Ch.262262. Instead of Senior, Call Me Oppa. (1)

“Are you here, senior?”

“Heh, hehehe… I’m too late, aren’t I, senior…?”

“S-senior… couldn’t you lower the training intensity just a little today?”

“Ugh. So you were teasing me again…! Huh? Senior, aren’t you going to stop there?!”

Every time, I was called “senior” like that.

From when we first met until now, the title “Senior Junon” had remained constant.

But why?

With that one word just now, Junon’s heart briefly raced.

‘…All she did was call me oppa.’

It was merely a change in how she addressed me.

Since we’d graduated from the academy, we could no longer be considered seniors and juniors. So naturally, she chose a different form of address, considering the age difference between a man and woman. Yes. Looking at it objectively, it was just a simple word.

Yet that simple word created an unusual feeling.

Like now.

“Oppa…? Are you listening to me?”

“Huh, did you call me?”

“I’ve been calling you several times for a while now…”

“Sorry… um… I was lost in thought.”

“That happens. No need to apologize.”

Even though it was just a change from “senior” to “oppa,” it somehow felt strange.

Despite the age difference, why was he so conscious of being called “oppa” by a younger woman—a word typically used by little sisters?

That’s why Junon couldn’t focus on Renias’s conversation. His heart only responded to that word, making him wonder if he had developed an arrhythmia.

“…You don’t dislike being called oppa, do you?”

“Huh? No, no! Absolutely not.”

It was simply a change in how she addressed him, but that word “oppa” gave him an odd satisfaction, making him feel uncomfortable with himself.

Should he enjoy this, or should he reflect on becoming a strange person?

Junon kept repeating the word “oppa” in his mind.

But in reality, Renias was just as awkward as Junon.

‘Ugh… I shouldn’t have asked that!’

Originally, she had been so tired of Ronellion telling her to call him oppa just because he was born a little earlier, but now after changing Junon’s title from senior to oppa, she found herself fidgeting more shyly than usual.

‘I should be able to confidently call him oppa now… why am I like this?’

It started after meeting Charlotte.

That adorable appearance that triggered protective instincts. From her blue hair to her small, delicate frame—it made her realize that even using the same title “senior” could feel different.

She had asked to have her head patted after seeing Charlotte getting her head patted, feeling oddly impatient, and ever since her name became known at the academy, when female students gathered around, she felt a sense of crisis.

What if someone took Senior Junon away? What if Maria was right and he really would be stolen? After Senia pointed out that this feeling was jealousy, she readily admitted it.

The desire to become someone special to her senior was rising from deep within her.

So, how? She wondered what she could do to appeal to the blunt and dense Senior Junon, who was once said to have been a close friend.

After much consideration, she settled on changing how she addressed him.

If she called him “senior” like other female students, she felt he would treat her the same as them, so she thought about creating a special title—and that’s how she came up with “oppa.”

But now.

‘Why does this make me feel so ticklish…’

Now that she had actually used that title, she felt embarrassed and her chest tingled, making her fidget.

‘If I keep making excuses about being lost in thought, Renias will think something’s wrong… why is the word oppa so…’

‘Say it naturally, Renias! What’s the big deal about calling him Junon oppa? Don’t tremble, be confident, okay?!’

As you can see, hilariously, neither of them was used to or immune to the word “oppa.”

They wanted to continue the conversation but couldn’t bring themselves to speak. All because of a title.

In the end, both of them, annoyed by their uncontrollably racing hearts in the sleeping bag, took the same approach.

They decided to postpone thinking about it until tomorrow, after just exchanging awkward glances.

“Shall we… go to sleep?”

“Should we… go to sleep?”

They were thinking the same thing, so what more was there to discuss? Even their timing for suggesting sleep coincided.

Both Junon and Renias let out a short “Ah,” and then,

“I-I’ll go to sleep first. Good night.”

“Oh. Y-yeah… you too. Sleep well, Renias.”

As if avoiding each other’s gaze, they hugged themselves tightly and forced their eyes shut.

But they had overlooked something.

Why did they just accept the situation of sleeping while embracing each other, which was incomparable to the issue of titles?

They realized that hugging each other’s bodies while sleeping—embracing each other in one sleeping bag wearing only underwear—was far stranger than the title issue, but only after the night had grown too dark to turn back.

To make matters worse, their words had overlapped, making it inevitable that their tense hearts would pound. Both Junon and Renias spent a long time trying to calm their racing hearts, wondering why they were beating so fast, resulting in a very late morning the next day.

***

Clang! Clang!

Even though they woke up only after the sun was high in the sky, how could they forget their original purpose?

