Chapter 33: A Heart-Pounding Secret Date (End)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 33: A Heart-Pounding Secret Date (End)
Through a long period of persuasion, I managed to prevent the disaster of Professor Cathy coming to the dormitory.
Fortunately, she seemed to realize that her visiting the dorms would spark groundless rumors.
In the end, instead of the professor coming to me, we agreed to meet at a park near the Academy. But hold on a second.
I am a man who values manners.
Especially if I was the one who initiated the meeting, it’s only polite to arrive at the rendezvous point before the other person, regardless of the purpose.
Normally, I’d make it a rule to arrive about ten minutes early and wait in a nearby cafe, but my counterpart was our “secret friend,” Professor Cathy.
In the original work, she was the type who always showed up at least thirty minutes early to wait for any appointment. Taking that into account, I arrived at the meeting spot forty minutes early.
There should have been no flaws in my calculations. It wasn’t like I misread the time, either.
“Oh? So-hyun, you’re here early! I was worried I might have come out a bit too early, but I’m glad.”
Wait, why is this person already waiting?
Huh? If I had shown up exactly on time, would she have waited alone for forty minutes? No, since she arrived before me, was she planning to wait for an hour?
You didn’t come out even earlier than that, did you?
“Um… by any chance, what time did you get here?”
“Oh, I haven’t been waiting long. I just went for a jog at dawn, and since I had time left over, I washed up and headed out a bit early.”
For the record, according to her daily routine in the Setting Book, her jogging time is from 4:00 AM to 6:00 AM.
…It is currently 9:20 AM.
Surely she hasn’t been waiting since 6:00 AM. I’m too scared to check, so I won’t ask.
“So, what did you call me out for today?”
Ah, right. I’d made the appointment to meet today, but she had agreed before I could even state the purpose, so I hadn’t actually told her why I called.
It’s nothing major, just something simple.
“Ah, Professor, it’s nothing else, but I was thinking of spending some Points…”
“What was that?”
“Pardon? As I was saying, I’m planning to use my Points, so if the Professor could help…”
“Who?”
“…I was hoping Noona could help me decide what to buy.”
“Yes, of course, So-hyun. Your Noona should definitely help you.”
This person seems to be fixated on the strangest things.
I’d said I didn’t really need them, but letting the Points I received just sit there would be a waste. I figured I might as well buy something useful from what was available.
Besides, when visiting the Academy Point Shop, it’s much more efficient in many ways to go with an academic advisor rather than going alone.
The setting dictates that the items available for sale differ slightly depending on whether a professor is present.
Originally, this was a setting meant to help strengthen Lilac, who was a favorite among the professors, but I figured I could benefit from it too.
“But have the Points been deposited already?”
“Yes, they came in yesterday evening.”
“Hmm. So-hyun, this might sound a bit disappointing, but honestly, at the beginning of the semester, there’s not much point in renting fancy weapons or high-grade Artifacts.”
“Pardon?”
“Why don’t you buy some supplies that boost your stats or items that help with training instead? Of course, if you really want to buy something else, I won’t stop you, but…”
“I’m not buying those.”
“Eh?”
It seemed our secret friend mistakenly thought I was excited about getting a large amount of Points at once and was planning to pick out a cool weapon or Artifact.
But I had absolutely no intention of buying such things.
They might be helpful later on, but they were useless for now. Considering my Talent and Traits, there were plenty of much more efficient items available. Why on earth would I buy those?
“I’m just planning to buy some nutritional supplements and boosters.”
Upon hearing my words, Professor Cathy’s face brightened instantly.
“Right, there’s no need to rush yet. Let’s build up your foundation first.”
* * *
And so, we stopped by the Academy Shop first.
Professor Cathy was listing various items, recommending what was decent and what wasn’t, but I had already decided on what to buy.
The shopkeeper spotted the professor, looked at my face, nodded, and put out a few additional items on display—just like in the original work.
From now on, I’d be able to buy those items even if I came alone.
