Ch 159
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 159
"You... You submitted a resignation letter?"
"Yeah."
I expected her to be surprised to some extent, but her expression was much more shocked than I anticipated.
"Then you're retiring?"
"Not exactly yet. The Vice Principal said he'd process the resignation after the vacation and told me to think about it more. Though I don't really plan to change my mind."
"Why so suddenly... Ah, are you planning to come to our Ares Guild next year?"
"Huh?"
"You're worried about me, aren't you? You don't have to go that far. Really, Teacher..."
She's completely barking up the wrong tree.
This must be what they mean when they say someone drinks the kimchi soup before being offered rice cakes.
Come to think of it, Se-jin has been saying she wanted to scout me since before.
"No. I have no intention of doing guild activities."
"What? Then what are you planning to do after quitting school?"
"Well. I've made some plans, but the preparations aren't completely ready yet, so it's a secret for now."
"A secret?"
"I'll explain properly once the preparations are finished and everything's confirmed."
"Making me curious... You should have just told me later. When will the preparations be done?"
"I'll explain before we leave for the WHCU competition."
I had thought of various excuses in case she kept pressing, but it's somewhat unexpected that she readily agreed.
Even though I didn't explain properly.
"You don't seem too worried about becoming unemployed?"
"You have plenty of money and you're still acting pitiful..."
"So if I were poor, you would have opposed it?"
"No. Money doesn't matter. Even if you were penniless, as long as you choose me, I could support us both."
How touching.
Se-jin, how does she manage to say such sweet things?
"That's reassuring. Should I try living as a freeloader from now on?"
"Don't say things you don't mean. I know you're not the type to live idly like your Master."
Ouch.
...In my previous life, even if not to the extent of living as idly as my current Master, living leisurely was my dream.
"Earlier you were taking Master's side, and now you're dissing him when he's not here? I should tell him everything."
"What? No, I didn't mean it that way..."
"I'm joking."
Though it might look like he's just lazing around, Master is constantly maintaining balance with his mental focus so that Luciel's body doesn't collapse.
Even while doing that, he finds time to look after Se-jin's martial arts too.
My martial arts... It seems like it's been quite a while since he taught me anything.
Come to think of it, I'm the only one being discriminated against.
He takes good care of Se-jin and Luciel while completely neglecting me.
Just a little while ago, he beat me up in front of the kids using a sparring match as an excuse for something that could have been overlooked.
Thinking about it this way makes me feel hurt.
I should restrict his ramen supply soon.
If I don't buy any at all, he'll cause a fuss... Right.
I should buy about ten boxes of mild flavor.
***
"Teacher?"
"You're here? You came early again today. Wait a moment, let me wash my face and then let's go eat breakfast."
It's already been two weeks since I started supplementary training with Eunseo.
When I was preparing for the competition with Se-jin before, we stayed at a training camp in Gangwon Province, but this time we're staying at school.
Last time, Kim Dae-chan was being unreasonable, but anyway, it came up in conversation.
This time, neither Teacher Kim nor Teacher Hong are helping with the supplementary training.
Moreover, Eunseo and I had a scandal before, so I have to be even more careful.
"You didn't go to the dormitory and stayed here the whole time?"
"I was analyzing other participants. Though I didn't pull an all-nighter - I slept here and there."
It's ironic to be doing supplementary training like this when I'm planning to quit school, but since the participant is Eunseo, I have no choice.
They say no finger doesn't hurt when bitten, but relatively less-used fingers like the pinky would hurt more even when bitten with the same force.
Though I think of all the students in the swordsmanship class and other students in my homeroom as equally my disciples, Eunseo is a bit special.
As they say, familiarity breeds affection - the time Eunseo and I have spent together is by no means short.
Eunseo and I have many memories together.
She helped me a lot during my first year as a homeroom teacher.
When Minha got injured, I know she even took over class representative duties and tried her best to maintain the class atmosphere.
Just this summer vacation ceremony, thanks to her, I even avoided training.
Though a teacher shouldn't play favorites with students, teachers are human too.
If something comes, something should go as well.
I should pay a little more attention to her.
And since this is the last time, I hope Eunseo wins.
Of course, Eunseo is a second-year so there's next year too, but next year will be the protagonist's solo stage.
That's why I taught her martial arts and spent several days analyzing opponents.
Fortunately, among this year's participants, there's no one on a completely different level like Se-jin or Bianca.
The participants from Japan and America are a bit strong, but Eunseo should be able to defeat them sufficiently.
"What should we eat for breakfast?"
"Anything is fine with me."
Since it's vacation, the cafeteria isn't operating, so we usually go out to buy breakfast.
Originally, in the early days of supplementary training, we used to buy food the evening before and eat in our respective dormitories before class, but since last week we've been conducting portal raids focused on practical training.
"Don't you know 'anything' is the hardest thing to choose? If you don't decide clearly, we're going to eat Chueo-tang with plenty of fresh loaches."
"Chueo-tang sounds good."
Huh? This isn't right.
"When I went there before, they only had kimchi, eggplant side dish, and seaweed stems as side dishes."
"Eggplant and seaweed are so good for your body. That's totally my style."
Actually, I can't eat Chueo-tang, and I don't like seaweed stems or eggplant either.
"I was just saying. Let's jog a bit and then eat hamburgers."
"Teacher, hamburgers are bad for your body."
"But hamburgers have vegetables and meat in them, right? And bread for carbohydrates too."
Shouldn't a high school girl normally like hamburgers, tteokbokki, or pasta?
I don't know if all high school girls these days are like this or if Eunseo is special.
