Why Are You Really At Our Academy?

Cheon Su-ho finished even his spar with Team C’s captain without incident.

-At least we found one bastard who can pass for a human being.

Going by Team C’s captain’s evaluation, Cheon Su-ho was apparently a reasonably usable Awakener.
If he passed by her standards, then maybe Cheon Su-ho could even aim for S-rank.
Judging by the scouts sitting on the second floor looking over the examinees all heading down the moment Cheon Su-ho’s test ended, he had probably received quite a few business card codes from here and there.

‘Now I really won’t have to worry about him dropping dead somewhere.’

Ro-un looked at Cheon Su-ho, now an A-rank Awakener and a promising prospect drawing attention from every guild, with an unreadable gaze.

“You got a lot of business card codes, right? You did, didn’t you? Ah, why aren’t you answering?”
“Hahahahahaha!”
“Stop just laughing like an idiot and say something, will you? Then how was Yang Gyu-yeong, the Quiet Executioner? What was it like sparring with her in person? Her skill level? Did you like seeing her up close? Was she cool?”
“Hahahahahahahaha!”
“Ugh, just answer me already!”

While Ro-un silently watched Joo Hee-jun badgering Cheon Su-ho to say more about meeting Team C’s captain, someone approached from behind.
Turning at the presence, he saw Yong Chang-jin standing there without so much as a hair out of place.
The ones who had merely watched up through the third test were tired, but that man had observed the examinees the entire time and still looked perfectly fine.

‘As expected, dragons really are different.’

While Ro-un was pondering the fundamental stamina gap between humans and dragons, Yu-jeong, tucked in his arms, shot one hand up high.

“Doddy!”
“So you behaved yourself nicely.”

Seeing Yu-jeong recognize him and beam, Yong Chang-jin smiled softly, stroked his hair, then turned to Ro-un.
Ro-un bowed his head.

“Hello.”
“It has been a while, student Lee Ro-un.”

Ah. Right.
This dragon still didn’t realize his identity had already been exposed.
Ro-un answered in step with Yong Chang-jin’s chairman mode.

“Yes. It has been a while, Chairman of Baekdu Academy.”
“Have you eaten?”
“Hm? Ah, not yet.”
“Good. Let’s have a meal together.”

What? No, this suddenly?
As Ro-un blinked in confusion at Yong Chang-jin’s words, Cheon Su-ho and Joo Hee-jun, who had been behind him, came over.
The two of them looked at the pair, who seemed acquainted, then saw Ro-un flustered and jumped in.

“Hahaha. Hello, sir. Do you know Lee Ro-un well?”
“We know each other.”

At Yong Chang-jin’s answer, Joo Hee-jun sidled over and whispered,

“Hey, hey, seriously?”
“What.”
“I mean, were you really acquainted with that drag— with the chairman?”
“Not well, but we do know each other.”

Ro-un looked down at Yu-jeong in his arms.
If not for this kid, he would never have ended up acquainted with that dragon.
Before the regression, he had never had dealings with any academy, let alone Baekdu Academy.

‘I did try to build ties with other academies, but I got turned down every single time.’

Whenever he contacted them, the response was always, “Ah… we’ll review it and get back to you.”
There had been too much packed into that “Ah…,” but at the time he hadn’t understood what was between the lines, and he waited for their answer.

‘In the end, not a single reply ever came back.’

Ro-un shook off the gloomy past.
Whatever happened to Jiri Academy now was none of Ro-un’s business.
What truly mattered was stopping the Calamities still to come.
To gain strength for that.
That was all.

‘Though somehow it feels like I’ve been building connections with Divine Beasts more than strength.’

Ro-un patted Yu-jeong’s back in his arms.
He had not intended it, yet he kept ending up tied to Divine Beasts or beings like them.
All he had intended was to keep the Tiger Clan from falling out with the Korean Awakener Association and to secure a means of protecting himself, so how had the result turned out like this?
Thinking about the relationship between the Tiger Clan and the Association had led to ties with the Tiger Clan’s youngest princess, and going out to get an item had led to ties with Yu-jeong.
The fact that Yu-jeong was Yong Chang-jin’s child was something he truly never would have imagined even before the regression.
Even thinking about it again, what came first was disbelief at how far it had strayed from expectation.

