Seong Hyun-jin's Audacious Remark
Willis Graham looked at Seong Hyun-jin with bewildered eyes at his bold words. But Willis, not forgetting his current position, quickly scolded him.
"I don't think that's a good attitude toward an instructor, Seong Hyun-jin."
"Ah, was it too much? I was just really busy."
He meekly accepted the rebuke, but he showed no sign of letting go of Clarice, acting as if it couldn't be helped.
Sudden strange interference...
Willis asked what this was about, trying to persuade him.
"What do you mean by that?"
"She agreed to come out at dawn but overslept, so we don't have enough time to teach her."
"Teach her what?"
"You're asking the obvious."
Seong Hyun-jin answered simply.
"The sword, of course."
"...The sword?"
Willis couldn't quite understand. If that was the reason, there was no need to block him. Why would a student like him interfere when an instructor from the swordsmanship department was offering to guide her in swordsmanship?
Besides, there was no way an instructor and former senior knight like himself was inferior to a student. Naturally, he'd teach better too.
"I know you handle the sword well, but a non-swordsmanship major teaching the top student of the department?"
"What's the problem with that?"
"Regardless, I was planning to guide Clarice myself as her instructor. I don't see why you insist on teaching her. Isn't it unnecessary?"
Willis tried to persuade him that it would be better to leave it to him. But Seong Hyun-jin didn't budge. If anything, he spoke even more firmly than before.
"That's exactly why I'm going to teach her."
"...Does that mean you know the sword better than me and can teach it better?"
Willis Graham hadn't become the head instructor of the swordsmanship department by chance. Even as a spy, his skills were recognized, so the academy had given him the position after being fooled. His swordsmanship, honed through long activity on the empire's borders until reaching senior knight rank, was exceptionally high-level, and his combat prowess was considerable. One leg was lame, but he was confident he could beat any academy student.
The battle experience and honed senses accumulated until becoming a senior knight were realms that pure talent couldn't catch up to.
Seong Hyun-jin seemed to acknowledge that, speaking as if yielding a step.
"I don't have full confidence I'd beat you in a match. But there's one thing I can say for sure."
Even so, he didn't back down.
"When it comes to the sword itself, I know it better."
"Hah, you call that talk...?"
"It might really be true, Instructor Willis."
To Willis, who let out a hollow laugh at Seong Hyun-jin's response, Serena suddenly chimed in from the side.
"This guy might not look it, but he's the direct disciple of Sword Star Hakodate Karin."
"......What?"
"What do you mean I don't look it?"
Seong Hyun-jin shot back at Serena in disbelief, but Willis was equally caught off guard. If he'd watched yesterday's sparring festival, he'd have understood, but he'd been revising his plans upon hearing Karin was coming and hadn't seen it at all. So he couldn't easily believe the sudden claim of being the Sword Star's disciple.
Willis thought in bewilderment.
Hakodate Karin's disciple? I never heard of such a person...
He was surprised Karin even had a disciple, let alone that the disciple was hanging around with Clarice Levatein of all people.
At this rate, he couldn't take Clarice with him.
Even if I insist, it'll lack justification...
Stubbornly pushing would only look suspicious, so it might be better to bide his time.
"...I see why you're so confident about knowing the sword better than me."
"You believe it easily?"
"It's not just your word—there's no reason for Serena to lie either."
Willis decided to step back.
"In that case, I won't interfere. If the Sword Star's disciple teaches her, Clarice should make significant progress."
"Thanks for understanding."
"In return, may I observe? I'm retired, but my passion for the sword is still genuine. I'd love to see the sword taught by the Sword Star."
He proposed observation in a way that sounded appealing to Seong Hyun-jin, planning to take Clarice right after.
"What do you think?"
Seong Hyun-jin asked Clarice's opinion. She permitted it, as if understanding Willis's feelings.
"I don't mind. Anyone walking the path of the sword would understand an instructor's heart."
"Yeah?"
Seong Hyun-jin said.
"Well, my master's swordsmanship is the best."
He spoke with immense pride. From that, Willis realized Seong Hyun-jin had deep attachment to the Sword Star. She probably felt the same for her disciple, so there was a good chance she'd informed him of her visit to the academy.
I might learn the Sword Star's intentions from him.
Willis asked Seong Hyun-jin.
"Then I can take that as permission?"
"But I don't like it."
"...What?"
Willis was flustered. He'd asked Clarice, gotten a positive response—why was Seong Hyun-jin refusing?
"I don't want to show my master's swordsmanship to just anyone."
"...So I don't meet your standards?"
"That's not it."
Denying that Willis fell short, Seong Hyun-jin explained simply.
"You're in a position to teach all the swordsmanship department students, right, Instructor Willis?"
"...Yes."
"If I show you and you unknowingly pass my master's sword to other students, that'd be a problem. Swordsmanship seeps into the body, so you might demonstrate it unconsciously."
Seong Hyun-jin said regretfully.
"So no go. Even if you meet the standard, some other students don't."
"...Does your master not want that? That swordsmanship should only be passed to the exceptional?"
