Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Promotion
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"Thank you..."
Kang Hwa-yeon's final words came out in a rasp, as if her breath was on the verge of failing her entirely. Then she fell silent.
Worried she might actually be dying, I grabbed her and shook her while shouting.
"No, don't say crap like that!!!! That's a total cliché—dying right after your big line!! Say something like [I'll definitely come back alive!] to show some damn resolve!!!!"
"That's bullshit! That's a straight-up death flag!"
Baek A-rin snapped back at me before rushing over to Kang Hwa-yeon.
"Kang Hwa-yeon!! Snap out of it?!"
Baek A-rin yelled, but Kang Hwa-yeon didn't so much as twitch.
I could feel Kang Hwa-yeon's hand slowly growing cold.
"Enough. She's already..."
I closed her eyes as I spoke.
But Baek A-rin refused to let go, as if she couldn't accept it.
"What the hell are you doing dying here?!"
-Slap slap slap slap!
Baek A-rin's stinging palm flew toward Kang Hwa-yeon.
At that moment, Kang Hwa-yeon's sealed eyes snapped open.
...?
"Ah... it hurts... I'm alive..."
"Hwa-yeon-ah!!"
"Don't buy it, Baek A-rin!! Her hand was ice-cold! She's a zombie!!!!"
"I... have poor circulation..."
....
The only daughter of the Inferno Clan suffering from poor circulation? Doesn't suit her at all.
Total misunderstanding.
The sound of a door opening rang out, and Erina Esnatia burst in.
"I've arrived! Si-woo!! Where are the enemies?!"
"Situation's already over."
Erina smacked her forehead at my words.
"Oh! Looks like I was the cop in this movie!"
Following her came Lee Dok-sa, Kang Geom-seon, and a few people who looked like her subordinates.
Lee Dok-sa took in the scene and looked stunned.
"What the hell happened here, Si-woo? All these people collapsed..."
"Purity Faction."
Then Kang Geom-seon spotted the injured Kang Hwa-yeon and Baek A-rin and freaked out.
"Baek A-rin from Snow Mountain. And the other one... Why is Hwa-yeon here...!"
Kang Geom-seon rushed to Kang Hwa-yeon and checked her condition.
"To let her face get this swollen...! I'll make sure they pay!"
Kang Geom-seon fumed at the sight of Kang Hwa-yeon's reddened, puffy cheek.
....At that, Baek A-rin and I clamped our mouths shut tight.
Lee Dok-sa gave orders to her subordinates.
"Restrain all the collapsed ones immediately, and transport the injured to the hospital."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Lee Dok-sa spoke to Professor Kang Geom-seon.
"Even if Hwa-yeon and Baek A-rin were together, it's hard to believe just the two of them took on this many Purity Faction goons. This has to be..."
Professor Kang Geom-seon stood up after inspecting the wounds on the Purity Faction corpses and replied.
"Kim Si-woo did it, obviously. We'll know more after a full investigation, but if it's true..."
"Then Si-woo could get promoted."
"Yeah, even those tight-ass higher-ups won't be able to deny this one."
"Those idiots in the ranking department. I told them he should've been promoted right after the last incident, but they kept dragging their feet."
"This time we can push hard. Gotta back my disciple properly."
"What? What do you mean? Si-woo's my student. I'm his assigned instructor. Don't steal him. One disciple like me should be enough for you, right, Master?"
Professor Kang Geom-seon turned to the manic glint in Lee Dok-sa's eyes.
'She gets that crazy look in her eyes sometimes...'
Kim Si-woo had no idea.
That a promotion he neither knew about nor wanted was being fast-tracked by the rivalry of two high-ranking faculty members.
Lee Dok-sa's subordinates whispered after overhearing the conversation.
"That guy from earlier—is he the Kim Si-woo our boss was talking about?"
"Yeah, the genius she personally vouched for..."
"He did seem different somehow."
"Kim Si-woo, huh... Looking forward to what he does next."
Everyone's questioning was done.
For now, it was a preliminary wrap-up, with more details to follow later.
Given it was an unprecedented academy assault, the whole place must be in chaos.
Afterward, I got a call from Kang Hwa-yeon. She wanted to formally apologize for everything up to now and give me a proper thank-you, so I headed to her hospital room.
"So... you and my dad have absolutely nothing to do with each other?!"
"Yeah, nothing at all. And you think it makes sense for me—a total stranger—to inherit Inferno? Why would he..."
"Why are you only telling me this now?!"
No, you never asked.
"What the hell have I been doing all this time..."
Kang Hwa-yeon let out a hollow laugh.
No, seriously, what were you even doing?
Looks like she'd let her imagination run way too wild.
Kang Hwa-yeon stared at me with a dazed expression and asked.
"So what the hell are you, really?"
"What do you mean? I'm an academy student."
"Don't mess around. You expect me to believe a regular first-year freshman beat Panpagia and took out four Purity Faction guys?"
