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Chapter 158

It was an era where countless gods chose to announce their existence in the lower world rather than hiding under the name of mystery. Many religions emerged and faded away, but there were some that did not disappear.

I won’t mention it specifically, but Yeon-woo also didn’t deny the significance of those religions.

The appearance of gods was nothing short of a sales tactic.

Thinking about insurance makes it easy to understand. Just like how customers won’t grow unless one appeals to the attractive aspects, followers are the same.

In that sense, (Unnamed) religion could be seen as quite an appealing product.

There’s a significant difference whether you have a Stigmata or not, but the divine power known as regeneration was attractive regardless of position.

Not only does it heal wounds, but it also boosts vitality.

While divine healing arts couldn’t be used as bait because it wasn’t certain, the mere possibility held sufficient value.

However, the biggest issue was that there was no clear standard for how many followers they could receive. The main reason was that there was no god to clearly set those standards.

Well, who would join a religion with no god, right? It’s only natural that such stories arise. In fact, it seems like a religion with nothing but flaws.

However, these downsides felt a bit different to the students of the Academy. The lack of followers and regulations meant that unlike other religions, this one wouldn’t bind its followers.

‘The younger you are, the more you love freedom…’

Well, if a god resurrected with a terrible personality, Yeon-woo could just take responsibility and cast them out.

No matter how much of a god they were, they wouldn’t be more powerful than Yeon-woo, who had been producing divinity until just a moment ago.

At first, Yeon-woo thought about how strictly to set the standards, but slowly realized that they didn’t need to pull in many people for this religion anyway, so a lax, family-like management would be sufficient.

Since the god was supposed to be a friend of the son, they would truly hold supreme power within this religion…

As Yeon-woo said this with a change of heart, even Kim Yoo-min, who had been listening indifferently, was taken aback and asked if that was okay under such conditions.

Of course, improved Yeon-woo responded that it was fine.

“Then should we give it a try…”

“The regeneration power is something you need to experience firsthand. If you keep lying here, you’ll only get up after the competition is over, so I’ll be generous this time.”

Saying this, Yeon-woo jumped up from the bed and approached Kim Yoo-min.

Managing divinity felt quite similar in sensation to controlling Mana. If there was a difference, it felt more like drawing from another world than something that came from within.

“What are you doing?”

“No, it’s just that I haven’t been able to use divine power for long. It seems I can’t infuse it unless I make contact.”

“W-what!? Then don’t do it!”

“You don’t want to keep lying there, do you? I won’t touch anything inappropriate, so just relax and let your body rest in my hands. You want to get up quickly too, right?”

That was a line that couldn’t help but sound a bit perverted, even to Yeon-woo themselves. It could be said that it was intentionally said in a slightly teasing manner.

If the cops were to come and take them away, they might think, “Oh, that makes sense.”

Kim Yoo-min understood that Yeon-woo was just joking, and her face turned a bit red. What a bizarre atmosphere it was.

Thinking this way, Yeon-woo assessed Yoo-min’s condition.

Actually, it should be noted that even if they wanted to touch something weird, they couldn’t because her whole body was plastered and bandaged perfectly.

To infuse the divinity, it was essential to blow it into the body, but doing it to the head was scary due to potential side effects, and doing it to the heart would likely get them reported.

So, the only option left seemed to be around the abdomen.

“Just bear with it a little, even if you feel uncomfortable.”

As Yeon-woo’s hand reached for her abdomen, Kim Yoo-min almost spoke up but then shut her mouth.

Though her face flushed with discomfort, it was just a matter of gratitude to endure it.

With a gentle touch, Yeon-woo placed their palm on the bandaged abdomen of Kim Yoo-min.

Oh. Smooth and firm, it was clear how diligently Kim Yoo-min worked out.

Since it was the first time touching someone else’s muscles, Yeon-woo found it fascinating and kept fiddling, causing Kim Yoo-min’s expression to change in a rainbow-like gradient.

Thinking that if they went a bit further, Kim Yoo-min might find a method to kill someone, Yeon-woo concentrated all the divine energy into their right hand.

Divinity was efficiently effective even in small amounts, so a little infusion would be fine. However, since Kim Yoo-min was the first customer and was dragged into this because of Yeon-woo, they decided to generously provide it.

“Okay, here comes the divinity~”

“Hyak!?”

As Kim Yoo-min felt the divine energy flowing through her fingertips, she let out a cute scream.

Surprised, she attempted to cover her mouth only to realize she couldn’t move her arms and wore a look of despair.

“I just want to go into a mouse hole…!”

“You wouldn’t fit with all that plaster on.”

With Yeon-woo’s casual nonsense, Kim Yoo-min shot a glare at them. Yeon-woo, undeterred, opened the divine valve wide.

“Ahh…!!”

“Ugh, please don’t make such embarrassing sounds. I might get arrested.”

It was only natural for Kim Yoo-min to glare at Yeon-woo with resentful eyes.

“Ah, what a shameful sound….”

Meanwhile, in a quiet hallway devoid of people, a strange sound echoed, startling a student passing by, prompting them to stop abruptly.

