NOVEL NEXT Chapter 44
Lee Hyun, who accepted defeat from Yeon Minha, stood up from his seat. Then, he manipulated the particle accelerator to deactivate the predictive magic circle and looked around.
Now, the curtain of fire had lowered to just over half its height, so in a moment, all the students present would be able to see their figures.
“Ugh… Huh…”
Lee Hyun lowered his gaze again to look beneath him. He spotted Yeon Minha, still seated and quietly sobbing. She wrapped her arms around her belly and curled her body up, resembling a bean bug.
Although he hadn’t touched her face, her once beautiful and neat hair was now tangled and dusty, having become a mess. It seemed the result of rolling around roughly on the dueling ground’s floor.
“…”
The goal had already been achieved. Anyway, he was in a position to help Yeon Minha’s rise in status. The purpose of this duel was merely to break her spirit, not to humiliate her in public.
However, if it became known that he had been utterly defeated by a freshman, rather than elevating his status, it would only add another source of ridicule.
thud!
“Ugh… Hik…!”
Lee Hyun approached Yeon Minha again and sat down in front of her. At his action, Yeon Minha trembled, hiccupping in response.
Regardless, Lee Hyun pulled out a small package he had neatly wrapped in flame-retardant paper from his arms. Shaking it upside down, faded white pills and a small comb dropped onto his palm with a thud.
“Open wide.”
“Huh… W-what…?”
“I said to open your mouth.”
“Ugh… Why, why…?”
Lee Hyun picked up the pill with his finger and presented it to Yeon Minha, but she merely shook her head repeatedly, wearing a highly frightened face.
“…Ha.”
“Hik…”
Irritation surged through him as he exhaled sharply.
“Ugh… Hah!”
Lee Hyun grabbed Yeon Minha’s chin and forcibly opened her mouth. Then he tossed the pill he was holding into her mouth.
The water-soluble medication immediately dissolved and seeped into her mucous membranes. Yeon Minha felt the pain that had been beating her all over her body significantly ease.
“Ugh… What is this…?”
“It’s a fast-acting painkiller called Catalin used in the military.”
“W-why are you giving this to me…?”
“…”
Lee Hyun chose not to answer Yeon Minha’s last question. He stood up and turned toward her back.
Then, this time, he picked up the comb and began to tidy up Yeon Minha’s disheveled hair.
“…Ugh… Hik…”
Yeon Minha was completely at a loss. There was no consistency in his actions. The one who had beaten her senseless just moments ago was now helping her take painkillers and calmly combing her hair. The skillfulness of his hands, as if he had done it dozens of times before, added to the absurdity.
The masked male student was undoubtedly a lunatic whose mind was completely gone. She could only resent the principal for allowing such a madman to enroll.
But all she could do now was sit down and tremble uncontrollably.
She was so oblivious that she didn’t even register that she had allowed an outsider to touch her for the first time in her life.
“…Hoo.”
Yeon Minha’s hair now looked as neat and lovely as it had at the start of the duel. After finally holding back the unpleasant sensation that had been creeping up his fingers, Lee Hyun finally pulled away his hand and sighed.
“Get up.”
“sniff… Ugh… What…?”
“I said get up. Or should I force you to rise?”
“Hik… Hic…”
Feeling a chill run down her spine, Yeon Minha immediately staggered up to her feet.
Lee Hyun checked her appearance. Her hair was tidy, and there were no visible external injuries. The fingerprints from when he had choked her were covered by her long hair, and there were no tear-streaked marks on her face, likely because she had minimized her makeup for the duel.
Although there were some dents in the gloves on her torso, no one would think of her as someone who had just been rolling around on the ground.
With a rising sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, Lee Hyun nodded without realizing it.
“Congratulations. You are now the official winner of today’s duel.”
“What…?”
“However, the declaration of defeat made earlier by your senior is still valid. Never forget that.”
“Wha-what do you mean…?”
Without answering, Lee Hyun placed his left hand on her right shoulder. Just at that moment, an increasing anxiety surfaced in Yeon Minha’s heart.
crack!
“Hik…”
With a rough sound of joints popping, Lee Hyun’s right arm drooped down. Upon seeing that bizarre sight, Yeon Minha trembled like a aspen.
“What a crazy bastard… a real crazy bastard…”
*
The students waited with baited breath for the curtain of flames to lift.
As the upper part of the curtain began to dissipate, small murmurs of excitement emerged.
“Look…”
Sera tried to say something and turned her head sideways. However, she felt awkward only staring at Yena, who didn’t blink and was gazing straight ahead.
“I see…!”
Suddenly, amidst a cacophony, Sera turned her gaze back to the dueling ground.
What appeared was Lee Hyun, with burn marks all over his body.
His protective suit was torn apart and scattered around the dueling ground. His right arm hung limply, and his blade was left lying on the floor.
The students shifted their attention to his opponent on the opposite side. Yeon Minha, with her still elegant and unruffled hair, evoked admiration in those who beheld her.
