Chapter 146: The Knight Hates Balls (1)

Out of nowhere, Lee Han said these words to the cadets of the Swordsmanship Department with a dejected expression.

“If one day, this instructor quits the Academy, just know that I’d be on the run.”

“On the run?”

“Are you okay, Instructor?”

“Instructor?”

“You guys just need to know that.”

“???”

“…”

Two days had passed since the chaos in Galahad, and Lee Han started to feel a little bit of a sense of crisis.

They said people were animals who held plenty of regrets. It was as if they were created in such a way that their current self would suffer while reminiscing about the past mistakes they made.

That was what happened to Lee Han. His regret made him have nightmares about being chased by Galahad’s soldiers as well as the duke for two days straight.

Where should I run to…?

Recently, he even considered self-exile.

The kingdom of deserts and grasslands ruled by the Sultan was hot, but rumors had it that it was a good place to live…

No, wait, the heat’s gonna be too much.

Should I just go to a rural village with a good valley and the sea and live a secluded life?

No, that also doesn’t sound too good.

He realized that he wouldn’t want to live in the countryside.

Because he wanted to live in a city with at least decent infrastructure.

After all, even though he looked like he could survive anywhere, at the end of the day, he was a city person.

“Haa…”

“Instructor, Kunta doesn’t know what’s going on, but cheer up.”

“Seems like you have a delicate side that’s different from your appearance, Instructor.”

“…I don’t know about other people, but I don’t want to hear those words from you, Instructor.”

“Why?”

“You look more Barbarian than a Barbarian, Instructor.”

“Is that an insult or a compliment?”

“???”

“…Did you even hear what you just said, you punk?”

At that moment, the thought of including reading time in his class crossed Lee Han’s mind. No matter how much of muscle-brains these guys were, he still thought that they should be taught common sense once in a while.

In any case, thanks to them, he forgot about his worries and had started to think about the future direction of his classes. His habit of faithfully carrying out his assigned tasks was proven to be helpful at times like this.

Then…

“Now that I think about it, it’s almost ball season.”

“Oh, I forgot about that.”

“W-What should I do? I-I haven’t found a partner yet…”

Out of nowhere, someone mentioned about balls, and immediately, the chicks who had been practicing judo he had recently taught them became noisy.

“Ball?”

“Yes, the ball season starts in earnest from the second semester. In particular, the Academy Ball, which is mandatory to all cadets attending the Academy, will be held soon.”

“There’s something like that too, huh?”

“Everyone attending the Royal Academy has to be socially active, whether they like it or not. Not being socially active means being excluded from high society, so attending the event is pretty much a necessity.”

“Hmm.”

“Hehehe, Instructor, you just thought that balls and social gatherings were useless, right?”

“N-No, I didn’t.”

The chicks turned out to be sharper than he expected.

Is this the so-called woman’s intuition?

Or is it just my expression that’s too easy to read?

I swear, everyone I met could read my expression…

“Um, first of all, I’m sorry. Also, I didn’t think it was useless. It’s just that it’s an event I’m not very familiar with. I didn’t mean to look down on you guys.”

“Hehehe, I am well aware.”

A faint laughter accompanied the chick’s words, then the other chicks followed suit.

“This is what I like about the instructor. He apologizes to us even though we’re young and have lower status than him.”

“Right? Some of the professors and knights are so high-nosed that they won’t even think about apologizing. Inside, they’ll lash out at you.”

“Lashing out is still lucky, no? There are those who just straight up hit you. Last time, I saw Sir Frand…”

“Oh my! That happened!? As expected, his personality is just as ugly as his face!”

“What a shame. If only he’s here, right in front of me, I’d test out the skills I learned from the instructor on him.”

“Me too!”

“…Can I go now?”

As expected, he shouldn’t interfere with the girl’s conversation.

At some point, he felt like his presence had been forgotten, so he wanted nothing more than to run away.

“Hehe, to summarize, they think you are a kind person, Master.”

“…I was just asking about the ball, why did the conversation turn out that way?”

Before he knew it, the blue bear that had approached him suddenly threw her praises at him. Also, from this, Lee Han learned a lesson.

Never interfere with the girls’ conversations if possible.

It was a lesson that he would adhere to for the rest of his life.

“…”

Meanwhile, the red-haired woman, Judia Pierre, was staring blankly at the sight of the female cadets and knights mingling well together. She still maintained an expressionless face that was hard to read, but if the old priest was around, he’d probably be able to read her expression to some extent.

