Hero Academy (3-56)
Park Huiyeon filled her lungs to bursting with the morning sunlight, then let it all out in a long, heavy sigh.
“Haa… I’m so tired….”
She had been dragged from department to department inside the Church all night without a single wink of sleep. Some offices tore into her with raw, scathing rebukes; others merely asked light questions about the circumstances. Through every interrogation, however, Park Huiyeon locked away one single fact and never once let it slip.
Two women and one man… It was definitely that bastard I spoke with. I’ll kill him… Starting with the thing hanging between his legs, I’ll carve him up piece by piece. I’ll make him beg me to finish him off.
The Church would never simply look the other way when someone raised a blade against its own. Park Huiyeon was certain they would catch the culprits, and she swore that the moment she learned even their identities, no law on earth would stop her from taking revenge on that man.
Eyes glittering with murderous intent, she headed for the ward where Oh Jin-ho was staying.
“He should be waking up about now….”
She was almost at his hospital room when a roar exploded from inside.
“Where is it!!”
“Huh?”
Hearing Oh Jin-ho’s voice, Park Huiyeon broke into a bright smile and stepped through the door. His arm still hung grotesquely limp, not yet restored. Oh Jin-ho, however, seemed utterly uninterested in the ruined limb; the instant he saw her he bellowed.
“Park Huiyeon! Where is it! Where’s my stuff!!”
“What are you talking about?”
“The orb!!”
Only then did the orb even cross Park Huiyeon’s mind. From the moment of yesterday’s incident until this very second, she had not thought of it once.
“That… I don’t know either?”
“Fuck! Is ‘I don’t know’ supposed to be enough?! Do you have any idea how expensive that thing is!?”
“….”
Disgust flooded her at his scolding. She began to glare.
I saved you while going through that hell. And now you’re treating me like this…
The joy of seeing him awake vanished; raw anger boiled up in its place. She snapped back.
“Do you have any idea how hard I worked to save you?! How can you talk to me like this right now?!”
“Saved? You call this saving me?! You turned my arm into this crippled mess, lost the orb, and you still have the nerve to say you saved me?!”
“….”
Park Huiyeon’s eyebrows twitched. Her voice came out strained.
“You… how can you be like that….”
“Fuck!! The orb! Find the fucking orb right now!!”
Even the tearful look on her face did nothing to soften him. The calm, gentle Oh Jin-ho she usually knew was nowhere to be seen. In her eyes he was nothing more than a humanoid monster with a grotesque arm throwing a tantrum.
“Find it yourself!”
She slammed the door behind her. Oh Jin-ho’s curse-laden shout chased her down the corridor.
“Come back! Find my fucking orb!!”
“Is Hero Oh Jin-ho all right?”
“…He’s still not in good condition.”
The moment the name Oh Jin-ho left the student’s lips, Park Huiyeon openly scowled, making no effort to hide her irritation. Arms folded, she looked over the gathered students, then forced her expression smooth again and continued.
“You’ve all worked hard this past week. There was an incident in the middle that made things rough, but keep this in mind—sooner or later every one of you will face something like it.”
A little self-justification colored her words, yet they were still advice that would become flesh and blood for the students. From their side, they now knew such crises would come, and having lived through one they would only train harder to sharpen themselves.
Finished with the lecture, Park Huiyeon crooked a finger at them and smiled.
“And everyone—hold out your smartwatches.”
“…?”
Looking puzzled, the students extended the arms wearing their smartwatches. Park Huiyeon moved her own device among the outstretched hands, transferring her contact information. Once every transfer was complete she withdrew her arm.
“It was only a week, but being able to meet like this means we had a connection. If you ever really need help, contact me. I’ll do everything I can within my power.”
“Ohh…”
It was true she had shown an ugly side during the field trip, yet none of the students undervalued her strength or her standing. The simple fact that they now possessed a Church hero’s contact made them bounce around like excited children.
“Alright! Good work, everyone!”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
The students bowed and headed straight for the vehicles. I was watching them go, about to offer my own farewell to Park Huiyeon together with Yoon Jia and board, when her voice stopped me.
“Just a moment.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s talk for a bit.”
She turned on her heel and walked away. Glancing at Yoon Jia for permission, I followed. After a short distance, once she was certain only the two of us remained, Park Huiyeon got straight to the point.
“Give me your contact.”
“Ah… First of all, my smartwatch is broken right now, so I’m not sure I’ll keep using that number.”
There were probably two reasons she wanted it.
Surveillance.
And subordination.
I wanted to hand it over desperately, but the watch was wrecked, and there was no guarantee the academy would reissue the same contact. Park Huiyeon listened, thought for a moment, then pulled a crisp card from her pocket and held it out.
“…Here.”
“A business card?”
“Yes. If you need… contact me. Meeting like this is a connection too.”
“Haha… Thank you.”
That settled it—subordination was weighing heavier than surveillance. If she had only wanted to keep tabs on me she would have been far more desperate to pin me down.
“I’ll definitely get in touch. Well then…”
I finished the farewell and walked back toward Yoon Jia, who was staring blankly after me.
..
..
Yoon Jia and I climbed into the same vehicle; the three security guards, just like on the first day, boarded an ordinary van. Watching Go Chungshin gaze fondly at Yoon Jia from a distance, I snickered to myself.
Looks like he fell for it completely.
Yoon Jia whispered that she loved me. I cut the intercom the moment I heard it. From inside her room I had carried out the NTL so brazenly I half expected to be caught, yet the man standing on the other side of the door never once looked suspicious. After the sudden visitor left, I enjoyed Yoon Jia one more time. There had been enough time for further rounds, but I couldn’t leave my own room empty forever, so I put on a final climax and slipped out.
