Here Comes a New Challenger
When I opened my eyes, the first thing that came into focus was a man standing beside me. Dressed in a white coat like a doctor, wearing glasses, and looking down at me…
“Hah?”
Ah, no. He wasn’t a doctor. The man was Takahiro, and the place I was lying wasn’t an intensive care unit but the school infirmary. I had thought I’d been hospitalized with some serious injury, but once I calmed my racing heart, I looked at him in bewilderment and asked,
“Why are you wearing glasses? And what’s with the coat?”
“Ah, Young Master. You see…”
Takahiro continued with a displeased expression.
“This morning, I helped you to the main building’s infirmary, didn’t I?”
I couldn’t remember arriving at the infirmary because my mind had been so hazy at the time, but I did recall Takahiro supporting me.
“That’s right.”
“However, the dormitory supervisor mentioned that our Shimazu Gumi attire intimidates the students, so I changed for the time being. Fortunately, there was a spare coat here…”
Hmm. Fair enough. If a man with such a menacing face wandered around the school in a black suit like a yakuza, it wouldn’t exactly help maintain a studious atmosphere. The dormitory supervisor must have pointed that out.
…Still, with that already fierce impression and his mustache, the glasses and coat only made him look more suspicious. Like a mad scientist conducting unethical human experiments in a biochemistry lab…
Anyway, the clock showed it was around eleven in the morning. He had apparently stayed by my side ever since I lost consciousness that morning.
“Well, thanks. Now that I’m fine, you can head back to your place—er, your office.”
“But Lady Shimazu ordered me to attend to the Young Master—”
“No, no. This is enough.”
I waved my hand and told him,
“You were only serving me to apologize in the first place, right? You’ve helped plenty, so your job is done.”
“Then…”
“Yes. Go back to work now. Tell Renka I accepted her apology and that I’m grateful she lent me her subordinate.”
“……!”
It wasn’t empty praise. Though it had only been two or three days, he had been genuinely helpful in many ways—from securing train tickets, to when the police suspected me, and even during last night’s incident with Choi Seonggil. Even though he had been forced to serve me under Renka’s orders, he carried out his duties loyally. Contrary to the bad first impression he’d made during our staring contest, he was surprisingly well-disciplined. That was probably why he held the position of squad leader directly under Renka.
“Renka! Your subordinate’s pretty impressive!”
Still, keeping him around was burdensome. No matter how much he helped, there was likely an order to keep an eye on me behind it all.
“So… you’re really forgiving me? Without even a yubikiri?”
What was yubikiri again? I searched through the linguistic knowledge I’d inherited from Baek Chulyeon. Right—it meant the pinky-promise children made.
“Hmm. Then maybe I should do a yubikiri?”
“Kuhak……!”
At those words, Takahiro’s face turned deathly pale. Why was he reacting like that? …Come to think of it, in his line of work the word carried another meaning. The act that required a cleaver to sever a finger…
Realizing I had unintentionally said something terrifying, I laughed and covered it up.
“I’m joking. You didn’t do anything wrong enough to warrant cutting off a finger, did you? Anyway, I’ve forgiven you, so go back now.”
“……!”
“If you’re going anyway, it’d be even better if you stopped by the hospital on the way and apologized to the landlady once more.”
Only then did Takahiro throw off the doctor’s coat and glasses, bow deeply at a ninety-degree angle toward me, and speak.
“Thank you! I will do so! It was an honor to serve you!”
“Yeah, yeah. Get going.”
He made a loud farewell and turned to leave the infirmary. “It was an honor to serve you”—that was probably just standard etiquette in his world, but it sounded exactly like what a subordinate would say to the commander who saved his life on the battlefield.
After sending Takahiro away, I got up from the infirmary bed. I’d skipped class, but I still needed to eat.
“Hah… Are you just here to play around?”
When I bought a lunchbox at the student cafeteria and sat down at the table where our squad members had gathered, the shaggy-haired Song Byeong-o grumbled and scolded me.
“Must be nice for you! Even if you show up only once in a while, you can still graduate and go traveling…”
“Nothing happened while I was gone, right?”
“Nothing happened, huh.”
Song Byeong-o pushed up his glasses and continued.
