NOVEL NEXT Chapter 105 - Aika Wants to Hide Her Power (2)
Chapter 105 Aika Wants to Hide Her Power (2)
Ninomiya Aika was the strongest in the world.
It was a fact recognized by everyone, both awakened and non-awakened alike.
When other S-ranks carried S-rank gates, she tore the gates in half all by herself.
Her supremacy was indisputable, without any room for debate.
“Can I win if I fight Xiang Yu?”
Because of this, her strength was always a hot topic.
How strong could someone like Aika be?
Could all the other S-ranks defeat her if they teamed up?
Could she fight mythical figures from the past?
Could she win against someone like Xiang Yu?
There were even people who directly asked her these versus questions.
“I’m only telling you, Mama….”
To Aika, it was all laughable.
Who would win in a fight?
It was meaningless no matter how much they speculated.
Because I…
——I’ve never revealed my true power.
“If I use 100% of my power, I win, no matter who it is. But I’ve never used it all.”
“Why have I been hiding it? Well, you see, back when I was in Korea….”
She began hiding her power during her cadet days when she accidentally got caught up in an S-rank gate.
An S-rank gate. Famous as a place where death lurks.
Even she, who was arrogant with power at the time, felt a moment of tension…
But surprisingly, it was so easy it made her yawn.
It felt like she had mistakenly entered a C-rank gate.
So she casually swung her sword and came out.
But then? Seol Ha-yeon was shocked, Korea was in an uproar, and Japan begged her to return?
They praised her as the undisputed strongest among the awakened and even gave her the S-rank number 1 title?
…I hadn’t even used half my power.
“I realized it then. I am too strong.”
That was why Aika hid her power.
People already treated her like a strategic nuke, so revealing more wouldn’t do any good.
There was never a need to go all out.
And most importantly,
“But Mama, wouldn’t nobody want to marry a woman too strong…?”
A woman who could fold an S-rank gate in half by herself.
Her dream of becoming a good wife and wise mother was far from this image.
So, she hid her power ever since.
Claiming she was weak. That folding gates in half was difficult and barely manageable. Anything more would be impossible.
Insisting that she was just a delicate woman despite appearances.
“That gorilla hiding her true power all this time!?”
Of course, nobody saw her as delicate.
Even the power she concealed was on a different level from others.
Usually, Bojji Kkong and Seol Ha-yeon considered her just a gorilla with strength.
Most others treated her like a nuclear weapon.
In the end, nobody thought of Aika as a woman who needed protection.
“Are you hurt anywhere!!? Oh, our delicate master…!!”
“……?”
At this moment, until her student rushed to her side.
Aika’s eyes widened.
‘What? Did he just call me delicate…?’
Delicate.
A word she had never heard in her life.
From a young age, she was a kendo prodigy.
She swept all the kendo tournaments during her school years, and after becoming awakened, she dominated the world.
Even her parents never called her delicate.
Aika herself never thought of herself that way either.
But Yu-jin, her student?
Worrying if she was hurt from just catching some monsters.
With a face that looked like he was about to cry, as if he were the one injured.
I’m being treated as a delicate woman right now.
The corners of her mouth kept rising at this new experience.
‘Huhu. This isn’t bad at all….’
—Tightly.
‘This must be because of that miracle, right?’
Meanwhile, Yu-jin was seriously troubled.
‘You will experience a miracle.’
Before entering the gate, these were the words of the high priest.
As foretold, wasn’t a miracle happening right now?
An unprecedented S+++ rank gate.
As soon as they were transferred, monsters attacked.
At this moment, the master surpassed her limits?
Cutting down over 50 monsters in a single second?
It could only be called a miracle.
If not a miracle, the only conclusion would be that she had been hiding her power all this time…
Even before the regression, my master never did this.
‘There’s no way the master would hide her power on purpose. That makes sense. Even during the EX-rank gate… certainly….’
—Tling.
[The skill ‘Perfect Hypnosis’ reluctantly starts locking the doors.]
‘…Maybe it’s because I want to forget, but I can’t recall clearly. It shouldn’t have been that extreme.’
For some reason, the memories of the last moments were vague, but anyway.
Because of that, Yu-jin defined this phenomenon as a ‘miracle.’
That his master temporarily transcended her limits was a miracle bestowed by the deity or something.
‘That old man suffered three days and nights from just a prophecy. No matter how strong the master is, the overload…!!’
Next, what came to mind was the earlier conversation.
The high priest’s testimony of suffering three days and nights after hearing about the gate from the ‘saintess.’
If that ‘miracle’ was the same as the one now happening?
…Wouldn’t the master also suffer an overload?!
To wield such a terrifyingly strong power, there must be a cost.
Surely, there would be a terrible backlash.
No. I can’t let master suffer.
I must protect our delicate master.
“Please let me carry you! I’ll move you!”
[…Hey, Yu-jin? What are you doing with Ninomiya?]
[Ah, Kkong! Please help with the treatment!! Master is in pain!!]
