Anyone writing disparaging posts about Na-me online would get buried almost immediately.
Putting aside her adorable looks that trigger the protective instincts of adults, her globally recognized talent and dignified character, not to mention her charitable activities of her own volition, Na-me could easily qualify for a hundred free passes.
Other than her erratic broadcast times that leave viewers in suspense, Na-me’s very presence was a “sanctuary.”
However, her position within the academy could be seen as somewhat delicate.
The children from elementary to middle school couldn’t remember the infamous Valpurgis series of kidnappings or the Fire Bridge disaster that once shook Korea.
So, no matter how well parents tried to explain Na-me to them, it didn’t resonate much.
Furthermore, the current sixth graders at the academy were going through a sensitive period leading up to their middle school entrance exams.
With parents constantly comparing Na-me to them, what once was a pity for her past became just an annoying presence to them.
But Na-me’s magical skills were undoubtedly exceptional.
Not only did she flawlessly replicate the Arc Lightning magic cast by Seong Eun-byul, but her power was also no less impressive.
Namgung Jin, who faced Na-me, felt a surge of competitive spirit instead.
So he decided not to back down as he did with Seong Eun-byul and face Na-me’s magic directly.
“Are you okay, senior? That must’ve hurt. I’ll help you out, so you can get up now. There are so many people watching; aren’t you embarrassed?”
And this is the result.
“Oho. Ohooo.”
Namgung Jin, regaining consciousness, jumped up and shook his head side to side.
“Pwahaha! Namgung Jin, seriously, did you just faint from her magic in one hit? Hahaha, it’s so funny, my stomach hurts… hehehe.”
“No, there’s no way that’s true?”
“What do you mean there’s no way? Just looking, it’s obvious you fainted! Aah, so embarrassing.”
He was confident he could withstand the powerful lightning magic that Seong Eun-byul unleashed at her maximum strength.
Was it possible for him, a mere 8-year-old child, to get knocked out by a little kid’s magic?
“Come here. If there’s electricity left in your body, it won’t be good for you, so I’ll help you ground yourself.”
Na-me opened her arms wide and suddenly hugged Namgung Jin from behind.
The feeling of a tiny creature sticking to his back.
‘This kid is so adorable!’
At that moment, Namgung Jin could somewhat empathize with why the girls in his class were making such a fuss when they met Na-me at the snack bar.
This is not just cuteness from this world.
“I won’t apologize because I didn’t do anything wrong. But I didn’t mean to look down on my seniors, so please don’t hate me too much.”
Na-me said, her little mouth fidgeting.
Namgung Jin didn’t even have to turn around; he could already guess the look in her eyes.
The slightly mischievous feelings in his heart melted away with her voice, and he awkwardly nodded, accepting her apology.
“I don’t hate you. I guess I’ve been sensitive lately. I’m really sorry for misunderstanding based on rumors.”
“Rumors? What rumors?”
“Oh, well, there was a rumor among us that you looked down on seniors and also gossiped behind their backs. But seeing you now, you don’t seem like that kind of friend at all.”
“Ah, I see… that’s also a misunderstanding, yes.”
Na-me’s eyes shifted subtly.
She suspected that whenever she encountered seniors in the hallway and averted her gaze, it had been misconstrued.
No matter how much she was eight years old, her mental age had long surpassed that of an adult.
Sometimes, when passing by seniors in the dining hall or snack bar, it felt awkward to greet them.
After all, who was Na-me?
In her first life, she lived as a man for 25 years, in her second life as a woman for 25 years, plus eight years on top of that.
Especially regarding her past life, even if she was called a ‘witch,’ ‘cursed girl,’ ‘betrayer,’ or ‘immoral child’ behind her back, in front of her, she was always addressed with the utmost respect as ‘Your Highness’ or ‘Savior.’
But now, hearing “sister” and “brother” multiple times a day made her feel like she was denying everything she had built regarding gender and age from her past lives.
“Hey, friend! But how did you break through the aura barrier with the Arc Lightning? I couldn’t do it no matter how hard I tried; can you share the secret?”
Luckily, Seong Eun-byul intervened mid-conversation, relieving Na-me of the explaining duty.
“I actually have my own method. If you just learn the knack, you could do it in a day!”
“In a day? How?”
Seong Eun-byul’s ears perked up.
Could it be a new circuit technique not even introduced in textbooks?
Or was it perhaps a more effective way of channeling mana?
But Na-me’s response was simply astonishing.
“All you need to do is eat electric eel dishes three times a day!”
*
The stars in the night sky were swallowed by the neon lights, leaving only a lonely full moon remaining.
At 11 PM, since it was quite late, I led the kids, blinking their sleepy eyes, back to their rooms.
In the meantime, I had brought the sixth graders up to the hotel rooftop terrace.
“Na-me, I can’t eat something like eel; I have a weak stomach…”
“What nonsense? Eating ice doesn’t mean you’re good at freezing magic.”
“Huh? Wasn’t it that?”
“Of course not.”
Such prejudices are just as ridiculous as hexagonal water or germanium bracelets or fan myths.
Even in a world where magic exists, such supernatural and nonsensical rules don’t apply.
“The truth is, there were people watching us earlier.”
“In the training arena?”
“Yeah.”
“Who?”
Surely it was the Altair side.
