Chapter 79: The Approaching Ones (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 79: The Approaching Ones (2)
All my classes were finally over around four in the afternoon.
“Hey, over here!”
As I was leaving the liberal arts building, Shin Yu-jeong spotted me and waved.
By the way, “hey”?
It was rough, which was just her style, but it wasn’t my favorite way to be addressed, lacking any sort of affection.
I tried to imagine Shin Yu-jeong smiling and calling out, “Do-jin-ah!”
“Ugh.”
Yeah, let’s not.
People should live true to their nature. I was afraid she might actually die if she tried that.
“Do-jin, hi.”
Im Na-eun was with her.
Shin Yu-jeong’s arm was wrapped around her shoulder.
I don’t know why the sight of her using someone five centimeters shorter as an armrest suited her so well.
No wonder this body was so scared of her.
“I was so lonely today since we didn’t have a single class together, hmph…”
Judging by her pout, she wasn’t just saying that to be polite.
It seemed she was facing a problem similar to mine.
The problem of being a special admission student in the second semester, making it hard to fit in with groups that had already formed friendships over the past six months.
Still, I hadn’t expected Na-eun to be going through the same thing.
“Don’t guys talk to you a lot?”
“Huh…? Ah, they do, but… it’s a little overwhelming…”
Even as she spoke, her dislike was palpable.
What on earth did they do to make a girl as kind and sociable as her feel so burdened?
A sudden curiosity struck me.
“Am I not overwhelming?”
“Nope!”
Oh, I was touched.
Her immediate answer, without a hint of hesitation, made my heart flutter.
“Why not?”
“Hmm, I don’t know…? I just felt comfortable and happy with you from the moment I saw you.”
Is this what they call it?
A “green light” or something.
Just as my heart was warming to her sweet, innocent answer, a malicious blow struck me in the side.
Ah, right.
She was here.
“Enough chatting. Let’s go, hurry up.”
Her voice was a low growl.
What a shame.
“Sorry, I can’t go right now.”
Shin Yu-jeong’s face twisted even more.
“What? Why?”
“The professor called for me. Something about giving me an award for doing well in the practical training…”
When I said it with a bit of a swagger, I could see her scowl slowly relax.
“Hmph, really? Well, if that’s the reason…”
I was the one getting the award, so why did she look happier than me?
The more I get to know her, the cuter she is.
“If it doesn’t take long, we can wait.”
“Umm…”
I wasn’t sure.
I had no idea if it would end early or not.
She said she was calling me to give me an award, but I had a feeling it wasn’t just about that…
After a moment of thought, I shook my head.
“No, I don’t know when I’ll be done, so you guys go ahead.”
“Okay? Then see you at home.”
“See you tomorrow, Do-jin!”
“You two get home safe.”
After seeing them off, I headed straight for the Magic Department building.
The professor’s office was on the top floor.
I found the door with Baek Hyeon-a’s name on it and knocked.
Knock, knock!
“Yes, come in.”
A voice answered as if she had been waiting.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, the first thing I saw, even before the room’s owner, was the mountain of documents piled on the desk.
“……”
The sight reminded me of Han Ju-hee’s study.
Her desk was always buried under a pile of papers, too.
I wonder if it’s a common trait among mages.
A face peeked out from behind the document pile.
A bright smile.
But I could sense a hidden agenda that made it difficult to accept her expression as purely cheerful.
“Welcome! Looks like your classes just ended?”
“Yes, I came straight here after they finished a little while ago.”
“You must be tired. Why don’t we take a seat?”
She casually used the word “we,” slowly closing the distance between us.
A blatant move.
Normally, I should be pleased when a woman who’s my type approaches me like this…
Not knowing her true intentions, I couldn’t refuse her kindness, so I sat down.
Professor Baek Hyeon-a sat across from me, crossing her legs.
To sit like that in a short dress… it felt quite risqué.
Ah, a man’s instincts are a terrifying thing.
Even knowing it was a cheap seduction tactic, my eyes kept drifting over there.
When I was Son Si-woo, I wouldn’t have batted an eye at such a temptation. I don’t know if it’s because my body is different or my mindset has changed, but I’ve become incredibly vulnerable to this sort of thing.
“Hehe…”
A coquettish laugh.
She was smiling because she knew exactly where my gaze was directed.
Feeling like I’d just be played if this continued, I decided to get straight to the point.
“What is this gift you wanted to give me?”
“Ah… the gift, right. I did say I’d give you a gift.”
“……”
That confirmed one thing.
The gift was nothing more than a hastily concocted excuse to get me here.
So, that left her motive.
