Villain Professor of Heroes

I stopped by the research room and downed a handful of medicine.

Until a moment ago, I felt like my head was spinning, but now I’m almost fully recovered.

I thought I might just die like this.

After catching my breath for a moment, I headed to the administrative office.

It was to confirm the list of new students.

If only that child turns out to be Professor Han, that would be preferable.

If her name isn’t on the freshman list, things might get complicated from then on.

The noisy chatter of new students exiting the auditorium could be heard beyond the hallway windows.

New students are assigned dormitories and settle their belongings in the morning, and participate in orientation in the afternoon.

There, they learn the school rules, familiarize themselves with the facilities, and acquire basic knowledge necessary for living at the academy.

Then tomorrow, the Initial Assessment will take place right away.

It is a very important evaluation that determines the course of one’s academy life.

If the original story holds, Yu Hye-won ranked first in the Initial Assessment.

Even before enrolling in the academy, she received all kinds of private lessons, so she’s at a level where she can be a hero and still earn at least a D-grade.

And during the academic advisor selection period, she’ll openly choose me.

But now, no one knows what will happen.

Because one ‘Professor Han’ has suddenly intervened.

Let me review the situation from earlier once more.

First, regarding the alleviation of the lung disease.

My lung disease doesn’t cause me to cough up blood all day.

It usually ends with a mild cough, becoming somewhat more serious from time to time, and then subsiding irregularly.

So I can’t say for sure that the reason my cough decreased was because my fingertip touched that girl.

It might just be a coincidence that the symptom’s temporary improvement overlapped with it.

Secondly, the words that appeared in mid-air.

I’ve never heard the name ‘Han Min-ha’ before.

Not in reality nor in this world.

Even after racking my memory, there was no such character named Han Min-ha up until the final chapter.

Yet, the floating text was clearly instructing me to make this ‘Han Min-ha’ an S-rank.

Why did it appear now, after staying silent for a few months?

Because I came into contact with the child presumed to be Han Min-ha?

No… I bumped into her earlier at the main gate, so why didn’t it show up then?

Perhaps she isn’t Han Min-ha after all.

Maybe it was just a coincidence that she happened to cross paths with me just when the quest appeared.

Still, no matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand.

Not Yu Hye-won, but Han Min-ha…

Does the transmigrant protagonist have to make an unheard-of character into an S-rank instead of the original heroine?

It feels like a plot that went off the rails.

Even if writing boldly is the right approach, shouldn’t there be some consideration to reader expectations?

If the writing isn’t good enough, what appears to be a clever twist or subversion of clichés just ends up being deemed ‘terrible writing’.

With such thoughts in mind, I arrived in front of the administrative office.

Upon opening the door, a smell resembling that of old paper greeted me.

The walls were lined with cabinets half open, with stacks of papers jutting out, a seal storage box, and files categorized by color.

On the other side of the room, there was a large multifunction printer and a shredder, with piles of printer paper precariously stacked, waiting to be shredded.

Although there were several staff members inside, there wasn’t a single sound of conversation.

They were simply gazing at their monitors with fatigue etched on their sunken faces, scrolling through their mouse wheels or tapping on their keyboards with deep sighs.

As I entered, an entry-level female staff member at the entrance lazily raised her head.

The seasoned staff member noticed me, her eyes widening like a rabbit’s, and she quickly bowed her head.

“Professor… Professor is here…”

The staff whispered to a neighboring colleague.

Hearing this, the other staff quickly smoothed their fringe and glanced at me from behind the partition.

“Why did you come…? We heard you were nearly collapsing at the auditorium earlier…”

“I don’t know… Look at that… such arrogance…”

Ignoring the staff’s whispers, I moved further inside.

“Shouldn’t you feed the puppies earlier if you wanted to? It’s too late now to reject them after the opening ceremony; what do you want us to do about it?”

In a secluded corner of the room, Director Chae was rubbing her temples while talking to someone.

She had heavy dark circles under her eyes, and her hair which was half-heartedly tied up was frizzy.

She would be a considerable beauty if she were dressed neatly, but now, she just looked like an overburdened middle manager in the office.

Being the second-in-command after the section manager, overseeing all administrative matters, was an unavoidable role.

