Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Hero's Woman
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As soon as a woman opened the door and stepped into the dimly lit room, the lights flicked on automatically.
The room was about the same size as Seong Sua's, with a similar layout, but the hygiene was worlds apart.
Pizza boxes and plastic bags from instant meals were piled up in every corner.
Taking advantage of the spacious room, its owner shuffled toward the bed.
She had short bobbed hair, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and jeans that hugged her legs nicely.
Cho Seo-hyun dove onto the bed with a groan.
"Agh... I'm dying..."
She lay face-down on the bed, grumbling, then turned her head and gazed out the glass window, suddenly breaking into a sly grin.
"Seriously... what kind of guy is he?"
Cho Seo-hyun recalled the sparring match with the cadets that morning.
The training had gone smoothly through Group 5, but the difficulty spiked with Group 6.
Group 6's cadets trusted Song Ara's skills, pouring all their power into her as they unleashed a fierce assault on Cho Seo-hyun.
To make matters worse, Seong Su-ho's constant assistance had vanished.
In what could have been a dangerous situation, she received help once again.
"Can arrows really curve like that at will? Was it auxiliary magic?"
The archery Seong Su-ho displayed that day went beyond skill—it felt like a miracle.
His curved shots evaded the cadets blocking his path in ways Cho Seo-hyun had never seen before.
Seong Su-ho's profile didn't list archery as a specialty, but the notes mentioned he could use magic to some degree.
However, it specified his talent was so lacking it was embarrassing—below cadet level, used only for handling crises.
The moment Song Ara swung her sword at Cho Seo-hyun, Seong Su-ho's arrow flew in, knocking it aside. The other cadets watched helplessly as their weapons were sent flying one by one.
Fine, arrows could curve mid-flight. But one thing still nagged at her.
"...They definitely lacked power before, but today it was completely different... Knocking weapons out of their hands isn't normal impact."
New cadets at the embassy undergo grip strength training throughout their first semester.
They train with real weapons, practicing swings all day to endure the weight.
Weapons are never to be used for anything else.
Even the lowest-ranking cadets here could easily crush an adult's hand.
Yet those cadets had fumbled their weapons after Seong Su-ho's arrows struck.
Thanks to that, Cho Seo-hyun managed to get through her match with Group 6 without issue.
She wriggled around on the bed, muttering to herself.
"Haa... I'm covered in sweat. Guess I should shower first..."
Cho Seo-hyun tossed her clothes carelessly onto the floor and headed into the shower.
She turned on the hot water and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Short bobbed hair, flawless skin without a single blemish.
A sullen expression with furrowed brows she hadn't even noticed.
And... countless scars etched across her body.
Slash marks, burn scars, and stitch lines covered her from head to toe.
Tracing the scars on her body, Cho Seo-hyun murmured.
"I thought I'd overcome all this by now..."
Her mind flashed to the shadow rising from her feet during training.
The illusion that appeared every time she fought hand-to-hand.
It was definitely an illusion, but it bound her and drove her into a corner.
She hadn't seen it for two whole years.
Yet... the illusion that hadn't appeared in two years was back.
Cho Seo-hyun traced her scars, her voice choking up.
"Are you planning to haunt me forever? Did I wrong you that badly?"
Even as steam clouded the mirror white, Cho Seo-hyun teared up, gently caressing the wounds on her body.
I finished dinner and headed back to the dorms, communicating with Armonia along the way.
‘That curved shot earlier was pretty good, right?’
[Flawless, outstanding skill.]
The strategy Group 6 used in the morning class sparring with Cho Seo-hyun was brilliant.
Judging they couldn't go all-out due to my arrows, one cadet sacrificed their performance to mark me exclusively, allowing the rest to focus everything on Cho Seo-hyun.
The cadets didn't know, but I understood her temperament. I could see her condition deteriorating.
That's when I came up with using magic circles for curved shots.
I placed magic circles to the sides or above the cadet marking me, firing arrows that could loop back.
Of course, not ordinary arrows—superconducting ones.
Those arrows veered under lightning magic's influence, gaining immense acceleration and destructive power.
That let me knock the cadets' weapons from their hands, giving Cho Seo-hyun some breathing room.
Without aiming skill, even with those abilities, I couldn't have hit precisely.
‘Way stronger than flicking with fingers, but it uses Enel every shot, so I gotta be careful.’
400 Enel per shot. Not expensive at all.
Especially since my Enel reserves were comfortable right now.
Still, reckless use like this would eventually run me dry.
‘Ah, might as well level up Lightning Aptitude while I'm at it. Bring it to 10.’
[Understood.]
Since magical power and archery consume a lot of Enel, I figured raising my lightning-attribute Trait would be more helpful for now..
I decided that since I had raised my lightning-attribute Trait, I should practice..
'It's unsettling that I've stayed at level 5 for so long. Just in case, should I try practicing?'
Aiming ability wouldn't be a universal solution..
Once I raised important skills like lightning attribute, archery, or magical power, I'd need to fire a few shots so the aiming skill would be applied manually.
I stopped en route to the dorms and messaged.
‘Training rooms are available to assistant instructors, right?’
[Yes. Advanced facilities are off-limits, but basic shooting ranges are fine.]
‘...Sigh.’
I'd heard I could use what I needed, so no issue there, but my mood soured anyway.
Did they think assistant instructors would wreck high-intensity training?
Grumbling inwardly, I arrived at the shooting range.
But...
Whoosh!
"Huh?"
Someone was training.
Since it was dinner time, I thought there would likely be no one here, but I was mistaken..
'Let's just fire a few shots quickly and leave.'
If I were just shooting arrows normally, I wouldn't have to worry about others, but the practice I intended to do was for curved shots.