“Ro-uung?”
“Yeah. Sorry. What is it?”
“Heheh.”

When he carefully patted the back of Yu-jeong, who was looking up at him with his head tilted, Yu-jeong smiled with a satisfied face.
Yong Chang-jin, who had been watching closely, made a comment.

“He follows student Lee Ro-un more than he follows me. At this rate, he’ll run away from home saying he wants to see you.”

Yong Chang-jin looked at Ro-un with a mix of regret and warning, as though his child were about to leave in search of love.
No, what on earth are you saying about a little child?
Ro-un was appalled by the soap-opera logic, and Joo Hee-jun was appalled too.

“Y-you! Absolutely not.”

‘Absolutely not’ what?
Ro-un grimaced at Joo Hee-jun’s words.

“Stop with the pointless imagination already.”
“Really?”

Ro-un shot Joo Hee-jun a contemptuous look and ignored him.
Whether he knew his thoughts had gone too far or had simply shrunk under Ro-un’s stare, Joo Hee-jun shut up on his own.
Right. You stay quiet for a while.

“So, student Lee Ro-un. What would you like to eat?”

Ro-un stared open-mouthed at the dragon who had created this situation and was now calmly choosing a dinner menu.
Even if they had been talking about that, wasn’t going from inviting him to dinner straight to asking about the menu a bit too abrupt?
While Ro-un stared in disbelief, Yong Chang-jin looked at the speechless boy and recalled the advice he had received from his secretary.

‘You want to get close to a human? Why? Ah, never mind. Mm. As for how to get close to a human… wouldn’t you become close if you met often, got familiar with each other’s faces, and shared meals together?’

Yong Chang-jin had extracted the key point from his secretary’s words.
‘Meeting often’ and ‘eating together.’
Whether to repay the favor of saving his child or to protect him as someone who might be a prophet, Yong Chang-jin wanted to bring Lee Ro-un to his own academy.

“Hahahahaha! Come to think of it, it’s dinnertime! Lee Ro-un! What do you want to eat?”
“Hey, hey! It’s not like we’re coming too, right?”
“Why not? Sir, may we come too?”
“The two of you are student Lee Ro-un’s friends, so of course you may.”
“Thank you!”

Cheon Su-ho walked right into a dinner table with a dragon of his own accord.
Joo Hee-jun too ended up joining the dragon dinner before he knew it, and his jaw dropped.
When Yong Chang-jin looked only at Ro-un, the gazes of Cheon Su-ho and Joo Hee-jun beside him also pinned themselves on Ro-un.
In the end, unable to withstand the persistent stares, Ro-un finally opened his mouth.

“…Do you like gukbap¹?”

The dinner menu ended up being pork gukbap, full of the earthy warmth of Korean food.

“Four special pork gukbap! And for the cute little young master here, one children’s set! Enjoy your meal.”

As expected of a famous restaurant passed down for three generations, the staff brought the food out themselves.
It was somehow a scene full of atmosphere.

Bubble bubble bubble.

With the stone bowls still boiling in front of them, the four towering men, suffocating to look at, sat in silence staring only at the bowls.

‘Yesterday a tiger. Today a dragon.’

Ah. There had been a fox too.
Ro-un had the odd feeling that ever since coming up to Seoul, he had not had a single normal meal.
Maybe Seoul and I just don’t get along.
Even after dropping out, he wanted to avoid the Seoul area.
Administrative resources were all concentrated in Seoul, but the major cities that had formed around academies were developed enough to manage themselves just fine, so living there wouldn’t be a problem.
And, generally speaking, familiar places were more comfortable anyway.
While Ro-un was thinking about where he would go after dropping out, a sound came from beside him.

Gulp.

Following the sound of someone swallowing, he found Joo Hee-jun wrapped up in black clothes so completely it was stifling just to look at him.
At least take off the hood while you eat.
He said it every time, but Joo Hee-jun never so much as twitched when told to take off the hood.
Even so, Ro-un decided to say it once more.

