Noble

Sunday morning.

The Iroaz Watch chimed.

Lee Dojin checked the message.

-We are changing the written exam period for 1st and 2nd year students.

As expected, the written exam was postponed.

To next Friday.

They must have been busy investigating yesterday, so they sent the schedule on Sunday.

It seemed like a decision made after much deliberation by the academy. It also showed their determination to completely stabilize the academy over the next week.

After quickly having breakfast at the dormitory cafeteria, he returned to his room.

Lee Dojin meditated while stroking the spirit ‘King of the Great Forest’.

Twitch! Shiver…

‘When will I be able to contract with this guy?’

He suspected this bastard might just be enjoying being touched while actually being able to form a contract.

Lee Dojin was suspicious but continued to stroke it anyway.

---

Lunchtime.

Lee Dojin came out wearing a black hoodie. Not knowing what might happen, he had packed his nano black suit and wooden sword in his spatial pocket.

He entered a famous Chinese restaurant across from Iroaz Academy.

“Yo.”

There was only one person in Lee Dojin’s circle who started with that greeting.

“Sit next to me, junior.”

A silver-haired woman, Yeon Simun, was sitting there. And across the table sat a contrasting blonde woman.

Lee Dojin felt like he had seen her somewhere before.

Blue eyes were staring intently at Lee Dojin.

Rachel Walker, a second-year student, immediately recalled yesterday’s tragedy. The tragedy where one student ended up dying.

It was clear that if this man hadn’t appeared, there would have been more casualties.

Yesterday, she had attended the funeral of a male classmate.

She couldn’t help feeling a bit depressed thinking that it was a death that wouldn’t have happened if she had been stronger.

After a day passed, the gloomy feeling had disappeared.

After all, those who survived had to keep on living.

Rachel was just staring intently.

Yeon Simun looked at Lee Dojin.

“I heard about what happened at the academy on Friday. Are you not hurt anywhere?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Yeon Simun chuckled.

“It’s stranger that someone who fought almost alone says he’s fine, junior.”

“Oh, I don’t think I fought alone.”

He remembered there was a female student who was fighting almost equally against Professor Woon Hyeongcheol of the Magic Department.

‘Blonde hair and blue eyes.’

She was obviously not Korean, so she was bound to be memorable. And the red lightning and fierce fighting spirit that enveloped her body remained clearly in his mind.

Lee Dojin looked at the blonde woman again.

“Ah.”

He finally realized. The person diagonally across from him was that magician who had been facing the professor first two days ago.

“You’re the senior who was facing that professor on Friday. Are you alright? Ah, I’m first-year student Lee Dojin.”

Lee Dojin bowed his head slightly and asked politely.

Rachel opened her mouth slightly.

It was hard to think that the person she saw on Friday and the person bowing his head now were the same person.

‘How noble.’

After all, his appearance subduing the professor looked truly superhuman. A knight doing his best to strike down the enemy.

And his appearance was noble. Even covered in blood in his full-body suit. Rachel slowly opened her mouth.

“…Yes, I’m fine. I’m Rachel Walker, second year.”

Just as they finished introducing themselves, a male waiter wearing an apron approached.

“Are you ready to order?”

Yeon Simun quickly opened her mouth.

“What are you going to eat, junior?”

“Jajangmyeon.”

“Two beef brisket jjamppong and one jajangmyeon. All large portions.”

Lee Dojin had a blank expression at Yeon Simun’s decisive order. So that blonde American student eats beef brisket jjamppong.

The waiter who took the order left.

Yeon Simun grinned.

“Three of the future golden generation the vice principal talks about have gathered. Only one is missing.”

First-year Lee Dojin. Second-year Rachel Walker. Third-year Yeon Simun.

“Who’s the fourth-year?”

Lee Dojin voiced the question he couldn’t help but be curious about.

“There is one, a monster.”

At Yeon Simun’s words, Rachel added:

“That senior is a freak, a freak. Not noble at all.”

Yeon Simun giggled.

“Is the junior noble then?”

“He is noble.”

Lee Dojin tilted his head. It was clearly being said about him, but he couldn’t interpret what it meant.

“What does noble mean?”

Noble (高潔).

He roughly knew what it meant. But it wasn’t a word used casually. And it was even less likely to be used by a foreigner. Lee Dojin was asking what Rachel thought noble meant.

“It’s something cool. Living in the world alone and loftily, but no one can think it’s just a facade. That’s nobility.”

Lee Dojin’s mind went blank at the fluent explanation.

“…But am I noble?”

Rachel looked at Lee Dojin clearly.

“You were noble. That appearance yesterday. A superhuman on a white horse coming alone to save a crumbling kingdom. There was that kind of nobility.”

Noble.

Lee Dojin started to get scared.

‘…She’s not in her right mind either. This person.’

The senior Yeon Simun right next to him was the same. Why do strong people who have crossed a certain threshold transcend the normal category?

