The Iaijutsu-Loving Transfer Student
I opened my eyes, but instead of the familiar ceiling, there was only darkness.
Ah.
Entering the Prayer Space.
"Eek!!!!"
Thud thud thud!!!
A scream and thudding sounds came from beside me. I turned my head and saw a girl in priest robes—white fabric etched with red patterns. Pink hair. The pink bob girl.
She'd truly become a full-fledged Light Priest now. Even got the basic Light Priest set.
"Oh! Hello, Chad sir!"
The pink-haired girl, who'd been rolling on the floor, spotted me nearby and greeted me with a beaming smile. She looked pretty cute, grinning like that over whatever made her so happy.
But her true nature was a crazy bitch begging her school junior to beat her.
"Chad sir, um, I have a question I've been wondering about."
Her face was full of genuine curiosity. She really seemed puzzled.
"Do you have a son, by any chance?"
"…?"
"Ah, no… sorry…"
The pink-haired girl glanced at me sideways, her expression like she'd seen me somewhere before.
Then she ventured cautiously,
"…By any chance, do you like getting hit?"
"What kinda bullshit is that?"
"It's a long story…"
To sum up her very long explanation: her senses had suddenly vanished, but after her junior beat her, they came back. And I gave off the same vibe from the same body parts as that junior. Try hitting me.
Something was seriously wrong here.
That was when it happened.
Grab—!
The pink-haired girl clasped my hand with both of hers.
"Ah… so warm."
She looked blissful. Startled, I instinctively yanked my hand away.
Whoosh!
"Nnghohhh!!!!"
The pink-haired girl let out a moan in that instant.
Her face was pure ecstasy, like she was in heaven.
"S-sensations… I can feel them…!"
Touch that girl all over right now…!
Anyone seeing this would get the wrong idea big time. Good thing we were in the Prayer Space. If this were Orbis Academy, it'd be a real mess. Huh? I sensed a presence then.
"…This way, please."
A masked man spoke lowly from afar.
'Ah, fuck.'
"Come directly next time."
I nodded silently.
Choi Seo-hyun suddenly felt an overwhelming rush of something tremendous.
'As I thought… Chad sir is that junior…!'
Her restored senses were beyond sharp—they were superhuman. Her body had perfectly memorized the feel of Yi Han-su's hand. It was telling her loud and clear.
Yi Han-su and Chad were the same person…!
"Wha?"
Having felt warmth and sensation for the first time in ages, Choi Seo-hyun belatedly looked around. Yi Han-su was already far away.
"Eek… don't leave me alone!!!"
Choi Seo-hyun scurried after him.
We arrived to see familiar faces.
"Ooh, Chad gong has arrived."
The axe-wielding boisterous guy greeting everyone warmly… And.
-Hm? That guy's missing.
Tyrbing said, sounding baffled. Narkhan that bastard wasn't there.
Had he died or something?
-Ah, there he is.
Following Tyrbing's words, I scanned around a bit more and spotted Narkhan leaning against the wall, striking a pose. When I glanced his way, he flinched. I hadn't even hit him, but the fear was already conditioned.
-Can't we go say hi just once?
Tyrbing asked me. A demonic suggestion. Then someone approached me.
Step, step.
"I've been waiting."
Some balding guy.
Shiny head, brimming with confidence. And Light Priest robes—white with red patterns—that didn't match his head at all.
"Chad, right?"
The baldy grinned at me. He pointed at my mask.
"I'm curious about the face behind that mask. Mind taking it off for a sec?"
I felt Narkhan peeking from afar at those words.
"Impossible."
I replied Chad-style, and the baldy shrugged like there was no helping it. That's how the world works.
Then the puppeteer started walking over slowly.
"…."
No matter how many times I saw her, her vibe was hard to get used to. Her eyes alone screamed fanatic—something was off.
The puppeteer smiled at me. Even that felt like someone else was pulling the strings, giving me chills.
The puppeteer spoke.
"For the next mission, you two go together."
She looked right at me and the baldy.
"Figured as much."
The baldy sounded like he'd known.
But I hadn't. Since when did the Light Priests do designated missions?
"Sounds good. I don't mind teaming up with a strong guy."
The baldy chuckled, oblivious to my thoughts.
I shot the puppeteer a resentful glare. I had my Orbis student life—suddenly assigning this…
"What's the rank this time?"
"3rd Grade."
"Not bad."
The baldy smacked his lips at the puppeteer's words. He looked like he'd pop a dragon pearl or something, but he had some skill apparently.
"Mission?"
I played dumb since I didn't even know what it was.
"Do you know of the 'Beast of Embers' by any chance?"
Answering a question with a question. But yeah, I did.
I nodded, and the puppeteer smiled like great, then continued.
…
"But it's not time yet, so when it is, I'll come fetch you myself, Chad sir."
Then why mention it? "What about me?"
The baldy jabbed a thumb at himself.
"You'll handle it, Olstain sir."
"What? I'd prefer if you came yourself, puppeteer."
The baldy grinned sleazily at her words. "Then I'll send Puppet No. 1 as guard."
"No, gramps is a bit…"
…
Once the puppeteer's dull, pretentious explanation ended, people started dispersing. Time to head out.
"…."
The pink-haired girl looked around with baffled eyes, like only those with business should be summoned.
I agreed.
Time passed, and Orbis Academy returned to normal classes. And…
A transfer student arrived. Orbis was the top hero training academy. It wasn't an exaggeration to say every famous hero had passed through it.
There were two main ways to enter Orbis.
The standard was passing the practical exam. The other was 'transfer admission.'
Not like transferring between regular elementary, middle, or high schools freely. You had to follow Orbis's procedures and pass a practical—time-consuming, and most hero aspirants who failed the regular exam went elsewhere, so transfers were rare.
Even exam passers often flunked or repeated due to the curriculum. Orbis jacked up transfer difficulty to avoid more dropouts.
Creak!
"We have a transfer student joining our class!"
The instructor announced what everyone already knew.
All eyes turned. The transfer student entered slowly.
Step, step.
Pure white skin, golden hair like an autumn wheat field. She had the air of a haughty young lady.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Natasha Korpe, from Russia."
What. One name flashed in my mind.
[Her grandfather is Ian Korpe.]
Undeniable iaijutsu nut. King of iaijutsu, god of iaijutsu. The old man who loved iaijutsu.
Natasha scanned the class with bored eyes—like Ian Korpe's. She looked down on everything but iaijutsu.
"I came here to learn swordsmanship." Natasha smirked.
Natasha, 17 years old.
A girl dreaming of becoming the world's greatest swordmaster. One oddity: she attended a normal school, not a hero academy.
And today, she returned to her empty home alone…
"You're back."
"G-Grandpa?"
A shabby old man waited in Natasha's house, two swords at his waist.
"Isn't it time you went to a hero academy too?"
Natasha sighed involuntarily.
"Grandpa, as you know…"
"I've taken on a decent disciple."
She froze.
Her eyes widened.
"There's no way you'd take some boring guy as a disciple…"
Shing—.
Boooom!!!!
Ian Korpe and Natasha Korpe drew simultaneously. Swordmasters spoke with iaijutsu. Common sense. Their house turned to rubble.
Crash!!!
But who cared. She wouldn't live here anymore.
"Yes, a fine iaijutsu wielder."
Ian Korpe bared his teeth in a grin.