Inevitably, the lightning-attribute magic would make the sound much louder than a normal arrow, which would naturally draw attention and become uncomfortable.
'The cadets kept asking what that was earlier, which was a pain....'
[Endless excuses have limits. Prepare a plausible cover story.]
‘Just say it's a magic trick?’
[....]
Ah, maybe not?
I thought that since they were kids who couldn't even use magic, that would suffice.
Chatting with Armonia, I grabbed a practice bow.
The same model as the one I had used earlier.
‘...This is the "instructor bow" they gave me?’
[It seems the bows provided to assistant instructors are practice bows.]
‘...So sad, so unfair!!’
I condensed the blood flow of my anger into my hand and lifted the bow.
The moment I raised it and asked Armonia for an arrow—
The woman shooting from afar ran over, greeting me with a bright smile.
"Oh!? Instructor Seong Su-ho!"
"Huh?"
The woman approaching with arrows was Song Ara.
"Figured practicing archery might teach me how to counter Instructor Seong Su-ho's moves."
"Impressive."
I smiled back.
Not just morning—after afternoon training too, she was out here practicing a non-specialty weapon. Admirable.
What can I say? A hardworking beauty lifts a man's spirits.
[And what about men?]
‘Hey! Trying to taint my sacred inner thoughts with men!?’
[....]
My rebuke silenced Armonia.
How dare she insert men into my pure heart...
Song Ara smiled at me and started asking questions.
"Come to think of it! How did you do that earlier?"
"Ah..."
By "that," she obviously meant the curved shot.
"Just used magic with the arrow."
"What kind!?"
"Haha... Secret. Gotta have an ace up my sleeve, right?"
"Ugh..."
She dropped the curved shot question at "ace," but pressed on archery.
"Instructor! Can you check my form?"
"Ah... Not sure I can help much. You're way better than me, Cadet Song Ara."
"Nah! I'm nowhere near Instructor Seong Su-ho."
Song Ara playfully nocked an arrow and drew the string.
I could feel that my own practice was now out the window.
If she were a cadet I wasn't close with, it would be different, but I couldn't just ignore a cadet who had been considerate of me during every class break..
"I've never properly learned archery myself, so I can't guarantee I'll be a good teacher."
"That's okay! I just want to know what your style is, Instructor Seong Su-ho. That way, I can try to deal with it tomorrow. Heehee...."
Oh? Learning from me to counter me?
Most wouldn't say it outright, but she trusted me as an instructor.
Watching her attitude, I pondered.
‘I Wanna steer her toward archery if possible...’
How should I put it, there was one thing I realized after coming here as a teacher.
I think I understand why people love nurturing simulation games..
Seeing Song Ara sparked a desire to nurture her.
[It seems difficult to easily change someone's future. She is already a third-year, and changing it now might actually cause problems.]
‘Still, ongoing practice can't hurt.’
As she goofed around plucking the string, I said,
"I'll check your form. But for real lessons, go see the archery instructor."
"Yes!"
As I checked the posture of Song Ara pulling the bowstring, I ended up not getting to do my own practice.
"I worried you wouldn't come since it's late."
"Haha, no way. Standing up Instructor Seong Sua is a grave sin."
"Hehe..."
Seong Sua and I were fishing like yesterday.
But there was one difference from yesterday.
She sat me on her lap, hugging me openly as we fished.
Seong Sua led the chat about my day.
"Ara's super competitive. Every instructor here knows, even without talking to her."
"Ah... Instructor Seong Sua."
"Yes? Oh my!"
When I looked up at Seong Soo-ah, she giggled at my expression and stroked my hair.
"My goodness... Instructor Seong Su-ho. Do you have any childhood photos?"
"Haha... I left them all at home."
Mentioning home suddenly made me think of my house.
'The games I bought must still be piled up....'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[...]
On top of that, Armonia had summoned me just as I was about to jerk off, so I hadn't even been able to have imaginary sex with Seong-hee.
Seong Sua saw my gloomy expression and suddenly began to apologize, looking sorry.
"S-Sorry... Didn't mean to bring up painful memories..."
"Huh? No, it's nothing."
Seong Sua seemed truly sorry, as she lowered her head with a gloomy expression of her own..
Since I couldn't exactly say, "I'm depressed because I couldn't jerk off!" I changed the subject again.
"Um... Know anything about Instructor Cho Seo-hyun?"
"Instructor Cho Seo-hyun?"
Seong Sua didn't look suspicious of my intentions at the question..
After all, asking about ones colleagues is normal.
"Well... Even if I do, we've known each other a while, so not sure what you're curious about..."
"I heard she was famous as a cadet."
"Ah.... I did hear she was very famous at the time of admission. But after that... I don't know much...."
She seemed reluctant to even mention that the grades had been low.
Furthermore, Seong ua and Cho Seo-hyun were four years apart, so they hadn't attended the embassy at the same time.
There would be a limit to what I could learn from hearsay.
However, if she had been a top student and flourished during her cadet days, there should have been one or two anecdotes, but Seong Soo-ah explained that she had never heard any stories about Cho Seo-hyeon's time as a cadet.
"Um... Instructor Cho Seo-hyun dodoesn't really... ah... no. Please forget I said that
"..."
She gave a bitter smile and waved it off.
It was information I had heard when I first arrived, but Armonia had explained that for some reason, Cho Seo-hyeon and Seong Soo-ah did not have a very good relationship.
Is this really Love and War?
->(Note: "Love and War" is a famous Korean TV show depicting dramatic marital and relationship conflicts.)
Seong Sua waved her hand once more, then spoke to me as if something had suddenly occurred to her.
"Ah! If your friendship with Instructor Cho Seo-hyun is important, shall I pull her cadet records for you?"