"Yes, that's why she only took me as a disciple. I think so too, to some extent."
With that much said, Willis had no justification to intrude.
...Pushing further would only make me look suspicious.
He had no choice but to withdraw.
"Understood. If that's the Sword Star's will, I won't insist."
"Glad you understand."
"Clarice, come to the staff room after the guidance. There's more to discuss beyond that."
"Yes, sir."
Willis stepped back for now. He left first, planning to call Clarice aside naturally later.
Serena glanced at Seong Hyun-jin as she watched Willis go.
"Observation wouldn't have hurt, right? It's not like you're teaching intricate details, and no one grasps it perfectly from one look."
"He reeks."
"Pardon?"
Seong Hyun-jin looked at Clarice.
"Don't go to the staff room."
"What do you mean?"
"Just do that. I didn't notice from afar, but up close, he gives off bad vibes."
"What do you mean by that...?"
"That's too baseless."
Not just Clarice, but Serena looked at him like she didn't get it. Seong Hyun-jin said, surprised.
"Ah, you two didn't sense it? That's surprising. I thought everyone would."
"Pardon?"
"That instructor."
Seong Hyun-jin said.
"He stinks of blood."
# Seong Hyun-jin was sensitive to the scent of blood. This wasn't some innate ability but a result of living on Cheonsan and smelling all kinds of blood. The metallic tang from hunted wild animals, the blood from accident victims passing through the mountains, the stench from those killed by bandits lurking at the base... In the high, sparsely populated Cheonsan, he encountered brutal smells rare in cities.
Of course, if he were ordinary, he wouldn't be this sensitive, but his combat sense was as exceptional as his sword talent—something even Karin acknowledged as surpassing her own.
Blood scent usually washes away, but the deep stain on the hands of someone who's killed countless people doesn't fade. Just like their sins never vanish.
That's why Seong Hyun-jin had felt unease from the moment Willis approached. And now he was suddenly trying to take Clarice away. With no classes today due to the ongoing third-year sparring festival, Willis's offer of private guidance felt off. Especially from someone reeking so strongly of blood.
That's why he'd refused observation despite Clarice's okay. He'd hoped she'd refuse outright, but she apparently sensed nothing.
"Blood scent? I didn't smell anything."
Serena, sensing nothing either, asked curiously, but Seong Hyun-jin stuck to his guns and told Clarice.
"I've got good instincts, you know? Better avoid being alone with that instructor if possible."
Clarice and Serena exchanged glances. Then Serena asked Seong Hyun-jin.
"Did those instincts help you foresee and stop what happened at the sparring festival?"
"Not exactly, but I've felt uneasy about that guy since I first saw him."
Serena was a bit surprised. If he'd sensed danger from Aiel Northwood from the start, his instincts were spot on.
She had to admit it.
"......You do have good instincts."
"I think so too."
"...Bragging is kinda annoying."
"Was it that bad?"
Seong Hyun-jin looked at her like she was overreacting, but Serena acted like she'd said nothing wrong.
Clarice nodded after listening.
"...Understood. I'll follow your advice."
"Good. Tell Instructor Willis something came up. If he clings weirdly despite that..."
Seong Hyun-jin said.
"Assume it's not just guidance—he's got other intentions."
"Other intentions? Like what?"
"Huh? Well..."
Seong Hyun-jin eyed Clarice's face and figure once, then beckoned Serena closer. She tilted her head and approached, and he whispered in her ear.
Serena's face flushed beet red upon hearing it. She stammered in panic.
"Wh-wh-what...!"
"It's not impossible."
"N-no... You think an instructor would...!?"
"All men are beasts, they say."
"...You know you're a man too, right?"
"Exclude me, then."
Clarice, clueless about their exchange, just looked puzzled.
"We took longer than expected. Clarice, let's see your sword already."
"Yes."
Serena headed to another practice room, while Seong Hyun-jin entered with Clarice.
Terastial Academy's practice halls boasted top-tier facilities. Perhaps because the headmaster was an authority on spirit magic, they were covered in rare training magic artifacts even great houses rarely used.
Practice wooden dummies auto-replenished, there was a system checking the practitioner's physical status, and even a virtual combat system. Everything here was the pinnacle of spirit magic research, mostly devised by Demon Star Eleonora herself for the students.
Seong Hyun-jin said, genuinely impressed.
"Free access to facilities like this? Amazing."
"First time here?"
"Yeah, no time before."
"They are excellent. Even compared to my family's, these are superior."
From her praise surpassing a duke's facilities, Seong Hyun-jin could tell Clarice quite liked the place. No need to worry about her being tense in unfamiliar surroundings.
Seong Hyun-jin said.
"Don't mind me—do your usual routine."
"Understood."
Clarice passed Seong Hyun-jin briefly and activated the virtual combat system. A magic circle flashed, generating the enemy she wanted.
It looked wolf-like at a glance, but the icicle-sharp mane and massive size marked it as no ordinary wolf. A mana beast active in the Magic Kingdom's north and the empire's south.
"A Frost Wolf, right?"