Afterward I was summoned by the Church, given all sorts of lectures, and received threats that were barely disguised as warnings.
Well… I have no intention of going around blabbing about any of it either.
If I had been someone of higher standing they would have clung far more desperately. To them it was simply a mild scolding along the lines of “Surely an assistant instructor from the academy wouldn’t ignore our threats?”
Careful, and careful again.
Thinking that, I turned to look at Yoon Jia. She kept stealing glances at me, reading my mood.
How long did the trip from the academy to the Church take last time?
…Perfect!
I slid an arm around Yoon Jia’s shoulders and smiled.
“Once we get back to the academy… we won’t be able to stick together like this anymore.”
“C-Can’t we still meet sometimes?”
“Even so, being this comfortably close won’t be easy.”
“Hmm…”
I kneaded her breast and gave her a lewd little smile.
“Um… can we do it just one more time before we arrive?”
“Ah, you said it was the last time earlier too…”
“Having Instructor Yoon Jia right beside me… I can’t hold back.”
“Th-Then… just once.”
Looking pleased by my impatience, Yoon Jia began to part her legs. And so, before we reached the academy, I managed to shoot one more clean, satisfying load.
“Huh?”
Go Chungshin rode with the other guards, staring out the window at the luxury SUV carrying Yoon Jia. There was no special reason—he was simply in a good mood after that morning and wanted to watch her. Yet the way the vehicle had been rocking for a while looked wrong. He studied it carefully, then sighed.
Car maintenance is a mess. Isn’t it shaking way too much? Jia gets carsick easily…
He kept fretting over her the entire way, eyes fixed on the bouncing SUV.
“Good work, everyone! Return to your dorms and rest.”
“Yes!”
The physical-department students’ field-trip schedule was finally over. The same kids who had left in a picnic mood now answered me in loud, disciplined voices. One thing was certain—their attitude toward me had changed dramatically between departure and return.
“Instructor Sung Suho! Thank you for all your hard work!”
“You all worked hard too. Go rest.”
One by one the students came up, offered polite thanks, and left. Whatever had happened in that final dungeon had clearly left a deep mark on them.
“Ssaem! Thank you for really working hard!”
“Yeah, good work. And I’m sorry for scolding you so harshly last time.”
“Huh? Ah! Nah! Scolding? It was only natural. Ssaem, you were really cool!”
“Enough talk… go rest.”
I chuckled, patted Song Ara’s shoulder, and sent her off. With her last, every student was gone; only Yoon Jia and the three security guards remained. I turned to the guards.
“Thank you for all your hard work. I’ll make certain the principal hears about it so this effort doesn’t just get brushed aside.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Looking exhausted, they headed for their own dorms—everyone except Go Chungshin.
“Good work. Even when you weren’t feeling well.”
“Th… thank you for your… hard work.”
Go Chungshin glanced at Yoon Jia, let out a tiny sigh, and finally followed the others. Watching him go, I stepped closer to Yoon Jia.
“Instructor Yoon Jia.”
“Hnn… Yes?”
“Um… do you need any contraceptives?”
In truth a device already forced contraception inside her. According to Armonia it had no side effects and ordinary technology could never detect it—but that was knowledge only I possessed. Yoon Jia had no idea. At my worried expression she pouted.
“Tch… You’re asking way too soon, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it myself.”
She was actually the one reassuring me. And as her smiling face filled my vision, Go Chungshin’s figure farther back also came into focus.
Hehe… I wonder what he’s thinking right now.
How did the two of us look through Go Chungshin’s distant eyes? Only he would ever know.
..
..
After parting from Yoon Jia I went straight to the principal’s office. Even though it was the weekend the principal was already at work; having just returned from the field trip I was called in for an immediate meeting. It was a little outside the normal reporting chain, but with the magic-department trip scheduled for the next day he had no choice but to handle things personally.
True… the principal’s responsibility wouldn’t be light.
The conversation itself was nothing special. He asked me to submit evaluation reports on the students who had gone to the Church, and he wanted to hear from my own mouth exactly what kind of incident had occurred. There was also talk about the security detail.
“Thanks to sending the guards as Instructor Sung Suho suggested, the reaction was better than expected. Both the students and the guild side gave fairly decent evaluations.”
“Thank you. If it isn’t too presumptuous… I think those who accompanied the trip should be guaranteed vacation or at least proper rest.”
“Understood. I’ll look into that the moment the magic-department trip ends.”
The principal smiled and wrapped things up.
“Discussions about the magic-department field trip are still ongoing. Whether it will be postponed or pushed through hasn’t been decided yet. I’ll summon the assistant instructors this evening once a decision is reached, so please stand by until then.”
“Understood. Then I’ll be going…”
I turned to leave. The moment I reached the door, three calm knocks sounded.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Hm? Come in.”
At the principal’s words I opened the door almost by reflex. Standing stock-still on the other side was a little girl who looked about elementary-school age. Black hair fell to her waist; she wore a neat school-uniform-style outfit. When the door swung open she looked up at me and began to stare with unblinking intensity.
“….”
“Ah! Miss Ye-riel! Please come in.”
“…Huh?”
I almost doubted my own ears.
Miss? What the hell?
Oh—right…
I immediately moved out of the way. The girl flicked a glance at me, then walked toward the principal.
Hmph. Some chaebol’s daughter?
Right up until the final moment I stepped out of the principal’s office, the girl kept turning her head to stare piercingly at me.