The special items you can buy when accompanied by Professor Cathy are exercise-related boosters and Talent Enhancers.
The Points I received this time amounted to 1,000, and with the 300 Points basic cadets receive, I had a total of 1,300 Points.
A Talent Enhancer costs 700 Points and a Trait Enhancer costs 500 Points. They are quite expensive, so buying both leaves only 100 Points.
A Special Fatigue Recovery Potion costs 100 Points, so buying that as well makes it a perfect fit.
Oh, for the record, consuming these doesn’t mean your Talent grade will suddenly jump up.
If such treasures were sold at the Academy Point Shop, who in the world wouldn’t be S-rank?
In fact, these were often treated as “duds” compared to their high Point cost.
Talents and Traits naturally develop the more you use them; these potions simply make the proficiency rise a tiny bit faster during training.
According to the setting, even if you dumped about 100,000 Points into Talent Enhancers alone, you couldn’t raise the grade of the Talent itself. Most people would think it’s better to just rent a decent Artifact instead.
That’s why the characters in the original work thought these were total garbage items, but that had nothing to do with me.
“So… So-hyun?”
Even the professor, who had told me not to rent Artifacts, looked at me with a worried gaze when I made a “trash-tier” pick that even Lilac would call crazy. However, my will was as firm as steel.
“You know that drinking those won’t suddenly make your Talent stronger, right?”
“Of course. If it did, there wouldn’t be anyone with a low Talent grade. But I just prefer getting stronger by training step by step.”
That was a total lie, of course. I only did gym workouts because I felt like I was going to die otherwise; I wasn’t a pervert who fundamentally enjoyed effort.
Nevertheless, the reason I chose these potions was simple.
It was because of my Talent.
My Reinforcement was a Talent that didn’t discriminate against its target; it upgraded the level of whatever it was applied to.
It meant I could turn a simple consumable potion into a supreme elixir… well, maybe not that far, but at least into a highly efficient draught.
Ah, yes.
To hell with effort. Life is best enjoyed when you can get things for free.
Having finished my satisfying shopping trip, it was now time to part ways with our secret friend.
“Then, thank you, Professor. I’ll come back to buy the items you recommended when I have the chance.”
But for some reason, our secret friend held onto me.
She physically used her hand to grab my arm.
Personally, I wanted to test the power of the potions right away, so I was a bit puzzled, but the professor said with a beaming smile:
“So-hyun, you don’t have any plans for the rest of the day, right?”
“Huh? Ah, well, the potions…”
“That’s a relief. It would be a shame to part ways right after meeting like this. You can spare some time for your Noona, can’t you?”
Wait…? Did I answer that I didn’t have plans? I don’t think I did, but this is strange.
“Let’s start with lunch. You’re hungry, right?”
“Well, I am hungry, but the way you say ‘let’s start with lunch’ makes it sound like you have plans for after we eat, too.”
As I’ve said several times, the relationship between me and my secret friend only works because it’s a secret.
Even if things have been smoothed over, what good could come from an Academy professor being caught approaching a student privately during a time of crisis like this?
“Oh, what are you talking about, So-hyun?”
Ah, as expected, I must have been mistaken. There’s no way our Professor Cathy wouldn’t have thought of that!
“Of course we have to buy clothes, do some sightseeing, and stop by a cafe. Oh, should we watch a movie too?”
She hadn’t thought of it at all.
It pained my heart to think of how disappointed she’d be when she’s so happy, but it was right to close my eyes and refuse here.
“Actually, I always wanted to go shopping and hang out with my younger sibling once they entered the Academy.”
No, wait, that’s cheating! Stop using the unblockable move…!
It seemed our secret friend had realized that I was strangely weak whenever she brought up her sibling, as she approached quite aggressively.
“Buying clothes, eating delicious food, things like that. I’m sorry. I got too excited about meeting on the weekend and only thought about myself. You must have your own things to do, So-hyun.”
It was pitiful, but it wasn’t quite enough to break my iron will.