“As you can see, Lee Yuha still hasn’t come either. Well, if she’s sick, that’s one thing, but…”
As he said, Lee Yuha was nowhere to be seen at the table where our squad members sat (Murasaki was naturally absent as well). But that was something I already knew, so there was no need to worry. Lee Yuha had entered the dormitory yesterday, supported by Aikawa and another female student. After resting for a day, she would truly be fully recovered this time.
I looked at Aikawa. When our eyes met, she nodded with a grave expression, as if to say she understood. What was that about?
“Ah! There was that too. …”
Song Byeong-o put down his chopsticks and grinned.
“Second period was supposed to be general science, but the professor in charge suddenly canceled because of retirement. That… Saigane Seiji teacher, was it? Anyway, retirement, of all things! So Professor Kurobe took over the class instead.”
The truth about Professor Saigane’s identity and last night’s incident was a secret known only to a very few people, including me, Lee Yuha, Aikawa, and Professor Kurobe. “Retirement,” huh. Professor Kurobe must have handled it appropriately.
I opened the lunchbox lid and picked up my chopsticks. Seeing that, Song Byeong-o said,
“By the way, you brought two bentos, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I was hungry.”
“Hah!”
As he said, I had brought two lunchboxes. I hadn’t eaten anything since last night, and with my blood volume still not fully recovered, I desperately needed nutrients. As I scooped up the rice, I thought,
“I need to get stronger.”
Through the fight with Choi Seonggil, I had keenly felt how pathetically weak my abilities were. I had somehow managed to win, but it could have gone very wrong. Of course, I didn’t think such a situation would happen again, but you never know. No one knows what the future holds. I had come to school to become stronger in the first place, but at the very least, I needed to be stronger than I was now if I wanted to graduate safely. It felt like the cart was before the horse, but there was no helping it.
Then, how does an Awakened grow stronger?
The answer was simple. When one overcomes a life-or-death crisis by pushing their Awakening ability to its absolute limit, the ability grows.
“Status Window.”
Flash—!
Looking at my stats through the Status Window, they were exactly the same as they had been a few days ago.
“As expected…”
Last night, when I faced Choi Seonggil, my life had been in danger, but since I had barely used my Awakening ability, it hadn’t grown at all.
“Yuha must have grown, though.”
She had squeezed out every last drop of her freezing ability until she collapsed, all while on the verge of death from blood loss.
“Shirabayashi-kun! Shirabayashi-kun!”
While I was thinking about how to get stronger, someone approached the empty seat beside me and spoke.
“Yes yes (listen listen), you know what?”
It was Yang Bok-ja. She was smiling brightly, as if she had heard another interesting rumor.
“Thinking about the nonsense this girl brought that made me suspect Professor Kurobe of all people…”
My stomach turned. I didn’t particularly want to listen, but I asked anyway to at least pretend to be interested.
“What is it this time?”
“They say a gate opened outside Dongsomun! Today it’s off-limits, but starting tomorrow it’ll be open to civilian hunters too! Want to go check it out together after school tomorrow?”
“A gate?”
At those words, my ears perked up. Mamun—the word for gate in this era.
“Why didn’t I think of that?”
If I wanted to be placed in an environment where I could push my Awakening ability to its absolute limit during a life-or-death crisis, entering a gate was the best way. If I hunted reasonably high-grade magic beasts, my ability would naturally grow rapidly. But…
“Well, we’re students, so we can’t go in anyway! But just watching from outside? That should be fine, right? Right right?”
As she said, both school rules and the law prohibited underage students from entering gates for safety reasons.
“Well, then let’s go together. Of course, we’ll just look and come back.”
“Waa! Really?”
“Yeah. If students aren’t allowed in, there’s nothing we can do.”
I said that with a disappointed expression. But inside, I was thinking, “Kids, go home!” I planned to sneak into the gate alone without the other squad members knowing. Even to my eyes, the other squad members weren’t ready to enter a gate yet. But I was a veteran hunter with nearly ten years of experience. No matter how low this body’s stats were, dealing with magic beasts inside a gate of an appropriate rank was as easy as pie. Besides, outside Dongsomun was not far from the boarding house where I was staying. I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.
