An Unqualified Teacher

Flap-!

Yu Seha spread both arms.
Yu Seha wasn’t used to it yet; he had to treat his arms as wings to move.

A red wing spread wide in time with the motion.
As he had felt when he first opened them,
both the shape and the way they were composed…
they were extremely alien wings.

“It’s the kind of look you’d see in sci‑fi.”

As Yu Seha said, the wings he spread were closer in form to something made by mechanical engineering.
Perhaps they were a cutting‑edge wing built on a ‘Red Metal’ skeleton that seemed to contain particles of light.
And this appearance was the same even to the eyes of ‘Tyrant’.

[‘Yes, when I awakened the wings yesterday, this is why I was doubtful. Your wings are a form that doesn’t require the concept of wing‑drying.’]

“Wing‑drying?”

[‘King of Demons says that hatchlings who have just taken out their wings are immature in many ways and need corrective work. Usually their membranes are soaked in blood and remain damp, so with a parent’s help they dry them to transform them into something sturdier and stronger.’]

[‘Back to the point, yours is still strange to behold…’]
[‘King of Demons guesses that Yu Seha acquired them later through the skill ‘Complete Devour’, and that they may have developed into a superior, evolved form.’]
[‘That could be… Is that power really the ability to devour both inanimate and living things and make them your own?’]

Remarks that were more like guesses.

Yu Seha brushed them off and asked.

“Then, now… can you teach me how to fly?”

Two hours later,

Whoosh‑whoosh-!

Yu Seha, who had flown spinning up to the ceiling,
spun his body and landed stylishly.
He struck a classic hero landing and admired it inwardly.

“Nice!”

This wasn’t perfect, but it seemed good enough to teach Ju Na-young.
The reason he learned <Dragon Transformation> was partly to further broaden the possibilities of [Complete Devour],
but mostly it was to directly teach Ju Na-young how to fly.

Of course, there was no guarantee of success.
Originally her mother, Ju Ye‑yong, had tried to teach her personally, but I heard she failed.

Ju Na-young couldn’t shake her fear of the skies.
But that was a story from years ago.
A few months ago, Ju Na-young, though not completely,
succeeded in flying with mini wings that had sprouted on her forehead.

‘Given my relationship with Ju Na-young…’

Considering Ju Na-young’s personality of trusting him, he thought it was worth trying.

Yu Seha nodded with satisfaction,
and returned to his original form.

“Wow, I do like flying. Thank you, sir.”

He expected a loud exclamation in return,
but surprisingly, Tyrant was quiet.
Yu Seha tilted his head in puzzlement and asked.

“Sir?”

‘Tyrant’, brought to attention by the question, let out a short groan.

[’…No matter how I look at it, it makes no sense. He produced wings in a day and learned to fly in only two hours… Does this make sense?’]
[‘King of Demons teases that he knew you were a cheat character from the start and tells you to get used to it.’]
[‘Hm, yes I knew, but it’s still regrettable how fast you learn.’]

Tyrant clicked his tongue briefly.
At that remark, Yu Seha asked with a puzzled look.

“Isn’t it better to learn quickly? You can acquire more and waste less time…”

[’…I don’t see it that way. A child should play like a child; that’s best. Now that the topic’s come up, I’ll explain.’]

“What…?”

[‘Why we chose to become young, of all things. I knew you had been wondering.’]

After a moment’s pause, Tyrant abruptly explained that he had seen Yu Seha’s past.

“M…my past?”

[‘I apologize for seeing it recklessly… It was necessary for the price.’]

“Ah, um… yes. It’s fine, it’s a story the kids already all know.”

[‘Thank you. Anyway, let’s continue. We have constraints so we can’t tell everything in detail, but the price itself could be paid in quite a few ways.’]

The most common was to be trapped in a giant tree for a year, sleeping as if dead.

The second was living three months in a huge magic jar, surviving only on perilla leaves, mint, and pineapple.

Another was being struck by ‘petrification magic’,
able to see and hear everything but completely unable to act.

At Tyrant’s words, Yu Seha shot his hand up.

“W-wait… petrification magic?”

[‘Yes. Is there a problem?’]

“Ah, no… It’s just that it felt a bit ominous; sorry for interrupting.”

[‘Hmm…to continue, while they were deciding which of the various options to choose… King of Demons, that sly brat, suggested making you a child.’]

