Chapter 32: The Angel Who Makes it Rain (2)

Episode 32: The Angel Who Makes it Rain (2)

“Huff, huff.”

Leffrey stumbled and collapsed.

He looked up at the ceiling.

“I miss the hospital…”

Next to Leffrey, who was whining like that, numerous students were also lying down. They were all first-year swordsmanship students who had attended class with Leffrey.

“Pant… pant…”

“I think I’m going to die…”

“Ugh, I’m out of magic…”

Glancing over, Leffrey observed the assistant teachers. As expected, their expressions were full of dissatisfaction. It was as if they were saying, ‘Is this all you can do?’

Seeing this, Park Jin-ho ordered,

“Assistants, to your positions!”

As the assistants moved away from the students, he started hearing curses from here and there.

“Damn it…”

“Bastards…”

Quiet curses. Leffrey wanted to join in and let out a curse too… but unfortunately, angels couldn’t curse.

Then he could only wipe away his sweat and wonder when the class would end.

A student asked,

“Leffrey…”

“Yeah?”

“You really never curse. That’s amazing.”

Leffrey could only smile awkwardly at those words.

And so, the swordsmanship class continued.

Leffrey swung the heavy greatsword while thinking to himself. The weight was hard to bear even with his Strength of 13; if it weren’t for his Martial Arts of the Archangel Angelic Ability, he would have collapsed a long time ago.

‘This is why large guilds try to recruit Central Academy graduates.’

If he were in charge of recruitment at a guild, he would naturally want to recruit anyone who had endured this hardship. They would probably be confident in enduring any task he gave them.

“Ten more!”

Ugh- Aaargh- Ugh-

Horrifying sounds and sweat were drenching the floor.

“Good. Ten more!”

Why were the numbers constantly increasing?

Leffrey started to get confused about whether this was the military, a school, or something in between. Come to think of it, the Central Academy professors weren’t really suited to be called professors.

Starting with Lusa, then Park Jin-ho, Klein…

They were all too problematic in terms of personality to teach anyone, even if they are heroes of humanity.

“Ten more!”

S-Stop… stop it!

Leffrey let out a silent scream.

‘I-I miss the hospital…!’

Leffrey was suffering again today.

And during break time, the students left the great swords where they were and collapsed in their spots.

“Haaaaah.”

“Uwaaaah.”

Judging by the sounds alone, you would think it was a military hospital ward. The assistant teachers clicked their tongues and gave another scolding.

“Students! One or two of you need to put away the great swords. If you think it’s you, get up right now.”

It was a tradition of the swordsmanship department. The student with the lowest score of the day had to drag their exhausted body and finish cleaning up after class.

Therefore, the assistant teacher’s words “If you think it’s you, get up right now” were the same as saying “Those with low scores, get up and work.”

‘Wow, I can’t move at all… that being said, I’m almost out of Angelic Power. I have martial arts class today too. I’m screwed. Is there any way to borrow some?’

Leffrey thought as he twitched.

Similarly, would the students with the lowest scores have any strength left to move? The other students exchanged glances, but they just lay there, unable to speak, with tears streaming down their faces.

“Ha, you’re going to play it this way? I’ll have to give the entire department a demerit…”

But would the students who were about to get a demerit understand the situation? The atmosphere gradually became tense.

A thought suddenly crossed Leffrey’s mind.

‘Wait, wouldn’t I get Angelic Power if I clean this up? Cleaning the cathedral brought in a decent amount of Angelic Power…’

“Alright, let’s see how far you’ll go. All of you students…”

“I’ll clean it up.”

Before the assistant teacher’s scolding could fall upon them, a boy raised his hand.

“Student Leffrey?”

The assistant teacher recognized the boy instantly.

Even though he was drenched in sweat and looked exhausted, his angelic appearance was something you don’t see often. This boy, wearing a training uniform slightly too big for his frame, always took the initiative when situations like this arose.

“Again…”

Look, even with his arms and legs trembling like that, he was trying to clean up while those who should be cleaning were slacking off.

“Students, be ashamed of yourselves.”

However, there was no student rule that could say anything about this. The assistant teacher returned to his position with a disappointed expression after saying those words.

Of course, Leffrey didn’t care.

Although he had no strength left in his arms and legs…

[Angels become stronger when they do good deeds!]

Thankfully, he was buffed. It was better to receive the angel buff than to suffer from muscle aches while resting.

Moreover…

[Helping an exhausted child is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

[Saving young heroes from discord is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

Sweet Angelic Power.

There was no reason for Leffrey not to clean up these great swords.

“He’s doing it again… incredible.”

The swordsmanship students looked at Leffrey. Putting himself through hardship like this with trembling limbs to clean up the great swords, some might mock him as a fool…

“He seems a bit like… a hero…”

To most students who admired heroes, it was a sight that made them dream. To do something for the weak who had collapsed, even when they were in a difficult situation themselves.

“How honorable.”

It was certainly something that touched their hearts. And the thoughts of the underachievers who had been helped went without saying.

Although, Leffrey did have a bit of a disagreement with the other first-year swordsmanship students because of Hongwol. However, excluding them, Leffrey was gradually gaining the respect of the first-years.

Leffrey, who was showered with affection in the martial arts department that boasted of camaraderie among classmates, and earned respect in the swordsmanship department that received military-like training.

“I’ll help too.”

It was a familiar voice. Long, pink hair and a cutely swaying tail. It was Hongwol, the top first-year student in the swordsmanship department.

She wore a small medal on her training uniform.

To understand this medal, we have to go back to a morning one week ago.

