Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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I was communicating with Armonia while reading the childish diary entry written by Seo-hyun Cho.
'...She's totally a kid.'
[....]
Armonia seemed to be at a loss for words, sharing the same thought as me.
But Seo-hyun Cho was completely oblivious to my gaze and started mumbling to herself.
"Uh, how... Even now... No, not in front of the cadets..."
"...Instructor Seo-hyun Cho?"
"But if not now... Ah, no good. Gotta go quick... No, then..."
Almost all the called cadets had arrived, but Seo-hyun Cho was still in a total panic.
I alternated glances between her and the cadets while communicating.
'This won't work. Armonia, let's fix it.'
[Planning to go to the staff room and back?]
For an ordinary human, that might be the only solution, but I had another one.
'Bring up their traits.'
[...All of them?]
'Yeah, Enel cost?'
[Since their base abilities are higher than average, it's about 5-10 per person.]
'Okay, no big deal.'
It was right then that the first cadet arrived.
Seo-hyun Cho finally snapped out of it and started stammering.
"Th-that... Y-you're..."
I handed the spear case to the cadet, ignoring her flustered state.
"Here, take this."
"W-wait! You can't just hand it over like that..."
"Thank you!"
"...?"
You could tell what weapon was inside just by glancing at the case exterior.
The cadet who received the box smiled, bowed, and stepped down from the platform.
Seo-hyun Cho stared at me blankly in her fluster.
As the next cadet approached, I handed over the bow case.
The now-different Seo-hyun Cho cautiously tried to stop me.
"Um, excuse me... Y-you can't just give them out so casually..."
"Here you go."
I ignored Seo-hyun Cho and passed the bow case to the next student.
"Thank you!"
"Next."
"Ugh..."
Seo-hyun Cho stood there fidgeting like a puppy desperate to poop, unable to do anything.
It was actually more convenient since I didn't have to tediously check the roster.
If I'd been chatting with Seo-hyun Cho while checking the roster, it would've taken several times longer.
As I smoothly distributed the weapons, it was time for Knight Faculty Class 5.
Seo-hyun Cho pouted her lips and pretended to look at her documents.
I ignored her and kept handing out weapons.
One cadet approached with bouncy, confident steps.
📛 Name:Song A-ra
🧬 Traits:
[Martial Arts], [Robust Vitality], [Leadership], [Cheerfulness], [Positivity]...
'...? Girl? Boy?'
[The appearance is closer to a female.]
With the short haircut, it was ambiguous from afar whether it was a boy or girl.
Height around mid-160s, awkward-length short cut.
Up close, the build and features made it obvious she was a girl.
Her pretty face would've been a real waste if she were a boy.
-[Archery LV 26], [Swordsmanship LV 17]...
'Whoa, what? Is she really a cadet? Her levels are on a whole other plane from the others.'
[Probably top-tier among cadets.]
Most cadets' main weapon levels were 10-15.
Hers was exceptionally high even for her main, and her sub-skills were high too.
I handed the bow case to the short-haired cadet.
Then called the next student.
"Next."
"Uh... Sir."
"...?"
The cadet who took the bow didn't go down, just stood there staring blankly at me.
"What? You got it, so head back."
"Pfft!"
"...?"
Seo-hyun Cho's laughter came from the side.
"Oh dear, our new instructor made a mistake?"
"..."
'Kid...'
This went beyond kid level—straight to toddler tier...
Seo-hyun Cho realized her own behavior looked childish, cleared her throat, and put on a stern voice.
It still sounded like a kid's, though...
"Ahem... How can you mess up handing out your assigned cadet's weapon like that? Quick, swap it for a sword."
"...Sword?"
"Yes, sir. My main is sword."
-[Archery LV 26], [Swordsmanship LV 17]...
...No matter how I looked, it didn't make sense.
But it wasn't my business anyway.
I swapped it for the sword case and handed it to the cadet.
"Thank you!"
She brightly smiled, spun lightly, and returned to her seat.
Seo-hyun Cho, who had been deflated until moments ago, now looked smug at me.
...The way she perked up over that one thing really proved she was a kid.
..
..
"Oh? Already done distributing weapons?"
"Yes."
"Wow, you two make a great team."
"Hmph..."
Seo-hyun Cho snorted as if displeased by the comment and said,
"Alright, we're done here. Let's head to our class."
"Yes."
"And grab that box over there."
"Yes..."
Seo-hyun Cho nodded toward the stack of boxes in the corner of the staff room.
I casually replied and followed her with the box.
Even leading the way, she kept glancing back at me.
She seemed like she had something to say, but we arrived at the classroom without any conversation.
As we entered, the noisy chatter gradually died down.
Seo-hyun Cho stood at the podium and immediately began introductions.
"Starting today, I'm Instructor Seo-hyun Cho, in charge of Knight Faculty Class 5."
Clap clap clap clap.
The students immediately welcomed her with applause.
Seo-hyun Cho turned to me to introduce me.
"And next to me..."
But she just stared piercingly at me, then made a thinking face.
'Damn, she didn't even know my name...'
[I believe it is because the morning was so hectic that there was no opportunity for introductions.]
'Still... she'd have heard beforehand...'
I stood by the podium and addressed the students.
"I'm Seong Suho, the assistant instructor for Knight Faculty Class 5 this term. Nice to meet you."
Clap clap clap clap.
Nice kids... They even clapped for me.
I half-expected to be ignored as a temp instructor, but surprisingly, I was welcomed.
As the applause died, Seo-hyun Cho crossed her arms and spoke.
"Since it's the first day, we're just doing weapon and smartwatch distribution before dismissal."
Seo-hyun Cho briefly explained tomorrow's classes, the lesson content, and the current projection office issues.