[…The person who sliced fifty monsters in a second is in pain?]
[I don’t know exactly, but a miracle descended upon her, right? Like with that high priest, there must be an overload!]
[That doesn’t seem like a miracle, just Ninomiya using her own power. She must have stopped pretending to be weak.]
[No way! This kind of thing is too much for our delicate master!!]
“…….”
‘How blinded by love can he be?’
It was an absurd sight for Kkong, but anyway.
Thanks to that, Aika was delighted.
She was happy to be treated as a patient for the first time in her life.
Happy that her student was concerned about her.
“Uh, uh… I think I might have a fever? Could you check my forehead, student?”
“What? Ah, yes!!”
-Smack.
“It seems… you don’t have a fever, or maybe you’re slightly warm….”
“…….”
‘My student’s face is right in front of me…!!’
Taking advantage of this moment, she pretended to have a fever to get some physical contact.
“My legs feel a bit sore too….”
-Rub, rub, rub.
‘…It’s cute how hard he’s trying to massage~.’
She let him massage her body.
“Yu-jin. Ninomiya must be satisfied by now….”
“No. At least 10 more minutes of rest are needed.”
“…Could you at least stop with the lap pillow?”
“She said this is comfortable.”
“…….”
Pretending to be a patient, she sneakily received a lap pillow.
She did everything she wanted to try during this moment.
[Ninomiya. You.]
[Shut up. I’ll kill you. Don’t speak.]
[I understand, but we are inside a gate. Please refrain from such antics.]
[Just 10 more minutes. Ah, our student is so cute~ just like a little puppy~.]
[…….]
‘Does not getting married by thirty-two turn you into that? I mustn’t end up like that.’
Of course, her reputation took a hit,
-Whisper, whisper.
“Shia, let’s get that bitch together…!!!”
“That’s cute at this level? Just leave it.”
“Shia!!!?”
This unfortunate incident irritated Alice, who was watching from behind.
But at least Aika herself was very happy.
So, all was well.
* * *
The master, who performed a miracle as soon as we entered the gate.
I was initially worried she might collapse…
Fortunately, the master quickly recovered.
She looked as if she had never experienced an overload, lively and even more radiant.
Her skin even seemed more glossy, as if she had just rejuvenated.
“Ha~ Thank you. Thanks to you, I feel a bit stronger.”
“I’m glad. Then, master, what about the gate strategy?”
“I’d like to lead the charge, but it’s impossible in my current state. I’ve lost some energy.”
However, she only appeared fine on the outside.
In reality, she was clearly exhausted.
Her face was flushed. Her breath was hot and rough. Her eyes were moist.
She was even leaning on me for support.
It was obvious she couldn’t exert her full strength.
“What should we do? Should we leave the remaining battles to the American awakened and the Vietnamese liberation forces?”
“That won’t do. For some reason, the monsters are much stronger than usual. If they take over, there will be casualties.”
“…….”
The situation was dire.
We came expecting an S+ rank gate, but it turned out to be S+++ rank.
There were even beings called transcendentals…
The strongest force of humanity, the master, was exhausted.
Our attack force lost its trump card from the start.
If we proceed without the master?
There would definitely be casualties. Not just an S-rank gate, but an S+++ rank gate.
No matter how capable Kkong and I were, there was no way around it.
-Glance.
‘I shouldn’t have brought Shia and Alice. No, I was too complacent from the start…!!’
I was enveloped in regret.
For an S+ rank gate, I thought I could handle it no matter what happened.
With the master, I thought it would be safe to bring my wives…
I was complacent.
The A-rank gate only turned into A+, so I assumed it would be similar this time.
Caught up in inertia.
The result was an S+++ rank gate.
…My wives could die.
I clenched my teeth.
‘What should I do? How can I at least ensure the safety of my wives….’
-Tap, tap.
“Ahem. So, I have an idea.”
“…Yes. Please tell me.”
For a moment, I stopped regretting.
I quickly listened to the master’s words, hoping she had a secret plan.
“You will lead the strategy in my place. Be at the forefront and defeat the monsters alone.”
“…What?”
“I believe in you, student.”
…No, isn’t that too much faith in your student.
I quickly shook my head side to side.
“Impossible.”
“I will cover you from behind, and Kkong will help….”
“It’s still impossible. I have a limit to my magical power.”
I considered tackling the strategy myself.
I had thought many times before that I should take responsibility for my own mess.
But it was impossible.
With my current magical power, I could only take down about ten monsters.
After that, I would just have to watch from the sidelines.
The best I could do now was stick with Kkong and give directions….
-Tap, tap.
[Follow me. There’s something I’ll show you in secret.]
“Ahem. I’ll be back after a brief conversation with my student.”
“……?”
Did she sense my helplessness?
The master led me to a corner.
Saying she had something to show me.
And then, the master.
[What could it be….]
-Tap, tap, tap. Slash.
“How is it, isn’t it amazing?”
“Wow!!”
She showed me something truly amazing.