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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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This day was no different from any other day.
In the morning, I walked to school while chatting with Ha-ni, Ga-eul, who was glued to my desk, greeted us, and Lilac and Yoo-na approached us — a typical pre-assembly routine.
That normalcy crumbled when Cheon Yoo-hak, his face 2.6 times gloomier than yesterday, opened his mouth with a haggard expression.
“…So, we’re having a ball, and he said it would be nice if everyone attended with a partner.”
The moment he finished speaking, I felt the surrounding temperature drop.
…Was he crazy? What? A ball? This was an academy story… Was it actually a romance fantasy?
“To explain a bit, even though it’s a ball, it’s not a big deal. There’s just going to be time alloted for dancing. There’s no disadvantage if you don’t have a partner, and he said it’s okay to dance with other people who came alone.”
Yeah, it wasn’t your fault, Yoo-hak.
But then whose fault was it? This event didn’t exist in the original story, so it was hard to blame my friend.
Or was it? Cheon Yoo-hak’s father was also a character he created, so ultimately, it was his fault.
Cheon Mu-jin, the Heavenly Demon.
Ah, that “Heavenly Demon” title wasn’t the one from martial arts novels, but a Pegasus, a Heavenly Horse.
His talent was quite unique even among special-type talents. It was a mythical beast-type talent that took the form of an animal. Simply put, the more he unleashed his power, the closer he resembled a Pegasus.
He was a character known for his outlandish behavior in the original story.
For example, he famously said to Baek Seol, who was still a popular character among the readers during the academy arc, “You’re disqualified as a daughter-in-law. I don’t like you.”
On the other hand, he saw Lilac resting after a battle and said “Are you interested in a blind date with my daughter?”, upsetting Cheon Yoo-hak, who happened to be passing by.
I liked him as a novel character, but based on my experiences so far, popular characters in novels often didn’t make a good impression on me in person.
“…Actually, it seems like he wants to set me up with someone under the guise of a ball. It’s like a matchmaking event.”
Joo-ri, who usually stood behind Cheon Yoo-hak and quietly handled things, trembled violently.
Lira, you’re being too obvious.
Well, it was fortunate that we didn’t have to bring partners.
“…And since he wants to see young people’s romantic relationships, there’s no penalty for not having a partner, but he’s planning to pair people up at the venue.”
…That was the penalty, you idiot. What do you mean by “no penalty”?
Being paired up with a stranger and forced to dance at a ball?
I’d rather wear a mask, crash the ball, and cause some villainous chaos.
Actually, I hadn’t thought much about it until now…
But perhaps it was because I had reached the superhuman realm thanks to my numerous opportunities and Sun Wukong’s meticulous care…
The moment Cheon Yoo-hak finished his explanation, I clearly felt many gazes directed at us.
What… was this?
And it wasn’t just me. Lilac also looked around, puzzled, as if he felt the gazes too.
Most of the gazes were directed at me, Lilac, and Ha-ni, but occasionally, some guys looked at Yoo-na or Ga-eul.
What, did they want to be our partners for the party…?
This was ridiculous.
I looked at my friends, intending to ask for their opinions, and surprisingly, they were also in chaos.
Ha-ni and Ga-eul were looking at me, Yoo-na at Lilac, and Joo-ri, while pretending not to, at Cheon Yoo-hak.
Ha-ni made the first move.
“Ah, look at them staring at us. Hey, So-hyun, why don’t we just go as partners?”
Oh, I heard a small shriek from the corner of the classroom.
Well, she didn’t exactly whisper, so everyone must have heard that.
Ha-ni, I kind of understood what you were thinking, but how would the others see us?
Look, Ga-eul was looking at us with a betrayed expression.
But Ha-ni approached me confidently while ignoring all the gazes.
Our Ha-ni was being more aggressive than usual.
“Wouldn’t it be safer for us to go together than to attend a party with a girl and start rumors?”
Well, it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Regardless of Ha-ni’s intentions and her increasingly strange gaze towards me, everyone else thought Ha-ni was a boy.
If I wanted to prevent unnecessary rumors, it was definitely not a bad option.
“Loser…!”
But Ga-eul didn’t back down.
Normally, she would have sulked and given up, but it seemed like she really wanted to be my partner.
Was she not even going to keep up the “liking Cheon Yoo-hak” act?
