Episode 198

May was known as the family month.

It encompassed Children’s Day, Parents’ Day, and Teachers’ Day, providing students with “days off” and making it a very important and special month.

-Thank you, Teacher Sofa!

-Thank you, Buddha! But why did you come on a Sunday this time?

-Honestly, Parents’ Day and Teachers’ Day should be days off too. Agree?

ㄴIs it only a holiday for children? Parents and teachers need rest too!!

ㄴJust say you want to rest!

ㄴUgh, I wish I didn’t have to work but still received my salary regularly!!

May, therefore, had more days off compared to other months.

From the academy’s perspective, according to traditional educational policies, various events were prepared in May.

The most representative event in May was, of course, the sports festival.

What image comes to mind when you think of a sports festival?

An event where parents come, spread out a mat, and lay out chicken and pizza to eat?

Where children compete to see who can run the fastest and stamp their hands with stamps?

Where a recreational event expert from somewhere showers the blue and white teams with cheer points using a retreat meta?

While that might be the case in regular schools, the sports festival at Sejong Academy feels quite different.

-Eh? Sports festival? Isn’t that just a ranking battle among ability users?

-It shouldn’t be about dividing into blue and white teams; it’s just about me winning the competition, right?

-Sports festival? What sports festival> It’s just the Sejong Premier Martial Arts Competition.

Indeed.

-Who holds a sports festival for ability users? It’s ‘real’ when ability users fight and hit each other.

-Oh, the higher-ups named it a sports festival. What else would you call it if not a sports festival? A ranking battle?

-Right? Heh, Sejong Island is a place of education! You can’t just divide students’ rankings from first to last willy-nilly. Officially, at least. Hehe.

-But I’m going to be the champion of the sports festival.

-Yeah, you can be the champion of B class. I’m going to compete with A class and enter the A class power pool~

Officially, it’s a sports festival, but in reality, it’s a ranking battle based on the abilities honed over March and April to determine who is the strongest at Sejong Academy.

Who was the strongest in C class.

Who among B class could challenge and defeat someone from A class.

E class competed among themselves to rank, and the top of E class competed with the bottom of D class, where the winner advanced to D class.

In some cases, an E class could experience rapid growth and be reevaluated as C class in this important competition.

All students have been eagerly waiting for May, when they can officially raise their overall combat power evaluation.

-This year’s sports festival has been postponed.

-What…?

The sports festival was originally scheduled for May 4th.

Since Children’s Day on May 5th was a public holiday, most sports festivals took place on May 4th so that students could give their all the day before and rest on May 5th.

-Well, it makes sense to postpone it.

-You’re going to hold a sports festival after Duoexini caused such a commotion? The dean will get criticized and fired right away.

-It’s a bit off to have the sports festival right after the Sephiroth Knights or something like Zenros returns on May 3rd, isn’t it?

However, due to the Duoexini incident and the Sephiroth Knights releasing Zenros and the hero agents on May 3rd, the sports festival was postponed.

May 14th.

-That’s understandable.

-We can’t not have the sports festival. I’ve been preparing since last winter to ‘prove’ myself.

After about a ten-day delay, the Academy’s students were gearing up for the sports festival as a way to shift the atmosphere of the entire Academy - Sejong Island.

To prove their abilities.

At this point, when strong combat power and a strong will are needed due to the Duoexini incident, one must prove they are the true heroes of this era.

“I’m going to be the issue maker of this sports festival!!”

To prove they are the protagonist, everyone is stepping up their research and training of abilities.

Then, a rumor started circulating and began to attract people’s attention.

-Two S-class heroes from Japan are staying on Sejong Island for a month, right?

Japan’s S-class heroes.

Hayabusa and Nadeshiko.

-The sports festival period overlaps, right? Maybe?

-Isn’t one of them coming as a guest? Right? Sitting next to the principal and watching, asking, ‘Who is that person?’

-You’re really drinking a whole bowl of kimchi soup ahead of time.

With the arrival of two heart-fluttering beauties, many guys’ hearts were set ablaze.

-Even so!

-If I marry Nadeshiko, I’ll live in Japan!

-They say it’s good for your body to be with an S-class, but I can’t really find the words to describe it. Hehehe.

-You can’t resist abalones and clams if they’re S-class. They must be so chewy.

If things went well.

An international hero marriage might be possible!

-But aren’t relations with Japan a bit sour right now?

-Yeah. It’s all because Susanoo made a mess, so our relations are pretty bad now.

-Ah, about that.

Just then.

[I, I mean…!! Waaaah!]

[I finally became a hero! My friend turned out like that, and I couldn’t do anything…!]

[How much I’ve tried to change the world, Waaaah!!]

[I’m so sorry——!!]

