Chapter 392

“Oh my, did you guys just come back from being stranded in the Amazon for a week?”

“Haha…”

Professor Cheon looked at us with wide, startled eyes.

“Go wash up quickly.”

“Yes.”

As I took off my white socks, small grains of sand fell off.

Sitting side by side with Saetbyeol in front of the entrance door, we shook off the sand stuck to the soles of our feet.

“Our truly precious older sister, would you like to come in with me? Heehee!”

“Ugh, go away.”

“Ah, Father! NaeMe just said something bad! Please scold her hard!”

I hurriedly grabbed my underwear to change in the room and dashed to the largest bathroom.

Swoosh—

I stood in the middle of the hot water stream and closed my eyes.

This is one of the few moments during the day when my brain can rest.

After about five minutes, I squirted shampoo and lathered it evenly over my hair, then sank back into meditation.

I shook my head slightly from side to side as I waddled like a penguin.

I wanted to stay in that state, but we had a dining out appointment, so I needed to finish up quickly.

I turned the water pressure to the maximum and rinsed off the bubbles.

With a yellow duck-head shower ball, I scrubbed all corners of my body.

I felt a slight pain in my ankle and noticed a small bruise the size of a finger.

It seemed like a mark left when Saetbyeol had tightly grabbed my ankle.

Thinking about wrapping the bruise with aura to erase it, I decided to leave it as a mark of glory.

When I came out of the bathroom, Saetbyeol was already done washing up and was drying her hair with a hairdryer.

“Did you already finish washing?”

“What are you saying? I can’t hear you!”

“No.”

Momentarily overcome with suspicion, I brought my nose close to the top of Saetbyeol’s head and sniffed.

It smelled of a faint, pleasant floral scent.

How did she wash up so quickly?

Shaking my head in confusion, I entered my room and changed into my outing clothes.

“Older sister, let me dry your hair… what? When did you dry it all?”

“With magic. It’s too bothersome.”

“Tch, so lacking in romantic flair. If you’re all ready, quickly cast some hair dye magic on me.”

“Can’t you do it by yourself yet?”

“When I try, a strand or two always doesn’t work out. It ends up looking like gray hair, and the kids at school keep plucking them out! Oh, my precious scalp.”

“It might be because you’re casting it early without fully infusing mana. Next time, take a longer break.”

“Wow, thank you! Now let’s go, let’s go!”

Both of us were dressed in matching black T-shirts and jeans.

I added a beige cap to Saetbyeol’s head.

“But still, we should be cautious.”

“How do I look? Pretty?”

“Um…”

As I scanned Saetbyeol up and down, I suddenly thought, ‘Is she going to date later on?’

Unlike my instinctive aversion to love, Saetbyeol seemed very interested in dating programs.

The source was Netflix.

The strange thing was that she immersed herself regardless of whether it was a male or female role.

With looks like Saetbyeol’s, guys and even girls would surely fall for her, but I couldn’t quite imagine her in a relationship.

It felt somewhat like watching a daughter or younger sister.

When Saetbyeol urged for my response, I gave a brief remark.

“She looks like a petty thief.”

“You know how to read faces. Ah, I’m hungry. I should ask Father to order some sweet and sour pork as well.”

The September night air was warm.

Just walking a little made me feel like I might start sweating, but we had a transportation method: a car.

As usual, I sat in the passenger seat while Saetbyeol sat right behind me, poking my cheeks and joking around.

“Hey guys, do you want to get out first and order? There doesn’t seem to be anywhere to park right now; I’ll have to keep circling around.”

“Sure! I’ll safely escort NaeMe to the restaurant!”

“It’s right in front of us.”

Once our faces became widely known, there was a tendency to only go to the same restaurants.

Upon entering a lamb skewers restaurant with rooms, the busy servers greeted us with warm voices.

“Welcome! Oh, it’s been a while since you last came!”

“We have a reservation for three.”

“Yes, please come this way. You’ll be entering room number 2.”

Saetbyeol suddenly rummaged through her bag and pulled out a camera to film me.

“I thought this would be perfect for a vlog. You look cute since you’re all fluffy.”

“Even after having such an experience today… sigh, never mind.”

“What’s the big deal! It’s not like I committed a huge crime. We even had a sparring session, so stop holding it over me.”

“Got it. Should we order half and half of the original and aged?”

“Also some sweet and sour pork.”

When the food came out, Professor Cheon arrived at the restaurant just in time.

Saetbyeol turned the camera 90 degrees and started filming the professor.

“Hmm?”

“Father, don’t you have any plans to appear on VTube?”

“VTube? Who would want to watch that?”

“Family content is an easy hit! If I filmed with NaeMe, I’d easily hit a million views.”

“Please film NaeMe a lot. My students keep asking for videos where they can show off their cuteness.”

“Haha, NaeMe unnie being cute! The world would end before that!”

“Who said that? Heejin unnie? Hyunwoo oppa?”

I named off the graduate students under Professor Cheon.

