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‘Does he even know what kind of place that is?’
At Cheon Su-ho’s words about walking straight into a death trap, Lee Ro-un clicked his tongue.
“Tsk tsk?”“Don’t copy things like that.”
Stopping the white-haired child, who had copied him without thinking, Ro-un spoke firmly to Cheon Su-ho once again.
“No.”“I have to go to that passage.”“If I said no, then it’s no.”“President, no. Lee Ro-un always says the same thing.”
That’s because you only ever pick the things you shouldn’t do.
“If you’ve got nothing else to say, I’m leaving.”“Pr, Lee Ro-un! Don’t be like that.”“Don’t follow me.”“Please help me, Lee Ro-un!”“Wa, what are you doing? Let go.”
At the sight of Cheon Su-ho clinging to his pant leg, Ro-un was appalled.What the hell is with this guy?He wasn’t like this before the regression!
“Come on, help me out, Lee Ro-un!”
To Cheon Su-ho, hanging on and refusing to let go of his pants, Ro-un said in a cold voice,“You. Keep this up and you’ll die.”
At Ro-un’s words, Cheon Su-ho froze.There was an undeniable sincerity in the low words he had spat out.Because his instincts were sharp, Cheon Su-ho couldn’t brush off Ro-un’s words.And in truth, Ro-un wasn’t lying.
‘Cheon Su-ho died during the first major incident.’
A major incident Ro-un had ranked at the highest level of importance, and one of the Calamities mentioned by the princess who would become the Tiger Clan’s Great Shamaness.He died while trying to stop what happened during the first Calamity, the one that would occur at the end of this year.
‘Cheon Su-ho! Don’t go!’‘Shouldn’t at least one more person step forward!’
Leaving only those words behind, he died fighting an A-rank boss that had emerged from the collapsed passage.From the start, it was an opponent Cheon Su-ho, afflicted with
The Mana-less One. Zero Mana. The Defective Awakener.There had been many words used to describe him, but after he died standing against an A-rank boss with a body that had no mana, one title remained.
It was a title given because of his trait
‘What good is a title like that if it only comes after you’re dead.’
Ro-un acknowledged his actions and his courage, but considering what happened after his death, he couldn’t bring himself to praise it.Cheon Su-ho was someone who could not be allowed to die in the first Calamity.
‘Even if he skips class like it’s a meal and still has the mental age of an elementary school kid obsessed with hero stories, I can’t just let someone like that die meaninglessly when he’s the kind who won’t run from a Calamity.’
I might be able to use him for evacuation work later.Ro-un made up his mind.He would never let Cheon Su-ho enter that passage.
“Let go.”“No.”“I said, let go.”“I won’t let go even if I die.”
Should I just beat him half to death?Ro-un stared hard at Cheon Su-ho’s round block of a head.Feeling the gaze poking at the crown of his head, Cheon Su-ho looked up.
“Lee Ro-un! You’re the only one who’ll go with me!”“If you want to go so badly, go alone.”“I’m not allowed to enter the passage on my own.”
Of course not.What lunatic would let someone with zero mana enter an otherworld passage?That’d be like walking into a nuclear facility without radiation protection. No sane person would allow it.Ro-un scoffed and put force into his leg.
“……”
It didn’t budge at all.That bastard is ridiculously strong.At the sight of it not moving in the slightest even after he reinforced his leg with Holy Power, all expression vanished from Ro-un’s face.
“Hi?”“What is wrong, Saint?”“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
He had just, once again, felt the sorrow of being a healer.Ro-un raised his head to look at the sky, let out a deep breath, and crouched down.
“Cheon Su-ho.”“Are you willing to come with me?”“Not that.”
At those few words from Ro-un, Cheon Su-ho’s face fell.He really looks like some mangy mutt caught in the rain.He looked like a sturdy Jindo, but the way he acted was more like some lazy mutt stuffed full of dog food.
“If you’re that desperate to enter a passage, then put in a request when field training applications open.”“So we’re going to field training together?”“If you place in the top ten on the midterms, I’ll think about it.”
Top ten meant being at least somewhat useful even in a place known for deadweight, so making it into the top ten wouldn’t be easy.For Cheon Su-ho, whose wanderlust acted up so badly he was barely even at school, let alone in class, even keeping up with the material would be difficult.
‘If he wants to make the top ten, he’ll have to study instead of running around outside until graduation. Cheon Su-ho stays alive until the Big Wave, and I don’t have to deal with him. Two birds with one stone.’
So, Cheon Su-ho, stop talking about entering passages and act like a student by studying.
‘I just saved your life once. Pay me back later.’
If Lee Ro-un told him to repay it later, Cheon Su-ho would probably just help without even knowing why.That was the kind of guy he was.Without the slightest clue about Ro-un’s real intentions, Cheon Su-ho let go of Ro-un’s pant leg, sprang up, and smiled brightly.