“I wonder what would be a good gift for a young man like you, Student Do-jin…”
Then, as if she wanted me to look, she crossed her legs the other way.
Ah, I saw them.
A pair of what was clearly seductive battle lingerie.
I hate myself for taking the bait every single time, even though I know it’s a ploy…
“Before that, there’s one thing I’d like to confirm with you, Student Do-jin.”
“Go ahead.”
“Can you create a Lightning Bolt again? Properly, this time.”
So that was it.
The fact that she added the condition “properly” suggested she’d heard something.
I wonder who leaked the information to her.
“Professor Im Cheol-woong showed me a video. He said there was a student who used magic that was difficult for him to judge with his own expertise, and asked me to take a look.”
“Ah.”
So that’s how she found out.
But a question still remained.
“Should I consider this an extension of that evaluation?”
She shook her head at my question.
“No, if it were just for an evaluation, that would have been enough.”
Her upper body leaned forward slightly.
Her deep cleavage shimmered into view.
My eyes were constantly drawn to it, but I didn’t feel my concentration waver.
The conversation with her, the satisfying view.
All I felt was the fulfillment of perfectly handling two tasks at once without missing a beat.
“To be honest… it’s because I’ve taken an interest in you, Student Do-jin.”
She stood up.
Click, clack.
With the cheerful sound of high heels, she arrived right next to me.
The strong, floral scent of her perfume seeped into my nostrils.
“As for the reason… I’d like to tell you after I see your magic. How about it?”
“Hmm.”
One thing was certain: this wasn’t just a typical interest.
It must be something that needed to be handled with extreme caution and secrecy, so she planned to bring it up only after confirming my skills were up to par.
What should I do?
Hide my abilities and distance myself, or show her what she wants to see?
It didn’t take long to find an answer.
“Alright, then.”
Right now, she was just trying to confirm with her own eyes what she already knew.
It was too late to hide it.
In that case, there was only one answer.
Show her what I can really do and make her burn with anticipation.
As soon as I made up my mind, I drew upon my mana.
I drew the magic circle several times faster than I had in class and manifested the spell.
「Lightning Ball.」
The magic was complete with the incantation.
The time it took to complete the spell was about five seconds.
I could do it in under a second if I wanted, but showing her that much would be a bit… much.
“Will this be enough?”
I shoved the purple sphere of lightning right in front of her face, as if to show it off.
“Ah…”
Her throat bobbed as she watched the magic manifest before her eyes.
Judging by the way she struggled to swallow, she seemed quite thirsty.
Was it really a thirst from a lack of moisture?
Or…
“Yes, good. That’s… more than enough.”
A passing grade.
No, I had received more than that. I dispelled the sphere.
A deep smile spread across Professor Baek Hyeon-a’s lips.
The corners of her mouth were twitching nonstop, as if she was struggling to hide her excitement.
“Yes, hehe… right. The gift, I have to give you the gift.”
I could feel a strange heat radiating from her as she sat beside me.
A fire had ignited in her gaze.
And it was highly likely that fire had spread to the rest of her body.
“I wonder what kind of gift would suit a young man like you, Student Do-jin…”
Subtly lifting herself up, she turned to face me and gently sat down on my lap.
“From what I saw earlier, you seem quite interested in a woman’s body.”
Ugh, this damn gaze of mine.
It’s not like I can wear sunglasses all the time.
“Curiosity about the female form… I think helping you resolve that would be a nice gift, don’t you…?”
The seductive aura that began to explode from her words, her eyes, her gestures, was closing in on me.
As a man, it was an incredibly exciting and thrilling situation.
But my mind was perfectly cold.
A woman with a dark heart.
I’ve never seen a man who blindly accepted something from a woman like this meet a good end.
Ah, wait, there was one person.
I once asked an S-rank Hunter, a man so promiscuous he slept with a different woman every day.
I asked him what he did about all the women with dark intentions who tried to leech off an S-rank Hunter.
His answer was so spectacular that it’s still vivid in my memory.
Eating recklessly is the lowest strategy.
Refusing the approach entirely is the middle strategy.
“I think it would be a bit shameless of me to desire your body for something this minor.”
I gently caught her wrist as she tried to wrap her arms around my neck, stopping her.
“What…? Ah, no…”
She was flustered.
A single bracelet on her wrist caught my eye.
It was a simple silver bracelet, about half a centimeter thick, with no markings other than an engraved magic circle.
I pointed to it and said.
“That bracelet seems like a fair reward…”
I had asked him back then.
What, then, is the highest strategy?
He said.
“What do you think, Professor?”
The highest strategy, he’d told me, was to remove all the thorns and poison before eating safely.