“Shit… It’s truly pathetic… Perhaps I should just quit…”

The director muttered curses after roughly placing down the phone.

“Director. Greetings wouldn’t quite fit the situation, would they?”

At my greeting, the director raised her head.

“Professor Hyun…? What brings you here?”

After making eye contact with me, she asked worriedly.

“I heard you weren’t feeling well during the opening ceremony. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. It was just a cough. Actually, I have a favor to ask.”

At the word ‘favor,’ a hint of color came back to the director’s gray face.

“To me? What kind of favor is it?”

“I’d like to look at this year’s freshman list, if possible. Would that be okay?”

“Of course it is possible. If it’s a favor from Professor, I would do it even if it was impossible. Give me a moment.”

The director clicked her mouse and tilted the monitor slightly toward me.

“Here you go.”

The school’s homepage logged into the administrative account.

The freshmen’s names were listed in alphabetical order.

“Is there a specific student you’re looking for?”

“Yes. Would it be okay if I take a quick look?”

The director readily got up from her chair and offered me the seat.

I grabbed the mouse and started scrolling from the bottom upward.

Han Min-ha… Han Min-ha…

“Is a relative of yours enrolled?”

“Yes, sort of… But not exactly.”

Han Min-ha… Let’s see…

“Maybe you’re trying to get some excellent students before the upcoming guidance student selection?”

“Haha.”

Talking keeps getting bothersome.

Until where did I check?

“Shall I make you a warm coffee while you’re here?”

“No, it’s fine. I already had one this morning.”

Ah, here you are, Han Min-ha.

Luckily, you are among the freshmen.

As I was about to click to view Han Min-ha’s personal information, I stopped my finger.

It would be dangerous to look at Han Min-ha’s profile with the director standing behind me watching the monitor.

I might get caught in some unnecessary gossip.

“Director, now that I think about it, a cup of coffee would be nice. It’s been a while since I’ve been here; it would be awkward to leave right away.”

“Shall we?”

The director cheerfully left the room to prepare two cups of instant coffee.

As soon as she left, I pulled out my mobile phone with one hand and clicked the mouse to enter Han Min-ha’s profile.

After a brief loading time, I was able to see the ID photo in the upper right corner of the profile.

Black hair, a somber expression, and glasses.

So, this was Han Min-ha from earlier.

After confirming her face, I took a picture of the entire screen with my mobile phone.

I’ll examine the rest in more detail later.

Just as I closed the screen and was getting up, the director came back with two cups of instant coffee.

“Did you find the student you were looking for?”

“No, I just thought I saw a familiar face in the auditorium earlier and looked it up; but it seems I was mistaken.”

“I see. Then come over here and sit down.”

The director invited me to sit at the round table used for receiving guests or interviews.

Still, I at least got to confirm the existence of Han Min-ha, so it would be reasonable to reciprocate a little.

Although I don’t have the leisure to chat and drink coffee leisurely.

The director asked about my health status again and then began to complain about the hardships of recent work.

Initially, she was lamenting, but soon, her emotions became heightened and she started using fierce expressions like ‘those incompetent morons who only send down documents from the organization.’

I laughed and gave appropriate responses to the director’s grievances.

“I’m sorry, Professor. I feel like I’ve only been talking about myself.”

“Don’t worry. If I came to the administrative office, I should listen to the stories of the administrative office.”

“Ho. Then if I go to your research room, will I be able to hear your stories, Professor?”

“Hmm, haha.”

I evaded the question with an awkward laugh.

“By the way, after the Initial Assessment, the guidance student allocation will start soon, isn’t it? Professor, have you thought about Yu Hye-won?”

“You mean Yu Hye-won. Hmm.”

“You haven’t taken a guidance student so far, but Yu Hye-won should be quite appealing to you, right?”

“I’m not quite sure yet. Anyway…”

I got up from my seat.

“I enjoyed the coffee, Director. I’ll come again sometime.”

The director bid me farewell all the way to the door.

“Take care of yourself, Professor!”

“Thank you.”

Once I had distanced myself sufficiently from the administrative office, I pulled out my mobile phone.

Let’s have a look at what kind of child Han Min-ha is.

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