Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Midterm Evaluation & Recommendation Letter
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***
"A favor?"
At Cheon-seong's surprised tone, Millia took a small, deep breath and continued.
“The midterm evaluation is this Friday. I was hoping you’d be in the same group as me… Would that be okay?”
Millia spoke cautiously. She had spent the entire day agonizing over how to bring this up.
*I want to spend more time with Han Cheon-seong.*
She felt she needed to get closer to him, but she couldn't think of a proper way to do it.
After long deliberation, the idea that came to mind was this week's scheduled "midterm evaluation."
"...Right, the midterm evaluation."
As Cheon-seong replied awkwardly, Millia quickly added on.
“To be honest, I can’t be sure if I’ll be the most helpful partner for you in this evaluation. But I really hope you’ll team up with me. And… this is a little embarrassing, but I managed to reach Trait Level 2 last week. I might still seem lacking to you, but I won’t just be dead weight.”
As she earnestly conveyed her thoughts, Cheon-seong looked at her in surprise and nodded.
“Congratulations on reaching Trait Level 2. And if you put it that way, I’d be grateful, but Millia, are you sure you want to team up with me instead of Luna? I feel like she might be upset…”
Though he responded positively, Cheon-seong was thinking beyond Millia's request.
*Millia’s best friend right now is Luna.*
Anyone in their class knew that.
So for her to choose him over Luna for something as important as the midterm evaluation… it felt surprising to Han Cheon-seong.
He even wondered if he should take her offer at face value.
“As for Luna, if you don’t turn me down, I’ll tell her today.”
When she replied as if she had already thought it all through, Cheon-seong nodded, seeing no further reason to hesitate.
“In that case, I think it would be great to team up."
“Han Cheon-seong. So you’re saying yes?”
“Yes.”
Seeing him accept more readily than she expected, Millia broke into a truly bright smile.
Cheon-seong returned a faint smile and added.
“Was the midterm evaluation what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Yes… that’s right. Actually, back when you collapsed and I took you to the infirmary, you said you’d grant me one favor. I was going to ask for it now. But since you accepted so willingly, I’ll consider the favor used.”
As Millia spoke with a genuinely happy smile, Cheon-seong immediately shook his head.
“No. How could this count as using the favor? I think teaming up with you is a good thing for me, too.”
“...Really?”
Millia replied, looking intrigued, and Cheon-seong let out a soft laugh.
“I’m still grateful for you helping me back then. So I hope you’ll use the favor for something bigger.”
“If you say so… Okay. I’ll think of it that way, then.”
Watching Millia cautiously agree, Cheon-seong spoke apologetically.
“By the way, Millia, could you explain a bit about this midterm evaluation? I missed last week’s lecture, so I don’t really know how it’s going to be conducted.”
"Oh, right. You wouldn't know, Han Cheon-seong. This Friday, we'll be having a cooperative evaluation, directly assessed by Instructor Kalli.”
“A cooperative evaluation?”
“Yes. It's to see if we can manifest greater power by positively influencing each other's traits. I thought my spirit could lend you its strength.”
At her explanation, Cheon-seong nodded as if he had an idea of what she meant.
“In that case, teaming up with you seems like an even better deal for me.”
The two continued their conversation about the midterm evaluation in a friendly atmosphere.
Unlike Cheon-seong, who was thinking purely about the evaluation, Millia, who was matching his gaze, looked at him with a slightly different meaning in her eyes.
She felt that her words had borne proper fruit.
It was a small step in their relationship, but a deeply meaningful one…
Millia truly believed so.
***
C-Class Training Ground.
After parting ways with Millia, I headed straight to the training ground without a second thought.
Trait Level 5.
I felt that, aside from my meeting with Anastasia, I would have to devote most of my time to reaching the next trait level.
However, not long after I started training, I had to stop my spear.
*Step.*
*Step…*
A blond man, who would stand out to anyone, was slowly approaching me. And he was neither an instructor nor a cadet.
He was an ‘officer.’
What stood out most were the medals pinned to his black uniform, which was different from an instructor's formal attire.
It was a perfect match for the officer's uniform Anastasia had worn just yesterday.
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong?”
Facing the man who called me by name, I became tense for reasons I couldn't explain.
“Yes. I’m Han Cheon-seong…”
I glanced at the nameplate on his uniform and saw a star indicating the rank of captain, along with a name.
*Captain Medelfen?*
Just as I was wondering if I had read it correctly.
“You seem quite surprised. There’s no need to be so wary. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Medelfen Gracia. I’m an officer with the rank of Captain, currently serving on the front lines.”
As he calmly introduced himself, I dazedly nodded my head.
“I am Han Cheon-seong, a cadet in C-Class at the academy.”
It was a humble introduction compared to his, but there was little else I could say to describe myself at the moment.
