Chapter 30

“How did you two become friends?”

“Well, right? Ji Hye, do you remember?”

“Did you forget…?”

“Ahhh, Ji Hye don’t be upset! It was my mistake!”

Han Seol-ri and Ma Ji Hye were a well-known duo at Seviron Academy.

They shared every schedule from school to home and although they bickered every day, their bond was so close that no one could ever witness them fighting.

Han Seol-ri, the troublemaker of Seviron Academy.

She had a uniquely striking appearance, even among many foreigners and mixed-race students at the academy, with her blonde hair inherited from her Swedish mother and enchanting blue eyes that captivated anyone who gazed upon them.

Out of the numerous incidents that occurred each year at the academy, Seol-ri often accounted for a significant portion, and she was frequently included on the teachers’ watch list.

However, despite her mischievous nature, she surprisingly ranked as the top student in her first year, with exceptional magical talent and intelligence.

And then there was her best friend, Ma Ji Hye.

Ji Hye was a girl raised in Korea, where the concept of noble families didn’t exist, and she was an ordinary middle-class child with no connections to famous clans or chaebols.

In a way, finding commonalities with Seol-ri seemed almost impossible.

While Seol-ri had a friendly and outgoing personality, Ji Hye was relatively quiet and timid.

Most of the conversations at school were between Seol-ri and her.

Sporting a neat bob haircut and cute glasses, Ji Hye represented the quintessential quiet studious girl typically found in class, but unlike Seol-ri, she didn’t appear particularly confident in her studies.

As a result, her grades also fell into the average range.

However, there was one subject she was genuinely confident about.

[Is that a first-year student? He really defeated a third-year student in martial arts!]

It was the martial arts battle utilizing Aura.

Her father was a detective working in the Seoul Serious Crime Investigation Division 2.

With a desire to raise his weak and delicate daughter to be strong, he had taught her martial arts since she was young, but perhaps he had underestimated her talent.

Ji Hye excelled in utilizing Aura so remarkably that among her peers, there was no one who could match her.

It wasn’t far-fetched for rumors to spread that if a first-year student with red eyes was spotted during the sports festival, they should run away at once.

Ji Hye, who had struggled to adapt to the academy, was naturally drawn to Seol-ri, the center of their class, and Seol-ri, in turn, was captivated by Ji Hye’s serious and unexpected demeanor.

Their official bonding moment likely happened during the sports festival, but they had already been drawn to each other before that.

On a day just like any other on their way home from school, Ji Hye suggested they go play at the playground to cheer up Seol-ri, who was feeling gloomy after being ignored by a transfer student.

However, when they saw older students bullying a group of children who had yet to even enroll in elementary school, Ji Hye couldn’t stay silent.

Seol-ri thought she could fight back as long as she was with Ji Hye, but she never imagined Ji Hye would rush in without a second thought.

“No, Ji Hye! Look behind you!”

Ji Hye was in danger.

Her body froze, unable to move.

It seemed Ji Hye was still unaware of the approaching threat.

If she got hit in the head with that wooden stick…

“Casting: Friction Coefficient Adjustment”

Seol-ri sensed an unusual flow of mana behind her.

[Fourth Circle Joint Casting: Gravity Coefficient Adjustment]

Seol-ri realized the source was the mysterious transfer student she had met at the back gate earlier.

Without lifting a finger, she generated two magic circles and one counter-formation.

The amount of mana flowing around her was so abundant that her pigtails were wildly thrashing about.

[Script: Rotational Transformation]

The child who was about to strike Ji Hye stumbled and slipped, while the other four stuck to the ground as if glued.

As NaeMe effortlessly subdued the group of upperclassmen, it took both Seol-ri and Ji Hye, the center of the fight, a moment to comprehend what had just happened.

“Are you okay?”

NaeMe helped the still-stunned child to her feet.

The child appeared to have brushed her knee against a sharp stone when she fell, leaving a little blood on her leg.

“Yes…”

“You’re brave, not crying even though it must hurt. Do you want to continue playing at the playground?”

“No… I want to go home.”

“Can you walk?”

“Ouch…!”

Only then did the child seem to realize her injury.

Tears welled up in her eyes again.

“Just wait, close your eyes for a moment. I’ll treat you right away.”

NaeMe reassured the child and seated her on a bench.

[Second Circle Casting: Tissue Regeneration]

“It might sting a little.”

“Ugh!”

“You’ll feel better soon.”

Bright green light flickered in NaeMe’s hands.

The spell she was about to use was a healing magic commonly used by healers.

By enhancing the hypoxia adaptation of NK cells in a specific area, it eliminates viruses entered at the wound site and promotes blood vessel formation.

It also boosts the mitochondria metabolism of macrophages, resolving inflammation and rebuilding tissue.

Whether the overly busty saint had known about this or simply acted instinctively remained a mystery to NaeMe.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Laura. Aurora.”

“What a pretty name.”

“What’s your name, unnie?”

“I’m NaeMe. Alright, look! All healed up?”

“Huh? Wow!”

As NaeMe removed her hands, the girl marveled at her completely healed knee.

“It doesn’t hurt at all! I can walk by myself!”

“You’re not fully recovered yet. I’ll take you home.”

Aurora told them she lived in the Gu Ryong village across the main road.

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Um… transfer student?”

While Aurora held NaeMe’s hand tightly, Seol-ri and Ji Hye called out to her.

“Thank you for saving me. I almost got Ji Hye hurt because of me…”

Seol-ri hesitated, showing an uncertain demeanor.

However, her expression didn’t seem particularly bad in NaeMe’s eyes.

“You two were brave too, although you were foolish.”

