The Sword Demon's Request

The hospital room door creaked open as a female student with black hair cautiously poked her head inside.

"Um. Examiner Baek Seojin?"

"I'm right here."

"Ah. Hello! Is it okay if I come in?"

"You've already opened the door—what's there to ask? Hurry up and get inside."

Only then did Kim Suhyun carefully step into the room. The sight of her... well. It reminded me of a nervous kitten.

It wasn't some calculated move to show off how cute she was. I knew she was just timid by nature. After all, her trait was literally Genius Fallen into Inferiority Complex.

How on earth did a kid like this become the Red Witch?

This timid girl turning into the infamous villain who killed or injured half a million people? Just how horrific must the villains' brainwashing process have been to twist her into that?

Villains really were villains. At least in this world, that much was certain.

"Um... Are you really okay?"

Kim Suhyun approached the bed hesitantly, her face full of guilt. She probably thought my injury was her fault. But she had no reason to feel sorry. The decision had been mine alone.

The simplest way to erase that guilt quickly was to show her I was perfectly fine and dissolve her worry altogether.

"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. Guess I got lucky."

"Th-that's a relief. I was so worried because it looked like you were badly hurt. I wanted to visit the same day, but everyone stopped me... I'm truly sorry. I'm so sorry, Examiner. You risked your life to save me, yet here I am..."

"It's not like that. I'm really okay. Besides, even if you'd come right after the incident, I was unconscious. We wouldn't have been able to talk like this."

And during a time like this, it was dangerous for Kim Suhyun to wander around freely. The ones who had failed might still be lurking nearby, determined to complete their objective. All my effort to erase her future as the Red Witch would be for nothing.

"Still... I'm sorry. Really, really sorry, Examiner."

"I keep telling you it's fine. Ah, what about your own injury? I remember seeing a pretty bad wound on your leg last time."

"Huh? Oh... I-I'm fine. I received treatment immediately, so it's completely healed."

Of course. If it hadn't healed, she wouldn't have been able to come visit.

"Um, by the way, Examiner. You can speak more casually to me."

"Me? No, no. It's fine. I'm comfortable this way."

I'd once been friendly with a child and immediately received a formal complaint. How could a public servant treat a kid that way? Shouldn't I be using honorifics? It was absurd, but there was nothing I could do. I just had to endure the criticism and take the warning not to repeat it. After that, using polite speech with everyone became a habit. It started from a painful place, but now I felt anxious if I didn't do it. How should I describe it? Like I was committing some grave sin. Getting complaints from subordinates carried more stress than anyone could imagine.

"Even so... you seem older than me..."

"Wouldn't it be rude for you to bring up age, Student Suhyun?"

"Huh? Ah. Aah! Eek?! I-I'm sorry!!"

It was just a joke. Reacting so seriously only made things awkward for me.

I was about to stop Kim Suhyun, who kept apologizing, when a cough came from behind us.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Ahem! Hm!"

I hadn't sensed any presence at all. The only person who'd entered the room was definitely Kim Suhyun. Had those damn villains chased us all the way here?

"Grandfather."

At that moment, Kim Suhyun walked over to the old man. More importantly... grandfather? He said grandfather?

Now that I looked, they did share a slight resemblance. But hold on. That face, that attire. I'd seen this elder on the news before. Where was it...? Right, on that program called Heroes of the Past, standing alongside Ma Hakjun....

"I am Kang Minsung. I heard you saved my granddaughter. That's why I've come to express my gratitude in person."

Was this... was this really Kang Minsung? The man even the villains feared and called the Sword Demon? One of the heroes who saved South Korea alongside Ma Hakjun was standing right in front of me?!

And that Kang Minsung's granddaughter is... Kim Suhyun?

I understood once again why the villains had targeted her. Kidnapping the granddaughter of such a heavyweight would give them a powerful bargaining chip. The Kang family was considered the pinnacle of weapon-type ability users in Korea. I'd heard they had produced one S-rank and multiple A-ranks. On top of that, their connections to politicians and corporations were extensive—their influence had to be enormous. From the villains' perspective, abducting Kim Suhyun was the ultimate card.

"I am Baek Seojin. It is an honor to meet you."

I kicked off the bed and stood, bowing deeply to the elder. People needed to know when to hold onto their pride and when to set it aside. In my view, this situation was one hundred percent the latter. Bowing my head wasn't servile or shameful in the slightest. The elder before me was a giant possessing both the power and the backing to justify it. Ma Hakjun was impressive enough, but this old man was equally extraordinary.

"If it is truly an honor, could you grant this old man one small request?"

I briefly considered answering with I will do anything! but that felt too submissive, so I held back. As I waited quietly, Kang Minsung cleared his throat and continued.

"I would like you to accept my granddaughter's request."

