An Yumin's Room (1)

An Yumin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recognized me and called my name.

Long reddish-brown hair.

Today was the weekend, so unlike usual she was dressed in casual clothes.

She almost never wore skirts.

The tight jeans paired with a ribbed knit sweater suited her perfectly.

Just the same as always.

Unlike Ha Yeeun, An Yumin was thorough about her self-management.

I smiled at her slightly flustered expression.

"Didn't expect to run into you here. You came to pick out a weapon too?"

Rain Weapons was a membership-only shop that cadets of our level could barely set foot in.

But for An Yumin, coming and going from a place like this wasn't strange at all.

With Aegis's current reputation, that much was more than enough.

"I... I... that is..."

Just as she tried to answer me, her eyes met Choi Hana's, who was standing beside me.

"......"

She fell silent and simply brushed past the two of us without a word.

"Then, please deliver the item I ordered..."

She spoke briefly to the clerk and hurried out of the shop.

Being near me must have felt unbearably awkward.

Well, that makes sense.

She was the one who had piled up enough feelings toward me to lead my exile.

To An Yumin, who thought of me as a pervert who hit on any woman he saw, even a single exchange of words must have been repulsive.

If not for the Absolute Calm effect of my title, I would have grabbed her right then and tried to clear up the misunderstanding.

But now, I didn't care in the slightest how An Yumin thought of me.

"Shall we head over to the weapons section, then?"

I spoke to Choi Hana, who had been watching the two of us with her hands clasped together.

She wasn't particularly close to An Yumin, so she had stayed quiet and awkward, but the moment our eyes met she answered with energy.

"Yes! Please take care of me!"

Yet she quickly averted her gaze again.

Today I had been the one to call Choi Hana out first.

Hell Week was coming next week.

I had decided to help her prepare for the training.

Hell Week required every cadet to participate with their main weapon, so—

I promised to recommend a new one for her.

Unlike An Yumin, Choi Hana still hadn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠undergone her 2nd Awakening.

Choi Hana's first authority: One Who Resonates with Metal.

Just as the name suggested, it was an authority that resonated with metallic materials and could reshape them into all sorts of forms.

She had been activating it through metal chains as her main weapon, transforming the ends into fire-attribute to add explosive force.

Her basic physical balance was solid, so it wasn't a bad combat style.

But Choi Hana isn't a physical fighter.

She was completely different from An Yumin, who was a pure physical warrior through and through.

As an alchemist, there was no need to force her growth path into close combat.

There was a new class far more suited to her.

It would be good to lock that direction in firmly starting now.

Hell Week included a Villain Assault quest.

The villain's schemes would pin down the high-class cadets, so having a middle-class cadet who would actively support me would make clearing the quest much easier.

"Um... even though you're busy, thank you so much for taking the time to guide me!"

"It's not guidance. I'm just offering a little advice."

Naturally, Choi Hana—who had already agreed to form an academy party with me—was the ideal partner.

I needed to help her in advance for underworld matters as well.

Unlike academy content, underworld content was considerably more difficult. In reality, lives could be on the line.

"No, really! Instructor Lee Suyeon has been praising you a lot too, Junwoo!"

That made me feel oddly awkward.

After the test in the first lecture, Free Major classes had continued through the week.

In those roughly two lectures, Instructor Lee Suyeon had brought up my name constantly.

"New authorities don't just fall out of the sky!"

"Even on ordinary days, you need to keep thinking about which attribute you're more familiar with—or which sub-attribute you can theoretically approach the fastest. Just like Lee Junwoo over there!"

Having Instructor Lee Suyeon say things like that was embarrassing.

She seemed to be under the impression that I had always been training sub-attributes as a matter of course.

I did study the theory, sure.

But in reality I was just riding the benefits of my authority, so the excessive praise left me a little guilty.

She even recommended me for class president. That was really awkward.

Even Lim Jaeho and Jeong Siu hadn't opposed it.

But in every way, Lim Jaeho was better suited for the role.

I yielded the position without a second thought.

"You ranked first, Junwoo. And you're just going to hand it over to me?"

Lim Jaeho had asked in a voice full of doubt.

"I'm not particularly interested in the position. It'll be better if you do it."

In the original story it was a good position for building connections with the student council, but I had already formed a link with Vice President Scarlet on that side.

There was no need for me to take on that bothersome work myself.

"I just got lucky. Anyway, this weapon should work. Shall we zero it in first?"

"Y-Yes!"

I selected a suitable assault rifle and headed with her to the practice range inside the shop.

"Looks like the zeroing is solid enough. Still, since your main weapon is changing, practice with it often."

"Understood!"

"Then will you wait here a bit? I'm going to drop off my own weapon for a moment."

"Y-Yes!"

Lee Junwoo stepped away for a short while.

Choi Hana took a seat at the café set up on one side of Rain Weapons and tried to calm her racing heart.

Why am I like this?

She had learned basic marksmanship back in high school academy, but with chains as her main weapon, guns still felt awkward.

So earlier, while she was zeroing the rifle, Lee Junwoo had helped her.

Naturally their bodies had touched.

He hadn't seemed the least bit awkward about it.

Choi Hana, on the other hand, had been so conscious of him that she had to desperately hide what she was feeling.

Is what Scarlet unnie said actually true?

Today Lee Junwoo had called her out.

