Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Forbidden Domain (1)
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BOOM!
"I object!"
A massive explosion shattered the darkness, and the one who emerged was Class A's homeroom professor.
'...Why is that guy showing up here?'
Sin Bihyeong couldn't help but widen his eyes at the sight.
Regular classes hadn't even started yet.
That meant this person should still be dealing with the anomaly, the ancient relic...
How the hell did he know what was going on here?
"Oof, my back."
Class A's homeroom professor patted his lower back, scanned the surroundings, and spotted Sin Bihyeong.
Then, their eyes met, and he flashed a grin.
"It's all good now. I'm here."
...What was that? Some line I'd heard a million times before?
No, probably not.
Anyway.
Sin Bihyeong looked at Class A's homeroom professor, then at the woman walking in behind him.
Black hair and glasses without any prescription.
And a woman who constantly had a smile in her eyes.
The Library Chairman, who was also the Morals Committee Chair.
"Hmm."
The Chairman hummed a little tune as she looked around, spotted Sin Bihyeong, and gave a bright smile.
Then she raised her hand and gave a gentle wave.
"Hey, junior. We meet again?"
In her hand lingered demonic power she hadn't fully expended.
'Did she pry open a gap in the barrier of this space?'
And the professor smashed it wide open?
'Why the hell...?'
The disciplinary hearing hadn't even begun yet,
but things were already falling apart, giving him a throbbing headache.
At that moment, a chilling voice emanated from where the lights were on.
It was a few members of the Elder Council.
"You thunderbolt-headed fool. Do you even know what kind of occasion this is, acting like that?"
"What, isn't this the spot where you're grabbing some innocent kid and threatening him with discipline and all that?"
"This is to determine the severity of that discipline. What the hell are you thinking?"
"Mm. Truth is, I just really wanted to say 'I object' for once."
"What the...?"
Absurd reactions poured from the Elder Council side.
I get it. I'm just as baffled.
'He crashed the disciplinary hearing for that stupid reason?'
At that instant, Class A's homeroom professor glanced at Sin Bihyeong.
"That's the official reason, of course. The real motive? I heard my marked disciple might get disciplined, so I rushed over."
He'd already met the security team on the way and heard about the incident site.
Plus, solid testimonies confirming the circumstances.
"Who knows? Someone might slap an undeserved punishment on an innocent disciple."
With that, he plopped down into a seat.
A declaration that with his eyes wide open, he'd never allow any crooked judgment.
"This punk...!"
The Elder Council clearly got the message, glaring at the professor with bulging eyes.
At that moment.
"Enough."
The Elder Council Chairman's icy voice flipped the atmosphere in the room.
"...But Chairman."
"I said enough, just now."
With one word, he crushed the Elder Council's objections, then turned to look down at the homeroom professor.
"So you stop this too. I can't overlook any more."
"Sure, sure. Wouldn't expect anything less."
Even at the professor's snide remark, the Chairman's expression didn't twitch as he turned away.
His eyes met Sin Bihyeong's.
"A disciplinary hearing is originally to confirm consistency in circumstances, the validity of the cause leading to the incident, and to decide the severity of the discipline."
Sin Bihyeong nodded.
"Yes."
"Just as Class A's homeroom professor said, we received a report from the security team moments ago."
Circumstances confirmed, so now just validate the cause.
"Begin."
At those words, he felt a bloodline ability spread.
'Whisper of Truth.'
Sin Bihyeong recognized it and opened his mouth.
"We were on a date."
"...A date?"
The Elder Council Chairman paused briefly, and Class A's homeroom professor snickered.
"He means they locked eyes and started going steady."
"...I know. Shut it."
Wow. Taunting the Elder Council Chairman.
Does our homeroom professor have some solid backing?
Sin Bihyeong swallowed a laugh threatening to burst out and continued.
"After that, we went into a secluded forest."
"Why?"
"Do I have to say that part too?"
He glanced at Mina, who blushed and bowed her head.
I didn't ask for it, but nice assist, Mina!
