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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“You want me to draw a picture right now?”
Ji-eun repeated Ye-na’s words.
“If you’re serious about joining, you’ll be drawing often anyway, so why don’t you just do a quick sketch now?”
…There are seniors here who haven’t even touched a pencil in over a year since joining, so isn’t that a lie, Ye-na?
“Should I? It’s been a while, so I don’t know if it’ll turn out well~”
Ye-na smiled brightly and held out a sketchbook and pencil to Ji-eun.
“Do you want to look at a monster picture while drawing?”
“No? There’s a monster I’ve really wanted to hunt at least once, so I’ll just try drawing that one.”
“Really? Which one?”
“The Cave-ron.”
Wow.
Out of the many, many monsters, she chose that guy.
But I guess with Ji-eun’s level of talent, it makes sense for her to aim for him.
Although she was still a rookie 1st-year, the skills she showed in battle at the workshop the other day were already better than most active-duty hunters.
Cave-ron is a well-known Level 5 monster.
It’s a ferocious monster that rams its incredibly hard horns everywhere like a rhinoceros.
The important thing is that its size is about 30 meters.
The moment it rammed its horns, apartments would collapse like toy blocks.
“Hmm~ I think Cave-ron’s exterior might be harder to draw than expected.”
Ye-na seemed to be thinking about how to draw the monster rather than the monster itself.
“Eh~ If you want to be In-wook’s teacher, you need to be able to draw this much easily~”
Ji-eun sat in the spot where I always drew and started sketching while humming.
Ye-na, Oh Tae-soo, and I watched her work with keen interest from behind.
I thought she was just bluffing, but Ji-eun’s drawing skills were the real deal.
She lightly drew lines without erasing once, gradually shaping the form.
She’s already drawing better than me?
Ye-na folded her arms and stared intently at Ji-eun’s drawing as if she was dissatisfied with something.
The president’s small eyes gradually widened as Ji-eun drew more and more.
When the rough draft was about half done, the president suddenly started shouting.
“Ji-eun!”
“Eek!”
Ji-eun seemed startled by the sudden loud voice from behind while concentrating and let out a strange scream.
“Wh-Why are you doing that?”
Ji-eun turned her body to look at us.
The president quickly approached her and slammed the desk.
“Do you know what kind of person you are?”
“I… I’m Lee Ji-eun?”
“No, I’m not asking because I don’t know that. You are…”
President.
What nonsense are you trying to say with that long pause?
“A heavenly Deforme member! I thought Ye-na was the optimal talent for this club, but my discernment was too short.”
“Excuse me. I never wanted to be that kind of optimal talent anyway.”
Ye-na retorted to his words as if dumbfounded.
But the president started praising Ji-eun without paying any attention.
“I’ve been waiting with a parched thirst for nearly two years for a member with this level of drawing skills.”
“And finally, the heavens have acknowledged my sincerity! They sent you to me, Ji-eun!”
…She just followed me here like a free gift?
“Hehehe. Is that so?”
Ji-eun didn’t seem to mind the compliments and scratched her head with a bashful smile.
“How about it! If you just fill out this form, you’ll become part of our family too.”
If you only hear this part, it sounds like a typical slave contract signing.
But Ji-eun signed the membership application without hesitation using the pencil she was holding.
“Am I part of the family now?”
“Of course!”
The president nodded.
“My introduction is late. I’m the president of Deforme here. My name is Oh Tae-soo! Since you’re a junior, let’s speak comfortably from now on.”
“Yes! Please take good care of me~”
President Tae-soo, with a sinister smile, immediately gave orders to Ji-eun, who had officially joined less than a minute ago.
“So, Ji-eun. That picture you’re drawing right now…”
Congratulations on becoming family, my disciple.
It seems you’ve unfortunately caught the president’s eye.
The president directly asked Ji-eun to draw pictures for the festival.
Ji-eun nodded with a smile, but she probably noticed too.
Ji-eun urgently sent me an SOS gaze, but I deliberately pretended not to see it.
That’s what you get for following me in.
It serves you right.
It was the club she chose.
I clearly warned her.
While Ji-eun and the president were concluding an unfair treaty, Ye-na approached Ji-eun’s drawing.
