Chapter 4 of the Academy's Delinquent

‘Is this how it’s done…’

A week ago, when Grandfather dealt with the monsters hovering above the green leaves, he used a certain technique. I tried to replicate it, but since it was my first time, I couldn’t control my inner energy as well as I wanted.

‘They’re all dead.’

There was nothing I could do. I didn’t kill them on purpose.

Bak Iljin shook off the dust from his hands and walked past Haerin to the already extinguished bonfire. He took out an artifact and lit it.

In contrast to Bak Iljin, who showed no signs of emotion, Haerin’s pupils were quite dilated. Her heart felt like it was about to burst from shock.

‘Ah, I didn’t feel anything at all.’

Even she, who was sensitive to the flow of magic, felt nothing. There was only one being that could create such an overwhelming scene.

‘D, Dragon?’

As soon as she realized the situation, her body naturally trembled. She quickly knelt on the ground and bowed in gratitude.

"Great being, thank you."

"…What?"

While tending to the fire and adding more wood, Bak Iljin lifted Haerin, who had suddenly bowed deeply.

"No."

"Huh?"

"It’s not a dragon or anything like that."

Haerin, recalling the adage that ‘a dragon never reveals its true identity,’ forced a laugh.

"Hehe… Yes."

Even after being lifted, she bowed again, and Bak Iljin sighed softly.

"That was something Grandfather did."

Since things would get awkward if this continued, Bak Iljin decided to say it was Grandfather and stood up.

"Ah, Grandfather…."

Their conversation ended there. After that, they maintained silence and spent their time separately.

Lying down, Bak Iljin closed his eyes and pondered the existence of dragons.

Suddenly opening his eyes, he extended his hand, filled with inner energy, toward a large, distant tree.

With a loud crack, the tree fell.

Haerin, thinking it was lightning, made a fuss, but Bak Iljin, who didn’t respond, continued his thoughts.

‘Is Grandfather really a dragon? And if being able to do that makes someone a dragon, am I a dragon too?’

He had never had such a conversation before.

But no matter how much he thought about it, Bak Mingxue and himself were not dragons. They were far from the dragons in the fairy tales that Stone Golem Max used to read.

And if he was thinking that way because of the technique he just showed, he was even more convinced that he wasn’t a dragon.

‘Of course, it would be hard to become like Grandfather.’

But he thought that anyone with inner energy could do this much, even if they weren’t a dragon.

* * *

Before dawn, they quickly got up and prepared to descend the mountain, walking silently as they had done before.

Haerin, who still had doubts about Bak Iljin being a dragon, confirmed three times in the morning.

‘He’s definitely human…’

Glancing at him walking silently beside her, she swallowed hard.

‘What should I do? This is the only chance to get closer…’

Perhaps due to the deep-seated fear of his unknown abilities, once the relationship became awkward, it was hard to mend.

‘But what can I do about being scared?’

Lost in thought, she realized they had already arrived at the village. The green leaves of the tall trees swayed as if welcoming them.

"Ah, Haerin. You arrived first."

At the village entrance, the village chief, Habes, was waving to greet them.

"Yes, humans are surprisingly good at…."

Haerin, about to say, "surprisingly good at keeping up," stopped when she noticed him and held back.

"By the way, did you have any trouble on the way?"

"Yes."

Hearing that short answer, Haerin grumbled inwardly.

‘I had a lot of trouble!’

Ignoring his short answer, Habes asked several questions.

Whether Grandfather had any special instructions, if he was well, and how he seemed. After hearing all the answers, Habes sighed in relief and invited them to his house.

"I’ve already sent a message to the Huang family. If you take this ‘Leaf Emblem’ to Duke Huang, he will give you a recommendation letter for the academy."

"Yes, thank you."

"Oh, I was so preoccupied. I should have served food to our guests who came from afar first."

The blue apple salad, tofu meat, and elf-made fruit juice that Habes prepared were new to them but had a unique taste.

‘Hehe, did he starve for a few days?’

Bak Iljin’s happy expression while eating made her wonder if it was the same person as before.

"I don’t know if it will suit your taste."

"It’s delicious."

"I’m glad you like it."

While they were eating, the door to the village chief’s house suddenly opened.

"Chief! Did I come in first?"

The one who entered was an elf girl with emerald short hair and matching eyes, her playful smile standing out.

"Hello, Elia, you’re here now?"

"Ha, Haerin?"

Elia, seeing Haerin return first and even eating, jumped up and pouted.

"What? Haerin, how can you arrive before me?!"

"Why not? Blame your own lack of ability."

Haerin retorted without backing down.

Turning her head away with a huff, Elia shouted at Habes, who was setting the table.

"Chief! It’s impossible for Haerin, who drew the hardest task in the lottery, to arrive before me!"