“Right. Even if it’s forbidden, there must be a way to sneak in.”
That night, at the Hwashik residence located somewhere at the foot of Namsan in Gyeongseong.
Renka, wearing a red yukata, spoke to Takahiro, who was kneeling before her.
“Report, Takahiro-san.”
“……”
When Takahiro had incurred Renka’s wrath a few days ago, he had prepared himself for seppuku at worst, or at least losing a finger or two. But instead, Renka had punished him by making him serve Baek Chulyeon and seek his forgiveness.
“Damn it… Serving a Korean!”
No matter how much it was the young lady’s order, he had initially felt humiliated at having to call a Korean student younger than himself “Young Master” and attend to him. However, after experiencing various events over the short period, his thoughts changed.
“He’s someone the young lady could take an interest in.”
The way he gave orders as if he had led people for years, the way he defeated the vampire professor despite unfavorable conditions and compatibility, and even that bold attitude that made one feel as if he were truly a superior. After seeing such things by Baek Chulyeon’s side, Takahiro could no longer believe that Baek Chulyeon was merely an ordinary student.
“Indeed, he was an extraordinary man. He was not an ordinary Korean. I realized my prejudice was wrong.”
Renka asked him in her usual cold voice,
“Did you receive his forgiveness?”
“Yes. Shirabayashi… the Young Master forgave me and asked me to convey his thanks to you as well.”
“Hmm. You’re not exaggerating just because it’s in front of me, are you, Takahiro-san?”
“……Yes. There is no mistake. If my words differ from the truth, I am prepared to commit seppuku.”
If he went that far, then it must be true. Only then did Renka smile faintly. It proved that her judgment and decision to have Takahiro serve Baek Chulyeon had been far more effective than sending his neck or fingers. Through this, she had not only been forgiven for her previous mistake, but had also corrected her subordinate’s misguided perception and, on top of that, gained definite goodwill toward herself and the Shimazu Gumi.
“Heh heh, Shirabayashi-san… Now the real beginning starts.”
Ever since their chance encounter the day before the entrance ceremony, Baek Chulyeon had continued to surprise her. After that, he had defeated a medium-sized magic beast that intruded during practical training, subdued an Awakened robber, and now even defeated a vampire ability user who had been disguised as a school professor. The more she learned of his numerous achievements over just a few days, the more intense Renka’s desire to uncover his secrets became. If Baek Chulyeon was truly just a student blessed with innate talent and had no secrets, then her own harsh seventeen years of life would become meaningless.
“If I don’t find out……!”
She still hadn’t even grasped a clue as to where Baek Chulyeon’s strength came from, but the improvement in their relationship through Takahiro this time was truly a small yet significant step.
“Until I uncover your secret, I will not stop.”
Satisfied, Renka smiled and praised Takahiro’s efforts.
“You’ve worked hard, Takahiro-san. There will be an appropriate reward befitting your contributions in this matter.”
“Thank you……!”
While Takahiro was bowing his head like that,
“Ah, there is one more thing I must report. I received a telegram on the way here.”
He continued speaking and took out a neatly folded telegram from his pocket. Renka read the telegram Takahiro handed her.
“A telegram? …”
After reading the short telegram, Renka ordered Takahiro to wait for a moment, then straightened her attire and headed toward the center of the residence. Standing before the innermost room, Renka once again adjusted her clothing, then opened the sliding door and entered.
As soon as she entered the room, the first thing she saw on the wall facing her—the wall in the direction of the head seat—was a large banner bearing the Shimazu family crest, as if overlooking the entire room. Four swords forming a cross inside a circle—that was the family crest of the Shimazu clan. Beneath that crest, the elegantly decorated head seat was empty.
Renka closed the sliding door and stepped inside. However, the place she sat was not the empty head seat, but in front of a small table located near the sliding door, far from the head seat. Renka knelt demurely in front of the table. On the table sat a black telephone.
How much time had passed since she knelt like that? The moment the telephone rang, Renka immediately picked up the receiver.
“Father.”
The person on the other end of the line was Shimazu Tadanobu, the head of the Shimazu ducal family that had ruled over Kagoshima for generations, and Renka’s father. He was also the one who had sent Renka to Gyeongseong. Renka herself did not know what the family head’s plan was in sending her here. However, Father must have sent her to Gyeongseong with great expectations, Renka thought, and had followed his instructions as she always had throughout her life.
