I Became the Academy’s Heroine Stalker – Chapter 86

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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-Don’t try to force the awakening of your mana traits. Your instincts will awaken them before your reason does.

-Hehe.

Pure white hair cascaded down to her shoulders and her bangs cut straight as if with a ruler.

Her blue eyes, a perfect match for her white hair, shone with unwavering resolve.

A young woman, barely an adult, possessing a youthful innocence that belied her sharp demeanor.

This was Kim Hye-seo, the valedictorian of Seoul National Academy.

She had joined the Monster Management Bureau immediately after graduation and was currently training diligently under Instructor Han Chang-ho, a Holder who taught new recruits.

The Monster Management Bureau.

Often abbreviated as MMO, it was a place most Awakeners avoided.

And within the MMO, the ‘Villain Investigation Department’ was the most shunned.

Unlike Hunters, who operated within relatively predictable raid structures, villain investigations were fraught with danger and unpredictability, with little reward to compensate for the risks.

That’s why Kim Hye-seo’s decision to join the MMO was so unusual.

It was practically a given that top graduates from the academy would join large guilds.

Yet, Hye-seo, the valedictorian, had rejected lucrative offers from numerous large guilds to join the MMO.

Because the MMO offered something far more valuable than wealth and fame:

[Revenge.]

Having lost her parents in an Illusion attack when she was young, material possessions meant nothing to her.

Moreover, the position came with the opportunity to work as an assistant to Holder Han Chang-ho, a man she had always admired and respected.

How could she refuse?

She had worked tirelessly for this opportunity, and now, after finally becoming a member of the MMO and Han Chang-ho’s assistant, she trained relentlessly every day.

And in just a week, she would begin her fieldwork.

Which meant she could finally unleash her hatred and resentment towards villains, that her revenge against Illusion could finally begin.

A week passed.

The day before her fieldwork was to begin, Hye-seo approached Han Chang-ho, who was sitting on a bench in the training grounds.

She wiped the sweat pouring down her face with a towel around her neck.

And then, ‘thud’.

She collapsed onto the bench as if her legs had given way.

“Ugh… I’m so tired.”

She complained loudly, making sure her master and senior heard her.

Han Chang-ho just chuckled.

Then,

“By the way, Hye-seo.”

He called out to her with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Yes, Master.”

“…Sigh. Are you going to keep calling me that when we’re in the field?”

“I’ll call you ‘Senior’ then, I guess.”

Relieved that she seemed to understand, Han Chang-ho sighed and looked into the distance.

“But, is there a particular reason you applied to the Villain Investigation Department, the most demanding team in the MMO?”

He finally voiced the question that had been on his mind.

Hye-seo leaned back on the bench, following his gaze.

At the end of that long gaze, she saw the name of God R’hell, the leader of Illusion.

Her eyes flickered with a mixture of vengeance and longing.

After a moment of silence, she spoke, revealing a past she had kept hidden from everyone.

But now, she could share it with him.

“It was December 25, 2022.”

“…The day of the Yongnam Village massacre.”

Han Chang-ho responded as soon as she mentioned the date, and Hye-seo looked at him in surprise.

His eyes darkened as he spoke, the horrors of that day still vivid in his memory.

“Fifteen years ago… I was a greenhorn just like you. And my first field assignment was to a village where a massacre had taken place. Of course, I remember it clearly.”

“…We might have met there.”

“Perhaps. Though I don’t remember. But someone as tenacious as you… I feel like I would’ve.”

Han Chang-ho skillfully lightened the heavy atmosphere.

Hye-seo glanced at him for a moment, then let out a small chuckle, brushing off the gloom that had settled over her.

“You had a rough start, Master. Your first assignment being ‘that’.”

“Almost every Holder was dispatched. It was the first large-scale massacre.”

“I suppose so. Three hundred people died.”

“That’s where you lost your parents, right?”

“Yes. You knew?”

“Well, I couldn’t have my assistant blindside me.”

“Tsk. So, you did some digging.”

She spoke sarcastically, but a faint smile played on her lips.

Her master might seem cold and indifferent on the surface, but she knew he was a kind man at heart.

That hidden warmth reminded her of her father, which was why she felt so close to him.

“….”

Han Chang-ho had gotten the answer he sought, so he remained silent.

But then, Hye-seo asked a question.

“By the way.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you married, Master?”

“….”

Han Chang-ho paused, seemingly lost in thought.

Hye-seo scratched her cheek awkwardly.