Just as I was about to open my eyes wide and give a firm refusal, I saw moisture welling up in her emerald eyes.
“…I can spare a little time.”
I’m a piece of trash. A non-recyclable piece of garbage…!
“Really? Then let’s go eat first!”
Seeing the professor brighten up as if she had never been sad, I felt like I’d been baited a little, but what could I do?
Since she’s this happy over something like this, I might as well go along with it.
* * *
“Is it good?”
“Yes, this place is quite good.”
The place we entered was a Western-style restaurant recommended by Professor Cathy.
The soft-boiled omurice, topped with an original sauce instead of tomato ketchup, was surprisingly delicious.
“This is good too. Try some, So-hyun.”
Professor Cathy had already pushed four pieces of the King Tonkatsu she ordered toward me.
“You just gave me some a moment ago.”
“Still. It makes me happy to see you eating well.”
Is this the sense of distance between a Noona and a younger brother…?
I’ve never had an older sister, so I wouldn’t know, but it felt like something was off.
Well, of course it felt off.
She was acting like someone who was desperate to do anything for me. I was grateful, but it was also true that it was a bit uncomfortable.
It might sound funny coming from the one receiving this misplaced goodwill, but in the end, I wasn’t actually her brother.
Even after we finished eating, she took me to a clothing store and had fun making me try on various outfits.
“Are you siblings?”
She flinched for a moment at the clerk’s tactless remark, but she soon nodded and picked out more clothes for me to try.
“The size is a bit big.”
“No, you’re still a freshman, so it’ll fit perfectly once you grow a bit more.”
Since she had paid for lunch, I told her I’d pay for the clothes myself, but she looked like she’d lost her country and started tearing up again. In the end, I was “sleeve-stuffed” with the clothes as well.
Having spent quite a bit of time shopping, we decided to rest at a nearby cafe.
“So-hyun.”
“Yes?”
“Thanks for going along with my stubbornness today. But I’ll tell you one thing, just so you don’t misunderstand.”
“What is it?”
“It’s true that you feel like a younger brother to me, but I don’t think of you as a replacement for my brother.”
Honestly, I was a bit surprised.
The reason I had been debating how to keep my distance was that it would be troublesome if she viewed me as a mere substitute for her real brother. I didn’t expect her to approach it like that.
Thinking of someone like a brother versus seeing them as a replacement for a brother.
They might seem similar, but they were entirely different issues.
“So-hyun is So-hyun, after all.”
I suppose that’s true.
This person was like this in the original work as well.
She seemed weak, but she was mentally strong.
That’s why, no matter how much someone resembled her brother, she never forgot that they were a different person.
She might try to treat them preciously, but she corrected herself before falling into a delusion.
Because of that, her brother might be a wound to her, but he could never be her ultimate weakness.
If she had been more obsessed with her brother, unable to forget him and chasing his ghost in others, her path in the original work would have been quite different.
“Professor.”
“Hmm? What is it, So-hyun?”
Seeing her answer even without being called “Noona” made me feel relieved.
“Thank you for today.”
“I should be the one saying that, but you’re always the one saying thank you.”
In the original work, when the villains took a child who looked exactly like her brother hostage to make her betray her allies…
She refused the offer.
She couldn’t betray them, but she couldn’t give up on the child either. She fought desperately to save the child, but in the end, she died.
Without ever knowing that the child was an illusion created by the villains, she, who had been a reliable helper to the protagonist, met a pathetic end.
But that didn’t matter anymore.
As long as I was here, such a thing wouldn’t happen.
I gripped the potion bottles in my pocket tightly and made a vow once more.
“Then, shall we go watch a movie now?”
“Pardon?”
No, it seemed this strange date wasn’t over yet.
“You’ll buy the popcorn, right, So-hyun?”
Seeing her brightened expression, I felt like laughing.
“Yes, I can at least buy that much for you.”
As long as she didn’t think of me as a replacement for her brother, there was no need to push her away so much.
We’d already played this much; watching a movie wouldn’t change anything.