Today was Mion-sensei’s private lesson time.
As the students studied in a self-study format, Mion-sensei would approach each student to check how much they understood from the previous class.
In short, it was like private tutoring.
Cold sweat poured down Jeong Yusin’s forehead.
Mion-sensei was way too close. She had placed a chair next to his desk and leaned forward so much that he didn’t know where to look.
“Alright. Follow what I say and write it down in your notebook.”
“Understood.”
“I like children.”
Mion’s breath tickled his ear.
“…”
“Would you like me to repeat that?”
“…I like children.”
It felt like I suddenly fell into some sort of clingy ASMR dictation brainwashing trap.
If I slip up, I might end up in jail.
Focusing all his attention, he slowly wrote each letter in his notebook.
“Scath-san, your handwriting is quite neat.”
“Thank you.”
Mion swept her fallen hair behind her ear. A sweet scent wafted past his nose and tickled his brain.
“The witch said again, ‘Children are unripe, so their flesh is soft and squishy, making them the best food.'”
‘Look at the level of otherworldly fairy tales.’
It was the crisis part of the fairy tale about the Earth Elemental and the Woodcutter, but it had a rather cruel aspect for children to read.
As he repeated it, he copied it down.
“Hmm? Scath-san, this part is wrong. Please rewrite it.”
Mion leaned in even further and tapped the incorrect part with her finger.
A shocking scene came into view.
“Ugh.”
No matter how oversized her clerical robes were, she couldn’t hide the massive mammary cushions that spread like pudding on the desk.
It’s an eye poison.
I’m getting an erection.
My penis formally declared it.
‘No!’
What with all the kids in the classroom?
The iron bars flashed in his mind.
He could almost see Mion’s contemptuous glare.
On the contrary, I would like that.
‘No, regain your senses!’
Jeong Yusin opened his eyes wide. The warning from the temple receptionist flashed through his mind. If any unsightly incident occurs, he’ll be expelled from the orphan academy. He must avoid losing this chance to study cheaply at all costs.
“Scath-san?”
“Yes. I’ll fix it immediately.”
As he awkwardly moved his pen to correct the mistake, he accidentally struck Mion’s chest with his right arm.
Jeong Yusin’s strong arm squished Mion’s plump breasts and lightly grazed her nipple hidden under a thin lace bra.
“Criiiikk!”
Mion flinched and pulled her body back.
Disaster!
“Kyaa! I’m so sorry!”
He immediately bowed his head and apologized.
“Ah…no. I was too close. I apologize.”
Mion’s face turned tomato red. She covered her chest with one hand. But can one hand really cover those H-cup mammary cushions? It only added to the seductive atmosphere.
“Teacher, check mine too!”
“Yeah. Why do you keep clinging to that Barbaroy?”
The children sitting around complained loudly and whined.
“Alright. Scath-san, please rewrite the incorrect part. I’ll check it again after class.”
“Understood.”
Mion got up and left with stiff movements.
Jeong Yusin began correcting the part he had written incorrectly.
But the soft sensation of the mammary cushion lingered in his mind.
“Tsk! Teacher? Please focus.”
“Uh? Oh…right. Sorry.”
“Eh? Teacher, there’s something sharp poking out near your chest. Is it a bug…”
“Focus…let’s focus!”
He tried to ignore the conversation behind him.
“Could I get expelled?”
Nah, probably not.
Suppressing his anxiety, he concentrated on studying.
Feeling like he was sitting on needles, he read the fairy tale book, copied it for himself, and memorized necessary words.
Time flowed, and it was soon lunchtime.
“Alright, that’s all for today. Everyone, thank you for your hard work. I’ll check your homework tomorrow.”
“Yes! Thank you, teacher. Are you coming again tomorrow?”
“Hehe. Well, will I?”
“Please come again tomorrow!”
“In that case, see you tomorrow?”
Mion spoke with a slightly flirtatious voice while continually sweeping her hair behind her ear. Her neck was slightly flushed.
‘Did we just make eye contact?’
Mion turned her head while looking at the students and seemed to briefly glance at him.
Mion’s half-lidded eyes couldn’t be confirmed.
“Which teacher will come, we’ll leave that as a pleasant surprise for tomorrow.”
“Ugh.”
“To Scath student, please stay a little longer. Everyone else, let’s go eat. Class is over!”
As the students left, only Mion and Jeong Yusin remained.
