Rehabilitation Of Shame And Embarrassment

Early morning.
A season that announces the arrival of spring with a warm scent of flowers.

A black puff of fur wearing an apron hummed a pleasant tune.

“Mua, muua, muangmuang~”

What could it be hiding?
Its identity was Ma Hana.

A glossy, neatly cut bob that brushed her neck swayed,
Two soft, long tails fluttered gently.

Ma Hana used not only her hands but also her two tails to pick up utensils and prepare various cute dishes.

Each one was nicely presented and nutritionally thought out,
and most importantly, it was a baby-food menu designed for easy swallowing.

“Mua~”

Ma Hana took the finished food and headed to the table.
She halved a well-cooked fried egg, blew on it to cool it with a ‘puh~’, then held it in her hand and offered it.

“Here, our lovely Seha, ah~”
“…”

A gaze and gesture full of affection.
Actions that could be described as devoted,
were certainly an extremely adorable sight, but

For the very person being served and the protagonist,
Yu Seha made a sour expression.

Drip, drip,
As the yolk dripped, Ma Hana hurried him again.

“Mua~ I cooled it down enough~ here, ah~”
“…”

Yu Seha sighed as if he couldn’t take it anymore.
He ran his small, smooth hand over his flawless forehead.

Considering how Yu Seha usually treated Ma Hana,
his curt reply was unimaginable.

“…Hey Meowi? You already explained all that. I’m fine, you know? My mind is clear, and unlike a month ago I can move my arms and legs now, so you don’t have to do this—”
“-Mwang!”

A long, rambling speech.
Ma Hana inflated her cheeks as if she didn’t like Yu Seha’s rebellion(?) at all.
It was an uncharacteristic, one-sided stubbornness from Ma Hana, who always prioritized his opinion.

She additionally raised her eyes with a ‘mshyaak!’ sound.
She meant to look fierce, but at most she was just a cute puff of fur.

“…Hey Peng Jin-ah. Even if you do that, it’s not scary at all.”
“Mwang, no way!”

In the end, the method Ma Hana chose
was simply to take away the bowl.

The plate disappeared like lightning.
A startled Yu Seha reached out, but his movement was far too slow.

[Currently executing the ‘cost’.]
[Your stats are sealed. You cannot grow during the period of humiliation.]
[Unbearable shame and embarrassment well up inside you.]
[The ‘King of Demons’ says you’re so cute and asks, “Shall I give you a coochie-coo candy?” ]

Yu Seha gave a small rebuke.

‘Please be quiet over there.’

“Meow, come on, Seha. Say ‘I was wrong’~ and ‘I’ll eat quietly’~”
“…”

Meowi put her hands on her hips and chuckled ‘muhuhu~’.
It was at that moment he looked at her as if incredulous.
A savior(?) appeared.

It was Moon Bora.
She had her purple long hair tied into a ponytail, neatly revealing the back of her neck,
and wore an apron that accentuated her characteristically full, curvy figure.

Moon Bora was also preparing food.
She put something nutritious with carrots, potatoes, and onions on the table.
Then she said a word to Ma Hana.

“Miss Hana, you can’t do that.”
“Meow?”

Yu Seha was so moved by that single line he could have cried.
Yes, yes.
As expected!

“Damn, Moon Bora! I trusted you! Yes, you, the smartest and most level-headed among us, would surely make a different choice—”
“—First, you have to put on a neck bib. Otherwise it keeps dripping and you’ll ruin all your clothes. Didn’t we prepare several recently? The waterproof ones.”
“Ah! Right! I forgot. Sorry.”
“Be careful next time, okay?”
“Mwang~”
“…”

Yu Seha looked at Moon Bora in dismay.
Moon Bora met his gaze.

• Ssiik. (smirk)

In an instant,
the mood shifted and a chill swept over him.

Moon Bora’s look became completely different from a moment ago.
A strange warmth filled her eyes.
A lukewarm gaze, as if her body temperature itself had risen, licked Yu Seha’s entire body up and down.

“…”

For reasons unknown,
even her breath grew rough,
and something pink appeared in her pupils…

If one were to describe it, a heart-like pattern had been etched.
Finally, something he hadn’t noticed until now,
she used a surprisingly long, thin, and saliva-rich tongue to lick her own lips.

“…!”

Feeling a chill, Yu Seha pulled back.
It felt as if his entire body had been sexually harassed.

But Moon Bora, who approached even faster than that feeling, raised her hand without hesitation.
She stretched his soft, plump cheek with a tug—!

“U-ugh! Hey, hey, Moon Bora, that hurts…”
“Seha?”
“Why, why… Moon Bora, your eyes are scary?”
“Call me nuna~. Try it once.”
“…”

While Yu Seha stared blankly at Moon Bora,
something was put around his neck.
It was like a bib that babies might use.

Yu Seha cried out in embarrassment.

“Hey, hey Ju Na-young! This is too much!”

Ignoring him, Ju Na-young appeared behind and, chuckling ‘yong-hu-hu~’, placed a large fire pouch behind his head.

“Ah~ while saying that, you spilled everything last time, didn’t you?”
“…No, hey! That’s because I’m not used to this body yet—”
“—Then wear it for a few more days~ It actually bothers you less, so you’ll do better, won’t you?”
“…”

It was close to the right argument.
Yu Seha looked up at Ju Na-young with a sour expression.

