Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Culling (4)
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Jin Se-jeong's cautious question made Fuyuno Tsubaki doubt her own ears for a moment.
'All this time, she followed me so persistently without saying a word, just to ask that one thing?'
They'd clashed in a staring contest before, but to Fuyuno Tsubaki, Jin Se-jeong was a colossal figure so far above her that even craning her neck to the max wouldn't bring her into view.
After gaining some confidence by beating the 15th-ranked in Jincheon Class, the moment Jin Se-jeong grabbed her wrist, Fuyuno Tsubaki had felt down to her bones how much of a frog in a well she truly was.
If they fought, she was certain she'd collapse without even realizing she'd been attacked. The skill gap between them was that vast.
'Grabbing her wrist and standing up to her back then... that was just because I lost my mind trying to stop her from dragging Woo-bin off recklessly. I did it without thinking... If she told me to do it now, no amount of money could make me attempt that suicidal stunt again...'
Fuyuno Tsubaki was utterly terrified of Jin Se-jeong.
As the symbol of martial prowess and order at Dabcheon—the head of the Prefect Club—no less, and admired and envied by countless cadets, Jin Se-jeong was a terrifying existence that Fuyuno Tsubaki dreaded even facing.
Yet this fearsome being, who'd kept her lips sealed tight until now, finally parted them to say, 'You're not anything special with Woo-bin, right?'
Fuyuno Tsubaki was so flustered that she blurted out, "What?" without thinking.
'W-What did I just do? I should be answering as politely as possible, but I sounded incredulous... What if she takes offense to my attitude and stabs me with the sword at her waist? Woo-bin's not even here...!'
After her unintended retort slipped out, Fuyuno Tsubaki paled, inwardly repeating 'I'm screwed' over and over as she sneaked a sideways glance at Jin Se-jeong.
"Hmm, yeah, it was a stupid question, wasn't it? Asking again after already hearing the answer..."
Fortunately, Jin Se-jeong didn't take offense to Fuyuno Tsubaki's attitude. Instead, she blamed herself for the foolish question.
"Let me rephrase it a bit. Woo-bin called your relationship 'gofer and master'... Is that really all there is to it?"
Jin Se-jeong carefully gauged Fuyuno Tsubaki's reaction, just as Fuyuno Tsubaki had done with her, before posing another question.
"..."
Jin Se-jeong, with her overwhelming strength—able to do anything she wanted in this 'culling'—was peeking at her reaction like she was the nervous one.
Fuyuno Tsubaki couldn't make sense of the situation.
To her, strength meant the right to live freely as one pleased.
That's why seeing the top first-year in Jincheon Class fidget over a mere question felt utterly bizarre to Fuyuno Tsubaki.
"Y-Yeah... I'm just Woo-bin's gofer."
Even if she couldn't understand Jin Se-jeong's demeanor and found it odd, the fact remained that dodging the question could lead to a sword thrust. So Fuyuno Tsubaki answered honestly.
"...As expected."
Jin Se-jeong nodded as if she'd known it all along at Fuyuno Tsubaki's reply, then turned to face her directly.
"Fuyuno Tsubaki, you lied to me last time. To look good in front of Woo-bin, right in front of everyone."
"W-What?"
Jin Se-jeong, who had been shrinking back and only stealing glances moments ago, suddenly turned to face her head-on and brought up lies, leaving Fuyuno Tsubaki so flustered she stuttered.
Of course, she stuttered even when not flustered, but this time it was definitely from shock.
"Lied? What are you suddenly talking about..."
Unable to comprehend Jin Se-jeong's baffling words, Fuyuno Tsubaki stared back at her in bewilderment and asked in a dazed tone.
Jin Se-jeong let out a smirk at the sight and continued.
"You said nothing matters more than working to become useful to Woo-bin. That bold declaration you made right in front of him, with everyone watching."
"What?"
Jin Se-jeong's interrogation suddenly made Fuyuno Tsubaki feel unjustly accused.
Her loyalty to Yang Woo-bin was pure, something no one could mock.
Even knowing the woman before her could slice her apart with one hand, Fuyuno Tsubaki boldly voiced her resolve.
"That's not a lie...! To me, nothing is more important than repaying Woo-bin for saving me!"
