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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“No fractures. She’s perfectly fine.”
Choi Sung-joon, the head of the emergency room, said, looking at the X-ray.
“Thank goodness, Min-ha.”
Teaching Assistant Bae Ye-bin, holding Min-ha’s hand, shed tears of relief.
“Don’t cry, TA. They said I’m okay.”
Han Min-ha, with a bandage on her cheek, smiled reassuringly.
“The other student is in surgery… It’s amazing how there’s such a difference, even though they collided with the same force… fascinating…”
Choi Sung-joon tilted his head, examining Han Min-ha’s bones in the X-ray.
“Aura is still beyond the realm of modern medicine, I suppose.”
He turned to Bae Ye-bin and Han Min-ha.
“Get some rest. You can stay here tonight and be discharged tomorrow.”
“Understood. Thank you, Doctor.”
Bae Ye-bin stood and bowed deeply.
Choi Sung-joon glanced at me, gave a slight nod, and left the room.
“You did really well today, Han Min-ha.”
“Thank you, Professor. It’s all thanks to your guidance.”
“It’s mostly thanks to you for following my instructions.”
Bae Ye-bin continued to sniffle as Han Min-ha and I exchanged pleasantries.
“Professor Kyo, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, Min-ha might have failed the final evaluation and been expelled. Then she would have gone to a regular high school, wouldn’t have been able to adjust, and gotten expelled from there too…”
Through her tears, Bae Ye-bin poured out all the pessimistic scenarios she had been agonizing over.
The scenarios were so bleak and tragic that they made even me feel despair.
It seemed the usually bright and cheerful TA had been harboring such worries.
She was quite sensitive.
Han Min-ha, flustered, patted Bae Ye-bin’s shoulder.
“TA… it all ended well…”
“Yes, TA Bae. Stop crying. You’ll hear good news soon.”
The good news being her promotion to the upper class.
I had glanced at the evaluation forms earlier and noticed that the other professors had given Han Min-ha high scores.
I had, of course, given her full marks.
None of the professors had any ill will towards her, so she would definitely be promoted.
The real challenge would begin after she joined the upper class.
It would be tough for her to adjust among the top students.
Moreover, Teaching Assistant Kim Yi-bit-na would undoubtedly hold a grudge.
She was known for her unpleasant personality and would likely resent Han Min-ha for defeating Song Do-yoon.
Even if Han Min-ha joined the upper class under her supervision, Kim Yi-bit-na would likely make her life difficult.
But that was a problem for later.
“Anyway… Han Min-ha. Use this as a stepping stone to reach even greater heights. There are no more obstacles holding you back.”
“Understood, Professor. But…”
Han Min-ha hesitated.
“Is Song Do-yoon… badly hurt?”
“Not too badly. Multiple fractures and some ruptured organs.”
“What?! Isn’t that extremely dangerous?”
“No. That’s considered a minor injury in the ‘field’. She’ll survive with surgery.”
It wasn’t like her limbs were crushed beyond regeneration, or half her body was blown off.
The academy infirmary boasted the best medical technology and could easily heal minor injuries like Song Do-yoon’s.
This was all because of the greed of heroes who took on a few mediocre sidekicks and tried to hog all the credit.
It would be much safer if heroes of similar levels formed teams, but few heroes would willingly share the credit.
Unless they were forced to form teams from the start, like in Secreto.
That’s why, despite being deployed on dangerous missions, the mortality rate of Secreto heroes was relatively low.
However, there were some limitations to putting Han Min-ha in Secreto.
Because their activities were kept secret, their evaluations were often harsher, and promotions were difficult.
Therefore, Secreto heroes were generally considered one or two ranks higher than their official ranking.
That’s how Legalmight, who was a C-Rank like me, was able to quickly rise to A-Rank after leaving Secreto.
It would be more stable for Han Min-ha to join Legalmight’s agency and steadily build her career as a sidekick.
Unlike other heroes, Legalmight didn’t treat his sidekicks as expendable.
“Anyway, good work. Summer break is coming up, so get some rest and prepare for the new semester.”
“Understood, Professor.”
Revenge on Song Do-yoon, a good result in the final evaluation, and promotion to the upper class.
She had achieved it all in a single interpersonal combat evaluation.
More than feeling proud of having guided her well, I felt a sense of accomplishment for having taken another step towards fulfilling the promise I made to Han Tae-woo and his wife.
