Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Promotion Battle (1)
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Dabcheon Academy's principal's office.
The secretary Belita's voice continued from the communication artifact as Go Yeo-ryeong sat in her chair, holding the delivered documents and reading the text written on them.
"...I can see that just fine. And it's called a list, but there are only two names."
"Hm, if that's the case, then yeah, only two makes sense."
Dabcheon Academy's Jincheon Class was a place only the top 10 percent of each year—true powerhouses—could enter.
In Dabcheon, where personal strength was the measure of a person's worth, it was only natural that most resources were poured into this Jincheon Class.
On top of that, big and small incidents erupted constantly, so amid abundant support and endless trials, the Jincheon Class cadets grew at an astonishing pace.
About a month and a half had passed like that.
That month and a half wasn't a long time by any means, but the density of experience between the Jincheon Class and General Class was worlds apart.
While General Class cadets snickered at the sight of some weakling getting bullied, Jincheon Class cadets survived in a place where fights broke out the moment eyes met and incidents happened the instant you blinked.
As a result, the gap between the General Class and Jincheon Class had widened to the point where even looking up at it felt impossible.
Wide enough that just hearing Jincheon Class stories could break spirits and make cadets abandon their challenges.
"This year's cohort has especially many talented cadets. A few were already making names for themselves before even entering Dabcheon... No wonder they're intimidated by the challenge."
"Don't talk nonsense, Belita. I'm just saying I get it. I never expected much from the General Class riffraff anyway."
Go Yeo-ryeong, at the center of Dabcheon's philosophy that strength defined human worth, hadn't even treated General Class cadets as proper students from the start.
She saw them as nothing more than pigs in a fattening pen.
But among them, exactly two names on the document caught her eye.
"They're both names I know. And one of them isn't riffraff."
"No, Yang Woo-bin. That day, the kid had no real power, but those sharp eyes kept drawing my gaze. Turns out he wasn't just a loudmouth punk after all."
Go Yeo-ryeong's finger lightly traced Yang Woo-bin's name on the document, out of Fuyuno Tsubaki and Yang Woo-bin.
"Looks like they came up together, just like he declared to me. Can't help but like a guy who keeps his word."
That day, true to his promise, Yang Woo-bin hadn't come alone—he'd boldly shown up with challenge rights in hand for the promotion battle, bringing two people.
Go Yeo-ryeong's lips twitched up at his sense of responsibility, then quickly dropped back down.
"Of course, that day he was way too cocky. He's barely broken even now."
Yang Woo-bin's insolent attitude still lingered in her mind.
"What?"
"Belita. It's still work hours. Save the dramatics for later."
Go Yeo-ryeong cut off her married secretary Belita's rampage in advance, then picked up her seal to stamp the documents.
But she paused, glancing at the names of the Jincheon Class cadets the two had targeted.
"Wow... No idea whose idea this was, but this'll be a sight to see."
Thud.
Go Yeo-ryeong smirked with interest before stamping the seal.
Thus, Fuyuno Tsubaki and Yang Woo-bin's Jincheon Class promotion challenges were approved.
The day after earning the challenge rights in the midterms.
Fuyuno Tsubaki and I were heading to a place neither of us had ever been before.
"Ah, ahh, ugh. Uwaaaah..."
"..."
"Hwaaaahhh..."
"..."
"Hweeeeeeh..."
"Hey, snap out of it, you idiot! What's your deal?!"
"N-N-Nervous. My heart's pounding. So fast."
"...Sigh."
That's right.
We were heading to that place, obvious from Fuyuno Tsubaki's ashen face, cold sweat soaking her entire body, and trembling eyes.
"Promotion... promotion battle. Gotta fight an Jincheon Class cadet. H-Hic."
The so-called true Dabcheon Academy, where Jincheon Class cadets trained: Jincheon Hall.
"W-Yang Woo-bin. Wh-What do I do? C-Can't... breathe..."
