episode_0126

“Stop! Winner, Yoo Jin-hyeon!”

When I heard the judge’s voice announcing the end of sparring, I stopped moving.

Choi Woo-jin is seen kneeling on one knee, as if raising a shield upward. My blade touched his neck, and the remnants of the particle barrier shimmered around him as it shattered and returned to thin air.

“Heo Eok… Huh… !”

The muscular male student was continuously taking sweet-smelling breaths as if he was exhausted.

Hearing the examiner’s signal, he raised his hands up and shook his head.

“Ugh, hahaha!”

Then he suddenly burst into lively laughter.

” Well, I didn’t expect there to be this much of a difference. Complete defeat, complete defeat.”

Seeing his unexpected attitude, I also relaxed my arm holding the blade.

Soon he catches his breath, stands up, and extends his thick right hand to me.

“You fought well. I learned a lot.”

“… Me too.”

I couldn’t refuse that friendly handshake. Are you the type of person who enjoys winning itself rather than being obsessed with winning or losing?

It’s really surprising. This is something I never expected when I only saw the arrogant way he speaks to his friends or the way he growls with Jin Ye-seo.

I put the blade in my waistband and joined hands, and he shook my arm.

“What should I do? Even though I watched it, I had no idea that the gap would be this big. I never thought I could last even 5 minutes… ”

“What? I have never seen it.”

“There is no such thing. I saw right in front of my eyes that Jin Ye-seo had been turned into a return note. Ha, this hurts my pride… ”

“… ”

Woojin Choi furrowed his eyebrows in displeasure, as if he was being pushed out by Jin Ye-seo. Does he think that the reason his limbs remain intact is because I did it in moderation?

I actually prefer a neat look. Even if Jin Ye-seo hadn’t been so annoying, the duel would have ended just by putting the blade to his neck like he did now instead of getting into a fist fight. This is especially true considering my situation where I always have to save time due to overload.

“Hey. Let me ask you one thing.”

“What is it?”

Choi Woo-jin opened his mouth in a tone full of seriousness, unlike before.

“Jin Ye-seo and I. Of the two, who was more difficult to deal with?”

“… ”

Choi Woo-jin looked like he genuinely didn’t want to lose to Jin Ye-seo. No, it goes beyond just hating it, it feels closer to disgust.

If you look at things like this, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t care about winning or losing… ?

“… You.”

After thinking for a moment, he gave the answer, and Choi Woo-jin’s serious face became brighter than ever.

“Really?”

“Uh.”

“Hehehe, that’s right… !”

Since I wasn’t in a relationship to offer comfort, I just shared my honest impressions.

Even though Jin Ye-seo felt like she was wearing clothes that didn’t quite fit, it was clear that it was more troublesome to break through the heavy barrier than to attack the opponent who was trying to kill her.

“That’s it. That’s enough for now. Ha, I look forward to seeing how they make fun of this later.”

Woojin Choi laughed so excitedly that his shoulders were shaking, but he soon lost his appetite as if he was not refreshed.

“Still, it’s a shame. It looks like the score gap with that bitch has widened further. I thought I would try to catch up this time, but… Tsk.”

What Choi Woo-jin said earlier is the same, and in the end, Jin Ye-seo seems to have made the choice to force the ranking match rather than postpone it.

“Why? Isn’t it possible for Jin Ye-seo to lose?”

“That can’t be possible. It’s impossible.”

Woojin Choi shook his head resolutely.

“Although his personality is a bit different, his skills are real. Moon Yeo-ul has never beaten Jin Ye-seo before. No matter how injured you are… ”

But he was just continuing his rant.

Suddenly, a shout loud enough to shake the atmosphere erupts from another nearby sparring hall.

For an instant, my ears start to sound and my eyebrows furrow. What’s going on?

Choi Woo-jin and I turned our attention to the large real-time ranking board without any consideration for who was first.

-Game 21! The winner is…

And with enthusiastic shouts echoing through the amplifier, the result of victory or defeat that no one expected begins to be engraved there.

Ranking match (for 1st graders)

Game 21 results announced

Jin Ye-seo vs Moon Yeo-ul (W)

-The winner is… Moon Yeo-ul!!

Along with that, the names on the real-time leaderboard move. As it was a victory that overturned predictions, the change was very drastic.

Jin Ye-seo, who was in second place, quickly fell to 10th place, while Moon Yeo-ul, who seemed to have beaten her, immediately jumped to 8th place, a single digit.

“Ha, hahaha! Is it real? Huh?”

Choi Woo-jin, who was blankly looking at the writing, suddenly laughs while holding his stomach.

“Jin Ye-seo was ranked by Moon Yeo-ul?”

Tears were forming at the corners of his eyes due to the unexpected joy.

“Puh, puhuh… This is not the time. I go first. Let’s meet again next time. At that time, properly.”

Woojin Choi leaves the sparring grounds in an instant and disappears, as if he had forgotten something to do.

-Game 24! The winner is… Yoo Jin-hyeon!

He didn’t even properly listen to the judge’s command announcing victory or defeat.

In the rapidly changing atmosphere, I suddenly found myself standing alone in the sparring hall.

But I could still feel someone’s penetrating gaze in the stands behind me.

