079. Observation

Chairwoman Rina clutched her head, overwhelmed by the déjà vu ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that had been growing more severe recently.

"Haaah....... It's happening again."

Under normal circumstances, she would have dismissed this kind of déjà vu as just a vague feeling.

But having broken free of it once before made this recurrence feel all the more grating.

'Everything I do feels like I've already done it, and the sense of repetition won't go away.'

She poured herself a glass of the strong vodka beside her and gulped it down.

But her body, suffused with pure Mana, didn't even register it—like a single drop of ink dissolving into the sea.

Chairwoman Rina glared at the documents on her desk.

「Incident Report on the Demonization of Cadet Choi A-ram」

A report detailing how one of the cadets became demonized and the steps taken to resolve the situation.

She had skillfully ordered an inspection of the package delivered to Cadet Choi A-ram,

and in the process had successfully discovered traces of a Demonization Seed inside.

As a countermeasure, she had strengthened delivery inspections and installed additional demonic energy surveillance arrays.

It was truly a relief that the matter could be wrapped up with a single incident report like this.

Nevertheless, her eyes refused to leave one name at the very top of that report.

《Jin Yu-ha》

"......I don't know why, but whenever I'm around this bastard, the feeling is oddly different......"

She still couldn't pinpoint exactly what or how, but whenever she talked with him or he stood before her, she clearly sensed something different from her usual perception.

'Shall I call him here?'

The thought crossed her mind, but she immediately shook her head vigorously.

No matter how she looked at it, it didn't look good for the academy's chairwoman to keep summoning a single cadet.

'And who knows what that insolent jackal with the impertinent eyes might demand next.'

The brat who, with that slick face, had asked for a single unconditional favor after handling the Demonized Human.

Just picturing that brazen mug made a surge of irritation well up inside her.

'Weren't five subspaces enough?! Do you know how much one of those costs!'

Then her gaze happened to fall upon the desk calendar beside her.

"Come to think of it, today is definitely the day Seol-hee teaches her major class, isn't it."

Psssh─

She lowered the height of her chair. Once the soles of her feet touched the floor, she hopped up from her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seat.

"Hmm, it wouldn't hurt to see what sort of class Seol-hee teaches at least once. She is my personal aide, after all."

Muttering such excuses to herself, Chairwoman Rina set out on a rare patrol of the academy.

* * *

'Hm, is this the place......?'

Training Ground C.

It was a training facility enclosed by high walls on all sides, with security measures to prevent external access.

Originally, this was the training ground Baek Seol-hee used when practicing swordsmanship alone.

'I might disturb their training, so I'll use Perception Interference before entering.'

Rina traced a small magic circle with her fingertips.

Instantly, gray Mana layered over her body.

Whoosh─

Then she used Blink to cross the wall and enter the training ground.

SWOOOOOOSH─!

The moment she stepped inside, Rina couldn't help but open her eyes wide.

The sound of a blade tearing through the wind pierced her ears.

Baek Seol-hee was thrusting her sword at Jin Yu-ha with murderous intent.

'......W-Wait a moment!?'

Though it had been a while since Rina had seen Baek Seol-hee's swordsmanship, no matter how she looked at it, that was not a strike an instructor should direct at a cadet.

CLANG─!

Jin Yu-ha gritted his teeth and deflected the blade in response, then kicked sand up from the floor.

SWISH─!

Right after, a sharp thrust shot through the rising sand.

Jin Yu-ha was swinging his sword as if he meant to kill, like his opponent was his mortal enemy.

This, too, was not a strike a cadet should direct at an instructor.

'A-and on top of that....... Wh-what is this killing intent.......'

Rina swallowed hard at the thickly layered killing intent.

Wasn't today supposed to be their second lesson?

Had Jin Yu-ha turned into a Demonized Human or something?

The chairwoman stared back and forth with a flustered expression, but the two simply continued exchanging blows.

"That sword is still beyond you."

"......Haa. I haven't learned proper swordsmanship yet, so I'm using what I picked up by watching."

"......By watching, you say?"

SWOOOOSH!

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Blade clashed against blade, ringing out with clear metallic tones.

Before long,

SWOOOOSH!

Thud.

Baek Seol-hee's sword halted at Jin Yu-ha's neck.

"You just died again."

At that, Jin Yu-ha let his sword drop from his hand and grumbled sullenly.

"The instructor said she'd only defend......"

"The best defense is a good offense."

"......."

"Let's take a short break."

"Ah, Instructor. Here."

"Mm."

Jin Yu-ha pulled a towel and a bottle of cold water from his Subspace Tattoo and handed them to Baek Seol-hee.

Baek Seol-hee accepted them as if it were the most natural thing.

By any measure, they looked like a cordial master and disciple.

Their demeanor was so amiable that it made you question whether they were the same pair who had been trying to skewer each other moments before.

Rina stared at them in disbelief.

'What in the world....... What exactly is Seol-hee trying to create.......'

As the person who oversaw Velvet Hunter Academy,

Rina had a firm grasp of what constituted an appropriate level for first-year cadets.

But this lesson far, far exceeded any reasonable cadet level.

"No....... More importantly, this class. Wasn't it supposed to be Basic Swordsmanship Major......?"

The words slipped from Rina's lips before she could stop them, her bewilderment getting the better of her.

In that same instant, Baek Seol-hee's eyes sharpened.

SWOOOOOOSH─!

Baek Seol-hee instantly drew her sword and launched a Sword Qi.

The chairwoman flinched and thrust her palm forward.

CRACK─!

The Sword Qi shattered right in front of her.

"I-It's me! Seol-hee! It's me!"

