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The week-long break that the Academy had taken for the students flew by in an instant.

‘So far, I’ve caught 6 villains… Still not enough.’

Four days since Jeong Gyeoul regained consciousness.

During those four days, Lee Ha-yoon had caught 6 villains, sneaking out every night to build up her record, deceiving the security team leader.

Although it was illegal for an Awakened One without a Hero Certification to subdue or arrest villains, she had rendered them incapable of causing further trouble, so there was no need to worry about them later.

Even though she had taken down 1.5 villains per day, it was still far from the minimum of 3 villains per day that Lee Ha-yoon had aimed for to gain real combat experience.

And now, she had to return to the Academy, which made things even more complicated.

‘Should I sweet-talk the dorm supervisor to sneak out at night…?’

During the 12 Apostles attack incident, the dorm supervisor had promised to accommodate Jeong Gyeoul and Lee Ha-yoon. She was confident that if she asked for help, he would have no choice but to agree.

If she got rid of the smell of blood, he wouldn’t even know what she had been up to.

Before Gyeoul returned to the Academy after being discharged, she could use Gyeoul as an excuse, and he would readily allow it.

But the thought of using Jeong Gyeoul’s name left a bad taste in her mouth.

‘Let’s just be satisfied with catching the troublemakers within the Academy through Student Council activities.’

Although there had been rumors in the back alleys about a little witch during the four days of her villain-hunting spree, the rumors quickly died down as Lee Ha-yoon returned to the Academy.

“Ha-yan! Is Gyeoul okay?”

“Yes.”

“When is Gyeoul returning to the Academy?”

“Do I really have to tell you that?”

“…Huh?”

The students were taken aback by Lee Ha-yoon’s sudden 180-degree change in attitude, as she had always been much friendlier than Jeong Gyeoul.

‘What happened during the week off?’

‘Is she on edge because her best friend got hurt…?’

They weren’t entirely unaware of Lee Ha-yoon’s feelings, so they didn’t take it too personally.

“Hang in there, Ha-yan. We’ll get going.”

“Yes.”

However, not all students were as considerate of Lee Ha-yoon’s feelings as they were.

“Lee Ha-yoon? What happened to Jeong Gyeoul? I heard bits and pieces, but can you fill me in?”

“Fill you in? Did you just say ‘fill you in’?”

“Yeah, tell me about it. I’m dying to know.”

“When did you ever care? You were too busy hiding like a scared dog with your tail between your legs. Now you’re curious?”

Back at the shelter, she had asked for help from the students, including the senior in front of her, to find Instructor Yoo Soo-gap and Instructor Hong Eun-jeong.

But everyone was too busy trembling inside the shelter, pretending not to notice, which delayed the time it took to find the instructors.

As she thought about how scared Jeong Gyeoul must have been while waiting for her to return, her words naturally became sharper.

“Hey, why are you so rude all of a sudden? Is that how you talk to a senior?”

“Senior? Pfft.”

Lee Ha-yoon brushed past the second-year senior with the blue name tag, scoffing.

“Are you kidding me? Come here. Do you think just because you’re S-Class, you can look down on seniors? Do you think Hong Yeom senior will back you up? Do you think the Taebaek Guild can interfere with Academy matters?”

“Do you think you can handle me?”

“What the!”

The second-year senior’s palm flew toward Lee Ha-yoon’s pretty face.

It was so slow that it was hard to tell if it was meant to be dodged or taken head-on.

‘Pathetic…’

Why had she ever wasted time on people like this?

There wasn’t enough time to enjoy a happy school life with Gyeoul.

She had always been gentle with students who gossiped behind her back or openly picked fights.

They were just kids.

At 14, they were special admissions, outsiders in the Academy.

‘But now… I won’t hold back.’

Thanks to the senior in front of her, she now had a new goal to look forward to during her nightly villain hunts.

Lee Ha-yoon vowed to restore order in the Academy before Jeong Gyeoul returned.

*Slap!*

She didn’t dodge or block, taking the slap straight on.

“Finally came to your senses, huh? Good. From now on, don’t talk back to your seniors…”

“You’re the first.”

“…What?”

The second-year senior, who thought Lee Ha-yoon had finally come to her senses and was showing respect, felt a chill in her voice.

Soon, he could feel Lee Ha-yoon gathering her magic power.

“W-wait a minute. This is insubordination! It’s against school rules! Using magic is forbidden!”

“Why do you think I let you slap me?”

“…You can’t be serious.”

“I’m a Student Council member. The moment you attacked me, you became a delinquent disrupting school order, giving me the right to retaliate.”

“I-it was just a slap. A little tough love for a disobedient junior…”

“Whether it’s a slap, a punch, or a magic attack, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Behind Lee Ha-yoon, her signature ice spear materialized.

“If you attack me with that, I’ll really get hurt! I get it, so stop!”

“Get what? Do you understand the pain and fear Gyeoul felt? Or the guilt and self-loathing I felt?”

“Stop it, you crazy b*tch!”

“Like I said, you’re the first.”

She launched the ice spear at the second-year senior’s hands and feet.

“No! Aaaah!”

“Call yourself a senior? Gyeoul and I didn’t even whimper at that level.”

