Your Name (2)
Your Name (2)
Word soon spread among the cadets that the seventh-ranked S-rank would be visiting Pentagon Academy.
—Murmur, murmur.
"Did you hear!? The awakener ranked seventh among the S-ranks is coming..."
"For real!? I'm a total fan!!"
"But why is he coming?"
"You don’t know? It must be thanks to the Chairwoman’s connections."
The cadets largely welcomed the news.
It was a natural reaction.
There were only seven S-rank awakeners, and he was the sole man among them.
In other words, he ranked first among male Awakeners.
Amid mostly female cadets, he was practically an idol.
The astonishing news soon spread across the world.
[Korean Awakener Minor Gallery]
Title: S-rank No. 7 Arrives in Korea
(photo of a man getting off a private jet and waving)
I'm an airport worker, and reporters were swarming
so I thought oh, some celebrity must be arriving
but why is the master here?
└ ??? What the hell? Did a Gate erupt in Korea?
└ A notice just went up on Pentagon Academy’s official site. Says he’s only here to give a lecture.
└└ They brought in someone whose fee starts at five billion won?
└└ I don’t know either;; Is a Gate seriously about to erupt?
└ Wow, and look at him while all this is going on.
The internet communities reacted first.
It didn't take long for news of his visit to blanket the world.
He wasn't just any awakener. He was S-rank.
He was a literal national-level asset who could determine a country’s overall awakener strength.
S-rank awakeners were not even free to leave their countries for fear of losing such valuable talent.
He alone was free to travel abroad, but that was beside the point.
Someone of that caliber was suddenly coming to Korea.
Of course everyone was startled and buzzing.
However, not many people took the news at face value.
On the contrary,
[Korean Awakener Minor Gallery]
Title: Honestly, It’d Be a Blessing If This Ends with Only an S-rank Gate
(S-rank No. 7's overseas dispatch record)
He’s an awakener optimized for clearing Gates,
so whenever an S-rank Gate erupted in a country without an S-rank,
he’d take contracts to clear them for tens or hundreds of billions of won,
but Korea, which handles S-rank Gates just fine, called him?
(despairing green frog meme)
You think he came only to give a lecture?
Something insane must have erupted,
pack your bags right now and leave for Japan.
God-tier Japan, protected by Great Empress Aika, is the only answer.
└ How did this turn into ‘flee Korea’ again?
└ This is an overreaction, but something definitely does seem to be up.
└ Something something is happening...
└ And in the middle of all this, how can someone have a name like that?
└└ Hey, don’t go there.
└└ Boo, trash. Boo.
Citing how well suited his ability was to clearing Gates, some people even cautiously predicted a large-scale disaster.
Something even Korea—the world’s strongest awakener nation—couldn't handle with its own forces.
They wondered whether a nation-toppling calamity—what could only be called an EX-rank Gate—was about to strike.
The innocent civil servants were the ones left scrambling.
"President Seol Hayeon of the Korean Awakener Association! What is going on!?"
"Is the situation so urgent that you had to proceed without consulting us!?"
As a result, the Chairwoman’s office had been packed with visitors since morning.
Not just the phone used for official business, but even her personal smartphone, whose number only a few knew, rang every hour.
And one of the people at the center of it all,
Pentagon Academy's Chairwoman, Seol Hayeon...
could only sink into weary resignation.
"I assure you it's truly nothing major, so please stop making such a fuss."
"Pardon? But, I heard an astronomical sum was offered to invite him...."
"You of all people know we do not have that kind of budget."
"Then I heard he came to help out of loyalty to you, Chairwoman, who was once his master...."
"Do I look like I have that kind of bond with him?"
"......Then are you truly saying he came just to give a lecture?"
"That is what I have been saying. We announced it from the start."
Before the gathered reporters and officials,
the Chairwoman repeated in hundreds of different ways that it was nothing serious and begged them to stop making a fuss.
"It makes no sense!"
"Please speak frankly. Has something really beyond an S-rank Gate...."
"......Haah."
But the gathered crowd didn't believe her at all, so she let out yet another sigh—one of dozens that day.
'...At least that was a relief. He had come quietly, if nothing else.'
If there was any consolation, even this uproar wasn't the worst she'd expected.
* * *
It was the day after the Chairwoman told me that the seventh-ranked S-rank was visiting Korea.
Sia, Alice, and I
The three of us huddled together, walking
toward the main auditorium where the 'fellow's' special lecture would be held.
"He is famous for refusing to work abroad unless money is involved. How did they get him to come?"
"Ah, I heard about that too! Even Cheonhwa, Korea’s strongest clan, would call him if they faced a difficult Gate!"
"Well, we have never actually called him before. But if a Gate even we couldn't handle appeared, I suppose we would."