"Mm..."
A groan escaped.
The Chairman turned, and the professor wielding the bloodline nodded.
"All true."
"Then, by chance, we were invited into an anomaly's domain without any Barrier Art, and we exorcised it."
The Chairman's words were closer to muttering a summary than a question.
Sin Bihyeong just smiled without answering outright.
Any direct reply here would get stamped as a lie and complicate things.
'I've dealt with this bloodline dozens of times. You think I don't know a way out?'
The loophole in Whisper of Truth.
If the circumstances of the spoken words become 'real' afterward, it counts as truth.
'I said we went on a date, but not 'when' we did.'
That was one loophole.
'Took five playthroughs to figure this out, huh?'
When he posted about it in the gallery, his fellow veterans mocked him.
Said he was wasting effort on useless stuff.
But did you see that, veterans?
There's no such thing as pointless hard work in this world!
As Sin Bihyeong grinned triumphantly, the Chairman's low voice resonated through the space.
"So, what verdict should we deliver for cadets Sin Bihyeong and Hwang Mina?"
Various opinions flooded in.
"Self-defense."
"But they destroyed academy property..."
"Isn't that on Ridge Crossing for poor containment?"
The heated debate raged on,
and it was capped off by the Morals Committee Chair.
"On the contrary, I believe cadets Hwang Mina and Sin Bihyeong prevented an accident in advance and deserve rewards."
As the Elder Council's gazes pressed on her,
Class A's homeroom professor clapped to lighten the mood.
"Exactly. Spot on. The 'academy' was 'negligent' in 'management,' and the cadets handled it early, so naturally, we owe them a 'debt,' right?"
With that, the professor turned, his eyes chilling.
"You old fogeys. Why glare at kids over something so trivial? The academy's overflowing with resources. Unlike you lot, these kids have plenty of life ahead—cut 'em some slack."
Even as the room's tension boiled over again, the professor remained unfazed.
He even wore his usual smile, ruffling Sin Bihyeong's and Mina's hair vigorously.
"Let's go, you troublemakers. Time for a lecture."
The professor dragged Sin Bihyeong, Mina, and the Chairman out together.
That was the moment.
—Sin Hu. The Elder Council Chairman's telepathic message reached the homeroom professor's ear.
—You threw such a fit about wanting to teach that kid, and now you're coddling him. Is he that precious a disciple?
The homeroom professor, Sin Hu, gave a faint smile and sent back a telepathic reply.
—That's right. As you see, they're troublemakers running around causing chaos, but pretty fun, aren't they?
The professor's gaze briefly captured the Chairman.
—Just like you and me.
As Sin Hu led the kids out of the space with those words,
the Chairman mulled them over.
'Like you and that guy, huh...'
Thinking that, the Chairman unwittingly let out a chuckle.
'Is that so.'
Well then,
'That should make for quite the entertaining relationship.'
With that thought, the Chairman's gaze swept over a few other elders.
A sharp chill flickered in his eyes, then vanished.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Whew. Those old geezers. Did you see those killer glares?"
The moment they stepped out of the disciplinary hearing room, the homeroom professor stretched grandly and flicked Sin Bihyeong's and Mina's foreheads.
"Ow. You little disasters. Stirring up trouble before classes even start?"
"No, Professor, it's not like that..."
"Not like what? Can't hold back your urges?"
Mina's ears turned red as she hung her head low.
In contrast, Sin Bihyeong was dumbfounded.
'What a low-brow...'
But he had no comeback.
His counter to the Whisper of Truth had been exactly that.
'Guess I just have to roll with it...'
As Sin Bihyeong resigned himself,
"Professor, I don't think that's fair."
The Chairman smiled brightly, outright denying the professor's words.
"Hm? And why are you... Oh? Well, well?"
The professor found something hilarious in her reaction, alternating glances between the Chairman, Sin Bihyeong, and Mina before bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha! Man, our Sin Bihyeong cadet's quite the catch. A real stud."