He was a little surprised by that.
Could it be that King of Demons chose this method…?
Was it really meant as teasing? he wondered, but he grew solemn at the following explanation.

[‘He said.’]

Your life was nothing but struggle,
a life of flailing to survive.
Your life was undoubtedly a bloody path befitting the word tragedy.

“Uh, um… that’s a bit—”

[’—The very fact you uttered that was the decisive blow that evened out your heart.’]

“Yes?”

[‘You do not realize that a tragedy is a tragedy. You react sensitively to others’ pain while paying no mind as your own flesh falls away.’]

That had forged a steel‑like self that stubbornly overcame all adversities and granted the mental strength to hold such genius, but…

[‘To be honest, I felt pity. A knife, not a toy, placed in a child’s hand… learning to handle survival before even feeling joy…’]

“……”

[‘Therefore, I and King of Demons caused your body to bloom again.’]

For the body that was already set to pay the price, we pronounced a certain death.
And from that death rose the blood cradle that embraced it.
It allowed Yu Seha to be given a new life in what is commonly called the <Blood Cocoon>.

[‘This price might seem the most ridiculous in some ways, but in truth it was the most dangerous.’]

Yu Seha, having guessed the reason, asked tentatively.

“Because of the need for protection?”

[‘Yes. Other methods had constraints on action and time but provided means to protect oneself. But in the situation of becoming a child—going beyond mere infantilization where all powers were sealed and constraints imposed—you could not have survived alone.’]

Completely different from before…

[‘You couldn’t kindle killing intent, use mana, activate skills, nor could you even run to flee; literally a pure, ordinary child you could see anywhere on the street.’]

We wanted you to embody that.

[‘King of Demons added that this place is different, that now you have precious ones who would protect you no matter what you became, hence the choice.’]

Indeed…
Because Peng Jin‑ah, Moon Bora, and Ju Na-young were there,
I could stand here now.

[‘You may have noticed, but your growth does not simply happen with time alone.’]

The more childlike actions you take,
and the more you adopt thoughts and mindsets appropriate to that age, the faster your growth becomes.

[‘This is why, when you initially couldn’t grow at all but chose only to sleep, you suddenly grew rapidly.’]

You who became numb to hiding your emotions.
You who became accustomed to suffering.
You who find being loved awkward.

[‘If you’ve succeeded in opening your heart to those dear to you, then now let yourself go as well.’]

I won’t tell you to remove the burden from your shoulders.
Because having a sense of duty to protect what must be protected is also important.

[‘Just love yourself a little more and try to enjoy yourself.’]

This was the reason we chose the price of becoming a child.

A subtle silence flowed.
Words deeper than expected,
Honestly, for Yu Seha, the two were transcendent beings with otherworldly power who had somehow become entangled with him, so he was even more moved.

Yu Seha smiled faintly and bowed politely.

“Thank you.”

[‘Ahem, ahem…’]

Tyrant, embarrassed after saying it.
King of Demons, watching this, snickered and teased.
The two transcendent beings bickered again.

Watching them, Yu Seha,
it was the moment when King of Demons had asked him to chug the perilla‑leaf‑mint‑flavored Sol’s Eye in one shot.

He turned his gaze at the sound of someone’s presence.
Soon, with a ding, the locked security door opened.

There were exactly three people who could open the door to this training room.

One was Yu Seha,
another was Chairman Yu Neung‑hae,

And the last was…
the original owner whom even Yu Seha hadn’t seen for over a month.

The woman who entered wore an outfit befitting a professor.
An attractive woman with well‑tanned brown skin and beige hair.
She was Yu Seha’s one and only precious teacher, Peng Jin‑ah.

“Sigh…”

Peng Jin‑ah, perhaps not seeing Yu Seha,
untied the tie around her neck and sighed.

Her eyes showed fatigue from lack of proper sleep and layers of dark circles piled up like strata.

Yu Seha, watching, cried out in delight.
It was a face he hadn’t seen in such a long time.

“Teacher!”
“…!?”

At the cute, jaunty voice, Peng Jin‑ah finally noticed Yu Seha.
Frozen like a statue,
she looked at the young boy cheerfully waving his hand.

The gaze held for about five seconds.
Just as Yu Seha began to feel that something was odd,
Peng Jin‑ah suddenly turned around.

“…Huh?”

And she fled without hesitation.

“T‑Teacher?!”