Chapter 79

Chairwoman Lina clutched her head, overwhelmed by the Deja vu that had recently become more severe.

“Sigh… It’s happening again.”

Normally, she would have dismissed such deja vu as just a fleeting feeling. However, having already broken free from it once, this sensation was now increasingly unsettling.

‘Whatever I do feels like I’ve done it before, and the sense of repetition won’t go away.’

She gulped down a shot of the strong vodka beside her. But her body, brimming with pure mana, wasn’t affected at all, as if she had dropped a single ink drop into the ocean.

Chairwoman Lina glared at the document on her desk.

“Cadet Choi Ah-ram, Demonization Incident Report”

It was a report detailing why one of the cadets had become demonized and how the situation was handled.

She had adeptly ordered an investigation into the packages delivered to Cadet Choi Ah-ram and succeeded in finding traces of the demon’s seed within them.

As a countermeasure, she had strengthened the inspection of goods and increased the number of demonic energy monitoring personnel.

It was a great relief that this incident could be wrapped up with just one report.

However, her eyes could not stray from a name at the top of the report.

“Jin Yuha”

“I don’t know why, but things felt oddly different when I was around this kid…”

She couldn’t quite pinpoint what was different, but she distinctly felt an unusual sensation whenever she conversed with him or when he was in front of her.

‘Should I call him here?’

For a moment, she considered it but then quickly shook her head. As the chairwoman of the academy, continually summoning a single cadet would not look good.

‘And who knows what that insolent, wolf-eyed kid might demand next.’

That slick face, the guy who once shamelessly asked for my power without conditions because he dealt with a demon.

Thinking of his brazen face suddenly made her blood boil.

‘Wasn’t taking five subspaces enough? Do you have any idea how much each one of those is worth!’

Then, her eyes fell on the desk calendar beside her.

“Now that I think about it, today is the day Seol-hee has her major class.”

Whoosh—

She lowered her chair, and as soon as her feet touched the ground, she sprang up from her seat.

“Hmm, I should probably check out what kind of class Seol-hee is teaching at least once. After all, she is my personal secretary.”

Muttering what seemed like an excuse to herself, Chairwoman Lina set out on a rare patrol of the academy.

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.

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‘Is it here…?’

Building C’s training ground. Surrounded by high walls, it was a secure training ground inaccessible from the outside.

This was where Baek Seol-hee usually practiced her swordsmanship alone.

‘If I interfere with her training, it could be a problem. I should use perception inhibition before going in.’

Lina drew a small magic circle with her fingertip. A grayish mana enveloped her body.

Swish—

She then used Blink to move past the wall and into the training ground.

Swishhh—

The moment she stepped into the training ground, Lina’s eyes widened.

A sharp sound of wind being sliced through reached her ears.

Baek Seol-hee was fiercely attacking Jin Yuha with her sword.

‘…Wait a minute!?’

It had been a while since Lina last saw Baek Seol-hee wield a sword, but no matter how she looked at it, this was not the way an instructor should be directing a sword at a cadet.

Clang—!

Jin Yuha gritted his teeth, parried the attack, and kicked up the sand from the ground.

Swish—!

In the midst of the rising sand, a sharp thrust came through.

Jin Yuha’s sword strikes were fierce, as if aiming to kill an eternal enemy. This was certainly not how a cadet should be attacking an instructor.

‘What is this murderous intent…’

The thick, pervasive killing intent made Lina gulp.

Wasn’t today supposed to be their second class together? Could Jin Yuha have become a demon?

Lina, looking bewildered, glanced back and forth between them, but they continued exchanging blows.

“Still, that sword is beyond you.”

“…Huff. I haven’t learned swordsmanship yet, so I’m using what I picked up second-hand.” “…Second-hand?”

Swish!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of swords clashing rang sharply.

Finally,

Swish!

Stop.

Baek Seol-hee’s sword stopped at Jin Yuha’s neck.

“You just died again.”

Jin Yuha dropped his sword and grumbled.

“You said you were only going to defend…”

“The best defense is a good offense.”

“…”

“Take a short break.”

“Ah, Instructor. Here you go.”

“Hm.”

Jin Yuha retrieved a towel and a bottle of cold water from his subspace tattoo and handed them to Baek Seol-hee, who accepted them nonchalantly.

Despite the fierce duel moments ago, they now appeared like a harmonious mentor-mentee pair.

Lina watched them with a baffled expression.

‘What is Seol-hee trying to achieve…’

As the one overseeing Velvet Hunter Academy, Lina knew what was appropriate for first-year cadets. However, this session far exceeded that level.

“No way… Isn’t this supposed to be an introductory swordsmanship class…?”

Unable to contain her astonishment, Lina’s words slipped out. At the same time, Baek Seol-hee’s eyes turned sharp.

Swish—!

Baek Seol-hee immediately drew her sword and unleashed a sword aura. Lina, startled, raised her palms defensively.

Clang—!

The sword aura shattered in front of her.

“It’s me, Seol-hee! It’s me!”

Lina revealed herself, still shaken.