Just then, the door opened, and Yoo Hee-won entered.
“Purple Pig.”
Yoo Hee-won called Han Min-ha a strange nickname without any preamble.
She completely ignored Bae Ye-bin and me, not even bothering to greet us.
“H-Hee-won… you came…?”
Han Min-ha visibly flinched and lowered her gaze at the sight of Yoo Hee-won.
She felt guilty about the things she had said to provoke Song Do-yoon, as instructed by me.
“What was that? You completely destroyed Song Do-yoon.”
“Ah… yeah…”
“It was weird. Song Do-yoon… she went completely berserk. That’s not like her. Did you fight with her before the match?”
“Huh? N-n-no? Why would we fight before the match?”
“Hmm.”
Yoo Hee-won narrowed her eyes, and Han Min-ha started sweating, forcing an awkward smile.
“It’s strange… Don’t you think so, Professor?”
Yoo Hee-won turned to me sharply.
“Perhaps. But I think congratulating her on her victory should come first. And greeting the professor and TA before that would be even better.”
“Hello, Professor. TA. Good job, Purple Pig.”
Yoo Hee-won offered a perfunctory greeting and compliment, and I chuckled.
Perhaps that bluntness was part of her charm.
“Professor, is she really moving up to the upper class?”
“I don’t know yet. The final scores haven’t been calculated. But since a lower-class student defeated an upper-class student, it’s likely.”
“Have you seen the internet? Everyone’s talking about her.”
“I’ve seen it.”
“And everyone saw it – students, faculty, headhunters, active heroes, broadcasters, reporters. If she doesn’t get promoted, the academy will be accused of rigging the results.”
I smiled faintly.
“So you’re hoping to be in the same class as Han Min-ha?”
“Huh?”
Yoo Hee-won made a strange noise and recoiled slightly.
Her sapphire-blue eyes darted between me, the TA, and Han Min-ha.
Then, she spoke rapidly.
“Obviouslyifileavethatidiotalone,she’llprobablygetexpelledsoon,soit’seasiertodraggeraroundbyscruffofneckifwe’reinthesameclass,right?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
When I smiled, Yoo Hee-won snapped, clearly irritated,
“Why are you smiling!? And why the hell are you crying?”
She scowled at Han Min-ha, who was wiping her eyes.
“Ugh, this is so annoying!”
Yoo Hee-won stomped out of the room.
Bae Ye-bin, looking bewildered, stared at Han Min-ha and me.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s happy.”
“Huh…? She’s strange…”
Bae Ye-bin shook her head and hugged Han Min-ha, who was tearing up.
“Did the loud noise scare you? It’s okay now.”
But Han Min-ha wasn’t crying because of Yoo Hee-won’s outburst.
She was crying because she had learned how Yoo Hee-won truly felt about her, as a friend.
Yoo Hee-won… she’s such a strange girl.
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The evaluation results were released.
Han Min-ha was promoted to the upper class.
Her above-average score on the written exam, combined with the bonus points for defeating an upper-class student in combat, had made a significant difference.
From the next semester, she would receive quality education alongside Yoo Hee-won.
It would take some time to adjust.
Song Do-yoon, despite her loss, hadn’t been demoted and remained in the upper class.
She had received a perfect score on the written exam.
And although she had lost the match, she had demonstrated an exceptional level of Aerokinesis for a freshman, earning her a good score.
Regardless of her personality, her abilities were undeniable.
She was the typical kind of student Graford Academy favored, even unofficially.
Still, after being thoroughly defeated by Han Min-ha, she wouldn’t be as arrogant as before.
“Professor Kyo, are you listening?”
I slowly looked up at the department head’s call.
“What did I just say?”
“You said we should conduct home visits for our students during the break and enter the results into the system.”
“Hmm… good. You were listening. Ahem!”
The department head cleared his throat awkwardly, and Professor Jin Se-young stifled a laugh.
A short, one-week summer break.
Normally, the professors would also take vacations.
But the dean, for some reason, had ordered us to conduct home visits during that period.
It didn’t matter to me, as I only had two students, Yoo Hee-won and Han Min-ha.
But for professors of popular subjects, it was terrible news.
Professor Yoo Hyun-joo, for example, had over twenty students.
And they didn’t all live in the same place, so she would spend her entire vacation traveling for home visits.
Home visits usually meant meeting the parents…
Han Min-ha’s parents…
I had to go since it was an order, but it would be an awkward situation.
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