The chairwoman hastily revealed herself.

Baek Seol-hee immediately relaxed her expression and sheathed her sword.

"It was the Chairwoman. I apologize; it was an automatic reaction."

Baek Seol-hee gave a small bow as she spoke, but Rina couldn't shake the suspicion that she had known from the start and acted anyway.

"Chairwoman......?"

Jin Yu-ha turned his head with a surprised look.

Rina, feeling awkward for no reason, let out a dry cough.

"Ahem, well, yes. I came to observe for a moment."

"......To observe?"

"Mm. Since Seol-hee is also my direct subordinate, I was curious about what kind of class she teaches."

"Ah......."

Jin Yu-ha nodded.

"So, how is....... Are you, are you all right?"

Having witnessed the earlier lesson, Rina felt her initial resentment toward Jin Yu-ha completely wash away, and she asked in a worried voice.

"Huh?"

At Rina's question, Jin Yu-ha tilted his head with a blank face.

"No, I'm asking if the lessons are manageable. You know, whether they're too harsh, or too difficult......"

"Oh, well. It's a little challenging, but the instructor kindly explains everything, so."

Rina's brow furrowed at that.

Kindly?

Had she been mistaken about the meaning of the word all this time?

Where in what she just saw was there any kindness?

What was even more dumbfounding was Baek Seol-hee, who nodded slightly with a satisfied smile at those words.

At first, Rina had thought Seol-hee had gone overboard.

That the excitement of taking her first disciple had caused her to cross the line.

But that was wrong.

'These two....... They're both out of their minds.'

Master and disciple alike were out of control.

Worse, the lessons took place in a sealed space with only the two of them, so there was no way to even check the reactions of others.

Then the chairwoman suddenly realized: that strange, irritating déjà vu no longer bothered her.

Rina plopped down on the spot and sat.

Baek Seol-hee and Jin Yu-ha both looked at her and furrowed their brows.

"......?"

"......?"

"Ahem! Would it be all right if I stayed and observed the lesson for the rest of the day?"

"Well, I don't mind, but......"

As Jin Yu-ha spoke, he glanced questioningly toward Baek Seol-hee.

"It's disruptive."

Baek Seol-hee answered with a plainly displeased expression.

"......I'll just watch quietly and then leave."

"It'll be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a problem."

'This Iron Wall!'

Seething at Baek Seol-hee's stubborn refusal, Rina's thoughts suddenly turned to the incident report she had been writing earlier.

"Ah, that's right! I came to gather data for the incident report!"

"......An incident report?"

"Yes, because I need to write about Jin Yu-ha's skill level."

"......Those Hunter Management Bureau bastards. Even though I'm sure the data was sent......"

Grinding─

The chilling sound of teeth grinding.

Rina froze for a moment.

If she couldn't stop Seol-hee here, a few of those Hunter Management Bureau bastards weren't going to make it to work tomorrow.

And she would end up shouldering all the blame.

"I-I'll give them a stern talking-to! Calm down, calm down! I'll just check a few things and be off, so please continue the lesson!"

Rina hastily calmed Baek Seol-hee with an urgent voice.

"Haah, understood."

And so, with Chairwoman Rina sitting in as an observer,

the lesson between Jin Yu-ha and Baek Seol-hee went on.

"Cadet Jin Yu-ha."

"Yes, Instructor."

"You asked to be taught grappling, correct?"

"Yes."

Baek Seol-hee touched her lips briefly as she gathered her thoughts, then spoke.

"Hmm, with swordsmanship, I can guarantee safety even at full intensity...... But hand-to-hand combat will make it harder to control my strength."

"Ah....... Then what should we......."

"Therefore, I think it best to teach systematically from the basics, slowly, in segmented motions. Is that acceptable?"

"Oh, that's fine. Please do it that way."

"Then, let me first show you the basic positions."

Baek Seol-hee lay down on the floor, looking up at the sky, and Jin Yu-ha knelt beside her.

"In that position, press down on my body with your upper body and restrain me."

Jin Yu-ha slowly leaned his torso down and covered Baek Seol-hee's body.

"First, I'll teach you how to escape when you're restrained like this."

Baek Seol-hee spoke in a flat, matter-of-fact voice.

"First, lift your hips to create a bridge."

Baek Seol-hee arched her hips upward.

"Then immediately shift your hips to the side and slip out laterally. This technique is called the Shrimp Escape."

With that, Baek Seol-hee smoothly slipped free from Jin Yu-ha's hold.

"This time, let's switch roles and try it."

"Yes!"

.

.

.

"A little closer. Pull your waist in tightly. Put strength into your lower body."

"......Yes!"

"Use your hips properly."

"......Yes!"

"Press down as if you're pinning them. Firmly. Good."

'Wh-what in the world......!?'

Sitting in the corner, Chairwoman Rina stared with her eyes wide open, swallowing hard as she watched their training.

'I-is this really okay......? Is it really all right for people of opposite genders to do this kind of lesson......?'

Jin Yu-ha and Baek Seol-hee practiced various techniques with utterly serious faces the entire time.

But because she was teaching the basics of Jiu-jitsu, the movements weren't particularly intense, and everything was done slowly in segmented motions.

As a result, there were many moments when they simply looked like they were holding each other.

'Is this lesson really okay......?'

A handsome male student and the cold but haughty-looking Baek Seol-hee, both sweating lightly, their faces held close together—it even felt somehow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠decadent.

'No....... More importantly, this class. Wasn't it supposed to be Basic Swordsmanship Major......'

Chairwoman Rina silently continued asking herself questions that no one would answer.