But what could it be? For ordinary matters, Father never called like this. Renka listened carefully to the voice on the other end.
“……Yes. ……Yes?”
Renka’s face, which had been answering the voice on the other end while kneeling demurely, gradually hardened, and even her voice began to tremble.
“But……”
Renka asked in a trembling voice.
“So suddenly, what business does ‘he’ have……?”
After listening to the voice on the other end in silence for a while longer, Renka said,
“……Understood.”
She ended the call and put down the receiver. Renka’s complexion was pale. After putting down the receiver, she remained silent for a moment before calling Takahiro.
“……Takahiro.”
Takahiro, who had been kneeling and waiting outside the room, opened the sliding door and answered.
“Yes, my lady.”
“……Major Aoki is coming to Gyeongseong.”
“Major Aoki?”
Renka bit her lip.
“Major Aoki Hisaburo.”
He was neither a member of the noble Shimazu ducal family nor a member of the hunter guild Shimazu Gumi. As his rank of “Major” indicated, he was an army officer. However, he was a man favored by the family head Shimazu Tadanobu for unknown reasons, currently serving as a special service officer in the 11th Regiment of the 7th Division of the Kwantung Army stationed in Fengtian, Manchuria, and was Renka’s childhood fiancé, arranged long ago by Shimazu Tadanobu.
“I had forgotten about him……”
Blood seeped from Renka’s bitten lower lip.
The next morning, Gyeongseong Station.
Takahiro, who had come to meet Major Aoki, soon spotted a man emerging from the ticket gate. A man in his early thirties wearing a yellow military uniform with a Type 94 military sword at his waist. As he walked with disciplined steps in his leather military boots, his face—when looked up at—left an impression one could never forget after seeing it once.
It wasn’t because it was menacing or hideous. Rather, it was clearly the face of a handsome man with delicate features. However, the three-white eyes whose direction of gaze was impossible to determine beneath heavy shadows, and the sharp, expressionless face as if carved from stone, gave off an eerie and cold feeling.
This wasn’t the first time Takahiro had seen the man. Yet every time he saw him, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated and get goosebumps.
“Major! Over here!”
Takahiro suppressed such feelings and greeted Major Aoki with an ingratiating attitude. Spotting Takahiro, Major Aoki relaxed his cold expression and smiled faintly.
“Ah, Takahiro-kun.”
“It’s been a long time. The last time I saw you was five years ago in Tokyo, when the young lady graduated from the elementary division of the Gakushuin…”
“Yes. How is the young lady?”
“She is well. She is waiting for you, Major. Let us go.”
After finishing their greetings, Takahiro and Major Aoki got into the car parked in front of Gyeongseong Station. Sitting in the back seat, Aoki suddenly spoke.
“By the way, it’s been a while since I came to Korea too.”
“Indeed. Since you’ve been stationed in Manchuria the whole time, Major.”
“Ah. I was busy ‘hunting.’”
At those words, Takahiro in the driver’s seat swallowed hard.
“Hunting.” Major Aoki was not a hunter who hunted magic beasts, but a professional soldier. As a soldier stationed in Manchuria, what had he been “hunting”…? Instead of asking, Takahiro merely smiled and changed the subject.
“Major! Gyeongseong has changed a lot, hasn’t it? The Mitsukoshi Department Store was expanded to seven floors the year before last…… The streets of Honmachi are no less impressive than Ginza in Tokyo, don’t you think?”
“Ah. Indeed. It’s quite different from when I left.”
Major Aoki spoke in an admiring tone on the surface, but when Takahiro looked at Aoki’s face through the rearview mirror, it was expressionless. Aoki, who had remained expressionless the entire time, suddenly smiled eerily and said to Takahiro,
“Takahiro-kun, if it’s not too much trouble, could you close the front window?”
“Pardon? Ah, of course.”
“Thank you. Well, as you said, Korea has changed a lot, but……”
Maintaining the smile with the corners of his mouth raised high, Major Aoki continued.
“The disgusting garlic smell of the Senjin still permeates the air everywhere.”