Lee Dojin didn’t realize that he himself was seen by others as someone excessively obsessed with swords. Because the desire for martial arts was such a natural instinct for him.

“Senior Rachel, do you think you’re noble yourself?”

Rachel raised her head.

“Of course. Where else can you find such nobility? A magician who reached the 5th Circle at 21 years old. A genius counted among the best in the world. A magician who handles two attributes, lightning and ice, at an expert level. If someone like me isn’t noble, who is?”

Her ego was excessively inflated.

Even if it was confidence based on evidence, this was too much.

If nobility is divided according to the scale of strength, why is the fourth-year senior who belongs to the golden generation an ignoble monster? Lee Dojin immediately turned that question into a direct query.

Rachel spoke decisively.

“I don’t like that senior’s way of fighting. It’s messy.”

Ah, so being strong was a given, and it also had to match her taste to fall into the category of nobility.

“Your order is here.”

The waiter placed one jajangmyeon and two beef brisket jjamppong on the table.

Slurp-

The two started focusing on the beef brisket jjamppong.

A blue-eyed blonde American woman focusing on beef brisket jjamppong.

Lee Dojin found this the most fascinating sight he had seen at the academy so far.

“Isn’t it spicy?”

Rachel wiped her mouth once with a tissue and then looked at Lee Dojin.

“Huh, is jjamppong spicy? This level is just called hearty.”

‘…She’s not normal.’

Lee Dojin was certain. This senior’s taste had also been infected by Senior Yeon Simun. The actual culprit of the disease, Yeon Simun, probably had no thoughts about it.

She was still pouring her passion into the beef brisket jjamppong.

Yeon Simun raised her head abruptly at Lee Dojin’s continued gaze. There were slight traces of red jjamppong around her mouth. But unlike Rachel, she didn’t wipe it off immediately.

“What. Is the jajangmyeon not good? The jjamppong is delicious.”

Rachel chimed in.

“Beef brisket is noble.”

“No, the jajangmyeon is delicious too.”

The jajangmyeon was delicious, but their appearance was so fascinating that he kept staring.

He felt mentally comfortable with the strangely well-matched appearance of the two.

Cutting off the magic beast’s breath. Pushing the professor to the brink of death. The Friday that should have ended with just a written exam was really damn tiring.

So as a reaction to that fatigue, he had to end yesterday just blankly meditating. Thanks to meeting Mistilteinn and Hwangbo Seryeong before going to sleep, his mood didn’t plummet to rock bottom.

The words Ryu Jia had said on Friday kept circling in his head.

Now, truly, there were many people to protect.

“Ah, we didn’t order rice. Boss.”

“We almost became ignoble. The soup of jjamppong only becomes truly noble when accompanied by rice.”

…These people seem like they’d survive well on their own even without protection.

In the end, Lee Dojin also had to mix rice with his jajangmyeon to match the atmosphere. He couldn’t deny it tasted good.

Zing-

Lee Dojin’s phone vibrated. Yeon Simun, who quickly raised her head, saw the name displayed on Lee Dojin’s phone.

“It’s junior Baek Hwayeon.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Lee Dojin answered the phone.

-Lee Dojin!!

And at the same time, a shrill high-pitched voice resounded at the table. Even though he hadn’t put it on speaker mode.

“…What’s the matter?”

Is it something serious?

-You, you! Did you split a single set between two people? The necklace to me, the earrings to Bit-na!

“Yeah, I did.”

At Lee Dojin’s answer, Rachel coughed, making a “Kek kek!” sound.

Yeon Simun twisted her mouth strangely. Both stared at Lee Dojin with incredulous faces.

-W-what! What’s the reason! Kiaak!

Baek Hwayeon was genuinely angry. Of course, Lee Dojin didn’t recognize that.

“I thought it might be burdensome if I gave a whole set to one person. So I split it.”

-…B-burdensome? Huu…huu! You crazy bastard! If you had given a whole set properly, we would have been twice as happy! What burden! You sword-obsessed idiot! Who gives a set split up!

-You crazy bastard!

Choi Bit-na’s shout followed Baek Hwayeon’s words. It seemed they were together.

“I’m sorry. I don’t really understand, though.”

-Kiaaaaak! Y-you don’t understand? Die! Just die!

Baek Hwayeon started screaming, and Yeon Simun and Rachel started laughing, making “Keuk keuk” sounds.

Rachel approached Lee Dojin’s side with a smile in her eyes and whispered lowly in his ear. So that her voice wouldn’t reach the phone.

“For now, just apologize profusely and then hang up. After we finish eating, I’ll teach you what the problem was. Me, the noble one.”

-Kiaaaaak! Die!

Lee Dojin decided to follow Rachel’s solution and apologize for now. Though he still didn’t understand what the problem was.

“I’m really sorry. I was short-sighted.”

-Kiaaaaak!

Baek Hwayeon’s anger continued for 5 more minutes after that.