Though late, Junon was now swinging his pickaxe to mine the remaining Badlite and Elcherium.

There wasn’t much left, but that was fine. Since it might consume much more during the crafting stage, as with Senia and Aris, they definitely needed to take it all.

“Whew.”

Junon took a moment to catch his breath, wiping away the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

As if waiting for this moment, Renias came running with small steps and handed him a canteen filled with clean water.

“Take breaks as you work.”

“Thanks.”

But when he drank it, this wasn’t water.

“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”

“It’s not just suitable—it’s really delicious. What did you make?”

“Umm… it’s a tea that’s good to drink after sweating a lot.”

“…You can make something like that too?”

“Cooking is a woman’s pride. Hehe. Oh, I’ll put the rest of what’s fallen into the bag, so please rest until you finish drinking.”

Renias insisted as if she would take out a switch if he didn’t rest. Then she quickly grabbed the bag and began collecting the fallen ore chunks.

“Ah, but um… oppa.”

The culprit that created yesterday’s awkwardness and today’s oversleeping. At the sudden sound of “oppa,” Junon almost choked.

But he didn’t want to make the same mistake as yesterday, getting lost in thought.

As calmly as possible. As if not flustered, as if not conscious of it.

“Did you hear that sound this morning? Something going druk-druk…”

“A druk sound?”

“Yes. I heard a loud sound like something scratching across the ground.”

In Sirah Province, which has fewer cities compared to other administrative districts and is practically a rural area, wild animals are common. Occasionally, even low-grade magical beasts can be seen.

But those are usually only found in the Irobe region.

This hill, which had been used as a hiding place in the past to buy time, is not frequented by magical beasts. Nocturnal animals aren’t seen much either.

Moreover, if a sound had echoed in the cave, they would have noticed it immediately and woken up. Isn’t it natural for sound to reverberate in a cave where sound waves cannot escape?

Even though they overslept, being always on alert while sleeping had become routine, so if Junon had heard any sound, he would have responded immediately. Not hearing a druk-druk sound from any direction didn’t make sense.

But Renias said she heard it.

‘Renias’s mana circulation is so fast that it flows outward, occasionally activating simple magic. So that mana must have been used to enhance her hearing.’

If that’s the case, it’s not something to be overlooked.

It means she naturally heard a sound that wasn’t audible here.

‘Wait. If it’s a druk-druk sound.’

What she mentioned was a loud sound like something scratching across the ground.

In a way, it was a familiar sound that he might have heard before, perhaps even in his previous life.

“Detection magic. Can you use it?”

Seeing Junon’s expression turn serious, Renias immediately nodded.

“I’m ready. What direction and range should I focus on?”

“The lower Irobe region. From there to Sirah Road School. Can you do it?”

Nod.

Pure white mana flows from Renias, who has fully recovered her energy, and begins to infuse into the magic formula.

When her eyes, which had been closed to use detection magic, opened, the truth was revealed.

“Magical beasts… they’re attacking the village…!”

“Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

While the druk-druk sound might be described as scratching the ground, if heard up close, it would probably sound like this.

-Chagrak, chagrak.

In other words, the Stumps they had seen in the Irobe region were now attacking the village for some reason.

Being chased by something else, like in Shanbereshu.

***

-Thwack!

“Ugh!”

A villager, unable to withstand the force of a wooden arm whip swung by a Stump, tumbles to the ground.

They had hurriedly erected a palisade after hearing the news, but once one person falls, everything collapses in an instant.

They were just civilians who couldn’t use any special abilities.

“The Imperial Army… are they still not here?”

The villagers shake their heads.

They could call for reinforcements from Sirah Road School, but the current political situation in the Empire is hindering their rescue.

The Mirpark Blockade.

After the truth about high nobles plotting treason was revealed, a full-scale offensive was launched, leaving Sirah Road School understaffed.

Chagrak, chagrak.

The reality that entered their eyes was that the Stumps, magical beasts in the form of deformed trees, had crossed the Irobe region and come down.

“Oh my…!”

After destroying even the broken palisade, the shadow of a Stump looms over an old man who has collapsed with weakened legs.

The shadow blocks even the sun as it raises its vine-like arm to the sky.

Then it strikes down like a whip.

“Aaaagh!!”

Crack!

The human who tried to protect himself by raising both arms should have made such a sound as the ground was stained with blood, but another shadow was cast in front of the old man.

-Bang!

The vine arm that was about to strike the old man breaks like taffy and flies off.

Soon after, a white flash arrives at the spot and burns not just one arm but the entire body of the Stump black.

“Ohhh…!”

“We’re saved, we’re saved!”

Though only two of them.

The villagers couldn’t help but recognize the pair.