A Deal for the Mountain
Class A, located on the second floor of the Academy.
Every cadet was seated — every cadet except one. Han Cho-ah was nowhere to be found.
"The bell already rang."
It was early morning, the kind of hour that should have left them exhausted, yet the cadets' eyes were wide and bright. More than bright — they burned with something close to fervor. Every last gaze was locked on the front door.
"When is the instructor getting here?"
Yesterday's theory lecture had burned itself deep into their minds. Ten of them had witnessed the entire class with their own eyes; the remaining thirteen had only heard about it secondhand. Naturally, the latter group couldn't help but be skeptical.
"If you're lying, you're dead."
"Have you spent your whole life getting played? I'm telling you, I drank it."
"Ugh. I'd have to see it to believe it."
"Just wait. When the instructor gets here, ask him yourself."
The cadets were practically climbing the walls. Among them, the most restless of all was Na Eun-sol.
Why isn't he here yet?
Ten minutes had passed since the bell, and their homeroom instructor hadn't shown so much as a single strand of hair. Compared to the others, Na Eun-sol had far more she wanted to ask — about yesterday's theory class, and about her own aptitude as well.
When is he coming?
Concentrate your mana into your weapon. That had been his advice. At first she'd dismissed it as a joke, but after trying it again and again, she understood. She had been wrong. He had been right.
Ugh… I keep missing the timing…
Her patience finally snapped, and her hand moved on its own. She gave the desk a sharp little smack, muttering complaints under her breath — and that was when it happened.
Rrrrk.
The front door, which had sat motionless all morning, finally swung open. In an instant, the bored, weary faces of the cadets transformed.
"Hey, kids. This is Class A, right?"
But the moment the person who opened the door stepped into view, every expression in the room went flat.
Son Ga-yeong, blissfully unaware of anything, continued in a gentle tone.
"Is it because you're Class A? You guys are so quiet. The other classes are always so lou—"
"Instructor."
"Hm?"
"Where did Instructor Cheon Hae-beom go, and why are you here instead?"
At Na Eun-sol's words, the other cadets nodded along. Then, from Son Ga-yeong's mouth, came a bolt from the blue.
"Oh, Instructor Cheon? Something came up for him, so I agreed to cover."
"…What?"
Na Eun-sol's face went rigid. The rest of the cadets erupted in confusion without exception.
"W-what do you mean, Instructor?"
"Something came up? Just like that?"
"What? Are you saying you're unhappy that I showed up? Hmm… I'm a little hurt, kids."
It had been a throwaway joke, meant to lighten the mood. But contrary to her expectations, the atmosphere only grew more hostile.
"What is this?!"
"Ah, for real. What about us, sitting here waiting?!"
"Haa… I never even got to see the elixir. This is so unfair…"
What?
That was exactly what Son Ga-yeong's face was saying.
"W-what? Are you seriously unhappy that I came?"
"Yes! We are!"
"Why now of all times?!"
"Can't you just bring Instructor Cheon Hae-beom here? You get our hopes up and then this…"
Just yesterday she had incurred a debt to Cheon Hae-beom, and now a chance had appeared to chip away at it even a little. So Son Ga-yeong had accepted his request with a light heart and headed for Class A. Up until that moment, her mood had been easy — but the Son Ga-yeong of right now…
"N-no, why? Did I do something wrong…?"
…felt nothing but wronged.
My destination was the reception room next to the first-floor administrative office. I had arranged to meet Ma Seong-yong there. I quickened my pace and soon arrived.
"I will show our guest in."
A female secretary in a formal suit was waiting by the door. With an impassive expression she greeted me and ushered me inside with the utmost courtesy.
Ma Seong-yong hadn't arrived yet. The room held only the secretary and me. Standing around felt awkward, so I settled onto the sofa.
"The Chairman will be with you shortly. Please wait and enjoy some tea."
She bowed and poured. A subtle fragrance rose from the cup. Once the tea was filled, she stepped back behind the sofa.
"……"
Being alone in a room with a woman I'd never met before was awkward. Fortunately, the silence was broken by the secretary herself.
"Um, are you by any chance Cheon Hae-beom?"
"Just call me Hae-beom. No need to be formal."
"I couldn't possibly. How could I dare…"
"I'd prefer it that way. Honorifics make me uncomfortable."
Everyone around me had been treating me with extreme caution, and the discomfort of it was no small thing. After a long moment of working her mouth open and shut, the secretary finally spoke.
"Then… how about calling you Uncle?"
"Excuse me?"
"Ah, is that not all right?"
All right or not, "Uncle" was far too familiar a form of address, wasn't it? No matter how I looked at it, it wasn't a title you stuck on a man you'd just met. Besides, Cheon Hae-beom's appearance was closer to a handsome young man than any kind of uncle.
