Chapter 44
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Is This Your First Time Seeing a Saintess Good at Magic?
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“Eek!”
“Argh—!”
Students screamed one after another, collapsing in sequence.
Every last one of them glared at the hideous goblin.
No matter how they racked their brains, the model goblin was clearly far stronger than any real one.
It was all because Sihyun had faithfully taken the Wings Guild members' advice to heart and controlled it with utmost diligence.
Her own biased thinking played a part too: 'I'm hitting pretty weakly, so this much agility should be fine, right?'
In the end, from the students' perspective, it was a blessing the goblin model had no vocal cords and stayed quiet.
If it had started snarling and howling like kehehek, it would've been a scene straight out of a horror flick.
“Hmm…”
Sihyun glanced around at the students.
No matter that there were only fifteen of them,
there still wasn't enough time for a single goblin to give everyone hands-on practice.
She could see some of the more fancily dressed girls slinking behind the boys.
Sihyun had no intention of forcing anyone.
She checked the time once more, surveying the students.
“Unfortunately, we're short on time.”
“……”
“Let's wrap up the lecture after one more volunteer.”
A brief silence fell.
And then.
“…M-Me, pick me!”
One student bravely shot her hand up.
It was Go Areum.
Eunbyeol, standing beside her, went wide-eyed and tried to stop her.
“Areum? You're support-type…”
“I-It's fine! It's j-just experience!”
But Areum bowed her head and stepped forward anyway.
Sihyun, watching her, spoke up with a concerned look.
“You sure you'll be okay?”
“…Yes!”
Areum's firm reply rang out.
But her body language and expression said otherwise.
Her face was rigid with terror, shoulders hunched tight.
She looked utterly cowed to anyone watching.
Gazing at Areum, Sihyun suddenly flashed back to her own arrival in this world.
The moment she'd regained consciousness in that alien space.
Unable to even grasp the situation, she'd been half-dragged off to the church by a mob of sudden cultists.
Forced through grueling, unwanted training—and her first real fight? Tossed bare-handed into a swarm of monsters.
Hadn't she looked just like that back then?
In Areum's terrified stance, Sihyun felt like she was staring at her past self.
…Of course, it's not exactly the same.
Sihyun had teetered on the edge of life and death in every scrap, healing her own wounds every time.
No proper rest, barely any freedom.
And even after getting scooped up by the hero's party alongside holy knights, nothing changed much.
Compared to that, these academy kids had options. Freedom.
And right now, student Areum was making her choice.
Intimidated half to death by the scary goblin—yet choosing to face it head-on anyway.
Sihyun watched the girl's courage with warm eyes.
“Alright. Let's get started.”
“Y-Yes—!”
Areum struck an awkward pose.
An amateur through and through, who'd clearly never fought for real.
Even so, Sihyun focused on her more intently than ever.
To ensure this brave student's time and experience weren't wasted.
She'd dial back the power, naturally…
“Kyaaak!”
“……”
Areum tripped over her own feet and face-planted.
Sihyun froze mid-motion with the goblin, staring at the fallen girl.
…Might need to go way easier.
Areum's combat skills were even worse than she'd feared.
After Sihyun announced the lecture's end and departed,
a few students started griping with sour faces.
“No way a goblin model's that strong?”
“She's not a holy knight bluffing? Actually a summoner?”
“Nah, probably just some crazy-expensive magic tool.”
“Oh yeah, now that you mention it.”
One guy pulled out his phone, searching something up.
“That first video? D-rank hunters intro'd Wings Guild. Master's B-rank production-type, right?”
“Whoa, so she commissioned a B-rank to make it?”
The chatting students gawked, jaws dropping.
Production hunters were a rare breed.
“Bet that thing costs more than her adjunct pay.”
“Totally. Belly button bigger than the belly, feels like.”
Some fixated purely on the cash side of things.
But the future-planners among them saw it differently.
Their estimation of Sihyun ticked up another notch.
'Connections with a B-rank production hunter?'
'Recommendation letter later could be clutch…'
Hunter networks were gold.
Sharing dungeon and monster intel? Invaluable for guild recruitment, party comps, all of it.
A personal line to a production hunter?
Custom gear, no brokers needed.
The academy was the certified spot to build those ties.
So a prof's connections? Boosted their stock big-time.
Her friendship with Dayoung had meaningfully jacked up Prof. Jeong Sihyun's value.
“Kinda connections like that, you'd think she'd list it in her intro like other profs.”
“Right? It was blank, thought she had zilch.”
They meant the academy's faculty info system.
Sihyun's profile was basically a white sheet—not wrong.
“Signing up for this lecture? Best call ever.”