"...More importantly, Professor, how did you get here? Weren't you supposed to be in the anomaly's domain?"
To Sin Bihyeong's question, the professor pointed at the Chairman in explanation.
"The Chairman came rushing to say the hearing was starting. So I asked other professors to cover and hurried out."
Sin Bihyeong looked at the Chairman, who just smiled.
'She moved the second she heard about the hearing?'
And during the verdict, she went beyond defense to advocate for rewards.
'I owe her one.'
Sin Bihyeong thanked her sincerely, then turned to the professor.
"Thank you too, Professor."
"...Save the thanks. That's just what mentors are for."
The professor scratched his head awkwardly and grumbled gruffly.
"Anyway, the academy's at fault too."
For a split second, the professor's eyes turned icy.
"An anomaly's domain should be secured with Barrier Art. Even a subdued one could cause unknown damage if exposed to cadets."
Yet there were no traces of Barrier Art.
That meant one thing.
"Someone deliberately disabled the Barrier Art."
Sin Bihyeong, already aware, simply nodded.
"So it's not all on you two. If we're assigning blame, maybe 3 for you, 7 for the academy?"
The professor grinned and clapped Sin Bihyeong's shoulder.
"Not saying you're innocent. But don't beat yourselves up more than necessary."
Yawn.
With that, the professor let out a huge yawn and waved.
"Alright, I'm off. Gotta head back to the anomaly's domain. Ugh, back to sleepless nights."
Before leaving, his eyes sparkled briefly as he looked at Sin Bihyeong and Mina.
"Oh, right. Whatever compensation the academy gives, show it to me once you get it. I may not look it, but I'm great at appraisals. Okay, really going now."
The professor vanished like the wind.
As if he'd never been there.
As Sin Bihyeong stared blankly in surprise,
"Junior."
The Chairman's voice snapped him back to reality.
"...Yes?"
"This incident was self-defense, but it was dangerous."
Her faint smile suddenly approached right next to his ear.
A soft whisper tickled his ear.
"Well, less self-defense and more like you stirred things up again, just like at the library, right?"
Hiding his momentary shock, Sin Bihyeong played dumb.
"...No idea what you're talking about."
"Hehe. Sure, let's go with that."
She acted like she knew but would play along, pressing a finger to her lips with a "shh."
At that instant.
"...Senior. Isn't your face a bit too close?"
For some reason, Mina's chilly voice came from beside him as they walked.
...Why? It's spring, but it feels freezing?
He turned to see Mina smiling.
She was smiling, but... why did she look like a growling puppy from behind?
"Hm?"
The senior Chairman noticed too, flashing a mischievous grin that grew even more bewitching.
"Oh my. I just needed to whisper something to my junior privately?"
"There are only three of us here, aren't there? No need for that."
"But... isn't a whisper basically a 'secret' just for two people?"
ZAP!
For some reason, that sound effect popped into his head.
...Sparks flying from their eyes? Nah, must be my imagination.
—Elder. Eoduk's timely voice gave Sin Bihyeong a chance to shift his thoughts.
But.
—I apologize for saying you seemed uninterested in women, Elder! What the hell's with you.
'...Not a normal one in the bunch.'
Sin Bihyeong swallowed a sigh inwardly and headed back to the dorms.
He needed a sanctuary for his mind.
Just then, he felt his phone vibrate faintly in his pocket.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Cadet Sin Bihyeong has been granted one-time entry to the 'Forbidden Domain'. He pulled out his phone to check, and there was a message from the academy.
"...Forbidden Domain?"
"Huh? Did you say Forbidden Domain just now?"
The Chairman whipped her head around at Sin Bihyeong's mutter.
Her sharp eyes had rounded like a rabbit's.
No wonder.
'Ridge Crossing Academy's Forbidden Domain.'
Even veteran Sin Bihyeong knew all about it.
'...Earliest is mid-Act 2 of the main story. Normal pace hits Act 3 before you learn what it really is.'
And now, access to it.
...Is the story progression speed right?