05. The Human Causing a Stir
05. The Human Causing a Stir
Udeuk.
The guy who'd been charging over came to a stop right in front of me.
He was decent-looking, a proper pretty boy.
With black hair and an appearance indistinguishable from a Human, plus calling out to Yu Ina so casually, this dude must be Noblesse too.
"You...?"
He glared at me for blocking Yu Ina's path, scanned me up and down, then scowled hard.
"What the hell? I can't sense a damn thing. No, wait... what's with this pea-sized bit of mana?"
"And who the fuck are you? Deaf or something?"
"...?"
He flinched and took a step back.
No way he's backing off just 'cause of my rough mouth?
"Hey!"
Soon, the elf girl who'd been walking with him arrived too.
Judging by her uniform, she was an instructor like Yu Ina.
She was shooting the AWOL guy some seriously bad side-eye.
"You can't just wander around freely."
"El... wait a sec, please."
Did he almost say 'elf bitch' or something?
That was the vibe on his face.
"No can do. Until you get permission from the Chief Instructor, you can't move around freely."
"But... I'm just here to chat with an acquaintance real quick!"
"That's exactly why it's not allowed."
This elf chick... being an instructor must toughen you up, 'cause she's not intimidated by Noblesse at all. Impressive as hell?
"Enrollment? What the hell's that?"
Yu Ina stepped forward in front of me.
"Oh. This person says they want to enroll. Normally I'd send 'em packing right away, but since they're apparently Noblesse, Instructor Juyeon told me to check with the Chief Instructor first."
"..."
When Yu Ina's puzzled gaze landed on the guy, his face lit up.
Dunno why, but it pissed me off.
"Yu Ina! It's me! Me! Seong-hyeon!"
"I knew who you were without the fuss. Why're you here? And what's this enrollment bullshit?"
"Ah... well..."
"No way you got rejected at the gate, missed me so bad you just blurted out you wanna enroll like some dumbass, right?"
"...What?"
Yu Ina shot me a 'what kinda nonsense is this?' look, while Seong-hyeon glared like he wanted to murder me.
Doesn't this cliché-spouting asshole recognize another one when he sees it?
"Looks like that's exactly it. You two dating or what?"
"W-we—,"
"Ha. Why the fuck would you pull that nonsense? You wanna get punched?"
Icy expression.
Whatever that guy's feelings, Yu Ina didn't seem to give a shit.
"Yeah? Guess he was the only one into you then."
"You bastard!! What bullshit are you spouting!!!!"
The guy went berserk.
Shut your fucking ears, man.
"Shut the hell up. Screaming your lungs out after barging in? Who even are you?"
"Y-you little...!"
"Human, don't make baseless assumptions. This guy's just a fellow trainee from the same Martial Arts Hall as me."
"Martial Arts Hall?"
"Yeah. Run by my family. I'll introduce you sometime soon."
What? Not even friends, just 'fellow trainee'? If it were me, I'd at least call 'em 'friend' when they're around. She really doesn't give a damn.
"Instructor Yu Ina, can I take him now?"
"Heading to the Chief Instructor?"
"Yes."
"If that's the case, I'm going that way anyway, so I'll escort him."
"Ah... then thank you."
The Elf Instructor must hate this guy too. She straight-up ditched him and vanished down the hall.
"So, what's the real reason? Do you even need to enroll in the Academy? Especially in a batch that's already done."
"That's..."
He couldn't give a proper answer.
Of course not. He's just here to see Yu Ina.
"No... more importantly, Yu Ina! What the hell's going on!"
"With what?"
"The marriage! You know how shocked I was when I heard?!"
"That's..."
"And..."
"What're you staring at?"
"...Human...? No way, a Human...? Yu Ina, you can't seriously—,"
"Jin Seong-hyeon."
Her voice dropped cold.
The tone she usually uses to threaten people. She'd pulled it on me plenty.
"Who I marry is none of your business."
"Y-Yu Ina..."
"Mind your own fucking business."
"Ugh..."
Haha. Mind your own business.
Spot on.
And brutally savage too.
Swipe.
I wrapped my arm around Yu Ina's waist.
"...What the hell are you doing? Get it off."
"You heard her? None of your business. She's my wife."
"Hah... and who the hell are you..."
"A mere Human like you...!!"
"Human, don't provoke him needlessly."
"You gonna keep calling me Human forever? Call me honey."
"W-what?"
"At least use my name. We're married, not 'Human this, Human that'?"
"......Fine. Sihwan. Can you unwrap this arm first? I don't wanna break my husband's arm."
"Damn, bloodthirsty."
I let go obediently.
Mission accomplished anyway—pissing off the guy.
"Y-you... y-you..."
And sure enough, his face was beet red as he glared at me.
Yu Ina glanced at it like it was nothing,
"Let's go. And you—if you're serious about enrolling, follow. Otherwise, get out."
Long time no see, and she's ice-cold to him.
"Looks like you just came to see me."
"Hm...... If that's really it, go home. This ain't a playground for you."
He alternated glances between me and Yu Ina, then ground his teeth with a ppudeuk.
"N-no, it's not a joke. I'm gonna become a great Tower Warrior!"
Great Tower Warrior my ass. Anyone can see he's here for Yu Ina.
"...Fine? Then follow."
.
.
