Chapter 58

After Choi Ah-ram collapsed, we carefully wrapped her up to hand her over to the Hunter Management Bureau.

‘There’s no need to go this far since her body is now weaker than that of an ordinary person…’

We wrapped her whole body tightly like a mummy, leaving only her nose and mouth uncovered. However, we ran out of bandages, so we couldn’t cover her head, and her exposed head gleamed.

Right after finishing up with Choi Ah-ram’s handling,

Our seniors gathered around us.

“Thank you so much!”

“You saved our lives. If it weren’t for you, we don’t know what would have happened to us…”

“I can’t believe Choi Ah-ram would do something like this, sigh. I’m ashamed as a senior.”

“If you hadn’t stopped her earlier, really…”

Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee, who were quite used to this kind of situation, naturally received their thanks, while Lee Yoo-ri and Lim Ga-eul, who weren’t familiar with such gratitude, looked a bit embarrassed.

‘You’ll have to get used to this too. We have a lot more to handle in the future.’

As I was nodding and watching them from behind, one of the seniors approached me and spoke.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“I saw you swinging your sword at the Demon earlier. It was really impressive. What’s your name?”

‘I didn’t expect anyone to come to me since I wasn’t directly involved in the rescue…’

Still, it seemed like someone noticed me amidst all the chaos.

“Jin—”

Just as I was about to answer, feeling slightly proud,

“Um, I’d like to personally thank you. Could you give me your number?”

Another senior interrupted from behind.

“Uh, that’s a bit…”

With that, it seemed everyone who had been hesitant suddenly surged forward.

“That damn girl cut in line!”

“Hey! Don’t push!!!”

“Damn it!”

Even the seniors who had been thanking my party members turned their sharp gazes towards me and rushed over.

“Thank you! If you hadn’t stopped Choi Ah-ram, we’d all be doomed!”

“Uh, hey! I noticed your party didn’t have a healer, do you need one by any chance!?”

“You’re a dealer, right? I also use a sword as a dealer, could you give me some personal training?”

“Hey, why are you asking a junior about sword techniques—!”

“If a Hunter is good with a sword, they’re a senior! Age doesn’t matter!”

“Ugh! Wipe the drool off your mouth before you speak, you idiot!”

“Look who’s talking!”

The chatter grew louder as nearly a hundred girls surrounded me. It felt like being a celebrity swarmed by reporters, just without the cameras.

Their eyes looked quite dangerous. Since they were seniors, not peers, they didn’t hold back, making it even more awkward. I felt more threatened than when Choi Ah-ram started to demonize.

“Uh, uh…”

As I was stepping back in fear of their pressure,

“Seniors. That’s enough.”

“Please stop. Our party leader is feeling uncomfortable!”

“Seniors, if you go any further, it’ll be a real problem, okay?”

“Ouch—! That hurts!!!”

Kang Do-hee stepped in first, creating space between the seniors and me. Then, the ever-reliable Lee Yoo-ri shielded me with her body. Shin Se-hee also poked a senior’s wound with her finger and threatened them in a low voice.

“…Eek.”

“…Whimper.”

“Gah—!”

Since they had already seen us take down a horde of monsters right before their eyes, the seniors had no choice but to back off, albeit reluctantly.

Staggering—

Amidst all this, a woman clutching her stomach approached me.

A woman with short black hair and a fierce expression.

‘Huh? Isn’t that the senior who spoke rudely to Lee Yoo-ri this morning?’

She seemed to have gotten caught up in the chaos as well. I frowned.

Noticing my discomfort, Kang Do-hee stepped forward and blocked her path with an outstretched arm.

“Don’t come any closer, senior.”

The woman glanced at Kang Do-hee before speaking.

“I just have something to say to you personally. Fine, if it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t come any closer.” “

Kang Do-hee, wait a moment.”

I lowered Kang Do-hee’s arm and stepped forward.

“Senior, do you have something to say to me?”

The senior with the short hair stared at me for a moment before bowing her head.

“I’m sorry.” “

…For what?”

“For speaking rudely to you this morning. And for raising my hand as well. I apologize.”

She offered a straightforward apology without any excuses.

“And thank you for saving me.”

I looked at her for a moment, contemplating.

‘Hmm, well, if she’s apologizing and thanking me like this, she might not be such a terrible person.’

But still, I couldn’t forgive her just like that. The reason I was upset with her wasn’t just because of how she treated me, but for a more fundamental reason.

“Okay. I accept your apology to me. Then, what about her?”

I placed my hand on Lee Yoo-ri’s shoulder in front of me.

“Uh…!? If you’ve received an apology, I’m fine with it.”

“No, I can’t stand seeing my party member being disrespected.”

The woman with short hair stared at Lee Yoo-ri for a moment, then nodded.

“…Alright, I understand.”

She bowed her head again.

“I apologize for looking down on you just because you’re a first-year, and for trying to forcefully bring you into my party against your will.”

Lee Yoo-ri scratched her cheek and nodded.