“B-But it’s a party. Cheon Yoo-hak’s dad will be expecting couples, so would he even allow such a trick? He’ll probably make you find another partner during the dance…”
Oh, I thought she would just blurt something out without thinking, but that actually made sense.
Considering his personality in the story, that guy might gleefully force me to dance with another girl as punishment for using such a loophole.
Ga-eul and Ha-ni’s gazes met.
Ga-eul glared at Ha-ni suspiciously, and Ha-ni just smiled at her nonchalantly, but her smile seemed strangely cold and scary.
“Oh, So-hyun is popular today as well~ I’m jealous.”
“Lilac, that kind of comment could cause a huge misunderstanding with your partner. Hurry up and reassure her.”
Yoo-na glared at me, but that idiot Lilac just tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what I was talking about.
“Huh? I haven’t decided on who I’m going with yet.”
Once again, the girls in the class stirred while looking at Lilac with predatory gazes.
Our pink chihuahua Yoo-na glared at them with a gaze ten times fiercer than the one she directed at me, but they didn’t seem to be backing down this time.
Basically…
‘Don’t you dare, bitches.’
‘Huh? It doesn’t seem like you’re Lilac’s partner, so why are you interfering?’
That was what was going on.
“This isn’t something I can decide on my own. I have to ask the other person first.”
You idiot. That was true, but Yoo-na would say okay if you asked her! What was there to ask!?
…Wait, no way, right? This idiot wasn’t going to ask Baek Seol, was he?
I wanted to believe he wouldn’t, but there was a good chance he would.
“Oh my, Lilac, who do you want to go with?”
Unable to hold back, the pink chihuahua subtly pressured him, but of course, such psychological pressure wouldn’t work on this dense idiot.
He was disastrously clueless when it came to his own romantic relationships.
How nice would it be if he said ‘Actually, Yoo-na, it’s you.’
“If I said I wanted to go with So-hyun, the others would laugh, wouldn’t they?”
But he dodged the question and joked instead.
…Did this bastard actually want to go with me? I’d have to kill him if that was the case.
“Hmm, I’ll think about it a little more and then ask. If I say it in a public place like this, it might sound like I’m forcing them.”
It wasn’t Baek Seol, right? If it was really Baek Seol, I would beat him to a pulp and give him to Yoo-na, so it would be better for him if it wasn’t her.
As we were chattering, the warning bell rang, and almost simultaneously, Professor Cathy entered the room as usual.
The professor, who had returned to the academy right after her house arrest ended, was surprisingly acting no differently than usual, showing her mature self-control…
“Cadet Kang So-hyun, if you don’t have a partner for the party, would you like to go with me?”
The classroom erupted in chaos.
Weren’t you supposed to separate public and private matters, Professor?
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The reason for Cathy’s sudden outburst actually stemmed from the previous weekend.
To celebrate the end of her house arrest, four women she was close with at the academy gathered in her room. Besides Cathy herself, there was Reilan Claudia, the academy’s director, Park Ah-ram, the magic professor, and lastly, the academy’s health teacher known as the Doctor.
They were of different ages and backgrounds, but they knew each other’s secrets and were close enough to be called friends, so they came to celebrate with her.
“It was only for a week, but good job. You’re back to work on Monday?”
Park Ah-ram casually opened a can of beer, brought it to her lips, and started gulping it down.
It wasn’t strange considering her age, but seeing her colleague act a bit out of character made Cathy subtly avert her gaze.
“Aha, I saw you looking away. Are you judging me based on my appearance?”
“Judging? No way.”
“Why are you still using formal language in a setting like this? Huh? I’m getting offended. Are you keeping your distance?”
“Yeah, there’s no need to be so formal here. But that’s part of Cathy’s charm.”
“Haha, that’s true. It’s rare for Reilan and I to agree, but we always agree when it comes to our cutie.”
…These two always teased her whenever they had the chance.
Even Ah-ram unnie was using formal language here.
Did they still see her as a child?
Cathy sulked while thinking such thoughts, and took a swig of the beer they brought.
Heroes could control their intoxication if they wanted to, but it was natural to get a little tipsy in a setting like this.
Besides, the topic she wanted to discuss with them was something she couldn’t talk about sober.
“So? You’ve been fidgeting. What do you want to talk about?”
“Oh, what is it? Our Cathy has something to tell her unnies?”
Unnies.
It was a word Kang So-hyun would have questioned, but Cathy didn’t seem to mind. She took a deep breath and looked at them.
“…What do you all think about a professor liking a cadet?”