I wanted to mess with Seong-hyeon more on the way, but unfortunately, the Chief Instructor's spot was super close.
We got there in under two minutes.
A good minute of that was just walking the hall.
"...What now? More business?"
The Chief Instructor was elegantly seated as always, puffing smoke from her pipe.
Pipe tobacco, as expected.
The glossy-coated brown pipe exuded antique luxury.
"And who's the one behind you?"
She nodded toward Seong-hyeon.
Maybe it was the aura she passively radiated, but he looked pretty tense.
"Ah... h-hello! I'm—,"
"No need to know about him. I've got something prepared for you."
"...Hah... prepared for me? Sounds ominous as fuck."
She started to say something, sighed, and took a drag.
Classic smoker's habit.
"Well, you can sit, right?"
"Did I give permission?"
"Nope."
"..."
Bari, Ina, and I plopped on the sofa, and Ha Yeon-seo sighed, set down her pipe, and sat on the opposite sofa.
"You too, come sit. No idea what this is about."
"Y-yes... got it."
Seong-hyeon shuffled over like a total wuss.
Yeon-seo's charisma is no joke, but that sluggish?
"First off, I'll hear you out later nice and slow, so stay quiet. I'll hear from this one first."
"No real need to hear him out."
"That's for me to decide."
"Fine. Hey. Introduce yourself."
"You...!"
"What? Can't even introduce yourself?"
"This fucker!"
"Ah, why're you guys like this? You're pissing me off."
"S-sorry... this guy's been..."
"Ignore that Human. He's always like that."
Ignore him? Harsh, even for friends.
"Chief Instructor, this is Jin Seong-hyeon. He wants to enroll this term."
"Enroll?"
Yu Ina introduced him, and Yeon-seo tilted her head.
"What? He's not Noblesse?"
"Yes, he is. From Area 5's Jin Family."
"Then why? What's the reason?"
"Ah... that's..."
"Looks like he's into Yu Ina. Raced over when he heard about the marriage, got turned away at the gate, so enrollment as a desperate Hail Mary. Obvious as hell, right?"
"Y-you!! Shut the fuck up!!!"
"Hah... can't you shut up for once? Don't butt in."
"Didn't I say be quiet?"
"Fine, fine."
Two beauties going full ice queen.
Scary shit.
"So? Is what that Human said true?"
Ha Yeon-seo tossed the question, and Yu Ina stared him down flatly.
Sweat beaded on his face.
"Obviously, if that's your goal, no enrollment—and it'd piss me off big time. I hate wasting time."
"N-no, of course not."
"Hmm."
Yeon-seo eyed his trembling answer with narrowed eyes.
Well, it was obvious as fuck. Yu Ina probably clocked it too.
Maybe that's why she was extra frosty.
"Fine, not that... then why now, of all times?"
"Huh?"
"This batch is already over. Everyone except a few is in exams... come back in four months?"
"T-that's..."
He glanced at me and Yu Ina.
Eyes darting nonstop.
"I want to become a warrior ASAP and contribute to Noblesse society!!"
"...So you gotta join this batch?"
"Yes! Exactly!"
"..."
The Chief Instructor stared him down for a good while, then finally nodded.
"Fine. Why not? I'll slot you into A-Class."
"Thank you!"
He shot up and bowed deeply.
Yeon-seo nodded lightly.
"A-Class, huh..."
"Does that mean Sihwan-nim gets another pet?"
"Yep. Bari, he's yours. Do whatever. Just no sexual stuff."
"Oh my."
"What you wanna do?"
"For starters, he's been cocky with Master, so how 'bout popping one of his balls lightly?"
"Uh... you're a scary kid, huh?"
Saying scary shit so innocently.
"......Noblesse males are precious. I'd prefer you didn't do that."
"Weren't they always?"
"No, I mean they're rare in number."
"Oh?"
"Then let's make 'em extinct while we're at it."
"No... fuck... whatever. What am I even saying to you lot."
While I, Bari, and Yu Ina chatted, Seong-hyeon rolled his eyes like 'what the fuck' and cautiously spoke up.
"Um... Chief Instructor."
"Yes."
"What the hell is that Human? Why's he at the Academy...... and married to... Yu Ina..."
See? Told ya he's just here for Yu Ina. Hence the pointless questions.
"Seong-hyeon, I said it's none of your business."
"No... but it's weird!! Noblesse marrying a Human?! Never heard of such a thing! And your family... n-no way, you...!"
"Why so nosy about someone else's marriage? Pathetic."
"W-what? Pathetic??"
"If you're too dense to notice, don't be pathetic about it. Can't you tell? My wife's not into you. See? So quit clinging and fuck off back home."
"Y-you bastard...!"
"And what if I am? She's my wife, I said."
"Sihwan, enough."
Yu Ina reined me in and let out a deep sigh.
"Seong-hyeon, be honest. You really here to become a Tower Warrior?"
"W-what're you saying? Of course..."
"I've known you liked me since our Martial Arts Hall days."
"Eek?!"
"Probably about ten years ago?"
Seong-hyeon's eyes shook.
Ha Yeon-seo watched with interest.
"Let me make it clear: I've never seen you as a man."
"!!"
Ha Yeon-seo let out a slight chuckle at the bluntness.
Me too.
"I appreciate you coming, but keep meddling in my personal life and it pisses me off. Cut it out."