A Familiar Scene, But Slightly Different (3)
A Familiar Scene, But Slightly Different (3)
'That was definitely a human hand.'
A long, slender hand—ash-gray and unmistakably a woman's—had burst up through the floor.
Without warning, it darted out and snapped the ankles and knee joints of four people, twisting them into grotesque shapes in an instant.
A brutal touch, devoid of the slightest mercy.
It hadn't seemed as fast as Jane Moore going all out, but the hand finished its work and vanished like a mirage.
Not even retreating back into the floor.
It had literally evaporated.
'More importantly, what do I do now...?'
She had intended to deal with them herself. Strictly within the bounds of discipline.
But before she could intervene, all four had their legs ruined. Honestly, she doubted even healing power could fix this mess. Ruined was the only word for it.
"Aaaaaaagh!!"
"Fuuuck! M-my leg?! My leeeg—!!"
The four were sprawled on the floor in a tangle of postures, howling their heads off.
Shutting them up came first.
Just as Baek Ha-na had finished the thought and was about to move—
Thud-thud-thud-thud──!!
Footsteps—at least two people's worth—echoed up the stairs and rapidly closed in. Three figures emerged: two men and a woman.
An unexpected arrival might have set off alarms, but Baek Ha-na took one look at the white robes they wore and relaxed.
A cradle emblem was prominently displayed on the left chest.
It was the same emblem emblazoned on Lee Ji-eun's chest as she clung tightly to her younger sibling's hand.
"I apologize for barging in so suddenly."
The short-haired man, whose forehead was bared by a clean sweep of bangs, approached Baek Ha-na.
"I'm the guardian of Apprentice Priestess Lee Ji-eun over there. If you'll allow it, might I offer some assistance with the situation?"
His manner was cautious but courteous. Baek Ha-na nodded and pointed at the four still screaming their lungs out.
"Is that possible?"
"It will take a little time, but it won't be difficult."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
In contrast to the man who had approached Baek Ha-na, this figure advanced on Park Min-jeong's group with barely contained fury, radiating ferocious pressure.
Whump──!!
He kicked each of the four in the face as they writhed on the ground, knocking them senseless.
Normally, for Arena Academy students—subject only to the academy's disciplinary regulations—such an act would be highly controversial. Yet the man had kicked them precisely because he knew no one present could take issue with it.
Crunch, crackle, crack!!
He began reshaping their limp legs roughly with his hands, rotating the limbs as if twisting a puzzle cube back into place.
"Their muscles and cartilage, among other things, are all ruptured. Long-term healing will be unavoidable."
"Thank you."
She didn't actually need to thank him for an act she hadn't performed, but Claire had taught her to express gratitude to those who help, so she followed that rule.
"Now then."
Baek Ha-na turned back to Park Min-jeong, who still stood dazed and hadn't fully processed the situation, and to the students following her. She added force to her voice.
"Your names. This is the third time."
"Ah..."
Only then did Park Min-jeong snap out of it, and the sound that escaped her was hard to distinguish—a sigh or a whimper.
Slowly, Park Min-jeong's head drooped.
As soon as Park Min-jeong bowed her head, the students who had remained silent until now began loudly shouting out their names, as if they had been waiting for this very moment.
"One at a time."
Baek Ha-na's cool warning quickly suppressed the commotion, and she used her phone to record each face on video, keeping a record for future reference.
She then sent all of it to Baek Woo-jin's email.
"......."
"......."
While waiting for Baek Woo-jin's reply, Baek Ha-na stared blankly at her smartphone. A heavy, awkward silence settled over the training room.
If there was any change, it was this: Kang Mu-seok, whose expression had hardened the moment he first spotted Baek Ha-na, now looked markedly more at ease, while Park Min-jeong had gone white as a corpse.
~♪
A calm melody chimed as the reply from Baek Woo-jin arrived. Baek Ha-na slowly checked the message and raised her head.
"You can disperse."
"......Yes."
Kang Mu-seok gave a bow as though he had been waiting for it, then swiftly led Baek Jung-gil and the rest of his group down the stairs.
-Um....
-...Let's go too.
-Ah, y-yes, yes.
Park Min-jeong, who had been gauging the atmosphere, also gathered her group and left the training room.
What remained were the four unconscious ones and the servants of the Goddess of Benevolence.
"Hic...."
Two younger siblings.
Baek Ha-na addressed the man who had kicked the four in the face.
"Could I ask you to see to their recovery?"
"It won't be difficult."
"Then please see to it. And."
Baek Ha-na turned her head toward Na Yeon-ju and toward Lee Ji-eun, who was trembling and clinging to Na Yeon-ju's hand.
"The professor is looking for you two."
"I-I'm sorry."
The woman who looked to be a priestess quickly stepped in front of Lee Ji-eun and spoke up.
"We request the opportunity to—"
"That's enough."
The man who had kicked the four cut her off.
"Twenty is an adult. Get over here and help carry these bastards."
"......Yes."
The two, a man and a woman, approached the man and hoisted the unconscious four under their arms like luggage.
"We'll take our leave, then."
With that, the three who had barged in so suddenly departed the training room.
"Follow me."
