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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The moment I heard those words, I reinforced my Mental Barrier and quickly began to think.
I checked my wristwatch; it was still morning, too early for lunch.
I didn’t know exactly when she had withdrawn this “morning,” but it probably hadn’t been more than three hours ago.
And there was a high probability that Han Min-ha was still at the academy.
Withdrawal wasn’t as simple as packing your bags and leaving.
Unless it was a special case, it required a formal review, and that review couldn’t have been completed so quickly.
Teaching Assistant Bae Ye-bin had said she “withdrew,” but the correct expression would probably be “submitted a withdrawal request.”
“Where is Han Min-ha now?”
[She’s waiting in her dorm. There’s a regular review this afternoon, and it will be decided then.]
“I’ll be there, so wait for me.”
[What?! Professor Kyo, you’re coming here in per…]
I hung up the phone and immediately got up from the bench, but instead of heading to the dormitory, I went to the administration office.
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“Hello, Professor Kyo!”
As I opened the door to the administration office, the staff members sitting at their computers greeted me cheerfully.
“Hello. Is the director in?”
“She’s inside. But she’s a bit busy right now…”
I crossed the office and knocked on the inner office door.
“Director Chae, it’s Professor Hyun Kyo.”
“Oh…? Ah, yes!”
I heard footsteps, and the door burst open.
Chae Ga-yoon, with dark circles under her tired eyes, smiled upon seeing me.
“You’re here often these days. What brings you here?”
“There was a withdrawal request submitted, right?”
“Yes? There was. Teaching Assistant Bae Ye-bin brought it in this morning.”
“Let me see it.”
I entered the director’s office, and Chae Ga-yoon handed me the withdrawal request.
It was handwritten, and the reason for withdrawal was short and simple:
‘I’m giving up because I don’t see any hope anymore.’
“Why do you ask? Is there a problem with this student?”
Chae Ga-yoon asked, glancing at the withdrawal request beside me.
“There is a problem. Has this been reported to the faculty?”
“No, I was a bit busy this morning… I’m sorry. I’ll get to it right away… What are you doing!?”
Chae Ga-yoon screamed as I fed the paper into the shredder.
“We need the original for the review, but if you shred it… I haven’t even made a copy…”
“It’s fine. This student has decided not to withdraw.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“She showed interest in Basic Defense Studies, so I was thinking of mentoring her, but she suddenly said she was withdrawing. I persuaded her to stay. Anyway, the withdrawal is cancelled.”
“Oh… Okay… If Professor Kyo says so…”
Chae Ga-yoon nodded blankly, watching the withdrawal request being shredded.
“Thank you as always.”
I gently patted her shoulder, and Chae Ga-yoon’s face brightened, and she smiled.
I had to offer these small gestures occasionally to ensure her continued cooperation.
“Now that you’re here, would you like some tea…?”
“I’m sorry, I have something urgent to take care of. Instead, I’ll treat you to some tea in my lab sometime.”
“What? Your lab…? I’d love to…”
I smiled at Chae Ga-yoon, who was beaming, and left the administration office.
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“Professor Kyo!”
Teaching Assistant Bae Ye-bin, who had been pacing in front of the dormitory, spotted me and bowed deeply, her forehead almost touching the ground.
“You’re working hard, Teaching Assistant Bae. I’m here to see student Han Min-ha.”
Teaching Assistant Bae, who was small and petite, looked up at me and cautiously spoke.
“Professor Kyo, did you come all the way to the dormitory because of Min-ha’s withdrawal? Did she do something wrong?”
“No. I intend to select her as my student, so it would be problematic if she suddenly withdrew. Is she inside?”
“Ah… Y-yes… she is. But Professor…”
Teaching Assistant Bae stopped me as I was about to enter the dormitory.
“I talked to Min-ha after receiving her withdrawal request this morning… I think it will be difficult to persuade her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Min-ha… even if she stays, she’ll probably try to withdraw again. As you know, her grades are very low, she’s so timid she hasn’t made any friends… and besides…”
Teaching Assistant Bae glanced at me and continued,
“She fainted during the basic evaluation. Because of that, she’s being subtly ostracized by the other students. It seems like it was too much for her to bear.”
“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind when I talk to her. Oh, by the way, Teaching Assistant Bae.”
“Yes?”
“You’ve gathered information on your students, right? Do you know anything about Han Min-ha’s parents?”
Teaching Assistant Bae furrowed her brow, as if searching through her memory, then said,
“She’s a hero family bonus points recipient. But her family section was blank. I know her parents went missing during a mission, but other than that, I don’t know much.”
Teaching Assistant Bae didn’t know anything more than I did.
For now, I should go see Han Min-ha.
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The dormitory was empty since it was during morning classes.
I stood in front of Han Min-ha’s door, waited for a moment, and knocked.
“Student Han Min-ha, it’s Professor Hyun Kyo. Could I speak with you for a moment?”
There was no response.
I was about to knock again when the door slowly opened.
“Professor Kyo…?”
Han Min-ha with her dark hair hanging limply, looked up at me with timid eyes.
