Chapter 87

〈 Chapter 87 〉 How to Steal the Hero's Woman (1-6)

After leaving the classroom, I pondered how to deal with Seongsu-a and walked towards the cafeteria.

‘It’s not easy to just ask her to eat together…’

If I ask Seongsu-a to eat at the school cafeteria, there’s a high chance she’ll agree.

But it doesn’t seem like a good idea to just ask her out of the blue.

This is a long-term mission, and if I approach it with the mindset that it will happen eventually, I’ll end up in trouble.

Sometimes in games, the choices you make early on can lead to completely different outcomes.

‘I need something to bring us closer… some plausible pretext… Ah!’

[Did you think of a way?]

‘Seo Ji-eun.’

Seo Ji-eun from Class 7 of the Magic Department.

Seongsu-a is currently very worried about a student named Seo Ji-eun.

I thought I could start a conversation about Seo Ji-eun and keep the dialogue going.

‘Seongsu-a seems like someone who would work hard even outside of working hours, doesn’t she?’

[Even if I don’t know Choseohyun, given Seongsu-a’s personality, it’s highly likely.]

‘Is she still around? I should go to the classroom first…’

I turned around and headed back to the classroom.

I planned to use a conversation about Seo Ji-eun as an excuse to eat together.

Not long after, I arrived in front of Class 7 of the Magic Department.

‘Could she have already left…?”

When I opened the classroom door, fortunately, Seongsu-a was still there.

However, her expression was different from before; she looked gloomy.

As soon as I entered the classroom, I asked her curiously.

“Huh? Instructor Seongsu-a, you haven’t left yet?”

“Instructor Seongsu-ho? Is there something you need?”

She rubbed her face unconsciously and forced a smile.

Seeing Seongsu-a’s expression, I felt very awkward asking her anything.

It’s not just anyone; seeing Seongsu-a with such an expression made the situation seem even more serious.

“Ah… I had something I wanted to ask. I’m sorry. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“No, no! It’s fine.”

She forced a smile and approached me.

“Since I’m hungry anyway, why don’t we eat together while you tell me?”

...

...

“Ah… About Ji-eun?”

“Yes, am I being too nosy?”

“No! I think it’s quite impressive.”

Seongsu-a smiled and began to explain about Seo Ji-eun.

When she first enrolled in the Magic Department, she was the top student.

In terms of skill, no student in the Combat Department could match her at the time.

Even Songara, who is currently the top student in the Combat Department, couldn’t have competed with her back then.

However, around mid-first year, she started having trouble controlling her mana, and by the beginning of second year, she couldn’t control it at all.

The top guild of mages, ‘Tower,’ is struggling to find the cause but hasn’t even found a clue yet.

Seongsu-a didn’t touch her food while talking about Seo Ji-eun.

“…I couldn’t understand it either, just watching from the side.”

The flow of her mana was completely incomprehensible and chaotic.

And that chaotic flow of mana….

“Seo Ji-eun… attacked herself.”

“She attacked herself?”

“Yes, Seo Ji-eun’s specialty is shadow magic.”

“…?”

“You might find it unfamiliar.”

She explained that Seo Ji-eun has the special talent to manipulate the shadows of organic beings, which is different from the typical elements like fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning.

It was something I had never heard of before.

It didn’t exist in Schutra.

“The reason the Tower is actively involved in Seo Ji-eun’s problem is because of this.”

“…They don’t want to lose such a rare talent?”

“Yes. She was clearly a talent that suited the Tower….”

To summarize her abilities, she can materialize the shadows of humans or animals.

These materialized shadows can be controlled like limbs, based on her own magic power and the abilities of the target.

“She can make these shadows fight and support herself using her own shadow.”

“…Just hearing about it sounds like a cheat.”

“However, her mana depletion is severe.”

The depletion of mana is exaggerated according to the abilities of the shadows.

There’s a risk of being counterattacked while trying to steal an ineffective shadow.

But Seo Ji-eun is also very intelligent.

Moreover, she is strong in improvisation, even as a mage.

“She was good at assessing situations.”

“…That’s a shame. She’s supposed to return to school next week, right?”

“Yes, originally it was planned for this week, but… another problem arose.”

“…? What kind of problem?”

“Her leg condition has worsened again. Last year, a shadow she summoned attacked her leg.”

Seo Ji-eun’s critical problem is that when she materializes a shadow, her own shadow attacks her.

Moreover, the shadow that attacked her during the last incident was one she had no intention of summoning.

In other words, the shadow tried to assassinate her without any provocation.

‘…Crazy. Just hearing about it is scary.’

[It’s amazing. I wonder if someone with such talent could suddenly lose control.]

‘That’s what I thought…’

It’s not that she couldn’t do it from the beginning; she used to do it well, but suddenly couldn’t.

Every time I hear about her, I feel a sense of regret.

‘Her abilities sound amazing, so I wanted to learn from her right away. But it’s unsettling…’

[If you can learn and use it efficiently, it would definitely be helpful.]

‘Yeah, I wanted to use it efficiently to enhance my mouth and chest.’

