Ch.81Becoming Famous – 4

When I regained consciousness, news of my discharge from the hospital would have already spread.

I’ve become quite an attractive news story, such is the power of mass media.

But even so, this is ridiculous. No one knows when I’ll return to work.

What kind of mind came up with the idea to sit there staging a one-person protest?

“Hyunwoo Lee.”

“Oh! Sole Arbiter! Are you back at work?”

“As you can see. But what exactly are you doing, Hyunwoo Lee?”

“As you can see, I’m protesting!”

That’s exactly what I’m asking—why are you protesting, you idiot.

“I heard you were discharged from the hospital. And I thought someone like you wouldn’t take a long break and would return to the Academy right away. So I’m protesting to ask you to conduct all the evaluations you couldn’t do while you were in the hospital!”

What’s so impressive about that to make you smile so proudly?

Looking at Hyunwoo, I genuinely wondered:

Does this guy actually know about my Bittersweet Triumph trait?

…No. That’s impossible. It can’t be.

To begin with, traits can only be seen by me with The Third Eye.

Others can’t see them. They don’t even know such things exist.

“Why are you so eager to be evaluated?”

Just in case, I probed with a casual question.

Hyunwoo is not a villain but a protagonist, a main character.

And typically, such characters show obvious signs when they lie.

Especially those with a martial artist concept like him.

“Um… nothing special. If I had to give a reason, I’ve been working incredibly hard lately and made some progress. I just want to show you the results, Sole Arbiter.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Especially because it’s you, not someone else.”

Since he kept emphasizing “Sole Arbiter,” I asked again.

What did he mean by that? What was he implying?

“Didn’t you fight The Elder?”

At my question, Hyunwoo gave me a look as if asking something completely obvious.

“That’s incredible, isn’t it? I saw The Elder from a distance back then, and my legs were so weak I could barely move. But you fought a fierce battle against him.”

“…To be precise, Professor Jiyoon Han arrived just as I was about to die.”

“That’s not important. What matters is that you’re strong and admirable.”

Since the Sole Arbiter is strong, he can better identify my weaknesses.

By pointing out those weaknesses and helping me improve them, I can become much stronger.

Furthermore, since you’re a strong opponent, I can fight without holding back.

As a result, I’ll learn more, which is a great benefit.

That was Hyunwoo’s reasoning in response to my question.

“So right now! Please evaluate me!”

At Hyunwoo’s words, I put my hand to my forehead.

I was already tired from arriving 20 minutes earlier than usual.

And now the protagonist is whining for an evaluation as soon as I arrive.

“If you take the evaluation now, that’s it for today. You know that, right?”

“What? No, there’s no such rule!”

“Yes, there is. Academy regulations. Student evaluations are limited to once per day, starting from the beginning of the Academy’s daily schedule.”

“…Since I came early, couldn’t you make an exception just this once?”

“A public servant who lives on tax money must be fair, or there will be trouble.”

Will you cover for me if problems arise later? If not, stay quiet.

The most tiresome thing among public servants is exceeding one’s authority.

“What are you going to do? Hyunwoo Lee, your class starts soon.”

Unauthorized tardiness or absence without special circumstances is the fastest way to lose points.

If you don’t want to be forcibly expelled from the Academy you worked so hard to enter…

“Oh, ah! Aaah!”

Suddenly, Hyunwoo started exclaiming.

Like Archimedes shouting “Eureka!” in the bath.

“Hyunwoo Lee?”

“That’s right! Yes!”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Just as you said! Evaluations are once per day! And that day is based on the Academy’s daily schedule start time! So, what time is it now?”

What time? It’s 7:43 AM…

“Oh.”

“The Academy’s day officially starts at 8 AM, right? So if I take the evaluation now, there’s no problem! I can quickly take yesterday’s evaluation now, and then come back in the afternoon for today’s!”

It was nonsense, but such creative nonsense that I couldn’t even think of a rebuttal.

When someone exploits loopholes like this, public servants like me have no choice but to yield.

And thinking about it, he wasn’t entirely wrong. In fact, he could be right.

Since it’s not yet 8 AM, there’s no problem with conducting an evaluation.

And the evaluation now could count as the one we missed yesterday.

If that’s all he’s asking for, I had no reason to refuse.

“…Fine.”

“Oh! You’ll evaluate me?”

“But since we don’t have much time, I’ll do it quickly. No complaints, right?”

By “quickly,” I didn’t mean I’d thoroughly examine everything like before.

It meant I’d go all out from the start—a kind of threat to handle it himself.

Despite this, Hyunwoo was grinning with delight.

“I look forward to your guidance again!”

I was already sad about having to come to work 20 minutes early.

And here he is, smiling without understanding my feelings.

