Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Part 14. Entrance Ceremony
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The audition had come to an end.
- We will now announce the assistant declarers.
The combination of the ogol gye and the Lone General PD was incredible.
Unexpectedly, the two selected assistants were applicants who hadn't even made the rankings.
"……."
As the audition wrapped up and the applicants filed out, laughing or crying.
Gong Ju-hee glared at Gaeul from amid the crowd.
She stared with deep displeasure for a while, but when Gaeul turned around, their eyes met directly.
Gaeul's eyes were pitch-black and lifeless. Startled, Gong Ju-hee bit her lip hard and turned her head away.
'What the hell is that?'
Was that earlier innocent act all just pretense? Gong Ju-hee figured Yoo Gaeul must be a cunning schemer with a pitch-black heart.
Then, in a fit of rage, she glared again—only to lock eyes with Yoo Ji-tae, who was returning to the audition hall. This felt even more unsettling. Though their gazes overlapped only briefly, it was as if her innermost thoughts had been laid bare.
Gasp. She involuntarily sucked in a breath and turned her head away again.
"…Ju-hee?"
Her guardian from the Gong family turned to her in surprise.
"Are you okay?"
"…I'll get some fresh air. Don't follow me."
Gong Ju-hee sniffled as she replied. Then she walked off, leaving her guardian behind.
That was when a red-haired girl approached her, hands tucked into the pockets of her tracksuit.
She bent at the waist, peering right into Gong Ju-hee's face.
"What're you staring at? First time seeing someone cry?"
"……."
"Beat it."
The redhead delivered the line with utterly innocent nonchalance.
"No? Nah. Not just gawking or anything. Was thinking maybe I should comfort you."
"……."
Gong Ju-hee scowled.
This tone. This voice pitch. She could tell exactly who Yoo Yeoreum was imitating.
It was her exact words and manner from when she'd spoken to Gaeul.
"Hang in there. You've got next year."
"Next year at an entrance ceremony? Beat it!"
"Hey… Isn't that a bit harsh to the one comforting you? Ow, I'm fine, but others might find you annoying?"
"You wanna die for real!?"
Gong Ju-hee trembled, poised to lunge. Only then did Yeoreum smirk and step back.
As she did, she mumbled in a sing-song voice.
"My little sis~ only prepped for a week~."
Hmm~ one week~.
Gong Ju-hee's eyes shot daggers filled with murderous intent.
Yeoreum thought to herself.
'Gonna sleep like a baby tonight.'
Gaeul took her selection as declarer in stride. When puzzled Bom asked, "Aren't you happy?" Gaeul replied:
"…I am."
It was quite the joyful expression.
She was still deeply immersed.
Even back at the dorm, it was the same. Gaeul polished Yeoreum's sword or compulsively tidied the room. Ji-tae's old obsessive-compulsive tendencies were surfacing in her.
In the midst of that.
Something caught the yellow-haired ogol gye's eye.
Clank. Clank.
The guardian was gradually adapting to life here.
Perhaps because Yoo Ji-tae had removed the demon count's seal from him.
With his free will restored, the guardian began pondering more efficient ways to handle chores.
'…Do we really need to do dishes after every single meal?'
There were many mouths to feed in the dorm.
Yoo Ji-tae, Bom, Yeoreum, Gaeul. And now Winter, just starting to eat like the others. Plus the clone right before heading to work.
They didn't need to eat, but they all made sure to anyway.
Meals happened at staggered times, so the dishes piled up in real time.
That meant donning rubber gloves a dozen times a day!
Pulling them over plate armor was grueling. They tore at the slightest provocation.
'If I put it off and do it all at once, once a day would suffice.'
A breakthrough idea.
So the guardian delayed the dishes and handled them at night.
"Hey. No dishes?"
The clone would occasionally ask with narrowed eyes.
"Planning to."
Still, the guardian held firm. Unless it was Yoo Ji-tae's order, he had no reason to heed that delinquent clone.
And it wasn't just dishes. No need to do any housework right on time. A little accumulation went unnoticed. So trash sorting, cleaning—take it easy.