We came out to the swordsmanship training ground, jogged lightly for about twenty laps, and then got in the car together to leave school.
We bought burgers at the drive-through and while eating, I searched for portals on the Hunter Net app, and coincidentally a B-grade 4-person portal appeared nearby.
Recently we'd mainly been going to D-grade or mostly C-grade portals, but since the competition isn't far off now, it should be fine to raise the level a bit.
Of course, in the regular curriculum, second-years only go up to E-grade and don't go to D-grade until the summer of their third year, but Eunseo fought quite well against C-grade monsters.
Of course, we're not doing full raids like active hunters - I clean up most of the monsters and leave about one for her to fight.
"There's a B-grade 4-person portal next to Haengbok District Office, what do you think?"
"B-grade?"
"What, not confident?"
Eunseo is good in every way, and though she's improved a lot recently, she still has a somewhat timid personality.
She could have a bit more confidence.
"No. Let's go."
"Don't worry too much. We'll do it the same way we've been doing."
Fighting people and fighting monsters are different, but practical experience is essential for gaining real-world experience.
Moreover, for a gentle soul like Eunseo, the most important things are confidence and a heart that doesn't hesitate.
I'm applying for the portal... Huh?
While I was thinking for a moment, did another party apply? The application button turned gray.
"Huh? Teacher, it looks like this one's closed."
"It's fine. If we apply, theirs will be canceled."
Originally, portal assignments not allocated to guilds are strictly first-come-first-served, but we're an exception.
Of course, it's not like I'm abusing my power as an S-rank hunter and honorary director of the Hunter Association to tell people who applied first 'Hey, get lost while I'm being nice.'
It's because Eunseo is a WHCU competition participant.
Since she's representing the country, the right to priority assignment and priority entry to any portal is legally guaranteed.
Therefore, while the gray button state normally can't be clicked, Eunseo's and my Hunter Net IDs currently have WHCU participant and coach privileges, so application is possible.
If we wanted, we could enter first not only these freely assigned portals but even guild-assigned portals.
Guild-assigned portals don't even appear in general searches, and there's no need to unnecessarily interfere with guild interests, so such cases are rare.
I was going to yield if possible, but since there have been almost no B or C-grade portals recently and we've been going out to the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province almost daily, I wanted to go somewhere comfortable today.
When I pressed the gray application button, the existing applicants were canceled... huh?
There's a very familiar name in the canceled applicant list.
I finished the application and immediately made a phone call.
—Teacher? What's going on at this hour?
"The portal you just booked got canceled, right?"
—How did you... Did you cancel it, Teacher?
"Yeah. I did that."
The familiar name I saw in the canceled applicant list was Se-jin.
—Are you abusing your power as an S-rank hunter?
"What abuse of power? Even S-rank hunters can't make such cancellations. I'm going with Eunseo for WHCU supplementary training."
—Ah... So that's why.
"If it's okay, want to raid together? We're two people and you're two people too."
—Is that okay?
"I feel bad for canceling on you. In return, you can take all the profits."
—What? You don't have to go that far.
"I'm not asking you to do it for free - after the raid, please spar with Eunseo. The person you're with is a magician, right? It would be great if she could join too."
Se-jin is still part of Antiroider Guild, but this week is vacation due to team reorganization, so she's raiding with an older sister she knows.
—I'm totally fine with it... Wait a moment.
She said she'd check, so Eunseo and I moved to the portal location.
I parked in the public parking lot and when we went there, Se-jin and her colleague were already waiting.
"Teacher, over here."
"Hi. Hello, I'm Kang Shin-hyeok."
"Hello. I'm Seong Eunseo. Sister Se-jin, it's been a while."
"Wow, nice to meet you for the first time. I'm Noh Hyeon-jeong. I've heard a lot about you."
Hyeon-jeong is a graduate of 1st Hunter School like Se-jin and Eunseo, and is three years older than Se-jin.
Though this is our first meeting, I've heard about her from Se-jin too.
She said she's the closest sister in the guild.
Particularly, it was Hyeon-jeong who recommended the cat last time.
Se-jin and Eunseo know each other since they did supplementary training together last year, so I was worried only Hyeon-jeong might feel awkward, but she had such a refreshing and proactive personality that they got along well.
Though there's a bit of an age difference, I guess it's because they're fellow alumni?
They were laughing and chatting HAHA HOHO in no time, and I'm wondering if I, the only guy among three women, might be the one getting left out.
***
The portal raid took a bit longer than expected, but it really ended smoothly.
Hyeon-jeong was an A-rank magician, and while Se-jin is still B-rank, you could say her promotion to A-rank is confirmed once she completes the required number of portal raids.
To begin with, I could have handled it sufficiently on my own.
The reason it took so long was because besides Giant Snakes, two rare and expensive monsters called Trolls appeared.
Their hide is as tough as an Ogre's, and their blood is frequently used in magical research, so it can be sold for quite a high price.
Originally we should process them in the best condition possible, but Se-jin and Hyeon-jeong were understanding and let Eunseo face one of them.
Since it's a creature with tremendous recovery ability, Eunseo couldn't finish it off, but she still fought fiercely for nearly an hour and inflicted quite critical wounds.
I had Eunseo rest and gathered the corpses at the portal entrance.
"Good work."
"Good work."
"Let's spar at the portal."
"Will Eunseo be okay? She fought for nearly an hour earlier too."
"I'm fine!"
"Must be because she's young, such good spirit."
"As expected of a national representative!"
When the two tease her, Eunseo's face turns red and she can't lift her head.
"Don't tease her. Our Eunseo's face is going to burst. Eunseo, who do you want to go first with?"
"I'll go with Sister Se-jin."