Chapter 24 – 06. Secret Extracurricular Lessons (3)
As soon as the pasta came out, we ate a plate without even having time to talk to each other, and then headed to the counter, stroking our bloated stomachs.
“It’s 38,000 won, sir.”
“I’ll pay by card.”
The taste of the pasta was quite great, perhaps because it was a certified restaurant in the original work.
I ordered tomato spaghetti, and the taste of the tomato sauce was very fresh, and the pasta noodles were al dente and delicately cooked, so I was very satisfied.
Ha Yul right next to me seemed to really like it as well, holding my hand tightly and not letting go, so I thought that this would be enough for my meeting with Seo Joo Ha.
“It was so delicious, Jihoo!”
“Haha, I’m glad you got along well.”
After paying the bill and leaving the restaurant, the street was covered with yellow lights under a dark sky, giving off a subtle atmosphere.
“How did you know about a place like this? You must have just moved here too.”
“I was looking around the internet and saw good reviews so I decided to go. But here, there will be a lot of people in the future.”
“Well… Before we become famous, we should come a lot.”
As I slowly walked along the street with Ha Yul, exchanging small talk with her, I suddenly felt her tap my shoulder with her finger.
Turning her head to where her hand pointed, she saw Professor Cyana Plata talking to someone on the other side of the street from her.
Her figure, in a white uniform trimmed with gold buttons and thread, with her platinum hair, was clearly visible even in the already dark conditions.
But the professor’s expression doesn’t look very bright… Is something bad happening?
I tried to recall the development of the original work, but the only thing that happened around this time was that a few days later Goryushin obtained a hidden piece from the archeology club’s field trip.
So, maybe it’s not a big deal in the original work, so I decided to think that way first.
Once I saw his face, I approached him with the thought that I should at least say hello to the professor.
“Hello professor!”
Professor Sianna, who had a serious face at our greeting, quickly straightened her expression and accepted her greeting.
“Ah, student Jihoo and student Ha-yul. It looks like they’re here for dinner. Nice to meet you all in a place like this.”
While Professor Sianna accepted her greeting, she made an inexplicable gesture to the person next to her as if she was in a hurry.
The person who had the dark purple robe pressed down on her head to hide her body shape, even tried to sneak a peek at her face, but she was wearing a mask, so it was impossible to identify her identity.
“Who is the person next to you?”
“Um… As I told you, I’m currently under a curse and my active activities are restricted. So I’m looking for a way to get rid of the curse with this person… Hmm.”
Oh, I remembered.
I was able to recall a passing story Professor Shiana told me during the last lecture.
After graduating from the Royal Academy, she played an active part in the forefront of the Awakened, but after she was suddenly cursed by a demon tribe, she came to Arba Delin Academy at the request of Principal Sanya.
The curse has a specific effect on the Awoken’s essence.
There are explanations about various curses in the work, such as making the bowl of essence extremely cut so that the ability cannot be used, or the circulation of energy in the body does not occur, so the affected energy is not created.
Of course, since she has demonstrated her ability without difficulty during practice, she is not a curse of that kind.
Then I didn’t expect it at all… After all, no matter how hard I read the novel, I realized that the information I know is only a part of this world.
Suddenly, I wondered what kind of curse she was under, but I refrained from asking the questions that were lingering in her throat as it would be a great rudeness to ask her directly.
Come to think of it, since her headmaster brought her in, maybe he also knows about her curse?
If you get a chance at the consultation on Friday, it would be okay to ask about Professor Shiana.
“Then, is the person next to you an irregular with the ability to heal?”
“…Well, I can see that. If you don’t mind, would you mind stepping aside now? I still have some things to tell you.”
“Oh, of course I have to go. I’m sorry for interfering.”
“No, you greeted me first, but I’m more sorry. See you tomorrow then.”
After a brief meeting with Siana and her professor, she turned to her living quarters and felt a sensation similar to the one she felt the last time.
An intense gaze that seemed to pierce the heart, yet with an uneasy feeling.
She hurriedly turned her head and looked back in the direction she had passed. The mask was looking right at me.
An unpleasant feeling ran through my body, as if hundreds or thousands of eyes were looking through my body.
“Why is that, Jihoo? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just feel like someone is watching me. You don’t have to care.”
When I suddenly turned my head and looked behind me, Ha Yul grabbed my arm tightly as if I was a little surprised.
That person.
A strikingly similar sensation compared to that time, confirms my guess.
If you moved quickly enough to get out of my sight for that short moment last time, or if you had that ability, it wouldn’t be a problem to kill a defenseless me without any proper equipment.
However, the masked monster was just watching me from afar, curiously, as if he meant that he wouldn’t touch me yet.
Professor Shiana, why were you dating someone like that?
At first glance, I don’t think I’m a law-abiding Awakener, but have I found a weakness?
It seems that there is one more question to be asked during the consultation with the principal.
Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I told Ha-yul, who was about to drag me home, that I would make it for him tomorrow morning, and immediately returned home.
Even after 30 minutes of our brief eye contact, I still felt a throbbing feeling in my chest.
…You’ll feel better if you sleep.
I tried to ignore my still trembling body, and forced myself to sleep.
* * *
[Push others into the abyss of desire with your ability.]
[No, that shouldn’t be the case.]
[Crave more, lust more, extort greedily.]
[Stop, the more you act, the deeper you go into the dream…]
[It’s a word that can’t reach him anyway. Don’t you know?]
[…
* * *
“Ugh… I think I had a nightmare.”
It was finally Friday.
Fortunately, I didn’t feel that gaze anymore after the day before yesterday, as if he was trying to keep an eye on me, but the feeling of uneasiness was still gnawing at me.
But that dirty feeling is also goodbye for today.
After the lecture is over, I’m going to tell the principal about everything.
I couldn’t see Professor Shiana as if she didn’t show up for work yesterday, but today there is ability control class in the first class, so she should probably be able to meet her.
She even came up with a plan of her own, saying that if he threatened anything, she would tell her to go see the principal with her.
However, when the first period came, the person who entered the classroom was not Professor Sianna… But Sanja Dominas, the principal of the Arbadelin Academy.
“Oh everyone. Unfortunately, Professor Shiana has been very ill since yesterday. So I’ve decided to take charge of Ability Control Studies for the time being!”
The headmaster slowly looked around the classroom, her mischievous eyes shining.
Not only me, but most of the students (except Pirahyun, of course) seemed to be taken aback, but when she remembered that Professor Shiana had been cursed, she immediately agreed.
“You probably will recover soon, so don’t worry too much~ Everyone, you probably have a lot of assignments, so let’s do some self-study today!”
When she said she was sick, I immediately thought of the worst case scenario, but fortunately, according to the principal’s words, it didn’t seem to have much to do with the day before yesterday.
I was about to take out the electronic panel to work on a mountain of assignments with peace of mind, when I suddenly heard a voice whispering in my ear.
– Jihoo, should I come out for a while?
This voice… Principal?
I looked up at the church and saw the headmaster beckoning me to come out.
I quietly got up from my seat and went out into the hallway through the back door so as not to disturb the other students studying.
“Jihoo. I’m really sorry, but I won’t be able to do it at 6 today. Could you talk to me for a minute instead?”
“Yes, I don’t care… But, by any chance, is it related to Professor Shiana?”
“Um… That’s right. Go to the principal’s office and I’ll tell you everything, so follow me.”
The principal’s voice, as if she had realized something, caused her heart to start beating anxiously little by little.
Perhaps, for the first time, I was caught up in a vortex of events that did not happen in the original story.
