.｡.:✧ Chapter 6 ✧:.｡.

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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There was quite a distance between her seat and mine, so I could have misheard.

But what I heard was…

[I have to be with In-wook.]

There was no reason for Ha-rin to say such a thing at this point.

She and I were just classmates who only knew each other’s names.

That was the extent of our relationship.

“Oh Tae-su. Kim Min-young. You two are the last.”

Eventually, after the pair selection ended, the homeroom teacher informed us of the next schedule.

“Alright. Today, you’ll go with your pair to measure your mana. Everyone gather at Training Ground 5 after lunchtime!”

“Yes!”

Everyone started moving to the cafeteria in droves.

Not understanding Ha-rin’s unexpected behavior, I sat quietly in my chair, trying to deduce the reason.

Was there anything different about my behavior between my previous life and this life?

Did that become a variable that caused the change in Ha-rin’s attitude now?

But no matter how much I thought about it… there didn’t seem to be anything different…

Ah.

One scene came to mind.

Actually, it’s not really a change in my behavior, but on the first day of admission.

The fact that the homeroom teacher publicly announced my infertility test results in front of the whole class.

If I had to find one, that was the only variable I had created.

But I wasn’t sure if that was really enough to make Ha-rin directly call my name and suggest pairing up with me.

And honestly, the test result was an extremely common fact for a young man.

How many men would worry about whether they could have a child at the age of 20?

Before I knew it, everyone except me had gone to eat lunch, and there seemed to be no one left in the classroom.

I got up from my seat, pushed in the chair, and turned my body towards the back door.

And there, Ha-rin was waiting for me without saying a word.

“…In-wook.”

Only the two of us remained in the empty classroom.

“Uh… Yeah.”

One step. Two steps.

She approached me.

For some reason.

I thought I wanted to take a step back.

“…Wanna go eat together?”

“…With me?”

Ha-rin nodded.

“We’re… a pair, aren’t we?”

That was true.

Of course, it wasn’t someone who decided for us. It was you, Ha-rin, who called me.

“Uh-huh. You’re right. Let’s eat. Together.”

Only then did Ha-rin smile.

“Let’s go.”

She turned around and started walking ahead of me.

As if under her spell, I slowly followed her.

We didn’t walk side by side.

Ha-rin leading the way. Me following behind her.

This was our current distance.

No. It was the appropriate distance between us that I thought.

Maintaining that stride, we were about to go down the stairs after passing the hallway when Ha-rin stopped for a moment.

“In-wook.”

“Yeah.”

Leaning against the hallway railing, she spoke to me.

“Are you going to keep following like that?”

Her tone seemed to say not to do that.

“Ah… Did it bother you by any chance?”

She shook her head.

“It’s not that…”

She hesitated for a moment.

“Do you want to walk together?”

I couldn’t refuse such a wistful voice, so I nodded.

“Thank you.”

I wondered if she had to say thank you just for the pair of us walking together.

And so, we went down the stairs, matching our steps.

Just like when Ha-rin and I were in the midst of dating.

Sitting across from each other in the cafeteria, we ate without saying a word.

Her small mouth chewing and picking up side dishes.

Her clumsy use of chopsticks kept catching my eye.

[Ha-rin. How old are you that you still can’t use chopsticks properly?]

[Tsk. Do you have to point that out even when we’re eating?]

[I’ll fix it for you, watch.]

[No~ I want to live like this!]

[Then who will teach our child! If the mom can’t do it properly!]

Ha-rin smiled brightly and said to me.

[Daddy will. You can teach them, In-wook.]

That’s how we, who had become strangers, reunited.

With only me holding onto these memories.

Thinking that my constant drooping would inconvenience Ha-rin, I opened my mouth.

“Um… Ha-rin.”

She put down the cup she was drinking from and looked at me.

“Yeah.”

“But… Why did you choose me as your pair?”

“Because you’re the only one I know.”

Is she saying she knows me? That?

“You know me…?”

“…Ah! That’s not it. Among the remaining people, you were the only one whose name I knew…”

I see.

Even though I could understand that, I couldn’t comprehend why she rejected the proposal of the male student next to her.

“In-wook.”

Ha-rin broke the silence that followed the previous question.

“Have you… ever been in a relationship?”

I was a bit startled by the rather unexpected question.