Unlike Ma Hana and Moon Bora, whose eyes were clouded by desire, Ju Na-young’s pupils were clear and bright.
A phenomenon visible because there were no special barriers(?).

He looked around as if intrigued, then with a mischievous smile,
he tousled Yu Seha’s hair.

“U-ugh! Don’t!”

“Wow, your hair is really soft. By the way, Yu Seha, you were a player from the start, huh? Look at that looks, you must’ve charmed a lot of girls in kindergarten. Anyway, make sure to eat everything; don’t leave bell peppers like last time, okay?”

“…No, it’s bitter when you chew it; the taste is too strong…”

“Excuses are ugly, you know? You should listen to pretty and capable nunas so you can grow up well, got it?”

“…”

Yu Seha scratched his cheek.
Well, aside from Peng Jin-ah,
both of the others were two years older than him.
Strictly speaking, they were indeed his nunas.

After that dizzying breakfast ended,
they completed their preparations to go out after some twists and turns.

Yu Seha put on the outerwear Moon Bora handed him and moved toward the underground parking lot.

They all arrived in Ju Na-young’s flashy car, who had gotten his license a few days earlier.
It was the prestigious school most Awakened long to attend.
It was the .

That day,

That is, about three months passed since the incident, which Yu Seha himself had no memory of.

That’s right.
A full three months had
flown by like an arrow.

Yu Seha’s shocking appearance when he emerged from the cocoon.
And Ma Hana, who had carried him in her arms,
with help from Ju Na-young, Moon Bora, and others who cared for him meticulously,

the Gonis Hunter Academy steadily proceeded with repairs.

Honestly, under normal circumstances it couldn’t have been completed this quickly.

Most facilities, except for the dormitories where students lived, had been literally wrecked.

At least five months,
and considering various other issues, in the worst case it could have taken over a year.

Crucially, the director, Yu Neung-hae was capable.
The fact that she had no money left on hand was a big deal.

Bankrupt… bankrupt.

It was inevitable.
She had hired over seven hundred hunters with that level of strength and recognition.
Additionally, she paid extra to extend the operation period to purge criminal clans in the underworld.
On top of that, there were condolence payments for the dead and injured and other miscellaneous expenses.

Yu Neung-hae wasn’t some absurdly wealthy person,
so it would have been strange if money remained.

They were literally left out on the street.
But life is like the old man’s horse, full of ups and downs.

Yu Neung-hae’s self-sacrificial actions became word of mouth and were widely reported.
Thanks to that, the situation reversed overnight.

Before long, Yu Neung-hae was recorded as one of the heroes who silently sacrificed herself to prepare for the coming attack.

It wasn’t entirely untrue.

Separate from Yu Seha’s assistance,
she had concealed as much as possible the fact that would come,
and her efforts bowing and asking for help here and there deserved high praise.

As a result, sponsorship money flowed in from many places.
And the transfer of authority over some major businesses of the four great clans, including .

Tax reductions and other benefits for Su Ok-bin, who became .
And donations of holy funds to Divine Light Garam, who succeeded in officially becoming a bishop of the , etc.

They actually succeeded in acquiring more wealth and fame than before.
On that basis, they managed to magnificently finish construction in just three months.

Life really is about that one big swing!

Anyway, it’s good they rebuilt quickly, but…
that didn’t mean the lost time could be restored.

In effect, an entire semester had been lost.
It was obviously impossible to run a proper curriculum.

Additionally, the realistic potential for bloodshed.
There were many students and professors who chose to withdraw because of the villains’ viciousness and the fear of possible retaliation.
Replacements for those vacancies were also necessary.

So to conclude,
this semester was planned to end early without proper exams or schedules.

At this newly completed point in time.
They were scheduled to go on vacation again in two months.

During that time, Yu Seha and the others would attend only some courses, including required liberal arts.

And now, that first class had begun.

Scratch, scratch.

The classroom blackboard.
The low sound of chalk echoed.

Normally they would use pens infused with mana, but they were all smashed during the invasion.

They were precious items that had to be sourced from abroad,
so for now they decided to use chalk.

The short-haired female professor wrote today’s lesson progress on the board.
She then turned and pushed up her glasses frame.

She was Professor Strict.
As usual, she was conducting the class this time,
and she wore pentagonal glasses instead of triangular ones.

Prof Strict glanced around and said softly.

“Let’s see… who will solve this problem…”

No one raised their hand at her muttering.
Even though the school was newly rebuilt, was still difficult and unpopular.

Except for one person.

At the sight of a male student flailing his hand as if begging to be chosen,
Prof Strict smiled as if she found it cute.

“Yes, Yu Seha, step forward.”

Prof Strict spoke in a surprisingly gentle voice.

She placed two footstools to accommodate Yu Seha as he walked up.

It was clearly a device to raise his height.
Seeing this, Yu Seha replied sourly.

“…Um, professor. I can use mana to float my body a little. And you don’t need to stack them that high—”
“-No. What if you get hurt?”
“…I’m an Awakened, and this height isn’t—”
“No. Rejected.”
“…”

Soon, the problem was laid out before Yu Seha.
The detailed contents and conditions differed,
but it was similar to one he’d solved before…
A problem that could commonly be solved easily by basing it on ‘sacrifice.’

Prof Strict firmly patted the crown of Yu Seha’s head and said.

“Now then, Yu Seha.”

Let’s see you solve it.