The pressure of going to Jincheon Hall, challenging an Jincheon Class cadet in front of every first-year Jincheon Class member, and beating them had Fuyuno Tsubaki on the verge of hyperventilating.
Looking at this hopelessly frail girl, whose nerves showed no sign of settling, I couldn't help but sigh.
"Weren't you the one who caught a magic beast faster than me yesterday and got all my praise? Back to this already?"
"B-But... Jincheon Class cadets are way stronger than magic beasts..."
"Hm."
Separate from how she'd taken down a magic beast unscathed in seconds, her words rang true.
Even the weakest Jincheon Class cadet could beat all the magic beasts prepared for the midterm practicals in a gauntlet without breaking a sweat. The Jincheon Class was on another level.
The instructor had told us that before we used the challenge rights, so I got why she was shaking like this.
"Hey. Fuyuno Tsubaki."
"Y-Yeah?"
But while I understood her panting panic on an intellectual level, I couldn't accept it.
"I said you can do it. You don't trust me?"
"H-Huh?"
Because I'd already told her she could.
"Hearing the instructor made you doubt what I said?"
"N-No, it's not... Nothing like that..."
Her hesitant attitude bruised my pride.
Me, who knew Reversal Hero Saga better than anyone, telling her she could do it—and her still trembling?
I couldn't let that slide, so I grabbed Fuyuno Tsubaki's slender shoulders firmly with both hands as she looked at me with a lost expression.
Grip.
"Hah?!"
I locked eyes with her, her shoulders trembling like an earthquake.
"Uhgh?!"
I towered over her in height, so naturally, I looked down while she looked up.
With that perfect height difference for instilling confidence, I spoke to her flushed face, red all the way to her scalp.
"Fuyuno Tsubaki, I know you better than you know yourself. I know what you can do, how far you can go, and how amazing you can become."
"A-Ahh."
"So if I say you can, you can. If I say you'll do it, you will. I don't tell you to do the impossible. Got it? Nod if you do."
"Y-Yes...!"
At my words, Fuyuno Tsubaki vigorously nodded her flushed face.
Only then did I relax.
She'd follow through for at least one turn after nodding like this.
She always needed this much pep talk to nod. At this point, was she doing it on purpose...? Wait a sec. Was she?
A sudden thought hit me, and I asked Fuyuno Tsubaki, still red-faced and twitching her lips.
"Hey, Fuyuno Tsubaki. You don't... like this, do you?"
"H-Huh? Like what?"
"Me grabbing you all over."
"Hic?!"
Fuyuno Tsubaki jolted like I'd hit a nerve, her whole body shuddering.
She really liked it? A girl who enjoyed being groped like a dog by a guy? Total pervert confirmed.
The world of Reversal Hero Saga, the one I lived in now, was a gender-reversed, female-dominant world.
A world where if a woman said "water" mid-meal, the man immediately set down his spoon and poured her a glass.
In such a world, liking being petted like a dog by a man was a freakish, pervert-worthy fetish.
"N-No, no, it's not that. I mean..."
Fuyuno Tsubaki, aware her tastes were perverse, tried to make excuses.
"Heh."
"Ugh..."
My short scoff at her pathetic attempt made her ears burn red as she bowed her head deeply.
Her hunched, head-down posture screamed someone caught in a shameful secret, mortified beyond words.
Shame wasn't great before a fight, so with a chuckle, I tossed her a line to straighten her up.
"Win the promotion battle, promote, and I'll pet you all you want."
"Hnnngh...? Wh-What? Yang Woo-bin, what'd you say?"
"Anywhere, no holds barred. Like petting a big dog, rough and wild."
"...!!!"
It sounded like straight-up sexual harassment to anyone listening, but Fuyuno Tsubaki snapped her shoulders back, lifted her head high, and thrust out her ample chest.
"Yang Woo-bin! I'm not nervous anymore! I've got this!"
It was the most confident I'd ever seen her.
"Then win."
With the commotion settled, we entered Jincheon Hall for the promotion battle.