The Demon of the In-Seoul Class
The two demon police officers from the In-Seoul class at the retake academy shrugged their shoulders. “Then I suppose we can head out now?”
The manager tried to stop the officers. “Ah, no. Just a moment, please.”
“Then please hurry it up. Are you taking her in, or are we just leaving? Look, I’m trying to do the bare minimum here, but if the victim’s side is acting like this, there’s nothing I can do. Am I wrong?”
These cops seem like they’d be easy to talk to.
Honestly, I just wanted the police to leave. I had no desire to cause trouble either. My original goal was simply to quietly climb my way up to the special class at Korea University. But Baek Seol clearly had other ideas.
“You.”
Baek Seol bit down hard on her lip and glared up at me. When she widened her eyes, her pupils dilated as they reflected me. That happened when someone was truly overcome with emotion.
“You. What did you do? Did you brainwash them?”
“I didn’t.”
“Don’t lie!”
Baek Seol clearly didn’t believe me, but I had never done anything of the sort.
“You… You’ve ruined everything!! You suddenly showed up at the academy and… You! You’re the problem! You’re doing whatever you want and destroying the academy!!”
“Was it that upsetting to have your rank threatened? I only raised my grades through training. Do you really think that’s destroying the academy?”
Baek Seol started to speak, then closed her mouth. She furrowed her brows and moved her lips, but no words came out. I continued.
“Everyone at this academy trains to improve their grades. If what I did was wrong, then every student here—including you—has been doing the same wrong thing. Do you really believe that’s true?”
“.......”
Baek Seol’s face flushed red. That was what happened when someone had nothing left to say but felt ashamed. After thinking for a moment, she stammered.
“Y-You ignored me.”
“I never ignored you.”
“You did! You ignored me over and over! Me! You ignored my efforts, looked down on me. A new student who only joined a week ago! You’ve been getting flattery from everyone since your grades were low, and yet—!”
Baek Seol shouted, then broke into sobs. Her emotions had surged too violently for her to contain her anger.
I had an epiphany. What the hell am I even doing?
Arguing with a woman like this was a waste of time. All it would do was deepen the rift between us, and she’d only come back with worse retaliation later. I should just apologize.
“I see. If that’s how you felt, then I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry, Seol-ah.”
“Don’t mock me!!!”
“I mean it. I’m sorry for ignoring you. So let’s stop this.”
“Shut up. Stop what? It’s too late for that!”
“I don’t want to fight with you anymore. You’re right. You win. I won’t pick fights with you or ignore you again. Please forgive me.”
“Disgusting bitch.”
“What?”
Baek Seol laughed viciously. “Oh. So you didn’t brainwash them, and you didn’t threaten them either? Did you spread your legs for those three inside? Or maybe lick them?”
“What the—”
“Filthy bitch. Where does a slut like you get off—!”
While Baek Seol was speaking, Han Yu-ra stepped in front of me protectively. Yoo Jin-sol and Lee Eun-ah moved to stand beside her, staring at Baek Seol. The pressure they exuded was enough to make everyone freeze for a moment. The three of them had their fists clenched tightly, glaring at Baek Seol as if they wanted to kill her, saying nothing.
For an instant, it was an eerie scene, as if their souls had left their bodies. Veins bulged on their fists and arms. Baek Seol stammered.
“W-What? You. Do you have something to say?”
No matter how high Baek Seol’s rank was, they were all in the same lowest tier, and the difference wasn’t that great. Three against one would be difficult.
“What, are you ignoring me? Not going to answer?”
Even after Baek Seol spoke, Han Yu-ra only stared at her blankly. It was like looking at a machine that had been powered off, and it sent chills down my spine.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
When I spoke to them, the three of them startled and returned to normal. Han Yu-ra looked down at her own clenched hands, then bowed her head to Baek Seol.
“I’m sorry, unnie!”
She clasped her hands together. “I almost really killed you.”
Baek Seol stared at Han Yu-ra with her mouth agape. She was a strong-willed woman. If that had been sarcasm or criticism, she would have snapped back. But Han Yu-ra was apologizing as if she truly meant it. In other words, the three of them had genuinely been about to kill Baek Seol just now.
“You… You….”
Baek Seol trembled. Lee Eun-ah spoke up.
“Um. Unnie… Could you please stop? It’s not like we’re threatening you or anything… It’s just that if this continues, we might actually kill you. Yeah…?”
Lee Eun-ah clasped her hands together and pleaded earnestly. She was sincere too. It was hard to believe, but if Baek Seol kept criticizing me, these three would really try to kill her.
“...What.”
Baek Seol looked back and forth between me and the three of them, breaking into a cold sweat. “...What did you do to them?”
I didn’t know either.
The regular subject instructor who had been reading the bulletin board grew tense. She was an ordinary person. Someone without any abilities. That was why she always lived with fear and tension toward ability users. It was the same even when the targets were academy students.
The instructor recalled Lee Se-rin from her memories. She had only taught her class once, but the student had listened attentively to the regular subjects as well. Even so, she didn’t feel comfortable treating her casually. Because if she accidentally provoked her temper, she had no idea what kind of reaction she might get. If an ordinary person showed disrespect to a mage, their life could be in danger.