That expression signified none other than,

“Oh, Light, how am I supposed to live…”

‘Envy.’

After class, Lee Han told his collaborator what had happened to him, and the moment the guy heard what happened…

“T-The duke summoned you, Instructor?!”

He was on the verge of fainting from shock.

“Is it really that surprising?”

Though he’d act boldly sometimes, the status window guy was a timid person by nature, so he tended to be surprised by trivial things.

However, this time, he actually clapped back.

“H-How could I not be surprised?! Or rather, did you know who Duke Blake is, Instructor?! That [Blake of the Demon Sword] and-?”

“…What kind of setting is that?”

“Duke Blake of the Demon Sword. He’s one of those who has power that rivals Aura Users. He himself is rather weak, but when he wields the Demon Sword, his power reaches the level of natural disaster…! He’s a person who can even destroy a country.”

“By any chance… Is that guy also an important character?”

“He’s like an event boss. However, just like Archduke Lionel, he’s not a boss character that was meant to be defeated.”

“…Then why the hell did you guys even make him?”

“The planning team sometimes goes crazy and puts in ridiculous Easter eggs. To be honest, he barely has any active role in the original works, but the planning team must have thought they found something interesting and put him into the game.”

“That gentleman didn’t play an active role…?”

The duke that Lee Han saw was not someone who was indifferent to the world. In fact, he was an incredibly wise and excellent gentleman. So, he was puzzled by the status window guy’s statement that he was a character who didn’t have any active role.

Even the status window guy agreed with his reaction. He then explained why the duke didn’t end up doing anything in the game.

“It’s because he’s a stand-by character. You should know that the story progression wouldn’t progress well if someone who could take matters into his own hands made either move, he is that kind of character. He doesn’t really have much weight on the main story.”

“Does he even have an active role in the story?”

“Yes, he does.”

“When?”

“When Irene Windler falls.”

“…Ah.”

Lee Han nodded as he remembered something.

“You did say that Irene Windler was originally one of the three villainess characters…”

In response to Lee Han’s words, the status window guy nodded and elaborated.

“The reason Irene Windler became a villainess is because she’s like the final boss of the Academy. In the original story, she was also the adopted daughter of Duke Galahad. Also, Instructor, the behavior of those who enter powerful families out of nowhere is usually divided into two, do you know that?”

“Yes, they either work hard and because they are grateful for the good fortune that has come to them, or they don’t know how to be grateful and become twisted.”

“You got it.”

“I’ve read quite a lot of manhwa… Anyway, from the way you describe her, that chick seems to be…”

“Yes, in the original, she became a twisted person.”

That too to an incredible degree.

She was a commoner and an orphan, yet she despised the lower class and used Galahad’s power to become the queen of society. Furthermore, after entering the Royal Academy, she only focused on strengthening her authority, neglecting her natural talent of magic and letting it rot away.

After that…

“She becomes the polar opposite of the ‘heroine’ who later appears in the second year, and takes on a role that makes the heroine stand out. Later, she commits atrocious acts that are so horrible towards the heroine, and eventually gets kicked out of the Academy and got abandoned by the duke. That’s the original story line.”

“…Well, she deserved it.”

Just hearing it made Lee Han feel irritated. She was nothing but a common villainess character, and her atrocity was enough for the duke to abandon her.

That gentleman wouldn’t give his affection just because she resembles his wife.

In the original, he probably also found Irene Windler, who resembled his wife, and took her in as his adopted daughter. But then the villainess’ wickedness went too far, so the duke cut her off with a single stroke.

However, if he were to guess why he kept her until she was a second year student at the academy, it would probably be because…

He suspected her.

Just like what he heard from the duke, it was highly likely that he kept Irene Windler in the original work because he suspected her of being ‘something’ made in the temple. However, as soon as he was convinced that she was useless, or even detrimental to him, she quickly lost her value.

“In the original work, there is a line that says ‘there is an unnamed tomb where a blonde woman is buried’. I think that tomb is…”

“…Tsk.”

Although Lee Han knew that the villainess in the original work and the current chick were two different people, for some reason, he felt bitter. Even if she was a magic freak, she was also the member of his group, or rather a cadet, whom he taught.

“That doesn’t sound pleasant to hear.”

“Did I tell you something useless?”

“No, I was just overreacting a little. Thanks for telling me.”

“Haha… It’s good if you find it useful.”

“…Hmm, anyway Timid.”

“Yes?”

