Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Why Do You Speak So Charmingly?
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I was lost in thought, but only for a moment.
"In that sense, Cadet Han Cheon-seong?"
"...Yes, Instructor."
As I answered her sudden call in a daze, Kalli broke into a strange, knowing smile.
"After today's lecture is over, you will follow me."
…
Afterward, Kalli's lecture proceeded without a hitch in a calm atmosphere.
Her words were brief but intense, instilling a sense of urgency about the battlefield.
Kalli's presence, which engraved all of this into the cadets, was truly overwhelming. The lecture itself was conducted in a way that was easy for most to understand. Since it was the first lecture, Kalli didn't try to conduct any practical exercises or delve into difficult topics.
How to govern the mind. How to control emotions. Surprisingly, Kalli stressed the importance of these mental aspects.
Time passed, and afternoon arrived.
*Tap, tap.*
Standing at the lectern, Kalli tidied up her teaching materials and announced the end of her first lecture.
“Alright, then. That's all for today. You all worked hard. The rest of your time is your own. You can go to the training grounds assigned to C-Class for self-improvement or pursue your own training. Taking a break is fine too. Or perhaps fostering friendships among yourselves would be another way to adjust to this academy.”
As I heard her words concluding the lecture, my mind was in turmoil.
‘Follow her…’
The lecture was over, but I was the only cadet in the room who wasn't free.
Kalli had pointed me out in front of everyone and told me to follow her. It meant I had no right to refuse.
How could I possibly have refused in that atmosphere?
*Glance.*
As Kalli left the lectern, she gave me a subtle glance, which felt like a signal.
—Telling me to follow her.
*Tap.*
Just then, David tapped me lightly on the shoulder with a grin, and I stared at him blankly.
“Han Cheon-seong. I don't know why Instructor Kalli singled you out, but you're in for it today.”
“...Yeah. I guess so.”
As David got up, I dazedly pushed myself to my feet as well.
I felt bewildered as I packed up my things.
*Thump.*
I watched as David left his seat and walked over to a nearby female cadet.
“Ailey! What are you up to? I was thinking of looking around the academy and heading to the dining hall. Mind if I join you and your friends?”
“Oh! Sure. Let's go together.”
“Thanks.”
Unlike me, he seemed to have already made friends. Watching them, I felt a strange pang.
'Is this right?'
It wasn't that I felt I was on Kalli's bad side, but I couldn't shake the bizarre feeling of being isolated from everyone else in the lecture hall.
Normally, I'd be hanging out with David and the others.
*Step.*
Lost in thought, I slowly made my way down the lecture hall steps.
“Hoo.”
I took a short breath, steadying myself.
When I thought about it, this situation wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Having Kalli as my instructor was a huge plus, and forming a connection with her would be even better.
And most importantly, Kalli didn't seem to view me negatively.
‘Let's think positively.’
Just as I made that resolution and headed for the exit...
I felt a peculiar gaze on me.
Glancing over, I saw her—Luna Vermont, with her eye-catching pink twintails.
“Hmph!”
The moment our eyes met, she scoffed and turned away, just like yesterday. Seeing it now, I didn't feel offended.
“Millia, let's go to the dining hall. I'm starving!”
“Alright. But Luna, we're all fellow cadets... you shouldn't be so hostile.”
The black-haired girl next to her, Millia, tried to rein her in with an apologetic look, and I couldn't help but wonder.
'If Millia says that, will Luna's attitude change?'
I watched with curiosity.
“...Whatever. I'm fine with just being friends with you, Millia. I don't really want to get close to anyone else.”
“Luna, really…”
As Millia replied, looking troubled, I let out a soft chuckle and turned away.
If that was her reaction even to Millia, then Luna wasn't going to change her attitude for anyone. I was strangely impressed.
‘Leonhardt. Just what kind of battle have you been fighting?’
To think that Luna was a popular heroine in the original story.
I might have found her overtly 'tsundere' act charming in the past, but facing it in person was another story entirely.
As I left the lecture hall, I saw Kalli leaning against a wall.
She was holding her teaching materials to her chest, her eyes fixed on me. I flinched involuntarily.
“A little late, Cadet Han Cheon-seong?”
“S-Sorry, Instructor.”
“It's alright. Don't be so nervous. I'm not planning to punish or reprimand you. I just wanted to have a meal together. I heard about yesterday's duel.”
Kalli smiled and began to walk ahead. As I fell into step beside her, I felt a wave of bewilderment.
‘What is this... discrepancy?’
The Kalli I saw in the lecture hall was completely different from the one before me now.
Meeting her gaze no longer felt strange; in fact, it was comforting. It was like I was looking at a completely different person.
“Oh, right. Cadet Han Cheon-seong, did I interrupt your plans to spend time with the other cadets? Did you already have something scheduled?”