This crossed the line. It’s an unforgivable sin against someone who came to work early!

“Hyunwoo Lee.”

“Yes, Sole Arbiter!”

“This might hurt a bit.”

“What? What do you—”

I didn’t bother listening to the rest.

As soon as the evaluation began, I slammed Hyunwoo to the ground.

*

‘And so, after getting a taste of pain, Hyunwoo took a break from today’s evaluation!’

…If that had been the ending, it would have been fine.

“Sole Arbiter! I’m here for today’s evaluation!”

But Hyunwoo with his indomitable will—

The damn protagonist who never yields to any trial—

Eventually appeared before me again in the afternoon, insisting on another evaluation.

So what did I do? What could I do?

If he came for an evaluation, I had to evaluate him. That’s my job.

Earlier, I was annoyed because it wasn’t officially working hours yet,

and he was creating more work for me, which was bothersome and irritating.

But I don’t maintain those emotions during official working hours.

“This time, please go a bit slower!”

“I was planning to anyway.”

Earlier, I had intended to test his martial arts. Now it was time for swordsmanship.

As I drew my sword, Hyunwoo happily drew his as well.

Then he leaped forward as if claiming the first strike…

‘What the hell?’

He’s faster than when I evaluated him recently.

Though I was unconscious and unable to conduct evaluations for a while,

it wasn’t months or weeks, just a few days.

Yet our crazy protagonist had grown again in that short time.

‘Are you serious? This is cheating.’

Though I shouldn’t be the one saying it, the thought came naturally.

At this rate, he’ll reach Gold by the end of this semester at the latest.

No, he could aim for Platinum. And by the middle of next semester, he might even reach Diamond.

He’s faster than in the original work. And stronger than in the original work.

If he maintains this pace, I couldn’t ask for more.

‘Thanks to this, my concerns only deepen.’

Should I let him go, or hold him back a little longer?

A simple yet extremely difficult dilemma lay before me.

An already strong person has progressed much further through my evaluations.

At this level, it would be sufficient to let him go and let him handle things himself.

I guarantee he’ll go straight to Diamond when the second semester begins.

But at the same time, I can’t help feeling regretful.

If he’s already like this, what if I push him a little more with the Bittersweet Triumph trait?

What if I subtly pass on what I gained from fighting Minseong Kang and The Elder?

It might not make a big difference. It might be just a tiny gap.

But who knows what impact that small difference could have later?

Clang—!

Once again, blade meets blade with a clear sound.

Thanks to this, I shook off my concerns and decided to stick to today’s plan.

“Let’s stop here. I think Hyunwoo Lee has felt enough by now.”

“Yes. If we had continued a bit longer, I think I would have lost a limb somewhere.”

Shoulder, thigh, and side—

I struck him with the flat of the blade each time.

Hyunwoo must have felt it too. That’s why he would have gritted his teeth harder.

But right now, I was above him.

“That was an enjoyable evaluation today! Thank you!”

“It’s nothing. Just doing my job.”

Hyunwoo retrieved his sword and lightly stretched his body.

He’ll probably run straight to the training ground and start swinging his sword right away.

Normally, I would have sent him off with a “work hard,” but today I wanted to talk.

“Hyunwoo Lee. There’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Yes? Oh, I’ll answer anything I can!”

“How’s the atmosphere among students these days? Specifically, the Bronze students challenging for Silver and the existing Silver students after hearing about me.”

My recent exploits have elevated the public servant Seojin Baek to stardom.

This could be good, but it could also have negative effects.

“Oh, um. I was actually going to mention this to you.”

See? Even Hyunwoo looks serious about it.

Not good. Yes, very bad for my gatekeeper life.

“Since it became known that you’re strong enough to fight The Elder, student opinions have split into two main groups. Those two are…”

“Negative opinions about how to face evaluation from someone like me, and positive opinions wanting evaluation and recognition from someone like me. Is that right?”

“Exactly.”

Hyunwoo nodded at my answer.

“Hmm.”

I understand. Yes, I don’t misunderstand the students.

If I were one of them, I would have said the same thing.

Someone who fought The Elder and even injured him?

How could we possibly satisfy such a person and hear “Pass!”?

How can we please someone who probably can’t feel satisfaction looking at us?

‘Even if I don’t expect them to win, just showing effort wouldn’t be believable.’

My head throbs. To think my achievements would become an obstacle like this.

‘The solution…’

It’s not that there isn’t one. In fact, the solution is quite simple.

It’s to unlock the firm gate and show them it’s possible to pass through.

Then students would see the possibility and have reason to strive again.

However, there’s one problem…

‘Come back when you’re at a level where I won’t miss you even if I unlock the gate!’