Ch 109
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 109
I opened my eyes to the pressure and found some puppy sitting on my stomach.
The one with three heads, could it be...?
—Hey, hurry up and get up.
"Kainakan?"
—Yeah, it's me.
This guy could transform into such a small size too? But why is he being so friendly... Ah, I completed the Formless Sword at the end.
They say superhuman abilities can manifest in urgent situations, and luck was on my side.
Honestly, I don't think I could do it again if asked...
Seeing that my shattered shoulder and leg were fine, Luciel must have healed me.
"How long was I... No, more importantly, where is Luciel?"
—The master is over there. Go to the master quickly.
Looking in the direction Kainakan pointed with his front paw, I saw Luciel sitting with her eyes closed next to the Demon Realm Tree.
But somehow her expression looked quite bad.
"Why is she acting like that?"
—It's all because of you. When fighting you, she overexerted herself, which accelerated the erosion of demonic energy.
So she overexerted herself when fighting me.
Well, if she had just accepted treatment peacefully when she offered to heal me and teach me magic, this wouldn't have happened.
—You definitely said you could heal the master earlier, right? Since the master healed you, you should hurry and heal the master too.
"I got it, so move aside."
I got up from my spot and approached Luciel.
—Are you awake now?
"Yeah. Thanks for the treatment. I'll start treating you right away too."
—Can you really heal me?
"Didn't I pass the test? That's why you healed me."
—Right. So how will the treatment...?
"Just stay comfortable. I'll handle it myself."
—Comfortable? I understand.
The cloths covering Luciel's body began to disappear, so I hurriedly turned my head away.
"What are you doing? Why are you suddenly taking off your clothes?"
—Didn't you tell me to stay comfortable?
"Well... Even if clothes are uncomfortable, just keep them on. If you take them off, I'll be uncomfortable."
—You're uncomfortable? Tsk tsk, you know what's pretty despite being ugly.
"Stop calling me ugly. You're not my type either."
—This... Mere human.
"Who got attacked three times by this 'mere human'?"
—Tch, just heal me.
"Yes, yes. Then I'll start."
I placed my hand on Luciel's back.
I began pushing in my internal energy and exploring, and I was slightly surprised.
Angels also have meridians very similar to humans.
Moreover, like a newborn baby, all meridians were open.
There were no blocked areas, so I scattered my internal energy everywhere while exploring, but Luciel kept moving.
"What are you doing? Don't move."
—It, it tickles... Is it normally like this?
"You seem overly sensitive. Just endure it."
As a result of exploring every corner, I could feel three types of energy as described in the original work.
One was an incredibly bright and clear energy, another was damp and sticky.
The remaining one was much damper than the second energy and gave off a dangerous feeling that made me want to retch just from slight contact.
Looking at it, the first seemed to be the angelic energy Luciel originally possessed, the second was the demonic energy obtained from falling, and the last seemed to be the demonic energy left by the Demon King.
"I'm going to absorb the demonic energy from now on, so relax your body."
—You're going to absorb demonic energy? Then you'll be in danger...
"I'm fine, so don't talk and concentrate."
I drew Luciel's demonic energy into my body.
Like a living creature, it thrashed violently as soon as it entered my body, but when I operated my mental technique, it was refined into internal energy.
It wasn't completely refined in one go, making my energy center tingle, so I circulated the mental technique once more and it finally calmed down.
"I think I need to do this about three more times. How is it? Can you feel the demonic energy decreasing?"
—I can feel it. Are you okay? How can a human handle demonic energy...
"I'm fine, so stay still."
As I thought, after repeating it three more times, I was able to completely eliminate the Demon King's demonic energy.
"I've eliminated the Demon King's demonic energy... Wait, can you stay like this for a moment?"
—What, what are you trying to do?
"I have something to experiment with."
—Experiment? Do you think I'm...
"It'll benefit you if anything, it won't harm you. You can trust me now, right?"
—Ah... Okay.
I tried to draw the second energy, the demonic energy, into my body, but unlike the Demon King's demonic energy, it was difficult to control since it was power that had originally settled in Luciel's body.
"I'm trying to help you, so cooperate a bit."
—Should I send the demonic energy toward you?
"Right."
When Luciel helped with the control, the demonic energy that wouldn't budge began flowing into my body.
It was definitely less rough than the Demon King's energy, so it changed into internal energy with just one circulation of the mental technique.
I tried sending the energy that had become internal energy back to Luciel, but perhaps because it had become internal energy, it couldn't stay in Luciel's body and returned to me.
—The energy disappeared.
"Sorry. This doesn't seem to work. It's all done."
I had tried to purify not only the Demon King's demonic energy but also the demonic energy created when Luciel fell, but I failed.
In the original work, there was no separate explanation, so I thought it might be possible...
I removed my hand and stood up.
Although I failed to purify the demonic energy created from her fall, just removing the Demon King's demonic energy seemed to help, as Luciel's expression brightened considerably.
—Are you okay?
"I'm perfectly fine. Now it's your turn to keep your promise."
—Good. What magic do you want?
"I'd like to learn everything, but first, regeneration magic."
—Regeneration? Your treatment should be complete. If there's still a painful area, I can treat you again...
"No. I'm fine, but there's someone I want to heal with regeneration magic."
—Huh?
I briefly explained about Minha's situation.
—Is this child called Minha perhaps your mate?
What mate! Do I look like I'd wear a silver bracelet?
"I'd get arrested for that. I don't have those kinds of feelings. She's just one of the children I teach."
—You risked your life fighting me for just one child you teach?
"Not 'just one child I teach,' but my student."
—Isn't that the same thing?
