The Entrance Ceremony
I froze. Siu froze. Everyone present froze on the spot.
[We have to stop this!]
In that split second before everything exploded, I grabbed Katie, while Dorothy and Siu held back Sia.
"You go for that kid instead of me, Unnie?"
Oh.
[Did I just step on a landmine?]
It seemed my action had genuinely ruffled Sia's feathers — a new vein popped up on her forehead.
"I smell blood. Are you okay, blonde friend?"
"What are you talking about? Blood?"
"Yeah! Blood! That smell that comes out when you're hurt. It's strong!"
Sia glared at Katie, trying to figure out what in the world she was saying, but—
Flicker, flicker!
"Ugh, what, what's with that look…"
There was nothing to read in Katie's eyes — pure, 100% clear eyes of a completely empty-headed fool.
"Sia."
"That's why, Oppa, don't say anything. Got it?"
Sensing that the wrong words might get him caught in the crossfire, Siu decided to stay silent.
"Blonde friend, are you hurt anywhere? If you're hurt, you have to say so. If you don't say anything, nobody will know you're hurt."
Ugh.
Katie wore a slightly pouty expression, her face radiating genuine concern as if she were saying, I truly, truly worry about you. Faced with that, Sia hesitated.
Could she really be worried about me that sincerely?
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Sia simply couldn't bring herself to be genuinely angry at a tiny kid smaller than Tiss Unnie.
"I'm, I'm fine. Probably… the smell of Ben just didn't wash off from work, I guess."
Sia had taken a thorough bath before meeting Tiss Unnie, but after fighting all night underground with blood of humans and beasts smeared all over her, she could see how she might actually smell.
Conclusion: she was just a clueless little kid.
There was no other way to judge it.
"I'm fine."
"That's a relief! If you're hurt, whether you're Tiss's sibling or not, you can always tell me anytime!"
"Tiss's sibling?"
"That's right. Katie is Tiss Jjangdongmu's older sister!"
Sia had no idea what this tiny kid smaller than Tiss was talking about.
"That's right. Angel-nim said she'd explain when Siu Oppa and Sia Unnie came, right? What's going on?"
"'Whaaat?!'"
Siu and Sia shouted in unison.
"Well… that's how it turned out. I sent a rough summary by text, right? You saw it?"
"'That's how it turned out' isn't going to cut it! Tiss, why are you trying to brush this off so smoothly?"
"Unnie, please explain. My older sister? What does that even mean?"
"Well, you see, we first met as pen pals, and then…"
In the end, explaining Katie's existence and why she called herself "older sister" took longer than clearing up the phone call misunderstanding.
"So basically—" I explained briefly that we'd first met as pen pals, only to discover we were distant relatives, and since we shared blood, we decided to call each other older and younger siblings.
"Now that you say it, she does look a little similar."
Sia picked Katie up and examined her from every angle, her face clearly unconvinced.
"Hehe."
Thinking she was about to be hugged, Katie spread her arms wide and giggled. Sia let out a small sigh and hugged her tightly.
To cut to the chase, it was resolved well.
Katie melted into Siu and Sia's circle far faster than anyone expected.
When we all went to the cafeteria to eat together, Katie sliced up her own portion of meat and distributed it to everyone else.
"Siu Dongmu, Sia Dongmu, you eat one more piece each."
"You're giving me yours?"
"Older sister takes care of her younger siblings!"
"Thank you~"
"Of course, I'm the oldest! You have to eat a lot to grow big and strong!"
[Is that… is that it?]
[She's probably just a picky eater, isn't she?]
She was putting on a friendly face and smiling, but she looked like she was giving away meat because she didn't want to eat it herself.
"She's sharing precious meat with others."
"She really does cherish her younger siblings…"
Siu and Sia wore genuinely moved expressions.
Well, as long as the outcome was good, we decided to quietly let it pass.
Nam nam.
"She's so cute."
Sia, who had been the most vocal in her complaints, had already completely fallen for Katie by the time they were eating.
A tiny pink girl slightly smaller than me, insisting she was the older sister, proudly distributing food with her small hands — even Sia, who had been pouting with a pointed expression of grievance, had no choice but to soften.
[C-cute is its own form of justice, isn't it.]
Shan, who had been sharply jealous of Katie (and vehemently denied it), nodded with a resigned expression.
"Katie came to play with Tiss Jjangdongmu. Katie has a house! A really big, really nice house!"
"That's impressive?"
"Tiss Jjangdongmu said if I sleep for 80 nights, she'll come visit. I believe her and I'll wait!"
"Ah, so Tiss Unnie is coming to visit during break. Can we come too?"
"Of course. Siu and Sia are Tiss Jjangdongmu's siblings. The siblings, and Dorothy Dongmu too — you're always welcome!"
"Thank you."
The initially tense atmosphere lasted only a moment before turning warm and lively.
[P-Phew, that was close.]
I truly let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.
Now I wouldn't have to worry about how things would go when we met again later.
"Siu and Sia, are you done preparing your declaration speeches?"
"Sort of? How about you, Oppa?"
"I'm just planning to say whatever I want to say then."
The conversation naturally shifted to the entrance ceremony happening tomorrow.
The top scorer and the runner-up positions had been claimed by Siu and Sia.
In the original story, the scene had been of a lonely figure stepping out alone to give a speech — now, a dependable brother and sister pair would be giving speeches together. I felt a lump rise in my throat.
"How about we all pray together?"
"Huh…? Out of nowhere?"
