A Sweet Reward
"Hah!"
I snapped my eyes open as if jolted from a dream, my mind slamming back into place. Before I knew it, both my arms were wrapped tightly around Eunhye.
"Nn... nngh..."
Eunhye stirred as well, seeming to come to at the same time I did.
"Eunhye! Are you okay?"
At my call, she slowly opened her eyes. Thankfully, her pupils — which had gone completely black — had returned to their original color.
"Do... Dohyeong?"
"Whew! Thank god. Does anything hurt?"
At least there were no visible injuries. Looks like we'd severed the connection before it could affect her body.
That thing was dangerous enough that just being linked to it could've wrecked her physically...
Fortunately, Eunhye's spiritual sensitivity wasn't quite at that level. The fact that I'd wiped it out with Instant Death the moment it appeared probably helped too.
"W-what happened?"
"You got caught up in a dangerous Urban Legend and lost consciousness."
"An Urban Legend? You mean this shadow?"
"Huh?"
At Eunhye's words, I looked around. Only then did I notice the black shadows surrounding us, half-coiled around our bodies.
"This is..."
"Looks like you're both in one piece."
Instructor Lee Jae-hak, who had somehow appeared at our side, spoke up.
"Looks like you got tangled up with an Urban Legend. Managed to handle it well, I take it?"
"Ah, yes! That's right."
I didn't bother specifying what kind of Urban Legend it had been. If he decided it was too dangerous and forced Eunhye to resign, that would be a problem.
"Um, so about these shadows...?"
"Took one look and figured you'd connected to something dangerous, so I was about to feed it to my Familiar."
He was going to do something that terrifying? Is this guy actually a demon?
"Well, if you're fine, that's that."
Lee Jae-hak snapped his fingers, and the shadows receded.
"...This was my failure to supervise. I never expected a Trainee with enough spiritual sensitivity to summon an Urban Legend on the first try."
His gaze turned to Eunhye.
"That's exceptional talent. But the danger is equally high. From now on, you will attend every one of my lectures without exception and learn to control that power."
"Huh? Ah, y-yes, sir! Understood!"
Eunhye nodded like a woodpecker. She looked a little awkward, as if this was the first time she'd ever been praised.
"And the top student's handling of the situation was solid as well. Seems you already knew what to do when connected to an Urban Legend."
"I just happened to see a related broadcast once and tried copying what I remembered."
I couldn't exactly tell him I'd learned it from a game.
"Copied it after watching a broadcast once... Well, I suppose so."
Lee Jae-hak nodded with an odd expression, then asked us:
"So, how long are the two of you planning to stay like that?"
"Pardon?"
"Office romance isn't forbidden at Cheonjihae. But I'd appreciate some restraint during lectures."
Eunhye and I looked at each other, wondering what on earth he was talking about. Then we realized we were still clinging to each other, arms wrapped tight, bodies pressed together.
"Hah! Wha—! Aht! I-I'm sorry!"
"N-no, I'm the one who should apologize."
We hurriedly unwrapped our arms and pulled apart. Eunhye's face flushed scarlet with embarrassment. I half-expected steam to start rising from her head.
"Ahaha... this is so embarrassing. This is the first time I've hugged a guy since my dad."
"I-is that so."
Now I was starting to become uncomfortably aware of how she'd felt against me. Eunhye was a lot more... than she looked.
No. What the hell am I thinking right now.
That just now was an accident. I'm not some hormone-addled middle schooler. I'm well past the age of getting flustered over every little thing like that.
"That's all for today's lecture."
Lee Jae-hak addressed the Trainees who'd been watching us.
"Even if you couldn't sense anything, you're welcome to keep coming if you want to learn. Knowledge never hurts."
Just like that, the lecture was over. Time must have passed while I was saving Eunhye.
"...You two should head to the infirmary, just in case. There might be internal injuries even if nothing shows on the outside."
"Ah... yes! Thank you!"
Lee Jae-hak said it out of concern for us. Seeing him like this, maybe he actually cared about us, despite how he looked.
"And once you're done, top student — come to my office. I have something to discuss."
Yep. Never mind. That man is definitely a demon.
Eunhye and I headed to the infirmary attached to Cheonjihae.
What kind of company infirmary is better equipped than most hospitals?
The place was packed with every kind of examination room and medical equipment imaginable, and the doctors and nurses all radiated professional competence. For the record, in a world where spiritual abilities actually exist, medical technology has branched out in all sorts of directions — but a detailed explanation would take too long, so I'll skip it for today.
"The test results show no problems. Still, if you start feeling unwell, come back just in case."
"Yes, thank you."
Fortunately, the results came back fine. Considering the nature of the Urban Legend that had attacked Eunhye, we could honestly call this a stroke of divine luck.
Or maybe Instant Death is just that broken.
It can even kill an Otherworldly Entity of that caliber. What the hell even is this ability? Could it actually kill a god?
"Um... Dohyeong. I'm sorry."
As I was thinking, Eunhye, walking beside me, spoke up.
"For what?"
