Chapter 8 Part 8: Admission test.

The homeroom teacher continued to share many good stories after that.

When all the stories were over, she apologized for taking up so much time.

Then, she said we were free to go home, but if we wanted to look around the academy more, we could.

Well, it would be fine to go home as is…

But I wanted to look around the classroom a bit more.

After all, it was my first time attending school in this world.

But it seemed like I was the only one who had this thought.

There were at least 30 to 40 people in one class, so it was strange that I was the only one who wanted to look around the academy more.

So, I pretended to be nonchalant and listened to my surroundings.

And I learned one thing.

The other students already knew about the academy’s facilities from various media.

…Since they were interested enough to enroll here, they could have also participated in tours or field trips.

Yeah, well.

From what I heard, it seemed like everyone roughly knew what the facilities were like, even if they hadn’t seen them in person.

On top of that, they were tired from the entrance exam, so they just wanted to go home and rest.

So, before long, the students started to leave the classroom.

I screamed internally.

Honestly, I was a little embarrassed to wander around the academy alone.

So, if there was someone to go around with, I was planning to tag along.

But since everyone was going home like this, I couldn’t explore the academy.

So, I had no choice but to give up on exploring the academy.

But that didn’t mean I gave up on looking around the classroom.

I slowly started to examine the classroom in detail.

The academy’s classroom was, how should I put it?

It resembled a university classroom rather than a high school classroom.

But the arrangement of desks and chairs was similar to that of a high school.

And at the front of the classroom, there was a huge TV like in high school.

But besides that, there were also various devices used in university lectures.

So, it was quite fascinating.

Usually, classrooms in these academies were relatively closer to university classrooms.

I didn’t expect them to mix high school and university like this.

Honestly, I wanted to look around a bit more, but I stopped.

…It seemed like the homeroom teacher’s gaze was slowly coming towards me.

I didn’t want to stand out more than necessary to someone like that, let alone anyone else.

So, I pretended nothing happened and went outside with the other students.

There was nothing special after that.

The students I knew by face all went home, and the other students didn’t try to talk to me.

It’s not that they weren’t interested…

It felt like they were watching me because I looked like a delinquent.

Well, it didn’t matter.

I had already met my quota of talking to strangers by making four friends today.

All that was left was to go home peacefully and tell Aunt Ailey about what happened today.

So, I was about to leave without hesitation.

…If Teacher Rosena and the homeroom teacher hadn’t called me.

“Is something the matter?”

I put on a friendly smile.

For now, it didn’t seem like it was a bad thing.

“What do you think it is?”

Teacher Rosena said.

With a playful smile, she stared at me…

Honestly, I wanted to ask her not to make such jokes.

But it didn’t seem like she would listen if I said that.

In the end, I sighed inwardly and racked my brain.

There weren’t many options anyway.

“Is it because I defeated the villain?”

“Close. Ah, first. Did you introduce yourselves? This is Teacher Park Hyo-rim.”

“We introduced ourselves a while ago. So, can we get to the point?”

“Hmm, hmm. Okay. To get to the point…”

A snap of fingers was heard.

I wondered why Teacher Rosena snapped her fingers, then I realized something strange.

The students were chatting while going home.

Of course, even while I was talking to the teacher, that sound was loud.

But now, I couldn’t hear any sound around me.

“Student, have you ever been kidnapped in the past?”

“…What?”

“I’m sorry if this question is a bit rude. But it’s important.”

“…I’ll answer after hearing the reason.”

I openly expressed my displeasure.

Of course, I wasn’t unpleasant. Because it was true.

But I had to act unpleasant in this situation, so I acted that way.

As if it were instinctual, I made my eyes like those of a snake.

I narrowed my tongue, split the tip, and hissed through my clenched teeth.

“I healed your right arm, right?”

“…Yes.”

“But your right arm was quite strange? It seems to be because of manifestation.”

“…”

“The problem is, this kind of manifestation is really unique.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. There are so few cases that it’s even considered a research subject.”

“I really didn’t know I was that outstanding.”