“Ugh! M-my hands are pierced! My hands are pierced!”

Dragging the struggling senior by the hair, she headed to the Student Council room.

Students who had already returned to the Academy.

Students who were in the process of returning.

Even the staff running the snack shop and other facilities.

No one dared to stop Lee Ha-yoon as they watched.

If there had been an instructor around, maybe. But unfortunately, there wasn’t a single instructor in sight.

Under normal circumstances, students would have whispered among themselves at such a sight.

But only silence filled the air.

Well, to be precise, only the screams of the senior being dragged by Lee Ha-yoon could be heard.

***

A week had already passed since the students returned to the Academy.

Even though her discharge had been decided, Lee Ha-yoon was nowhere to be seen.

-Gyeoul, let’s meet when you’re discharged.

I thought it was just a casual remark.

The next day, when she didn’t show up, I wondered what was going on.

I never thought she wouldn’t come until the actual discharge.

Anyone else, maybe, but this is Lee Ha-yoon.

The kid I practically raised since she was little.

It’s not like she doesn’t have a Free Use Pass for the dorm.

It wouldn’t be strange if she came every day…

“Hmm, I hope nothing’s wrong.”

“Who? Ha-yan?”

“Yeah, today’s her discharge day, but she’s not here.”

“Maybe she can’t leave because she’s back at the Academy.”

“No, we have the dorm supervisor…”

Talking about the dorm supervisor here… I started to feel anxious that my Free Use Pass might be revoked.

“Why’d you stop? Keep going.”

“We have the dorm supervisor… who should let us out freely since we’re close, but the dorm supervisor messed up.”

Eun-chae shook her head in disbelief at those words.

“What’s that? Don’t go around saying stuff like that. You sound like a spoiled chaebol heiress.”

“…Isn’t that pretty much the case?”

The Demon King’s sister, connections with the Association, a master who’s the leader of the Hwarang, and a close grandfather who’s the lord of the Clock Tower.

Backed by three of the four major guilds, living a comfortable life with overflowing wealth.

That’s me, isn’t it?

Shouldn’t even the wealthiest families envy me?

“You’re daydreaming again.”

With my number one suppressor, Lee Ha-yoon, gone, Eun-chae has taken her place.

But the second suppressor still seems a bit lacking, stepping in even when it’s not a daydream.

“No, this time it’s based on my objective indicators…”

“Why can’t you build mental discipline while learning swordsmanship?”

“…You talk too much.”

If there’s a lack, there’s always compensation.

The second suppressor seems to hit harder than the first.

“Are you going straight to the Academy after discharge? Take a little more rest.”

“It’s fine. I was in the hospital because of my sisters, but they said I could be discharged after four days.”

“…Still.”

“Don’t worry, Master is taking over as president.”

That’s right.

Surprisingly, Kim Bong-du resigned, and Hwarang Kim Yu-shin is set to take over as president.

Something about future Hwarang always being in danger, blah blah… Truth is, he probably just wanted to keep teaching his genius disciple and show her off.

‘What a tsundere.’

“By the way, since we’re on the topic, can you cut back on the training? It’s kind of… embarrassing.”

“A disciple doesn’t defy their master’s words.”

The daily tasks Master gave me have been part of my routine since the day they were assigned.

After completing a round of training and returning to the hospital room, my patient gown would be soaked as if it had been dipped in water.

Squeeze any part, and sweat would pour out like water.

Truly a Hwarang, truly an S-Class warrior.

Even the daily training was never easy.

By the time I had about 100 reps left, I thought sparring with Ha-yul unnie would be easier.

“Is that really done without magic? If Ha-yul’s eyes sparkle at it, it seems like something others shouldn’t even attempt.”

“Master does twice that without magic. If I want to get stronger, I should be able to handle this much easily.”

“…Honestly, from our perspective, you’re already amazing.”

“Still not enough. I ended up in the hospital after losing to an A-Class.”

“…That guy’s some kind of Apostle from the Satan Church or something. You’re a 14-year-old middle school girl.”

“Hey, I’m the Demon King’s sister. That’s higher than Satan’s Apostle.”

“…”

I don’t know if Satan is higher than the Demon King…

But anyway, I’m family, and they’re strangers.

The hospital room door opened, and Jeong Ha-yul walked in.

“I went to handle the discharge paperwork, but Park Seol-hwa already took care of it. Should I treat her to a meal or something?”

“…Wouldn’t she dislike it if you did? Maybe go out with Gyeoul later.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to see Park Seol-hwa’s face either, so that’s better.”

“What about Kang-woo oppa?”

“He went to get the car. Let’s go.”

And so, the short hospital stay came to an end.

Returning to the Academy…

‘What’s this…?’

Every student who made eye contact with me hid somewhere in fear.

I thought maybe they had heard about my heroic battle with the Apostle.

But in reality, I was just getting beaten up until I was rescued. There’s no way they’d be scared of me for that.

One senior with a blue name tag was even worse.

He looked like he was about to have a seizure upon seeing me, then crawled into the bushes.

‘Are bandages on hands and feet a fashion statement now?’

It seems like the Academy has turned into a den of lunatics in my absence.

The two-eyed person in the one-eyed village is lonely again today.

 

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