“Hey. Take off the hood and eat.”
“That’s what you’re worried about right now? I’m sitting at the same table as the chairman of Baekdu Academy!”
“So what?”
“He’s not just any chairman, he’s the chairman of Baekdu Academy!”
“The chairman of Baekdu Academy is the same as us.”
“…Strictly speaking, he isn’t.”

Joo Hee-jun answered with a serious face.
That was true enough.
Humans and dragons were obviously different.
While Ro-un had that realization, Joo Hee-jun leaned in and whispered quietly.

“Hey, is this really okay?”
“What now?”
“They say a politician who tried to have a meal with the chairman of Baekdu Academy got hospitalized the next day!”
“And where did you hear that from?”
“From Academy Bamboo Grove.”

It was an anonymous community site only academy students could join.
He really did everything except what mattered.

“Why is no one eating?”

Yong Chang-jin asked.
Startled, Joo Hee-jun’s shoulders jerked.

“Please eat first, Chairman.”

When Ro-un said that with a glance at the utensils, Yong Chang-jin looked around at everyone with approving eyes.

“The students of Jiri Academy are quite well-mannered too.”

No. That isn’t true.
Ro-un thought of the schoolmates who used to drag incidents and trouble around with them every single day, and his face went flat.
Weren’t the two sitting right next to him a habitual truant and a one-man demolition crew?

Clink.

When Yong Chang-jin took the first spoonful, Ro-un and the other kids also lifted their spoons.

“Ah!”
“Eat slowly.”

Yong Chang-jin slowly fed Yu-jeong bites from the children’s set with pork cutlet and rolled omelet.
At the sight of Yu-jeong chewing diligently with his mouth working like a baby bird taking food, everyone’s lips curved into pleased smiles.

“But this is surprising. To think that drag— that chairman would have such a cute son.”

Joo Hee-jun, who had finally learned before they reached the restaurant that Yu-jeong was not Ro-un’s child but Yong Chang-jin’s, stared at the dragon father and son in fascination.

“I’m telling you, I was seriously shocked because I thought he was really your kid.”
“If Yu-jeong were my kid, then exactly how old would I have had to be when I had him?”
“Ahem. No, it’s just that the kid kind of resembles you, and he follows you so well.”
“Other than the hair color, I don’t see any resemblance. What part of them look alike?”

Well said, Cheon Su-ho.
That guy definitely has some kind of lens over his eyes that distorts people.

“Hahahaha. Lee Ro-un. It seems he got the wrong idea because you’re popular with children.”
“Yeah. If nothing else, there’s a rumor among the kids that you’re the father of two children.”
“That’s—”

Now that I think about it, that’s because of Cheon Su-ho, isn’t it!?

‘If Cheon Su-ho hadn’t started this in the first place by saying I skipped class to watch kids! And before that, he even asked me if In-woo and Yu-jeong were my children!’

Ro-un’s gaze at Cheon Su-ho turned sharp.
It was infuriating that the one truly responsible for letting things reach this point was only now acting like he was on Ro-un’s side.
As if I’m ever falling for that guy’s face again.
Even if he ends up looking like a drenched puppy, I’m not going to go easy on him.

“Student Lee Ro-un. I was unable to finish saying this last time, but if you transfer to Baekdu Academy, we will provide a scholarship and research funding. Whatever research you wish to do, you need only apply and it will be approved at once. And when it comes to conferences or other schedules, you will be given top priority as well.”

All three were startled when Yong Chang-jin suddenly got straight to the point.
Scholarship support, research funding, top-priority scheduling.
Not even Jiri Academy offered support like that just to recruit promising students.
For Baekdu Academy, which always ranked near the top among academies, to offer that kind of preferential treatment meant they intended to treat him exceptionally well.

‘So asking me to have a meal together was for this.’

Ro-un set down his spoon, met Yong Chang-jin’s eyes, and answered.

