Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Theory Class
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Theory class.
It was like herbal medicine.
Bitter on the tongue, but good for the body.
Not tasty, so you don't want to eat it, but since it's good for you, you have to. Yet when you actually try, the bitterness makes it hard to swallow.
And among all theory classes, history was the most unpalatable.
Magic beast theory, at least, was often quite tasty.
Learning about their types, characteristics, and weaknesses was informative without being tedious.
Plus, there were many magic beasts I'd vaguely heard of from my previous world, which was enough to pique my interest.
But history class? Is it useful, you ask? Of course it is. As useful as it is important. There's that saying about how a nation that forgets its history has no future. That's how vital it was.
But is it fun? Well...
At first, it felt like listening to a fantasy tale, so I was intrigued. But when the sheer volume piles up,
and you have to cram 3,000 years of history into your head and memorize it by force, it gets bitter.
"The reason angels' and demons' powers weakened after the Heavenly Demon War is, according to historians' speculation..."
Teacher Silbi continued at length.
The Heavenly Demon War: the one where all the angels came out of the city themselves to strike down the demons. Detailed records of this war don't remain. Why? Because humans at the time were too busy defending the city from magic beasts, and afterward, both angels and demons vanished completely.
150 years later, angels' and demons' powers have been steadily weakening. Human abilities are declining, and the numbers and strength of magic beasts are waning too.
Historians speculate it was because many angels and demons died or lost their power in that war.
Even though the war happened far from the city, the ground shook so violently that surely even transcendent beings must have perished in droves.
...Definitely useful information.
"Another scholar's speculation from here is..."
But useful or not, it was boring as hell.
My eyelids grew heavier, and soon my head drooped, nodding off.
After a bit of time passed, just as my face was about to meet the desk, chalk flew at the crown of my head.
Ttak-!
"Ack!"
I let out a pathetic yelp and clutched my head with both hands.
"Anis, I get it's boring, but the exam's coming up soon. Pay attention, okay?"
Teacher Silbi said with a beaming smile.
"...Yes."
The students snickered at me. Normally, hallucinations would chime in at a time like this, but thanks to Han U-sol sitting nearby, nothing came.
A quick glance sideways showed Yoon Na-rin and Han U-sol laughing along with the class.
...Annoying.
Han U-sol was extremely satisfied with his recent life.
Ever since he'd made the dagger, Anis's expression had gradually brightened.
"Ack!"
Anis clutched her head after the chalk hit. Her startled squeak was so cute he couldn't help but chuckle. Yoon Na-rin seemed to think the same; laughter came from beside him too.
Han U-sol felt relieved deep down.
Anis, who'd been watching her surroundings warily lately, dozing off in class meant her tension had eased and her mind stabilized that much.
When class ended, Anis glared daggers and said,
"Han Secretary. Why'd you laugh earlier?"
"Sorry."
"Is sorry all it takes?"
"Let's hit the vending area. I'll buy you something."
"Good."
Lately, Anis had been calling him Han Secretary. Superstars needed a personal secretary, or so she said.
She treated him like a servant and bossed him around, but he didn't mind.
Anis trying to act high-handed just came off like a hedgehog puffing up its spines to look bigger—adorable.
"Anis, what do you want?"
"Han Secretary, pick something."
He bought her bite-sized chocolate and a chocolate latte, handing them over. She hadn't been into macarons much lately; must've gotten sick of them.
"Good."
As expected of Han Secretary. Anis said that as she unwrapped the chocolate.
Her playful attitude drew another laugh from him. It was a side he hadn't seen from recent Anis.
For no particular reason, Han U-sol felt grateful for his ability again. Thanks to it, Anis had regained her ease.
For some reason, Anis couldn't touch the dagger, but even so, it wasn't bad. No, it was better.
Because of that, she kept him close by her side.
'...But why can't only Anis touch it?'
He'd tested it on Yoon Na-rin, but no issues.
―Isn't it because you subconsciously wanted it that way when you made it?
