Chapter 1727 – 1727. Savior Of The Academy
After the battle, I extended a hand to Shinbo Reika, who had collapsed onto the floor. Her eyes flickered with hesitation. She eventually took my hand and pulled herself up.
“I knew it, but… you’re strong after all.”
“I was lucky this time. I guess I benefited from the Spirit Eye.”
“Even without the Spirit Eye, I know there’s a difference in skill.”
Shinbo Reika stated firmly.
A breeze blew. It was her contracted spirit, Eiris, approaching. It had blocked Moka’s lightning with its spirit form and seemed perfectly fine. The spirit was also affected by the Aurora Simulator.
Moka flew to my side.
“I realized the difference in power between spirits is on another level. The gap between intermediate and advanced was bigger than I thought.”
“If Eiris had blocked the lightning in a different way, the battle would have unfolded differently.”
“That was the best I could do at the time. Eiris’s power wasn’t enough to completely block that lightning. Hey, how did you grow your spirit? I know the Thunder Owl is a low-grade lightning spirit by birth.”
Shinbo Reika’s eyes sparkled.
As a member of the Yggdrasil Knights, to which the elves belonged, wouldn’t she know more about methods than I do? I put that question aside for now and answered.
“There’s a secret. You steadily collect spirit orbs and absorb the energy of high-grade spirits. Then you can grow your spirit quickly.”
“Spirit orbs?”
“Ah, that’s…”
I was about to explain when the judge’s voice echoed through the speakers.
-Shinbo Reika and student Seong Yujin, please come outside immediately!
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Okay. I was holding you up too much.”
Shinbo Reika and I separated and returned to our respective camps.
In the Korean camp, cheers erupted as I returned.
“We won! We won!”
“Seong Yujin! Seong Yujin! Seong Yujin!”
“I was so worried we’d lose!”
“That’s my boy!”
Everyone was making a fuss. I glanced back at the Japanese camp. The atmosphere was subdued compared to Korea, but they weren’t blaming Shinbo Reika. They were encouraging each other to do better next time.
‘I could have approached Shinbo Reika under the guise of spirit magic…’
Tonight, I have to leave for Caso Academy in Fukuoka with Seong Hari.
•••
We went to Fukuoka in a car prepared by Tenrai Nagisa. The driver she provided was taciturn. He just silently gripped the steering wheel and stepped on the gas, as if he was used to this kind of thing.
Seong Hari and I fell asleep and arrived near Caso Academy in the early morning. We decided to get a room near the school and go to school tomorrow morning.
“Haa.”
“Mom. Why are you sighing again?”
“From tomorrow, I have to wear a school uniform and pretend to be a student to get into the academy. Even so, at my age, sneaking in pretending to be a student… I feel like I’m being too ridiculous.”
“It’s okay for you, Mom, even if other people don’t think so.”
“Why?”
“You look good in a school uniform. You really look like my age.”
“It makes me feel good when my son says that.”
It wasn’t an empty compliment. Basically, Seong Hari’s appearance hadn’t changed much since I was a child. It was as if her growth had completely stopped. Even if she dressed casually, she looked like she was in her early to mid-twenties. When she wore a school uniform, she looked more mature than her peers, perhaps because of the atmosphere.
“So, how about wearing the uniform today?”
“No. There’s only one uniform. And you need to sleep, right? We have to go to school in three or four hours.”
“Mom, you’re going to school as a student for the first time in a long time, right? How do you feel?”
“I don’t know. Um… I’m a little nervous.”
The accommodation wasn’t bad. However, I couldn’t fall asleep, probably because I had slept in the car. Seong Hari also looked wide-awake.
Three or four hours.
Isn’t it an awkward time to force ourselves to sleep now?
The distance between us gradually narrowed.
• • •
At the appointed time, we headed to the entrance of Caso Academy.
Seong Hari walked beside me, fidgeting. It was partly because she felt awkward in the school uniform, but also because the uniform Tenrai Nagisa had given her was too short. At least the new uniform Tenrai Nagisa had given her covered her belly button.
‘If you just look at the outfit, she looks like a female delinquent.’
Caso Academy was located in the mountains. Since it was still an unofficial academy, they had deliberately built the building in a place out of sight of people.
“Mom. Walk confidently. If you’re looking around, it makes you look even stranger. And there’s no one around.”
“C-Confidently? Isn’t this confident enough?”
“Why don’t you straighten your back first?”
Seong Hari took a few deep breaths, straightened her back, and began to walk confidently. Her face was stiff, but that suited her better. It was like she was a delinquent who was in a bad mood.
“H-How is it?”
“It’s okay. Even though the skirt is short, it doesn’t show your butt or panties, so walk confidently like that.”
“Hoo. I’m trusting you, Yujin.”
We arrived at the entrance of Caso Academy.