"You also chose to fall for the sake of other angels."
—How do you know that...?
"I know quite a lot."
—I made the natural choice as an Archangel.
"I also made the natural choice as Minha's homeroom teacher."
She looks slightly moved.
—Your face is ugly, but you're a kind-hearted guy.
This one is calling me ugly again...
"I told you earlier, but you're not my type either. Just teach me magic."
—For someone like that, your face turned completely red earlier!
"That's because you shamelessly took off your clothes. Men and women should maintain propriety."
—What? Do you see me as a woman? How ridiculous... Huh? It turned red again. Did you imagine something?
"St-stop talking nonsense and just teach me magic!"
—Your flustered expression isn't bad. Aren’t you a little cute?
"It's rude to say such things to a grown man. Hurry up and teach me magic."
—Fine. Have you ever learned other magic before?
"No."
—Uh... No? Then what gave you the confidence to ask me to teach you magic?
"Can't you just learn by doing it?"
I've never learned magic, but anyway, the protagonist Lee Ji-sung proved that magic can be used as long as you have internal energy.
—Just do it! What are you going to do without even the basics?
"Basics?"
—A guy who can't even walk wants to run. Do you think magic is easy?
"I didn't think that... Can't you do it if you work hard?"
***
—I told you not to do it like that, you idiot!
"Aren't you being too harsh? A-anyway, the foot grew back. This much progress in 4 days is remarkable development."
It's already been 4 days since I started learning magic from Luciel.
Luciel was very worried.
But I thought I could somehow manage if I worked hard, and indeed, the basics and theory had aspects that were somewhat similar to martial arts, so I could get through them quickly.
However, regeneration magic was high-level among magic, so learning it was never easy.
Still, since yesterday I've been practicing by cutting off Kainakan's foot and regenerating it, and I've been failing continuously but finally succeeded.
But the joint grew completely backwards, creating a bizarre appearance.
—So you think you did well now? Are you going to fix your student's arm like that too?
"Of course not."
—Then try again.
As soon as she spoke, Luciel cut off Kainakan's foot again.
I tried three more times, but they all attached strangely.
—Really frustrating. How can you not do something this easy?
Luciel sighed and flicked her finger, making Kainakan's foot grow back normally.
"Still, doesn't it seem like I'll be able to do it soon? Don't be so harsh. If you crush my spirit, I won't be able to do what I can do."
Despite consecutive failures, there's no need to be impatient.
Even Luciel, who's criticizing me now, said I could succeed within 3 months at most.
Of course, there's only about a month left until the deadline I promised Minha.
But since time flows 30 times slower here, it's sufficient.
—You're good with words anyway. You're going back soon, right?
It's been 5 days since I came here. About 4 hours would have passed in outside time.
I need to take a plane back to Korea first, but coming back here isn't a problem.
I can return anytime by tearing the Demon Realm Tree leaves I got plenty of from Luciel.
"I told you I'm coming back. So be nice to me while I'm here. Are you sad that I'm leaving?"
—Sad? Who's... A guy as ugly as you, it doesn't matter whether you're here or not!
Even though she says that, I now know it's not sincere.
At first, she was quite high-handed and prickly, but for 4 days Luciel really did her best to teach me.
When resting, we talked a lot and became quite close.
"Then I'll get going."
—Already? Didn't you say you'd leave tomorrow?
"The time isn't certain. I'm coming back anyway."
My phone was smashed in the fight with Luciel.
Of course, Kainakan told me the approximate time, but it's not exact.
—You said you'd come in 5 months. Won't you forget everything you learned?
I'm planning to come back next weekend, but one day outside is 30 days here.
If I come back next weekend, 5 months will have passed.
"I'm not stupid. And 5 months is the maximum, I'll probably come earlier than that."
—Really? Then when will you come?
Just a moment ago she said it didn't matter whether an ugly guy like me was here or not, but now she's asking with sparkling eyes.
Such a dishonest girl.
"Well... I'll probably come at least once a month? Maybe even more often. Of course, I won't be able to stay long."
I'm thinking of coming here with work stuff when I need to work overtime on weekdays.
Seeing that clothes and other items I had on my body came with me when I crossed over, I should be able to bring a laptop too.
Just 30 minutes of overtime becomes 15 hours, so I'll be freed from overtime from now on.
Of course, I'll age faster by that much...
Still, well, my master said aging comes slowly from the transcendent level onwards, so it should be fine as long as I don't come too often.
Anyway, I need to learn regeneration magic quickly and there's a lot of other magic to learn, so I have no choice but to come often.
—That's still too long.
"I'll drop by as often as possible. And next time I come, I'll bring various things if there's anything to bring."
Like I did for my master, I'll load videos on my laptop and bring snacks, and since Luciel likes books, it would be good to buy e-books and bring them.
—You promise?
"Yeah. I'll promise, so you promise not to forget me too. I don't want to fight when I come next time."
—Me... Me too? Okay.
That girl Luciel answered with a reluctant expression, then suddenly approached me and pressed her lips to my forehead.
"What are you doing?"
—What? In the Heavenly Realm, we do this as a pledge of promise!
"I-is that so?"
I don't think there was anything like this in the original work...
"You're promising too, so hurry up and do it."
She thrust her forehead forward with a displeased expression, but I couldn't possibly do it, so I flicked her forehead.
FLICK!
—Ow! What, what are you doing?
"In our world, we don't do that when making promises. Here."
I held out my pinky finger as I spoke.
—What are you trying to do?
"We link pinky fingers and make promises."
Actually, this is just as cringeworthy... But well, it's a hundred times better than kissing foreheads.