Na Yeon-ju and Lee Ji-eun.
The two trailed after Baek Ha-na like condemned prisoners being led to the execution ground.
**
[......I have sinned.]
Biche, having left Baek Ha-na's side and returned to me, knelt and pressed her forehead to the floor.
[I have defied my master's command and acted on my own judgment. Whatever punishment it may be, I shall gladly accept it.]
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Then she slammed her materialized head against the floor.
I watched her for a moment before asking,
"I told you not to intervene unless it was truly dire."
[So you did, Master.]
The only entity currently capable of defeating Claire, and the mistress of all banshees.
If anyone could intervene in any situation and rescue Baek Ha-na in time, it was her. Yet she had slipped out of the ring and acted before the incident had even unfolded.
Because of that, Baek Ha-na had lost a chance to grow.
"Why did you do it?"
This wasn't a question born of reprimand or anger.
A question meant solely to satisfy pure curiosity.
[They not only showed insolence toward the young miss, they dared to look upon her with filthy eyes I cannot bring myself to describe. The vermin who dared, without even knowing their place....]
Kee-kee-kee-kick──!!
Beneath Biche's hands, the marble floor was gouged into deep grooves along her fingers, as if it were soft clay.
"Biche."
[Ah...!! I apologize!!]
Thud! Thud! Thud!
When she had first appeared, aside from her blind loyalty toward me, her emotions had been almost entirely withered in every regard.
Yet meeting her again after a few months, a great deal about her had changed.
"Continue."
[...When I thought that vermin would dare lay hands on the young miss, I could not contain my emotions, and before I knew it, I acted. To dare touch the young miss whom even you, Master, handle with such care....]
It seemed that the blind loyalty once directed solely at me had, at some point, begun to extend toward Baek Ha-na as well.
A good change—and at the same time, a bad one.
Should a situation arise that I could not cover, she would now think and judge for herself to protect Baek Ha-na. That was a very positive change.
But the fact that she, bound to me, had changed meant that I myself had changed just as much over these past few months. And that was an entirely unnecessary change.
'I was aware of it, though....'
It seems I've become rather emotional of late.
No matter how much water I poured, no matter how much nourishment I gave, I had believed that no sprout could ever form again.
"Biche. Raise your head."
[Yes, Master.]
Evidently thinking she should not meet her master's eyes, even as she lifted her head, her gaze stayed fixed on the tips of my shoes.
"What I want is for that child to grow. Not for her to be raised like a flower in a greenhouse."
[...Overprotection is poison, after all.]
"If you understand, that's enough. You may rise."
[...I am grateful only for your mercy, Master.]
She slowly crawled toward me on her knees, pressed her lips to my shoe, then withdrew and rose to her feet.
"From now on, you need not stay hidden inside the ring. If it feels stifling, I grant you permission to roam in your spirit form."
[Ahhh... Merciful Master....]
She clasped her hands neatly before her chest in thanks, and I waved a hand at her.
Wshhh──
Her hair, which had held a faint blue glow, faded to gray, and gradually all color drained away until she vanished like a mirage.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Just then, there was a knock.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Baek Ha-na entered, dragging the two troublemakers along with her.
I glanced at Na Yeon-ju, trembling and on the verge of tears, and at the young servant of the Goddess of Benevolence, then spoke to Baek Ha-na.
"You did well. Go eat and then check the remaining areas."
"......Yes."
Her reply was thick with reluctance, and my body almost moved on its own.
Click.
But Baek Ha-na was a little quicker and slipped out the door.
"Na Yeon-ju."
"Y-yes...."
Whether she'd picked it up from watching Idni, Na Yeon-ju stood at attention and raised her head to answer.
"And you are."
"I-I-I'm, um, J-Ji-eun... s-sir...."
Verotha's young servant, who looked ready to collapse in tears if she had to speak another word.
I watched the two of them for a moment, then pulled six blank sheets of paper from a drawer and sent them flying toward Na Yeon-ju along with a pen.
"Ah, wha...?"
She fumbled but managed to catch the paper and pen, staring at me with bewildered eyes.
I pointed to one corner and said,
"Three sheets each. On your knees, write your reflections."
"......?"
As if they couldn't understand what I meant, both tilted their heads at the same time.
So I pulled two more sheets from the drawer and sent them flying onto the spot I'd just indicated.
"Four sheets each."
"A-ah!!"
"Eep...?!"
Still, as Vuar's servants they had some sense: Na Yeon-ju snapped to her senses quickly, grabbed Verotha's young servant by the hand, and dashed to the corner where the paper lay, dropping to her knees at once.
I turned my gaze away from them and pulled out my smartphone.
[ Me : First-year. Park Min-jeong. ]
The reply arrived immediately.
As if it had been waiting.
[ Lee Ye-sol : She is the daughter of the Fantasia Guild leader, newly selected among the Top 10 Guilds. ]
[ Me : Dig into her. ]
[ Lee Ye-sol : I ask that you wait two days. ]
I placed my smartphone on the desk and watched Na Yeon-ju and Verotha's young servant as they earnestly scribbled away.
Just how far can Biche stray from me, I wondered.
Finding that out during this opportunity didn't sound like a bad idea.