episode_0019

I have no knowledge of architecture, but from what I heard at first glance, one of the three laws of interior architecture is space, design, and framework.

In that sense, I think Ellada’s principal’s office deviates from that rule a bit.

The top floor of this academy, which has a total of 6 floors, was almost a space I had all to myself.

The exterior was a Renaissance-style building, but the interior looked like a replica of a medieval European palace.

There were famous paintings of unknown names hanging on the walls, Gothic-style interior decorations, and even impractical silver candlesticks on a huge table that could only have been used at a nobles’ banquet.

First of all, it would be a waste to use this large space only for the principal’s private room, but it also includes a private training room, a shower room, and a bedroom with a giant bed that goes beyond king size and can be called a double king.

Plus this bed. This bed is called a canopy bed. A bed covered with a thin veil, also known as a princess bed.

“Um.”

I guess it’s because I did something to the Archduke of Grandis. It is truly a replica of a duke’s castle from the Middle Ages.

And while I was sitting in the medieval duke’s office, I was looking down at an unexpected object.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

Sitting on the desk in my office was a tie.

About two hours ago, during the entrance ceremony performance, the suit and tie that were torn for production purposes.

It was a tie that looked expensive in its own way because it had expensive-looking cubic shapes and a luxurious pattern—it was actually expensive—but I guess it was used as a consumable for production purposes anyway.

I thought I would pick it up and throw it away along with the torn suit, but why bother bringing it back to me?

I’m sure this doesn’t mean you should grow it and use it again. Although it was an expensive suit, it was a performance performed within the budget allocated by the organization… .

“… This tie. Wasn’t it some kind of important object or enchanted artifact?”

“No. It’s just an ordinary tie. Why did you bring this to me?”

“Ha… .”

After enjoying a cup of cold coffee, I was organizing the documents for the new semester lectures that will start next week, when a blond-haired woman with a tie suddenly touched my forehead.

As I was looking at the ends of her wavy bob hair flowing around her shoulders, she opened her mouth again.

“Right after you moved into space earlier, a girl picked up this tie and ran away. So, thinking it was something important, the agency agents rushed in and managed to retrieve it… .”

“So did you catch the criminal?”

“I missed it. It was very quick. I wonder if he used to be a member of the track and field team… . When I pushed him into a corner, he threw the tie away and ran somewhere else.”

“I see.”

“Well, it’s good if it doesn’t matter. It is absolutely necessary to prevent magic-related items from leaking outside of Ellada.”

In fact, it has already been leaked externally on a large scale. It is a dragon badge with an interpretation spell that they wear on their chest.

In fact, to be exact, it is closer to translation magic rather than interpretation magic, and its scope is a little wider.

Translation magic is an upwardly compatible magic to interpretation magic, and was a very useful magic that allowed not only person-to-person communication between characters, but even written text to be translated in one’s mind.

In 『Grandis Saga』, this is a skill used when communicating with races with different languages. I didn’t think much of it because it was a basic skill in the game, but in real life it was incredibly useful.

The magical effect of the badge lasts about 10 days. If possible, you must continue to recharge your magic power from the magic injection device installed within the academy every week.

” Looking at the red Yongyong wearing a badge, it looks like he is a new student at Elada. It looks like he just wanted to take it out of a fan spirit. Would it have been better to leave it alone? ”

“No. It would have been better to retrieve it. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Hehe… .”

Still, I’m glad it was recovered. One day, I suddenly saw a post on a second-hand market saying ” Northmund ties for sale starting at 15 million won. ” made me feel uncomfortable.

Now that I think about it, there was a time in the past when someone picked up a few scales that had come off during a battle with a monster and posted them to the AX zone.

It was on the news and there was an uproar. From rumors that having scales will bring you good luck, to saying that if you grind the scales and drink them, you will be able to use magic like Northmund.

I remember being quite absurd when I saw that the auction price for just a few pieces of scales rose to over 5 billion won in Korean won in just one day.