"You know about that intruder incident in the projection office? The servers are down because of it. For now, just do biometric registration on the smartwatches and keep them safe until the servers are back up—no losing them!"
"Yes~"
"And the first week will be group training to build teamwork."
The class had 30 students total, divided into 6 groups of 5.
Once groups were formed, they'd stick together for the whole semester unless major issues arose.
There were individual exams, but group ones too, so cadets naturally wanted to team with favorites.
But groups weren't up to the cadets.
It was the instructors' job.
"I'll announce groups at tomorrow's first class. You all know this is your final year—work hard. Dismissed!"
It was the shout of the shortest girl in the class.
'But I got nothing to say either. Am I the shortest guy here?'
[These are physically trained cadets, so their development is advanced.]
The girls were around average height like back home, but some boys were over 190cm.
Still, I spotted a few with builds similar to mine occasionally.
Seo-hyun Cho finished and left the classroom; I followed.
Back at the now-empty staff room—unlike morning—Seo-hyun Cho sat at her desk and said,
"...That's it for today's knight classes. Magic faculty's in the magic building, Class 7."
"Yes, then..."
I curtly replied and turned to leave.
As I grabbed the door handle to open it, a voice called from afar.
"Excuse me."
It was Seo-hyun Cho.
"...? Yes?"
"That..."
As she started to say something, someone entered the staff room.
"Oh? Instructor Seong Suho?"
"Ah."
It wasn't an instructor—it was a cadet.
The short-haired girl I'd messed up the bow for earlier.
Definitely from my Knight Faculty Class 5; I'd seen her in class.
I checked her status and addressed her by name.
"Cadet Song A-ra? Right? What's up?"
"Whoa! Sir! How'd you know my name already? Awesome..."
"Ah... Saw it in the records. Records..."
I turned back to Seo-hyun Cho, ignoring the surprised Song A-ra.
I hadn't heard what she wanted to say because of the sudden arrival.
"Please continue."
"...It's nothing. Go on."
"Yes."
I grumbled via comms.
'Tch, calls me then backs off... annoying.'
[....]
I stepped aside without showing it, letting Song A-ra in.
"Come in."
"Thanks!"
She bounced in energetically, belying her looks.
Seo-hyun Cho looked at Song A-ra and said,
"Song A-ra, what is it?"
"Ah... Came to see you, Instructor Seo-hyun Cho."
"Then come here."
I left the staff room without hearing the rest.
Seo-hyun Cho confirmed Seong Suho had left the staff room and asked Song A-ra,
"What is it?"
"That... Do you know about Ji-eun?"
Seo Ji-eun.
The girl Song A-ra asked about was the top enrollee in the projection office's magic faculty.
But she currently had physical issues preventing attendance.
And that Seo Ji-eun was an important figure to Song A-ra.
Seo-hyun Cho crossed her arms from her seat and said,
"Probably... back to school soon."
"Whoa! Really? For real?"
"Would I lie...?"
"Ma'am... Don't say 'lie'..."
Seo-hyun Cho had been Song A-ra's instructor last year for Knight Faculty 2nd years.
She usually commanded cadets with a stern aura, but with close ones, she used casual speech.
"Still, given her family, she'll commute even if attending—no dorm life. Flaunting wealth or what..."
The projection office required even instructors to dorm, basically.
But Seo Ji-eun was a special case, allowed home commuting.
Her family background played a part.
"Nah, Ji-eun's not like that."
"She is, you... Anyway, that all you came for?"
"Yes, thanks for telling me, ma'am!"
"That 'ma'am' again... Go on!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Song A-ra grinned cutely unlike her looks, saluted, and dashed out.
"...Kids these days."
Seong Suho would've burst out laughing if he'd heard, but luckily he was gone.
Seo-hyun Cho removed the partitions she'd set up for sneaky desk naps and recalled the morning events.
"Sigh... Did I look lame on the first day?"
Seo-hyun Cho always tried to handle everything meticulously without flaws.
Because she was bad at handling sudden situations.
She hated that about herself most, so she always prepared carefully to avoid panicking.
But this morning's chaos led her to grab the wrong roster—with cadets' names and specialties.
She especially hated panicking in front of students; it squeezed her heart, making her panic more.
And when she was anxious from her mistake, the new instructor beside her fixed everything.
It might've been no big deal.
If she'd just calmed down, she could've handed off and grabbed the roster in a minute.
But in her panic, she couldn't even think straight.
However, what she thought about wasn't gratitude.
"How'd he nail it right away... like that?"
Seo-hyun Cho could gauge main weapons somewhat by observing physiques.
But...
"Longswords, daggers, even dual-wielders... He distinguished spear users' javelins too... No way that's possible, right?"
He'd sized up their main weapons with just a glance.
And he was the brand-new instructor...
"Come to think of it, only Song A-ra was wrong... Hold on..."
Song A-ra was currently the ace of the projection office's knight faculty.
No current instructor didn't know her.
It was normal for a newbie not to.
But nailing every other cadet's main weapon while missing only hers? Ironic.
"A-ra... Her old records said she used a bow before, right?"
Last year teaching Song A-ra, Seo-hyun Cho had seen her past files.
Song A-ra had switched to sword now, but records clearly noted archery before.
Random thoughts started piecing together in her head.
The first-day instructor knew Song A-ra's past?
She recalled the recent intruder messing up the servers with cadet info.
"If the cadets' data fell into intruder hands... And today's new instructor is..."
Suspicion began threading in her mind.
But Seo-hyun Cho shook her head, unraveling it.
"...Nah. Just has a real knack for reading abilities. A-ra can handle all weapons anyway. Must've mixed that up."
Seo-hyun Cho tidied her desk, sorting away needless suspicions too.