Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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"From day one, they're already working me to the bone... damn it."
I sighed inwardly as I walked down the hallway toward the Magic Department building.
"That's a relief, but..."
The Hero Academy's class structure here was somewhat similar to a standard high school curriculum.
The lead instructor was responsible for an entire class.
Instructors were assigned based on the cadets' subjects, and classes proceeded accordingly.
Assistant instructors, however, had no teaching duties at all.
They managed the cadets in their assigned class during training or exams, ensuring nothing went wrong.
"In short, glorified babysitters..."
"Same difference~"
"...Was that applause earlier because of that?"
During the introduction, they'd clapped enthusiastically...
Was that pragmatic thinking on their part, kids?
Truth be told, I wasn't all that interested in you guys anyway...
The real issue was Seo-hyun Cho.
"Seo-hyun Cho's got a fiery personality. This won't be easy."
My thoughts drifted back to Seo-hyun Cho.
And that garishly colorful sentence she'd written came to mind.
-Heehee. My birthday's next month! Gotta eat something yummy with Hyun-oppa (>_<)-
Chicken skin prickled all over my body.
"No, fuck... Can you really be that close with your little brother? Is this one a siscon too?"
"That's still weird."
The image of my sister popped into my head, and my legs started to go numb.
"My sister would only show me something like that if she wanted to kill me."
My sister writing something like that and showing it to me?
My heart would stop, plunging me into a vegetative state.
No, first I'd gouge out my eyes from seeing it.
I'd pour every ounce of oxygen to my brain into clawing them out before going brain-dead.
But setting that aside, Seo-hyun Cho really was pretty.
Up close, her petite frame gave off high school girl vibes, but from a distance, she didn't seem small at all.
Her proportions were that good.
The tight t-shirt and jeans clinging to her body probably compensated for her height.
"Well, sticking around her for an hour or two a day should create some openings. I've got pheromones too..."
"Ah, guess this is it. Sigh..."
Armonia asked in a concerned tone.
"Nah, it's just... gonna be stifling..."
Schutra had a military academy vibe on the surface, but it wasn't oppressive.
Getting that store had helped the most, probably...
You could enter the dorms late at night without issue, and as long as you avoided trouble with professors, there was plenty of freedom.
But here, from the moment I arrived, it felt like my freedom was being chained down.
"Hmm... Well, aside from Seo-hyun Cho, I don't care... Unless her fiancée is as pretty as her, I just wanna wrap this up quick and head somewhere else."
With those thoughts, I cautiously opened the door to Magic Department Class 7 and stepped inside.
The scene in the quiet classroom was unfamiliar.
There was only one person.
A woman with long hair, about 160-something cm tall, stood with her arms crossed and eyes closed.
She wore a refined two-piece gray casual suit that emphasized elegance over sexiness.
Long sleeves and a skirt that reached her knees.
And a ridiculously pretty face...
"..."
She seemed focused on something, so I hesitated to speak.
After dozens of seconds with her eyes closed in concentration, a fierce flame laced with powerful winds erupted in the classroom.
Even in that dangerous situation, the woman stood calmly with her eyes shut.
From the mana flow, I could tell she was the one controlling it at the center.
The flames swirled violently for a while before calming down.
The woman in the middle of the classroom opened her eyes and looked at me with jade-green irises.
The first thought that hit me upon seeing her...
"Fuck, I'm gonna live here forever..."
A goddess had descended.
"Sorry about that. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Nah, it was so cool I was just staring in awe."
"Oh my! Thank you."
The woman sitting in front of me smiled softly in response.
I closely examined the status window of the woman before me.
Seong Sua.
Our real target.
And the target who'd already captured my heart...
"Ah, no! I've got Viola, Lena, Luna, Sonya! And Beatrice is on deck too..."
"Oh, yeah? Then let's add one more."
CEO! Add one Seong Sua here!
Maybe because I'd only seen medieval settings so far, but Seong Sua's outfit really caught my eye.
Casual gray suit—jacket and skirt in gray, with a white blouse underneath.
Completely opposite to Seo-hyun Cho's style.
Everything from clothes to personality was different.
Since I was staring so intently, Seong Sua tilted her head and asked,
"Is there something on my face?"
"Oh, no... I was just thinking about that spell you cast earlier."
"Ah! I was just loosening up before meeting the cadets..."
Seong Sua never lost her smile, no matter what.
Kindness and gentleness were hardwired into her.
Seong Sua stood up, extended her hand toward me, and bowed slightly.
"Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Seong Sua, in charge of Magic Department Class 7 starting today. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise. I'm Seong Suho."
"I thought it was interesting from your profile, but our names are so similar. Nice to meet you."