That was the plan.
"…Janitor."
Gaeul called him with her golden eyes pitch-black and dead.
"Yes. Miss."
"The dishes… are piling up."
Back when Yoo Ji-tae had defined his existence by necessities.
Empathizing with that, Gaeul now questioned the guardian's purpose.
"Ah, well…"
"Not doing them?"
"Thinking of batching them."
The guardian earnestly pitched his idea. No need for fuss; he'd handle things efficiently.
Gaeul's response was a sight to behold.
"…Mom once said that if you're gonna put off today's work till tomorrow, might as well put it off till you die."
"Pardon…?"
"Means just do it once, till death."
"Ah, th-that's… an exaggeration, right? Delay more than a day, and we'd run out of dishes."
"Then I'll buy more. Got plenty of allowance."
The guardian panicked.
"No need…!"
"Postpone. Postpone. Postpone till right before death. Just once then. I'll help."
"S-sorry."
The guardian had no choice but to do the dishes, heartbroken.
And it didn't stop there.
The deranged ogol gye started prodding the red wild boar.
"Why does sis always bully me?"
"……?"
Yeoreum turned her head.
"What?"
"Fun bullying the weak me? Make your life exciting?"
"Has she lost it…"
Yeoreum scowled fiercely and stood. Then Bom spoke up from the living room.
"Yeoreum."
"…I know. Her condition."
Whether she knew her sisters' feelings or not, Gaeul kept fanning the flames.
"Mom said bullying the weak makes you trash or a fat noble pig."
"……."
"So which one are you, sis?"
Yeoreum froze, then finally exhaled and flashed a beaming smile.
"Little sis… You and me after this phase ends?"
"See? Words fail, straight to threats. Always the same. Must be a simple, fun life."
Trembling with rage, Yeoreum stormed out of the house.
Watching from the side, Ji-tae grew concerned about Gaeul's state.
He decided to ask Bom how long it'd last.
But Bom's gaze toward Ji-tae wasn't kindly either.
"What's wrong?"
"…Dunno."
Bom turned away after that.
What's her deal?
Even Ji-tae, who didn't grasp daily emotions well, could figure it out after some thought.
Bom had been sulking since the harsh words on audition day.
This was trouble. He had no idea how to soothe a sulky dragon.
"Eat."
That evening, Bom sullenly offered her cooking.
Cucumber, carrot, fish heads, unidentifiable shellfish—an otherworldly dish.
The smell alone was a shock.
"Didn't say I would."
"Not gonna?"
"…I'll eat well."
Ji-tae slowly savored Bom's dish.
The taste was…
Perhaps this dish flew in from beyond the horizon of providence. It was that horrific; the thought crossed his mind.
Ji-tae finished every bite without a hint of reaction and looked up.
Bom was staring at him. Her eyes curved slightly, her expression much brighter.
"Why?"
"Huh? Nothing."
Why did she look so pleased?
Ji-tae couldn't fathom it.
At any rate, Bom seemed over her mood.
"Oh, ajusshi. No need to worry."
"Hm."
"Gaeul will probably be fine."
"How?"
"Naturally."
She must have glimpsed something through providence.
So Ji-tae let out a sigh of relief.
Time flew by until the entrance ceremony.
"Can I read this book?"
Bom spent her time leisurely reading or listening to music.
Yeoreum passed the hours playing games on her handheld.
"Hey, nothing today?"
So on quiet days, Ji-tae had to be Yeoreum's game opponent.
He had zero talent for games, which was why Yeoreum loved playing him.
"Way too good?"
"……."
"Where'd you learn? Your master must be amazing."
He suffered utter defeat at Yeoreum's hands.
Gaeul was busy with rehearsals and meetings. Ji-tae attended as her guardian everywhere. Winter stuck to him like gum.
He'd feel a gaze from his bosom and look down. She'd fiddle with his hem, pretending otherwise.
This was the usual so far. But her pretense was growing more natural by the day.
It'd been less than a month since her birth, yet he felt her weight changing. Her mind must be developing apace.
