Hero Academy (4-9)

Cho Seo-hyun whispered softly into Seong Su-ho's ear as she nestled in his arms, glancing cautiously at his face.

"...Asleep?"

Seeing no reaction ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at all from Seong Su-ho even to her whisper, Cho Seo-hyun gave a faint smile and began to quietly slip out of his embrace.

The moment she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pulled away from his arms, she paused and let out a sigh.

"...Haa, I don't wanna go."

It felt just like stepping out from under the blankets on a winter morning, that biting chill.

But it wasn't physical cold—it was the warmth she'd cradled in her heart vanishing in an instant.

Just a few days ago, she'd thought a man's arms were something fragile, pretentious women clung to.

Yet now, simply leaving the embrace of this man who held her so preciously filled her with a wave of loss crashing over her.

"...I've really changed a lot."

Cho Seo-hyun chuckled wryly and slowly began changing her clothes.

Once dressed, she checked the digital clock on the wall, its numbers glowing.

02:24

In the dead of night when the dawn chill blanketed the world, she had to leave the warmest, happiest place.

But...

"...Let's go."

With a bittersweet smile at Seong Su-ho's faint stirring, Cho Seo-hyun slipped out of his room.

Only once in the hallway did she mutter under her breath, adding a bit more force to her quiet voice.

"If a cadet or another instructor catches me, it'll be a total hassle..."

Instructors' private lives were protected.

That was the consideration given to heroes working at the Hero Academy.

But Cho Seo-hyun still wanted to avoid being spotted by anyone leaving the male instructors' dorm in the morning.

"Now I get it."

While living as both cadet and instructor at the academy, she'd occasionally witnessed instructors' secret rendezvous.

Sometimes heading out for early training, or even seeing a male instructor emerge from the female dorm during duty.

But each time, Cho Seo-hyun had just smirked inwardly.

(Seriously... What's so embarrassing about a man and woman meeting? Why all the excuses...)

That's what she'd thought back then.

But now...

"Haa... If I'm caught on the way back, it'll be so embarrassing I won't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be able to show my face at school for the rest of my life..."

She herself was sneaking back to her dorm at dawn to avoid just that.

She was hurrying down the hallway to escape the male dorm as quickly as possible when...

"...Eek."

She ran into a patrolling guard.

(Phew... He thinks I'm an instructor.)

Cho Seo-hyun turned her head away to hide her face as much as possible and tried to pass by.

(...?)

Feeling eyes on her, she glanced at the guard passing by.

He was staring right through her.

Guards at the academy dorms, especially here, weren't supposed to make eye contact casually.

Cho Seo-hyun knew that and usually let such things slide.

Normally...

(...Damn it.)

But not tonight.

What business would a female instructor have visiting the male dorm in the dead of night?

Judging the guard's thoughts on her own, Cho Seo-hyun glared up at him with an irritated voice.

"Hey."

"Y-Yes!?"

"Done staring?"

"Ah! S-Sorry."

"Ugh... Annoying."

After snapping at the guard, Cho Seo-hyun headed for the dorm exit, thinking to herself.

(Gotta say something about that guy.)

With that thought, she made her way out.

Go Choong-shin unwittingly furrowed his brow and grumbled.

"Jeez, just for looking..."

But at the same time, the warning he'd heard before his shift echoed in his mind.

(Don't make eye contact with anyone wandering inside the dorm. Got it?)

His sleepy mind snapped awake as he sighed heavily.

"She wouldn't actually complain, right? Haa... Nothing goes my way."

He spent the rest of his shift irritated, stressed about potential scolding later.

I cracked my eyes open and muttered at the door Cho Seo-hyun had closed behind her.

"...She's gone?"

I was damn good at faking sleep.

Growing up, sneaking games at dawn meant diving into bed and pretending to sleep right before getting caught—a lot.

As I shifted in bed, Armonia asked me.

'Yeah, holding back meetings this week as much as possible.'

I'd already told Seong Su-a I might not log in tonight, just in case.

Part partly because I didn't know when things with Cho Seo-hyun would wrap up, but there was a bigger reason.

'Gotta build anticipation.'

I had a dinner date with Seong Su-a planned for the weekend.

It might just be a quick meal, or we could talk for hours.

But it wasn't about the day itself.

'Keep creating gaps where I'm absent, make her wonder what she'll do next.'

Anticipation is a powerful motivator.

On your first overseas trip, sure, learn safety tips.

But dive too deep into guidebooks, blogs, videos covering every detail, and real excitement might fizzle.

