Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Actually, My Dream Was to Be a PE Teacher
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"Heh heh. I'll dig in."
Warm sunlight streamed through the glass windows into the living room.
The top-tier apartment's comfort was impervious to the winter chill.
I sat at the dining table, savoring the greasy, salty bliss.
"This is the stuff."
Crunch.
The hash brown crumbled smoothly in my mouth.
McDonald's is a god.
Especially since they deliver for breakfast.
'Price, taste, convenience. That's the holy trinity.'
I let out a satisfied sigh and picked up my coffee.
That's when my eyes met Manager Park's across the table. She was tapping away on her tablet PC.
Her cheeks flushed red.
Back in her regular clothes now, she still seemed to cringe at memories of her foolish antics from before.
"Manager Park."
"Yes, Sang-hyuk? Do you need anything?"
"Want some coffee? This place uses pretty decent beans for their brew."
"Oh..."
Manager Park glanced back and forth between the coffee in my hand and the pile of burger wrappers in front of her.
She'd been on a diet lately, sticking to salads.
But they say knowing the taste is what makes it dangerous. Every now and then, she'd watch me eat and swallow hard.
"I'll gratefully have some. Just a sip."
"How about some hash brown too?"
"Just one bite."
In the end, she caved.
The moment the food hit her mouth, her expression softened.
Taking care of my manager and filling my belly too.
I leaned back on the sofa and turned on my smartphone.
After demolishing McMorning, skipping the gallery would feel criminal.
I dove straight into monitoring public opinion.
The entire gallery was buzzing about Blue Vest.
It was only natural.
In Hunter Gallery, even clearing an A-Rank Gate blows up a page.
But here, I'd turned a terrorist group exec—who'd assassinated double-digit S-Rank Hunters—into mincemeat and served him up.
Who? Me.
Blue Vest.
Not only clearing A-Rank Gates in one second, but swooping in to rescue the Saintess every time she got nabbed.
If I were just a regular citizen here, I'd sleep like a baby with legs stretched out.
As I scrolled through the sensible posts, an unexpected title caught my eye.
It was about the Saintess.
My finger paused involuntarily.
Clicking the linked video showed Han Yoo-jung at a press conference, handcuffed.
The cuffs, made from Void Stone, gleamed darkly, endlessly draining her mana.
"Mana seals are no longer a weakness for Sanctuary Guild."
The Saintess smiled and unleashed her holy power.
The villain-capturing cuffs shattered like cookie crumbs.
"Whoa."
An exclamation slipped out before I knew it.
Breaking those cuffs with holy power instead of brute force? No way.
That was prime training for mages or priests— the kind that sends you to the hospital with mana backlash if you screw it up.
'Guess getting kidnapped shook her up good.'
People grow from their lacks, huh.
"Very promising."
I felt pleased.
No more dropping my spoon mid-meal and rushing to kidnapping sites.
My precious VIP client had leveled up her self-maintenance skills. Couldn't be more efficient.
As I nodded in admiration, Manager Park cautiously offered her tablet.
"Sang-hyuk, a new request just came in."
"From where?"
"From Han Yoo-jung."
Again?
Couldn't exactly ignore it after all that.
"What's it about? Stalker extermination? Bodyguard?"
"No. She wants you to go shopping at the department store to help pick an outfit for the forum. Pay is 2 million, estimated 5 hours total."
I doubted my ears for a second.
2 million just to shop for clothes?
"Did her coordinator go on strike or something?"
"She says she needs a comfortable friend's perspective, not a pro."
Manager Park smiled warmly, clearly delighted.
Friend, huh.
Hanging out is great... really great.
But shopping's a whole other beast.
Thinking back to the department store trip with Yoo Na-yeon.
Went for one suit, ended up climbing every floor for 4 hours.
If choosing between shopping with girls or soloing an A-Rank Gate, I'd pick the risky gate.
"Decline."
"Pardon?"
"Her usual dresses are pretty enough. Plus, I get a disease where I die after an hour of shopping."
Manager Park burst out laughing.
"Got it. I'll politely decline. But... that leaves your schedule totally empty this week."
"Hm."
That was a problem too.
Lazing at home is fun for a day or two, but too long and your muscles stiffen.
Gallery and shorts are fun for 30 minutes a day max after that, meh.
Hm.
Some dream job with moderate exercise, no mental stress.
"How about this request then?"
Manager Park held out the tablet.
"Imperial Hunter Academy is looking to hire an instructor."
"Imperial Hunter Academy?"
That place only the country's geniuses get into?
The details were simple.
With finals coming, students were heading to a group training camp. Needed a temp instructor to keep discipline.
Training camp meant real combat training: camping and eating next to actual dangerous Gates.
But the kids' discipline was shot, worrying the chairman.
"Teacher authority's hit rock bottom these days, huh..."
"A-Rank Awakeners are hard to handle."
Makes sense.
Instructors for Awakeners top out at B-Rank usually.
Why would an A-Rank take a low-pay teaching gig?
Duration: 7 days including camp
Pay: 320 million won.
Perks: Meals (buffet) provided.
[※ Only responsible for student safety. No interference in teaching methods.]
"Oh...?"
A grin spread across my face.
Toss a soccer ball, then nap in the shade as PE teacher.
That was my childhood dream.
And 320 million for a week?
Guess the one who truly gets my value isn't the Association Chairman, but the Academy Chairman.
"We have to take this."
As I smiled to accept, the manager added a condition.
"What? No vest allowed?"
"Yes."
I paused.
"They want a regular instructor, not Blue Vest, to set an example for the kids."
Set an example.
Meaning proper discipline.
Sounds like something the White Tiger Trio would say, not the chairman.
'Client name... Lee Hyung-seon?'
The White Tiger Trio's maknae from the training center, Hyung-seok.
His grandpa's the Academy Chairman, right?
'Grandson's grown up, so he knows the school vibe.'
I grinned.
If the kids ignore me, even better.
Gives me perfect excuse to nap openly.
Imperial Hunter Academy, Class A Classroom.
I strode in through the front door in a crisply ironed suit.
Of course, after asking the Saintess for a perception-blocking spell.
In exchange, I had to join shopping for 2 hours—compromised somehow.
"Alright, kids. Eyes up here?"
No response to the homeroom teacher's words.
They kept chatting among themselves, flicking glances my way.
The homeroom teacher pressed on undeterred with my intro.
"This is your temporary instructor, Teacher Kim Cheol-soo, guiding you until the training camp ends."
Kim Cheol-soo, my alias of course.
"Everyone, clap!"
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Only the homeroom teacher clapped.
Students didn't even look up.
"Teach~ Can't we wrap this up and self-study? Gotta grind ranking matches."
A red-haired guy in the back row propped his feet on the desk, swaggering.
The homeroom teacher glanced at me apologetically.
"Sorry, Instructor. Our kids are a bit... strong personalities..."
"They're healthy and lively—looks good to me. You can head out now."
I smiled amiably.
I looked every bit the trustworthy, diligent instructor.
"Then, please take care of them."
Slide.
The door shut, and the classroom erupted in noise pollution.
Never imagined that unimpressive homeroom teacher was their dam holding back the flood.
'And it gets louder from here?'
This wasn't a classroom—it was a neighborhood marketplace.
"Hey! What're you doing without Archer?!"
"Argh, what're you doing, DPS?!"
Laptops grinding ranking matches, kids playing catch behind, girls straight-up having a snack party.
I watched the chaos with warm satisfaction.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
This vibe with zero interest in me.
I unrolled my prepared sunbed next to the podium and lay down.