071. Knowledge from the Future (3) (Illustration)

"I believe this strategy is optimal."

I turned my head and spoke toward the instructor.

He gave a small nod in response.

Then his lips slowly parted.

"......Optimal, you say. Jin... Yu-ha. Cadet Jin Yu-ha, was it?"

"Yes."

"Right, Cadet Jin Yu-ha. That was a novel approach. Then I'll ask. Why was that optimal, and what is the reason you did not use a Tank or any items? Explain that."

The instructor turned his head toward the hologram screen, looking at the Tank still spinning in circles in place.

'......Novel approach? Why was it optimal? Why didn't I use the Tank or items......?'

For a moment, I almost frowned at the instructor's words, but I soon caught on to his intent.

'Aha. Looking out for the newbies?'

I subtly shifted my gaze to the side.

Shin Se-hee's dumbfounded face and the admiring expressions of most of the cadets came into view.

'Well, a cheese build would look novel to newbies, I suppose.'

Back when I was active as 【Kimchi Cream Pasta】 on the Velvetsra strategy boards,

the moment I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠posted a single cheese build, countless infantile comments would pour in: "Whoa!? How do u do this!?"

I nodded, recalling those days.

Mm. Mm.

Newbies with zero basic knowledge naturally need to be coddled and spoon-fed one step at a time.

The instructor, who devised strategies from the same perspective as me, was trying to help the cadets understand by asking these obvious questions.

'So that's why he loaded us up with all those items and stuck a Tank in there? So he could say, "Actually, you don't need it."'

I silently revised my earlier private assessment of the instructor as "shitty guy."

And I opened my mouth to meet his expectations.

"For one thing, if you use a Tank, you can't keep every character's HP at full."

"......Full HP?"

"Yes. If we had used a Tank here, we might have been able to finish the fight faster. But subduing the enemy without anyone getting hurt—isn't that the most beautiful picture?"

I said it with the implication, "I am your kindred spirit."

At that, the instructor's eyes went round.

"......A beautiful picture."

The words slipped out as if in admiration.

Right. All this time, there must have been no one in this world who understood you.

It must have been suffocating. Frustrating.

Living as the sole binocular-eyed man in a world full of stupid one-eyed people must have been unbearably lonely.

Hadn't I myself been moved just moments ago when I encountered this build?

He quickly recomposed his expression and asked me another question.

"......Then why didn't you use the items? If you had used them, you could have completed that beautiful picture you spoke of a little faster."

"It would have been a waste."

"......A waste?"

"Yes. The Highly Concentrated Acid Solution is hard to obtain and a remarkably efficient item. If you use it on mere A-Rank Monsters, then later, when the moment truly calls for it, you may regret having used the item now. I believe if you can avoid using it, then avoiding it is the correct choice."

"Is that so. A battle later on......"

"Of course. Consumed resources never come back, after all."

Seeing the instructor's expression turn startled again, I let out a quiet laugh.

"I know you prepared this test with the same thoughts as me, Instructor."

"......Me?"

"Yes. If that weren't the case, you wouldn't have placed two Healers on a basin map and, coincidentally, four monsters hostile to each other in this exact formation. Wiping out the enemy in one stroke through their mutual infighting—isn't that what you wanted to teach us?"

"......."

The instructor looked like he had a lot to say, but he shut his mouth.

* * *

"......Whoa. I honestly never even considered that."

"Right? I figured it was obviously the method where the Tank blocks up front, the Healers heal from the back, and you group the monsters and use the items......"

"Huh!? What you thought of sounds pretty plausible too!"

"No, it's not. What I thought of is garbage. If you did that...... most of the party members would get badly hurt."

The cadets buzzed as they looked at Jin Yu-ha's solution.

"......Is that the guy? The looks quota."

"Yeah, the one with the killer modeling."

"But isn't it a bit unfair that his brain is sexy too?"

"......He must've studied ahead."

"Can you even study ahead for this......?"

