The One Who Conquered the Mage Class with a Single Fist #4

"This is obviously Ahn Do-min pulling something again."

I could pretty much guess from the crowd buzzing outside.

Jake Sully? Avatar 2? Something like that. Anyway, he probably ran straight to his family and squealed. I did beat him so badly his whole body turned the color of a Na'vi, so it's not crazy that he's obsessed with getting payback. Damn, I really wish they had Avatar in this world. Everyone kept saying Avatar 2 was coming, but when is it actually going to drop?

"Geun-cheol? The instructor's here."

"Yeah."

I was walking to school with Si-hoo, thinking about that stuff.

"You're here."

Up ahead, the instructor stood like she was waiting for me, looking terrifying. Her sharp expression sent a jolt of fear through me, but I had nothing to be ashamed of today.

"You're walking awfully confidently, Kim Geun-cheol."

"I only did what a man—and a superhuman—ought to do."

"Is that so. Fine. Follow me."

"Yes, ma'am."

And just like that, the instructor grabbed my hand and dragged me off.

"What's going on?! Geun-cheol, what is it?! What happened?!"

"I'll tell you when it's over, Si-hoo."

"Agh! I'm dying to know!"

I left Si-hoo stomping her feet and having a fit, and followed the instructor.

We walked in silence until we arrived at a small storage room tucked away in a corner of the school.

"This place has a real Ham Woong-cheol vibe."

"Stop joking around, Kim Geun-cheol. Haah. Good grief."

The instructor pulled up a chair, sat down, and sighed.

"Sit down."

"Yes, ma'am."

"What on earth did you do this time? Chairman Ahn was raging, claiming his grandson was the victim of school violence."

"Chairman Ahn?"

The surname Ahn?

"Jade Ahn."

"Ah."

Now I remembered.

Ahn Do-min's backer.

"A fairly well-known Awakened family that controls several businesses. Chairman Ahn is a long-active Awakened. To categorize him, he's a 1.5th generation... he became active right after the Sovereign Commander ascended, so calling him second generation is a little ambiguous. Around there."

"Yes, ma'am."

If he called him his grandfather, that sounded about right.

"Still, he's not a particularly powerful superhuman. Actually, his head is more tuned to running businesses. Anyway, the important thing is that the man is Ahn Do-min's grandfather, and Jade Ahn's camp has formally filed a complaint with the school."

Thank you for the very kind explanation, Instructor.

"And they've named you specifically, Kim Geun-cheol. What the hell happened? You're a complete magnet for trouble. A lot of people are gathered, so there will be a discussion today, but tell me first."

"Just as I thought! You really are so dependable, Instructor! I feel incredibly supported!"

"I'm not taking your side, Kim Geun-cheol. An incident occurred, so I need to assess it objectively. Instructor Kawar is also hearing from Ahn Do-min."

I doubt that bastard is telling the story straight. Still, the staff have experience—they probably won't get duped by him.

"But if I know the situation, I can roughly determine who's at fault. Talk quickly. There's no time."

"Of course I have to tell you. But first, I've got to say something, Instructor. Who am I? Faith and trust. Justice and diligence. Love and peace. Lovely dandy. Isn't that the string of adjectives attached to the name Kim Geun-cheol?"

"I told you I'm not joking around, so cut the crap, Kim Geun-cheol."

At my words, the instructor turned her head to the side and pressed her fingers to her forehead. Honestly, she knows everything about me by now.

What I felt from her was trust.

"It's a really simple incident. A few days ago, after class, Ahn Do-min called me out."

I told her exactly the same thing I'd explained to Leona. Even as I talked, I felt no shame whatsoever. If anything, I was proud. What's wrong with using violence to defend your honor as a superhuman? I'm not a civilian.

"I see. I've heard enough."

The instructor nodded and crossed her legs.

"It happens fairly often. Underclassmen mages tend to have rotten personalities... well, unlike the Warrior Class, which builds strength through physical training and mental cultivation, mages often develop their abilities through Ego Amplification. So there are many cases of psychological immaturity."

"Ego Amplification?"

"It's how ability users—mages—develop their powers. Nothing you need right now, so we'll skip it."

Thunk.

The instructor laid a tablet on the table.

"Going by the story alone, it doesn't seem like a big deal. Just a minor incident. There'll probably be some punishment since you fought, but the disciplinary level will be low."

"Low? But I figured, even though I'm confident in myself, I'd get at least some kind of discipline. And didn't you say Chairman Ahn came?"

I thought a heavy punishment was inevitable since a guy with some clout had formally protested to the school. It was a surprising outcome.

When I asked, the instructor replied in a tone that suggested I'd asked something obvious.

"Chairman Ahn or whoever—there's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no superhuman who can mess with the Chairwoman at this school. The school is the Chairwoman's territory. She wouldn't bend her will even if the Sovereign Commander showed up, so what exactly is some lowly corporate chairman going to do?"

"Ah."

That's a good point.

"Well, in plain terms, even a dog gets half the turf on its own territory, so if it's the great Chairwoman... she gets more than half. Actually, one percent. No, one hundredth of a percent should do it."

"Revise that upward to one thousandth of a percent."