“…What’s that on your neck?”

“Huh? Oh, t-this…”

For some reason, there was something that looked like a red blister on his neck, probably a bug bite. But for some reason, the guy let out a bitter smile.

“It’s nothing special, Instructor. A girl from the same department gave me an invitation the day before yesterday, and Miss Karin got angry when she saw it. And then she suddenly bit my neck…”

“…”

“I thought I was going to die from the pain— Um, why do you look so angry so suddenly?”

“…She was marking you, you punk.”

“Huh? Marking…?”

“…Just go out and die, you punk.”

“???”

“…Damn it.”

At that moment, Lee Han wanted to do nothing but beat up the kid in front of him.

In Lee Han’s front yard, there was a dog—no, a boarding house. It was a handmade house made by the landlord himself, and it was built without any faulty construction, so it probably could even withstand a storm.

And since it was such a precious house, the resident of the house, Assistant Number 1, bowed his head with tears in his eyes.

-This fucking life…!

He probably felt that it was too much for him to live in such a nice house.

Anyway, such precious boarding facilities had recently increased by nine. After all, there were new interns who wanted to board. As a result, the number of snoring increased, but fortunately, it was not at a level that bothered the landlord.

Even though they were built in the landlord’s front yard, the space seemed to be independent from the landlord’s house itself.

At that moment…

Rustle-!

One person got up and left that space.

Slowly, she walked around. But even though she wasn’t even trying to hide herself, the other residents were too busy sleeping to notice her. No matter how tired they were, the interns should have felt the presence of others, but it was understandable that they didn’t feel the presence…

Wooosh-!

After all, the woman who walked out didn’t have any footsteps. If anything, it would be strange if they noticed her since she was floating through the air like a ghost.

If someone had seen this sight, they would have doubted their eyes and screamed, but unfortunately, there was no one awake here.

After that…

Wooosh-!

Her body passed through the wall, not the door.

Making her look truly like a ghost.

“──Haa.”

Her eyes, emitting an eerie ominousness, saw through the wall and gazed upon Lee Han sleeping on the hammock.

He was clearly asleep, so she gradually approached him and touched his body.

From her gesture, it was like she was trying to threaten or kill him.

Swaaaah-!

In an instant, the eerie energy emanating from her body spread toward Lee Han.

It looked like fog.

The fog was thick and sticky, and there was something inside it that could captivate people just by looking at it.

Just like that…

“…”

“Open your eyes.”

“…”

“When you wake up, look at me. And pledge to me as I am your master.”

“…”

The woman, Judia Pierre, had a completely different expression and voice than her usual self.

Whoosh-!

Not only was her atmosphere different, the other parts of her body were too. Her short hair had grown long enough to reach her waist, and there were changes here and there on her body.

To put it positively, she had become healthy. But to put it negatively, her unfeminine body had become more feminine and sultry.

And this appearance of hers…

“…Female Ghost.”

Reminded Lee Han of a certain mysterious race, Female Ghost, or Succubus. But Judia Pierre shook her head, still wearing a seductive expression.

“No, I am a Dream Demon. I am not such a lowly creature. So accept me. I will bring you happiness.”

“…”

“Quick! If you become my servant, I can grant you happiness everytime you need it…”

“Are you done?”

“Why is it not working?”

“Hey, answer me.”

“N-No, wait! It does work! I-Is it because he has a problem with his masculinity?”

“This rude bitch!”

Bang-!

“Aaaahhhhhh!”

Judia Pierre’s skull cracked. Well, it didn’t actually crack, but a dull cracking sound came out of it, and she writhed in pain. The shock and pain she received was so great to the point that she couldn’t bear it.

But, without caring that she was in pain…

“This bitch—! Rubbing salt into people’s wounds like that! The status window bastard had already pissed me off enough, now you—!!!”

Lee Han lashed out at her, clearly ‘extremely angry’.

After all, there was a woman who dared to touch his sore spot. Moreover, not only was she rude, she had also trespassed into his home.

So, this had turned into a case of self-defense.

“You only have yourself to blame!”

“…Huh?”

Lee Han picked up a huge axe that he put in a corner of the room.

Then…

“Do you know how to hit people with an axe?”

“N-No?”

“Then I’ll show you. You’ll know how to after I hit you with it all night long.”

“!!!”

That night, Lee Han kept his word. He showed various ways to beat people without killing them with an axe, and he really beat her all night long.

Seven long hours.

That was how long Judia Pierre had to endure getting hit.