[……….]

A long silence.

It always feels good when I can make Armonia speechless.

While I was enjoying the silence with my eyes closed, Seongsu-a started to worry.

“Um… Is there something wrong?”

“Ah! I’m sorry. I was just thinking….”

“What were you thinking about…?”

I made a mistake.

‘Damn, I gave a bad excuse…’

[………….]

Our CEO is still silent. She doesn’t seem like she’s going to give an answer.

I tried to bluff my way through it.

“I used to have a leg injury. It’s like feeling someone else’s pain….”

“Oh…. What happened…?”

Seongsu-a looked at me with concern.

I just said anything that came to mind.

“I was badly injured by a colleague. It was my own fault, really.”

“Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories….”

Seongsu-a covered her mouth, thinking she had made a mistake.

‘Phew…, she probably won’t ask anymore with that.’

[…Did you have a leg injury?]

Armonia, who had been silent, asked.

I thought about the past while communicating with Armonia.

‘When I was in a relay race, I fell while passing the baton.’

[….]

‘Ha, the guy I was passing it to also fell. It was hilarious. Haha….’

At the time, I felt wronged because I was the only one who fell, but it felt better when the guy I was passing it to also fell.

For the record, I fell because I passed the baton poorly.

I am the kind of person who….

‘When I fell, I hit my knee on the ground hard. I couldn’t walk properly for a while.’

[Are you okay now?]

‘There’s no aftereffect, but I have a coin-sized scar on my knee from that time.’

Actually, I don’t pay much attention to the scar anymore.

I only remembered it because I mentioned it, but it doesn’t have much significance to me.

After that, Seongsu-a stopped talking about Seo Ji-eun and started discussing the classes that had taken place that day.

***

“Sigh….”

A bright light shone in the dark room along with a sigh.

It was a luxurious private room, completely different from where Seongsu-ho lived.

This was the penthouse of the dormitory.

One of the benefits for upper-level heroes like Seongsu-a.

However, Seongsu-a found such benefits burdensome, both initially and now.

Even during her time at the Hero Academy, she preferred a regular private room over a better one.

But she ended up living here to please someone she loved.

“…But he never visited once.”

She had hoped for a visit, but it never happened in two years.

Seongsu-a placed the files she had brought on the dining table and sat down.

“At least it’s a relief. This time, it seems to be a really good person….”

She recalled the conversation with Seongsu-ho, which was filled with stories about the students.

Being a teacher is a job, and she was extremely cautious about any trouble that might arise.

Especially for assistant instructors, it was understandable.

At first, she thought he was asking to prevent any trouble.

And that was one of the reasons she thought highly of him.

Most instructors would ignore problems and pass the buck to the next person.

But from their conversation today, Seongsu-a felt that he wasn’t asking for his own safety.

He genuinely seemed to want to know about Seo Ji-eun.

“…He really seemed to want to know as a teacher.”

The file on the table contained information about Seo Ji-eun.

She had brought it to give to Seongsu-ho the next day.

Seongsu-a had high hopes for him.

During her time at the Hero Academy, she had built good relationships with both formal and assistant instructors.

But she disapproved of the irresponsible actions of those instructors.

She understood their position.

She understood the frustration of working hard to become a hero and then being asked to teach.

Three years.

Wasting her prime years in her 20s was not something Seongsu-a could easily accept.

But she couldn’t ignore the students who had entrusted their futures to this school.

She had worked with six assistant instructors over two years.

And out of those six, none had ever asked about the students.

On the first day, Seongsu-a had tried her best to provide Seongsu-ho with information about the students.

He had listened attentively.

Up to that point, he was similar to other instructors.

But through today’s conversation, she saw a difference from the instructors she had known.

He was proactive in gathering information.

“Now that I think about it… he mentioned a leg injury….”

She realized that she hadn’t properly investigated Seongsu-ho.

She remembered only briefly looking at his profile the day before and talking about her own interests during lunch.

Seongsu-a felt so embarrassed by her actions that she muttered to herself, even though no one was around.

‘Sigh… I was the one who was disrespectful to him.’

In the midst of a busy situation, she had unintentionally neglected to pay attention to the assistant instructor.

A normal person might just acknowledge their mistake and move on.

But Seongsu-a was not a normal person.

She was the type who would follow traffic signals even on a deserted rural road.

She was someone who paid attention to her own conscience, not others’.

“I’ll wait until tomorrow to properly investigate.”

Seongsu-a neatly organized the files on her desk and looked out the large window.

The boys’ dormitory was visible through the window.

The penthouse across the way, which she always looked at.

Even though it was impossible to see anyone through the privacy glass, she always ended her day by staring at the opposite penthouse.

But today, she was particularly focused on the lower part of the building.

Seongsu-a suddenly became curious.

“Now that I think about it… what does he think of me?”

She said this while staring at the lower part of the dormitory.

***

Seongsu-ho lay on his bed, looking out the window, and thought to himself.

‘Right now!! I really want to get Seongsu-a!!!’

[…………….]