“That’s not what I meant. Coincidentally, there’s also an evil group that has been conducting strange research since about 20 years ago…”

“…”

“And if that evil group disappeared without a trace, and the villains belonging to that group also disappeared…”

“…”

“Would that be easy to understand?”

The two teachers were smiling, but their eyes weren’t.

I forced a smile while feeling like I was being pierced by cold gazes.

So, this teacher seemed to think I was a villain belonging to that group.

She probably thought I entered the academy with a false identity to achieve some goal.

If she finds out I’m not that villain, the misunderstanding will be cleared up quickly.

Teacher Rosena will probably apologize to me, and things will work out.

…But, the teacher’s guess isn’t completely wrong.

I’m not a villain from that evil group, but I was a test subject.

Of course, while living as a test subject for several years, I was administered various drugs.

The results of that strange research… most of them were alive and breathing in my body.

And the disappearance of the group was also related to me, so I felt guilty.

But I’m not a heinous villain.

So, I thought it would be okay to be strong.

Strictly speaking, I’m a victim.

I’m not the perpetrator, so I’m innocent.

No, thinking about it again, I felt really wronged.

I was a victim, you know? Not a perpetrator.

So, I was going to deny that I had ever heard of such a thing.

But now that things had come to this, I wanted to tease Teacher Rosena a bit.

Since I had been on the receiving end of her jokes, I wanted to play a joke too.

“If I, were that villain. What would you do?”

So, I said that, setting the mood.

And the teachers seemed to have fallen for it, as they were preparing to fight.

Only then did I think that things might have gone a little wrong.

No, I didn’t expect them to take a fighting stance right away.

Honestly, there’s no way I could win a fight against the teachers.

So, I was about to say it was a joke, when Teacher Rosena burst into laughter.

The teacher continued to laugh after that, so the homeroom teacher behind her was just awkwardly holding her posture.

After laughing loudly one last time, Teacher Rosena wiped the tears from her eyes and said to me.

“Honestly, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a student try to joke with me.”

“…Did you catch me?”

“It was all over your face. You looked so excited to be teasing me.”

“…Ah.”

“Anyway, I’m sorry about what happened. I jumped to conclusions, so I apologize.”

Saying that, the teacher immediately bowed at a right angle to apologize to me.

I was momentarily dazed, and then I said that she didn’t need to apologize that much.

But she said that she had to thoroughly apologize for this kind of thing, and she insisted on continuing to apologize.

I stopped the teacher again to prevent my school life from getting complicated.

“Wh, what if other students see…!”

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that. I blocked it with magic.”

“…Th, that’s a relief.”

“Even if it was a reasonable suspicion, it’s a rather unpleasant story. Right?”

“…Yes.”

“Good. Then, since things are resolved, shall we move on to another topic?”

The teacher smiled as if nothing had happened.

I forced a smile, feeling a sensation I hadn’t felt in a long time, a burning sensation in my stomach.

Judging by the homeroom teacher’s expression behind her, it seemed like Teacher Rosena was known for being self-centered.

Both the homeroom teacher and I were being swayed by Teacher Rosena, so it wouldn’t be a wrong guess.

“There are few people who can manifest like you, so I wanted to suggest special management.”

“…Special management?”

“Yes. A rough stone needs to be polished well. Inviting good instructors from inside and outside the academy…”

“C, can I consult with my aunt and decide later!?”

“…Aunt?”

Honestly, it was definitely something that was too much for me.

And it was also certain that I couldn’t decide on my own.

So, I thought it would be best to ask my uncles or aunts and decide then.

But the expressions of both teachers weren’t very good.

Teacher Rosena took a deep breath for a moment, then slowly asked me.

“Student, you just said aunt… Could it be…”

“Yes?”

“Is your aunt working in a related field?”

“…Ah, uh.”

I only then realized that I had said something strange.

Usually, in this situation, people say they will ask their parents.

The expression of asking an aunt is not often used.

“Of, of course she is…!”

“…Student. I’m really sorry. I think I said something I shouldn’t have.”

“…I, is something wrong?”

“No. Then… For now, please talk to your guardian, and then give me your answer later.”

I nodded for now.

Then, as Teacher Rosena requested, I saved her number on my phone.

And I left the academy as if I were running away.