“I came to talk to you.”
“Professor… I… withdrew…”
“You submitted a withdrawal request, but you haven’t officially withdrawn yet. Let’s have a brief meeting. It’s not right for a student to refuse a professor’s request for a meeting without a valid reason.”
At my words, Han Min-ha opened the door reluctantly and stepped back.
A large suitcase sat neatly beside her bed.
She had already packed her belongings.
“May I sit in the chair?”
“Yes, please sit…”
I turned the chair around and sat down. Han Min-ha perched precariously on the edge of her bed and lowered her head.
“I saw your withdrawal request. You said you don’t see any hope.”
“Yes…”
“You fainted during the basic evaluation, your grades are at the bottom, and you have no friends. Is that correct?”
“Yes…”
I sighed intentionally.
“Have you forgotten what I said during our last meeting?”
“No…”
“Tell me what I said.”
“You said you would help me…”
I stared at Han Min-ha for a moment before speaking.
“If you’re saying you don’t see any hope even after I offered to help, should I take that to mean you don’t trust me at all?”
“Ah…! That’s not it…!”
Han Min-ha blushed, flustered.
“Student Han Min-ha, I told you clearly. I will help you.”
“Yes… but I… I don’t think I belong at the academy…”
“Does anyone belong at the academy?”
Han Min-ha slowly nodded, her head lowered in dejection, and whispered,
“People like Hee-won… those born to be heroes…”
Yoo Hee-won…
“Well, aren’t you also a child of a hero, student Han Min-ha? Heroic talent is hereditary. You are one of those people.”
“No… I… I have no talent. I’m lagging behind everyone in every subject… At this rate, I won’t even graduate, let alone become a hero.”
“Are you aware that your Aura is incredibly pure and strong?”
Han Min-ha slowly shook her head, as if she was hearing this for the first time.
“If I’m not mistaken, your Aura is far superior to that of other students. You just haven’t figured out how to use it yet.”
“Thank you for saying that… but even if I have a strong Aura… I’ll probably never learn how to use it…”
Her self-esteem had hit rock bottom and then dug a basement.
No wonder Teaching Assistant Bae couldn’t persuade her.
If she was putting herself down like this, she would interpret everything negatively.
“Professor… I’m sorry you came all this way… but I haven’t changed my mind about withdrawing.”
“Do you think I came here to stop you from withdrawing?”
Han Min-ha looked up with a questioning expression.
“I came here for a student assignment meeting.”
“A student assignment… meeting…?”
“I intend to select you as my student, and a meeting is required for that.”
“What…? You’re selecting… me… as your student…?”
“Yes.”
“Uh… why…? Why…?”
Unable to process the situation, Han Min-ha stammered, her eyes darting around like a broken doll.
“Because I’ve decided to mentor you, student Han Min-ha. Do you need any other reason for a professor to choose a student?”
“But… Professor… my grades are bad… and my family isn’t anything special…”
“Grades can be improved, and I don’t think your family background matters much here. Don’t you agree?”
Han Min-ha remained silent, her lips pressed together.
“I see that you haven’t chosen a preferred advisor, student Han Min-ha. Would you be alright with me being your advisor?”
“I haven’t really thought about it… and besides, I’m withdrawing…”
“The withdrawal is cancelled. I just came from the administration office, where I shredded your withdrawal request.”
“W-what?!”
I calmly watched Han Min-ha, who sat up in surprise, and continued,
“No one knows you wanted to withdraw except for me, the administrative director, and Teaching Assistant Bae. You can say you missed your morning class because of a meeting regarding advisor assignments.”
“But… Professor… I’m really not confident…”
Han Min-ha sat back down on the bed and lowered her head.
“I don’t know if I can even graduate… or if I’ll become an F-Rank hero and end up being nothing… I honestly don’t know…”
“An F-Rank…”
I looked at the top of Han Min-ha’s head without saying anything.
Yes, at this rate, she would become an F-Rank.
But even that required surviving.
If she couldn’t even achieve that, she couldn’t become an S-Rank.
And if she didn’t become an S-Rank, I would be in trouble.
“Becoming an S-Rank hero is incredibly difficult.”
Han Min-ha looked up at me.
“And there are only two ways to become an S-Rank.”
I held up two fingers.
“First, meet the dangerous and demanding conditions set by the Administration, and a spot has to open up due to the death of a current S-Rank.”
I folded one finger.
“Second, survive until you become an S-Rank.”
I folded the remaining finger, lowered my hand, and smiled faintly.
“It may sound obvious, but the majority of heroes don’t understand this obvious fact. That’s why Basic Defense Studies is an unpopular subject.”
I stood up and knelt on one knee in front of Han Min-ha.
“Student Han Min-ha.”
As the distance between us suddenly closed, Han Min-ha leaned back, bracing herself against the bed.
“I will help you.”
I leaned closer and spoke softly,
“I will help you survive until the end. You have to survive.”
Han Min-ha stared at me, her face flushed with bewilderment.
I smiled at her.
You have to survive… so I can survive too, Han Min-ha.
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