Of course, the scale auction ended with GDO intervening and collecting the scales.

It seems that the person concerned claimed ownership of the scales and even engaged in a lawsuit against GDO. Judging by the fact that there hasn’t been much talk about it yet, it seems like they probably lost the case.

After the brief incident passed, as I was reviewing the completed handout and rolling the fountain pen, a rattling sound caught my attention.

The woman with wavy blonde hair who brought me the tie comes out of the bathroom. He is holding a luxurious teacup in his hand.

Can I sit down? She said and sat down on the empty chair in front of me. The scent of coffee beans wafted through the air.

On the first day she visited, I scolded her by saying, ” Make your own tea and drink it yourself. Are you planning to make the duke run tea errands? ” But these days, she drank the tea herself without saying a word.

“Professor Burns. Don’t you have a lecture starting next week too? Do you have time to fool around like this?”

“Oh my, is the principal finally worried about me? Just keep pushing it away every day.”

She grins and gives a charming smile while holding a teacup.

“I’m always fully prepared. Additionally, most of my lectures consist of practical exercises. Intelligence and infiltration cannot be learned through writing.”

Helen Burns. This is a woman I was once involved with in Seoul. I think she was in the CIA at the time.

At some point, his affiliation changed to GDO, and he was listed as a professor at Ellada as a professor of intelligence.

“Was the CIA a place where you could come and go as you pleased? It’s a light organization.”

“Oh my, GDO is from the United States of America from its origins, so it’s no different than just moving the department. Why don’t you like me, Mr. Northmund? Hehe… .”

“What arrogant words.”

Helen tells a story that would be quite infuriating if other countries heard it.

In that regard, during the previous Gate incident, Europe suffered more severe damage than other regions as it was the home of the circular bridge.

It would be safe to say that I spent more than half of my last two years in Europe. The gate opened in a truly enormous way, and monsters even stronger than Taj came in.

Therefore, since Europe is currently suffering severe damage and is putting all its efforts into reconstruction, there is little influence on the GDO, so Helen was not entirely wrong.

If you look into the nationalities of GDO agents, most of them are from America.

“But now you belong to the Academy, not GDO or the United States. Don’t forget this.”

Is there any “? My boss now is not the organization or the United States, but the principal in front of me.”

“… Okay, that’s it.”

To be honest, although she has been a bit burdensome in the past, she is a woman whose strength lies in her ability to understand situations well.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have a political purpose, but it’s not a bad thing for the organization to surround me with people I know. It is better to accept it as a favor.

After joking around with Helen, I looked down at the desk and picked up my tie.

“Hmm?”

When I looked at the tie again, it looked like the end had been cut off a little. It wasn’t cut, but seeing that the strands were loose, it looked like someone had torn it off with force.

‘Did my tie break when I cut it?’

Anyway, it doesn’t matter. With that thought in mind, I pushed the tie into the trash can next to my desk.

*

“It’s over… .”

A mind mixed with confusion and anticipation. Han Se-jun sighed softly, feeling the heaviness in his chest.

The man I thought was a strange man was actually a world hero. This is Elm Northmund.

When he saw that the dragon hero came to encourage him, he decided that he was a strange person.

No, the act of lighting a cigarette must have been magic, but why didn’t he notice it? You stupid idiot.

On the other hand, if you think about it, the very fact that he took the trouble to approach you as he was passing by made you realize how desperate he was.

Han Sejun felt a sense of embarrassment seeping into him and his shoulders trembled slightly.

Suddenly, he raised his hand and tried to raise his spirit.

When I put pressure on my hand, a red flame-like energy flickers. According to what the admissions office informed me, it was an ability called magical release.

It is a very useful ability with high applicability. A woman in a black suit said enviously.

As he was moving his fingers and fiddling with red intangible energy, someone spoke to him.

“Oh! What are your abilities? Is it an utterance? Are you the famous Ramirez?”

