An Unqualified Teacher

A luxury apartment a short distance from <Gonis Hunter Academy>.
Inside its spacious bedroom, on the bed.

Early dawn, before the warmth of the sun could even be felt,
Peng Jin-ah woke up with a start.

“……”

In those hollow, drawn eyes,
There were pupils sunk as if dead.
It wasn’t that she had woken from sleep.

She simply couldn’t fall asleep at all.
The old man who appeared whenever she closed her eyes,
her mother’s mortal enemy,
and the insurmountable, absolute despair that leveled a blade at her—

“Haah……”

She wasn’t afraid of that figure.
Even now, knowing it meant death, she could have charged at it boldly.

But…

‘……’

What terrified her was that split second of realizing it would be a pitiful, meaningless death no one would acknowledge.

Peng Jin-ah sighed.
She glanced aside and, in such a large room as if it were natural, saw another roommate sleeping beside her.

“Guhng…guuh…”

A bob-haired woman tossed and turned, cold sweat on her brow as if tormented.
It was Plum Blossom Sword Empress Wei Ga-ryeong.
To Peng Jin-ah she was family like an older sister, literally her residential companion.

After suffering an overwhelming defeat at the hands of the Sword Ghost,
the two of them slept clinging to each other.
It was the kind of bed they shared without asking why.
Doing so was the only way they could endure one another,
and gain the courage to challenge again someday.

Of course, that didn’t mean the deeply etched fear went away.
As evidence, her roommate also ground her teeth and writhed in agony.

“…So Hang-woo…there…stay!”
“……”

It was surely a dreadful nightmare.
But Peng Jin-ah refrained from waking her.
After all, she had at least succeeded in falling asleep like that.
Even a minute’s rest was necessary to endure the brutal afternoon training.

Peng Jin-ah checked the clock and got up.
She moved to the bathroom across the room.

She stepped into the stall and turned on the hot water,
and the comforting warm water ran over her body, producing white steam.

“Sss…haah…”

Peng Jin-ah let out a deep groan.
As the days passed, growing larger and more intense,
she placed her hand on the sword sheath that had ripened to its fullest.
A tingling sensation and the pounding of her heart followed.

Click.

She turned off the water for a moment.
She naturally opened the shelf.
Inside were a small number of cosmetics for a woman.

And in the very center was a photo of Yu Seha.
It was Peng Jin-ah’s single precious treasure—taken with him alone before the Academy was destroyed.

“…Cadet Yu Seha…”

Peng Jin-ah wiped the laminated photo with her finger.
Just looking at his face, which stirred her desire as a woman, she gave it a small kiss.

“Haik…”

A deep moan.
Her body trembled unbecoming of her age.
A warmth rose in her lower abdomen and Peng Jin-ah shivered slightly.
Thus she quelled, if only a little, the rising desires of love, affection, and lust.

Peng Jin-ah stared at the bathroom ceiling.
Over the steam-stained water marks, his face overlapped in her vision.

To be honest…

“I miss you…”

He,
Yu Seha,
so very…
she missed him.

For a month now Peng Jin-ah hadn’t even faced Yu Seha,
let alone have a proper conversation.

One day while whipping herself through hellish afternoon training,
she received a thunderbolt of news.

“…What?”

That Yu Seha had turned into an adorable, lovable, squeaky baby—what nonsense.

But Peng Jin-ah roughly intuited what had happened.

‘The price…!’

A consequence brought on by the price!
She didn’t hesitate and sprinted there at once.
It could be more than just reverting to a child; there might be something far more deadly.

At the officetel she arrived at,
she saw three people inside.
Only Ma Hana, who alone was not flustered, took Peng Jin-ah’s hand and guided her in.

“…kooool kuul…mmnya.”

There, with a steamed-bun-like face half asleep,
she found Yu Seha, sucking a pacifier in his mouth.

“Haah…”

A sigh of relief.
Peng Jin-ah hugged the sleeping Yu Seha.
For fear he might be hurt,
she did so gently and tenderly.

He was so cute and lovable in her arms that she wanted to nibble him.
Just for a moment,
she indulged in a fleeting fantasy of ‘would this be the joy of having a child?’ then slipped away as if fleeing.

After that she had not met him again.
Naturally,
Yu Seha did not hate her.

Peng Jin-ah was also inside Yu Seha’s protective circle,
one of the people closest to him.

They were in contact almost daily,
and she visited his home more than twice a week.

“Uh, um, sorry Seha. Jin-ah will…uh, go out for a bit…”
“Ah, I see. Um, are you two physically okay?”
“Yeah…we’re fine, all thanks to Seha. Oh, there’s jelly—want some?”
“Yes, thank you, I’ll eat it well.”

Each time, the household member would smile awkwardly and interact with them.

That’s right.
Peng Jin-ah had simply been running away from him.
She couldn’t bear to look him in the face while sober.

‘On top of that…’

There was one more person Peng Jin-ah found hard to face.

“J-Jin-ah unni. Long time no see.”

It was Ju Na-young.
Knowing full well the young sibling’s fiery love, yet shamelessly lusting after her man,
and the disgust at herself for not giving up and wanting to be loved as a woman—
all that combined into guilt
that always tightened Peng Jin-ah’s chest.

“…Huwk!”

So, shameful as it was,
Peng Jin-ah chose escape as her way out.

She knew well.
That this was nothing but avoidance,

The Peng Jin-ah of old would never have chosen this method.
She wasn’t foolish enough to not know it wouldn’t solve the root problem.

But she needed time.
Time to piece back together even a little of her shattered self-esteem and confidence.

I will declare this:
You will not achieve vengeance.
I can no longer see you or feel you.

