What of It? (1)
What of It? (1)
[ Main Building - Finance Department ]
"Take care, Professor."
Kim Seong-won and the entire Finance Department staff offered reasonable bows toward Baek Woo-jin's retreating figure.
Thud — the door closed, and the moment Baek Woo-jin vanished, Kim Seong-won straightened up first. The rest of the staff returned to their seats and picked up where they had left off.
"Na-hyeon."
"Yes?"
Even after eight years, Kim Na-hyeon remained the youngest, and he looked up.
"Not 'yes.' Come here for a moment."
"You could have just messaged me."
"Haah. Now even the youngest talks back."
"There are youngest members, and then there are youngest members..."
Kim Na-hyeon grumbled under his breath as he rose from his seat and walked over to Kim Seong-won. Watching a man past thirty pout with his lips stuck out, Kim Seong-won clicked his tongue.
"Put those lips away before I smack them."
"Yes, sir..."
"And you little bastard, you've got no business acting like that with me."
"Acting like what."
"Like what? You ass. At a critical moment, you went completely radio silent and ignored every call from your superior. A guy like that still has his job intact, so maybe show a little gratitude."
"That was eight years ago. How long are you going to keep milking that?"
"Until the day I retire."
"Haah..."
Kim Na-hyeon rubbed both hands over his face. The other staff members quietly swallowed their laughter.
"Anyway. A file will come through later. I need you to pull out the people who match the criteria."
"What kind of file."
"Graduate roster."
"The criteria?"
"Hmm. First- or second-year grades that were poor and then showed marked improvement. Or students who were suddenly selected as scholarship recipients."
"How soon do you need it compiled."
"Next spring?"
"......?"
"What, too short a deadline?"
"No, sir. With that much time I could finish it in my sleep. Understood. For now."
"Aah, Kim Na-hyeon. So very reliable."
Kim Seong-won rose from his chair and collected the coat he had hung up. Kim Na-hyeon blinked and asked.
"Where are you going?"
"Hm? The professor gave me separate instructions, so I'm off to meet with that Min-sik bastard."
"...Isn't that just you heading over to Academic Affairs to hang out?"
"Ahem!! That's enough out of you. Get back to work. Now, you little punk."
"You're the one who called me over..."
Still grumbling, Kim Na-hyeon headed back to his seat.
Pulling on his coat, Kim Seong-won addressed the staff.
"Once it's time, all of you can see yourselves out. And do not contact me unless Professor Baek pays us another visit. Alright then. Keep up the good work."
Without a backward glance, Kim Seong-won strode out of the Finance Department. Since this was a sight the staff saw every day, they simply shrugged it off and returned their focus to their respective tasks. Kim Na-hyeon too resumed his work where he had left off, his fingers moving again.
[ 1 new mail from General Affairs Department. ]
Shortly after, Kim Na-hyeon opened the newly arrived mail and frowned.
[ Graduate Roster ] — (13MB)
"The hell. What's with this file size."
It was just a roster, yet the file was unusually large.
Click — the mouse moved, and the document attached to the mail expanded across the monitor screen.
[ 1st Class Graduates ] — [ 2nd Class Graduates ] — [ 3rd Class Gradua... ]
The list stretched on without end, and the scroll bar shrank until it was practically impossible to see with the naked eye. Kim Na-hyeon reached for the paging device installed on his desk.
—The phone is turned o—
"Aaargh!!"
He clawed at his neatly styled hair.
The staff, thoroughly accustomed to this, ignored his shrieking and silently continued their work.
**
After meeting with Kim Seong-won, I headed straight for the Temple of the God of Amusement.
"Oh my, Professor."
"I'll be out shortly. Don't mind me. Keep to your duties."
"Yes, sir. As you say."
I walked past Lee Ye-sol, climbed to the second floor, and entered an empty prayer room.
Setting down the Demon God Bullet I had retrieved from the Rift in front of the childlike statue I had once failed to break, I spoke.
"A gift."
【That is a gift with a distinctly unpleasant aura about it.】
A clear voice rang out, and a little cluster of light began to coalesce above my shoulder before taking on a form identical to the statue before my eyes.
"I don't recall giving you permission to perch there."
【Must we stand on ceremony at this point in our relationship.】
With a casual "heave-ho" and other frivolous grunts, the creature hopped down. It then picked up the palm-sized Demon God Bullet and asked me.
【Have you used it?】
"Were you hoping I would."
【No. I was simply asking. Why so prickly.】
The Demon God Bullet resting on its palm gradually blurred, then vanished like a mirage.
【Thank you. I'll put it to good use.】
I answered with a single nod. I had no idea how this creature intended to use the thing, but at minimum, it was more than enough physical evidence to serve as a pretext for intervening in future matters intertwined with the Underworld.
The power of a god.
For something called holy power to dwell within anything other than a human being is a violation of the rules they have agreed upon among themselves.