“Same, same! Model's wild, sure—but prof's skills? No joke. Real D-rank?”
Chatter flew every which way, but it boiled down to one thing.
Prof. Jeong Sihyun's Intro to Monster Studies was top-shelf stuff!
Learning motivation exploded across the room.
And though it wasn't Sihyun's intent,
“B-ranks in production make stuff like that?”
“Pricey as hell, but damn impressive.”
“Look at those details. Honestly scarier than the real deal.”
The earth-magic goblin model burnished Dayoung's rep too.
Even without her touching production.
[Anon]
Passed by the close-combat hunter building and saw students getting wailed on by a goblin.
That's Monster Studies Overview lololololol
Really? That's a liberal arts elective.
Yeah, prof brought the goblin.
Goblin? A real monster was there?
No, model lololol
Magic tool apparently? Prof was puppeteering it.
Insane lololololololol
Peak content lolololololololololol
All those dudes rolling? Getting bodied by a model? Lololol
For real lololololol
Hilarious af lololol
[Anon]
Prof was straight-up cracked in that video??
Quit yapping and share the vid already;;
USB hookup or something? Nothing saved on the comp…
This point these dudes just hyping?
Nope
Saw the students eating goblin fists outside with my own eyes… wouldn't be talking smack.
For real lolololol
lololololololol
Tbf that goblin seemed as strong as the prof lololol
lololololololol
You the one eating side-swipes and tumbling?
Nah. Anyway wasn't me.
A man browsing the academy forums closed his browser.
Not long ago, his boss had tasked him with digging into Prof. Jeong Sihyun.
Ye Do-hyung, Dawn Guild's S-rank hunter—following his orders, the secretary had steadily compiled intel.
Dispatched guild hunters to verify her goblin knowledge in dungeons.
Multiple clears later: confirmed legit.
Probed academy lecture reviews too.
Early days in the semester, but word was spreading fast.
'Still no email reply, though…'
Deeming Sihyun a hidden gem, he'd fired off an email right away.
Weeks passed. Crickets.
Finally, the secretary dialed the academy-listed number for Sihyun.
……
Long wait, no pickup. He moved to end the call.
That instant—the other end snatched it up at the last second.
-…Hello?
“Good day. Prof. Jeong Sihyun? This is Dawn Guild—”
The secretary laid out his business.
Figured a big-dog guild like Dawn's offer? Slam dunk acceptance.
After wrapping the lecture, I headed to my private office and set the goblin model on display in the corner.
That's when an unknown number rang through.
Spam? For a split second—but just in case, I picked up.
Caller ID'd as some major guild's secretary.
I listened quietly as they laid it out.
……
TL;DR: recruitment pitch. Join Dawn Guild.
-You'll get far more resources and research backing than now.
“…No thank you. Appreciate it, but I want to focus on teaching right now.”
-I… see. Feel free to reach out if you reconsider.
“…Yeah, I'll think it over.”
Call wrapped cleaner than expected.
……Huh, they sent that email. Ignored it since no reply—guess as a working adult now, gotta check periodically.
Anyway, zero plans to join a guild. Academy affiliation's plenty.
If anything, Wings or tagging along with Jia.
Not a shred of interest in some no-connections spot.
Keep the annoying follow-ups away, fingers crossed.
Wonder how a big guild clocked me? Haven't done anything flashy.
Lecture buzz really spreading that wild already? Hmm…
A subtle itch tickled my chest.
Annoyance, sure—but mingled with smug satisfaction that my lectures were getting props.
The human heart's a weird thing.
-Knock knock.
“Yes, come in.”
I looked up at the rapping on the door.
It creaked open slow—a female student poked in hesitantly.
Go Areum, who'd texted ahead: Can I drop by the office after class?
“Eek?!”
Areum let out a bizarre yelp, bolting to the room's corner.
The bookshelf she bumped rattled hard—good thing it was empty.
“Ah, it's that goblin model from before…”
“Hehe, yep.”
Hand clutched to her chest, Areum panted like she'd run a marathon.
Something adorably pitiful about it—I couldn't help a chuckle.
“You wanted a consultation?”
“Y-Yes…”
Stealing glances at the goblin, she hugged the wall inching toward me.
“Um… th-the goblin model spooked me too. I-I know it sounds weird, but…”
Words trailed off, hesitant. Hands fidgety, tugging her hair nonstop.
I waited patiently for her to spit it out.
“S-So…”
“Mm-hm?”
Maybe the breather helped.
Cheeks flushed, she fixed me with steely resolve.
“……I-I wanna be like you, Prof! You're so cool! My role model—!”
Areum bellowed it at the top of her lungs, emotion cranked to eleven.
“…Ahem.”
…Wait, is this one of those?