Chapter 10: What a Coincidence (2)
"Haak! Haak! Uuup!"
About to throw up.
Seriously.
And based on the looks of it, the other kids felt the same way.
They were already collapsed on the ground.
"Hol hol hol! Good work, everyone. Well then, let's wrap up today's training here."
At those words, the kids sluggishly dragged themselves to their feet.
I checked the time on my smartphone—it was already past noon.
Two full hours.
The astounding fact that all we did was run.
And it wasn't just twenty laps.
After we finished those, he gave us one minute of rest before making us run again.
All the way until the end of the morning training session.
Going purely by lap count, we'd run over thirty.
I stopped counting after that.
Even I hadn't known Han Tae-won could run this well.
And all that while carrying muscle soreness.
Of course, the price for that was…….
"Han Tae-won. Why are you still lying down?"
I didn't have the strength to so much as wiggle a finger.
I tried trembling my arm up.
But my arm barely rose before dropping right back down.
"As you can see. ‘Heo-eok! Heo-eok!’ I'm in this state."
"I see. Well then, just a moment……."
Ishmael suddenly produced a rope from somewhere.
And began tying me up tightly.
Thoroughly.
With such meticulous care that not even the slightest twitch was possible.
True to the skill of a sailor, I suppose.
And with me bundled up like a pile of rope, Ishmael casually slung me over his shoulder.
"Let's head to the Infirmary first."
"Huh? Uh."
Right.
Thanks for that, Ishmael, but…….
"Krkeuk! Hey, look at that."
"Pufhup! What is that."
"Isn't that the E-rank?"
This, this is too humiliating!
Couldn't he just support me like a normal person?
Did he really have to carry me exactly like a sailor hauling a big load?
My face went so red with embarrassment it might as well have been a tomato.
No. It burned so hot it felt like magma was about to pour out of my face.
So just as I was opening my mouth to say something.
Right then. A voice of salvation rang out.
"What are you doing?"
Yoon Se-a, her expression frozen cold as a sheet of ice, approached us.
At that, Ishmael turned to look at Yoon Se-a.
"Ah, Han Tae-won said he had no strength to move, so I was carrying him to the Infirmary."
"Fine. I appreciate that! Did it really have to be like this, though?!"
Help me! Yoon Se-a-mong!
"Then, leave him to me."
"Oh, shall I?"
H-huh?
"No, no, hold on a second!"
Before I could say a word, Ishmael smoothly passed me off and left.
And Yoon Se-a walked down the hallway carrying me on her shoulder, exactly the same as Ishmael had.
At this rate, I won't die failing to stop the calamity—I'll die of embarrassment!
"Um…… Yoon Se-a? Could you at least untie this first?"
"The Infirmary is almost here."
"No, I know that, but…… it's, it's embarrassing!"
But Yoon Se-a simply walked on in silence.
I wanted to squirm, but there wasn't a shred of strength in my body.
Thankfully we arrived at the Infirmary before I died of embarrassment.
But both my body and mind were already in tatters.
.
.
.
.
.
"Get the IV drip and take your Potion~! I'll come back in thirty minutes."
Professor Bae Jang-hwa gave a small smile, drew the curtain, and headed toward the bed where another student was lying.
And just like that, it was only Yoon Se-a and me.
I considered taking a nap for thirty minutes, but.
I was too hungry to fall asleep.
I'd been pushing my body so hard these past two days.
This was really something.
I glanced at Yoon Se-a sitting beside me.
She was blankly staring at the IV drip.
She didn't seem to have anything to say, either.
If that's how it was going to be, why was she even staying here with me?
"Hey. You can go now."
At my words, she slowly lowered her gaze.
Then she looked at me and said.
"Yesterday……."
Yoon Se-a trailed off for a moment.
Flinch.
But my head was already a jumble.
Yesterday?
S-surely not.
Did she figure out that I was the one behind that mask yesterday?
No, what is this?
Is she probing me for something?
As thoughts like those chased each other in circles.
"Nothing happened, right?"
Wh-what is this?
Is she, is she seriously probing me?
"Ah, no…… Not really? Not much?"
She tilted her head slightly at my reaction, then slowly nodded.
"Okay."
She slowly rose to her feet.
Only once the curtain had been drawn again.
"Hyu~."
Could I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
I really thought I was done for.
Well, honestly, it made no sense that Yoon Se-a would find any trace of me there.
I had completely changed even my voice.
On top of that, I spent my precious hard-earned money to get an extra set of shoes and clothes!
I made sure there was nothing to get caught on.
Anyway.
The next thing was the problem.
What next problem, you ask?
Well. Historically, this time of year is exactly when incidents and accidents love to happen.
Why. WHY.
Because it's chaotic.
The time when new students have just enrolled and are buzzing around everywhere.
The time when upperclassmen are also buzzing around everywhere, trying to help those new students.
How chaotic the interior of the Academy would be—that was as clear as day.
For incidents to break out, and for people to cause them.
There's no better time than right now.
Enrollment day itself, and the first day after, are a little tricky.
High-ranking officials come in large numbers.
And security gets tighter accordingly.
So today and tomorrow are the prime window.
That's why troublemakers emerge.
Not from outside, but from within.
The Academy is vast.
The Academy grounds themselves are expansive.
And Arion Academy doesn't stop there.
There's Hakjeon City, and beyond that, many other facilities as well.
A city-state in every sense of the word.
So security on the outside is tight.
But the security on the inside?
It's inevitably a little weaker by comparison.
It would almost be unfair to even call it weak.
The professors themselves are already S-rank Superhumans.
And there are over fifty of them.
Yet gaps still exist.
That's precisely why the people lurking inside cause genuinely catastrophic incidents.
