Chapter 38 : Promotion Match (1)

Principal’s Office of Daecheon Academy.

While Go Yeoryeong, seated in her chair, read the text written on the document in her hand, her secretary Velita added some explanation through the communication artifact.

[This is the list of first-year general class cadets who used a challenge token.]

“…I can see that. Not much of a list when there’s only two names.”

[We already explained to the cadets who earned the challenge tokens what kind of place the Jincheon Class is.]

“Well, if that’s the case, I guess it makes sense there are only two.”

The Jincheon Class at Daecheon Academy was reserved only for the top 10 percent of students each year.

At Daecheon, where martial strength alone was considered the value of a person, it was only natural that most of the academy’s support was poured into the Jincheon Class.

On top of that, with loud and frequent incidents occurring nearly every day, the cadets of Jincheon Class grew at an astonishing pace amid abundant resources and relentless trials.

Thus, about a month and a half passed.

It wasn’t a long time by any measure, but the time experienced by the Jincheon Class and the general class differed drastically in intensity.

While cadets in the general class chuckled at the sight of a weaker student being bullied, Jincheon cadets fought whenever their eyes met and survived in a place where something happened every time they blinked.

As a result, the gap between the general class and Jincheon Class had widened to the point where even looking up to them felt impossible.

Just hearing about the Jincheon Class was enough to crush their spirit and make them give up challenging it.

“This batch has a lot of talented cadets. Some of them were already well-known even before entering Daecheon… No wonder the others feel intimidated.”

[Defending those without talent or will… have you finally developed empathy for the weak?]

“Don’t be ridiculous, Velita. I just said I understand. I never expected anything from those general class runts in the first place.”

To Go Yeoryeong, who upheld Daecheon’s belief that strength was a person’s only worth, the cadets of the general class weren’t even considered students.

They were merely like pigs in a pigpen.

However, among them, there were exactly two people whose names caught her attention—the two written on the document.

[For someone who says that, you seemed quite interested in the names of the challenge token users I sent you.]

“I know both names. And one of them isn’t a runt.”

[Fuyuno?]

“No, Yang Woobin. That day, I noticed he had no strength, but his sharp eyes stood out. Turns out he wasn’t just a loudmouth punk.”

Go Yeoryeong traced Yang Woobin’s name with her finger, one of the two listed—Fuyuno Tsubaki and Yang Woobin.

“So they came together, just like he told me. I can’t dislike someone who keeps their word.”

Just as he had declared that day, Yang Woobin didn’t come alone—he boldly stepped into the promotion match with a challenge token, bringing someone with him.

Go Yeoryeong let a smirk rise to her lips for a moment at his sense of responsibility, then quickly wiped it away.

“Of course, he was a total brat that day. So at best, we’re at zero—nothing gained, nothing lost.”

She still hadn’t forgotten how rude Yang Woobin had been.

[…So petty.]

“What?”

[No, not at all. But still, if they really did come together like we heard that day… Could it be that Fuyuno Tsubaki and Yang Woobin are childhood friends…? The traitor’s daughter and the eldest son of the Yang family, in that kind of relationship… My imagination is running wild…]

“Velita. We’re still on duty. Save your fantasies for later.”

[Ah, yes ma’am.]

After cutting off married-woman Velita’s runaway imagination, Go Yeoryeong picked up the seal to stamp the document.

But her hand paused as her eyes fell on the names of the Jincheon Class cadets that the two challengers had selected.

“…Wow. I don’t know whose idea this was, but it’ll be fun to watch.”

Thud.

With a smirk of interest, Go Yeoryeong brought the seal down.

And just like that, Fuyuno Tsubaki and Yang Woobin’s promotion challenge to the Jincheon Class was approved.

***

The day after earning the challenge token during the midterm evaluation.

Fuyuno Tsubaki and I were heading toward a place we’d never been before.

“Ah, ahhh, uuuugh. Uwahhh…”

“…”

“Haaahhhahhh…”

“…”

“Hiiieeeeeee…”

“Hey! Get a grip, would you?! What’s wrong with you?!”

“N-n-n-nerves. I’m so nervous. My heart is beating… way too fast.”

“…Haah.”

That’s right.

We were heading to a place anyone could guess just by looking at Fuyuno Tsubaki’s ghost-white face, drenched in cold sweat, and her trembling eyes.

“A p-promotion match. I have to fight a Jincheon Class cadet. H-hnghh…”

We were heading to Jincheon Hall, commonly referred to as the “true Daecheon Academy,” where the Jincheon Class cadets trained.