Even if you say that, it doesn't change what I am.
I'm not hiding anything special, either.
More worrying was that the only skills I'd shown her directly were Bunny Hop, Dark Screen, and Fate Intervention.
Skills I could explain away if pressed, but the issue was whether she'd seen something else.
And if she'd spilled everything during the investigation.
From her perspective, no reason to hide it.
Kang Hwa-yeon narrowed her eyes at me.
"What, can't tell me?"
"...No, there's nothing to tell."
"Then what about all those skills you used right in front of me? Why are you using my Uncle Geom-seon's Flash Strike? Don't you only have one skill?"
"That's not a skill. It's iaijutsu."
"Iaijutsu?"
"Converting friction into kinetic energy..."
That explanation I'd seen somewhere once.
"Quit bullshitting."
Kang Hwa-yeon scoffed at the pseudo-science.
Yeah, no way it'd fly.
"Whatever, if you don't wanna talk, fine. Doesn't really matter now anyway."
"Then during the investigation, did you..."
"If you're hiding stuff on purpose, you must have your reasons. Funny coming from me, but I'm not so graceless I'd screw over my lifesaver."
Overwhelming. Gratitude.
As long as Kang Hwa-yeon kept quiet, there'd be no issues. Erina wouldn't say a word, obviously, and Baek A-rin wouldn't want to spread rumors about what I could do—she'd probably make some lame excuse like she blacked out.
A knock echoed from the hospital room door.
"May I come in?"
"Coming in. Hwa-yeon."
Before Kang Hwa-yeon could even respond, Erina and Baek A-rin opened the door and entered.
Erina scowled the moment she saw me and Kang Hwa-yeon.
"Last time I let it slide because of injuries, but there's no need to be that close now. Get away from that bitch right now, Si-woo."
No, you two have never even met.
Erina's guts—cursing first and asking questions never—is impressive.
"You're Erina, right? Nice to meet you."
Kang Hwa-yeon responded with a bright smile. Peak Kang Hwa-yeon. Nothing like Baek A-rin's forced grin—a flawless performance.
'Yeah, this is her real usual self. Kind to everyone.'
"You feeling okay?"
"Lucky for me, it was just exhaustion. No major injuries. Thanks to Si-woo."
Si-woo?
Getting casual all of a sudden.
Baek A-rin looked a bit uncomfortable at Kang Hwa-yeon's words too.
"Hwa-yeon, you're talking casually now... You two must've gotten really close?"
"Well, he's my lifesaver."
"So you haven't, like, developed some interest in Si-woo or anything, right?"
"Who knows."
Kang Hwa-yeon smiled as she answered.
Baek A-rin must've been anxious about my value skyrocketing without her realizing, but it landed differently.
Erina, who'd been listening, started flipping out beside us.
"Fucking Si-woo!!!! Where do you get off rescuing women left and right?! You planning to keep seducing them?! Didn't I tell you to keep that dick locked down tight!!"
"Calm down. Who the hell am I seducing?"
"Fuck!! That's the problem—you don't even know!!"
"You need to fix your delusions first."
She watched way too many rom-coms during her time studying in Japan.
Thinks every girl falls head over heels the moment you save her.
Reality? Baek A-rin just crunching numbers for her own gain.
Kang Hwa-yeon lost in hollow regret.
Then Kang Hwa-yeon smiled at Erina.
"Erina, don't you think it's natural to feel some affection for the person who risked their life to save yours?"
...?
Why's she tossing fuel on the fire?
"Fuck!!!! Look at this shit!! You still not getting it, fucking Si-woo!!!"
Well, gaining some favor with Kang Hwa-yeon couldn't hurt.
Hell, shedding my bad image so far is a win.
"Misunderstanding cleared up—high five! Nah?"
"Fucking Si-woo!!!"
As the mood heated up, Lee Dok-sa entered the hospital room.
"What's this, everyone's here? Perfect timing. I had something to tell Si-woo anyway."
"Me?"
What could it be?
Why's this ominous feeling wrapping around me?
"You've been stirring up so much trouble, Si-woo."
"Have I?"
"Definitely been racking up the feats."
"Just thinking about all the girls that fucking Si-woo's charmed makes my blood boil."
"He's my lifesaver? Saving Inferno's only daughter isn't a small deal."
I was puzzled, but everyone else in the room seemed to nod along.
Lee Dok-sa grinned and continued.
"So Professor Kang Geom-seon and I pulled some strings. Congrats. Promotion starts next week."
"Huh...? Promotion? I don't play games."
"Don't deny reality, Si-woo."
Promotion? What the hell?
Does that mean E2 rank? Or maybe they fast-tracked me to that E1 they mentioned before...?
Baek A-rin, even more shocked than me, asked Lee Dok-sa.
"What rank exactly..."
"Eh, everyone'll know next week anyway. Si-woo? D-rank. An unprecedented three-rank jump."