Medelfen gave a faint smile at my words and pointed to a nearby bench in the training ground.
“I’d like to have a brief conversation. Is now a good time?”
Seeing him show me, a cadet, such polite courtesy, I nodded without knowing why.
“It’s fine.”
As I sat on the bench with Medelfen, the gazes of the surrounding cadets fell upon us like daggers.
Even as I felt their stares, I honestly found this situation baffling.
I knew that the rank of ‘Captain’ was by no means low.
I had some basic knowledge about the military before falling into this world, and I knew from reading the novel that it was a fairly high position.
“As expected of the cadet everyone is talking about. Your presence alone is different from the others.”
“Do I seem that way?”
“For someone who’s only been at the academy for a little over a month, you’re quite composed. The reason I came to see you, Cadet Han Cheon-seong, isn’t anything grand. I just want to conduct a simple test.”
“A simple test, you say…”
“There’s no need to be nervous. It’s nothing more than a light test.”
Finishing his words with a soft laugh, Medelfen suddenly raised his hand.
“Would you mind looking at my hand for a moment?”
“Yes. Understood.”
As I followed his instructions, a strange change began to occur in Medelfen’s hand.
*Fwoosh—!*
In an instant, four or five layers of blue waves erupted from his hand.
“...!”
The intense aftershock of the waves seemed to expand toward me for a moment, and I held my breath.
Then, the blue waves vanished before my eyes as if they were a lie.
They had literally disappeared into thin air without affecting me in any way.
“Just tell me purely what you felt, Cadet Han Cheon-seong. That’s all there is to the test.”
At his calm voice, I numbly nodded.
“What I saw could be described as four layers of blue waves."
When I answered honestly with what I had perceived, Medelfen’s eyes widened for a moment.
“Well… this is more surprising than I thought.”
As I just blinked at his reaction, he let out a soft laugh and added an explanation.
“What we just did was a kind of reaction test. It was to see how well you can sense danger. In that sense, Cadet Han Cheon-seong, you perceived a reaction that is unbelievable for a newly enrolled cadet."
I didn’t fully understand Medelfen’s words, but I gathered that I had shown a decent result in his test.
“...I see.”
I replied hesitantly, wondering if that was all, when…
*Shhk.*
Medelfen took something out from within his uniform, and my eyes were naturally drawn to it.
It looked like a small, golden booklet, and it appeared very luxurious.
As I stared at it, wondering what it was, Medelfen held it out to me.
*Thud.*
…As I cautiously took it, the man smiled gently.
“Don’t feel too burdened. I’m not forcing you. I’m just giving it to you in the hope that you’ll read it.”
“Is it alright if I read it now?”
I asked, carefully fiddling with the golden booklet, and Medelfen nodded as if it were a matter of course.
As I carefully opened the booklet, I had to blink blankly.
—[Officer Application Recommendation Letter]—
The moment I saw the first sentence on the page, I felt my breath catch in my throat.
*Officer application…?*
I had only read the first sentence, yet an inexplicable sense of aversion filled my entire body.
And I instantly understood why Medelfen had come to find me.
Aside from the widespread rumors about me, considering all the circumstances, there could only be one reason for his visit.
*He wants me to apply to be an officer…*
As I stiffly turned my head away from the recommendation letter, Medelfen was shaking his head with a faint smile.
“I think you’re misunderstanding something, Cadet Han Cheon-seong. What I’ve given you is merely a ‘recommendation letter.’ It’s not an officer application that would require you to serve on the front lines immediately. Besides, it’s only been about a month since you enrolled in the academy. How could you become such a high-risk officer right away?”
“Right… I understand.”
Even as I replied awkwardly, I felt a heavy lump of lead suddenly settle in my chest.
When I graduate from the academy a few years from now, I honestly still had no idea what career path I should take.
Kalli had asked in the first lecture if anyone had the will to serve on the front lines, but even though I had raised my hand then, I hadn’t completely decided on my future.
In fact, Kalli herself had said it was fine not to serve on the front lines…
But now, seeing this officer application recommendation letter that felt so tangible, my heart grew heavy.
It felt as if I was being confronted with true reality just by looking at a single booklet.
“You seem quite startled, so let me add a bit more explanation. This will be helpful a few years from now, when you, Cadet Han Cheon-seong, are about to graduate from the academy.”
“A recommendation letter… I see.”
As I belatedly grasped the point, Medelfen nodded lightly.
“A recommendation letter is a kind of ‘privilege.’ You can apply to a better post or choose to serve on the front lines. That’s how highly I think of you right now, Cadet Han Cheon-seong. A life dedicated to the great empire! Wouldn’t that be truly glorious?”
They were clearly words of high praise for me, but…
I felt anything but good.