Ch 152
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 152
"Everyone worked hard on the exam, and let's keep fighting tomorrow too."
"Teacher, did you make the ski resort reservation?"
"Are we going to Gangwon Province?"
"Gangwon Province is too far. I heard there are places in Pocheon and Namyangju too."
"I'll take care of it. You guys haven't even finished all your exams yet, aren't you counting your chickens before they hatch?"
"If our class just gets 5th place in finals, we'll be 1st overall."
"If you mess around and lose points, it might be dangerous, don't you think?"
"That will absolutely never happen."
"Right. We'd get bonus points if anything. I'm managing everything thoroughly, so hurry up and make the reservation."
I told them I understood and to focus on their exams, then finished homeroom.
They're very confident. I should start looking into it soon.
Should we go right when vacation starts like we did in summer?
I have to go to America for the WHCU competition in mid-January.
I'll need to set the dates for sure once exams are over.
Actually, whether the kids get 1st place or not, I'm definitely taking them to the ski resort.
They're my first students as a homeroom teacher, and they've followed along really well this past year.
They'll be busy when they become 3rd years, so I want to create one more memory for them.
When I returned to the faculty office, it was quite quiet.
"Teacher Kang, how about a drink tonight? You said you don't do supplementary classes during exam period."
I wondered why he was saying this.
Usually we're busy as hell until right before exam period, but on the actual exam day there's some leisure time.
The machines do all the grading anyway.
Just check for errors, grade essay questions, and input grades - there's no other work.
Of course, once exams end, we get busy again with students coming to check scores and grade corrections.
"Sorry. I have a prior appointment tonight."
I'm meeting with Se-jin and that older sister woman tonight.
"Really? Can't help prior appointments. How about tomorrow?"
"Didn't they say it's going to rain tomorrow? I think I heard that on the morning weather forecast."
"Rain makes it even better. How about pajeon and makgeolli?"
"Tomorrow should be fine."
I've been going to the portal every day recently, so one day off should be okay, right?
I need to catch my breath and live a little.
"Good. What about Teacher Go?"
"If Teacher Kang goes, I'll go too."
After finishing work and chatting a bit, it was already time to get off work.
I was about to clock out and go to a restaurant when I texted Se-jin.
[Got off work, are you done?]
[I finished work too, but I'm in Cheonan right now so it'll take some time to get home.]
[What time?]
[Probably around 7:30. Do you have plans today?]
[No. Then I'll come to your place around 7:40.]
The appointment is at 8, but I asked thinking we could have dinner together if Se-jin finished early, but it doesn't look like that'll work.
I was going to go to a restaurant but came back to the dormitory instead.
I won't be able to go to the portal tomorrow, so I should drop by briefly to have dinner and appease them.
I used warp magic to move to Mount Seorak.
There's quite a lot of snow, so when I move it comes up almost to my knees.
Seoul had snow too but not this much - as expected of Gangwon Province, I thought as I entered the portal.
"Shin-hyeok!"
Luciel welcomed me as usual, but her expression is brighter than usual.
"Did something good happen?"
"Yeah! Look at this."
She spreads her wings as she speaks... Huh?
The color of Luciel's eight wings has changed.
Originally all eight wings were the gray color characteristic of fallen angels, but now the bottom wing is pure white, different from the other wings.
"The wing color changed. Is that good?"
"Of course. It's proof that I'm starting to overcome the Demon Realm Tree's erosion. Now I won't fall further."
"Huh? So you can leave now?"
It's only been about two months since Luciel started learning from Master.
Master said it would take at least a year at first, but this girl's talent is completely cheating.
"Not yet. More wings need to change color."
"Ah, I see. That's disappointing."
I said it was disappointing, but I actually think it's fortunate.
It's not that I dislike Luciel, but if she could leave here, she'd try to stick to me like last time.
"Don't be too disappointed. Six more months will be enough."
"Six months?"
It took two months for one wing, so eight wings would be about 16 months... No, the speed will pick up, so it would take about a year like Master said, right?
"Yeah. The old man said it would be okay to leave if four wings change. It took two months to change one wing, so three more wings should be enough in six months."
"I... I see."
It's six months shorter than I thought.
Well, it's still better than coming out right away...
"What's with that expression? You don't seem very happy... Don't tell me you don't want me to leave?"
She glares at me like she's going to devour me.
"No... That can't be. Six months seems too long so I was disappointed..."
"Ah, what! I'll train hard. Just wait a little."
She blushes and hits my arm while speaking - I seem to have handled it well, fortunately.
Now that she's overcome the crisis of falling further, I should tell Master to teach her a bit more slowly.
***
After having dinner and chatting with Luciel and Master, it was almost time for the appointment, so I came over to Se-jin's house.
I heard sounds from the kitchen, so I went to look and saw Se-jin wearing a pink apron.
"Oh? Teacher."
"I'm here. Were you going to eat ramen?"
"Ah, yes. We ran out of rice. Since it's almost time for the appointment and Se-byeol sister will come too, I wanted to eat early and clean up."
"Should I get some instant rice?"
I don't have rice in subspace, but I have quite a lot of instant rice that Master bought to eat with his meals.
"Then just one please."
I used subspace magic to take out a box of 24.
"Oh, this is too much."
"Keep it and eat. Even if the expiration date on the package has passed, I bought it and stored it in subspace right away, so it should be fine for a month or two."