“Got it, Lee Ro-un. Let’s go together on the next field training!”“I said I’d think about it.”
Having never actually promised to go, Ro-un waved him off and watched Cheon Su-ho’s retreating back with a refreshed look.Finally shook off one strong leech.
‘By the time you make the top ten, I won’t even be here anymore!’
I just need to get the chairman’s consent form and leave.Ro-un looked down at the chairman’s daughter in his arms.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Benefactor?”
Those lively forsythia-yellow eyes reflected Ro-un’s face.
“It’s nothing, Princess. You’re healthy today too, aren’t you?”“Of course. This body is the daughter of my father, the Divine Beast White Tiger, and one who will one day become the Tiger Clan’s Great Shamaness. I am not so weak that I would still be bedridden just because I was struck by some stale old energy.”
You died before the regression.Ro-un looked at the boastful In-woo the way one might look at a younger cousin showing off.
Poke poke.
“What is it this time?”“Benefactor. When you go to the Gokseong passage, bring that human with you.”
I only just got rid of the guy, so why this now, Princess?Ro-un turned to In-woo with a tired face.These were the words of the one who would become the Tiger Clan’s future Great Shamaness.Just like with the matter of the
‘Bring someone with zero mana?’
Did she even know what kind of place that was?Ro-un could deal with spirit-form otherworld residents on his own.Ro-un’s Holy Power was already incompatible with the otherworld’s residents to begin with, and spirit-form residents dissolved even under healing light.But the hidden S-rank passage there was another matter.
“Do I absolutely have to take him with me?”“You do. That place requires one who bears the trait
‘The door wouldn’t open!’
Discovering the hidden S-rank passage had been one thing, but the door leading into it had been tightly shut.And not long after, from that passage, whose erosion had filled completely, spirit-form otherworld residents and giants as hard as armor poured out.
‘A condition-based passage is one you can’t even enter unless a specific requirement is met. So the entry condition for the Gokseong S-rank passage must have been ‘to possess the trait
That meant the only one who could clear that passage was someone in the present age who possessed the trait
“And when you go, take the ‘egg’ with you.”
Right, the egg.Come to think of it, he still had to hatch the spirit egg.Ro-un looked down at In-woo.If the princess was right, then that gave him a reason to go to the passage too.
‘So in the end, I really do have to enter that passage.’
Letting out a sigh, Ro-un decided to look into the Gokseong passage.In any case, the Gokseong dual passage incident had already been one of the events Ro-un intended to stop.The private guild in charge of that region had a lot of decent people in it, so he had intended to save them.He had only planned to deal with the residents pouring out of the collapsed passage, not to raid the passage itself.
“But Princess. Your body still hasn’t fully recovered yet. Is it really fine for you to be telling me things like that?”
A shamaness was one who linked heaven and humankind, and conveyed heaven’s will.In that process, a shamaness’s soul could be weakened by a force she could not resist.She was the princess of the Tiger Clan, one of the Korean Peninsula’s strongest species, so her soul would no doubt be sturdy, but surely she hadn’t forgotten that she had been weakened by otherworldly energy until just recently.Ro-un examined In-woo’s condition with sharp eyes.
“Princess. Advice is forbidden from now on.”“Why!?”
In-woo, who had been puffing up with pride at having helped her benefactor, was shocked by Ro-un’s words.
‘And here I thought I had done my very best for my benefactor!’
With her eyes growing moist with betrayal, In-woo looked up at Ro-un.
“Even if you look at me like that, no still means no. Until you’ve fully recovered, do not use any of your power.”“I am a shamaness who must convey heaven’s will!”“And you’re also a patient. In any case, absolute rest.”“Kyaahahahaha!”
The white-haired child cradled in Ro-un’s other arm burst into laughter as if he found it all amusing.A sharp yellow gaze shot toward the white-haired child.
“Don’t laugh…!”“Kyaruru!”“Did I not tell you not to laugh!”
Holding the two, who had started squabbling in his arms again, tightly against him, Ro-un headed toward where the princess’s guardian was.
“Why does the princess look like that?”“She looks like that because I told her to focus only on recovering.”“Oh dear.”
Ho-yeon took the sulky In-woo with her puffed-up cheeks into his arms and smiled broadly.
“You won’t be escaping for a while, then. You’ll listen to the Saint, won’t you?”“But Father, this daughter has already recovered completely.”“Even knowing that the princess has been trying to listen to heaven’s voice in order to repay the grace of having her life saved?”
At Baek Ho-yeon’s words, In-woo looked away with a guilty face.
‘As expected of the White Tiger. So Divine Beasts can communicate(?) with heaven even without the power of a shamaness. Or don’t tell me he just heard the conversation we had back there?’