***

Even two days after the ranking match, students were still talking about the match between Jin Ye-seo and Moon Yeo-ul.

I didn’t care about such things and headed to the large library built in the annex.

Since the duel with Jin Ye-seo and the ranking match were all completed, I was about to catch up on the tasks that had been pushed back.

“So the atmosphere is very scary… ”

“Almost like a real fight… ”

“If the professors hadn’t invaded, there would have been a hole in the ship… ”

However, even though I was deliberately placed in a corner facing the wall so as not to be noticed, a bespectacled male student with a strict and sensitive look found me and started talking to me. A frustratingly large mask covered his mouth.

There is also a long bandage attached to Muyoung’s cheek.

As far as I know, Muyoung was in no position to tell others. I think he said that even when he was attacked by Sarah, he was treated very cruelly. Since he even lost to Yena, Muyoung is now on a two-game losing streak.

Sera also maintains a mid-to-upper rank… Is it okay for a General Intelligence Service agent to be this weak?

Actually, he said that he is faithfully utilizing his other characteristics, not just his strength, so I guess it doesn’t really matter…

“But didn’t you say you had something to give me?”

“Ah, that’s right. It was like that.”

Muyoung, who was engrossed in gossip, belatedly looked like he realized something. Then, he pushed up his glasses, took out two not-so-thick folders from his bag, and handed them to me.

“Take it.”

“What is this?”

“Well, what the leader asked for… ”

Muyoung suddenly becomes slurred and lowers her voice even further. But I could immediately understand what he was trying to say.

I feel like my ears, which were tired from boring studying, are instantly refreshed.

Will we finally learn something about that strange dream?

In my haste, I picked up one of the folders I had received and flipped through it.

However, as if it were only natural, blank, pure white sheets of paper welcomed me.

Muyoung stared at me with a look of bewilderment.

“Chief. Don’t you know how to handle Class A confidential information? I’ll tell you the password pattern, so you can view it later when you’re alone. After checking, discard it immediately.”

I don’t have time to be alone.

I think I can read it only after I let Companion sleep first.

I put down the folder with a hesitant hand and then looked at the other one.

Although the writing was engraved as densely as grains of grain, it was not an encrypted document like the one just before.

“Then what about this?”

“I collected and scraped texts related to witches. I heard you were curious then.”

“But this isn’t encrypted?”

“Of course it’s not confidential. If you just look up newspapers from 15 years ago, you can find the information right away. Of course, it doesn’t matter if you read it right here.”

At the same time, Muyoung gives me a slightly puzzled look.

“You say you are Black Lotus’s second son. How can you not know this? Even though I was young, it must have been quite noisy.”

That’s because the place where I lived was a remote area where newspapers only came in once every two or three months. Before it was attacked by demons, it was a clean area among clean areas where even the common level 3 demons could not be found.

“You can probably get everything commonly known about witches there.”

“Generally? It sounds like there are some things that are not necessarily true.”

“I looked for it, but there were areas I couldn’t access. I couldn’t bring that one, well.”

“What you’re saying is a bit strange? You said earlier that you are clearly at the top level.”

“That’s right.”

“Does it make sense that there is a range that cannot be accessed even though the top level information is extracted in that way?”

“Sometimes that happens when the lines of responsibility become intertwined. This happens often, so you don’t need to worry too much. Everything the leader was curious about will be written there.”

However, Muyoung ignored my question without thinking about it.

It is said that you can read it right away, but it is quite long so it seems difficult to digest it in one sitting.

I put the folders in my bag, intending to read them carefully later.

“Thank you. Thanks, it really helped me a lot.”

“What are you doing with this? The branch leader told me to help in both material and spiritual ways, so there is no need to worry too much. I’m going.”

“Wait a minute. Can I ask you one question?”

I waved my hand casually and caught Muyoung for a moment as he left the place.

“The person I asked for… Is this really a person?”

It was an important question that helped me shake off all the discomfort and stickiness that had enveloped me over the past few days.

But Muyoung stared at me with an expression of not understanding.

“What are you talking about? Of course, you didn’t ask me to investigate a real person, right?”

***

After leaving the library, I walked down the hallway at a fast pace.

It was already evening, and the orange sunset was wrapping around like a curtain in the hallway. It was a calm scene with faded colors, but it didn’t help much in calming my excited mind.

Muyoung’s seemingly obvious question turned into a wave that made his head spin.

“Hey, it’s a chick. Let me ask you something… ”

How on earth should I interpret the fact that someone I’ve never seen before appears in such a vivid dream? It was even a real person.

“Hey. Boy. Ugh, why are you walking so fast… Maybe it’s because I have long legs… ”

My fingers are itching to look at the data right away. Quickly go back to the Beech Dormitory…

“Oh, indeed! The senior says this is really him!”

Suddenly, a high-pitched shout pierced my ears, and I stood tall and turned around.

It was only then that I noticed the presence of a female student who was continuously out of breath about ten steps away.

Every time she took a breath, the button near her chest seemed to explode.

There is a badge symbolizing second grade on the lapel, hair elegantly tied back, a lively and neat look reminiscent of a sprout, and even a teardrop at the corner of the right eye.

The girl who always went with him.

Kwon Yuri, a second year student, was looking up at me with a slightly angry expression.