Chapter 33: Sports Festival, D-1

“What’s this?”

“I thought about what you might need to bring out your full potential, Suah.”

{In Suah’s case, the goal was to enable her to freely use the power beyond her limits, which she unconsciously displayed only when protecting Ruah.}

“Here.”

Ruah took out a prepared A4-sized photo. It was a picture of her own face, taken and printed last night.

“Unni, you’re not very good at selfies.”

“L-Let’s skip the trivial stuff!”

She peeled off the tape and stuck the photo onto the teddy bear’s face. It was a strangely fitting combination.

“From now on, think of this as me.”

“Aha.”

Suah nodded as if she understood.

Ruah arranged baseball pitching machines for defense skill practice in a circle around the teddy bear.

“Defend against the irregularly pitched baseballs with your skills, while imagining the teddy bear is me. Until you can achieve the same level of power as that time.”

“…That won’t be easy.”

Suah sighed, taking out her staff.

“What will you give me if I do it?”

The talk of rewards again.

“W-Well… A one-time exemption from cleaning my room?”

“That’s your job in the first place.”

Suah bent slightly and whispered to Ruah, who laughed awkwardly.

“How about this? I’m on the Sports Festival organizing committee this time.”

‘The Sports Festival again.’

“Let’s spend time together then.”

Ruah let out a hollow laugh. Even Suah had made the same request as the other two.

‘Just what are they planning to do with me?’

She felt a little uneasy, but it was Ruah who had offered the rewards in the first place. For the sake of increasing the party’s strength, she had to accept it.

“Alright.”

“Yay!”

Suah approached the teddy bear with a bright smile.

Ruah stepped back and watched her sister deploy her defensive skills. Next to her, Himari was struggling to perform while her legs trembled, and Juju was dodging the bull-like targets that chased after her.

‘But it’ll be difficult for them to achieve this by the Sports Festival.’

Although she had told the three that they could definitely do it, it would probably be difficult to achieve it in a short period. They had to use the skills they had been practicing in a completely different way.

If they couldn’t achieve it by the Sports Festival, the rewards would disappear… but they were the ones who chose those rewards, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Ouch!”

“Juju! Go that way! Ah, it’s already shaky enough…!”

“Guys! Be quiet! Unni’s teddy bear keeps getting hit!”

Ruah watched the chaotic training scene and thought to herself. Himari, Juju, and Suah just needed to concentrate on their practice without any worries.

‘I’ll uncover Park Haengsin’s plot….’

That was her duty as a gamer who had mastered this game, as the party leader,

And as their teacher.

The Sports Festival held in the first semester, along with the second semester’s festival, was known as one of the two highlights of the Academy.

It was an opportunity to showcase the growing physical abilities of the students to the world and to foretell their future growth as Hunters who will save the world.

That was the principle, but the meaning of the event was perceived differently by everyone.

For the school, it was an occasion to confidently demonstrate its current educational level and renew the title of “World’s Best” attached to Felix Academy.

For large external guilds, it was a valuable opportunity to discover promising talents to strengthen their forces.

For the students, it was a rare chance to appeal to agents from major guilds.

Therefore, the school’s support, external sponsorships, and student interest were all high.

In particular, interest in the Sports Festival was most prominent in the top-ranked special class.

“I got the VIP seating chart!”

Even the seating chart for the guild agents garnered significant attention.

“The ‘Sky Slash’ Guild is in the second row on the west side. I should frequently appeal to the west side.”

“The ‘Murim League’ is in the back row? Are they not planning to recruit this time?”

“Oh! ‘Olympus’ took the first row on the east side. It seems like they’ll definitely pick up at least one special recruit this time.”

As the day before the Sports Festival arrived, not only the third-year special class but also the second-year, and even the first-year students, who were relatively less concerned about their future careers, were keenly observing various information.

“Himari! Which guild are you interested in?”

A student asked Himari, who was usually quiet. Himari, who was quietly sitting and reading a book, waved her hand.

“I’m not particularly interested in guilds.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I have to go back to Japan and inherit the family business after graduation.”

“Oh, I see…”

The students who heard her answer let out envious sighs.

“I envy you. I want to inherit the family business too.”

“I’d wish for nothing more than for my parents to hand me a building!”

“…”

However, the letters didn’t register in her eyes.

