039. Entrance Ceremony
039. Entrance Ceremony
Shin Se-hee.
Originally, even if it meant making an enemy of her, I had no intention of bringing Shin Se-hee into the party.
There were simply too many downsides compared to the benefits if she became a party member.
Her chemistry didn't provide synergy for the other party members, and she wasn't so exceptionally skilled that she'd be irreplaceable, either.
If anything, she'd just stir up chaos among the party members,
and if she was grouped in the same party as Gukbap, even the handful of useful spells she had would turn shoddy, reducing her to dead weight. There was no reason to go out of my way to recruit her.
But during this group sparring, I discovered a new possibility in Shin Se-hee.
That was the management window.
In the mobile game, it was the operator function that let Players track student growth, manage schedules, and handle all kinds of convenient administrative tasks.
But now that the game had become reality, that kind of convenient feature didn't exist.
Meaning, I had to run around on my own two feet, gathering information piece by piece and keeping tabs on each party member's condition myself.
On top of that, I still had to handle missions as a bonus.
If I tried to do all that personally, I'd need several more bodies and still fall short.
'But the information on Gukbap's party that Shin Se-hee gave me this time was laid out almost exactly like the student management window format....'
The paper she handed me back then had the profiles of Gukbap's party members, the skills they used, their synergies,
and even miscellaneous details like their habits, all written down in a neat, orderly script.
'Inside the game, she was just a character who pushed her character-appeal one-trick as a gap-moe Infused Liquor type, but in reality, she turned out to be specialized in handling information.'
"...A management window?"
Shin Se-hee tilted her head as if the term were unfamiliar and asked again.
"Yeah. You wouldn't actually participate in combat. It's a role where you support the party from the back, managing things and providing information."
At that, her eyes went wide.
"It's not a role where you're alongside the party members on the battlefield—it's merely a support role. So, do you still want to do it? If not, refuse now."
I said it firmly.
She had a lot of pride, so the odds were high she'd turn down this offer.
"Ha, Jin Yu-ha. Are you serious right now?"
Shin Se-hee let out a scoff, as if she couldn't believe it.
'As expected, it's a rejection....'
I'd made the offer because she seemed to be showing a fair amount of interest in the party, but it looked like it really was a rejection after all.
I clicked my tongue in disappointment.
Giving a Subspace Tattoo to someone who isn't even a party member felt a bit wasteful,
but since this girl's the type who can't stand being in debt, she'd probably repay me with some other kind of help later.
'Nothing to be done about it... I guess I'll just have to scout around for someone else in that line.'
Just as I was turning my back to leave,
"That proposal—"
One corner of Shin Se-hee's mouth curled upward as she stared straight at me.
"I absolutely love that offer."
'I figured her pride would make her refuse... but it suits her perfectly?'
I looked at her with questioning eyes.
"So, what you're saying, Jin Yu-ha, is that I'd be the one managing the party from the back, right?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Jin Yu-ha. Do you know something?"
The shadows disappeared from Shin Se-hee's face, and she wore a confident expression.
"I actually prefer working behind the scenes in secret, you see?"
"...Ah."
"Stepping out in front is more tiring than you'd think."
Hu-hu-hu—
Maybe because she genuinely felt better, her face relaxed completely and she smiled as brightly as sunshine.
"Oh, I'll accept your condition, Jin Yu-ha. That I won't lie to you or the party members. But in exchange for promising that, I have a condition of my own."
"...A condition?"
"Yeees. If you'll just grant me that, I'll do everything I can for your party."
* * *
Ding—♬
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Shin Se-hee 【Blossom ✿】 has
└ invited Kang Do-hee 【Fire Fist】.
└ invited Lee Yu-ri 【I'm Not Gukbap】.
└ invited Jin Yu-ha 【Sword Demon】.
【Fire Fist】 ─ ?
【I'm Not Gukbap】 ─ ?
【Sword Demon】 ─ It's our party group chat.
【I'm Not Gukbap】 ─ Ah, it's the party. Should I start with introductions, then?
【Fire Fist】 ─ Aah. Party group chat. Hm? Wait, is that Flowerbed bitch in here too...?
【Blossom ✿】 ─ Hehe ☺️ ️I'll explain about that myself. Anyway, Fire Fist... aren't you embarrassed~~?
【Fire Fist】 ─ Shut it. I don't wanna hear that crap from a bitch who calls herself Blossom.
【I'm Not Gukbap】 ─ Hello. I'm Tank Lee Yu-ri. I've been assigned the Tank role in the party. Please take care of me. I have five years of experience in total, having worked as a hunter since I was fifteen. Also,
【Blossom ✿】 ─ Excuse me, Gukbap. I'll be doing the introductions first since I'm the room owner, so would you please be quiet for a moment?
【I'm Not Gukbap】 ─ I'm goi-, I'm not Gukbap, you know?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
What Shin Se-hee had demanded from me.
It was the formal title of 'Operator' and the 'room owner' position for the party group chat.
Honestly, I'd wondered why she'd ask for something like that, but she'd said that since she wasn't an official party member, she needed at least some kind of authority to manage the party members.
