Chapter 259

“Professor Chun!”

“Hmm?”

The response was a beat slower.

Looking at the graduation album and now seeing Professor Chun, I really feel how old he has become.

He may have been called youthful elsewhere, but compared to his teenage years, the passage of time feels too harsh.

“I’m sorry for the hurtful words. Uh… I also mentioned that we’ve only known each other for a year, and it’s a bit late to say this now, but that wasn’t my true intention…”

Of all the things I could say, I truly regret that one statement.

Especially over the last seven months since Professor Chun adopted me, I’ve come to realize that I’ve received a lot of affection.

Honestly, if a child several decades younger spoke so rudely, I would have been furious too.

“Nameya.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. And I’m truly sorry.”

“What? There’s really nothing for Professor Chun to apologize for.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about you, Name. I know you’re not the kind of child who would make such videos thoughtlessly. You just didn’t want the people around you to get hurt because of you, right?”

“Yes…”

“I’m really sorry for not understanding your situation well.”

The biggest victim of the recent attack was Yoonseul.

She was given an immense trauma, especially as a girl who already struggled with anxiety.

I visit her daily, comforting her with aura treatment, but shocking incidents are never easily forgotten.

“Professor Chun, I’m not weak. In a few years, I will be the strongest in the world.”

“But you see, even if Name becomes the strongest person in the world, I will still worry about you just the same.”

“Is it because of Ham Cholong?”

“…!”

Professor Chun’s eyes twitched slightly.

Just as I thought.

Principal Koo On Yu’s words were correct.

Ham Cholong was strong enough as an individual to change the course of the war, yet she was caught in a mere airplane bombing incident.

Because she always placed herself in the position of strength, she acted only according to reason.

The terrorists disguised themselves as mere thieves looking to extort money from Ham Cholong and led her onto the aircraft.

No matter how many perpetrators there were, Ham Cholong would never lose if they encountered her face to face.

Ultimately, not recognizing the cunning hidden within human naivety, Ham Cholong met a miserable death at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

Even if she had brought a magic stone or wand containing sufficient source mana, analysis suggested that the several layers of an invisible magical circle covering the aircraft would have thwarted her final struggle.

The reason why exceptions were made to the regulations on the invisibility of spells likely stemmed from this incident.

When magic is rendered invisible, the magic circle can be concealed in a non-visible state at any time, prompting the state to indirectly ban it.

“Professor Chun, you’ve had a hard time.”

The sorrow of losing a lover due to an accident is something I cannot fully comprehend.

All I can offer is this small comfort by being beside him.

Perhaps in time, the ratio of my presence in his life will increase compared to Ham Cholong.

“I thought you cared for me as much as you did for her, so I was a bit happy.”

“Principal Koo On Yu made some unnecessary remarks.”

“Why? I saw photos of you when you were young, and I thought you looked nice.”

“Hmm?”

“The academy graduation album. You were really cute.”

“I wondered what you two were always up to, and it seems you were gossiping about me behind my back?”

“Haha. Then you should have set a good example first. It’s karma, karma.”

“You shouldn’t tease adults, Nameya.”

Professor Chun tapped my head lightly.

It was a very gentle impact, but I pretended to rub my head in pain.

“As you said, I deleted the video. I did well, right?”

“It wasn’t deleted; it was censored! Oh dear, now you’re even lying… I suppose I need to discipline you once more?”

“Oh, you’re quick on the uptake. I thought you didn’t know since you don’t usually use VTube or social media. Can you just let it slide this once?”

In the end, neither of us managed to shift our positions.

But just being able to face each other and smile comfortably made my heart feel at ease.

After all, Professor Chun understood my perspective, and I became aware of the boundless affection and attention he poured into me.

On the other hand, Yuna looked incredulous at the fact that I had had a big fight with Professor Chun.

“Name gets angry?”

“Did I show nothing but a kind face to you all?”

“Isn’t that so? Isn’t Name not kind?”

“Well, what do you think?”