In a way, this was my first date with Seong Su-a. Restraining meetings to heighten expectation was key.

I couldn't assume she felt romantic interest yet, but building hype couldn't hurt.

'Keep distance from Seong Su-a for now... The real issue is...'

I got out of bed, pulled the box from underneath, and quietly opened it.

Armonia's ultra-secure storage.

Inside...

"Having this is nice, but it's making me uneasy."

The dungeon gimmick activation orb.

Baseball-sized, but worth a fortune.

Problem was, stolen on the sly—no selling or using it openly.

My room seemed safe enough to hide it under the bed, but circumstances had changed.

'Yeah... And if that Go Choong-shin bastard scouts my room and finds it... Ah!'

I grabbed a notepad and started drawing the magic circles I'd learned so far.

As I filled page after page, Armonia caught on.

'Just testing if it works.'

No plans to alchemy recklessly even if viable.

But alchemy previews results, so worth checking.

If it worked and matched what I wanted?

No more anxiety over hiding it.

I finished all the circles and checked one by one.

...

Bad compatibility with my circles—mostly impossibles.

'What? It won't work? Huh!?'

Then one popped.

A persistent magic circle combo.

'Magic?'

Heard of poison miasma, but magic miasma was new.

'Poison or magic miasma, same thing. Alright...'

No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long deliberation.

'Do it.'

Armonia was right.

Dragging it out for a perfect combo risked discovery—worse than not having it.

The name alone suggested it'd maximize the orb's potential. Time to alchemy.

Fwaah!

I marveled at the resulting magic circle description.

'...Alchemy is seriously OP.'

Just blending via alchemy perfectly captured the orb's function in a magic circle.

Orb gone, so no selling or gifting, but that didn't matter to me.

Only downside...

'The random part sucks.'

'Yeah, beggars can't be choosers.'

A moment reminding me greed knows no bounds.

I wryly smiled, memorized the circle, burned the paper to ash, and erased all traces.

..

..

First thing at work, a guard on leave reported to me.

It was...

"A complaint?"

"Yes."

"What kind?"

"Well... One of the new guards messed up."

The gist: A guard stared hard at a female instructor visiting the male dorm.

And coincidentally, both the instructor and the guard were tied to me.

"Uh... Instructor Cho Seo-hyun and Go Min-hyuk."

'Go Choong-shin...'

Handing me ammo on a platter?

I'd hoped for a hook, but not this quick.

The guard on leave eyed me nervously and continued.

"Instructor Cho Seo-hyun said just warn him lightly, but I figured it might blow up, so reporting early."

"Aha..."

He knew I had a rough idea why Cho Seo-hyun was at the male dorm.

Couldn't play dumb—the guy controlled dorm access.

Meaning: Spill quick, save my ass.

I nodded at him.

"I'll go apologize to Instructor Cho Seo-hyun myself."

"Yes, sir."

As he sighed in relief and opened the door to leave,

I called out.

"Bring Go Min-hyuk."

"...Yes, sir."

Soon after, Go Choong-shin showed up at my office.

"I-I'm here."

"..."

His face mixed anxiety, nervousness, worry, tension.

Clear he knew why he was summoned.

I stood and summed it up.

"Watch it next time."

"Pardon?"

"Be careful next time. First offense, so let off."

His face brightened.

"Th-Thank you!"

His demeanor screamed overnight stress from the shift.

Already needing to kiss up for schedules, now a screw-up.

I approached, patted his shoulder.

"But seriously next time. When on dorm duty, keep your head down—no ID checks, just work."

"Yes, sir."

"Head down whole shift. Only lift if spoken to. Got it?"

"...Yes, sir."

Seeing his sour face, I smirked inwardly.

(Hates bowing to anyone—night shifts with head down will piss him off.)

His disposition screamed no submissiveness.

I didn't stop, pushing harder to sour his mood.

"Nah, head down ain't enough. Scuttle like a fly scavenging the floor. Got it?"

"Uh... Yes, sir."

"Not insulting you as a fly. Means it's that important—got it?"

"...Yes."

His crumbling face... Priceless.

Mood lifted, time for the plan.

'Let's start.'

Hand on his shoulder, I said,

"About the schedule. Messed up making it. Can't fix right away—will revise and repost in days."

"Th-Thank you!"

He bowed deeply, gratitude he'd never shown before.

Hated it that much, huh.

But no free lunch.

I smirked inwardly and asked quietly.

"Go Min-hyuk."

"Yes?"

Smiling at his wary upward glance,

"Ever heard of Watch of Legend?"