‘Having a predetermined path… isn’t such a good thing.’

Himari’s predetermined future was to succeed her father and become the head of the Hoshikawa family. It was a duty and a right that had been passed down to her after her older brother, the previous heir, died.

She used to think that was the natural course of things. But now that she had seen the wider world of her own volition, she couldn’t help but feel skeptical about her predetermined future.

Especially if it was a future presented by her father, who even tried to dictate whom she would serve as her ‘moon.’

“…Tsk.”

Himari clicked her tongue softly.

There had been no calls or contact from her father since their last conversation. Since Himari had no intention of contacting him either, the cold war continued.

‘There’s no need to think about it.’

—Thump.

Himari closed the book and her eyes.

‘Studying abroad is a right I earned. Serving my teacher is also my choice.’

For now, she wanted to focus on what she had chosen, rather than what others had decided for her.

For example, the Battoujutsu on the dolly, which she still hadn’t mastered after two weeks.

“Sigh.”

In Himari’s view, she hadn’t improved at all since the first day. Balancing on the dolly was easy, and Battoujutsu was a movement she had performed tens of thousands of times, but doing both simultaneously was proving difficult.

‘Teacher’s words about me being inadequate were not wrong.’

She had keenly felt it at the Gate. Her current Battoujutsu wouldn’t work in actual combat. Ruah had accurately pointed that out and suggested a way to improve.

‘I’ll do my best.’

Thinking of Ruah’s face, Himari exhaled. To overcome the weakness of her [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu] and become a true Hunter, ‘To be with Teacher at the Sports Festival.’

Thinking of Ruah brought a faint smile to Himari’s lips. Her small and cute, yet insightful teacher.

Having thought of Ruah, Himari took out her phone. Until a few days ago, she hadn’t known how to use it properly, but Juju had taught her various things.

—Tap, tap.

Himari opened a messaging app. Since she was thinking of Ruah, she wanted to send her a message.

As the Sports Festival approached, Ruah’s workload increased exponentially. She had to oversee the setup of the temporary infirmary, plan for the treatment and transport of injured individuals, and even personally procure tents for sun protection.

‘I really never want to do this again….’

She hadn’t realized how demanding the position of school nurse was. Writing documents and managing the budget were manageable, but tasks that required directly meeting people and asking for favors or giving instructions were truly draining.

Still, this heavy workload was finally coming to an end today.

She had completed the system for handling injuries, so she expected to have some free time during the Sports Festival, which would begin tomorrow.

—Whoosh….

“Haa.”

Taking a shower with her own hands for the first time in a while, Ruah exhaled a hot breath. The feeling of warm water washing over her from head to toe was pleasant.

Having worked non-stop for two weeks, she decided to take a half-day off today.

‘Tomorrow is the real deal.’

Of course, it was also to be in optimal condition for tomorrow’s event.

She knew the entire flow of the Sports Festival. She knew which events there were and even their outcomes.

If she noticed anything different from this vivid knowledge, she would consider it a part of Park Haengsin’s plot and investigate it.

Until she found out who was behind the incident at the Academy and their motives—

—Ding!

Just then, an alarm went off from her phone, which she had left outside the shower stall. Reaching out with a wet arm, Ruah saw that it was a message from Himari.

[Teacher I heard you took a half day off today. I was wondering if you were resting well at home,so I contacted you. I’m sorry if I disturbed your rest.]

Her lack of familiarity with the messaging app was evident.

“Cute…”

Ruah called Himari instead of replying. After a couple of rings, Himari’s voice answered.

<Yes, Teacher! This is Hoshikawa Himari!>

“What’s up, Himari? You actually sent a message first?”

<I just… thought of you, Teacher.>

Ruah squeezed shampoo into her hand and lathered her hair while listening to Himari’s voice.

“Really? Is everything alright?”

<…Yes, Teacher.>

Ruah didn’t miss the very brief hesitation in Himari’s voice before she spoke.

“That’s good to hear, but Himari, if there’s anything troubling you, please tell me.”

<Teacher…?>

“I can’t solve everything, but we can worry about it together.”

<…>

After a moment of silence, Himari replied in a slightly brighter voice.

<Thank you, Teacher. If a problem arises, I’ll definitely do that.>

A smile touched Ruah’s lips.

“Good! Let’s do our best at the Sports Festival tomorrow!”