to drink my milk too?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“You need to drink lots of milk to grow taller quickly.”

“I told you my stomach will hurt if I drink more. I appreciate the thought, Seo-ri. Huh?”

“Chii…”

“Chii?”

“Nothing!”

After the open class, the number of classmates offering me milk seemed to have increased significantly.

“Kids, are you embarrassed that I’m short?”

Even young children understand the concept of saving face.

In fact, children are often more obsessed with appearances than adults.

Are they embarrassed to let students from other academies know that someone as small as me is already in second grade?

“No, no! It’s not that. My mom and dad said they hope you grow taller soon.”

“Why would they worry about my height… oh, I see…”

Is it because of the competition?

It was similar to the principal’s reaction to me before, so I could guess the reason.

If the goal was to win the academy competition, it would be simple enough for me to just cut through all the students, regardless of whether they were lower or upper grades.

But the reason the principal specifically assigned me to train the competing children became clear now.

Because I couldn’t compete due to my cursed height, the academy’s strength was effectively halved—or rather, mostly diminished.

[Can’t we just ignore that regulation?]

The height restriction rule obviously exists because of a serious accident that happened long ago.

Apparently, a small child got caught under someone 30cm taller and twice their weight, resulting in a torn knee ligament.

And even if Cephiron tried to modify the entry requirements now, the Altair Foundation wouldn’t approve it, so I’d end up missing the entire year.

“So how tall are you now, NoName?”

“About 113cm, I guess?”

“Exactly! You measure your height every morning.”

“You guys force me to do it. I don’t want to.”

Another thing that changed after the open class was that every day when I arrived at school, the children would take me to the back of the classroom and measure my height with a tape measure.

Each time, I was forced to endure the humiliation.

“So how tall are you?”

“112.4 centimeters.”

“Whoa, did you grow 1mm? Right?”

“Yes! I think NoName was 112.3 yesterday.”

“Kids, people don’t grow that quickly overnight. A difference of 1mm can just be normal daily variation.”

“Really? That’s disappointing…”

“You’re good at studying, so why aren’t you growing faster?”

“Seo Yu-na, if you’re being serious, today will be your memorial day.”

“Ahaha, I’m just kidding! Aaaah, save me!”

Academy life generally flows like this.

I usually stay quiet, but when the kids tease me like this, I respond appropriately.

“Aaaaargh…! It hurts…! NoName, it hurts, it hurts!”

I was giving Yu-na a temple massage because she was stressed from recent classes.

“No Na-me! Come here and look at this!”

“It’s not true! Give me back my notebook!”

“Mmm hmm. Then why is your name written here, NoName?”

“It’s not what you think. Give it back quickly!”

“NoName, catch!”

Suddenly a notebook flew toward my face.

Kim Han-gyeol had tossed Bae Yo-han’s notebook to me.

He was Yu-na’s desk partner in the first semester.

He was a boy who became friendly with everyone in class after I introduced the game of gonggi (Korean jacks).

Yo-han quickly recovered his notebook from me and stuffed it into his bag.

“I knew it! Bae Yo-han, you did confess!”

“No, I didn’t!”

Bae Yo-han’s cheeks turned red as he vehemently denied it.

When I narrowed my eyes at him, he flinched as if caught and looked away.

Seems like it’s true.

“Wow, Bae Yo-han is amazing. Such a manly guy.”

“I saw him writing your name in both Korean and English.”

“Whoa, what’s this? Is he confessing to our NoName right now?”

“Hey, was it you? Did you write that letter?”

Seo Yu-na, who became our class’s new second-strongest after beating Hong-jun in arm wrestling, threatened him.

Properly intimidated, Yo-han couldn’t even speak properly and just trembled pitifully.

“Yo-han, come here. Let’s talk, just the two of us.”

I gestured for Bae Yo-han to follow me outside the classroom.

In the process, he had to endure Yu-na’s murderous glare and the cheers of the other children, but he obediently followed my words as always.

I deliberately took him down to the first floor and moved to a quiet spot where others couldn’t eavesdrop.

We sat on a bench behind the academy where fallen leaves had piled up, and I offered him the seat next to me.

“Yo-han, why are you sitting so far away? Do you dislike me?”

“No!”

“Then do you like me?”

“No…”

“Why? You wrote this confession letter, didn’t you? I really hate people who lie.”

“…”

Only then did he admit that he had written the letter.

“Why didn’t you write your name on the confession letter?”

“That… I put it in the wrong place… I was going to throw it away. I confused the compartments when I was putting it in my shoe locker…”

“That sounds like another lie.”

