Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Lazy Weekend
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The weekend had arrived.
I had planned to lounge around the house all day for the first time in ages, but right now I was playing games on the computer.
"You bastard! Bringing a ranged weapon to the Sacred Tower!?"
I frantically moved the mouse, controlling my character in the game.
"Aaaagh!! Why'd it die!!"
Bam!
My hand stung from slamming the keyboard. Before I knew it, my deaths had hit five.
"...I'm done."
Frustrated, I quit the game.
I'd hoped to blow off some steam with a game after so long, but this was just piling on more stress.
"......"
I stared blankly at the desktop for a bit, then hopped online and poked around with some searches.
Acamedy Academy
The nation's premier hero training institution, boasting a 300-year tradition. Most famous active heroes are alumni.
'...Nothing about angels founding it.'
When I'd read chapter 1 of the novel, I figured the current Acamedy Academy had been established through angels and humans joining forces.
...Is this some undisclosed secret? Does that make me one of the few in the know?
"Oh shit..."
I've gotta watch my mouth. If I go blabbing and word gets back to the angels, they'll show up demanding to know how I found out.
'But seriously, why'd they name the academy something so ridiculous?'
The name was still a total mystery.
Do angels just have weird taste?
Or was it some nutjob human who came up with it?
And nobody objected to slapping a name like that on the academy?
Lost in deep thought about the academy's name, I moved the mouse and searched up this world's history too.
It was a history drenched in war.
The Heavenly Demon War, where angels and demons clashed head-on; the Magic Beast War, when magic beasts swarmed out like crazy; all kinds of conflicts.
Things were relatively peaceful now, apparently. Ever since the Heavenly Demon War 150 years ago, angels and demons had vanished from sight, leaving only scattered magic beasts.
'......This place feels insanely dangerous.'
To me, it looked like a ticking time bomb, which only made it scarier.
I dug into some other info too.
"Heroes have rankings, huh."
There were sites compiling rankings of active heroes.
Fun fact: 'Fergus Dee', ranked 8th overall, was our academy's principal. No way. That grandpa who botched the academy name at the entrance ceremony was rank 8?
[Oh, a scholarship? Must be one of the principal's handpicked special admits!]
Mention of the principal jogged my memory of what Yoon Na-rin had said at the café last time. Curious, I searched special admissions. Turns out they require a recommendation from someone influential in the hero world, plus the principal's approval.
'I'm a special admit too...'
Did I get in on the principal's say-so like the others? If so, who recommended me?
'At first I just shrugged it off, figuring whoever dumped me here pulled some strings.'
Now I wondered if the recommender—or the principal—knew something. Hell, one of them might be the person who brought me here.
'...Who knows. Annoying.'
No point stewing over it; it'd just give me a headache. And confronting the principal outright? Terrifying.
I dropped the thinking and fired up the game again for a match, but the message that popped up made me freeze.
"Shit... deserter penalty..."
Pissed off, I powered down the computer and face-planted onto the bed.
Yoon Na-rin had returned to her family home after ages.
"I'm home~"
"Na-rin! How's school treating you?"
"Yeah. It's fun."
After her mother's warm welcome, she headed into the master bedroom and spotted a red-haired man sprawled on the sofa, glued to the TV.
"Come on in."
"If you're that glad to see me, why not come greet me properly?"
"Drama's hitting a key moment right now."
It was her brother, Yoon Kang-woo.
"What's got you lounging at home?"
"Magic beasts are thinning out lately. They don't need my hands and said take a vacation."
His gruff tone was as blunt as ever.
"If they can spare you, they must be down a ton."
"Well, fewer magic beasts is a good thing."
He looked like a total slacker parked on the sofa watching TV, but this guy was hero rank 5. If he was kicking back, things really must've quieted down.
"School going okay?"
"Eh, so-so."
"Heard there are special admits this year."
"My friend."
"Oh yeah? What's she like?"
"Nice and cute."
"What's her power?"
Here we go. She sighed inwardly.
She'd hoped for some normal chit-chat, but was it occupational hazard? No matter the topic, talks with her brother always swung this way.