Baek Seol-hee sheathed her sword and relaxed her expression.

“Chairwoman, my apologies. It was a reflex.”

She bowed her head, but Lina couldn’t shake the suspicion that Seol-hee had known it was her all along.

“Chairwoman…?”

Jin Yuha turned his head with a surprised look. Embarrassed, Lina cleared her throat.

“Ahem, yes. I came to observe for a moment.”

“Observe…?”

“Yes. Since Seol-hee is directly under me, I was curious about the type of class she conducts.”

“Oh…”

Jin Yuha nodded.

“So, how… how are you holding up?”

Lina, her earlier anger towards Jin Yuha dissipated after witnessing the class, asked him in a concerned tone.

“Yes?”

Jin Yuha tilted his head, looking puzzled.

“I mean, how is the class? Is it too harsh or too difficult…?”

“Well, it is somewhat challenging, but thanks to the instructor’s kind guidance, it’s manageable.”

Lina frowned at his words.

Kind?

Was she misunderstanding the meaning of the word? Where was the kindness in what she had just witnessed?

What baffled her more was Baek Seol-hee, who, with a satisfied smile, nodded slightly at Jin Yuha’s words.

Lina initially thought Seol-hee had gone overboard.

She assumed Seol-hee had lost control in her excitement over teaching her first student.

But she was wrong.

‘These two… they’re both out of their minds.’@@novelbin@@

Both the mentor and the student were wildly out of control. And since the class was conducted in an enclosed space with just the two of them, there was no way to gauge the reaction of others.

Meanwhile, the chairwoman suddenly realized that the strange sense of deja vu, which had been making her uncomfortable, was no longer present.

Lina promptly sat down on the spot.

Baek Seol-hee and Jin Yuha glanced at her with furrowed brows.

“…?” “…?”

“Ahem! Would it be alright if I observed the class for the rest of the day?”

“Well, I don’t really mind, but…”

Jin Yuha looked towards Baek Seol-hee as he spoke.

“It’s disruptive.”

Baek Seol-hee replied with an obviously displeased expression.

“I’ll just sit quietly and watch.”

“It’s troublesome.”

‘This iron wall!’

Lina, grumbling at Baek Seol-hee’s stubborn refusal, suddenly remembered the report she was working on earlier.

“Oh, right! I came to gather materials for the incident report!”

“…Incident report?”

“Yes, I need to document Jin Yuha’s abilities for it.”

“…Those Hunter Management Bureau people. I did send them the data…”

Grit—

A fierce grinding of teeth could be heard.

In that moment, Lina was alarmed. If she didn’t stop Seol-hee here, some of those Hunter Management Bureau guys might not make it to work tomorrow. And she would end up shouldering all the blame.

“I-I’ll speak to them sternly! Calm down, calm down! I’ll just check a few things and then you can continue with the class!”

Lina hastily tried to calm Baek Seol-hee.

“Sigh, understood.”

With Lina observing, the lesson between Jin Yuha and Baek Seol-hee continued.

“Cadet Jin Yuha.”

“Yes, Instructor.”

“You asked to learn grappling techniques, correct?”

“Yes.”

Baek Seol-hee pondered for a moment, gently touching her lips, then spoke.

“Hmm, while it’s safe to practice swordsmanship rigorously, controlling force in hand-to-hand combat is challenging.”

“Oh… then how should we…”

“Therefore, it would be best to teach systematically from the basics, breaking down the movements slowly. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, please do so.”

“Alright, let’s start with the basic position.”

Baek Seol-hee lay down on the ground, looking up at the sky, while Jin Yuha knelt beside her.

“Now, try to pin my upper body down in that position.”

Jin Yuha slowly leaned over, covering Baek Seol-hee’s body with his own.

“First, I’ll teach you how to escape when restrained like this.”

Baek Seol-hee spoke in a monotone voice.

“First, lift your hips to create a bridge.”

Baek Seol-hee arched her back, lifting her hips.

“Then, move your hips to the side to slip out. This technique is called the shrimp escape.”

Baek Seol-hee smoothly escaped from Jin Yuha’s hold.

“This time, let’s switch roles.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

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“A bit more. Hug the waist tightly. Use your lower body strength.”

“…Yes, Instructor!”

“Properly use your hips.”

“…Yes!”

“Press down firmly, as if pinning them.”

‘W-what is this…!?’

Lina, sitting in the corner with wide eyes, swallowed nervously as she watched their training.

‘Is this really okay…? Is this appropriate content for a class with mixed genders…?’

Jin Yuha and Baek Seol-hee practiced various techniques with serious expressions.

Since they were learning the basics of jiu-jitsu, the actions weren’t particularly intense, and everything was done slowly with segmented movements. Often, it seemed like they were just holding each other.

‘Is this class really okay…?’

The sight of the handsome male student and the cold, yet proud Baek Seol-hee sweating and getting close to each other made Lina feel a strange sense of guilt.

‘No… more importantly, wasn’t this supposed to be an introductory swordsmanship class…?’

Lina continued to internally question, knowing she wouldn’t get any answers.