Fuyuno Tsubaki shouted so fiercely it echoed through the cave.
It was a cry rising from the depths of her heart, so compelling it could make listeners nod in agreement.
If Yang Woo-bin were here, he might even have teared up, moved by her devotion.
"Heh, really?"
But Jin Se-jeong, hearing the impassioned plea right in front of her, merely gave a hollow chuckle with a quirk of her lips, clearly not buying it.
She'd already confirmed it several times.
"Repaying Woo-bin as his gofer... That's your one and only goal, right?"
"Y-Yes! I don't care about anything else..."
"Then you wouldn't date him if he confessed to you?"
"I would!"
"See."
"Ah?!"
The tips of her fingers clutching Yang Woo-bin's collar secretly, and the obsessive attachment toward him spilling from calling herself Woo-bin's 'exclusive' gofer.
"You're just as soaked in ulterior motives."
Jin Se-jeong's abyss-deep eyes gleamed sinisterly at the trembling Fuyuno Tsubaki.
"You creepy pervert."
The counterattack had begun.
"Phew, finally found you. Hey! I know you're in there, so come out quick!"
Four days after setting out to find my final prey, I'd finally located him.
Catching the other four combined took less than three days, so hunting this one guy had been more exhausting than all of them put together.
Out of the five likely spots, it had to be the last one. Talk about bad luck.
"...You're Yang Woo-bin."
In response to my call, the figure emerged silently from the rocky cave, slowly drawing the daggers from both hips.
Jincheon Class rank 20, Yasuri Yaiba.
The strongest and trickiest prey I had to hunt in this culling—a powerhouse with an indigo Jincheon card.
"Alone, huh."
Yasuri Yaiba gripped her daggers in reverse grip, noted that I was by myself, and subtly lowered her stance.
She was ready for battle.
"Tch."
This was what made her such a pain.
Man or woman, if you were her enemy, she'd fight with everything she had—no emotions, like a machine.
"Well, whatever. I knew it'd come to this anyway."
Yasuri Yaiba was on a whole different level from the others I'd faced.
In skill and in importance.
"Let's have a proper fight."
So, like a seasoned vet, I decided to face her head-on, straight out of the textbook.
"Come at me easy, punk."
As I clashed my loosely held fists in provocation, whoosh—her figure vanished from my sight.
'Yang Woo-bin, an unknown cadet hiding his true abilities.'
Yasuri Yaiba circled him irregularly, rapidly recalling her mental database to analyze him.
'The black sword aura in the promotion match was a bluff. Real deal is fists. Probably a martial artist. Has explosion-related abilities.'
She didn't know much about Yang Woo-bin, but trained as a weapon since childhood, she sifted through her scant info for anything useful, compiling it neatly.
'Presence, stance—neither is pushover. Assume he's on my level.'
Never letting her guard down was Yasuri Yaiba's greatest weapon. Like a machine, she analyzed him and launched a probing skirmish to gather more intel.
'Start light, then.'
Pop—!
Leaping onto a tree behind Yang Woo-bin, Yasuri Yaiba hurled one of her daggers like a throwing knife.
Honed through grueling training that carved flesh and blood, the silent supersonic projectile flew straight for his nape.
"Whoa."
Thud.
But as if he'd known it was coming, he casually turned and snatched the dagger's handle mid-flight.
"Hm, light."
"..."
It had been a light probe, but hearing 'light' from the enemy made something boil inside her for some reason.
"Hoo."
But just for a moment. With a short breath, Yasuri Yaiba calmed herself and swiftly, silently shifted position for the next attack.
'Throwing knives won't work. Close quarters next.'
Having confirmed he'd missed her initial move, Yasuri Yaiba circled behind him again, closing in quietly but swiftly.
Her perfectly restrained advance leaked no presence whatsoever, allowing her to slip into striking range without a reaction from Yang Woo-bin.
'Target the ankle.'
Thus breaching his guard lightly from behind, Yasuri Yaiba swung her reverse-gripped dagger at his ankle.
"Huh?"
Kwachik—Kwaaaang!!!
The sudden fist filling her vision and the ensuing explosion sent her flying back the way she'd come, smashing into a tree.
"Pattern inducement works, huh."