And so, the sun rose on the morning of the entrance ceremony.
Bom and Yeoreum, dressed in cadet uniforms, entered the hall. Ji-tae, holding Winter, watched from the guardians' seats.
Dozens of massive cameras focused on the podium.
As over a thousand freshmen took their seats, the ceremony began.
Awards for the top entrant. Performances. Afterward, Gaeul—still immersed—took the stage with her two assistants.
And the freshman declaration commenced.
At the microphone.
Yoo Gaeul uttered the opening line of the declaration's third act.
「Humanity declares its happiness for perpetuity and prosperity.」
It had felt like wandering through thick fog for so long.
Anxious. Sad. Exhausting. Sleepless nights.
Just sitting still made her heart pound, her fingertips tingle.
Yoo Gaeul had chalked it up to the looming entrance ceremony.
「…From the dawn of civilization, the moment history was first recorded, the era when beings formed societies together—this has been our enduring task.」
But days passed with these emotions.
Now, Yoo Gaeul thought she understood.
As she recited each pledge, she recalled the emotions inherited from Ji-tae.
The misery of one shattered and broken. The sorrow of the weak. Hatred for the world—and even more, self-loathing for failing to protect the precious ones.
Empathizing brought trembling sadness. So pitiful; Gaeul wanted to comfort him.
What would he have said here? She closed her eyes. A single tear fell.
The unknown friend of our ajusshi.
Through his memories.
「…I swear, from this place.」
「…From this place, where we aspire to advance even unto death. We pledge these covenants with our shed blood and sweat.」
Not a single mistake. No tremor.
An atmosphere that painted the backstory in your mind, laced with raw emotion.
Ha Jun-su's direction gripped his fist involuntarily.
「…To remain eternally on this land. Far in the future, may children remember our names.」
There stood Gaeul.
"…Wow. This year's declarer is insane."
"…For real. Best in history."
Murmurs rippled through.
Gaeul completed the freshman declaration flawlessly.
With the ceremony and remaining procedures wrapped up.
As Ji-tae waited outside.
Out came the chick, face flushed with excitement, cheeks rosy.
Perhaps the experience had been overwhelmingly intense.
As Bom predicted, her immersion had already lifted.
"……."
The chick walked over slowly.
Her wide eyes brimmed with tears.
"Ajusshi… Did I do good…?"
He placed a hand on her head.
"You did great."
"Thank you…"
Choking back sobs, Gaeul rushed in and hugged him tight.
He hugged her back, belatedly.
Once was enough.
Today would live on forever in a corner of her memories.
"Oh, my little sis?"
Yeoreum licked her lips.
A flirtatious smile formed.
"Uh, sis. H-hi…?"
The chick looked around in panic. The cramped dorm offered no escape or hiding spot.
Even her moments immersed in Ji-tae lingered in her memories.
"Back to normal? Good. Wanna chat with sis real quick?"
"Ah, ajusshi!"
Yeoreum took a step closer. The terrified chick shot Ji-tae an S.O.S. glance. Yeoreum turned to him too.
The mood awaited his word. He said casually.
"Handle it yourselves."
No savior for Yoo Gaeul.
Decision made, Yeoreum closed in another step.
"Yoo Gaeul."
Her voice dripped icy venom.
"M-Mommy…!"
Gaeul hid behind Ji-tae. Yeoreum lunged and grabbed her back; the chick bolted to his front, into his chest.
Yeoreum blocked the front; the chick panicked and dove behind his back.
Yeoreum scowled fiercely.
"Come here."
"Eek, no!"
"Come nicely, thirty smacks. Get caught, forty."
"B-both no…!"
They circled Ji-tae three or four times.
Finally snagged by Yeoreum, Gaeul endured every joint lock. Screams echoed through the dorm.
The ragged chick fainted. Only then did Yeoreum stand, smiling in satisfaction.
"You. Asked if I enjoy bullying you? Truth is, not that enjoyable."
As the chick looked up with teary eyes, Yeoreum let out a hnnng…
"Gets me excited, though."