“Well, you don’t have to answer if it’s too personal…”

“Family is just a liability for us. It only puts us in danger. Those who fight dirty always look for leverage before they attack.”

“Hmph.”

Hye-seo stuck out her tongue in disapproval.

She couldn’t accept the equation of [family = liability].

She knew better than anyone that humans were strongest when they had something to protect.

That was why her parents had been able to save her.

But she didn’t argue.

She sensed a hidden story behind her master’s words.

She felt a pang of sadness and frustration that he was hiding it, but she didn’t pry.

Strong bonds were built on accepting each other’s differences.

So, Hye-seo didn’t ask about his family again, and the next day, she and Han Chang-ho embarked on their great mission: the subjugation of Illusion.

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-Click.

Back in her penthouse, Hye-seo took a framed photo of herself and Han Chang-ho from a box she’d brought from the office after clearing out her desk as Head of the ‘Villain Investigation Department’.

She stared at it for a long time before setting it down.

Memories flashed before her eyes, and as she returned to the present, she looked at Han Chang-ho in the photo, his arms crossed, a stern expression on his face.

Her eyes filled with resentment, her expression sullen.

And as always,

“You stubborn old man…”

She scolded him.

She had bared her soul to him, but he had kept his secrets hidden until the very end.

That he had a family, that he was willing to die for them.

He had hidden it all and left without a word.

Hye-seo looked at the photo and spoke again, her eyes reflecting the image of her parents fighting against the villains to save her.

“But you know what, Senior?”

“You were wrong.”

“Family isn’t a liability.”

Instead of waiting for a response, Hye-seo poured out her heart.

“Family is courage.”

“My parents fought to the death to save me because I was their courage.”

“Because they had to protect me, because they had to save me. Even when those villains broke into our home, even when they were staring death in the face, my parents didn’t run. They fought with everything they had.”

“And because of them, I survived. And the image of them fighting back, that’s the courage that has brought me this far.”

“Because they gave me the courage to fight back too.”

Her voice was slightly raised.

Filled with resentment and accusation, but there was no sadness in it.

Only a quiet rage.

“So, you were wrong, Senior.”

“No, you were wrong from the very beginning.”

“You thought family was a liability, so you chose to sacrifice yourself because you didn’t want to be a burden to Han Tae-jin, right? But you didn’t realize. Even with your sacrifice, nothing was resolved.”

“I’m different. I’ll grit my teeth, swallow my blood, and finish what you started. I’ll prove you wrong, just you wait and see.”

Hye-seo frowned, glaring at Han Chang-ho’s picture.

Then, she clenched her fist.

“…And when I see you again, I’m going to punch you in the gut.”

Her words were affectionate yet fierce.

It was her unique way of mourning and making a promise to the man who had been like family, also a mentor and a senior colleague.

“So, rest easy up there.”

“I will protect Han Tae-jin.”

And finally,

“Thank you for everything.”

Hye-seo offered a final farewell to the colleague she had respected.

And now, only Han Tae-jin’s face occupied her thoughts.

As someone she had to protect.

-Thud.

A photo slipped from the file she was sorting and fell to the floor.

Hye-seo picked it up and looked at it.

It was a photo of Han Tae-jin and Reina.

Her gaze fixed on Tae-jin.

“Han Tae-jin…”

His dark hair and red eyes, like her senior’s, were striking and elegant.

Perhaps even more elegant than her senior’s.

It must be his mother’s genes.

Then, she suddenly remembered something she hadn’t been able to ask about: his wife.

‘Come to think of it…’

Hye-seo knew Han Chang-ho’s mana signature better than anyone.

It was the same.

Especially the signature Tae-jin had emitted in his berserk state at the gym; it was identical to Han Chang-ho’s when he was in a critical situation.

But,

There had been another trait mixed in.

Han Chang-ho’s mana was fierce like a storm, savage and relentless like a beast’s hunger.

But the other trait was gentle like a breeze, flowing and resilient like a river.

If her intuition was correct, it meant Han Tae-jin’s mother was also an Awakener.

Her senior had told her time and time again:

-Mana traits are instinctively understood, not learned. Trying to force them only scratches the surface.

Of course, mana signatures could change over time, so she couldn’t be certain, but it was enough to pique her curiosity as an investigator.

Han Tae-jin, who was currently stronger than even her, a top graduate, must possess something different from her senior.

“Hmm…”

Hye-seo stared intently at Han Tae-jin’s photo, lost in thought.

Her blue eyes shone with the keen focus of an investigator.

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