When Kalli asked cautiously, I immediately shook my head.
“Not at all. I didn't have any plans. It's fine.”
“Really? That's a relief.”
Kalli smiled softly as she walked, and my gaze was drawn to her.
Beneath her crimson hair, she had a sharp nose and large, captivating eyes. Up close, she didn't seem so intimidating.
‘Just a beautiful person.’
Just a very beautiful person.
Moreover, the emotions I sensed from her were positive.
Goodwill, kindness—I could feel it in her casual attitude and tone.
*Thump. Click-clack.*
As we walked, our different footfalls echoing in the hall, we soon came across other cadets.
Cadets from C2 and C3 classes were pouring out, their lectures apparently over, and they all stopped in their tracks when they saw us.
They seemed surprised to see Kalli in her distinctive black instructor's uniform.
The cadets we passed bowed their heads in greeting, and Kalli acknowledged them lightly.
“It's fine. You don't have to bow so low.”
Hearing her relaxed tone, I found the situation even more surreal.
To think I was walking beside Kalli like this. And getting a free meal out of it... It didn't feel real.
'...I really can't believe it.'
The truth was, Kalli was a fairly prominent character in Grand Royal Academy—'GRA'.
Though she wasn't one of Leonhardt's love interests, she was so popular that many fans questioned why she wasn't.
She valued hard work and had an impressive list of accomplishments. Add to that her stunning beauty, and her popularity was a given.
In the novel, the way she showed interest in the protagonist with a casual, almost indifferent air had a subtle charm.
In fact, she was one of the characters I'd been quite fond of...
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong?”
Her voice pulled me from my thoughts.
“...Yes, Instructor.”
“Am I making you uncomfortable, Cadet?”
“Ah, no. Not at all.”
“Then why are you so quiet? You don't strike me as the silent type.”
She glanced at me with a playful smile.
*Thump!*
For a moment, my heart pounded in my chest.
The Kalli from the novel...
Was talking to me.
And she was the one showing interest first, initiating the conversation.
My mind raced for a response, and I quickly opened my mouth.
“...From your lecture, I got the impression that you were a rather reserved person, Instructor. I was afraid you might not like it if I was too talkative.”
As I gave my calm reply, Kalli burst out laughing while descending the stairs.
“That's just during lectures. An instructor can't afford to be taken lightly by the cadets, can she? And that cadet, Jerad, seemed to be underestimating me from the start, so I had to establish some discipline. But as I said, I don't force anything on cadets outside of class. I'm not as rigid as I am during lectures... though, I suppose to a cadet who's only seen me teach, I might come across that way.”
She trailed off, giving me a peculiar look. As we descended the stairs together, my body tensed.
'Why does she have to say it so charmingly?'
She kept saying things that made my heart flutter; it was almost overwhelming.
This unexpected situation felt more real than the fact that I'd successfully enrolled in the academy. It was a strange mix of flusteredness and joy.
*Thump. Click-clack.*
My heart fluttered with every step we took together.
After we left the main building, the academy's rather stylish dining hall came into view.
I naturally started walking toward it.
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong. We're not going there.”
Kalli suddenly shook her head, gently stopping me.
...and as she pointed in another direction, I understood immediately.
The building where instructors in black uniforms were headed. The instructors' dining hall.
As Kalli led me not to the student dining hall but to the one reserved for instructors, I walked alongside her in a state of wonder.
“...Who's that kid?”
“Yeah, really, who is he?”
“Judging by his uniform, he looks like a C-Class cadet.”
“But he's going with an instructor…”
Hearing the murmurs from the cadets lined up in front of their dining hall, I couldn't help but feel a little thrilled.
It would have been strange not to.
—Special treatment.
Anyone could see that I was receiving special treatment from Kalli, about to enter the instructors' dining hall.
“You can look forward to it. The quality of the food is on a whole other level compared to the student dining hall.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I have some things I want to ask you over the meal. Think of it as payment.”
Hearing Kalli's casual reply, I stepped into the instructors' dining hall, and a gasp of awe escaped my lips.
“...Wow.”
It was a lavish, medieval-style dining hall, the kind you'd see in a movie, not just some drama. It was a buffet, and my mouth watered just looking at the spread.
Compared to the simple meal I'd scraped together at the student dining hall to save money yesterday... this was a different world. An endless spread of exquisite dishes stretched before me.
‘I'm really... glad I had that duel.’
The duel with Leonhardt had turned out to be the greatest stroke of luck.
That one event had snowballed, bringing me this incredible fortune.
“Heh... that surprising?”
Seeing Kalli ask as if she found my reaction amusing, my heart pounded even harder.
Lunch with a beauty.
Especially since a character I'd admired was here, alive and breathing right in front of me. How could my heart not race?