episode_0044

*****

A week has passed since Chuseok, when various things happened.

If you ask what happened during that time, in reality, nothing in particular happened. I just went to school as usual, made friends with my friends, helped Hwa-in with her special training, beat up the low-level monsters that appeared from time to time, and picked up Shia when she came home late.

But it seems that those ordinary days did not seem ordinary at all to other people. When I see someone holding me with such a shocked face.

“What on earth have you guys been doing for the past week? ?”

The person in front of me was Seong Hye-ran, a tall girl with her blue hair tied up in a ponytail. She was also the team leader of Team Valkyrie, the only team comprised entirely of women in Class A.

“What are you doing? I didn’t do anything.”

As I said a little while ago, I’ve had a normal day for the past week. For me, whose days were always filled with battles, this peaceful time felt refreshing and I am enjoying it in my own way. I really didn’t do anything to deserve these words.

However, even when I told her exactly what I had been doing for a week, Hyeran shook her head vigorously as if she did not believe her.

“Lie! How can you do that without doing something!?”

Even if you say that, it’s not like something unexpected is happening.

However, I understand why Hyeran reacts this way. I turned my head and looked at where Hyeran was pointing with her finger. At the end of the line of sight, Hwain was in the midst of sparring training.

“… Tsk! Fall down a bit!”

“Pfft!”

Hwain’s opponent is Cheolgu. Of course, he is a guy who fell out after being beaten by me, but Cheol-gu has the strength of a mid- to high-ranking level in Class A. It is not at all easy to hold a position like that in Class A of Cheonmyeong High School, which has gathered more than the brightest among the awakened. In fact, Hwa-in seems to have been hit by Cheol-gu without even being able to put out a hand or a foot before.

Of course, Hwa-in is still being robbed.

“… Don’t you feel like joking?”

When I said that, Hyeran’s eyes became sharp and I avoided my gaze. Well, it was definitely a slightly conscienceless remark.

Hwa-in is clearly unable to extend a hand to Cheol-gu. However, Hwa-in was not being treated like that by Cheol-gu.

Block or dodge, but if that doesn’t work, only accept non-lethal damage. It’s easy to say, but when you actually try it, it’s definitely a difficult skill. That’s right, you have to fully understand the opponent’s attack and make an instantaneous judgment and response.

Hwain was showing such a response to Cheolgu, albeit clumsily. Of course, due to limitations in physical ability and inexperience in swordsmanship, it was not a perfect response but a clumsy response, but on the other hand, it means that Hwain was able to understand Cheolgu’s attack and make an accurate judgment about it.

Considering the fact that Cheolgu’s attack is a telekinetic attack with a reputation for being difficult to respond to, its evaluation goes up even further.

“When this semester started, I couldn’t last even 5 seconds, but now it’s almost 20 minutes. Can you just tell me a little bit about what you did?”

“I really didn’t do anything. Look, our team has been running into Genesis several times over the past month. Isn’t it thanks to that?”

“… Is that really it?”

Should I also fight with Genesis executives? Everyone around Hye-ran looked slightly fed up as she muttered half-sincerely. This guy sounds like he’s in real trouble.

“Sister, do you know that Genesis is a group of villains that pop out like that? Please refrain from talking nonsense.”

“But Hyeji! We’ve already met Raon three times this year alone! That’s shameful, I want to power up after I fight with Genesis!”

“Ahaha… . I wish we could stop seeing each other now.”

In fact, if you include all the things that cannot be announced, it will be about five times. In particular, we are only halfway through the second semester, and we have already run into each other three times.

Still, with the exception of the snake woman and the group I met at the end, everyone was in a life-threatening crisis, so I didn’t feel like I really wanted to meet them.

And in fact, encountering Genesis is only half the answer. Raon and Jeongyoung didn’t grow as fast as Hwain. It was evidence that the special training in the buff space called Muspelheim was showing decent results.

“Steel ball, win!”

“Tch!”

Well, still, the difference in absolute specifications could not be resolved, so it wasn’t long before Cheolgu’s victory was declared. Cheol-gu’s dissatisfied expression showed that the battle was much different from last time.

On the other hand, although the painter’s expression was tired, he was somewhat proud. Anyone who was a painter until now would have lost confidence and looked dark at the fact that they had lost so badly. As expected, it seems that it was effective in bringing back memories with Raon on the night of Chuseok.

“It’s a really good time for you too.”

“… ? I’m not sure, but yeah! I’m glad Hwain’s expression has brightened!”

Looking at the pure smile of Ra-on, an insensitive heroine who knows nothing, I feel like I can clearly remember the hardships that Hwa-in will face in the future.

But for now, let’s just celebrate Hwain’s growth purely.