She desperately needed time to withstand the Sword Ghost’s words that replayed every night like a broken recorder.

But time was not sufficient.
The Academy was completed faster than expected.
Chairman Yu Neung-hae told her she could rest, but Peng Jin-ah couldn’t.

‘I am a professor here.’

At the same time she was <Overlord Sword>.
The reason the Academy had only suffered a handful of incursions until now was because she worked there.

Of course, most of the villains have been eradicated and are rarely seen now, but you never know.

She had to be perfect.
She had to stand up.
She had to stride forward proudly, ignoring such wounds and pain.

When the semester began, she started classes immediately.
In the process she heard from Chairman Yu Neung-hae that Yu Seha was enrolled.

“Is he to take classes in his child state?”

“Yes, an acquaintance of mine is a great expert on such prices. I had them come and see him…they said it’s beyond what they can handle, and that him being alive like this is a miracle.”

“T-Then…!!!”

“Ah, don’t worry. I don’t know the details, but they said some transcendent being’s blessing let him pay only a featherlike price and get through it; given enough time he’ll return to his original form.”

“…That’s a relief.”

“Anyway, I’ve told all the professors. The story will spread among the cadets too, and the Academy will do its best to protect him…but you never know. Make sure you, Jin-ah, protect him as well.”

“…Yes.”

About a month.
Peng Jin-ah avoided Yu Seha’s gaze,
and continued to watch over him.
In truth, there was no need for her to intervene.

Although it wasn’t certain among the cadets,
rumors had long spread that the Academy had been saved because Yu Seha had worked hard…

Anyone trying anything had been cut off by Ju Na-young or Moon Bora.

The problem was the one-on-one lessons between master and student.
In other words, ‘exclusive lessons.’

‘…Now I don’t have the skill or qualification to call myself a master, but…’

This was one thing she could not postpone.
So Peng Jin-ah steeled herself.
She resolved to meet him and talk.

But apparently, in her mind, it had all been a misunderstanding.
Though she hadn’t expected it,
the moment she saw the aged Yu Seha waving his hand.

Her heart trembled crazily and cold sweat ran down her back.
Aside from thinking he was cute and lovable, a sense of guilt crashed over her.

‘I am…’

Having driven him to such a state,
pushed him so hard,
she felt disgust at herself for accomplishing nothing and losing helplessly.

Before she realized it, Peng Jin-ah was already running away.
And not long after…

Grab—!

“Master…!”
“…Cadet Yu Seha.”

She was caught by him.

Panting, Yu Seha looked up at Peng Jin-ah.
With all his strength constricted, there was no way Yu Seha could have held onto the present Peng Jin-ah by force.

This meant that inside Peng Jin-ah was a cry for help so loud even she didn’t know it existed.

Yu Seha wrapped himself around Peng Jin-ah’s back—
He couldn’t pull her closer because of his height,
so instead he hugged her narrow waist.
Then he spoke the words Peng Jin-ah most wanted to hear.

“Master, I missed you.”
“……”

One second, five, ten.
Peng Jin-ah trembled all over.
She covered her face with both hands.
Tears like beads fell as she answered.

“I-I did too…”

She had missed him so much.
Cadet Yu Seha.

In the corner of the training ground.

Peng Jin-ah sat down with her back against the wall.
Sobbing like a fragile girl,
she confessed everything that had happened.

How she had tried not to meet him,
the insomnia from not being able to sleep properly,
and all her efforts to overcome it.
She poured it out one by one as if making a confession.

“I’m sorry, Cadet Yu Seha… I don’t hate you, not at all. I too… wanted to see you. I missed you so much. Truly, I longed for you so much.”
“Master…”
“I just was weak, pathetic, disgusted with myself, so I ran away. I’m sorry—sorry for being such a weak woman.”
“…No. I completely understand.”

Yu Seha nodded.
He hadn’t voiced it unnecessarily,
but he knew it best himself.

‘You were lucky with the Sword Ghost.’

A chance encounter with two transcendent seats: the Tyrant and the King of Demons.
And because they were clearly benevolent beings, she could draw out tremendous power.

Of course, if you said that aloud you’d get the reply that it was possible because of her infinite potential—

but the conclusion that it was ultimately insufficient didn’t change.
Even now, after paying such a price,
surviving in this form could only be called sheer luck.

“Therefore I understand; that day was the first time I too screamed at my own inadequacy.”
“…Cadet Yu Seha.”

However,
that’s one thing,
and this now is different.

“Um, Master? Could you maybe let go now?”
“……”
“Uh, please stop shaking your head…”
“…uu…”

Despite the request, Peng Jin-ah remained silent.

Peng Jin-ah had Yu Seha on her lap, hugging him like a cherished doll.
She pressed her face to his back and sobbed.

Like a meat patty between buns,
the softly pressed sword sheath was an extra.

Peng Jin-ah kept shaking her head.
Yu Seha, though finding it cute, made a wry face at the clear sign of refusal.

[The King of Demons says right now is not the time for that and asks what else could be done when such an ageless, perky, adorable older sister asks to be soothed.]

‘Hey, be quiet!’

Anyway, Peng Jin-ah’s recollection ended.
Perhaps from crying for so long,

She calmed down and spoke in a tone much like usual.
Ah, of course she still wouldn’t let go.

“Once again I’m sorry, Cadet Yu Seha. The household would feel the same, but I had no face to show, behaving like that.”
“No.”

And then,
a bolt-from-the-blue piece of news he had not expected at all reached Yu Seha’s ears.

“…Actually, the biggest reason I’m meeting you today is…to sever the master-disciple relationship.”
“…Huh, what!?”

Yu Seha turned back,
and met Peng Jin-ah’s eyes as she smiled sadly.