"...Pardon?"

"Our Suhyun keeps asking you, does she not? She even apologized. To this old man's eyes, that is more than enough. So just pretend you cannot win against her and accept it."

"Um, so..."

"It means speak comfortably with Suhyun, young friend."

Excuse me? Wasn't something off here? Shouldn't it have been something like She is a precious young lady, so do not speak down to her carelessly? Instead, he was asking me to drop the formal speech?

"Is this a difficult request to fulfill?"

"Not at all. As Student Suhyun said, there is an age gap, so speaking comfortably should be fine!"

Don't call me a coward. This was a legitimate survival strategy. Besides, a hero from the past was personally making the request. Of course I should accept it. Absolutely!

"Then... S-Suhyun? Is it okay to call you that?"

"Yes! Examiner. I like it!"

At my words, Kim Suhyun came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠closer and smiled brightly. I didn't quite understand why speaking casually made her so happy, but it didn't matter. Honestly, I had wanted to get closer to her anyway. She was pretty, came from a powerful family, and beyond those surface reasons...

In case those villain bastards target her again.

The immediate kidnapping threat had passed thanks to my intervention. But the villains could set their sights on Kim Suhyun again at any moment. And if they succeeded, she would become the Red Witch just as scheduled.

The problem was that I couldn't explain any of this to anyone. Not even to Kim Suhyun herself. The reason was simply too absurd. If someone told me, Actually, you're going to become a mass murderer in the future! I would have told them to stop talking nonsense.

In the end, the only method was to stay as close as possible and catch any potential crises early. Since she was the Sword Demon's granddaughter, plenty of people would surely come to help. My role was simply to buy a little time until they arrived.

Yes. Just like I did at the Academy.

While I reached that conclusion internally, Kim Suhyun sat beside me and chattered away. How she had watched me defeat Park ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Junwoo from afar. How cool it had been. How grateful she was that I had sent her away and blocked the Elder. Then she asked if I was really just an ordinary examiner, which stung a little.

I was an ordinary examiner. It was just that I stopped being ordinary the moment an examination began.

"Um, just a moment. Suhyun. Chairman? Why don't you sit with us and..."

"It's fine. Continue your conversation. Don't mind me."

If you just stand there quietly watching, it's too burdensome. I can't even tell if the conversation is entering through my ears or my nose.

Whether she knew my inner thoughts or not, Kim Suhyun looked incredibly happy. Thanks to that, I eventually forgot about Kang Minsung's presence and focused entirely on talking with her.

“....”

Kang Minsung stood at the entrance of the hospital room, quietly watching his granddaughter. Her smiling face resembled her mother so perfectly it was almost painful. It was as if his daughter, who had left this world long ago, had returned to life.

I'm sorry.

A grandfather who was too great, a maternal family that was too extraordinary, and relatives who carried the same weight. Among them, the relatively ordinary Kim Suhyun had been under immense pressure.

Even if they were simply words expressing expectation, they must have placed a heavy burden on that child.

Because she was Kang Minsung's granddaughter. Because she had to do it for her mother, who had died an honorable death in battle. She had to become strong. No—she must be strong. She had to become an outstanding ability user.

Crushed beneath that enormous pressure, the child had grown smaller and smaller. Just because her family members were special didn't mean she had to be. Specialness could only exist because normality existed first.

It seemed Kim Suhyun had interpreted that normality not as normal, but as falling behind. She spoke less and became more and more withdrawn. It was the same after entering the Academy. In fact, it had grown even worse.

So he had practically begged his old friend Ma Hakjun. And in the middle of that, she had been attacked by villains. An Elder had personally stepped forward to kidnap his granddaughter. It had nearly led to an irreversible tragedy.

A young man had stopped that horror. His name was Baek Seojin. He was the examiner who had been dispatched that day.

He directly blocked the Elder's path to send Suhyun to safety.

It had been so absurd that it wasn't even made into a news story. But Ma Hakjun had told him directly. That it was true. That Baek Seojin had blocked the Elder, saved Suhyun, and survived.

Because of that, that young man has become Suhyun's savior. And someone she admires.

From what he'd heard, the young man had defeated every student the moment he arrived. He too had been an ordinary person, yet he had revealed his own special nature from within that ordinariness. There was probably no one Kim Suhyun wanted to resemble more.

Honestly, there had been a tiny part of him that remained suspicious. He had broken into a cold sweat trying to stop Kim Suhyun when she immediately wanted to visit. However, Kang Minsung ultimately could not overcome his granddaughter.

"The examiner was so cool when he did it exactly like this..."

"No, no. That was just because I got lucky..."

Kang Minsung, who had been quietly watching the two young people, slipped out of the hospital room without a sound. Whatever it was, if his granddaughter liked it, then it was good enough for him as well.