Her small, soft hand gently enveloped mine, conveying a sense of trust.
No reluctance at all, even grasping a stranger's—a man's—hand for the first time.
"Haaah... Why do girls' hands always feel so fresh to touch..."
I wanted to squeeze it playfully, but knowing that'd get me DQ'd immediately, I let go at an appropriate point.
Seong Sua sat back down and explained about the Magic Department with a bright smile.
"Do you know anything about the Magic Department, Instructor Seong Suho?"
"Uh... It's where they learn magic...?"
"Hehe... Oh! Sorry, I wasn't mocking you."
"Haha, it's fine."
Mock me all you want, just keep smiling...
She continued her explanation.
"Magic Department Class 7 has exactly six cadets."
"...Huh? Just six?"
Sure enough, looking around the classroom, there were noticeably few desks.
Exactly six desks arranged.
The layout was especially different from the Combat Department.
The Combat Department's setup resembled my old high school, but the Magic Department's desks were haphazardly placed.
Not like some special class or anything... Even special classes wouldn't be this messy.
"The number of first-year cadets in the Hero Academy's Magic Department is similar to Combat. But it dwindles year by year."
"Uh... Why's that?"
"Talent and injuries."
They enter with the requisite talent, but as reality hits, many drop out.
They can't grow while watching friends achieve more, leading to despair and withdrawal.
And an even bigger issue: injuries...
"Even in our Class 7 right now, one cadet's in bad shape."
"Injured?"
"...Worse than that."
For the first time, Seong Sua wore a troubled expression.
"She used to be the top of the Magic Department, but at the end of her first year, she suddenly lost control of her magic power, got badly hurt... and caused major damage."
Her name was Seo Ji-eun.
For some reason, she'd achieved incredible feats until the end of her first year, then abruptly fell into mana control failure.
"That's why they should use magic circles, you primitives..."
I said it via comms, but inwardly, I felt Seong Sua was amazing.
The cadets who remained here had that much talent to stick it out.
And Seong Sua, teaching those talented ones, had perfectly controlled the spell she'd cast earlier—I could sense it.
But even her magic...
"One Disassembly spell would nullify it completely, right?"
Even with my measly Magic Power of 8, I could vaguely make it out...
A bit more Magic Power, and I'd see the flows perfectly.
I checked Seong Sua's magic traits.
-[Magic Power LV 38], [Magic Resistance LV 18], [Fire Attribute LV 28]...
Beyond solid—they were exceptional even by Schutra standards.
No attribute below 25.
All evenly developed, with Magic Power standing out at 38.
"Later, I'll pump some Magic Power and test Disassembly."
They paid 30,000 Enel per week here.
Pump Magic Power moderately, and I could neutralize every mage in this place.
Doing the Schutra mission first was paying off big time.
Seong Sua asked with an embarrassed look.
"Do you know exactly what Magic Department instructors do?"
"Uh... Education and accident prevention?"
"Well... One's right, but the other I'd hesitate to say."
She explained that the Magic Department lacked a structured curriculum.
Basically, master controlling magic fluently in the training grounds, and you're set to graduate.
Most students fail to...
Unlike Combat, incidents never stopped in Magic.
Accidents happen, injuries mount, deaths occur—and instructors sift out the gems that remain.
"Sigh... People unfamiliar with the Hero Academy would freak out hearing this."
"...I had no idea. I'm not from the Academy."
"Of course. Most don't leave by choice—Magic cadets' fate is broken body and spirit."
And those who endure to the end get a magic license upon graduation for official activities.
"I thought magic was just learn-it-and-live-easy, but it's nothing like the fantasy I knew."
And I was the pinnacle of that injustice...
"Minimize cadet injuries and guide as many as possible to graduation—that's our job."
"Got it."
"Sorry if this brutish method disappoints you."
"No, I think it's the best they can do under the circumstances."
Seong Sua explained that her top guild, Tower, was researching standardized methods, but with no progress.
"Schutra rules..."
Scientific progress doesn't advance magic, nor vice versa.
Even Schutra lags in science. Fair trade, maybe.
"Oh my, time already..."
While explaining instructor duties, Seong Sua lifted her left arm to check her watch.
I didn't know women's watches well, but it looked nice.
"Figures a hero would wear a fancy watch."
"Her future husband's a mega-rich guy anyway..."
This world's protagonist wouldn't lack for money.
On the ring finger of her left hand, raised to check the time, sat a ring embedded with several small diamonds.
"I wanna bite that ring and take an ahegao double peace photo..."
I was damn good at trash thoughts like this.
Blissfully unaware of my dark desires, Seong Sua stood up with a bright smile.
"The first Magic Department class today is after lunch. I'll explain the cadets over a meal together."
Jackpot!