The cadets marveled at the novel intent of the problem just presented,

and they let out admiration for Jin Yu-ha, who had pinpointed it exactly.

"I'm sorry, Instructor."

Jin Yu-ha, who had solved the problem in an unconventional way, was bowing politely toward the instructor.

"Having accumulated fatigue from previous classes, I merely meant to rest my eyes for a moment, but I fell asleep without realizing class had begun. I'll make sure nothing like this happens again."

"......Is that so. It's fortunate you realize it, then."

"And I ask for your continued guidance going forward, Instructor. Had I known this class would be this outstanding beforehand, I never would have dozed off."

"Sure."

Jin Yu-ha kept his eyes sparkling the whole time, trying to engage the instructor in conversation however he could,

while the instructor coldly cut him off with one-word answers.

"By the way, Instructor, since this was the first class, you prepared a problem on the lighter side, right?"

"This was...... easy......? Just something to kill time......?"

For an instant, the instructor's eyebrow twitched. But Jin Yu-ha didn't notice and continued.

"Yes. But I do think it was an appropriate problem for laying bare the difference between an efficient strategy and an inefficient one. I'll look forward to even more beneficial classes ahead."

To everyone else's eyes, it looked like a heartwarming scene: Jin Yu-ha, having solved the problem brilliantly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was offering a polite apology to the instructor, and the instructor was graciously accepting it.

But Shin Se-hee, who was quick to read people, could tell.

Right now,

that instructor

was madly,

colossally flustered.

His face was blank, as if his thoughts had ground to a halt.

Cold sweat was beading on his forehead in real time.

'......No one normally knows that stuff! Jin Yu-ha!'

Jin Yu-ha had brought a strategy from the future into the present.

And, absurdly, he was explaining it as if it were a matter of course.

'Right. In the future, I'm sure that strategy is standard.'

Jin Yu-ha had, most likely, stared into the future for too long,

and as a result, he didn't seem to realize the very fact that he was dragging future strategies into the past.

'Jin Yu-ha, you idiot.......'

"Then I'll come by to see you from time to time, Instructor."

Jin Yu-ha smiled brightly at the instructor.

The instructor desperately gathered his composure and nodded awkwardly.

"......R-Right. Yes. Do that."

And Jin Yu-ha turned his back and headed toward the rear.

Thump.

Jin Yu-ha returned to his seat and sat down beside her.

Shin Se-hee watched him with a complicated gaze, then opened her lips.

"Jin Yu-ha."

"Hm?"

"Um, the instructor just now......"

"Ah, you felt it too, didn't you?"

Jin Yu-ha spoke with an uncharacteristically bright ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expression.

"That instructor—don't you think he's gonna mesh really well with me?"

"......Pardon?"

"Tsk. I honestly never imagined there'd be a class like this. Can I take this class more? Ah, can a cadet also hold a concurrent position as a grad student? If what they do in grad school is this kind of build-crafting research, I'd seriously consider it."

Jin Yu-ha was running wild like a locomotive with broken brakes.

Shin Se-hee felt that if she left him like this, something truly catastrophic might happen.

"Jin Yu-ha."

She gulped and called him in a low voice.

"You can't."

"......Can't?"

"Yes. Cadets are basically not permitted to hold concurrent grad-student positions."

"Mm, then later I'll produce results and request they permit the concurrent position......"

"And don't you have a lot of things you need to do going forward, Jin Yu-ha?"

At that moment, Shin Se-hee had saved one instructor's life.

"Later, once everything is fully finished—wouldn't that be the right time to do what you want, Jin Yu-ha?"

"Ah."

Jin Yu-ha's mouth fell open.

He closed his eyes gently.

"Ah, thanks. My head's cooled down thanks to you. I got excited for a second because the class was so good and I found a kindred spirit."

Jin Yu-ha scratched his head and conceded.

"Thank you for listening to me."

"Still, it is a bit of a shame......"

Jin Yu-ha clicked his tongue. Shin Se-hee watched his dejected expression.

She thought that knowledge of the future shouldn't be carelessly unpacked in the present, but her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mouth said something different from what she thought.