Leffrey, who had returned to the academy a week ago, went to meet the professors with great anticipation for the “something” that Lusa had promised to give him.

And that something turned out to be…

“A medal.”

“Y-Yes?”

Park Jin-ho proudly wrapped his arm around Leffrey’s shoulders.

“An honorable act deserves a commendation!”

His eyes were sparkling.

Leffrey felt a bit of fear.

‘This guy… was he always like this?’

“I plan to give you a lot through this commendation ceremony. First, I’ll gather broadcasting stations from all over the world to report on your achievements, hold a fundraising event, and through a foundation…”

Glancing over, Leffrey saw a pile of booklets next to Park Jin-ho. His actions were exaggeratedly portrayed in them. Of course, details about the holy sword, the Mooncats, and the professors were classified, so they were expressed in a roundabout way…

‘What, what is this? A song of praise for a dragon? No, since it’s about me, a song of praise for Leffrey?’ (TL: Original translation is about a book called “Song of the Dragons Flying in Heaven” which is a Korean musical text that praises the founding of the Joseon Dynasty. But instead it’s “Song of Leffrey Flying in Heaven”)

Leffrey felt like the world was turning dark. However, Park Jin-ho seemed determined to distribute them to the people around him.

“Others need to know about your achievements. We can’t keep such an honorable act to ourselves!”

Sparkle sparkle-

Park Jin-ho picked up the booklet with a proud expression.

He looked like a typical doting father.

“Professor, wait a minute!”

“Hmm, what is it?”

Leffrey’s face turned pale.

Actually, it couldn’t be helped.

‘If the commendation ceremony is held on such a grand scale and this ridiculous booklet is distributed to reporters…’

What would happen if that happened? Naturally, he would get the attention of the demon army. And getting the attention of the demon army was…

‘Something I really need to avoid.’

Leffrey looked at Park Jin-ho with a desperate expression.

“Can you give this medal to Wol instead?” (TL Note: I don’t know why Leffrey started calling Hongwol “Wol”.)

That’s right, pass it on. And if he could gain some Angelic Power by yielding it to Hongwol…

“…Why?”

Park Jin-ho looked at Leffrey with a disappointed expression. Leffrey closed his eyes for a moment and organized his thoughts. He wanted to say that he didn’t want to be in the spotlight and that he was giving it to Hongwol because she gave a good amount of Angelic Power, and he could farm some more Angelic Power in the process… but he couldn’t.

Then what excuse should he make? Leffrey couldn’t say anything and could only keep looking at Park Jin-ho.

“I see.”

Park Jin-ho said in a knowing tone.

“It’s to eliminate the discrimination against Hongwol that’s rampant within the swordsmanship department, right? If Hongwol receives this commendation for saving so many people, even the immature swordsmanship students would have no choice but to acknowledge her.”

Leffrey nodded.

It was a very good justification.

But there was one thing Leffrey didn’t know: Hongwol was listening to their entire conversation.

‘F-For me?’

Twitch- Her pink ears couldn’t help but twitch to hear their conversation. Unaware of that, Leffrey continued talking, adding to Park Jin-ho’s misunderstanding.

“I believe in Wol.”

At that moment, Hongwol felt a strong urge. The urge to immediately transform and receive affection from the boy.

Leffrey was wary of Hongwol in her human form because he knew about her as a villain, but he knew nothing about Pinky and easily gave her affection.

She wanted to be pampered right now. To rub her cheeks against him and knead her paws on his shoulder…

‘No, what am I thinking? Absolutely not. I don’t want to do that at all. Like some kind of animal…!’

She was denying it.

Anyway, Park Jin-ho accepted Leffrey’s proposal with a kind expression.

“Hmm. Alright. Since it’s a request from you, who has proven me wrong… I have no choice but to grant it.”

And so, Hongwol ended up receiving the commendation. The grand ceremony prepared for Leffrey was replaced with one for Hongwol, and the swordsmanship students, acknowledging her achievements, no longer ignored her.

‘Friends… classmates like those I saw in movies…’

There were even students who became friends with Hongwol. That’s how Hongwol decided to keep attending the academy.

Moreover…

The act of yielding his honor to another, saving a girl from bullying, and allowing a girl to continue attending the academy were all evaluated as angelic acts, and…

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

[You have gained a large amount of Angelic Power.]

[You have gained a large amount of Angelic Power.]

The overflowing Angelic Power was a bonus.

“Phew, this is heavy.”

Leffrey was stacking the great swords neatly in a corner of the storage room. Hongwol watched him intently from the side.

“Wol, thanks for helping.”

“Heh, it’s nothing.”

It’s finally over.

Hongwol thought she could finally spend some time with Leffrey.

But there was still work to be done.

Leffrey turned on the screen for the electronic inventory management system in the storage room. Since he had put the great swords back in the storage room, he had to check if the system was up-to-date.

Click click click-

The boy concentrated on the screen.

Hongwol felt a surge of annoyance.

“Hmm, is this how you do it? Or not? Do I need to update this too…”

Her annoyance continued to grow. Hongwol felt a sense of competitiveness towards an inanimate object for the first time in a long time.

‘I’m annoyed by him concentrating on that monitor…’

In the end, Hongwol naturally jumped onto the table and blocked the monitor screen that Leffrey was looking at with her body.

Then she curled up and looked at the boy.

A moment passed…

Leffrey was flustered.

“W-Wol?”

“Yeah?”

“What are you doing?”

And only then did Hongwol realize her actions.

“…Ah, there’s a bug here.”

With her cheeks flushed red, Hongwol muttered nonsense and ran out of the storage room faster than anyone else.