However, she too was exhaling quite roughly and unevenly. Although there were no noticeable injuries, there were slight dents here and there in her protective suit.
It was a scene of Yeon Minha looking quite worn out, a far cry from her previous duel appearances, where she had never shown any signs of fatigue.
“I knew it… How can a freshman defeat that person…?”
“Still, it’s impressive… No one has ever remained standing after the curtain of fire has ended, right?”
“And I guess she managed to land some effective hits? She must have earned first place in the valley training for a reason.”
The students chatted among themselves, yet their gaze remained fixed on the dueling ground. Although the curtain of fire was down, the duel time was not yet over.
But in the next moment, the masked male student opened his uninjured left palm and raised it triumphantly above his head.
“I surrender. I’ve sustained serious injuries to my right arm and can no longer continue the duel.”
As soon as his declaration ended, the bell signifying the end of the duel rang out instantly.
And Yena, who had been watching from the sidelines, suddenly looked like she was about to cry.
*
“Hyun!!”
A voice calling me came from the direction of the audience seats. It sounded slightly damp.
Yena, who had rushed over from a distance, arrived in front of me in an instant. Tears were brimming in her innocent eyes.
“Yena, are you crying?”
“Hiiing… What was that… You said it was just a light duel…! That it was for skill practice…!”
Yena frowned, inspecting the wounds all over my body. Then she turned her head sharply and glared at Yeon Minha, trying to wear a fierce expression that appeared somehow pitiful…
“…Don’t do that. It really was practice. This is how skills improve.”
“But that’s too much… This isn’t the time for that. Hyun, first let’s go to the infirmary…”
“I’m really fine. It doesn’t even hurt that much.”
I left Yena behind and walked back toward the dueling ground.
“Wait a moment. I’ll greet the senior and be back.”
“Wait…!”
In the center of the dueling ground, Yeon Minha was already there.
“I learned a lot, senior. I guess I still have a long way to go.”
“…Ugh.”
“It would be best for you to go to the infirmary right away. Although Catalin works fast, it’s not a long-lasting painkiller. After about 10 minutes, the pain you felt earlier will come back.”
“…Huh…”
“And while I tried to adjust it to avoid severe injuries as much as possible, it wouldn’t hurt to get a thorough check-up just in case.”
As the vivid pain of before resurfaced in her memory, Yeon Minha’s body began to shake slightly.
“Then I will be counting on you from now on, senior.”
In her once haughty eyes, only fear now filled them.
I had to make a concerted effort to ignore the immense sense of satisfaction swelling within me.
Was I always like this?
*
I too headed straight to the infirmary right after the duel ended. I just slipped my right arm back on, but I still needed some basic treatment since I had received minor burns.
“Tsk tsk, for a freshman, you sure have guts, huh? Of all times to fight in a duel…”
A young woman in a white coat scolded me while dabbing cotton soaked in disinfectant on my wounds.
Since I was wearing my protective suit, the injuries weren’t that severe. Perhaps due to the sense of achievement from taking a step forward, I hardly felt any pain at all.
After being told to be careful not to get it wet for a few days, I left the infirmary. I had somewhere else to go, so I barely managed to calm down the bouncing Yena and moved on alone.
The destination I headed to was the tall building at the western end of the cradle main building. Climbing up to the fourth floor and walking through the hallway, I spotted a sign that read “Principal’s Office” on the door at the very end of the hallway.
knock knock
Come in.
A familiar voice from a woman welcomed me. Upon opening the door, a woman with a graceful and elegant demeanor was seen conducting business at a desk.
“What brings you here… Oh my.”
The principal, Haewolhwa, looked up and had a surprised expression upon recognizing me. With her round glasses perched on her nose, it was hard to believe that she was older than she appeared.
“Our hot topic new student has come all the way to the principal’s office, huh?”
“…Please don’t tease me. I have something to discuss, and I wonder if you have a moment?”
“Of course, I have a moment. I was just about to take a break anyhow. Come, sit over here.”
Smiling brightly, the principal stood up from her desk and guided me to the sofa in the reception room. Just as before, she skillfully used psychokinesis to brew tea and soon presented it along with snacks in front of me.
After taking a sip of tea, the principal opened her mouth with an elegant smile.
“…So, what is it that brings you here?”
“Actually, you mentioned last time that you would grant any request, right?”
“That’s right. I did say that.”
Bringing up our conversation from the last practice got the principal to nod in agreement.
“I was actually wondering when you would say that. So, what kind of request does our Yoo Jin-hyun student have in mind?”
She looked quite curious, her eyes filled with a hint of expectation.
“To put it simply, I’d like to change dormitories. Is that possible?”
“Of course, it’s possible… but why must you go as far as to make a wish for that…? Normally, changing for personal reasons is tough, but for you, I can grant that right away…”
The principal tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“There’s a dormitory I’d like to transfer to that, under normal circumstances, would be somewhat difficult to arrange.”
“…Hmm? Which dormitory are you talking about?”
“Cradle 2nd year. Yeon Minha’s dormitory.”
“Puhuh…!”