Han Se-jun, who had been lost in his own world for a moment, looked up and saw a foreign woman talking to him in front of him.

She was a tall woman who seemed to be in her mid-170s, with short purple hair and piercings on her face.

Judging by the buckled long boots that go up to the knees and the leather jacket, it looks like he may have been looking for a rocker or a guitar. He thought so.

“Ah… No, my name is Han Sejun… .”

“Really? I was mistaken. I’m sorry. I’m Muriel. Muriel Müller.”

She introduced herself and suddenly grabbed his hand and shook it tightly. Han Sejun was taken aback by the behavior, which was too rude to be considered a handshake.

Are all Westerners like this?

There was a small metal piercing on the end of the cutely sticking out tongue.

“Oh! what? I feel like my hand strength has become much stronger. Is this your talent?”

“You… you! What if this happens suddenly? What if my special ability was dangerous?”

Without answering, Muriel grinned, gripping his hand more tightly this time with both hands.

“It’s fascinating. I guess it’s a strengthening ability? If you help us, we can achieve a new record for our local punching machine.”

“That… So what are your abilities? No, more than that… Please let go of my hand.”

“Ah. My abilities… Eight!”

Stumbling─

‘oh!’

Han Sejun lost his balance for a moment and stumbled greatly. This is because something unknown hit his back knee, causing his leg to collapse and almost fall to the ground.

The moment his face fell to the ground, someone strongly grabbed his hand and he was able to barely regain his balance.

“How about it! Are you glad you didn’t let go?”

Muriel proudly giggles as she looks at Han Sejun’s bewildered expression.

Muriel only lets go of her hand with a smile as Han Se-jun glares at her with a wide expression on his face, embarrassed by the sudden situation.

‘By the way, what just happened?’

As he looked down at his feet, he saw black tentacles waving like they were sticking out of the shadows. It seemed like that tentacle had hit his back knee.

Seeing the sight of the manifestation of special abilities, other people’s attention gradually focuses on them.

“It’s shadow control. I’m still immature, so I can only do what I did before.”

“Shadow?”

“Yes. Isn’t it fun? It’s been about half a year since I woke up. I was a little depressed because I completely ruined the concert I had prepared. Just when I thought I wanted to hide in the shadows, I woke up. iced coffee! It’s a shame. If I had known I would wake up then, I would have thought differently! Let me become the ruler of the Earth… or… .”

“No, that’s a bit… .”

It seems like the kid who used to play music was right.

She was a very energetic and lively woman. The tempo of the conversation is so high that it becomes burdensome.

“Still, it hurt a lot when you woke up? were you okay? Something powerful and big was forced into my body! The feeling of coming in and stirring─”

“No, no, stop! You are doing this on purpose!”

He hurriedly waved his hand and covered her mouth.

“What is it? It doesn’t look like that, and it’s a complete mess, isn’t it? Are you kinda cute?”

Laughter blooms around you. Not ridicule, but pure laughter caused by witnessing a lively comic conversation between a man and a woman.

Is today just a day to be embarrassed? A thought suddenly occurred to him.

As they were thinking that, they saw someone approaching them. It was a black suit that looked like it belonged to an academy official.

“There are two people! You should not use your abilities here. Please use this ability only in permitted locations.”

“Ah… Sorry.”

“I’m sorry. Did you say your name was Jun? See you next time then. We’ll meet again since we’re at the same school. Hello!”

She says goodbye to him in an instant and runs away somewhere else. It was as windy a departure as it was when it appeared.

Are you saying this is frustrating? Han Sejun suddenly felt itchy and scratched the back of his head.

‘Now that I think about it, my abilities apply not only to myself but to other people as well.’

This was information I didn’t know at first.

It was a division that arose because people rarely used it for fear of the outside world discovering that they had supernatural powers.

