I Became the Academy’s Heroine Stalker – Chapter 37

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“Master—!”

Yesterday, after the duel, I stayed late at Park Na-yeon’s mansion, analyzing the fight and attempting to wield the Heavenly Dragon Thunder Bow, so I ended up sleeping there and coming straight to school this morning.

It was the first time I had been away from Bersha for more than a day since summoning her.

So, as soon as I opened the front door, she came running towards me like a puppy.

…I suddenly remembered looking at Bersha when Park Na-yeon asked, “You don’t have any pets, do you?”

If Bersha had been in her succubus form, she would probably be spinning her heart-tipped tail like a propeller.

Of course, she was currently in her cool and collected Reina persona.

– *Thud!*

Bersha ran towards me, arms outstretched for a hug, and I sidestepped her.

She fell flat on her face.

She quickly got up and glared at me.

“Ouch! Master!”

“Ahem, what did I tell you to call me outside the house?”

“Ouch! Young Master!”

…Did she really have to add the “ouch”?

She seemed determined to emphasize her pain.

I chuckled at her childish behavior.

“How have you been? You weren’t crying because I was gone, were you?”

“Of course not! I was doing great!”

She seemed offended that I didn’t welcome her enthusiastically. Her pouting lips gave her away.

“Really~? Then shall we go for another special training session today~?”

“What?!”

But no summon could win against their Master.

At my teasing words, Bersha raised her voice in protest.

“Again?! You just got home!”

“You don’t want me to go?”

“A homeowner shouldn’t leave their house empty for too long!”

“Pfft, I’m not going. I’m not going.”

I burst out laughing at her rapidly shifting emotions, from happy to sulky to angry, all within a minute.

And as soon as I said I wasn’t going, she brightened up again.

…She really was like a puppy.

“Really? You’re not going? You’re staying with me today?”

“Of course. I’m taking a break today. The duel is over, and my master told me to rest this week.”

I had stopped by Park Na-yeon’s mansion before coming home.

To receive the [Heavenly Dragon Thunder Bow] she promised me.

But…

-Tsk, tsk, you still have a long way to go.

I couldn’t even fully draw the bowstring, so the Heavenly Dragon Thunder Bow remained out of reach.

My muscles felt like they were tearing as soon as I pulled it halfway; it was impossible.

We agreed to try again later.

-Here, use this for now.

She tossed me the [Rain Bow], a longbow she used when she was B-rank.

She said it was made in the US, a renowned weapon-making nation. Despite its childish name, it had a wide-range skill called [Arrow Rain], making it ideal for hunting.

It would be especially useful against boss monsters or named monsters that summoned groups of weaker creatures.

It also had stat boost and mental support effects, making it a decent starter weapon.

-Practice with that this week. We’ll go on a real raid once you get used to it.

-A raid? I’m still a cadet.

-Don’t you know that graduating class students who score over 90 on the ‘Dungeon Exploration’ group project can participate in raids with professor supervision?

I knew that.

But Academy professors were always busy and rarely supervised cadet raids.

They could also be disciplined if any accidents occurred.

There was no incentive for them to take the risk, so most cadets couldn’t participate in real raids until after graduation. The usual practice was to participate in raids under the supervision of a training instructor after joining a guild.

-So… you’ll supervise me?

-I have plenty of time as a visiting professor. But you have to gather the students who scored over 90. By position.

-Yes, Master! You’re the best! Two thumbs up!

-…Go away.

This wasn’t in the original story.

At least not in the published parts. Park Na-yeon hadn’t offered to supervise Choi Do-han on a raid.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

I returned home, filled with anticipation.

The Illusion attack was about two weeks away, so this would be a good opportunity to gain some practical experience.

I had already decided on the members.

Although I still needed to ask them individually.

Bersha tilted her head, seeing me lost in thought.

“Master, what are you thinking about?”

“…You can call me ‘Master,’ but you have to add ‘Young’ before it.”

“Why?”

“It sounds weird.”

“Master, Master? It sounds fine.”

Bersha repeated the word, genuinely puzzled.

I reminded her again and then followed her to the storage shed next to the house.

It was a fairly large shed, but the inside was empty.

I didn’t know its original purpose, but it was now being used as a “stable.”

And inside… was the Black Dragon hatchling.