“Haha, they all said something similar.”

I pouted and placed the lamb skewers on the grill with a displeased expression.

As Saetbyeol used filming as an excuse to occupy her hands, I quickly snatched the camera from her.

“What do you think you’re doing? Just grill the meat.”

“But…”

Every time the fat from the lamb skewers dripped onto the charcoal, flames shot up.

In the meantime, I recounted everything that happened today to Professor Cheon.

It was a relief that the blackmailer was just an acquaintance of an acquaintance; it could have been a major disaster.

I should prepare a proper explanation for when Saetbyeol’s face becomes well-known in the future.

“So you both went out to have a go at it? Our NaeMe… ahem, it might not be easy, huh?”

“What was that brief silence about?”

“Haha, good choice, Saetbyeol. The sweet and sour pork goes perfectly with the lamb skewers.”

When I shot a sharp look at Professor Cheon, he turned his gaze away, trying to feign indifference.

“Ah, Father, I almost died today. The way this violent creation throws punches is just too hot. State exchanges or whatever, if NaeMe unnie goes out, it’s a guaranteed win. No one can beat her.”

“NaeMe took charge of training the Raon clan members this time, and she wrapped it up well, right?”

“Yes, yes. They thought I was young enough to underestimate me, but it seems to not matter if you’re really younger.”

“They probably found you cute since you’re basically a niece.”

“Honestly, that was the vibe I got too. Speaking of which, the state exchange event is coming up. Can I participate next year?”

Sizzle—

Once again, grease dripped from the lamb skewers, causing flames to shoot up.

Professor Cheon’s expression suddenly turned serious.

“Oh…”

Saetbyeol glanced sideways at him, and then started munching on almonds with her chopsticks.

“NaeMe, I didn’t say anything about you going to the exchange.”

“Yes, you did. So I’m always thankful for that.”

“You must have thought about it seriously to bring it up, so let me talk seriously: The Academy vs. State Exchange is very different.”

Professor Cheon’s lecture lasted ten minutes.

He explained that during the exchange, a thin mana barrier is used, that dueling with wands is dangerous, and what to do if there’s strain on the aura heart, among other things.

I nodded and listened intently to every word.

“When you enter middle school, I’ll allow it. You can wait that long, right?”

Wait four more years here?

Professor Cheon seemed to be using Cecilia as the standard.

I crossed my arms and shook my head.

“I want to go right away next year. Honestly, I can win them all.”

“What does Saetbyeol think? About NaeMe entering the exchange.”

“Hmm? Me? Well… I mean… she has a good eye for keeping up with the battle flow, she’s smart, and her magic goes without saying, and she uses aura well too. It should be fine, right?”

“Seriously?”

“I’m not being biased, and NaeMe unnie is amazing. She can triple cast, and if she can handle external manifestation, the age difference doesn’t mean much. Sure, she might look young and frail, but that just means the opponent might underestimate her.”

Good, well done, Saetbyeol.

In my heart, I gave her a thumbs-up of encouragement.

While Professor Cheon was pondering, Saetbyeol signaled me with her eyes.

She was blinking hard, but this one was tough to interpret.

‘What do you want me to do?’

‘Do something cute! Do something cute!’

‘Me?’

‘Yes, you!’

What if it backfires on me?

I took a well-cooked piece of lamb meat off the skewer and picked it up with my chopsticks.

Whew, right. The important thing is emotion over logic.

Didn’t they say humans are inherently irrational beings?

I held the meat and walked halfway around the table, extending my chopsticks towards Professor Cheon.

“Here, eat this.”

Saetbyeol shook her head, saying that’s not how it’s done.

I was disappointed; I felt this was my best effort.

Professor Cheon, taken aback, leaned his head slightly back.

It’s true that sunk costs shouldn’t be considered, but I had fallen into a common human error myself.

“Dad, aaaaah.”

“Pfft!”

Saetbyeol, desperately trying to hold back her laughter, sprayed the water she was drinking.

Knock knock—

At that moment, the door to the room opened, and a server came in with dessert ice cream, making eye contact with us.

“Oh my…!”

Oh, the timing…

“Such a good daughter! If your daughter is putting in so much effort to hand this to you, you should quickly accept it too! Once you pass puberty, you might not want to eat at the same table anymore, but these moments will become memories later.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you, NaeMe. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Yes…”

Professor Cheon snuck a piece of meat from between the chopsticks, and I awkwardly returned to my seat.

“I bet having a daughter with so much charm makes you happy every day. For dessert, we have vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!”

Professor Cheon looked even more shocked than when I declared I’d participate in the state exchange.

He cleared his throat a couple of times and then asked seriously.

“You’ll still eat together with me when you grow up, right?”

“Are you allowing me to participate in the state exchange?”

“I’ll consider it positively.”

“Then I promise.”

Somehow, I received permission easily.

I felt like this statement might lead to a significant misunderstanding, so I added one last comment.

“And I don’t dislike eating together with Dad. I won’t dislike it in the future either.”