Just Come Back
With the Church leader, the Tower representative, and the heads of the three guilds gone, only two people remained in the principal's office.
"Damn it… Every time I sit through a meeting with Lady Ye-riel and Shin Seokwon, I feel like I age a whole year."
"Unfortunately, I have news that will age you another year."
"…Did Evrica get in touch?"
"Yes. The company contacted us. They said they'll lease us additional capsules to replace the ones that were stolen."
"What?"
It was an absurd story. Evrica Company had lent them equipment that got stolen—and now they were offering to lease out even more to cover the loss.
"They said the future of the Hero Academy cadets matters more than anything else."
"Looks like I'll be stuck as principal for a few more years… But why is that news that ages me?"
Anyone could see it was good news. Even if the Church cleaned up every other mess, capsules weren't equipment you could just pick up anywhere. Even the Church—hailed as the greatest guild of all—didn't have capsules of their own. Without Evrica's permission, even moving a capsule was strictly restricted.
Then the secretary delivered the news that would add a year to the principal's life.
"In exchange, they've requested the return of the stolen capsules within one year."
"…Can I just quit the principal's job right now?"
"I believe it's wiser to take responsibility while still holding the position. Bearing that burden as a private citizen would be its own kind of misery."
"Damn it."
The principal muttered under his breath—a small, grumbling sound that didn't match his appearance—and clawed at his hair.
The moment the Church's support arrived, the cleanup of the incident proceeded at breakneck speed. The Church recovered every last one of the monstrous creatures, and they spared no expense supporting the cadets and instructors who had been hurt—treatment, rescue… even the laying to rest of the dead.
Once the situation had settled somewhat, the Hero Academy instructors gathered with the principal for a meeting.
"No alarm went off… the guards vanished… and on top of that… the capsules were stolen…"
"There's an insider."
Everyone fell silent at those words. Every instructor in the room had already thought it—but hearing it spoken aloud gave the idea a weight it hadn't carried before.
"As for the guards, we've confirmed they didn't all simply vanish. Most of them… were found as corpses."
"The alarm system… someone cut the wiring with surgical precision. They severed exactly the lines they needed and nothing more."
"What, so now they've developed cable-management skills too?"
A few people chuckled at the remark. All except two.
Cho Seohyun rested her chin on her hand, biting her lip, her expression grim. Seong Sua wore the same grave look, completely unable to blend into the room's atmosphere. Only one person occupied both women's minds.
Sung Suho.
He was gone. The man who had achieved extraordinary results on the rooftop, who had saved Seong Sua and Cho Seohyun—had vanished, leaving behind an enormous quantity of blood.
That wasn't the blood of one or two people…
Which means there was one hell of a fight… And yet…
Cho Seohyun and Seong Sua had searched for Sung Suho through the entire night without a single moment of sleep. They had found not a single clue regarding his disappearance.
The principal turned toward the two women who still couldn't match the room's mood and spoke.
"Thanks to Instructor Seong Sua and Instructor Cho Seohyun yesterday, we were able to keep the damage far lower than it might have been. You have my gratitude."
"…We only did what we had to do."
"…"
Seong Sua at least managed to pull herself together enough to answer. Cho Seohyun, lost in thought, couldn't manage a word. An instructor beside her gave her a couple of taps on the arm before she finally snapped back.
"Huh? What? Why?"
"The principal is speaking…"
The principal smiled and repeated himself.
"Thanks to Instructor Seong Sua and Instructor Cho Seohyun yesterday, we were able to keep the damage far lower than it might have been. You have my gratitude."
"Ah… we got lucky. Someone helped us…"
Right now, all Cho Seohyun wanted was to bolt from the room and keep searching for Sung Suho. Seong Sua felt the same. She raised her hand slightly and spoke.
"Um… is there still no word on the missing people?"
"Hmm… the Church is conducting a search as well, but… I haven't heard of anyone being found."
"…I see."
As Seong Sua lowered her hand with a look of disappointment, one of the magic department instructors spoke up.
"Well… looking at the list, the missing are just some guards and an assistant instructor."
Every eye turned toward him. He was a lanky man in glasses who tilted his head with an insolent air. Cho Seohyun's brow twitched as she stared at him. Seong Sua looked at him as well and spoke in the calmest tone she could manage.
"Those people are staff members of this academy too."
"Right… staff members. But, well…"
The man shrugged and sneered.
"They're guards and an assistant instructor… isn't that what we hired them for?"
"What!?"
Cho Seohyun shot to her feet and glared at him. Cowed by her presence, the man flinched for a moment—then, unwilling to back down, started rambling.
"Haha… I mean… would you rather it had been a cadet or a full instructor who got kidnapped?"
"That still doesn't mean you should talk about them that way."
It was Seong Sua who spoke up in Seohyun's place. The relaxed atmosphere from moments before settled into a silence that felt like the calm before a storm.
Fortunately, one person kept them from having to weather it.
"Now, now… we're searching for the missing with everything we have, so try not to worry too much."
"…Yes."
"…"
With that, the meeting came to a close.