Since the person who caused the accident apologized in a way that made everyone almost burst into laughter, that’s all anyone did—just laughed it off.

-It feels petty to be angry over something like this.

-There were no casualties, and everyone came back safely in the end.

-I’ve seen Susanoo get defeated, so I’m not really bothered anymore~

The incident that could have escalated tensions between Korea and Japan was somewhat neatly resolved with the culprit breaking down in tears at a press conference.

-Ah, forget Susanoo! The only thing that matters is being patriotic with 17-year-old high school girl Hayabusa, and Japan’s top beauty, Nadeshiko!

-How can you be patriotic with the Japanese?

-Then, ‘world peace’!!

Now, the only goal left was to win over the two S-class beauties.

-Aaaah! I want to spend a night in Ulleungdo with the S-class beauties!!

-Don’t say that out loud, you idiot!

-…Could you phrase that differently?

-Aaaah! I want to contribute to world peace with the two S-class beauties together!

-Well done.

So, the men on Sejong Island were dedicating themselves to developing their abilities, all for the allure of the kimchi premium.

-To the meat in the soup, Gazuaaaaa!!

-What are you talking about, you lunatic?

Perhaps.

Desperately hoping to establish a certain relationship with the S-class beauties.

As a result…

Naturally, the students began to hope for such an opportunity.

-What’s the student council doing?

Feeling the pressure from everyone, whom the student council should represent.

-If you don’t invite Hayabusa and Nadeshiko as guests to the sports festival, you won’t get away with it!

Accompanied by a frenzied threat.

“Seems like everyone’s obsessed with those girls.”

“…Weren’t you here to borrow a book?”

“I came here to hide for a bit today.”

While working as a librarian, I couldn’t help but be startled by Yoon Iseon suddenly appearing at the loan desk area.

“Why are you hiding there?”

“There’s nowhere else to hide.”

Yoon Iseon was now hiding under my desk.

“No one comes here anyway.”

“That’s an exaggeration. People still come to borrow books.”

“How many in an hour?”

“…Maybe one or two.”

“That’s good enough. Give me a sign when someone comes. I’ll keep quiet.”

Squeezing into a space between my legs, she hid without making eye contact.

“What about your Taeguk Watch?”

“It’s in my room.”

“Is it okay for a student to walk around without their Taeguk Watch?”

“Before I’m a student, before I’m the student council president, there are times when I want to have my own time too.”

Yoon Iseon grumbled and began to conjure something magical from below.

“Everyone I meet keeps asking whether Hayabusa and Nadeshiko will be special guests at the big sports festival, or the boys say they’ll impeach the student council president if we don’t invite them. It’s annoying.”

“Everyone is crossing the line. Ah, someone’s coming.”

I lightly tapped my foot and adjusted my posture.

“Can you check this out for me?”

“All checked out.”

“Ah, right. And I have a question.”

The male student with glasses glanced up and down at me, hesitated for a moment, then clenched his fist and asked me.

“Do you happen to know where to get one’s hair done?”

“I do it myself at home.”

“What product do you use?”

“Just a hairdryer….”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

The male student left with a somewhat saddened face, holding the book. The titles of the books he borrowed were all about health, physique, and body management.

There’s a saying that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body.

However, thinking about the fundamental reason why that male student borrowed those books makes me feel that his intentions might not be so pure.

“What kind of books did he borrow?”

“The Secrets of Body Management. How to Build Muscles. Stuff like that.”

“All to look good for Hayabusa and Nadeshiko, right?”

“Probably.”

With the arrival of the S-class, men started paying even more attention to their appearances.

While they had been managing themselves before, now they were even more focused on self-care, trying to appeal to their masculinity as males.

“If they manage to catch the eye of those two, they might leave this country and go to the neighboring one.”

“Wouldn’t they be criticized for running off to another country like that?”

“If an S-class from another country wants to marry them and take them away, if they face criticism, it would likely stem from jealousy. Adults would actually be happy about it. Going abroad and spreading our Korean seeds widely.”

“…Since there are actually people who would genuinely be happy about it, I can’t easily dismiss it.”

A Korean C-class got an S-class from another country pregnant?

Nationalistic TV would plaster that issue everywhere in no time, turning the whole world upside down.

“Teacher?”

“Yes.”

“Do, do you have something in your pocket?”

“No.”

“…….”

Yoon Iseon was silent for a moment.

“Teacher.”

After a pause, Yoon Iseon inquired.

“Will the Goblin come to this sports festival?”

Looking up at me from under the desk, she posed the question.

“Why do you ask?”

“Just.”

Yoon Iseon continued with a very complicated expression.

“…Hayabusa and Nadeshiko said they would come out to watch the sports festival if the Goblin appeared.”