Though it's not that they have ill intentions behind it.
It's just that the incident they cause while trying to grow stronger as Superhumans is a bit on the large side.
Not too many people get hurt.
But facilities get destroyed.
Those facilities are, naturally, important ones.
And if those can't be used, the growth rate of Arion Academy's aspiring Superhumans takes a massive hit.
Then the snowball rolls out of control.
The world might fall apart without anyone stopping even the first letter of "calamity."
So it has to be stopped.
In fact, I already have experience stopping it several times.
Naturally, since it's an event that triggers early on.
It's not even hard to stop.
The problem is a simple one, though.
Yoon Se-a.
Yoon Se-a, who was just sitting beside me.
Would Yoon Se-a really stay still?
When she knows the future?
She'll move.
Given Yoon Se-a's nature, there's no way she wouldn't.
Yoon Se-a getting in the way isn't the concern.
Having her there would actually make it easier to handle the incident.
Because she's a monster.
So…….
I need to create an alibi.
If I shut it all down entirely on my own, Yoon Se-a will grow suspicious.
Therefore, what I need is a person who can create that alibi for me.
Proof that Han Tae-won isn't fully plugging every hole himself.
Proof that Han Tae-won isn't quite as exceptional a figure as all that.
And…… proof that Han Tae-won didn't go there of his own accord, but was brought along by someone else.
For that to work…… I'd need someone with a reasonable sense of justice, a thorough grasp of this Academy's layout and information.
And on top of that, someone who was acquainted with me.
Sounds like the conditions are way too strict, doesn't it?
Like I don't have any friends?
Hey hey! Don't you know what defamation is? Huh? Want me to show you the sting of the law?!
Ugh, come on, seriously!
Oh, but there is someone.
My friend.
And if I can bring that friend to the location where the incident breaks out.
A perfect clear might be possible.
Because there's something only that friend can do.
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.
.
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Evening came to the Academy sooner than I expected.
And I.
Was lying on my bed, marveling at the efficacy of the Potion.
My muscles had already healed.
No more muscle soreness.
Completely and cleanly gone.
Of course, Professor Bae Jang-hwa's healing arts played a part as well.
Good.
My physical condition was at peak.
The time was…… a little past eight.
Perfect.
Where would I need to go to meet my friend?
The answer was already decided.
With very high probability, they'd be at the library.
No, let me correct that.
One hundred percent. They'd be there.
Because there was no other option.
In that case, there was no time to hesitate, nor any reason to.
The incident breaks out in three hours as it is.
I promptly put on the Academy uniform and headed for the library.
Past eight in the evening, and what's with the uniform?
Trying to look sharp?
That thought might cross someone's mind.
But of course, it wasn't that.
Because the Arion Academy uniform isn't just clothing.
It's treated as a full-fledged Item.
It contains a Mana Shield of B-rank or higher, and its charge capacity exceeds 10,000 MAh (Mana Ampere).
An ultra-capacity Mana Shield is built right in.
So the uniform is a precious lifeline that would protect my life in accidents and emergencies.
Reassuring!
Alright, let's go.
I steeled myself and stepped out of the Dormitory.
The Academy's library wasn't far.
But the problem was that it was almost too grand to be called just a library.
Imagine Starfield Library in Korea, multiplied by 100.
Perhaps even that needed another 100 multiplied in.
The ceiling reached 40 meters high.
All the way to the top—bookshelves.
Just books on all sides.
There were so many books that a bookworm would probably think this was the heaven they'd arrive at after death.
Because of that, one profession naturally grew in importance.
And that would be…….
The librarians sitting over there.
There were only two of them, but.
For now, I headed toward the counter where the librarians were seated.
My purpose was to meet my friend.
But if I made it too obvious I'd come to meet someone, it would start to look strange.
The most important thing here was simple.
That I hadn't called first.
That I hadn't acted first.
That had to come across.
So I needed to act natural.
Borrowing and reading books in a library was natural.
So I needed to make use of the librarians.
There were just far too many books here.
Even if they told me which section it was in, it would take forever to find.
So the librarians' help was essential.
An old woman quietly reading a book, and a young man diligently jotting something down.
The nameplate standing in front of the man read as follows.
-Scribe & Librarian B. Melville
I spoke to the young man among them.
"Excuse me……."
The man looked up with a flash!
The old woman glanced at me briefly, then returned her gaze to her book.
"Yes."
"I'd like to borrow a Beginner's Field Guide to Demons……."
"Yes."
At that, the old woman looked up from her book again.
But her gaze was directed not at me, but at the man.
"Pardon, if you could tell me where it—"
"Yes."
Um.
I did come over expecting this.
But actually seeing it in person, it's quite something.
"Yes. I'd rather not."
No, excuse me.
I haven't said anything yet.
At that, the man who had spoken suddenly snapped the cap onto his fountain pen.
And slowly leaned back against the chair.
The old woman beside him then called out to the man.
"Bartleby."
In response, Bartleby turned the chair to face the old woman.
"I'd rather not."
The old woman, upon hearing that answer, let out a short sigh.
"Ha……. Please wait just a moment, student. You said a Beginner's Field Guide to Demons?"
I nodded instead of answering.
Soon—seureureuk!—a book came sailing from somewhere.
The old woman caught it, gave it a quick pass of her hand, and handed it to me.
Then she immediately placed a call to someone.
"Oh, it's me. About Bartleby here……."
Just then, a familiar voice came from the direction of the library entrance.
"I was already on my way."
I quietly turned my head.
Dark reddish-brown hair caught my eye.
And I waved my hand with the most natural air I could manage.
"Oh? Ishmael. What a coincidence. Running into you here."
You think it doesn't look natural?
I-it can't be. Haha…….