"......Um, there are still plenty of classes left. And, you know...... m-maybe, stopping by now and then just to share a chat about strategies? Wouldn't that be o-okay?"

With that, she tossed the instructor she'd barely saved right back into the gutter.

"I knew you'd get it!"

Jin Yu-ha's face lit up.

'Ah, why do I always end up like this whenever I get tangled up with this person.......'

Shin Se-hee buried her face in her hands.

*

And so, the "Understanding Party Roles, Formations, and Organization" class came to an end.

When all the cadets were getting ready to leave,

"Shin Se-hee, class is over. What are you gonna do now?"

Jin Yu-ha abruptly spoke to Shin Se-hee.

"Mm, this was my last lecture today. I'll probably head straight back. But why do you ask?"

"Ah, I was gonna go shopping today, so I was wondering if you could come with me, if you have time."

"Huh......?"

Thump─

Shin Se-hee stared at Jin Yu-ha with a surprised face.

'Did this man just ask me to go shopping with him......?'

Her heart raced at his words. Her head spun with confusion for a moment,

but she quickly turned the gears in her head and recalled roughly how much was in her account.

'......Mm, I can mobilize about 1 billion won right now, more or less. If it's a little short, I can just borrow some from Secretary Kim.'

Mm. Mm.

Shin Se-hee nodded.

"Yes, sure. But why shopping, all of a sudden? Do you need something?"

"Ah, I originally planned to get this done before killing the tutorial boss, but Choi A-ram showed up earlier than expected, so I couldn't gear up the party members. So I'm planning to do it before our party activities this weekend."

Shin Se-hee's fluttering mood instantly crashed into the abyss.

'Ah, the party members.......'

She wasn't an official party member, after all.

She knew it couldn't be helped.

And since she was in a position managing the party, it was only natural she'd have to tag along on a gear-fitting trip like this.

It wasn't a personal arrangement—he was asking her to come along as a matter of official party business.

'......Still, it's fine. The fact that he doesn't even bother to hide that he sees the future in front of me anymore—that means he really does trust me.'

Rationalizing it that way, Shin Se-hee forcibly steadied her agitated heart.

'Yeah, I should be grateful for even this. I have to be content with this.'

"Tsk, party members' gear....... Honestly, shop-bought stuff is barely usable....... But it's still better than going without anything."

Jin Yu-ha spoke in a voice that gave absolutely no hint that he had guessed what she was thinking.

"Mm, first off, Kang Do-hee doesn't use a weapon, so I'll look at armor for her. Lee Yu-ri, a shield. And Im Ga-eul, an off-hand weapon....... And then Shin Se-hee......"

"Huh......?"

When her name suddenly came up, Shin Se-hee's eyes went round and she stared at him.

At that, Jin Yu-ha tilted his head and asked back.

"What's wrong?"

"......You're g-getting something for me too?"

Jin Yu-ha furrowed his brows as if she'd said something utterly ridiculous.

"Of course."

"I-I'm not even in a combat role, and I'm not an official party member......"

Jin Yu-ha stared blankly at Shin Se-hee as she spoke hesitantly.

"......I think you've got the wrong idea about something."

"......About what?"

"You thinking you're not a party member. I think that part is wrong."

"Pardon......?"

"I'll say it to you clearly right now. Shin Se-hee. You're my party member. And you've never done anything weird to me."

Tingle─

A shiver that started down her back at those words spread through Shin Se-hee's entire body.

Emotion surged.

'I'm one of them too.......'

Then, abruptly—

Huh?

Wait.......

But why would he suddenly say that......?

D-Don't tell me.......

"Jin Yu-ha."

Shin Se-hee gulped and looked at him with eyes full of a terrible suspicion.

"......The text I sent yesterday....... D-Did you see it?"

At that, Jin Yu-ha pulled the corner of his mouth up ominously.

"Yeah, I saw it."

"......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

In an instant, her face flushed bright red and her pupils began shaking uncontrollably.