Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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...Could he really not be coming again?
Seong Sua scanned the school cafeteria, searching for Seong Su-ho.
She had been waiting for him ever since the cafeteria opened.
Being Monday morning, there weren't many people around, so there was no way she could've missed him passing by.
'...Or maybe he hasn't even come to school yet? No helping it... I'll just eat alone for now.'
Sensing that Seong Su-ho wasn't showing up, Seong Sua grabbed a tray and got her food.
Just as she sat down with her meal, someone placed their tray across from her and took a seat.
Her heart fluttering with anticipation, Seong Sua looked up to see...
"Teacher!"
"Ah... it's you, Ara."
It was Song Ara, her short hair swaying as she beamed brightly.
Worried her disappointment might show on her face, Seong Sua forced a smile and spoke.
"Ara, did you have a good weekend?"
"Yep! I trained the whole time."
"Hee-hee... you're always so diligent."
In Seong Sua's memory, only one other person had trained as hard as Song Ara.
My oppa used to smile and train so earnestly back in the day.
The Cho Kang-hyun in her memories was always striving, always positive with everyone.
There had been a time when skipping rest on weekends to train, and just chatting with her in the evenings, filled him with joy.
But everything changed after Cho Kang-hyun graduated and joined the Holy Order.
No... was it after I graduated?
At some point, he stopped showing his smile, and his attitude toward her felt as if he were merely playing the part of a lover because he had to.
Haa... No, I shouldn't think like that. He must have his own struggles.
Disgusted with her own doubts, Seong Sua picked up her spoon again.
Her eyes fell on Song Ara, who was tucking into her food with gusto.
A carefree eater, oblivious to the stares around her.
Watching Song Ara devour her meal so enthusiastically reminded her of a conversation she'd overheard before.
"Ara."
Song Ara swallowed her food completely to avoid repeating her past mistake before responding.
Gulp.
"Yes?"
"Didn't you say... Instructor Su-ho is in charge of you?"
***
"What's your main weapon?"
"Well... I don't have one set in stone..."
"You must be best at something."
Cho Seo-hyun pressed me relentlessly, determined to wring an answer out of me.
After some thought, I replied.
"I'd say the bow is my strongest suit."
Cho Seo-hyun nodded at my words, then lowered her head and muttered to herself.
She had a truly beautiful crown of hair.
One thing was certain: any child she bore would never worry about balding.
"A bow, huh... Fine. We'll go with that."
"...?"
Go where?
..
..
"Class has been changed on short notice today."
At Cho Seo-hyun's announcement, the cadets in the room began to murmur.
A few who knew the network was still down grumbled to their neighbors about the inconvenience.
(I feel like I'm going crazy since I haven't been able to play games for month.)
(They should at least let us have weekend off-campus passes, right?)
(I heard instructors can just leave whenever they want. Ah, I want to go play....)
Unlike instructors, cadets considered holing up in the dorms after classes to game or surf online communities as the ultimate relaxation.
But with even that taken away, everyone was voicing their complaints.
Furthermore, since overnight leave was forbidden due to the network issues, there would be nothing for friends to do within the embassy even if they met over the weekend.
That meant all they could do was gossip inside the Consulate, but gossip requires something exciting to happen in order to be enjoyable.
With nothing but daily training and classes, what was there to discuss?
Cho Seo-hyun frowned at the growing noise and slammed the podium.
Bang!
"You think you came here to play around?!"
"..."
The cadets snapped their mouths shut under her overwhelming pressure, straightening their postures.
Impressive how such a petite woman could exude that aura. Heroes earned their title for a reason.
Cho Seo-hyun crossed her arms, her expression softening slightly as she continued.
"I get your complaints, but know your place! You're not ordinary students here—you're elite hero candidates, handpicked as the best. Got it!?"
"""Yes!"""
The cadets responded in unison with spirit.
Scanning the room, Cho Seo-hyun relaxed her stern face and spoke.
"Today's lesson... is sparring."
"..."
The atmosphere wasn't rowdy, but every cadet looked taken aback.
Sparring was the dullest part of class, and they wondered if the strict vibe was necessary.
But Cho Seo-hyun's next words lit up their eyes.
"My opponent."
The format was simple.
One group consisting of six cadets would spar against Cho Seo-hyeon.
However, Cho Seo-hyeon wouldn't be alone..
"With... er... the assistant instructor here. That's how we'll face you."