As NaeMe awkwardly complimented them, Seol-ri’s expression brightened.

“Thank you for saving us, unnie…!”

“Aurora, right? Nice to meet you! My name is Han Seol-ri, and the sister who was fighting 1 against 5 is Ma Ji Hye!”

“What do you mean 1 against 5! Don’t say that, it’s embarrassing.”

“No, you looked so cool!”

“Look at you, our Laura is really cute! Want to be my sister?”

Seol-ri and Ji Hye quickly became friends with Laura.

Even after leaving the playground and stepping onto the main road, their chatter never ceased.

“Laura, did you see the transfer student’s magic earlier? She took down those five upperclassmen in an instant.”

“I saw…! NaeMe unnie is really amazing…!”

“I didn’t even sense anyone using magic over here. How did she even do that…?”

Ji Hye agreed with Seol-ri’s opinion.

The magic activated in a split second.

They instinctively recognized that no one from their grade could use that level of magic.

Yet, NaeMe felt embarrassed by their blind praise.

“Why are you following me? Aren’t you going home?”

“Don’t say something sad! We definitely helped Laura too! You said so yourself. So we can take Laura home.”

As they crossed the intersection, the scenery changed 180 degrees.

The tall buildings and beautifully decorated tree-lined streets were nowhere to be found, and utility poles that seemed like they belonged in another era were still scattered about.

On the street lay promotional flyers from illegal debt collection agencies saying, ‘We help you retrieve your owed money.’

This scene felt oddly familiar to NaeMe.

Long ago, a memory of a paraplegic boy emerged in her mind. Living in a semi-basement, it resembled an abyss devoid of any hope.

The current Laura seemed to mirror that same fate.

On the other hand, Seol-ri was genuinely fascinated by this unfamiliar landscape.

She couldn’t openly show her concern that Laura might get hurt, but she had no idea there were still slums like this next to apartment complexes in Seoul.

Shabby houses without any security measures.

Laura lived in one of those homes.

“Thank you for bringing me home.”

“Is there no one at home? What about your mother?”

Ji Hye asked with a worried heart.

“There’s grandma in the room, but mom rarely comes home… They say if I wait at the playground, I might see dad someday… but I feel like that’s just a lie.”

NaeMe sensed there were complicated circumstances surrounding Laura’s family.

Everyone in the world lives with their own pain.

However, the degree to which pain is felt varies from person to person.

Some get frustrated over failing an exam they prepared for, spend time drinking with friends at a pub, and vow to try again, while others are devastated by falling short in their final life challenge and live their lives forgetting their dreams.

Some abandon even the passion lingering in their hearts, as they must survive day to day.

Whenever NaeMe saw children like Laura, her heart ached.

“I’ll have to visit you more often from now on.”

Seol-ri suddenly mumbled.

“To Laura?”

“Yeah. It’ll be fun if we all play together, right?”

But hope unexpectedly blossomed.

NaeMe smiled at their words and silently wished for Laura to only meet good people like them in the future.

“By the way, NaeMe… do you live in the Parthenon Apartments too?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, which unit? I’m in unit 101.”

“… 102.”

“That’s right next door! We’re neighbors, yay! Now we can go to school together with Ji Hye! Ji Hye’s house is in that complex over there, so we have the same route!”

Ji Hye nodded along as well.

“Well, that’s only if you can pass the transfer exam.”

“What do you mean?”

“No matter how I think about it, I feel like I might flunk out of the academy.”

“Why? If you were unqualified to attend, we should have been expelled long ago.”

“Seol-ri is right. Even if I asked our class’ Si Hoo to try to do what you did today, he couldn’t have done it.”

However, NaeMe couldn’t shake the feeling that the admissions officers’ expressions and gazes when she last saw them held a negative suspicion towards her.

“Well then, if you pass later, let’s meet at the entrance ceremony! You absolutely have to walk to and from school with us, okay?”

“Thank you so much for today! I won’t forget it!”

They were truly unruly children.

Yet, NaeMe found that sort of innocence endearing.

Seol-ri and Ji Hye waved her off until she took the elevator up.

After they disappeared, NaeMe began to contemplate the whirlwind of events that had transpired over the last month in order.

[39th floor. Going up.]

She had taken the final exam for the magical studies class, one of the few rays of happiness in her life since this life began.

[5th floor]

She went to Korea University to check her grades via public transportation and had to be hospitalized after experiencing seizures from not taking her potion.

[10th floor]

Before she knew it, she had been adopted by Professor Cheon Kyujin. Every day, she enjoyed warm meals and discussed the latest theories of magic at dinner.

[15th floor]

In a last-ditch effort to pay off a bill that had arrived late from the Korea Magic Corporation, she had engaged in a week-long collaboration with Si A.

[20th floor]

She once again visited the memorial hall with Professor Cheon to see her precious mother, Seol-a.

[25th floor]

Eventually, despite her stealthy attempts to repay debts being rendered moot by a typo in Si A’s text messages, it did lead to her getting a debit card in her name.

[30th floor]

Recommended for admission to Seviron Academy, she once again poured her efforts into preparing for the interview for a fortnight.

[35th floor]

And today, she had met some somewhat unique but kind Academy Friends and had the chance to see a cute little girl with an adorable smile.

[39th floor.]

In the end, she arrived.

“I’m back.”

She had come to a place she could call home.

“Oh, NaeMe, you’re back! It took you a long time! Could it be that the interview just ended?”

“No, I met some fun friends on the way.”

“Friends? Oh, you made friends already?”

Since it took a while,

she could afford to take a little break now.

“Yes, they were nice kids.”