“Wouldn’t people call that favoritism? I’ve heard Baekdu Academy has many excellent students. If that much support goes to a transfer student, then I think dissatisfaction would erupt among the students.”
“Who would say that?”
“Hm?”
“Student Lee Ro-un. This was not decided based on my opinion alone.”

Then whose opinion was it based on?

“This was decided after asking the faculty and the officers of the student bodies as well. Everyone thought that at least this much should be offered to student Lee Ro-un.”

The faculty and student bodies both?
Ro-un blinked in surprise.
Yong Chang-jin looked straight into Lee Ro-un’s eyes and spoke.

“It seems student Lee Ro-un underestimates himself too much.”
“M…me?”

I underestimate myself?
He had thought he viewed himself objectively enough.

“When disaster strikes, who do you think people think of first?”
“The President?”
“The Awakener Association President, maybe?”
“The Four Great Guilds too.”

Yong Chang-jin shook his head at the three answers.

“Student Lee Ro-un. You.”
“…Me?”
“Ah.”
“I think I get it.”

While Ro-un alone remained bewildered, Cheon Su-ho and Joo Hee-jun nodded as though they had realized something.

“Since awakening, student Lee Ro-un has appeared at all sorts of disaster sites over the past several years.”
“I saw it on TV too.”
“Me too.”

Cheon Su-ho and Joo Hee-jun chimed in at Yong Chang-jin’s words.
That was… because politicians put me out in front to avoid taking responsibility themselves.
That was the only reason I got caught on camera so often.

“Even when covering an incident, reporters are civilians. There is no way they could film Awakeners fighting from up close. Then who do you suppose was the one most often active in places civilians could actually film?”
“Me… most likely.”

Whatever the reasons, the person whose face had appeared most often at disaster and catastrophe sites was Lee Ro-un himself.
Ro-un nodded as though he finally understood what Yong Chang-jin meant.

“Exactly. Over the past several years, thanks to student Lee Ro-un’s efforts, people have come to feel reassured simply by seeing your face. What student Lee Ro-un symbolizes is that great. And there are many things expected of you in the future as well. Didn’t the Saintess of Europe herself already declare you to be the future Saint? Therefore, student Lee Ro-un, everyone thinks it is only natural to offer this much preferential treatment in order to bring you over.”
“Lee Ro-un! I’m proud of you!”

Why are you feeling proud?
It was obvious at a glance that, without thinking too deeply about it, he was simply delighted that Ro-un was someone important enough to receive that level of special treatment.

“…Lee Ro-un. Why are you really at our academy?”
“That’s why I’m trying to drop out.”
“You’re really going to do it?!”

Joo Hee-jun let out a loud yell, then saw Yong Chang-jin and slapped a hand over his mouth.

“No, but… is that really the reason?”
“No. It’s because of you.”
“Lee Ro-uun….”

Joo Hee-jun, not entirely free of guilt, watched Ro-un’s mood carefully.
Right. It’s not like you only destroyed one or two buildings.
Try wrecking fewer of them from now on.

“Ro-un?”
“Of course, this is the public reason. There are more personal reasons as well, but there is no need to say them aloud, is there?”

As he said that, Yong Chang-jin wiped sauce from the corner of Yu-jeong’s mouth beside him.
He looked back and forth between the child and Ro-un so blatantly that even an idiot could tell what personal reason he meant.

“Ro-uung. Ro-uung.”
“Yeah.”
“Hehe! Ro-uung! Eat! Eat!”
“You’ve gotten much better at talking.”

Taking care of Yu-jeong, Ro-un briefly escaped from the topic.

“When I told him that if he wanted to talk with someone he liked, he needed to make himself understood, he started learning.”

At Yong Chang-jin’s words, Ro-un avoided his gaze.
Please let me organize my thoughts for a second.
Stubbornly ignoring Yong Chang-jin and focusing only on the child, Ro-un met the eyes of the still white and sparkling little boy, who smiled brightly at him.
Right. You grow up to be anything but a dragon like that.

“Yu-jeong is amazing.”
“He may still be little, but he is still my child.”

Yong Chang-jin said that without hiding his pride.
Ah, please. Enough already.