“W-Woobin… What do I do? I-I can’t breathe right…”

The idea of going to Jincheon Hall, standing in front of every first-year Jincheon Class cadet, pointing one out, and then having to fight and defeat them… It was clearly overwhelming her. Fuyuno Tsubaki was so nervous she looked like she might pass out at any moment.

Looking at this fragile wreck of a person, I couldn’t help but sigh.

“I mean, you caught a beast faster than me yesterday and got a ton of praise from me—so why are you like this now?”

“B-but… Jincheon cadets are way stronger than beasts…”

“True.”

Putting aside the fact that Fuyuno Tsubaki took down a magical beast in an instant without a scratch, what she said was completely accurate.

Even the weakest of the Jincheon Class cadets could easily defeat all the beasts prepared for the midterm practical exam in a single sweep.

That’s how overwhelmingly powerful they were.

She’d heard that from the instructor before using the challenge token, so it made sense that she was trembling like this.

“Hey, Tsubaki.”

“Y-yeah?”

But even if I understood it logically, I couldn’t just accept how panicked she was acting.

“I told you we could do this, didn’t I? Don’t you trust me?”

“W-what…?”

Because I had already told her she could do it.

“After hearing the instructor, does it make what I said sound unreliable or something?”

“N-no, that’s not it… Not at all…”

Her vague response hurt my pride.

To think she’d still be shaking after being told she could do it—by me, the person who knows more about reversal-hero stories than anyone else in the world.

I couldn’t accept it.

So I grabbed Fuyuno Tsubaki’s delicate shoulders with both hands as she looked at me with a helpless expression.

Squeeze.

“Hnnngh…”

Her whole body trembled like there was an earthquake just from my grip, and I stared straight into her wide, quivering eyes.

“U-uhhh…”

I was much taller than her, so naturally I was looking down while she looked up—an ideal perspective for instilling belief.

From that angle, as her face turned completely red all the way to the top of her head, I said:

“Tsubaki, I know you better than you do. I know what you can do, how far you can go, and how amazing you can become.”

“Ah… auuh…”

“So if I say you can do it, you can. If I say you’re going to win, you will. I’d never push you to do something you couldn’t. Got it? If you understand, nod.”

“Y-yeah…!”

Hearing that, Fuyuno Tsubaki nodded with a bright red face.

Only after seeing her nod did I finally feel at ease.

Because once this girl nods like that, she’ll usually manage to pull through—for at least one round.

But still… why does it always take this much effort just to get her to nod? At this point, is she doing it on purpose—wait. Don’t tell me…

A sudden thought flashed through my head, and I looked at her—still red-faced, lips twitching—and asked:

“Hey, Tsubaki. Don’t tell me… you like this kind of stuff?”

“W-what?! What do you mean by ‘this kind of stuff’?”

“Me… touching you all over like that.”

“Wh—?!”

Fuyuno Tsubaki flinched like I had hit the bullseye.

Wait, does she really like it?

A girl who enjoys being grabbed and handled like a dog by a guy? She’s definitely a pervert.

In this world of Reversal Hero Tales, the world I live in now, the social order is reversed—women dominate.

In this world, if a woman says “water” while eating, the man has to drop his spoon immediately and fetch her a glass.

That’s the kind of society we’re in.

So for a girl in a world like this to enjoy being touched like a dog by a guy?

That’s some next-level deviant stuff.

“A-aaaah no! That’s not it, I swear, I mean—!”

Fuyuno Tsubaki, clearly aware of how perverted her taste sounded, desperately tried to defend herself.

“Hah.”

“Uuugh…”

But my short, scoffing laugh at her excuse only made her lower her head further, her ears turning bright red.

The way she hunched her shoulders and bowed her head—it was the very picture of someone who just had their deepest secret exposed and didn’t know where to hide from the shame.

And since shame isn’t the best thing to feel right before a battle, I let out a chuckle and gave her a line that I knew would lift her spirits.

“If you win the promotion match… if you win and move up, I’ll pet you as much as you want.”

“H-huh? W-what did you just say, Woobin?”

“No limits on where. I’ll treat you like a giant dog and just go to town.”

“…!!!”

It was the kind of line that anyone else would call outright sexual harassment—but upon hearing it, Fuyuno Tsubaki’s hunched shoulders shot up, and she raised her head with pride, puffing out her chest.

“Woobin, I’ve lost all my doubts! I have no intention of losing!”

It was the most confident I had ever seen her.

“Then win.”

And with that commotion behind us, the two of us finally stepped into Jincheon Hall for our promotion match.