“You worked hard.”

I threw a drink to Hwain who was coming this way. But the expression on the painter’s face as he took the drink was strange.

“… It’s empty inside. Have you been drinking it?”

“Huh? uh. What, are you the type of person who cares about such things? If you don’t want to drink it, you can give it back.”

“No, it’s not like that… .”

Hwa-in stared at the drink container for a while, then took it and drank it in one go as if he had made up his mind. No matter how you look at it, they really care. I didn’t drink it particularly dirty. Next time, give him a drink, guy.

In the meantime, I am very concerned that Ra-on and Hye-ran are looking over and grinning. You guys are both covering your mouths and whispering so that you can’t see their expressions, but their eyes are smiling.

“Now that I think about it, Brünnhild is here. What’s going on?”

“I was asking your team’s Bokdong about the secret of your rapid growth.”

“What a blessing… .”

I don’t like it because it feels like I’m being treated like a mascot. But it was quicker for Raon to place his head on top of me from behind than for me to frown.

“It’s a blessing! How much has our team’s score gone up since our ARMY came!”

“Well, was that so?”

“It’s definitely amazing because our rank has risen to 3rd place since ARMY came.”

There are a total of 8 hero teams in our class… . Wow, that sure went up a lot.

“But then what rank were you in before you climbed up?”

“… No comment.”

Fine, Jeong, Young, and Raon all three turned their gazes. It was a disaster, these guys.

“Then who is in last place now? Asshole’s team?”

“No, they also escaped last place thanks to the last Genesis attack. The evaluation after that was the same, so we only barely escaped in last place.”

“You didn’t naturally refer to your trainer’s team as the bully’s team… ?”

Oh, I always call you that so I don’t even think about it. Of course, there is no reflection.

“If things continue like this, we will be overtaken by Team Surtur… .”

“I don’t know the secret.”

As I was chatting with Hyeran and her family, who had completely forgotten their original purpose, a student approached us.

“Ami, is it okay for a moment?”

“””!?”””

“Oh, no, Seol-ah. A precious person has arrived.”

“I think you said last time that you don’t really like being called that way, right?”

A silver-haired beauty glaring fiercely. If you don’t know anything, the country looks pretty dispirited. Of course, the kids around me, who don’t know anything, are all frozen except me.

But I know it from the original work. In fact, this young lady quite likes informal, light-hearted gossip like this. In fact, when I just shrugged my shoulders and brushed it off, Seol-ah just sighed lightly and didn’t say anything else.

You’re probably thinking to yourself right now, ‘I love this feeling!’ Wouldn’t you be feeling proud? Although it is not revealed at all on the outside.

“I’d like to have a quick word with your team leader. Is there time?”

“If you are a painter, all you have left is time.”

I asked anyway out of courtesy, so why bother? I pointed at Hwain with a light gesture of my chin.

“We’re in the same class, but this is our first time talking properly. Hero Eonryeongsa, called Suseol.”

“Well, what is it, this is Hero Surt Lee Hwa-in… ?”

“There is no need to be polite.”

Seol-ah, who had such a sharp expression, and Hwa-in, who was embarrassed because she didn’t know what the situation was, faced each other.

But listening to the story, it seems like this is the first time the two have had a conversation. It’s strange, if I remember correctly, Seol-ah was the first heroine that Hwa-in appeared after she came to this school, right? Seol-ah’s popularity was quite high, although not as high as that of Ra-on, who was the real heroine even before entering school.

So, what was the original story like? hmm… . Perhaps a flag was raised when Hwa-in stopped people who were fighting with Seol-ah, who was regarded with contempt due to her strong ability, and later, Hwa-in stopped Seol-a, who lost her senses during the battle with the demon who killed her younger brother… ?

Seol-ah, who was considered Gyeongwon City = the top of the corporate faction

People who start fights = impossible if you want to live a normal school life.

The demon who killed his younger brother = The younger brother is a bully and is alive and well.

The flag was broken!

Uh, uh, what should I do? Of course, Hwain’s lover becomes Raon. However, interactions with Seol-ah also serve as a great foundation for Hwa-in’s mental growth.

In this world where mental growth leads to soul growth, and soul growth leads to strength, this can lead to a major crisis that hinders growth. To be more specific, in the worst case scenario, a disaster may occur where Hwain cannot get S rank!

Well, then we can replace this event like this… . However, you may not be able to awaken properly with this kind of half-baked play… .

“Then, I’ve told you the story, so that’s it. If possible, give a good answer… , but I personally don’t recommend it. If you don’t feel like it, just don’t go out. There is no need to go and refuse.”

“Thank you. No, thank you. I will discuss it carefully with my team members and make a decision.”