"Where the hell did he go…"
"Let's search the area one more time. I'm sure we can find…"
Seong Sua was walking down the corridor, gently consoling Cho Seohyun, when a low voice brushed past both women's ears.
"It's been a while. You two."
A small child stood before them, offering a blank-faced greeting.
"Oh my… Lady Ye-riel."
"Ugh… what are you doing here?"
Where Seong Sua welcomed Ye-riel warmly, Cho Seohyun frowned and looked thoroughly uncomfortable. Ye-riel pointed an adorable little finger at Seohyun and spoke in her usual flat tone.
"Hmm… so this is the end for you too."
"Oh, for—"
"Seeing you after three years and you haven't grown an inch… looks like you've hit your limit, just like me."
"Argh!"
Cho Seohyun scowled but couldn't manage any real comeback. Ye-riel always needled her with that deadpan teasing whenever they met—and she was the only person who could get away with it. The other party was a woman whose body had stopped growing at elementary-school size. The reason Seohyun never truly snapped at Ye-riel's jokes was that getting angry at her felt somehow like committing a crime.
Seohyun spoke in a weary voice.
"I'm busy right now. So…"
With that, she fled the scene at speed. Ye-riel watched her go.
"Still running away, I see."
"Haha…"
Ye-riel turned her gaze from the already-vanished Seohyun to Seong Sua and spoke in her emotionless tone.
"You aren't hurt anywhere? I heard magic didn't work on them."
"No. It had no effect on their outer shells at all, but we managed by striking the weak points on their chests directly."
"Good."
Beneath Ye-riel's blank expression, a subtle note of relief colored her voice. Then she read Sua's face, tilted her head, and asked,
"Something urgent? You look restless."
"A… a colleague of mine is missing."
"I see…. I'll send someone from the Tower who's skilled in tracking magic."
"Ah! Thank you!"
Ye-riel looked at Seong Sua's relieved smile and spoke again.
"You've changed a lot too."
"…Me?"
Seong Sua couldn't help but feel puzzled. She thought she had been carrying herself the same way she always had. But Ye-riel answered her question in a quiet, measured tone.
"Yeah. You've changed quite a bit."
"…"
"I always thought you were the type who just drifted along with the current. Now you look like you're at least swimming. That's a relief. I'll be going, then. Take care."
"Y-yes…"
With those final words, Ye-riel toddled off on her short little strides. Seong Sua watched her retreating back, tilting her head in thought.
What did she mean by that? Have I really changed?
And then, mid-thought, Sung Suho flooded back into her mind.
Ah! I don't have time for this… I need to find him!
With that, she headed outside the building once more to continue the search.
Time passed, and night fell.
Cho Seohyun stood in a corner of the rooftop, leaning against the railing with her head bowed, on the verge of tears.
"Where did you go…"
She had searched the entire area all day long and found not a single clue about Sung Suho. Among the people who had been in the same building, some had seen him go up to the rooftop—but not a single person had seen him come back down.
She looked out over the campus with a miserable expression. The Hero Academy grounds had already been scrubbed clean of every trace of the battle. People who had walked these halls for years would have strolled through campus today calling it peaceful, if they hadn't known about yesterday's incident. Everything had vanished without a trace. Most of all, the bloodstains that had covered the rooftop were already gone—every last piece of potential evidence thoroughly cleaned away.
"Please… please…"
As Seohyun stood there, head bowed and voice breaking, her smartwatch chimed with an incoming call. It was Seong Sua. The moment Seohyun saw the caller, she answered in a rush.
"What? Did you find him!?"
"…No. Even the people who came from the Tower couldn't find him."
"…Right."
Seohyun's face fell again. She was about to end the call when Sua spoke once more.
"Unnie… get some rest for now. You haven't slept in two days…"
"I'm hanging up. Call me if you find him."
Seohyun cut Sua off, ended the call, and lowered her head again. She draped both arms over the railing and buried her face against them. Thoughts of Sung Suho rose unbidden.
The man who, when he first arrived, had told her she looked like a child. The man who had endured her tantrums, her nagging—even her outright contempt. And yet what he had given her in return was nothing so petty as revenge. He had saved her in her moments of crisis. He had acknowledged her where no one else could see. And beyond that… he had become her pillar. It was still awkward, still new—but for a woman who had been walking a lonely, desolate road, he had become the greatest comfort she had ever known.
Seohyun buried her face against the railing and choked back sobs.
"We made a promise… we promised we'd meet today…"
The two of them had agreed to meet on Saturday for a meal. And after that meal, he was going to watch her archery practice—not in VR, but in the real world. But it was already eleven at night. By any measure, it was far too late for a shared meal and conversation.
Her heart whispered that Sung Suho was dead. Her mind filled itself with desperate hope that he was somehow still alive. The collision of those two forces began to eat away at Cho Seohyun's spirit. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. She whispered, barely audible,
"You don't even have to keep the promise… just come back…"
As the words left her lips, a tear fell and soaked into her sleeve—and at the same moment, a voice reached her ears.
"That's a relief. I was worried about breaking our promise."
"…Huh?"
Cho Seohyun turned her head. There, leaning against the railing and smiling at her, was Sung Suho.