Is this a topic Ha-rin brought up because she couldn’t stand the awkwardness of me not talking much?

“I’ve never been in one before.”

“I see…”

She seemed lost in thought for a moment, then asked one more question.

“What do you think about the saying that first love doesn’t come true?”

How should I answer?

Can I say it came true since I married you?

Even so, should I say it was a love that didn’t come true since I parted with you?

For a moment, unable to manage my expression, I answered in a somewhat painful voice.

“I don’t know… since I haven’t tried it…”

It was the best answer I could come up with.

“…I.”

Her voice seemed to be filled with some kind of determination.

“I don’t believe in such words.”

What is it? Could it be that she has another man she likes in this life?

It doesn’t seem like she’s saying it specifically to me.

“First love could have a happy ending too…”

“That’s true.”

I don’t know what she’s thinking by bringing that up to me.

Even if your partner in this life is not me but someone else.

I will support your first love.

The words I said on the day I parted with her, to meet a good man, were not empty words.

My transparent sincerity. My wish for her to be happy.

* * *

After finishing our meal, we moved to Training Ground 5.

Many students had already finished eating before us and were gathered in groups.

The homeroom teacher, who arrived late, seemed to be short on time and lined us up in pairs in two rows.

“Now, it seems we’re a bit short on time, so let’s proceed quickly.”

The homeroom teacher pulled a cart full of mana measuring devices from over there.

Mana measuring device.

A tool for measuring mana, shaped similarly to a mercury thermometer.

We call the extent to which one can borrow the power of spirits mana.

The amount of mana was also the most core capability of a hunter.

Although there were various ways to manifest mana, first, one needed to secure the amount of mana to be able to draw out that much strong output.

I had no choice but to ponder for a moment.

If I produced too overwhelming numbers here, I would be exposed to excessive attention.

That was something I wanted to avoid.

After contemplating what level would be most appropriate, I finally decided to go for a level similar to my previous life.

The homeroom teacher began distributing the measuring devices starting from the front.

“They’re expensive, so everyone use them carefully.”

Having finished distributing, he began explaining how to measure.

The usage method was simple.

You just had to grasp the red end of the rod-shaped measuring device in your hand and pour out as much mana as you could.

The red liquid injected inside the rod would rise along the tube according to the amount of mana poured out, and the number recorded at the moment it stopped was considered your mana amount.

Of course, I had no intention of pouring out mana at full power.

With the homeroom teacher’s signal to start, exclamations of joy and sorrow began pouring out here and there.

[Ah! I clearly got 40 before admission. Why is it 38 now?]

[Oh shoot! Hey, you got 53? That’s awesome!]

[Ah… I’m done for. 21… Is this real…]

[Hah. 21, just get out~]

The measuring device was in my hand.

“Wanna go first?”

I held out the measuring device to her.

“I will.”

Taking the measuring device, Ha-rin began to pour out her mana.

Ha-rin was a hunter who would graduate as an S-rank.

When it came to talent in mana, she would never fall behind anyone else in this class.

I could see pure mana concentrating at the end of the rod.

The red liquid swayed and rose along the tube.

The liquid rising at a fast pace showed no sign of stopping.

Phew…

She took a deep breath after finishing the measurement.

The number recorded on the rod was a whopping 78. An unbelievable number for someone who hadn’t received proper hunter training yet.

“Wow! That’s amazing! Ha-rin!”

I congratulated her on her record.

“No. It’s nothing.”

Ha-rin was embarrassed.

“Here.”

She handed me the measuring device.

I slowly began injecting mana..

But there was one fact I had forgotten.

My current body was different from my previous life’s body.

In other words, my current body had not yet reached the stage to perform delicate mana manipulation.

Oh no. Uncontrollable mana began to flow into the measuring device.

Stop. I said stop.

But I couldn’t make the mana I had already poured out flow back to me.

The red liquid showed no sign of stopping even more than Ha-rin’s, like a truck whose handle had been let go.

In the end, I looked at the measuring device that had reached the number 100 with anxious eyes.

Clang.

The trembling rod finally couldn’t withstand my mana and shattered into pieces.

Ah… This isn’t it….

Red liquid splashed in all directions.

“What! What happened!”

The homeroom teacher, who was far away, ran towards me in a hurry.

And Ha-rin, looking at me with unbelieving eyes.

“In-wook. You…!”

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