“Yes. Okay then. Amy, I’m going to go. See you later, where we always meet.”

“Okay. … huh? What?”

This doesn’t work, that doesn’t work either. While I was thinking about it, something came to me and I responded reflexively. Even though I wanted to ask again what was going on, Seol-ah had already gone far away.

Still, I can catch up with that quickly──

“”What on earth happened this week!?””

──Before I could even ask, the chase route was blocked. This time, there were two people who were shocked.

No, it’s not just two people. Everyone except me was astonished, like the natives of another world who had seen a reincarnated person using modern knowledge cheats. It almost makes me want to shake my head and think, “Oh my.”

“What happened? Nothing happened?”

“Nothing happened, but Eonyeong-sarang and I are so close… ? Surely you knew before you came to school?”

“No, I saw him and talked to him only after I came to school.”

“There was nothing like that in anything we talked about for a week!”

Hyeran and Raon’s rebuttals came in one after another. Both of them reacted strongly.

But I definitely said it. This is about going to school as usual and making friends with friends. Because becoming friends with Seol-ah is part of strengthening friendships with friends.

Of course, the friendships we made all happened in that bathhouse. So, from the perspective of other kids, it would have seemed like we suddenly became close friends even though we had no contact at all.

Oh, just in case, I’m telling you that even though we became friends, we only made small talk without looking at each other. Other than that I didn’t do anything. Really!

“Wow. Now that you think about it, isn’t it thanks to ARMY that the Eonryeongsa brought it just now? Could it be that, Ami, you deliberately seduced Eonryeongsa for our sake…? !”

“Let’s not use such dangerous words because it would be difficult if unnecessary rumors were to spread… . And what do you mean by the thing just now? I’ve never asked Seol-ah anything.”

“? You just heard it from Eonryeongsa, right?”

“Sorry, I was thinking about something else.”

I was punished by having my head rubbed again. When I press it from above, it feels like the already small height gets smaller.

“It’s okay because we were planning on talking about it again among ourselves anyway. To put it simply, it is an internship offer from a company.”

“Internship?”

“Ah, I guess I have to explain from there.”

Hwain said that an internship is like a kind of work experience. Heroes of Class B or higher must decide whether to belong to the Hero Association or the corporation after completing three years of northern service. At this time, internship activities are a way to experience what it would be like to belong to a company.

“Then isn’t it good?”

“It’s good. Because corporate activities are quite popular.”

From what I heard, out of all the teams in Class A, there were only two that did not receive offers from companies: Yangchi’s team and our team. Among them, considering that Yangachi, the leader, is one of the successors to the best company in the country, it seems that our team is actually the only one who did not receive it.

“If you listen to the story, it doesn’t seem like you have to join that company just because you do it. Then isn’t it better to just try it once?”

The more practical experience you have, the better. Is there any need to turn down the experience if it is offered for free?

However, Hye-ran and Hwa-in looked as if they were completely uncomfortable with my words.

“That is the part that is problematic now. The company that proposed the activity doesn’t have a good reputation right now.”

“Why did you do something like embezzlement?”

“If that were the case, the company would have already been shut down. That company… .”

Hye-ran paused for a moment, swallowing her saliva. What is the problem, why are you stopping like this?

Hyeran’s words, which set the mood like that, definitely betrayed my expectations.

“They say it strengthens the heroes they belong to.”

“… … .”

No, it’s a good thing, then.

I had that thought for a moment, but I quickly put it out of my head. I haven’t seen one or two people who forcibly strengthened their power and suffered ruin in return.

“Are the heroes you belong to suffering from aftereffects?”

“There doesn’t seem to be anything like that.”

” Are you saying they are forcibly strengthening it through a contract? Or are you using illegal drugs?”

“I don’t know about the latter, but it doesn’t seem like the former is the case. Among the students in Class B, there are some who went on an internship there and they also saw results. Isn’t it too much to strengthen a brief internship with a contract?”

After that, several possibilities to consider were raised, but they were all unapplicable or had no way to be verified.

“I’m definitely reluctant.”

Everyone nodded silently at Jeongyoung’s words. Is there a way to become stronger without risk? If there really was such a thing, it would have already spread. The quality of human resources called Awakened is an important issue for both the nation and the Hero Association, and there are not many groups that can withstand the pressure of both.

So, if you try something, it will probably be an unproven method. However, it is difficult not to feel uncomfortable that no one knows its identity.

“But wouldn’t it be better to meet the agent first and listen to his story? If you have to, you can just refuse on the spot.”

Well, even excluding the suspicious talk about becoming stronger, gaining experience itself is also important. The team’s performance is improving after a long time, so there’s no need to pour cold water on it.

In the end, we decided to meet with the company’s agent after class.

*****