“Um, well… it’s okay. Honestly, what made me angry was when you raised your hand against him. Since he seems to have forgiven you… I don’t have much else to say. I accept your apology.”

And finally,

From behind, Lim Ga-eul was smiling brightly, as if watching a scene from a youth drama. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.

“Wh-what…!?”

She looked flustered as she was pulled along by me.

“Junior!?”

“You might not have heard, but you were also insulted. As I said before, I can’t stand seeing my party members being disrespected.”

“I-I’m not even in the party yet…”

“Shh—!”

Even though Lim Ga-eul seemed to think this wasn’t necessary, she stepped forward.

“Lim Ga-eul.”

“Yes, Soo-hyun.”

“I apologize—”

“No, I don’t need an apology.”

Lim Ga-eul held Kim Soo-hyun’s shoulder and said.

“Back then, it’s true I caused trouble for the party. Because of my lack of ability, the whole party suffered. And you did your best at that time.”

“…”

“So, it’s okay.”

Lim Ga-eul lightly patted her shoulder and turned around without any lingering attachment. Kim Soo-hyun watched her back with trembling eyes.

“Will she be okay? That senior…”

Lim Ga-eul cheerfully cut me off, nodding her head.

“Yeah, Soo-hyun does have a face that easily gets misunderstood. But she’s not a bad person. I’ve known her for quite some time.”

“…”

As I stared at her, Lim Ga-eul started to ramble defensively.

“Of course, she’s a bit rough with her hands! And she’s more fists than words! She swears a lot! And she’s so stubborn that she never listens to anyone…!”

“Hmm.”

“And even though she’ll hate to admit it and will probably throw a fit tomorrow because her pride was hurt today…!”

“Senior?”

“She was so excited about the new freshmen coming in! She got penalty points and was sent to Gate training because she skipped class to secretly go out and help freshmen!”

“…You might as well just insult her.”

“…So, I don’t really need an apology from Soo-hyun, right?”

“Right.”

Kim Soo-hyun, her face flushed with embarrassment, lowered her head and trembled.

“Wow— that’s great! Isn’t it, Soo-hyun!?”

Lim Ga-eul turned back and said to her brightly.

“…Get lost.”

But the response was a curse.

“Why!?”

I had a feeling I understood why Kim Soo-hyun harbored such ill feelings toward Lim Ga-eul.

.

.

.

The tallest building in the academy, the clock tower of the main building, top floor.

Chairman Lina was tapping her desk, deep in thought.

Recently, she had been living with a strange sense of déjà vu. It started from the entrance ceremony of this year’s academy intake.

Since then, no matter what she was doing or where she was going, she always felt like she had experienced this reality somewhere before.

But it was just a familiar feeling. It wasn’t a precognitive ability that allowed her to know the future.

At first, she thought her magic had evolved into some form of precognition, but she shook her head.

Magic, after all, is the work of mana.

This phenomenon was just that—a phenomenon. There was no trace of mana involved. Her keen mind could detect any traces of mana within this sense.

‘Maybe, the reason why my body doesn’t age and the unknown will telling me not to interfere are related to this déjà vu.’

The tapping of her fingers on the desk grew faster.

‘But recently, there have been times when this unpleasant sensation disappears…’

Something vague and dark-haired flickered in her mind.

At that moment.

Bang—!

The door to the Chairman’s office burst open, and an instructor rushed in with a panicked expression.

“Chairman! One of the academy cadets has demonized!”

“…What!?”

Rina’s eyes widened in surprise. But what shocked her wasn’t the fact that a cadet had turned into a demon.

“That’s definitely… something that happens around the weekend…”

Huh?

For a moment, she felt something odd, but the strange confusion was quickly erased from her mind. She composed her face and asked the instructor.

“How bad is the damage?”

“Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of some students, there were no casualties! And we successfully secured the whereabouts of the demonized student!”

“I see. That’s good.”

“Yes! It’s fortunate!”

“Then, for now, inform the Hunter Management Bureau and hand over the demonized student to the department in charge, and we need to summon the students who handled the situation.”

Chairman Lina felt an inexplicable surge of pride welling up in her chest. It was as if she had been anticipating things to turn out this way.@@novelbin@@

“So, who are the students who handled the problem?”

She asked with a proud tone.

“Other than the new student Jin Yuha. There are four of them!”

“…Jin Yuha? Is that name coming up again here…?”

Despite it being a matter to rejoice over, Lina’s eyebrows gradually furrowed.

‘Ugh! I was already regretting making that promise about the spatial tattoo back then…! Why did I get so excited at that moment!’

She, who had only won a sparring match among students, had promised a spatial tattoo. Even though she had played a prank with the male allocation system at the Hunter Management Bureau, at that time, she had definitely been under some kind of spell.

‘Well, of course, I’m grateful for handling the demon! But at least keep a low profile next time!’

How much trouble would he get into this time? How much would he torment herself again?

A stifling sigh rose from within.

“For now, bring them in.”