"Wow, that's really convenient. Sister Luciel taught you, right?"
"Yeah. If you need it too..."
"No. I'm already struggling just learning the sword."
Master occasionally looks after Se-jin too, not just Luciel.
While he won't spar with me when I ask because it's bothersome...
"Still, it would be useful to learn. Warp and subspace are really convenient."
"But... Great-Master said if I follow the path of Samawedo like you, Teacher, learning magic together, my skills won't improve quickly..."
I want to say that's nonsense, but my development has indeed slowed down lately.
But it's not because I'm learning magic - it's because I've been paying attention to other things besides training lately.
Even when I try to train, Master says at my level I should do it myself and won't teach me.
"The water's all boiled."
"Would you like some too, Teacher?"
"No. I just ate with Master at the portal."
Actually, smelling the ramen makes me hungry, but if I eat a whole serving I'll feel bloated.
"You're really okay, right? I won't give you any even if you ask for a bite later."
Tch, I was going to ask for just one bite, but how cold.
The most delicious ramen is the one you steal just one chopstick-full from someone else.
Hanging around with Luciel has made Se-jin quick-witted too.
Just as Se-jin finished the ramen and was about to do dishes, the doorbell rang.
"Sister Se-byeol must be here."
Se-jin and I went to the entrance and opened the door to see a woman heavily armed with a black padded jacket, mask, and hat.
"Huh?"
"Sister, you're early. Come in."
"Ah, hello."
She seems surprised to see me - Se-jin must not have told her separately.
She stands uncomfortably even after entering the house.
She wasn't like this when I saw her at the festival last time, but she seems quite intimidated by me.
"It's not like we're meeting for the first time, so don't feel too burdened and sit comfortably."
"Ah, yes."
"You are Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok, right? I didn't know you'd be here..."
"Ah, I forgot. Sorry I couldn't tell you in advance. But I thought it would be better for our teacher to help rather than me going alone..."
"Ah, okay. Yeah."
"How is the manager?"
"You knew about that too. Fortunately the surgery went well so there's no danger to his life, but many bones were broken so the recovery period will take a while..."
"That's fortunate."
I heard the situation from Se-jin, but since it was secondhand information, I asked Se-byeol to tell me the situation once more to be sure.
It was mostly similar to what I heard from Se-jin, but there was some different content too.
Especially when I heard that even the traffic accident was orchestrated by the guy who proposed the sponsorship, I was really appalled.
"Um... But how did you confirm that he's from Hwasin Group?"
Most importantly, the identity of the psychopath who caused all these incidents.
Se-byeol says the guy makes new fake SNS accounts each time to contact and then deletes them, but unless he's an idiot, there's no reason for him to reveal his identity.
From what I know, sponsors don't make direct proposals to sponsorship targets.
There's a risk of exposing their identity, and it could become troublesome if things go wrong.
Maybe it's not Lee Ji-sung's cousin after all.
"It's definitely Hwasin Group. Brother Sang-cheol... Ah, Sang-cheol is our manager. Brother overheard Manager Kim talking to the CEO, and he heard him say 'parent company royal family.'"
Then it seems to be Lee Ji-sung's cousin.
Compared to what this guy has done, Lee Ji-sung's delinquent behavior feels like child's play.
Would Lee Ji-sung become like this if he grew up without possession?
"What kind of trash bastard is that really. Sister, you saved all the evidence, right?"
Se-jin seems quite angry too.
"I saved all the Star messages."
"Then let's report it to the media right away?"
"It won't work since he said he deletes accounts right away. It probably wasn't under his real name anyway."
Se-byeol probably didn't report it because she knows this.
Well, I never planned to use the media from the start.
Even if we report to the media, with the money and power they have, making it look like Se-byeol staged it herself would be nothing.
"I heard you well. Before explaining how I can help, I want to ask one thing first - will you continue your entertainment career?"
I ask this because the solution method differs depending on whether she'll quit or continue.
"If possible... I want to continue. Being an idol has been my dream since childhood... The other members all worked really hard too, and I don't want to give up my dream."
I thought she'd say she'd quit, but it's unexpected.
I'll have to take a roundabout approach.
"I understand. You said you have about 2 years left on your contract with the current company?"
"Yes..."
"Let's nullify that first. No matter how much of a parent company royal family, it's not normal for an agency CEO to help sponsors."
I can handle Lee Ji-sung's cousin separately, but getting out of this trash agency comes first.
"I think so too, but the company won't let me go."
"They're not even giving you work. I looked into it a bit too, and if that's the case, can't you terminate the contract?"
Se-jin spoke in an indignant voice, but Se-byeol shook her head.
Se-byeol said Stevia, the group she belongs to, has had a pure concept since debut, but the company only schedules things like 19+ late-night cable broadcasts or high-exposure YouTube channels with provocative content.
"What the..."
I wasn't too surprised since I know the entertainment industry somewhat, but Se-jin looks completely shocked.
"It doesn't matter. You have the contract, right? I'll need to look at it, but we can definitely nullify it."
"How... How? The company will definitely file a lawsuit..."
"If things go according to my plan, it won't go to a lawsuit. Well, it doesn't matter if it does."
"What?"
"Teacher?"
Se-byeol looks very worried and Se-jin does too.
"What do you think the purpose of filing a lawsuit is?"