"I've spoken out of turn. I apologize."
"It's fine."
Another awkward silence settled in. The air felt heavier than before. Once again, it was the secretary who spoke first.
"Do you know who I am, by any chance, Cheon Hae-beom?"
She'd been saying nothing but baffling things since the start.
"You're affiliated with the Academy, aren't you?"
"Not that… I mean something more specific…"
"Hmm… Lee Su-jin, I suppose?"
The name tag hanging around her neck said as much. Nothing particular had come to mind, so I'd simply read the name — and apparently that was the right move. Lee Su-jin's previously blank expression brightened noticeably.
"I knew it…! You remembered!"
"Well. It's written right there on your name tag. Hard to miss."
"Ah…"
That, apparently, was the wrong move. Disappointment settled over her bright expression.
"So you… really had forgotten…"
Was reading someone's name tag considered rude in this world? Why was she reacting like that?
But Lee Su-jin?
The name felt familiar. I rolled it over in my mind a few times, and before long it clicked.
"Ah — that crazy archer!"
That was it. The principal's personal secretary who moonlighted as a hero. She had enough of a role in the story that I remembered her, if only vaguely.
"A-archer? Did you just say archer?"
The words had slipped out before I could stop them.
"Ahem. My apologies. Something just came to mind."
"N-no, it's fine. I am an archer."
Calling a woman I'd just met a "crazy archer" out of nowhere was a good way to get labeled a creep. I scrambled for a more respectable explanation.
"The calluses on your hands. Their placement and structure gave it away. They're quite pronounced — you must train diligently."
"…You're the one who taught me that, Uncle."
"Pardon? Uncle?"
"I've always been grateful. And the fact that you haven't forgotten me is an hon—"
Creeeak—
The sound of the door opening cut Lee Su-jin off mid-sentence. She wiped the smile from her face at once and composed her expression.
"You've arrived ahead of me, Master."
I turned toward the source of the voice. Ma Seong-yong was smiling at me.
"We've been seeing each other quite often lately."
As before, the sheer pressure he gave off was no joke. I barely managed to hold my wits together and get the first word out.
"So, are you disappointed?"
"Hardly. I said it because I meant it fondly."
"Good. Sit down, then."
The moment Ma Seong-yong took his seat, he glanced at Lee Su-jin. She seemed to catch something in that look, because she prepared to leave at once.
"I'll take my leave. If the chance arises, I hope we meet again, Cheon Hae-beom."
She lingered as if reluctant to go, then finally forced herself to walk away with slow steps.
Strange woman.
Calling me Uncle, and every other word and gesture — the whole package was deeply suspicious. Best to keep my distance.
"Master."
"Mm. Go on."
"I'll skip the small talk and get straight to the point."
Drop the useless formalities, in other words. That was Ma Seong-yong for you — refreshingly direct.
"We've confirmed the authenticity of the elixir's effects. Everything was exactly as you said, Master."
"Then it's time we start negotiating."
"Without question."
I had no interest in dragging things out either. I laid out exactly what I'd been thinking.
"You're aware the Academy has a mountain behind it, I assume?"
"Yes, I am. But why bring that up all of a sudden?"
"What I want is ownership of that mountain."
In that instant, Ma Seong-yong's pupils dilated. It was clearly a demand he had never anticipated, and the shock on his face was plain.
"What is your intention?"
My intention? Just the desire to claim a dragon, that's all. I kept that to myself and said something else.
"There's no grand intention. It's exactly what it sounds like. I transfer the patent rights to the elixir to you, and in exchange, I take ownership of the mountain."
"……"
No answer came. Ma Seong-yong finally managed to speak.
"Have you hidden some kind of treasure on that mountain?"
"Treasure?"
Something far greater than treasure. Of course, Ma Seong-yong had no way of knowing a dragon lived there, so he looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Master. Why are you so fond of mountains? Don't tell me you're going to shut yourself away for another ten years under the pretext of closed-door training?"
"You don't need to worry about that."
"Ugh… please stop making me worry. You're not a primitive. Isn't it about time you rejoined society and lived among people? You're not a chil—"
"Ah, I get it already."
This guy and his endless lecturing. If I say it's fine, just take it as fine.
"So. Do you accept?"
"Hmm… I've got nothing to lose, so of course I'll accept. But is that the only condition?"
"Don't rush me. There's more."
Even with just the dragon, this deal was ten times in my favor — but he didn't know that. So I fully intended to bleed him dry like a mosquito.
Sorry about this. But I did raise you, so I'm allowed a little spite.
To be precise, it was the original Cheon Hae-beom who'd raised him, not me. But same difference, right?
After all, right now I wasn't Go Yohahn. I was Cheon Hae-beom.