The lowest-ranked academy students thought of themselves as being at the bottom of society, but that was from an ability user’s perspective. To an ordinary person like the regular subject instructor who possessed no abilities, it was nothing more than the complaints of the privileged.
...Let’s do our best today too.
The instructor opened the door and entered the classroom.
“Alright. Please take care of me again today. Today we have Korean history. Let’s all work hard again, shall we?”
“““Yes.”””
“Now then, today we’ll be… Huh?”
The instructor looked at the students. Textbooks were even open on their desks. They were still fooling around, but their attitude was clearly different from before. They had even responded to her greeting. It was treatment she had never received even once until now.
The instructor stared blankly at Lee Se-rin, who sat at the center of it all.
“What is it?”
The instructor understood the situation. This girl changed everyone.
The instructor felt a sense of awe. She’s only twenty years old. A mage of the lowest rank, yet she’s controlling dozens of students at the same level as herself however she pleases.
The instructor suddenly imagined herself in that position. She couldn’t picture it at all. Without raising her voice, simply by speaking gently, everyone was focused and obedient.
She’s on a completely different level from someone like me.
And such a being was protecting her. How should I express my gratitude…
The instructor wanted to bow down in thanks, but an ordinary person’s bow held no value. Should I send money? No. The amount I could afford…
“Is something wrong? Aren’t you going to start the lesson?”
Lee Se-rin rested her chin on her hand. Her black hair cascaded down as she tilted her head, and her dark eyes held the instructor’s reflection.
The instructor startled and her shoulders trembled. “Y-Yes! Of course!”
The instructor opened her teaching materials. “...This period, we’ll be learning about the World War. It’s about the formation of the Nazis and the Feminist Autonomous Zone, so please pay close attention.”
“Nazis?”
“Yes, the Nazis.”
Lee Se-rin tilted her head in confusion. What’s that?
*****
“First, let’s start from the point when the number of men began to decrease. In the old era, the birth ratio of men and women was similar, but as fewer men were born, the global gender ratio began to collapse. Uncivilized women oppressed and discriminated against the minority of men, and in some extreme countries and regions, they didn’t hesitate to commit massacres. In response, women with righteous hearts began to appear, and gradually public opinion gathered around protecting men. In other words, conflict arose between the male-abuse faction and the male-protection faction.”
This was what she had heard from Yoo Hyun-ah. She also knew what happened afterward. The side that won that conflict was the devoted wife and wise mother faction. They had driven the losers into the Feminist Autonomous Zone and isolated them. They reformed society. The era of competition among devoted wives and wise mothers, absolute male supremacy—it had been a social system designed to have powerful mages protect men, who were valuable resources.
As she thought that far, something felt off. Modern society tied the level of devoted wives and wise mothers to a mage’s rank. Then what about the old days? In the world where feminism, female supremacy, and misandry had run rampant, had there been no one who reached the upper ranks?
The instructor at the front answered that question.
“It was called a conflict, but it was essentially a war. As a result, the male-protection faction felt the need to standardize their forces, and they integrated the various chaotic ability systems as much as possible. This is modern magic. Of course, in the process, they also created measures to prevent spies from hostile forces. Traps that would cause mental demons if someone lacking respect for men tried to forcibly raise their rank, or magic that would instill respect for men in the body the more one learned it. Anyway, through modern magic, the male-protection faction succeeded in driving back the male-abuse faction.”
The instructor wrote German on the blackboard. Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Frauenpartei. It meant the National Socialist German Women’s Party. When read in German, it was Nazi… Ah. So that’s why they were called Nazis? Because it started with Nazi?
The instructor continued her explanation.
“But the male-protection faction didn’t win everywhere in the world. Because the women’s party that ruled Germany at the time, the Nazis, had found a way to eliminate the upper limit of magical power by destroying ranks. The male-abuse faction, the feminists who had completely taken over Germany, didn’t stop there. They attacked neighboring countries and tainted each nation with extreme feminism and male-abuse ideology. They even went so far as to enslave the men they captured…”
The female students around her clenched their fists and trembled.
“Those damn bitches…!”
“How could they do that…!”
“You, that’s too horrible….”
To summarize what followed: Nazi Germany in Europe continued its expansion until it was attacked by the devoted wife and wise mother alliance from around the world. But the Nazis were too strong, so a ceasefire was the best they could achieve.
“The Nazis’ ceasefire conditions were two things. First, not to kill the male-abuse faction—that is, the feminists—of each country. Second, to allow limited exchange between themselves and the devoted wife and wise mother alliance or the Feminist Autonomous Zone. As a result of approving this treaty, each country concluded the conflict by sealing their remaining feminists in the Feminist Autonomous Zone.”
So that’s how it was.
Only then could I understand one contradiction. When rumors of male abuse spread, why did women who trembled with clenched fists leave places like the Feminist Autonomous Zone alone? There had been circumstances like this. It made sense if their opponents were monsters without an upper limit on magical power.