"Men don't call a woman out for no reason! They only ask for dates with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠women they actually intend to seduce. Things like going to a café together, watching a movie, or grabbing a meal."

Of course that had been Scarlet exaggerating.

Today he had simply brought her here to recommend a new weapon.

They were going to be party members soon, so it was only natural.

Wait. Even if this is a weapon shop, it's still a café.

It wasn't some crude makeshift corner either.

As a membership-only luxury weapon shop, the indoor café was far more elegant than any ordinary franchise place.

If I'd known it would be like this, I should have worn something other than the maid outfit...

Because of Junwoo's text saying they would meet tomorrow, sleep had strangely refused to come.

She had overslept as a result and had no time to choose clothes, so she had no choice but to put on the familiar maid uniform.

Th-That's right. It's just a misunderstanding. Lee Junwoo is a noble holy knight. On top of that, he's an incredible talent who crushed even that monster Lim Jaeho and took first place.

Just then, Junwoo returned after finishing his business.

"Well, since it's about that time, shall we go grab lunch? I know a good place nearby."

At those words Choi Hana froze for a second and completely missed the timing to answer.

"Too early? Then how about we catch a movie first and eat afterward?"

That made her freeze even harder.

R-Really... just like Scarlet unnie said...

Maybe Lee Junwoo actually had feelings for her.

It could simply be excessive self-consciousness, but she couldn't stop Scarlet's words from replaying in her head.

Helping so kindly with choosing a weapon... and even with zeroing the sights... does he really like me?

She had never dated anyone before, so she had no idea how to process the situation.

And a movie, of all things. According to Scarlet unnie, if a guy suggests watching a romance film together...

She couldn't help her thoughts drifting that way.

But if Lee Junwoo truly had feelings for her, it wasn't an unpleasant idea at all.

"Shall we head out, then?"

At his words, Choi Hana hurriedly nodded.

Not a bad day overall.

I had parted ways with Choi Hana and returned to the dorm.

I hadn't expected to run into An Yumin at Rain Weapons, but I would be seeing her next week anyway.

I had reconfirmed that the Absolute Calm effect of my title was rock-solid, so there would be no problem at all continuing my villain activities as the "Avenger."

And forming a connection with Choi Hana this quickly was a huge gain.

Rain Weapons.

The place didn't just sell finished weapons—it also operated workshops for master craftsmen.

As a luxury shop, they directly employed skilled dwarf artisans.

In the original story, getting the Rain Weapons workshop opened up was quite difficult.

I checked the Holy Knight Sword I had just enhanced again.

Middle-class dorms were single rooms, so I could do whatever I wanted without worrying about prying eyes.

I had enhanced the Holy Knight Sword twice at the Rain Weapons workshop.

Perfect timing for a successful enhancement.

I had stockpiled a lot of currency through quest clears so far.

The system currency used for the enhancement was Gold.

The system and its currency were a kind of cheat that only applied to me, the one who had been possessed into this game world.

But there was a way to use that system currency in reality.

Because rune characters exist.

Think of them roughly like QR codes.

The system issued rune characters that could hold the real-world value of 50,000 gold.

Rune characters were a type of relic excavated from dungeons—magical writing that carried special power in the letters and sentences themselves.

I had the system generate blacksmith-related rune characters and sold them to the workshop craftsman.

In exchange, I got the Holy Knight Sword enhanced.

Damage and durability had both risen.

In Hell Week I would have to cut down countless monsters, so of course the better the weapon, the better.

The more monsters I cut down, the more my stats rise.

The efficiency of stat growth was completely different now compared to when I had been powerless.

My user level had also risen to 15, unlocking yet another cheat effect.

Exactly—the Expanded Status.

Even with the same base stats, far more detailed growth had become possible.

Through Instructor Lee Suyeon's lectures I had already set the direction for my skill development for the time being.

A holy knight with added fire attributes.

To make that work, I would also need to use future status bonuses efficiently.

In that sense, Expanded Status was a perfect cheat.

Most ordinary users found it too bothersome and rarely used the feature, but by distributing stats in finer detail you could acquire higher-grade skills.

Hell Week. With this, I've prepared properly.

And I had managed to rest reasonably well too.

I had visited a restaurant that would have felt a little awkward to go to alone, and while I was out I had even watched ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a romance movie that matched my tastes.

There was even a couple event where you could get a signed photo card from the director.

Of course Choi Hana and I weren't anything like that, but it was a film by a director I really liked and had wanted to see no matter what.

So I had asked her for help.

Naturally I had bought the tickets myself.

Probably a win-win for both of us.

With that, I checked my expanded stats and threw myself into developing new skills.

"Hhk..."

An Yumin set down the barbell she had been holding.

This is weird. Lately the balance in my weight training keeps feeling off.

It had been like this for months now.

Even after exiling Lee Junwoo she had never once skipped her weight routine, yet something was clearly wrong.

Compared to when I was with Junwoo... everything now is completely different.

In the end she couldn't finish her usual routine and returned to the dorm.

After showering she lay down on the bed right away.

Going to sleep early was necessary to maintain her physical condition, and condition management was a basic requirement for any hero.

But An Yumin already knew.

Tonight, just like every other night, the insomnia that had been plaguing her would keep her from falling asleep easily.

......

Lying on the bed with her was a large teddy bear.

The very gift Lee Junwoo had given her on her last birthday.

An Yumin pulled the teddy bear into her arms and once again recalled the words she had been unable to ask him that morning.