A New Teacher...?
"Ahh, I've finally returned to the academy. Everything's just the same... the playground, the teachers...! I won the final battle...!"
"Si-hyun, what kinda nonsense is that?"
Lea looked up at me with a hint of pity.
"Haha, just trying out some acting~ You know, whenever I see a building like this academy, I've always wanted to say something like that."
The awakener training school was so vast and grand that it instantly brought academy regression clichés to mind.
—Whooshhh.
"Whoa~ Si-hyun! There's a magical spot over there spraying water!"
"That's called a fountain. It's got this amazing spell that makes water keep coming out forever."
Of course, that was a lie.
"Lea, wanna hop in?"
"Oom! This body wants to dip its feet in that clear water!"
Splash splash!
Under the blue sky, Lea lifted her skirt a bit to play in the water, her figure so stunning it was downright goddess-like.
Is it because it's been so long since we went out? She seems even more excited than usual.
"Hehe, Si-hyun...! Schools are such fun places!"
Lea couldn't hide her excitement, her purple eyes sparkling.
"Haha, you having that much fun, Lea?"
"Oom! This body bets there's even more fun stuff inside! This body wants to go check it out right now!"
"Alright, alright~ Let's dry off your feet first~"
I wiped the water off Lea's feet with a towel, then took her hand and headed through the school gate.
The name of this school we're entering is KAGIS. To spell it out fully, it's KAGIS (Korean Academy for Gifted Individuals with Superpowers).
·····The students apparently just call it "KAGIS" since the full name's too long.
It's got the same name as that character from LOR (League of Rare).
KAGIS is the official awakener academy established by the Korean government, sprawling across an area rivaling Yeouido.
It's a new institution founded after "Day Zero," so it doesn't have much tradition or history, but since the government put their all into it to combat ghost stories, even the main gate had this impressive vibe.
"It's seriously huge. No wonder they get students from not just Korea but neighboring countries too."
Anyway, we'd made it inside, but when was this student supposed to show up to guide us?
—
"Aduel~ I'll head to the principal's office first, so take your time looking around~♡ Oh, and I'll send a student to guide you, so just wait a bit at the main gate~"
It had already been 30 minutes since Eun-ha Mom left with her bright smile.
········Why hasn't anyone come yet? They said students sometimes get lost because the campus is so big—is that for real?
"Hmm... Can't just stand here waiting forever."
If we kept waiting endlessly for some student who might never show, our little knight might get bored.
"Lea, wanna wander around a bit first?"
"Oom! This body can't wait to explore!"
"Your feet okay? Those new shoes might be pinching a little."
"Oom... This body has been feeling a bit of a poke in its feet. Si-hyun, this body demands you carry it!"
Lea stretched out her arms like she'd been waiting for this, making a hug-me gesture.
"Haha, knew it."
—Flash.
I scooped her up princess-style and ventured deeper into the school grounds.
It was quieter and more serene inside than I'd expected. The further in we went, the more buildings there were, and suddenly Lea's eyes lit up at one on the far left.
"Si-hyun, Si-hyun! This body wants to go there!"
"Huh? That building at the end?"
The spot Lea pointed to had a luxurious building painted gold.
There's something like an S... on the outer wall, but it's too far to read clearly.
"Lea, you wanna check that out?"
"Oom! The color looks just like pudding! It must be a kitchen making super tasty pudding!"
Even at school, she's hunting for pudding. Classic Lea.
"Sure, Eun-ha Mom said we could roam freely~ Let's head there first?"
"Ooh! Let's go!"
* * *
"I've gone and taken on such an annoying job, nyang."
Twitch twitch— A girl with sky-blue cat ears grumbled as she strolled through the garden.
"I figured it was getting risky with all the demerits piling up~"
Thirty minutes ago, she'd been summoned to the principal's office and assigned a task: There were important guests at the main gate, so guide them around.
The principal had phrased it as a request, but it was basically an order.
—
"I don't wanna do something so bothersome, nyang!"
—
"Yuki dear~ If you don't cut down on those demerits, it's gonna get dangerous soon~?"