Upon realizing that the sound was coming from the infirmary, she rolled her eyes and gasped in shock before running down the hallway.

*

“…I feel like I’m being watched uncomfortably.”

After lying in the infirmary for half the time since the competition began, Yeon-woo finally showed up at the waiting room.

Thinking that of course, his friends would welcome him, he couldn’t help but murmur this upon entering and being bombarded by stares.

Half the gazes seemed to say, “Of course,” while the other half said, “No way.”

Not knowing which beat to match to was secondary, but what had happened in the meantime that he had to endure such stares?

‘Shar, Tae-oh. Do you know anything?’

[During Dad’s break, we were playing with Noelle unnie, so we don’t really know….]

[Should we find out now then?]

‘Hmm…. No, it’s probably better to ask directly.’

Just as he was about to question why only they were having fun, the door suddenly burst open, and Kim Yoo-min came in.

“Hey, everyone!!”

Cheerfully, she barged in, greeting loudly enough to echo in the waiting room, and all the students turned their gazes toward her and exchanged greetings.

The issue was that the kind of attention was different from before.

‘It feels like they’re looking at a pitiful person….’

From that perspective, the gaze directed at Yeon-woo was akin to that of viewing trash.

He was puzzled over what he had done to receive such treatment and rubbed his chin, pondering deeply.

So, in the eyes of the others, Yeon-woo was trash, and Kim Yoo-min was a pitiful victim.

Meaning, there had to be a premise that Yeon-woo had done something to Kim Yoo-min.

However, in that case, if one asked what Yeon-woo had done, it was clear that the friends’ gazes would only become even more intense.

In truth, it was easier to be cursed by those who didn’t realize they had committed a crime than by those who committed a sin and showed no remorse.

Determining this, Yeon-woo opened his smartphone.

He knew the keyword, so he could just search for it related to that. After searching and searching, what popped up was a post from the Academy Bamboo Forest.

[Title: I saw someone getting it on in the infirmary, lol.]

The content… let’s just say, there was no need to transcribe it. The title was the content.

‘Great, what a disaster.’

They say you can ruin your life by messing around like that, but who would have thought karma would return so quickly?

Someone must have overheard everything happening outside the infirmary.

The real problem was that if Yeon-woo and Kim Yoo-min were in the infirmary at that time, Na Yang-ho was on standby as medical staff – it was something that nobody in the Academy wouldn’t know.

Yeon-woo was sweating bullets, scanning the surroundings.

The boys looked at him with a hint of jealousy, while the girls were gathered around Kim Yoo-min as if to protect her, creating a defensive barrier.

While there were friends in the academy, they fundamentally held a rival mindset, staying somewhat detached from each other’s issues.

Yet, despite that, it was a rather rare sight to see them rushing in to protect someone like this.

I can control the hearts of these kids… I have created unity among them…

In the meantime, Kim Yoo-min, who stood there blinking with a clueless expression, was still one way or another, it was Yeon-woo’s duty to rectify this situation.

‘It would be troublesome if rumors spread that some guy is harassing a girl. I mean, that would damage our friends’ honor…!!’

Considering this, Yeon-woo stood up determinedly and hurriedly dashed out in search of the person who could respond most effectively and smoothly to this gossip situation. The destination was in front of a certain door.

“Jung Yu-jin, your friend has returned.”

“Ugh, who’s this crazy person bothering me while I was trying to get some good sleep….”

“It’s to destroy your room, you brat.”

It seemed she wasn’t lying about needing to rest, as Jung Yu-jin opened the door while rubbing her eyes, dressed in pajamas.

Even though Yeon-woo wasn’t the representative, it was unique for him not to even show up at the competition.

Of course, Yeon-woo had somewhat guessed the reason. Judging from when he warned her about the movements of the Demon King cult, it wasn’t hard to see why she seemed uninterested in hunters.

“You, let’s work together.”

Jung Yu-jin frowned at Yeon-woo’s sudden suggestion.

“You barge in during a golden holiday, what are you even saying?”

“You’re with ‘Celestial Insight’, right? I’m currently getting some strange misunderstandings, so help me sort it out.”

“Did I ever mention that to you?”

Celestial Insight referred to the nickname of the cult of the omniscient god. Its structure and activities were more akin to a newspaper than a cult, which made the name quite fitting.

“You dropped that hint and expect me not to know? How can you be so unprincipled?”

“Huh…. But exactly what scandal are you caught up in?”

“It’s Celestial Insight, and you still don’t know? What have you been doing?”

“I was sleeping, you idiot. And just to clarify, I’m not in charge of the competition, as you can probably guess from the sleepy condition I’m in.”

Got it, then that was that. But if someone in the academy wasn’t in charge of the competition, what in the world were they overseeing?

Having that question in mind, Yeon-woo saw Jung Yu-jin stretch lazily before speaking.

“So whatever it is, you need my help, right?”

Yeon-woo nodded earnestly.

“Then shall we draft a contract first?”

With a smile, Jung Yu-jin pulled out some paper, looking quite professional.

(Continued in the next chapter)

 

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