They seemed to be keenly observing even the trivial moments of our bickering.
There was even someone among the students in uniform who was suspected of being a young teacher in disguise.
“Why are they spying on us when we haven’t done anything wrong?”
“I guess they’re hiding among us as students to observe our battles and analyze our weaknesses.”
“Eh? That’s unfair.”
“There’s no rule against watching, so it’s not exactly cheating, but… it’s not fair play, either.”
According to the student council president, information about our academy students was leaking out unnoticed in places not visible to teachers.
“But is that really such a big deal? We’re going to do a rehearsal at least once this week; they’ll know roughly how we fight then, right?”
“Private duels like this carry on the normal habits, which makes it different from a rehearsal.”
Watching duels through a student’s perspective versus a teacher’s eye was like comparing heaven and earth.
The kids probably didn’t realize how serious the penalty they were starting with really was.
“If I give you an example, if other students came to watch, they might think, ‘Eun-byul unnie mainly uses lightning magic, so I need to be careful when dealing with water-based magic,’ and that’s about it.”
“Yeah, but?”
“However, if a teacher’s corrections come into play, it could turn into a plan like, ‘Avoid magic from the Argentine system, use Sutra-based geomancy to neutralize magic quickly, then take down swiftly with a single-leg tackle and follow up with an elbow attack to neutralize the atom barrier.’ Do you get it?”
Of course, not every student would be able to apply that knowledge right away in practice.
But thinking of how Altair Academy had achieved overwhelming results over the past ten years, it surely could lead to significant changes in their winning rate.
“You… you…”
“Regardless, don’t forget that this is the main base of Altair Academy—”
“How do you know all this?!”
Seong Eun-byul’s expression turned to one of astonishment.
Beside her, Namgung Jin gaped, quickly pulling out his phone to contact someone.
“Hey, guys. Hurry up to the rooftop now! You won’t believe what Na-me just did… hahaha! No, this isn’t the time for Mark; hurry up!”
Tap-
He carelessly shoved his phone into his pocket and excitedly grabbed my hand.
“Hey, Na-me! Can you keep talking? What other weaknesses does Eun-byul have?”
“I haven’t seen anything but the Arc Lightning, so I can’t answer affirmatively…”
“I’ll buy you an ice cream for each secret you reveal!”
“Really?”
“Promise, promise!”
“Well, as I said, Eun-byul unnie always insists on using series circuit, which means she’s completely neutralized against Sutra types, but it can also be negated by Mabeon types.”
“Anything else?”
“She always calculates the composite resistance at the end, which means her magic circle’s security is weak, so…”
“Stop! Aaaah, that’s enough!”
Seong Eun-byul screamed.
“That’s cheating! That was my secret!”
“Why did you let me know if you knew?”
“If you knew, you should’ve fixed it. How long did you plan to keep that a secret? The things I’m saying aren’t all that hard; they’re at a middle school level.”
“Ughh… fine! After this, you have to tell Namgung Jin about all his weaknesses too; that’s only fair!”
“Well, sure. But honestly, there’s nothing else to say. Still, you can tell Eun-byul learned magic properly… ah!”
“What? Is there more? What is it, what is it?”
This was tricky. Should I say it or not?
I hesitated for a moment, trailing off.
“Say it! Spill it! I’ll fix it all before the match!”
Luckily, Seong Eun-byul’s permission came first.
This is just advice between girls, so it should be fine. I’m literally a child, there’s no worry about the Child Protection Act.
“You have a habit of pulling at your T-shirt while moving; if it’s sweaty and bothersome, I’d suggest wearing a sports bra.”
“…”
“If it’s slipping down, it could just be that it doesn’t fit properly…”
A chilly wind suddenly blew, causing goosebumps to rise on my arms.
It truly felt like autumn was coming.
“Namgung Jin, could you give us a minute to talk?”
Seong Eun-byul commanded in a frigid tone.
“Uh? Um… I hope you two resolve things well…! Na-me, I’m sorry! Pikachu, you too, keep it down!”
Namgung Jin hurriedly backed off, leaving.
“Na-me.”
“Yes?”
“You shouldn’t talk about that kind of stuff in front of others.”
Seong Eun-byul, red as a tomato, pinched my cheek.
“Hrghz (I allowed it).”
“Yeah, you did! Thanks to you, I’ll be able to fix it the fastest! I’m so grateful, really…!”
“I’m glad. Actually, that was the most important advice I gave today, so thank you for listening.”
You might think it’s trivial, but the human brain can only process a set number of commands at a time.
Being bothered means our bodies are experiencing major discomfort.
Pro gamers meticulously tune their setups, and athletes follow annoying routines; it’s all to focus entirely on one element.
In that sense, my advice could be the most effective feedback for the girl.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem to take my advice lightly.
“Seriously… Na-me, you need to give the feedback you just gave me to the others, too. Got it?”
“I was actually planning to do that today. From 2nd grade to 6th grade, everyone.”
From tomorrow morning until the match ends, everyone will have their schedules, so today is practically the last of their free time.
Anyway, it’s still a while until dawn.
“6, 5, 4, 3, 2. If we give one hour to each grade, we should be able to finish before sunrise.”
This felt just like being a night watchman.
The problem was I hadn’t gotten a single wink of sleep, but someone had to step up and do it.