Yoon Na-rin's words, glaring at him, flashed through his mind.
'Hmm...'
He wanted to deny it, but he couldn't swear it wasn't. He had wished she'd rely on him more. Maybe that subconscious desire influenced it.
'No, no way. Probably not.'
Even so, embedding his selfish desires into a weapon while she struggled? Too self-centered. He wanted to believe he wasn't that kind of person.
'...Should I ask her out tomorrow?'
Being around each other so much lately made him feel closer to her. Did physical proximity bring hearts together?
Her mood had improved a lot, so maybe it was time to ask for a date.
Tomorrow was the weekend, conveniently.
No special signals yet, but that didn't mean she couldn't develop romantic feelings for him.
Self-praise aside, he was the type who easily garnered attraction from the opposite sex anyway.
'No, maybe I'm the only one thinking that.'
Was he getting ahead of himself? She might not feel anything special.
Lost in thought, Anis's voice snapped him out.
"What're you doing? Hurry up."
"Ah, sorry."
'...Hmm. Maybe include Na-rin too...'
Even following behind Anis, Han U-sol's dilemma lingered.
"See ya."
"Yeah, see ya..."
Han U-sol sighed, watching Anis and Yoon Na-rin walk away.
'Couldn't say it after all.'
...Just training at the field this weekend then.
Might as well develop his ability more during training, since it came to this.
If he improved it and gifted her even stronger, cooler weapons, she'd be happier.
Plus, her inability to touch the dagger was probably due to his inexperience handling the ability.
'...Yeah. Training it is...'
He muttered inwardly, but the sinking feeling persisted.
He felt pathetic for not even suggesting they meet on the one day they could.
"Hoo..."
An even bigger sigh escaped.
Reisi, walking beside him, asked what was wrong, but he was too embarrassed to tell the truth and brushed it off vaguely.
The moment I parted from Yoon Na-rin and entered my dorm room, I realized something crucial.
'...Forgot to pick up the dagger.'
Plan was to grab a case for it somewhere and keep it in my room, but I'd forgotten to tell Han U-sol.
And tomorrow was the weekend, of all days. Stuck listening to hallucinations non-stop.
'...No helping it.'
Even if it bummed me out, I'd just endure.
I headed to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and started washing up. Midway, a question arose.
Whenever I finished showering, the drain was always clogged with a huge clump of long hair.
'...Do women's hair really fall out this much?'
Come to think of it, I'd read somewhere that the longer the hair, the more it sheds.
'...Not balding, right?'
...No, objectively, I'd been under a ton of mental stress lately.
What if... no way?
No, no. With no dagger nearby, negative thoughts bubbled up again.
Don't think negative.
Positive. Think positive.
Just because my hair's long.
Repeating that to myself, I finished showering. Then, a hallucination sounded from somewhere.
Rockbell. The bald teacher's voice.
"Gasp!"
No, go away!
Not excellent at all!
Balding when I never did even as a guy? No way.
Scram, you bald bastard!
I bolted to the bed and buried my head in the pillow.
[...It truly won't increase. Why?]
...Magic power talk, right? Not hair.
I shot up and snapped a photo of my scalp with my phone camera.
'...Hair's still thick.'
The pic showed plenty—no sign of balding.
'Phew.'
Just looked like a lot 'cause it's long. Unnecessary worry.
The alert rang in the quiet room. The novel had passed chapter 40 already. Funny thing about this author—he sometimes did mass releases. Views at zero since I dropped it, though.
First time he did, curiosity got me to check, but nothing useful. Just posted two reports.
Maybe drop some hate comments. I opened the novel and tapped out on my phone.
[Fold it.]
20 seconds later, before views ticked up, I posted the comment and bounced. Heh. Still not quitting?
I cackled, tossed the phone, and lay on the bed. Sure enough, time passed and the hallucinations began.
Ah.
Shit.
No good. Too loud. The whole weekend like this would drive me insane.
...I needed the dagger.
I grabbed my phone again and texted Han U-sol.
[Hey. Meet tomorrow.]