When I was working part-time at a delivery logistics center, loading and unloading, I rarely used my abilities properly, except for the times when I glanced around and used them sporadically in case my abilities were discovered.

mate─

As he was looking down at the hand that had manifested his supernatural ability, someone slapped him on the back again. It was his father.

“Ack! Father, what are you doing again?”

” It is a child with one child.

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Did you even drink alcohol?”

Ignoring the piercing gaze that seemed to kill him with resentful eyes, his father grabbed Han Se-jun’s hand and began to rub it.

So strong that it makes a rustling sound.

“… What are you doing?”

“I understand that it’s my son’s first time holding a woman’s hand, but is it okay for him to just look at her hands blankly like that? I thought I would never wash my hands for the rest of my life, so my dad covered it for me in advance.”

“No, what kind of thing─”

Seeing that scene, laughter bloomed once again in the surrounding area.

*

A little far away from them.

A woman and her group were watching a skit.

A man and a woman had an incident, and after the woman disappeared, people around them burst into laughter at the comic talk with a person who appeared to be the man’s father, but there was no laughter on the faces of the group.

A middle-aged man instructs a woman around him to do something.

A woman with glasses who appears to be a secretary, dressed neatly in a black one-button jacket and a white round blouse. However, there is a feeling of embarrassment in her expression.

“Are you saying you don’t know that man’s identity? I’m sure I told you to research the entire list of Ellada students.”

A firm but low voice. He urges his secretary in a low tone that gives off a firm feeling.

“Sorry, boss. However, that male student did not exist in the data received from GDO’s contact person last month.”

The middle-aged man continued speaking, paying no heed to her bowing her head and explaining.

“What a mess. It’s a mess. And you don’t even know the identity of the long-haired woman who stole Northmund’s tie and ran away? Does that make sense? How did you handle things!”

“There is no shame. Sorry.”

A woman who appears to be a secretary who repeatedly bows her head and apologizes. But the middle-aged man continues to urge her.

“Just leave it at that, Hoyeon. Isn’t it possible to make mistakes in life? As he said, the organization’s secretariat may have made a mistake, or there may have been additional admissions held behind closed doors.”

The mouth of an old man wearing a fedora opens, and at the sound of that voice, the middle-aged man who was urging his secretary stops his actions and bows to the old man.

The old man was Jang Tae-seong, the chairman of Taesung Group, who had been standing at the podium at the entrance ceremony as a parent representative a little while ago.

The old man stared at the two people lowering their heads towards him for a moment, then turned and placed his hand on a girl’s shoulder.

“Ahyunah. You are the pride of our Taeseong. I don’t know how happy I was to learn that you had taken on the power of the dragon. Ever since I was young and heard a fortune teller’s prophecy that a dragon would come out of my veins, I have been looking forward to this day… .”

Remorse appears on the old man’s face for a moment, as if he is reminiscing about the past, and then disappears.

When he slightly lifts the gentleman’s cane in his hand and strikes it down, a clear impact sound echoes across the marble floor.

“So, as the successor of Yong and the successor of Taeseong, you must become the best. Just as there cannot be multiple suns in the sky, there cannot be multiple dragons in the world. Would you like to become the best of those dragons and devour all the rest? Taeseong will support you however you want, so if possible, swallow that red dragon as well. I trust you with this allowance.”

“Yes, grandfather. We will live up to your expectations.”

Jang Tae-seong strokes her head as he finishes speaking.

Feeling a soft but strong hand stroking her head, Jang Ah-hyeon glared at them, who were still playing along.

Grandfather’s words must be followed unconditionally. It is impossible to disobey Grandfather.

It was a clear truth that could not be erased or broken since one was born with Taeseong’s blood.

She clearly knew what kind of response her uncle received when he tried to disobey her grandfather.

therefore… .

I must become the best at this academy, as my grandfather said.

‘I said it’s an ability that can be strengthened by the other person as well. It would be better to get that guy involved first.’

Han Sejun was leaving the auditorium with his father, unaware that such thoughts were coming and going somewhere.