"Yes, ma'am. But besides that—you said it isn't a big deal?"

"Think back, Kim Geun-cheol."

I immediately went into memory mode.

"With Ryu Cheon-hwi, he actually drew a weapon in the classroom. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, ma'am. That's correct."

"That's a somewhat bigger incident. He brandished blades. And with Mun Min, it happened during a training camp lesson, yes?"

"Yes."

"But this is something like a duel stemming from a personal dispute after school hours. The nature of the incident is different, so there won't be any serious punishment. What's the big deal about a duel between superhumans?"

"You make an excellent point."

"Even so, stop fighting so much, Kim Geun-cheol. Do you have to make things difficult for your instructors?"

"Ack!"

The instructor stood up and yanked my ear as she spoke!

"I will! I will! But Instructor! Wasn't it also a just duel!"

"Can't argue with that. Anyway, it's time. Follow me."

"Yes, ma'am!"

I followed the instructor right away.

"That aside. For Ahn Do-min to hurl an insult like that."

"It's really absurd. He even told me not to be friendly with Leona."

"Too strong a sense of privilege. Haah. To think something like this would happen."

"In my opinion, the school needs to provide some character education."

"We don't normally do it for lower grades. Even if we do, it's just classes on the mindset of a superhuman, the values of a hero, case studies of rampaging heroes being designated as villains. It's somewhat different from professional character education."

Still, they do something, I guess.

"And the character of seventeen-year-old brats should have been handled at home long ago, not at school. Kim Geun-cheol. Did you ever see a school do separate character education?"

"Huh?"

Ah.

Now that I thought about it, school just had classes. I don't think there was ever any kind of specialized character education. There are ethics classes, but who actually cultivates character in an ethics class?

"That's also true. Right."

"Besides, can you easily change the values a seventeen-year-old brat has already formed just by doing a bit of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠education at school? That's all supposed to be done at home. What we do for upper grades is a kind of 'training.' Instructor Kawar is very good at that, but unfortunately the curriculum got reorganized, which is causing these side effects."

While I was talking with the instructor like that, we reached our destination.

Creeeak.

The door opened.

"Ah! Kim Geun-cheol! You're here!"

"Hey there Leona! You got here first!"

Leona, who had arrived ahead of me, stood up and greeted me cheerfully.

"Sit here. Ah, hello to you too, Instructor. Did you come after talking with Kim Geun-cheol?"

"...You two are awfully chummy."

"We are the Angel Duo, after all."

"Goes without saying."

When even Leona said that, the instructor narrowed her eyes and looked at us.

"At any rate. Each of you will now have individual interviews to sort out the incident and verify the facts. Lying will bring disadvantages, so tell only the truth."

"On the honor of the Kainus Family! I will absolutely never lie!"

"I know. Calm down, Leona."

"I can't calm down...! To dare insult us and then blow this up like this! This is a double insult! It's an act that ignores the code of the superhuman!"

"I personally feel the same way. Now calm down and prepare for your interview."

To help her calm down, I grabbed Leona's shoulders and gently shook her. Her flowing silver hair was really striking.

"Yeah. Calm down, Leona. I did beat the kid up pretty badly, but it's normal in superhuman society, right?"

"That's right. Which is why it makes me angrier. I let him off with a little beating, but he had to blow it up this big... seriously, it's irritating."

"Same here. But let's think of it as experience."

"I'd rather just not have this kind of experience. Good grief. For a superhuman to behave with such a mindset. Well, things like this have happened quite a bit in Europe too."

They've happened in Europe too?

"Well, since it's a world where people live, there have to be Ahn Do-min types everywhere. What's it like in Europe?"

"Actually, centralization is less advanced than in South Korea, so superhumans with entitlement issues tend to run wild more often. The land is also bigger, after all."

So the culture varies from country to country.

"The land is big and centralization is less advanced, so it's harder to control superhuman-related rampages, right?"

"Exactly. In the first place, Mister Dominators isn't an autocratic superhuman monarch like the Sovereign Commander—it's more like a superhuman oligarchy."

"Oho..."

"Study European culture too!"

"I'll go buy the textbook as soon as this is over."

While we were chatting,

"That's enough ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the academic conversation. People have arrived. Everyone can proceed with their individual interviews."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

I stood up right away.

"Well then, Kim Geun-cheol? Go do well."

"Will do."

Time to go get interviewed.

* * *

I'd done this sort of thing more than once or twice, so I very clearly stated exactly the facts, in chronological order, with complete confidence. And Leona did the same.

After we finished our statements and they took time to review them, they called us out to integrate the three statements and discuss something. Instead of Ahn Do-min, some slick-haired guy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in a suit was standing at the scene.

Who's this?

"What do you mean? Ahn Do-min isn't making a statement?"

The instructor asked, and the suit answered.

"No."

"If he refuses to make a statement, we have no choice but to adopt the statements of Kim Geun-cheol and Leona."

"Hold on. That won't do."

"Hm?"

"Ahn Do-min is currently exercising his right to remain silent. It's preposterous to adopt the other side's statements simply because he exercised that right."

"Then tell him to speak. No, who are you in the first place?"

"I am Ahn Do-min's attorney."

An attorney!!!