I asked because I genuinely had no idea what she meant. Eunhye fidgeted before answering.
"You got put in danger because of me."
"Ah, don't worry about it."
Eunhye making contact with the otherworld wasn't in the original story. Meaning this is another variable that happened because of me. It's a result of me getting close to her, so of course it's on me to fix it. And more than anything—
"If a friend's in danger, helping them is just obvious, right?"
"R-right. Because we're friends... hehe."
Eunhye smiled with an oddly awkward expression.
"More importantly, you're amazing, Eunhye. You were the only one who connected with an Urban Legend in the first lecture."
"Mmm~ isn't that actually a bad thing? I don't remember it, but it seemed pretty dangerous."
"That's just because it's your first time. Once you actually learn to use it, you'll be incredible."
I deliberately piled on the praise. Whatever the reason, the fact that she'd connected with those things meant Eunhye's mental state wasn't in a good place. I needed to help patch up her mental health so this wouldn't happen again.
"That's the first time I've ever seen Lee Jae-hak praise anyone."
"You got plenty of praise too, Dohyeong."
"Hey, you call that praise? That was a backhanded roast."
"I-is it? It seemed a little different to me..."
"Anyway, it means your ceiling is high. Even if your growth is a bit slow right now, you'll have a massive late-game surge."
"Pfft! Okay, thanks, Dohyeong."
Maybe my praise had been a little too blatant. Eunhye burst out laughing.
Praising someone this directly is kind of embarrassing for me too.
Still, Eunhye didn't look unhappy. If anything, seeing her laugh so brightly made me feel like her mood had lifted a bit.
"More importantly, are you really okay? Instructor Lee Jae-hak told you to come to his office earlier."
"Ah... right. He did."
Just thinking about it made me depressed all over again. Having a one-on-one conversation with that demon in the same room? I'd rather spend a night with a pretty maiden ghost.
"I think he's calling you about what just happened. Want me to come with you?"
"No. If you do that, I'll just get chewed out even more. And I doubt he's calling me just about what happened earlier."
If he needed both of us, he would've called us both from the start. Singling me out means he has something else to say.
What kind of chewing-out is he planning, anyway.
I've been causing a suspicious number of incidents, so worry was starting to creep in. Was he going to warn me that if I caused any more trouble, he'd force me to resign?
Ah, whatever! It'll work out somehow.
It's not like he'd actually kick me out, right? Forcing myself to think positively, I parted ways with Eunhye and headed for the office.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
I knocked on the office door and got a response. Lee Jae-hak, seated at his desk, looked up at me.
"How's your condition?"
"The doctor said there's nothing wrong."
"Good to hear."
He nodded, then gestured toward a chair. Figuring he wanted to talk, I sat down across from him.
"You haven't even been here long, and already I'm hearing talk about you from all over."
So it is about that. Well, I do cause a commotion wherever I go. There's no way it wouldn't have reached Lee Jae-hak, the Vice President Representative.
But I'm innocent here!
Not a single one of those incidents was actually my fault! I've lived my entire life without a shred of shame!
"So after giving it some thought, I've decided to assign you some work in advance..."
"I have a clear conscience."
"...and grade you on how you handle it— wait, what?"
"No. I said the weather's looking quite... clear. Summer must be coming."
"......You lunatic."
Okay, even so, calling someone a lunatic to their face? That actually kind of hurts, you know?
"Anyway, you're already assigning me work?"
"There's an area that's grown thick with yin energy and needs investigating. I'd go myself, but I don't have the time, and we're short-staffed right now."
Investigations themselves are a common assignment for Exorcists. Urban Legends don't exactly advertise their presence, and if you wait until there are victims before responding, it's already too late.
"I'd prefer to handle it quickly without word getting out. But everyone at Cheonjihae is busy."
"So you're giving work even to a Trainee like me?"
"It's also a kind of test."
Lee Jae-hak narrowed his eyes as if annoyed.
"Our illustrious top student is apparently so gifted that even though he hasn't even been promoted to Intern yet, requests to put him on people's teams are flooding in."
"Hahaha..."
"Don't laugh. I wasn't telling a joke."
"Yes, sir."
Come to think of it, quite a few instructors have been sending me recruitment offers.
Looks like Lee Jae-hak has been cutting off their pitches at his level. From a team leader's perspective, of course they'd want to snatch up talent as fast as possible. But from the company's standpoint, putting a Trainee straight into a regular employee position was out of the question.
"That said, I can't keep ignoring the instructors' opinions forever. So I intend to use this assignment to test your capabilities."
"Oh... so if I pass, I become a regular employee right away?"
"Not immediately. There's still plenty of training period left. But I'll say this: your chances will go up considerably."
So passing this means I'll be that much closer to becoming a full employee?
Wow... this is way too sweet a deal to turn down.
Going into abandoned buildings and facing Urban Legends is terrifying. But if I succeed, I'll be that much closer to becoming a regular employee. For a Trainee who hadn't even made Intern yet, it was an overwhelmingly sweet reward.