“No, this is true! It’s absolutely not a lie…”

“Then why didn’t you want to give this to me?”

“Because I didn’t think you’d like me… right?”

“Why? Did you want me to accept your confession?”

Bae Yo-han’s face turned as red as a radish.

Now his voice was so tiny like an ant’s that I could barely hear what he was saying.

“What do you like about me?”

“You’re… cute… and kind…”

“No, no. Try again.”

“You’re cute…”

“Again. Think of something else.”

“…? Umm, you’re mature.”

“That’s still a bit vague. Anything else?”

“You’re short, but—”

“That’s not a compliment. Want to be buried alive right here?”

“No, no, I mean you’re short but incredibly strong.”

“That’s right. Correct answer.”

It’s quite tiring to receive such prostration.

“Do you like being called strong?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it acknowledges my effort. Whether in a good way or bad.”

“Hmm…”

“If Yo-han studied really hard and got 100 points on a test, would you feel good?”

“Yes, of course.”

“But what if no one praised you? Would you still want to try hard to get 100 points next time?”

“I’d feel really sad. I probably wouldn’t try as hard.”

“It’s similar for me. To become even stronger than I am now, I give myself rewards.”

Yo-han fell into deep thought, trying hard to understand what I meant.

At his age, these words don’t really resonate much.

Even if I said the same thing to the mature Yu-na, it would be similar.

“Why do you want to be so strong?”

“So I can protect the people who are precious to me.”

“Then I’ll praise you every day for being strong.”

“Wow, your intention to score points with me is so obvious it’s toxic. Is this what being a man is about?”

I pinched his cheeks and grinned.

“Sorry, but I don’t like boys. I’m really sorry.”

Yo-han was so shocked, as if he’d been hit on the back of his head, that he couldn’t close his mouth for a while.

“Then… do you like girls?”

“No? I don’t like girls either.”

This time Bae Yo-han was hit on the front of his head.

A complete KO.

There must have been only two options in his mind.

“Do you just hate all people?”

“Maybe. I should become the strongest in the world and destroy the Earth.”

“…”

“Hey, I’m joking. Why are you taking everything so seriously? So what would you like me to do, Yo-han? Should I tell the others that you didn’t write the confession letter?”

Confessing isn’t a bad thing at all.

I tried my best to understand his feelings, to let him know that neither confessing nor being rejected is such a bad situation.

“Yes… I’d like you to say I didn’t write it…”

“Okay, don’t worry.”

“Sob… sniff…”

“Why are you crying again? Come here. Are you that sad about being rejected by me?”

“No… it’s just… you’re… so kind… sniff…”

One thing you learn when spending time with second graders is that while they sometimes sound no different from twenty-year-old adults, they can also be excessively honest about their emotions at unexpected moments.

So I understand why he suddenly burst into tears.

I hugged his head to my chest and patted his back until he stopped crying.

Since he was in front of me, he didn’t completely break down with tears and snot, but just sobbed moderately.

Now how should I comfort this child’s heartbreak?

It’s a strange situation where I rejected him and now have to comfort him, but what can I do?

If he wants to hide that he confessed, I should at least be considerate.

“Ah, Yo-han, let me show you something fun.”

I recalled that men typically comfort each other with alcohol or cigarettes.

But since we’re second-grade elementary students, I chose a healthier approach.

I took out a wand from my pocket, shrunk to the size of a pencil, and cast an engraving spell.

[Engraving: Heat Transfer-Coil]

I put the tip of the wand in my mouth and pursed my lips.

After puffing my cheeks, I exhaled the vapor I had held in my mouth.

“Hoop.”

A donut-shaped cloud of vapor floated into the sky, following the shape of my lips.

“Wow! But isn’t smoking bad for you?”

“No, no. It’s made with magic, so it’s not harmful at all. Of course, it has no taste either. Fun, right? Want to see other shapes?”

“Yes! This is amazing.”

After quitting liquid potions, I hadn’t found a use for this, but it’s helping now.

I increased the wand’s output to generate even more vapor.

“Hwaaaa.”

Just as my dazzling vaping performance was about to successfully conclude Bae Yo-han’s confession letter incident…

“Heeeeeey! You elementary kids, what are you doing?! Take that cigarette out of your mouth right now! Don’t move an inch! Move and you’re dead!”

…a middle school teacher wielding a switch spotted us from beyond the wall.

“Ah.”

“Oh no… what do we do now, NoName?!”

“What do we do? We’re doomed.”

Pay for the crime of confessing to me.