Chapter 26
I’ll translate the chapter into polished HTML, preserving the title line, paragraph structure, and special in-universe effects in styled blocks where needed. Then I’ll do a quick pass to ensure there’s no residual Korean text and that the HTML stays valid.CHAPTER_TITLE: A-Class
Fwoooosh—!
Red light poured out from the machine and swallowed everything in sight. It was brilliant, clean, almost elegant.
I couldn’t feel any heat from it, but for some reason, it still seemed warm.
And just as that spreading light was about to fade, people around me began to react.
“A-class...?”
“It’s A-class?”
The red glow signified A-class.
“So he was an A-class superhuman.”
“Makes sense...”
Understanding settled over the crowd. It was probably because of what had happened during the terror attack. Thanks to the strength I’d shown then, they hadn’t seemed to look down on me.
“Still not S-class, though.”
“Come on... Since when is S-class common? A-class is already impressive. People have been talking because high-grade superhumans haven’t been showing up lately.”
It was a rank that hadn’t appeared in a while. That alone had the reporters buzzing.
Meanwhile, I narrowed my eyes at the lingering light.
A-class, huh.
So this is the rank the sword created for me?
Heavenly Demon. I’d heard that name somewhere before.
If I remember right, wasn’t that someone from the murim side?
I didn’t know the details, but I had heard people in the information circles mention it. Still—
Was there really someone who carried a past life called Heavenly Demon?
I didn’t know. People talked about it, sure, but no one had ever pointed to a specific person and said, yes, that was the Heavenly Demon.
Not exactly unusual, I guess.
Sometimes past lives overlapped. High-grade past lives rarely did, but they still could. The same seemed to be true of the Heavenly Demon.
It’s practically a title.
Still, as far as I knew, there was no one I could confidently identify as the Heavenly Demon.
...Anyway, I guess this is good?
I’d hidden my rank. EX hadn’t come spilling out, so maybe that was enough.
Yeah.
For now, things had gone in the best possible direction.
That was what I thought.
* * *
“...Hmm.”
Watching the light, Hale Irene gave a low murmur.
“A-class...”
At her mutter, Baek Hyeonho asked, “Is something wrong?”
“No...”
Irene’s eyes narrowed. It seemed appropriate, and yet...
“I thought it would be higher...”
“Hm?”
At her words, Baek Hyeonho looked back at Lee Jinwoo. The awkward little smile on his face caught his eye.
True enough.
He felt the same way.
For an A-class...
Something else... something higher, perhaps. Judging by Lee Jinwoo’s reaction, there did seem to be something different about him.
Has something changed?
Maybe his Synchronization Rate had gone up in the meantime; he did seem better than before.
Compared to the Lee Jinwoo from the hospital, whom they’d judged might not even be able to apply for the knight exam, it was a transformation close to rebirth.
But still—
I couldn’t sense his presence.
Not only had he escaped the reach of Baek Hyeonho’s skill, but—
“If that were the case, there’s no way you wouldn’t have noticed, would there?”
“...”
The strongest person in the world, standing right there. It didn’t make sense that she’d miss something like that.
“...You’re right.”
Irene nodded as if conceding the point. Because it was true.
She would’ve known.
If there’d been something strange, she would have picked up on it first. If it were me, I would have done the same.
Still...
If it’s A-class...
That was fine.
I’d been worried he might turn out B-class or C-class. Thankfully, he at least seemed capable of functioning as a person.
“Not bad, then...”
At that, Baek Hyeonho gave a bitter smile.
An A-class superhuman was valuable combat power, but to the woman beside him, it seemed to amount to little more than “not bad.”
That was all it was to her.
“...Well, that aside.”
Irene narrowed her eyes.
“What about the others...?”
“The others?”
“...With just the two of us, it’s probably more on your side than mine...”
She looked at Baek Hyeonho with a faint, unreadable gaze. He understood what lay beneath it.
Even if Irene helped, her allegiance was to America. And apart from the help she offered, the Association was still, in the end, relying on American support.
What she was really asking was whether there was a way to resolve the image problem that came with that.
“...Ha-ha.”
What a sharp woman, he thought.
“Don’t worry. We’ll make sure the ranks are sufficiently filled.”
“...You have a way?”
“Yes. It’s more primitive than you’d expect, though.”
With that, Baek Hyeonho turned his gaze again.
“Besides... this isn’t the time to worry about that yet.”
Irene nodded.
Following his gaze, she turned her head too. He was right. Right now wasn’t the time to be concerned with that.
Let’s see.
Would the terror attack really happen, just as the Association president had said? That was where Irene’s interest was now focused.
How bold.
Trying to make a move even with her here. She was curious to see what kind of move it would be.
Very curious indeed.
* * *
“You’ve worked hard. Here is your registration certificate.”
“...Ah, thank you.”
I accepted the certificate Jeon Yuseon handed me. Printed on the card was the proof that I was a superhuman, along with the label of A-class.
“...”
I’d finally received what I’d wanted so badly, and yet I didn’t feel particularly excited. It was strange. Why was that?
...Maybe because my mind is elsewhere?
My thoughts were so wrapped up in the thing called Musin, in my past life, that the certificate in front of me didn’t really stir any interest.