"..."
Did she seriously forget my name?
God... a week in, and I'm still just treated like some extra.'.
That's not easy...
For starters, if Cho Seo-hyeon and I went head-to-head, it would be a one-second knockout.
I could charge in and she would slice my neck in two immediately..
I wondered if there was anything I could actually contribute while being on the same side as such an opponent.
Moreover, my role was "support.".
"Do not, under any circumstances, touch the assistant instructor. His position is archer; he will be sniping you from a distance so that you cannot focus solely on me."
"Teac-... I mean, Instructor."
"Yes?"
It was Song Ara.
She'd almost called me "Teacher" like usual but switched to "Instructor."
Arms still crossed, Cho Seo-hyun eyed her.
"Is there a problem?"
"Well... even so, against Instructor Cho Seo-hyun... Isn't the gap too wide?"
"No worries."
Cho Seo-hyun addressed Song Ara's concern directly.
"I won't attack you at all."
"...Pardon?"
"Go all out on me."
Song Ara's dumbfounded expression mirrored the entire class.
"Grading will be based on my subjective judgment. If you have complaints about your score, raise them after the lesson is over!"
"""Yes!"""
With that, Cho Seo-hyun led us to the large-scale combat training hall.
It was spacious as the name implied, dotted with trees and pillar-like obstacles.
"Each group will be given 30 minutes. In that time, use any means necessary to corner me. Don't hesitate to attack; you may come at me with the intent to kill."
"..."
Tension hung thick.
Watching Cho Seo-hyun, one worry crossed my mind.
Cho Seo-hyun... isn't she kind of weak in real field combat?
Fair enough. She'd been a hero for years. I'd trust her.
She's the meticulous type, so she's gauged their levels perfectly for this.
I grabbed the instructor-issue bow and moved to my assigned spot.
About 100 meters from Cho Seo-hyun.
'I guess she's just telling me to provide some support so I don't just slack off?'?
Don't hit me with facts in the gut...
"Group 1, come forward!"
And so the first spar began.
***
"Hey! Don't break formation like that or the instructor'll slip out!"
"What about the arrows incoming? You wanna get hit!?"
Group 1 started strong, cornering Cho Seo-hyun decently.
Four cadets specializing in close-quarters combat surrounded her, while two long-range attackers bombarded Cho Seo-hyeon relentlessly..
They already knew.
Cho Seo-hyeon was not the type of person to be injured just by being hit by arrows....
However, the formation that had started so well was quickly disrupted by Seong Su-ho's arrows, and before long, it became a complete mess..
Cho Seo-hyun, meanwhile...
"Your formation's a mess! Keep that up, and enemy reinforcements will wipe you out!"
Hands behind her back, she leisurely backpedaled, keeping distance effortlessly.
Even her retreat outpaced the cadets' sprints.
"Hey! Cover that side quick!"
"Damn it..."
Cho Seo-hyun watched their flailing with calm assessment.
'Those two need separate teamwork drills. They have good skills, but their team play is terrible.'
With her hands behind her back, she leaped gracefully, lightly bouncing into the air.
The cadets, meanwhile, were collapsing in their desperate pursuit.
And then the arrows firing in between.
Whoosh!
"Kuh! Argh, this is insane!!!"
One cadet vented frustration upon seeing an arrow embedded right in his path..
The arrows kept cadets in check without hitting or harming—precisely aimed to predict their routes.
Cho Seo-hyeon glanced at Seong Su-ho, who was visible beyond the cadets, and felt a surge of admiration.
Not bad at all? And he's just assistant instructor?
Cho Seo-hyeon had assigned support duties to Seong Su-ho solely to ensure he didn't slack off during class.
She already knew that with the cadets' current skill level, they couldn't even scratch her, let alone touch a single hair on her head.
However, as she continued to observe Seong Su-ho's skill, she immediately realized the reason why he couldn't be active as a professional Hero.
'His lower body is seriously lacking. His accuracy is incredible, but....'
She began to like the fact that the man she had found so unreliable earlier was maintaining his position so well.
But eventually, the limit became apparent.
'...His rate of fire is good, and his accuracy is great. But his penetration power, range, and lower body issues are severe. Tsk... what a waste.'
Remembering the keen eye Seong Su-ho had shown on the first day, Cho Seo-hyeon had hoped that perhaps he was a hidden master.