– *Kwiing?*

I had used some of the reward money from the Golden Goblin hunt to install magic barriers on the interior walls of the shed.

Giant monsters like the Black Dragon occasionally escaped dungeons and attacked residential areas, but those with value were often captured by Hunters.

Creatures that were pretty, cute, cool, or appealed to unique tastes were captured.

These captured monsters were tamed by professional trainers and then sold at auctions for high prices.

They were essentially status symbols, like exotic pets.

No dragon-type monster had ever been captured before. In other words, its rarity value was immense.

That’s why I spent a fortune on magic barriers and converted the shed into a stable, shielding it from outside view.

Of course, I had no intention of selling it.

It was a valuable stat booster; why would I sell it?

But for some reason, this little guy wouldn’t be tamed and growled whenever it saw me.

Strangely, it would lower its head and tail submissively whenever it saw Bersha.

It wouldn’t even eat the food I gave it.

It would just spit it out.

Even the expensive ‘Mana Meat’ made for monsters.

So, I left its care entirely to Bersha.

The Black Dragon’s level had to increase for its stat boost and hidden skills to unlock.

– *Khyung!*

It whimpered at the sight of Bersha and then bared its tiny fangs at me.

It was still a hatchling, only about half the size of an adult male, so it wasn’t intimidating.

“…Still feisty, huh?”

“Hey! Poppy! You can’t do that to Daddy, I mean, Master! Bad dragon!”

Bersha, now in her Succubus Queen form after canceling her polymorph, scolded it as we entered the shed.

…Wait, what kind of name was that?

“Pop…py?”

“I thought it would be easier to train it if it had a name… hee.”

“Even if that’s the case, Poppy is a bit… Are you going to keep calling it Poppy even after it grows up?”

Besides, the dragon itself seemed to dislike the name, judging by its furrowed brow.

Just then, a system voice rang out.

I immediately chose ‘No.’

What if it couldn’t be changed later?

Choosing a name was a serious matter.

As the old saying went, a name could shape one’s destiny.

Bersha, her eyes wide and innocent, asked, “Is it weird? Poppy. I searched online, and it was the most popular name for dogs.”

“…Does this look like a dog?”

“Kind of.”

Well, to the Succubus Queen, this little hatchling probably did resemble a puppy.

But “Poppy” was a bit much.

Since the dragon itself seemed to dislike it, I thought for a moment and decided to give it a new name.

“English names are cool. It’s a Black Dragon, so… black is similar to earth… earth is soil in English, and dragon is dragon, so… ‘Sod.’ Sod is good.”

“Sod? Well… I like it if you like it, Master.”

I looked at the hatchling.

And then, a ferocious howl echoed through the shed.

– *Khyung! Kyung! Khyung!*

Well, it was better than Poppy.

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After some discussion, we decided to borrow the name of a dragon from the novel *White Wolves*.

The hatchling seemed to approve and stopped growling.

“Okay, now that the name is settled, have you taught it anything? Like breathing fire?”

Once a year…

…a [Monster Battle] was held at the central stadium in Seoul.

It was a 1v1 tournament for monsters raised by individuals or businesses.

The prize money for the winner was close to 10 billion won. I had no intention of participating, but I asked out of curiosity.

A pet that breathed fire… that would be cool.

Bersha’s eyes sparkled at my question.

“I taught it something!”

“Oh, what is it?”

“Drogh !”

– *Kwiing.*

Drogh immediately ran to Bersha when she called its name.

It looked like it would do anything for her.

“Lie down!”

– *Kwiing!*

Drogh laid down.

“Paw!”

– *Kwiing!*

Drogh extended its forepaw.

“Stay! Stay~!”

She held a piece of Mana Meat and gave the command. Drogh sat and licked its lips.

“Good boy! Good job!”

– *Kwiing!*

“Here, eat. Good boy.”

She tossed the Mana Meat, and Drogh caught it and ate it.

…Bersha.

It seemed she hadn’t just searched for dog names but also dog training methods.

“How was that? Hehe.”

She looked at me expectantly, waiting for praise, and I facepalmed.

“…Good job… I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”

I watched Drogh happily munching on the Mana Meat and turned to leave.

Well, the stat boost was nice.

‘’I’ll cook dinner tonight—!’’

Bersha raised her hand and declared confidently.

Hoping she wouldn’t make anything too strange, we headed to the living room.

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