"Just… I want tomorrow's entrance ceremony to go smoothly, so I thought it'd be nice to do something small like this while we're all together."
We'd done everything we could to prepare up until the day before.
With the hope that everything would go safely, I thought it would be nice to enjoy a small event like this while we were all gathered.
A prayer in the sense of hoping everyone we knew could enter the academy unharmed.
"Tiss, what are you planning to pray for?"
"Right! I'm fine with whatever Tiss Unnie says!"
"I don't mind either."
"I'd like to pray with Angel-nim too."
"Hmm? Tiss Jjangdongmu, what's praying?"
"You bring your hands together, close your eyes, and silently wish for something you hope will come true."
At my words, Katie closed her eyes and thought carefully.
"Hmm…! Then Katie is fine."
"Huh? Fine?"
"Katie's wish has already come true!"
[Ah.]
[How could she…]
Seeing Katie smile brightly as she said that, I felt like I might cry for some reason.
"Then how about you pray for Tiss Jjangdongmu's siblings?"
"For my siblings?"
"Right. Katie is the older sister, isn't she?"
"That's a great idea!"
Everyone, including Katie sitting on Sia's lap, offered a short but sincere prayer.
.
.
.
That night, we didn't stay together for long in preparation for tomorrow's entrance ceremony — we parted ways quickly.
I stayed behind alone to see Katie off.
"See you tomorrow. Remember the plan, right?"
"Don't worry! As long as Tiss Jjangdongmu keeps us safe in her heart, there's no problem at all!"
"Just trust me."
"Yeah! Katie trusts Tiss Jjangdongmu!"
With those words, Katie sent me a look of boundless trust.
"Tomorrow I'll be too busy to say goodbye! If there's anything you want to say, say it now."
"By the way, Katie — did you make a wish earlier?"
"Earlier?"
Remembering, Katie blushed faintly with a mix of pride and slight embarrassment.
"I don't need the Dragon Heart anymore."
"Really?"
"Really. I acknowledge that Tiss is my true Jjangdongmu. Katie's wish was to have family and friends. Katie has already gotten her wish!"
Katie gently pulled me into a hug and met my eyes.
"It's not easy to hold all the 'us' inside me. But Tiss and Shan accepted my stubbornness without a single complaint. All six thousand of them. So I trust Tiss and Shan, my Jjangdongmu."
"Thank you."
"There's nothing to thank me for. It's natural between family. That's how I was taught. And I'm saying this for the first time now — Katie is truly happy!"
After saying goodbye to Katie, I returned to the dormitory where the others were waiting.
.
.
.
The long-awaited day of the entrance ceremony dawned.
Out of concern for combat situations, the ceremony was held in the plaza rather than the auditorium, as planned.
"You're here."
"Hello, Instructor Lionel."
Lionel had come out dressed in a formal suit, just as he normally wore one.
"Is the fluffy brat here?"
"…Who are you?"
"Damn brat."
Thwack!
"Ah! Why are you hitting me! There was no need to hit me!"
[Eek! O-ow…]
Oof, my head.
Why is this old hag's fist so spicy?
[Ugh! I actually got a bump on my head.]
"I hit you because I despise someone who knows but pretends not to."
I didn't expect her to throw a punch with full sincerity over one comment.
"Ah, really, I was just saying you're pretty enough that I couldn't recognize you, that's all?"
[She really does look completely different.]
Still, for an important event, Baba Yaga had dressed up neatly for the first time in a while — she looked like an entirely different person.
Instead of her usual sloppy clothes that looked like she'd stolen her dad's outfit, she wore a proper witch's traditional attire — a real cloak and hat. Her normally messy hair was neatly styled and pinned up with a dragon-engraved hairpin.
"Oh my? Lick your lips and tell lies."
Even though she said that, Baba Yaga was grinning and clearly pleased.
The entrance ceremony had armed freshmen, teachers, and assistants all participating — it looked less like an academy and more like a military base.
Still, it wasn't quite enough to fill the entire Plaza of the Hero Statue.
"There really are no reinforcements, huh?"
I'd thought there might be support from the Area 3 branch, but I never expected it to be this empty.
"Well, if there aren't any, there aren't any — they're not going to send fake ones. That side is in chaos too. It didn't make the news, but with the Church and the Secret Society stirring things up, Area 3 — which was supposed to be a safe zone — is being tossed around. They don't have a moment to spare."
[Tiss, do you remember? That surprise Baba Yaga mentioned… what was it again.]
I remembered somewhat.
"So, what was that thing you said you'd do to surprise us? You said you thought of something fun, right?"
"Don't worry, fluffy one. The guest has already arrived."
"Already arrived?"
Who?
I looked around, but I couldn't sense anything unusual.
"Even you, fluffy one, would have trouble finding them."
"Could you give me a hint?"
"Nope~ Go away. Cackle cackle cackle."
Who on earth was Baba Yaga talking about with such confidence?
"The ceremony will begin soon, so let's stop the small talk. Hurry and go sit in your seat, fluffy one. Front row, over there."
I could see Levi, Jin Seoyul, the Grand Duchess, Prim, Lee Rumi, and other heroes from the original story.
I wasn't the top scorer or runner-up, but I'd scored high enough to sit in the front row line where the main players sat.
"It's time."
Hoo hoo.
Lionel climbed onto the stage built in front of the statue and grabbed the microphone.
The atmosphere fell silent in an instant.
Knowing what would happen next, all the freshmen finished preparing themselves with tense expressions.
"Then, let us begin the entrance ceremony."
At last, the entrance ceremony had begun.