In the confession letter, I had heard the word “kind” for the first time in this life.

Of course, it felt good…

However, recalling the times I would swing my fists at emperors, popes, or demon lords during conflicts makes me feel a bit awkward.

Because they were like beasts that couldn’t communicate.

And I never treated anyone over the age of 13 as a child.

That was how the laws of continental nations treated them in my previous life.

So, while I wouldn’t hit Hero Klaus, I had indeed raised him a bit roughly.

Suddenly, an amusing thought occurred to me, and I tugged at Professor Chun’s collar and whispered to him.

“Professor Chun, as a token of apology, I’ll show you something fun during the fifth class later.”

* * *

When I traveled abroad with Principal Koo On Yu, she entrusted me with the education of the children participating in the Academy confrontation.

The reason she readily accepted my transfer and opposed me leaving for the United States was also due to this.

Since Principal Koo On Yu’s inauguration, the elementary division had lost to Altear Academy for four consecutive years.

The middle and high school divisions were not much different, as one could hardly find any recent championship records besides one in the middle school three years ago and one in the high school four years ago.

If they lost this confrontation as well, it would be clear that her term would end this year.

Thanks to Principal Koo On Yu playing a good intermediary role between Professor Chun and me, the conflicts were resolved smoothly.

I ought to repay that kindness.

For those unfamiliar with the Academy, we had a training practice session.

In the vast assembly hall, a white square line was drawn, and inside it stood 21 children, including me, huddled together.

If only we had been given a ball, we could have played dodgeball, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the plan for today.

“Hoo…”

Aura is the manifestation of will.

The first step to dealing with aura was translating the supernatural mana phenomena created by neurons and aura hearts into a form that individuals could understand.

In that sense, Ham Cholong likely chose cherry blossoms as a medium since her aura color was similar.

I wonder if I should try using azaleas?

I read Teacher Jackie’s signal and immediately began my preparations.

I joined my hands together in a meditative pose to gather mana.

The mana passing through the aura heart transformed itself like a pet dog held by the scruff behind its neck.

Repeating this process would eventually gather the energy that could be called true “aura.”

“Uh… Noname?”

Several kids noticed my antics and asked, but there was no time to respond.

When I slightly pulled apart my joined hands, the azalea petals born between them fluttered about.

“The first player… okay, let’s go with Shin Si Hoo. Just don’t go outside of this square, okay?”

“What… What’s happening!”

“Brace yourself tightly in your core. You can do it.”

It’s said that Ham Cholong always imbued her aura with a rotation of motion.

Everything in the world rotates.

The Earth spins and orbits around the Sun, and the Moon orbits the Earth as well, creating tidal forces.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the updraft of low pressure rotates counterclockwise; thus, she had adopted atmospheric science as her philosophy.

In other words, motion and rotation coexist.

I wrapped all the wandering petals around my right arm and stepped forward.

I extended my palm and struck at Si Hoo’s torso.

A powerful vortex was generated as I followed the flow of the natural sequence.

Shin Si Hoo instinctively bent his knees, trying to lower his stance and infuse his legs with aura, but unfortunately, his judgment was just a beat too slow.

“Uwaaaah!”

Unable to withstand the strong rotational force, his body was flung backward.

Thud—

Letting out a clumsy scream, Si Hoo crashed to the mattress floor on his back.

“If this happens, you’re out. Everyone understood the rules, right? Conversely, you must push me out.”

From the spectator’s area where the parents were sitting, murmurs began to rise.

I tilted my head slightly up to give Professor Chun, who was watching me, a V-sign with my fingers.

I hope you’re watching carefully.

I will demonstrate clearly during this time that I am several steps ahead of him.

If I wanted the children to listen to me from now on, I had to assert my dominance right from the start.

This was undoubtedly the most reliable teaching method; I had once vaguely heard it on television.

What was the program called again?

“There’s no such thing as a bad dog” or something.

I remembered being deeply moved as Trainer Kang Hyung Guk said all the right things from start to finish.