“That’s a crime. Why are you asking that?”
“No, it’s not a crime. After entering the academy, they’re legally considered adults, so there’s no legal problem. It’s more of an ethical issue.”
The blunt, factual blow almost broke her will.
“Why? Is there a student who fell for a bad professor? Should I take care of them?”
“It’s best to suppress that kind of problem early on.”
Fortunately, or unfortunately, they didn’t seem to think that she had fallen for a cadet.
Normally, these two, with their sharp intuition, would have noticed, but perhaps due to the alcohol, or perhaps due to her usual behavior, they didn’t suspect a thing.
The Doctor, who had been silently munching on snacks, gave her a suspicious look, but since she wasn’t certain, she didn’t say anything.
Right, this meant she had to just come out and say it.
“It’s me.”
“Yes?”
“…Hmm?”
“I think I like a cadet.”
Beer literally dribbled down their mouths.
It wasn’t a sight she expected from the playful Ah-ram or the always confident and bold Reilan, so she waved her hands frantically.
“No, it’s not like I like just any cadet! The person I happened to fall for is a cadet!”
Huh…? That wasn’t right. No, it was right, but saying it like that made her sound like a bad person.
“No, well, yes. It’s okay to like a cadet. We’re just surprised.”
“Ah, yeah. That’s right. We’re surprised that our Cathy is finally having her first love, and we’re also surprised that it’s a cadet.”
After their initial surprise, they started grinning, as if they had found some good gossip.
“So, who is it? What kind of amazing man stole the heart of our Cathy, who rejected every confession directed at her before? Ah, you said it was a cadet, right? Hmm? A cadet?”
“Yes, a cadet.”
And the two, who had been smiling playfully, suddenly thought of a certain boy and looked at her expectantly.
“…Is it…?”
“…Cadet Kang So-hyun?”
Cathy couldn’t answer, but her blushing face was answer enough.
“Really…?”
She mustered her strength and nodded.
Incidentally, each of the four women here had a different perception of Kang So-hyun.
To Cathy, he was her savior, a boy who resembled her younger brother yet possessed different qualities, and someone she owed an unpayable debt to.
Park Ah-ram, on the other hand, while thinking of him as a good cadet and her benefactor, secretly suspected he was in cahoots with the man in the oni mask.
Based on her analysis of the previous incident, there were too many inconsistencies to believe he acted solely on an anonymous letter or tip.
To Reilan Claudia, Kang So-hyun was a superhuman who saw a glimpse of the future, a kind child who would sacrifice himself for the heroes, and someone she felt guilty for burdening with a task she should have handled herself.
She felt that she should have dealt with Latis herself.
And lastly, the Doctor.
To her, Kang So-hyun was a sample she wanted to examine.
According to the medical reports she received over the past month, his health had improved at an unbelievable rate, and he seemed to have somehow resolved the fundamental issues his body had that she thought were irreversible.
In other words, he was a subject she wanted to dissect.
Cathy took a deep breath and started talking about the incident that day.
And when she finished…
“…Ho. That’s something.”
“H-He’s more manly than I thought.”
“…Interesting.”
Even the silent Doctor said that, which meant his actions were quite extraordinary to them.
And at the same time, unbelievable.
Hugging, comforting, caressing, and saying ‘those’ things to someone who put a hole in his stomach?
It would be understandable to fall for him if you had no dating experience.
“So, I wanted to ask for some advice…”
But there was a problem.
Cathy didn’t know, but none of the other women with her had any dating experience.
While popular, Park Ah-ram, with her childlike appearance, was more of an object of adoration than a romantic interest.
Reilan Claudia was popular due to her innate aura and beauty, but due to her high elf heritage, she couldn’t have casual relationships. She wasn’t interested in them anyway.
The Doctor had decent looks, but her twisted views on love made her unpopular, so what more needed to be said?
Simply put…
She chose the wrong people to consult, which meant the ‘advice’ they gave her, squeezed from their nonexistent knowledge, wasn’t very helpful.
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T/N – I laughed hard at the last part. It’s like the blind leading the blind.
Also, how bold of Professor Cathy. Though with her straightforward personality, I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise.
Lastly, there’s a new character introduced in this chapter. I wonder how loony this Doctor is compared to the other crazy people in this novel? The little hints we got in this chapter doesn’t really paint her in a favorable light.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
It’s like asking sheep how to be a wolf, it’ll end in chaos.