Besides—
It’s not even real.
The A-class label was fake, too. If you looked at it one way, this certificate was nothing more than a lie.
“Your knight certificate is being delayed a bit because the knight company hasn’t been fully assembled yet. I hope you understand.”
“Ah, no. It’s fine. Take your time.”
Right—come to think of it, they’d said the knight company’s personnel still needed to be added.
I wonder how they plan to do that.
I was curious, but I let it go for the moment. Just then—
“...Are you done?”
Irene approached.
“Ah. Yes, I’m done.”
“Hmm.”
Whoosh. Irene snatched the registration certificate from my hand before I could even react.
“...That’s lame.”
“...Lame?”
That word hit a little too hard.
Was that also because of the translation skill?
“It’s not a translation spell.”
“...Pardon?”
How did she know what I was thinking? I froze for a moment, completely caught off guard.
“How...”
“...It’s written all over your face.”
My face? Was that even possible? Setting that aside—
“Then how...”
“...I memorized it.”
Her answer left me speechless.
“...”
Was that even something you could just memorize?
...So they weren’t exaggerating when they called her a genius.
I’d heard Hale Irene wasn’t just exceptional in her past life, but was already famous as a prodigy even before she awakened it.
Still, I hadn’t expected her to memorize an entire foreign language in just a few days. As I stood there, dumbfounded, Irene looked at me and said,
“A-class?”
“Hm? Ah, yes.”
“...Not bad. Good.”
“...Thank you...?”
Was that praise? It was hard to know how to respond, so I gave an awkward smile.
Irene stared at that smile for a moment before saying,
“...Don’t smile.”
“Hm?”
“If you smile... you look weak.”
“...Well.”
“It just... bothers me.”
Click. She handed the certificate back to me.
“Take it... And come with me for a moment.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
At that, I followed her without a word.
* * *
“Lee Jinwoo! Can we get a quick interview—!”
“How does it feel to become a new A-class superhuman—!”
“What did it take to join the newly established knight company—!”
“Irene—!”
The reporters were a nuisance, but Irene ignored them completely. She moved as if they were pebbles on the road. No—her steps weren’t even particularly fast.
She simply wasn’t paying them any mind at all.
“I told you before...”
Irene said as she walked.
“If you pay attention to things like that, it gets tiring.”
“...”
“...Get used to it. Whatever it is.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
“...”
What she led me to was the Association president’s office.
When we stepped inside, Baek Hyeonho was already seated there.
“Welcome.”
“Hello.”
“You must have had a hard time coming all this way.”
“Not at all...”
Baek Hyeonho smiled warmly and had tea brought out for us.
“I expected as much, but fortunately, Lee Jinwoo’s rank turned out high enough that there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“...Ahaha.”
If it had been lower, the media probably would have turned it into a whole story. But at A-class—
It’s not low at all.
It was a number high enough to make knight status plausible.
“I’m sure you’ve already been told, but your knight company ID cards will take a little while longer. They’ll be issued after the company has been fully assembled and everyone has been prepared.”
“Yes, I heard.”
“It won’t take too long. We’ll only need a little time to recruit the members, so I doubt it’ll take more than two months at the longest.”
Two months, huh.
It sounded long, but not really that long. Winter would be over, and spring would be starting.
“That said, since the purpose of the company is what it is, we won’t necessarily need to wait all the way until then. If possible, I’d like the two of you to begin operating in advance.”
“The two of us...?”
Before the company was even assembled? I was wondering if that was really all right when—
“...Not the two of us...”
Irene cut in.
“Not two. One. I prefer working alone...”
“Irene... That’s...”
Irene tilted her head and said,
“...It’s faster this way.”
“...Hmm.”
“It’ll be better for you, too...”
At her words, Baek Hyeonho let out a sigh.
“...Yes. Then, until the members are selected, you may proceed that way.”
“Good.”
“Still, even so, since you’ll be part of the same unit, I’d appreciate it if you gave it some thought.”
Snap—! Irene flicked her fingers, and light spread from her hand. It was her answer in place of words.
The faint glow drifted into my body all at once.
What did she just do?
It felt like she’d done something, but I couldn’t sense what.
“What about... the reporters outside...?”
“That’ll be handled on their own. We’ve shown them everything we needed to.”
The Association president had called us here for a reason, I assumed.
“Ah, no, it’s not that. Besides the terrorist suppression, there’s one more thing I’d like to entrust to you in connection with this knight company...”
As Baek Hyeonho continued speaking—
Hero’s Super-sensory has activated.
Hostile presence detected.
Be careful.
“...!”
My body reacted before I did. Goosebumps rose over my skin.
“What’s—”
Just as Irene was about to question my reaction—
“What?”
She sensed something too and turned her head.
Wooooong—!
Something appeared before her eyes. A green sphere. This was...?
It’s coming from here.
My super-sensory was sending out a warning. Seeing it, Irene’s brows drew together. The moment she tried to move—
WOOOONG—!!!
The sphere flashed, and in an instant, it swallowed Irene whole.
“Huh? Irene?”
And just like that, Irene vanished.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga---!!!
Then the entire building began to shake violently.
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