Just as Ro-un was learning one more thing about Divine Beasts, the White Tiger forbade his daughter from using her power for the sake of her full recovery.Watching Baek Ho-yeon sternly warn her that the shamanesses would stay glued to her side for a while, a question rose in Ro-un’s mind.
‘Wouldn’t it be simpler if he just went back to Inwang Mountain?’
The previous chairman hadn’t stayed planted at the academy either, yet the moment Baek Ho-yeon became chairman, he settled in like this was his own home.If Baek Ho-yeon returned to his own territory, there would be no need to worry about the princess wandering around. So why was he still here?
“Hiii.”“All right. Baek Ho-yeon. Don’t you have any sweet tea? The child says it’s bitter.”“Really? There should be some fruit juice set out for guests. I’ll have it brought.”
The dragon father and son, who had been sitting there almost like background scenery, made their presence known.Watching the tiger and dragon who no longer even bothered hiding their familiarity in front of him, Ro-un’s eyes went dull.
‘When is that dragon ever going home?’
He isn’t really planning to stay the full week, is he?Aren’t you the chairman of Baekdu?Don’t you have work?Watching the two Divine Beasts leisurely compare tasting notes, Ro-un suppressed the irritation rising inside him.
‘I’ve got to get out of here quickly.’
If I stay here any longer, only my mental health will get worse.Catching a brief opening, Ro-un spoke to Baek Ho-yeon.
“Chairman Baek Ho-yeon.”“I never knew hearing the word chairman from the Saint would feel this good. Well then, what is it, student Lee Ro-un?”“A guardian’s consent form. Please.”
The first step in the withdrawal process. Filling out the withdrawal application.And the guardian’s consent form that had to be attached to it.Lee Ro-un’s guardian was ‘the chairman of Jiri Academy,’ and Baek Ho-yeon currently occupied that position.Ro-un looked at Baek Ho-yeon with open desperation.
“Hm. Writing the consent form wouldn’t be difficult.”Yes!Ro-un’s face lit right up.
“But as student Lee Ro-un’s guardian, I’m worried. Will our Lee Ro-un really be able to make a decent living after dropping out?”“Huh?”
Ro-un’s face froze while still wearing a smile.
“I hear you’ve been skipping class and loafing around lately. What if you drop out and then can’t even take care of yourself?”“……”
What exactly are you saying?Even Yong Chang-jin, listening from the side, found the remark absurd.
‘With me right next to him trying to recruit Lee Ro-un, what is that black-hearted tiger plotting now?’
The excuse had shape to it, at least.Everyone was desperate to take Lee Ro-un, yet here he was talking about what if the boy couldn’t even fend for himself.Realizing that Baek Ho-yeon intended to keep making excuses and refuse to permit Lee Ro-un’s withdrawal, Yong Chang-jin narrowed his eyes.Sure enough, just as Yong Chang-jin expected, Baek Ho-yeon’s act began.
“Ahh. I can already see it before my eyes, the Saint unable to find work, collapsing from hunger in a one-room shack. Our Saint has not a penny to his name right now, after all.”“……”“Hah.”
The more he said, the more absurd it sounded.To think he’d even bring up being unable to find work and starving.Yong Chang-jin clicked his tongue, and Ro-un felt much the same, but he shoved the absurdity to one side and stared at Baek Ho-yeon.
“So then. What would it take for you to sign the consent form?”
Baek Ho-yeon’s eyes flashed.It was the look of a predator seeing prey wander right into its mouth.
‘So you did want something after all.’
Ro-un genuinely wanted to ask whether that old tiger really saw him as a benefactor.
“I want to see proof that the Saint can survive even after stepping out into society. To do that, you’ll need to prove it.”“What would I need to prove?”“There’s only one proof a student has. Grades! Show me with your grades, Saint.”
That tiger had just said something straight out of a parent obsessed with education.At a demand he had never even heard from his own parents, Ro-un’s mouth fell open in disbelief.At a condition that made more sense than expected, Yong Chang-jin finally chimed in.
“Hm. He’s right. A student’s duty is to study.”
Just because you’re both chairmen doesn’t mean you need to back him up, Baekdu’s chairman.Ro-un was about to glare at Yong Chang-jin for quietly adding that one line, but stopped.Baek Ho-yeon leaned back lazily into his chair and smiled broadly.
“The midterms are coming up soon, aren’t they? Saint, show me that you haven’t neglected your studies.”“And how would I show you that I haven’t neglected them?”
Smiling, Ro-un spoke as if he were throwing his voice.Because otherwise they might notice he was grinding his teeth.To Ro-un, who had unintentionally displayed the art of ventriloquism, Baek Ho-yeon bared his teeth and said,
“Maintain your first-year grades. That should be enough to prove you haven’t neglected your studies all this time.”
At the condition, Ro-un’s expression turned strange.Maintain his grades.It sounded simple, but it could be anything but.
Lee Ro-un had placed first in the entire school in his first year.
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