It felt more like looking at the private property of a wealthy family than the entrance to an academy. Of course, the name of the academy wasn’t written at the entrance.
“Welcome.”
A man was waiting for us at the entrance.
He was an old man in a suit. He was standing with a cane, but his back was straight like bamboo. The cane just seemed to be for decoration. His hair and beard were pure white, and he wore round glasses.
“I am Hasegawa Isshin, the headmaster of Caso Academy. Welcome, Seong Hari-nim, Seong Yujin-gun. I heard the details from my senior.”
The senior he was talking about must be Tenrai Nagisa. It felt awkward for an old man with white hair and a beard to call Tenrai Nagisa his senior. In my mind, Tenrai Nagisa had the appearance of a child.
“I didn’t expect the headmaster to come and greet us himself. Is that okay?”
Seong Hari asked. Her face was slightly flushed, perhaps because of her embarrassing outfit.
“I’m the only one at Caso Academy who knows your identities. I came to greet you to explain the details of Caso Academy. Plus, I didn’t have anything else to do.”
Hasegawa Isshin chuckled. He then handed us student IDs.
“These are the fake IDs we prepared. You are my relatives who got into the academy through a parachute. That’s the setting.”
I looked at him with a puzzled expression as I received the student ID.
“If you do it like that, your reputation as headmaster will drop, won’t it?”
Hatsumoto Isshin smiled kindly at me.
“Haha. It’s okay. It’s not like I’m going to hold the position of headmaster forever… And this is the only way to avoid suspicion. Since Caso Academy is special, they wouldn’t accept it if I suddenly said there were transfer students. The students might be jealous… but Yujin-gun will have to endure that.”
“Well, we’ll only be here for a few days.”
I checked the student ID.
Hasegawa Sota.
Caso Academy, 3rd year, Class A.
“You’re in the 3rd year.”
“The 3rd year is using the Tera Simulator intensively. You’ll be able to use the Tera Simulator as soon as you go to your class.”
I checked Seong Hari’s student ID.
Hasegawa Aya.
Caso Academy, 3rd year, Class A.
“Seong Hari-nim. You two are half-siblings. You were separated when you were young and recently met again.”
“…Is that kind of setting necessary?”
“It is necessary. People are surprisingly uninterested in others, and surprisingly interested in others. If there are no details, you might be suspected.”
He handed us a piece of paper.
It was a paper with the settings for Hasegawa Sota and Hasegawa Aya written on it. It was very detailed, from their place of origin to their favorite food and disliked places. It was enough to make you sick of it.
“Did you prepare this yourself?”
“Who else would prepare it but me?”
It seemed to be this old man’s hobby.
“Seong Hari-nim. I will speak casually within the academy. If I speak formally to Seong Hari-nim, many people will feel something is strange.”
“Okay.”
Seong Hari nodded readily.
We were guided into Caso Academy by Hasegawa Isshin. After walking a bit, there was a building cleverly hidden by the mountains. Unlike the black school uniforms, the building was pure white and harmonized with the blue trees.
“It’s quiet and the scenery is beautiful.”
Seong Hari seemed to like the building.
“Haha. That building is also the pride of Caso Academy. It was built five years ago, but isn’t it as clean as if it was just built? That’s because we take care of the building management.”
Hasegawa Isshin’s words were filled with pride. He seemed very proud of this academy.
I asked him what I was curious about.
“Is the virtual reality really complete?”
“All that’s left is testing, so you can say it’s complete. If the testing is perfect… humanity will take a new leap. I’m really looking forward to that time.”
“Do you know where Susanoo’s Magatama is in the virtual reality?”
“I only know that it’s in the virtual reality. I don’t know the exact location. My senior didn’t tell me either. You’ll have to find that item yourselves. And be careful about mentioning the name of that item.”
“Are there any Madogeong’s spies in Caso Academy?”
“I want to say no, but… the establishment of Caso Academy was strongly influenced not only by my senior but also by the Japanese government and association. There is a high possibility that there are Madogeong’s spies.”
“…They must have been working here for at least a few years, right? But they haven’t found it… It might take us a long time to find it too.”
“Didn’t you receive anything separately from my senior?”
“I did.”
“Then it won’t take long.”
He guided Seong Hari and me to the faculty office. He briefly instructed someone who seemed to be our homeroom teacher and then disappeared.
The homeroom teacher was a woman. She was wearing a white gown that doctors or scientists would wear, which was unusual. Her hair was dry and frizzy, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She had a tired expression and gestured to us.
“Hasegawa Aya, Hasegawa Sota. Follow me. I never dreamed that transfer students would come. Ah, I’m Kurozawa Yuna, the homeroom teacher of 3rd year Class A. I don’t really teach anything though.”
“You don’t teach anything?”
“You’ll know when you experience it yourself.”
She walked out of the faculty office listlessly.