“Hmmm. You corrected it very well. Excellent.”
“Thank you.”
“Um…do you have any time?”
“Not too long. Sorry.”
Jeong Yusin’s curt reply shocked Mion’s face.
“Sorry. I spent 30 silver coins at the swordsmanship guild.”
“Uh…then how about we talk while walking?”
“Understood.”
He gathered his writing tools and placed them in his small bag. It was a bag given by Darmong to commemorate his entrance into the orphan academy, with a cute bear face drawn on it.
Shouldering his bag, he walked with Mion.
“I heard everything from Ann. About how you helped save your companions.”
“It was just good luck.”
It’s not a lie. It really was. Back then, his nose was three chi long.
“Still, it’s rare for a new explorer. To not only do that but also easily hand over silver coins is quite a virtuous deed. Even though you were in the same party, it’s surprising.”
“Just a few silver coins.”
He felt awkward at Mion’s unexpected praise.
“It’s a lot of money for a new explorer. I know. I used to be one, too.”
Mion became serious.
‘Was she an explorer?’
He didn’t know.
“Did you use to be an explorer?”
“Ahaha. Yes, though it was a long time ago. I’m not one now.”
Seeing the bitter smile on Mion’s face, he decided not to ask further.
“Anyway! Our temple has decided to provide some convenience for the kind-hearted Scath.”
“What kind of convenience?”
“Ta-dah! You can use the Confessional of the Dejimoseon Temple for only five copper coins!”
“Confessional?”
A Sacrament of Confession?
A religious act where you confess your sins with a tree between you and the confessor?
“Yes! What do you think? Good, right? Quite extraordinary, isn’t it?”
“Do I look like someone with many sins?”
He asked honestly.
Mion, looking confused, shook her hand. Her sizable baby dinner bowl also wobbled together.
“No! That’s not what I meant. It’s just…the term ‘confessional’ but it’s a place to let out things you couldn’t say to others, thoughts you’ve kept bottled up inside.”
“Do I really need to do that?”
“The Labyrinth City can easily hurt one’s heart. Drinking and indulging in pleasures or chatting aren’t enough. Thorns embedded in the soul won’t come out that way.”
A voice full of certainty.
Mion’s half-lidded eyes were now fully open.
Jeong Yusin quietly gazed into Mion’s golden irises.
Petals announcing the end of spring passed through the wind between the two of them.
“Some people relieve their worries with food and conversation.”
Jeong Yusin spoke.
Darmong and warm food.
“…”
Mion looked at Jeong Yusin with a sorrowful expression.
“Still, thank you. I’ll use it someday. Can I say anything in the confessional?”
Mion smiled faintly.
“Yes, anything.”
After finishing the conversation with Mion, he stuffed some food at the temple’s cafeteria and rushed to the swordsmanship guild.
“Late!”
An elf standing in the training grounds had a rather upset look on her face.
“I’m sorry, Guildmaster.”
“Look at that relaxed face. Were you on a date with a pretty lady or something?”
It was a surprisingly specific speculation that sent shivers down his spine.
“No.”
“Ah sure. Not at all. But look at that bashful expression. Your face is already relaxed, so all that’s left is your body. Do 40 laps around the training ground.”
“Yes.”
Without a word, he ran.
10 laps.
20 laps.
Even a slight slowing of his pace was accompanied by the elf’s sarcasm and yelling.
“So this is acceptable? Your lower body is pitiful. Are you really a Barbaroy?! Run!!”
30 laps.
“Even a water bug can run better than you. Hold your head up! Clench your teeth!”
Under the elf’s fierce supervision, he completed 40 laps.
“Huuugk. Kgehh.”
“You’re not a pig butchering. Grab the sword. Take the stance you learned yesterday.”
“Kheeeh. Yes.”
Drenched in sweat, without any rest, he held the wooden sword.
The sword shook.
Middle stance.
“Let’s go.”
The elf didn’t hold back and rushed him.
Yesterday’s practice was just a taste, and it seemed she was now swinging her sword like a storm.
Jeong Yusin, as if a lone sailboat in a storm, was tossed around wildly.
But he didn’t capsize.
Clenching his teeth, he endured. Blood trickled down from his tightly clenched lips.
There was no time to breathe properly.
With trembling arms, he drew the sword path.
The simple sword path he learned yesterday.
Chop downward.