【Are you leaving already?】
"Did you have business with me."
【It simply seemed a shame for you to leave so quickly when it's been so long.】
"I wasn't under the impression our relationship was that close."
【A relationship is something that can change at any moment, you know.】
Something that could change at any moment.
It wasn't an untrue statement.
But.
"If you learn to comport yourself with a little more civility, I might consider it."
【Hmph!! Bleegh!! Like I care!! What's wrong with the way I am!!】
Leaving the noisy creature behind me, I exited the prayer room.
'There are also things that must never change.'
The corridor was quiet.
Treading down the stairs that descended beyond it, I straightened my rumpled coat.
I passed Lee Ye-sol, who was keeping to her duties so as to honor the first words I had spoken to her upon seeing her today. I crossed the bustling street, and I returned to a sanctuary untouched by anyone's gaze or voice.
"Have you returned safely, sir?"
"......."
Claire walked through the corridor bathed in soft lamplight to greet me.
"Professor?"
"Your gaze and voice reach me, it seems."
"......?"
"It was nothing. I was talking to myself."
"Ye-es... Ah, allow me to take that, sir."
Claire approached without hesitation and took my coat, hanging it neatly on the rack. I watched her for a moment before walking toward the study and speaking.
"If you open the bottom drawer of the study, you will find several Slime Essences."
"...Essences, sir?"
"Yes. If that creature sleeps for more than half a day, feed it one each time."
"......Thank you."
The woman following behind me stopped, then inclined her head toward me.
Wordlessly, I walked over to her and lightly caught the chin of her bowed head. Then I slowly lifted it.
"P-Professor...?"
Clearly flustered, with her chin held in my hand and her head tilted upward, Claire's eyes had grown remarkably wide.
As I lowered my own head a little, her blue irises, through which her emotions could be so plainly seen, became even clearer.
"You bowed your head again."
"Ah...!! Th-this is—this isn't that sort of thing..."
"A word of thanks is more than enough. And what happened this time isn't something you should be thanking me for anyway."
It was merely one part of my plan.
I had no memory of doing anything that warranted her gratitude.
I released Claire's chin, which was slowly growing warmer.
"Wait for me in the kitchen."
"......?"
"Do you have something else to do."
"...No, sir."
"Then there shouldn't be a problem."
"......Yes, sir."
That night, Claire utterly destroyed three cutting boards.
**
"Please take care, sir."
—Bwee-eeong~
Accompanied by something from the little troublemaker perched on Claire's shoulder that could have been either a farewell or a yawn, I left the estate.
It was nearly nine in the evening, and the streets were fairly quiet. I would have liked for this tranquility to persist always, but outside of vacation season, that was an impossible wish.
The area grew even quieter once I reached the annex situated a little apart from the main building. The lecture hall doors were firmly shut. Regardless of its other qualities, the building was at least well soundproofed.
Rrrr-attle.
Using mana, I opened the door to the lecture hall assigned to me and stepped inside. The atmosphere was even more rigid than it had been during the very first lecture.
I glanced at Baek Ha-na, who had rented an entire row for herself again today alongside Nam Seo-hee, and set my bag down on the lectern. Then I addressed the students, who were all staring at me with visible tension.
"Starting from the front row, one at a time. Submit your assignments."
Since I had infused my voice with mana, there was no chance any of them had failed to hear.
My eyes naturally turned to the students seated in the very first row.
"Bring your assignments up."
"......."
"......."
Students stared down at their desks, mouths clamped shut.
"Bae Da-hyeon. Kim Min-seok. Ju Yeong-hee."
The three of them flinched. I directed my words at them.
"If you haven't done it, say so. Or is it that you've been afflicted with a curse that's taken your voices."
"N-no, sir... I didn't do it."
"Me neither."
"M-me neither..."
Only then did the three of them open their mouths.
I nodded and looked to the next row.
"I didn't do it, either."
"Me neither..."
"I'm sorry."
Amid the line of students hanging their heads one after another, two rose from their seats.
Snow-white hair, and its polar opposite — deep black.
Baek Ha-na and Nam Seo-hee walked to the front and held out the handouts I had distributed.
"Baek Ha-na. Nam Seo-hee. Confirmed."
Neither spoke. They just gave a brief nod and returned to their seats.
Exactly twelve more students submitted their assignments after that. The true reckoning would come when I examined the contents, but for the moment, the act of submission itself held meaning.
Out of eighty students, fourteen — including Baek Ha-na and Nam Seo-hee — turned in the assignment.
To some, that number might be called paltry.
"Fourteen. Rather many of you managed it."
A figure of just over ten percent was larger than I had anticipated. I had expected no more than five, yet here it had broken the double-digit mark.
"Now, then."
I stowed the submitted assignments into my bag and spoke to the students who, unlike the first lecture, had their notebooks open and pens in hand.
"The rest of you, pack up and leave."
The lecture hall door stood wide open.
That was why I had entered without closing it.