'But does being a group chat room owner really give you, what, dignity...? Anyway, Shin Se-hee sure isn't scared of Lee Yu-ri in the chat, huh?'
Seemed like she could talk properly as long as she wasn't facing her directly.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
【Blossom ✿】 ─ I will be operating as Jin Yu-ha's party 'Operator' from now on. I'll be in charge of overall support for all of you, so please keep that in mind~~🥰
【Fire Fist】 ─ Hey. Jin Yu-ha. Is this right? You're accepting that bitch into the party?
【Sword Demon(劍鬼)】 ─ Strictly speaking, she's not a party member. She won't be on-site for subjugations, and I'll still be giving orders in the field.
【Blossom ✿】 ─ That's right, that's right~~! I'll be in charge of information and schedules when there's no party activity, so we'll barely ever run into each other directly~~?
【Fire Fist】 ─ ...Are those goddamn tildes absolutely necessary?
【Blossom ✿】 ─ Speak a little more prettily, please~ We're in the same group~~. And what do you mean, goddamn? Aren't you the one who's a puppy?
【Fire Fist】 ─ 🌈Cut the crap🎉 and 🌈shut up💫
【Blossom ✿】 ─ Oh my, decorating it all pretty doesn't make what you're saying pretty, you know?
《 Shin Se-hee 【Blossom ✿】 has muted Kang Do-hee 【Fire Fist】 for 1 minute. 》
【I'm Not Gukbap】 ─ Mm. Should I call you Operator, then?
【Blossom ✿】 ─ Yeees, Gukbap. I'd appreciate that~
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Using her room owner authority, Shin Se-hee was skillfully managing the mood of the room.
'This chick... is she Lü Bu in the group chat or something?'
Sure enough, with the room owner position, it seemed like the others couldn't just ignore what Shin Se-hee said on the grounds that she wasn't in the party.
Well, the party members getting close to each other still looked like a long way off, but it'd be fine.
Come on, it was only the admission ceremony. As they chatted and interacted going forward, the awkwardness would gradually fade away, wouldn't it?
I chuckled and turned off my phone screen.
'As I thought, Sword Demon with the Chinese characters looks cool.'
* * *
And the next day.
The day of the Velvet Hunter Academy admission ceremony had finally dawned.
The vast and sprawling grand athletic field.
Murmur— Murmur—
The prospective cadets who had completed three weeks of training were gathered there.
They stood in ranks, each carrying their own weapon, as instructors moved among them, adjusting the students' spacing.
I, too, stood in line, mixed in among the male cadets.
Click—
Click—
Click—
Along with the sound of shoe heels, a small girl with purple twintails walked out, her face set hard.
As soon as she stepped up onto the platform, the crowd fell silent in an instant.
"...."
Rina, standing on the platform, had the microphone positioned above her head.
She looked utterly adorable for an academy chairwoman.
She struggled with the mic height for a good while, whining, until she apparently lost her temper and kicked the stand over hard.
Screeeeech—
The mic toppled to the floor, letting out a sharp noise.
Truth be told, everyone probably wanted to say something,
but not a single person could open their mouth.
'Whoa, crazy... did she bind the bodies of everyone here with magic?'
Even when I tried to open my mouth, my lips stayed stuck firmly shut. And I couldn't even blink—all I could do was stare at Rina.
She was probably trying to establish some discipline. After all, no one would dare underestimate her after witnessing this divine feat.
"Welcome."
A voice, small and thin.
"Prospective cadets of Velvet Hunter Academy. I am the chairwoman of the academy, Rina."
Yet her voice pierced clearly into our ears.
"You have all worked hard over the past three weeks of basic training."
Clap clap clap clap clap—
My palms moved on their own, applauding.
"You prospective cadets will now become full-fledged cadets and begin your journey to become true Hunters who confront Demonized Humans and monsters."
This speech was all too familiar to me.
"Everything you are taught here will become your flesh and blood, and you will undergo experiences that push you beyond your own limits."
Because it was a scene I'd inevitably had to watch every single time I did a reroll when I couldn't pull the character I wanted.
There wasn't even a skip button, so this scene was so familiar I could recite it by heart with my eyes closed.
"What you will learn here in the days to come is not merely how to fight."
"You will learn honor,"
"you will learn courage,"
"and you will also learn justice!"
Even though it was an overly familiar speech I'd heard on repeat like that,
hearing her deliver it right in front of me felt utterly unfamiliar.
"This place will provide the finest education in the world, so take pride as cadets of Velvet Hunter Academy!"
A shiver ran through me.
"Welcome to Velvet Hunter Academy, cadets."
The coercive force wrapping around my body released.
Clap—
Even without the compulsion, the cadets began applauding voluntarily, one by one.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap—
Waaaaaaaah—
A thunderous roar of applause.
With that resounding cheer as the backdrop,
the true academy life of 《Velvet School Life!》 had begun.
(*The act of resetting an account and starting over from the beginning when you don't get the result you want from a gacha pull. Reset marathon.)