Habes looked flustered. He hadn’t expected Haerin to bring the human child down from the deep mountains so quickly.

"Hehe, this is quite a situation…."

"This is unfair!"

Haerin, who had been listening, suddenly stood up and wagged her finger.

"The problem is your attitude."

"What?! Do you want to fight?"

Haerin’s task was a secret known only to the chief and a few village elders, so Elia felt wronged.

‘The chief must have given Haerin an easier task.’

Grinding her teeth, Elia approached Habes and shouted.

"Chief! No matter how much you favor Haerin, this is too much!"

"What do you mean, too much?"

Elia, pointing at Bak Iljin, who continued to eat happily despite the commotion, said,

"Is bringing just one strange human to the village harder than my task of retrieving a fire spirit stone?"

At that moment, Haerin and Habes looked to see if Bak Iljin was upset, but he continued to eat without any reaction.

"Watch your words. Do you know who this person is…."

"Haerin."

Haerin, almost spilling the secret in a fit of anger, came to her senses at Habes’ words and turned her head away with a huff.

"Hmph, maybe he’s just a child of one of the Five Great Families."

"Elia, stop being angry and eat first."

At Habes’ urging, Elia moved to the table and noticed the blue leaf-shaped emblem next to Bak Iljin’s plate, her eyes widening.

"Chief, why does this human have the ‘Leaf Emblem’?!"

"Hehe, there’s a reason for that…."

The ‘Leaf Emblem’ was given only to distinguished guests or the village’s heroes.

She had once begged for the emblem to get a recommendation letter from the Huang family but was refused.

Fortunately, she managed to get the recommendation letter without the emblem, but she couldn’t help feeling bad.

"You said you’d never give it to me…."

Without touching her food, Elia slammed the door and left.

Then, she opened the door again and said,

"I didn’t slam it; the wind did!"

and left again.

Habes, looking at the closed door, chuckled softly.

"That kid, when will she grow up…."

"Chief, if you don’t scold her, she’ll keep acting like this. You need to give her a stern word."

Seeing her say this, Habes laughed again.

‘You’re the same, kid.’

* * *

After finishing the meal, Bak Iljin went for a walk around the village.

‘Is this ice cream? In the lair, I only had the ice hongshi that Max gave me.’

Even after walking for over an hour, he kept seeing new things.

The residents of the Blue Leaf Village, who were often visited by humans, looked at him curiously but didn’t seem wary.

"People? Elves? It’s surprising to see so many of them."

Having spent his entire life in a cave, everything about civilization was unfamiliar to him.

The picturesque houses made from a single tree, the children playing with summoned spirits, and the elf girl staring at him with wide eyes.

"Hey! Human with the weird hairstyle!"

"…."

"If you heard me, you should answer!"

Elia, seeing him finally turn his head, continued.

"You! What are you going to use the ‘Leaf Emblem’ for?"

"To get a recommendation letter for the academy."

"What?"

Since there was no need to hide it, Bak Iljin gave a simple answer and walked past her.

"Stop right there!"

"Again, why?"

"You’re going to the academy?"

"Yes."

Elia, with a mischievous smile, folded her arms. Her playful smile grew even wider.

"I’ll test you. To see if you have the skills to enter the academy."

She didn’t think this human was better than her. It was absurd that he had the emblem she couldn’t get.

‘Hmph! I’ll make sure you can’t even dream of the academy!’

The test was an excuse. She was just angry that he got the recommendation letter she couldn’t and wanted to make him suffer.

"How are you going to test me?"

"We’ll have a sparring match."

"No."

Seeing his expression, she was taken aback. She would have shown more emotion even at a pebble on the road.

‘What? That emotionless face?’

But it didn’t matter. The important thing was to toy with this human.

"Why not?"

"Just don’t want to."

"You’re scared…."

Before she could finish, he walked past her again. Elia ran in front of him.

"Why do you keep ignoring me?"

"I don’t care."

Thinking he might ignore her again, Elia focused magic in her right hand.

"No? I have to spar with you!"

She drew three red magic circles in the air, which soon merged into one.

"Portia!"

From the merged magic circle, a wolf-shaped spirit enveloped in red flames was summoned.

Although the body wasn’t large due to only three summoning circles, it exuded the fierce aura of a mid-level spirit.

"What is it?"

"Will you still be so stiff in front of a mid-level spirit?"

She stroked the summoned mid-level spirit, Portia, to show her confidence.

"I need to see how great you are to have the emblem!"

After petting Portia, she cast a spirit spell.

"Portia! Flame Blast!"

The mid-level fire spirit, Portia, stepped forward confidently, holding flames in her mouth, ready to cast the spirit spell.

Just as she was about to release a burst of fire, her eyes met Bak Iljin’s.

Shudder.

The fire spirit, who was about to burst into flames, swallowed the fire and began to tremble.