—
"Hah...?! H-how did you...?"
—
"Hehe, of course I know—I'm the principal, after all~ Anyway, no refusing, so hurry to the main gate~ There's a tall guy with brown hair and a red-haired girl waiting~"
With her demerits teetering on the edge, she couldn't refuse the principal's order. One slip, and she might lose her international student status and get sent back to Japan.
Even for a play-loving girl like her, forced deportation was the last thing she wanted.
"Should've listened to the class rep more if I knew it'd come to this, nyang~"
This meowing girl's name was Fujiwara Yuki.
Just like Han Ga-eun had fox ears from the side effects of her Fox Shrine power, Yuki had cat ears and a quirky speech pattern thanks to her own ability.
"Thought it'd get better coming to Korea~ but looks like no dice, nyang."
Truth be told, Yuki was skilled enough to skip school altogether. She was already an official member of Japan's famed Kagutsuchi Guild.
"If not for the guild master's request, I'd have ditched Korean life ages ago! Phew~"
After grumbling for about 10 minutes of walking, she spotted a man and a red-haired girl leisurely entering the golden building in the distance.
"Those must be the guests Eun-ha-sensei mentioned... but why're they heading there, nyang?"
The golden building was the S-class exclusive training hall.
Young students who awakened by dismantling ghost stories often got too absorbed in their new mysterious powers. So the school built the hall for stress relief and free ability practice.
And today was—
"The day the No. 1 blows off steam...?!"
The girl dubbed the Ice Princess used the entire hall once a month to vent the cold building up in her body.
Her chill stemmed from the Frost Queen ghost story, cold and dangerous beyond imagination. It could freeze not just air moisture but even parched sand grains.
Everyone at the school knew the risks, so no one approached the building on the days the No. 1 had it solo.
If anyone did approach, it was either a suicidal maniac or an oblivious outsider—those two types only.
·····But now, civilians were heading right in?!
"Forget demerits...!! If I don't stop this, it's a disaster, nyang!!"
The man and girl had already opened the door and gone inside.
But if she rushed them to the infirmary fast enough, even if frozen solid, they might survive with emergency treatment!
—Tadadot!
Yuki bolted toward the training hall, heart pounding so hard her fingertips shook.
Of all people, the ones she was supposed to guide! If she'd skipped slacking and gone straight to the gate, none of this would've happened!
"Huuu... It's all my fault...! Please don't be dead, nyang!"
····· Yuki reached the door in no time, but she couldn't muster the courage to open it.
The utter silence—no screams, no sounds—felt like it was whispering the two were already frozen stiff.
B-but if I rescue them quick, they might still live, nyang!
Yuki steadied her nerves, gripped the handle, and flung the door open.
—Bang!
"Ice Princesssss!!! G-general civilians just came in here, nyang! Y-you gotta stop your power right—huh... nyang...?"
Yuki froze at the sight before her.
No frozen corpses, no horrific screams.
Just— the Ice Princess with blue eyes, nestled in a man's arms, wearing a small smile.
"Huu... ? Th-the Ice Princess is... s-smiling, nyang...?!"
Ice Princess, Cheon Seol-hwa. No one had ever seen her smile.
Not at entrance ceremonies or her top-rank speeches—she never even showed joy at her easy wins.
Yet now, she smiled softly, like basking in warm spring sun.
"Haaa... Teacher Si-hyun... I missed you..."
Calling the man in a voice sultry for the first time ever.
"······?????"
Yuki stood dumbfounded at the door, replaying the scene over and over.
Am I already frozen and dreaming this, nyang...?
Even if the Ice Princess had retracted her power the moment she saw civilians, the chill would've lingered...
So how was that guy casually standing there, stroking Seol-hwa's hair unscathed?
I heard only powerhouses like Eun-ha-sensei can handle Seol-hwa's cold...
Wait. Seol-hwa had just called that guy "Teacher."
And he'd dispelled the chill without lifting a finger.
Which means...?
"No way... that's the new S-class teacher, nyang?"