After carefully examining each part, Ye-na’s comment was just one sentence.
“…A genius.”
Praising her in a voice too small for Ji-eun to hear, Ye-na had a somewhat resentful expression.
“Hey. Choi In-wook.”
“Yeah?”
“…Are you going to learn from her?”
I had been racking my brain, expecting questions like where I brought her from or what our relationship was, but Ye-na’s question was a little unexpected.
“No?”
How could that be?
Even if I generously conceded that Ye-na actually drew worse than Ji-eun, I had no intention of learning from that kid.
I shuddered to think about how much she would act up with the authority of being a teacher.
With Ye-na and my other ex-wives, even if they pointed out my flaws, it didn’t hurt my pride much since we were actually similar in age, but Ji-eun was different.
I had no reason to endure mockery while drawing from a child who was eating school lunches until recently.
It was just a hobby I newly started in this life.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“I can just learn from you.”
“Then draw a bit better.”
Despite her words, Ye-na seemed satisfied with my answer as one corner of her mouth was slightly raised.
Regardless of our conversation, the argument between Ji-eun and the president continued over there.
“How can I draw four pictures in a week!”
“Ji-eun. I firmly believe in your potential.”
“That’s beside the point, there’s not enough time!”
In the end, the two bickering finally stopped after agreeing on two pictures.
I, who came to draw but couldn’t even hold a brush, left the clubroom with heavy footsteps.
I just wanted to go home quickly without understanding anything.
“Are we going back to train together now, In-wook?”
Doesn’t this kid ever get tired…
With a cheery smile, Ji-eun came to my side and matched my pace.
My body definitely seemed to have returned to its youth, but my mental strength felt weakened.
“No… Tomorrow. Let’s start tomorrow. I’m too tired today.”
“Hmm… It’s a bit disappointing, but I can’t help it if you’re tired. Master!”
“Yeah… Now go your own way.”
“Huh? But you said you live in Changcheon-dong too, In-wook.”
Don’t tell me we’re going the same way home too.
“We’re going the same direction, so it’s nice to go together and chat, no?”
When I made a tired expression, Ji-eun read my mind and playfully poked me with her elbow.
“You’re taking bus 2192 anyway~ There’s only that one going from here to there, and everyone knows it~”
I briefly considered making up an excuse that I had business elsewhere and going a different way, but even that felt bothersome.
What I needed now was rest.
I quickened my pace with the mindset of enduring this chatter for just 30 minutes.
“But you know what, In-wook? It seems like there are only pretty people around you!”
I know that too, kid.
Please be quiet at least on the way home.
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There was only one reason I accepted Ji-eun’s somewhat forceful proposal.
She was a product of variables caused by my actions.
By acting differently from my previous life, she now existed beside me, breathing.
That meant I was both her savior and the person who put her in danger.
If I hadn’t intervened in the workshop incident, Ji-eun wouldn’t have needed to be pursued by them.
The Seolhwa Church was a group that was very obsessed with grudges.
Ji-eun, who had ruined their plot, was highly likely to be attacked again at any time.
I wanted to make sure the child I saved wouldn’t be harmed or murdered again.
To do that, the best way was for her to become strong, as she said.
The incompetent personnel from the Hunter Association wouldn’t be able to protect her from the vicious Seolhwa Church guys anyway.
And another reason this method was more efficient was Ji-eun’s innate combat talent.
If she had survived in her previous life, she would have definitely become a strong candidate to aim for the top of the hunter world like me or Si-hwa.
In fact, it would have been much easier for me to guide her if I were in perfect condition, but even with my current physical state, the basics wouldn’t be a problem.
I would start with the very delicate control of mana.
Having roughly thought of a curriculum, I lay down on the bed.
A disciple… A disciple.
In my previous life, I had come to the academy several times to give lectures for about an hour, but this was the first time I was personally guiding a single student.
Can I teach her well?
I had that thought for a moment, but I soon decided to stop worrying.
Who was I?
Couldn’t I teach a twenty-year-old kid?
Recalling my past glory for a moment, I closed my eyes to the overwhelming drowsiness.
Until then, I never imagined that a disciple could be such a pain in the ass.
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