She had briefly entertained the idea that there are occasionally powerful individuals who choose to live quiet, ordinary lives, but she quickly let go of that hope.
By the time Cho Seo-hyeon gave up her expectations for Seong Su-ho, the sparring with Group 1 came to an end.
"Huff... huff... huff...."
"Ugh... Instructor, you're too merciless...."
"Do not worry. Your score doesn't drop just because you couldn't catch me."
Cho Seo-hyeon gave Group 1 some moderate consolation and immediately began sparring with Group 2.
..
..
As the training continued, it was eventually the turn of the final group, Group 6.
Unlike before, Cho Seo-hyeon was slightly tense.
She had spent several hours running away from the cadets under the guise of sparring, but she wasn't tired at all.
Thanks to the continuous activity, her body was simply warmed up.
However, the reason she was tense now wasn't due to fatigue.
'...Song Ara. This one won't be easy.'
It was because of Song Ara, who was in charge of the vanguard.
In terms of pure skill, they were on different levels, but she couldn't ignore Ara's pursuit, which was driven by obsession.
Cho Seo-hyeon acknowledged that once Ara got a target within her range, she would never let them go.
Cho Seo-hyeon focused as much as possible, scanned her surroundings, and shouted.
"Now, begin!"
"Haaat!"
Despite it being broad daylight, Song Ara's eyes glowed brightly, reflecting in Cho Seo-hyeon's vision.
Whenever Cho Seo-hyeon tried to create distance, Ara pursued immediately; whenever she dodged to the side, Ara caught up with her agile body.
Her pursuit was threatening enough to make even Cho Seo-hyeon nervous.
But....
'Song Ara... as expected, this is the problem.'
While Cho Seo-hyeon was thinking this, the members behind Song Ara shouted.
"Hey! Song Ara! You have to stay with us!"
"Ara!"
Song Ara was alone.
She had a flaw where, once she entered combat, she completely stopped listening to others.
It wasn't that she ignored them on purpose. The problem was her personality; once she decided to catch a target, she never looked back.
'This is a bit troublesome.... It's convenient for me, but for the kids' training... huh?'
SWISH!
The sound of air being sliced rang out as an arrow streaked across the space between Song Ara and Cho Seo-hyeon.
"Kugh!"
Startled by the sudden arrow, Song Ara instinctively stepped backward.
Watching Song Ara's reaction, Cho Seo-hyeon was impressed once again.
'Oh... his accuracy really is amazing. It must have been quite a burden to fire an arrow precisely between me and Song Ara.... Is he that confident?'
The number one priority for an assistant instructor is the safety of the cadets.
No matter how well they taught, an assistant instructor could be forcibly terminated on the spot if a cadet was injured.
Yet, Seong Su-ho had fired an arrow right between two people engaged in a high-speed exchange of offense and defense.
In the meantime, the members of Song Ara's group arrived.
"Hey! What are you doing, going off on your own like that?"
"Ara! You can't catch her alone! We have to do it together!"
"I... I'm sorry."
"It's okay. First, just calm down...."
While the other close-quarters cadets surrounded Cho Seo-hyeon, the long-range members calmed Song Ara down.
They didn't particularly blame her.
"Ara, we'll take the front. You circle around to the back and keep her from escaping through other routes."
"Yeah... got it!"
Hearing this, Song Ara instantly pivoted in a semi-circle to target Cho Seo-hyeon's rear.
However, it wasn't easy to catch the flank of the rapidly moving Cho Seo-hyeon.
"If I just give it my all— Ah!"
SWISH!
Song Ara stopped abruptly, bewildered by an arrow that suddenly zoomed past her eyes.
For a moment, feeling irritated, Song Ara was about to grumble toward Seong Su-ho.
"Instructor Seong Su-ho! Why are you only picking on me...."
"Whoa!"
"Ah! You scared me!"
"Kyaa!"
"Huh?"
When Song Ah-ra turned her head to look at her teammates, she saw that they had all stopped in their tracks, letting the fleeing Cho Seo-hyeon get away.
"Eh!? What's wrong with everyone!?"
"The, the arrows...."
"...?"
Song Ara had no idea what was happening, but Cho Seo-hyeon had seen everything.
Cho Seo-hyeon stopped unconsciously and looked at Seong Su-ho, genuinely impressed.
'He stopped four sprinting cadets just by firing arrows precisely in front of their eyes?'