Chop upward.
Horizontal chop.
Finally, diagonal chop.
Clang!
Wooden swords collided.
A test of strength.
Jeong Yusin’s wooden sword trembled in his grip.
Through the wooden sword, he saw the elf’s face.
The elf grinned.
“I hear you killed a hobgoblin warrior. That’s impressive for only two trips into the labyrinth.”
“Are…are you investigating me?”
“You know, you can’t help but overhear things in this position.”
‘Damn this elf. She’s the guildmaster of this place.’
The elf pushed with more force.
Pfft!!
Jeong Yusin’s body wavered and was pushed back. Dust rose from the training ground floor.
The continuous strikes of the elf’s sword followed. Even with a level-up, it was an impossible speed to follow.
Bang!
A moan escaped uncontrollably from the shoulder’s burning pain as if singed by fire.
“Khurk.”
“Hurry up. No time to waste.”
Yesterday, people gathered around and formed a circle, watching them.
Bang!
At the waist.
Bang!
At the thigh.
Crack!
At the neck.
The hit location was unfortunate.
“Kkruurk.”
Unable to breathe, he curled up like a worm on the ground.
Saliva uncontrollably dribbled from Jeong Yusin’s mouth.
“Guildmaster, isn’t this too much?”
A one-horned minotaur with a broken horn frowned.
For a beginner’s swordsmanship lesson, it was excessively harsh.
“I’m still holding back.”
Jeong Yusin, using the wooden sword like a walking stick, stood up and said,
“Still holding back?”
The elf shrugged. As if it wasn’t her fault at all.
“…”
The one-horned minotaur crossed his arms and shook his head from side to side.
Jeong Yusin grabbed the wooden sword with both hands and lifted it high.
Upper stance.
The tip of the sword stretched up as if trying to pierce the evening sky.
The elf smirked.
“Upper stance? Quite cheeky of a rookie, aren’t you?”
“I’m going.”
“Alright then.”
The duel between the elf and human only ceased as night fell.
Everyone had gone home. The training ground was empty.
The elf looked down at Jeong Yusin who was sprawled out, panting.
“Enough for today. Don’t be late tomorrow.”
“Huffuuugk. Yes.”
“Good job.”
“Huffuugk. Guildmaster. Kheeehh. Thank you for your hard work.”
The elf left, leaving Jeong Yusin alone on the training ground.
“Phew. So intense.”
Sitting on the training ground, he massaged various parts of his body. He didn’t want to endure stiff muscles in pain like this morning again the next morning.
He unconsciously reviewed today’s training.
“Only got hit. Got a lot of position pointers.”
He heard many times that his lower body was weak.
“Should I add squats?”
He decided to add squats to his early morning exercise routine.
With that, he got up and left the training ground.
Back at the inn, Darmong greeted him.
“You’re all beaten up.”
“It was worth the money. Was it really the guildmaster who directly guided me?”
Darmong’s eyes widened as if genuinely surprised.
“Surely that elf?”
“That’s the elf. Is she famous?”
“An officially recognized swordmaster of the town. Her name is Ashur Startri.”
“Swordmaster?”
The Swordmaster cutting through everything in front with their sword aura?
Could it be that I’ve obtained a cheat in this other world?
His heart raced.
“Does the Swordmaster emit light from the sword and cut everything through?”
“Swordmasters are skilled enough to cut anything, even with an old iron sword. And light from the sword? You mean Aura Blade? Don’t you have one too?”
“…”
“Darmong paused briefly, rubbing his chin, then continued.
“Rumors said that an ancient legendary swordsman used it, but it’s most likely just rumors. Don’t rely too much on the inscriptions and train diligently. It’s the destiny of the vanguard.”
Jeong Yusin’s hunched shoulders were pitiable, and Darmong added a word.
“The title of Swordmaster is only given to the strong. Not just any strong person but someone officially recognized as strong in the labyrinth city. Having someone like this teaching you swordplay? Even if you had mountains of gold coins, you couldn’t seize such an opportunity.”
“I’ll do my best, sir.”
“And…”
Darmong paused mid-sentence.
“No. Let’s talk about it later. Rest today.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Darmong.”
As Jeong Yusin’s back ascended to the second floor, Darmong sighed.
“Swordmaster, huh. Scath, what exactly are you doing?”
Darmong’s sigh-filled muttering didn’t reach the second floor.