More interested in her little sister's friend's abilities than her name—charitably, rock-solid professionalism; uncharitably, zero tact.
"...Weapon Summon. She handles pretty much any weapon at a solid level."
"Not bad. Lets her adapt flexibly to all sorts of situations."
"...Yeah. She's crazy strong."
"Looking forward to her graduating and hitting the hero scene. Lately on the field..."
She hated dragging out these stiff convos even on a rare reunion, but he wasn't doing it out of malice, so what could she say?
Sure, he lacked flexibility, but upright, steadfast heroes like him were rare in the biz—and she respected him for it.
Back when she was a kid, she'd felt inferior to her superior brother, but that was ancient history.
Still, today she just wanted chill, everyday talk.
It'd been nearly a month since she'd seen his face, yet he yammered on about work. When was their last casual chat?
'...Workaholic through and through.'
Before long, the topic had veered far from the daily life she'd craved.
Yoon Kang-woo griped that the current generation of heroes had rotten attitudes.
Even so, Yoon Na-rin kept her annoyance hidden and nodded along. She couldn't bring herself to snap at the brother who busted his ass fighting magic beasts every time.
'Why'd he turn into such a boomer...'
He wasn't this bad before. Yoon Na-rin let out a quiet sigh.
Three hours had ticked by since I'd flopped onto the bed without moving.
'I'm starving...'
Lunchtime was a distant memory.
Obvious maybe, but weekends off from the academy meant no provided lunch.
~Grrrowl...
My stomach howled for sustenance, but I stayed planted.
~~Grrrowl...
Quiet down. I said I don't wanna move. If you're that hungry, whip something up yourself. No hands? No feet?
~~Grrowl...
How long you gonna leech off me? Time to stand on your own.
I'm not your cook. Even on my deathbed, no meals from me—so forage or whatever.
~~~......
After my stern scolding, my stomach seemed to pipe down at last.
About 30 minutes in that state.
~~Grrrowl!
My stomach fired up again, louder this time—like it'd rallied the crew.
Sneaky jerk. Couldn't hack it solo, so called in reinforcements.
But I wouldn't cave. Folding to this would've kept me from starting in the first place.
Another hour dragged on.
Now my whole body felt drained and woozy. Somehow my stomach had talked every inch of me into the strike.
"...Fine. You win."
I conceded defeat to my gut. It was a rigged fight from jump.
Damn, the whole crew unionizing for a walkout. Unions need to go.
I threw on some clothes and geared up to head out.
Jeans and hoodie on, I stepped out of the dorm. Evening had settled in.
'Convenience store... nah.'
Skipped breakfast and lunch—full-on empty tank. Hitting conbini grub like this might tick off my stomach into deliberate sabotage via gut bomb.
What a picky bastard.
Muttering to myself, I scouted the restaurant strip.
That spot... packed. Pass.
That one... family restaurant... pass.
Here... parties of 2+... pass.
Why's nobody eating solo here? I'd look pathetic alone. Pass.
Pass. Pass. Pass.
Dilemma. Zero spots solo-friendly.
No restaurants solo-only?
Every place screamed high difficulty for me.
... Grrrowl.
Bad news. Stomach's patience fraying, growling threats.
"Hmm..."
But barging in desperate? Obvious stares and snickers at the lone loser chowing down.
Solo dining out demands serious mental fortitude.
"...What now."
Should've just ordered delivery back at the dorm.
Why didn't that hit me sooner?
~~Moron.
For a split second, I swear I heard my stomach curse me.
You little shit—who'm I suffering for here? Not hungry?
...Starve then?
~Grrrowl.
My threat? Stomach just scoffed.
...If Yoon Na-rin were around, I'd have called her to grab a bite.
Who knew her weekend home trip would hurt this bad.
Wanna hit up Han U-sol or Reisi, but no numbers.
'...Any chance someone's gonna pop up and eat with me?'
Right then, someone tapped my shoulder from behind. I turned.
"What're you doing here?"
Han U-sol.
Ooh.
Timing god.
I hesitated a beat, then mumbled,
"...Hey, wanna grab food together?"