"Really!? It is incredible that someone so important is coming!!"
The conversation naturally centered on the man who would give the day’s lecture.
Even Sia and Alice, who had been at each other’s throats until the previous day, were talking in complete agreement.
That alone showed how astonishing the news of his visit was.
......But,
—Grit.
'Was I the only one here who knew how terrifying he was?!!!'
I was the only one who couldn't smile.
Most of the blood I had shed in the First Round had been because of him.
Even now, just recalling his name instinctively made my fists clench.
Even after I had risen to first among the S-ranks, even now after regressing—
he remained my eternal weakness and hard counter.
—He is coming to the academy? Tomorrow, no less?!
—That's right. He notified me through my direct line. He is interested in your hypnosis ability and said he would come see you tomorrow.
-I see....
—So, Yujin. I don't know what he wants, but grant his request if at all possible.
—Is this a mission?
—No. It is a request. Since you're going through the trouble anyway, it would be useful if we could borrow his ability.
On top of that, the Chairwoman, unaware of my feelings, urged me to grant his request.
I still vividly remembered how shocked I had been by his debut back when this world was only a game.
In the First Round, he had made me cough up blood more times than I could count.
Thanks to that, my heart had felt heavy since morning.
To the point that I even pushed worries about Haru or Winterer to one corner of my mind.
"...Yujin? You look unwell. What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing."
'I just was not confident I could face that bastard calmly.'
The biggest problem was that I had to maintain a perfect poker face in front of him.
If I had been alone, maybe. But I had two wives right beside me.
I had to endure it for their sake.
I could not show even the slightest flicker of emotion.
—Clench.
'Still, I had to try. I was the Second-Round Hypnosis Breeding Guy.'
"Are you all right? Would you like a Pine-Needle Snow?"
"Yeah. I'll have one."
'The pine flavor really did grow on you once you kept drinking it...'
Walking and sipping that pine-needle-flavored drink, we soon arrived at our destination, the main auditorium.
The three of us sat in a suitable spot and waited.
We were waiting for the arrival of an S-rank awakener—
a walking national-level asset whose mere arrival in the country had set public opinion across South Korea ablaze.
—Step, step.
'He was here!!'
It wasn't hard to tell that he had arrived.
Light taps of dress shoes. Short, quick steps.
Everyone, including me, held their breath...
and before long, exclamations burst out across the auditorium.
-Wow....
—He really came. Holy shit.
—How did they even get him here?
-He's cute...!!!
A man in a suit entered.
He was tiny, with a childlike build.
Despite his unimposing figure, most people gasped in admiration.
-murmur, murmur.
"Just like I heard. You really could mistake him for a woman."
"That is why he is so popular. Not my type, though."
"True. I could never see him as a man."
My wives had never been interested in that type, then or now, so they seemed indifferent. Anyway.
I, too, gritted my teeth.
-clench.
'Hold it in, hold it in... I could not open my mouth under any circumstances...!!'
His appearance didn't matter at all.
Why would a man like me care about another man’s looks? I wasn't gay.
What mattered above all was his identity.
The one who made me cough up blood countless times in the First Round...
———his name.
To hold back my reaction, I bit my lip.
Hard enough for blood to well up.
'I'd endure it without relying on hypnosis...!!'
"Good day to you all. Cadets of Pentagon Academy."
While the metallic taste of blood lingered on my tongue, he, standing on the podium, slowly opened his mouth.
A delicate, beautiful voice. An androgynous tone.
Fluent Korean utterly unbelievable for someone with that name.
"Being here reminded me of my days as a student. I merely stopped by on a whim to offer some guidance to my juniors. Thank you all for coming."
-glimpse.
His gaze swept over the audience before finally landing on me.
I clenched my molars even harder.
'Hold it in... my wives were right beside me. I could not make the same mistake again. Right.'
"The excellent education I received here ultimately allowed me to earn a place, however low, among the S-ranks."
Meanwhile, his perfunctory pleasantries continued.
It was a transparent attempt to flatter Korea for the media.
The flattery brought smiles to nearly everyone but me.
-crunch.
'He was probably in his fifth year as an awakener around then, and he had already possessed that silver tongue... If I couldn't hold it in, this would be a disaster...!!!'
I alone grew even more wary.
The more people he won over, the more dangerous things became for me.
But...
"To all of you, I consider it an honor to share the experience I've gained while active as an Awakener."
'It was coming...!!!!!'
"I should introduce myself. I am the commander of the Vietnam Liberation Army, ranked seventh among the S-ranks."
All my efforts crumbled beneath his bright smile.
"I am Võ Chí Công."
"———Pffft!!!!!!"
His white teeth gleamed like rice noodles.