Chapter 12 Part 12: Admission test.

As we were walking to a nearby cafe, I saw something strange.

A motorcycle was speeding down the walking path.

And it wasn’t just cruising.

It was going really fast, like it was fleeing from someone.

I thought I heard police sirens somewhere too.

So I chuckled bitterly.

It had been a while since I’d seen a criminal like that running around in broad daylight.

“Oh dear, this is why it’s dangerous outside.”

“Haha.”

I laughed and prepared myself.

My aunt was behind me, so I had no intention of letting that criminal go.

So, it would be fair to say I was going to go all out, within limits.

My senses slowly sharpened.

Time seemed to slow down.

It felt like the combat training I used to do.

I took a slow, deep breath and smelled the air.

The person on the motorcycle seemed to be a man.

There was a strong scent of male body odor.

The motorcycle was definitely modified.

I smelled a type of oil I’d never encountered before.

It seemed like special modifications had been made to increase its efficiency.

And… the other person’s breathing was very rough.

There was a strange smell in his breath, like he’d taken some kind of drug.

It was definitely the smell of illegal drugs, the kind I often smelled when I was a test subject.

So he was a criminal, and a particularly nasty one at that.

“Crazy b*tch, are you out of your mind?! Get out of the way!”

The man on the motorcycle shouted, trying to steer around me.

Of course, I had no intention of letting him escape, so I stared at him with the eyes of a predator.

The driver, meeting my gaze, seemed terrified and tried to hit the brakes.

And I didn’t miss that opportunity. I planted my left foot and reached out with both hands to grab and stop the motorcycle.

Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, but with my physical abilities enhanced through manifestation, I could stop it without much trouble.

As I grabbed the motorcycle and stopped it, the driver, unable to withstand the recoil, was thrown from the bike.

However, he adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed properly, performing a breakfall.

Then he slowly got up, looked at me, and then back at the motorcycle.

So I got into a fighting stance again.

It seemed like the man’s target was the motorcycle.

To be precise, it seemed like his target was something inside the motorcycle.

I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed to be in the motorcycle’s cargo compartment.

So I couldn’t just let him get to it.

As I was making that decision, I saw the man shift his gaze to somewhere else.

“…What.”

The man was staring at my aunt.

It seemed like he was planning to do something to my aunt to get out of the situation, rather than trying to deal with me.

It felt like my world was shattering.

Broken glass walls appeared.

I saw myself, grown somewhat, with feminine curves.

Warning lights and sirens, turning everything red.

People rushing to escape somewhere. And the sound of fighting somewhere.

As I recalled all of that, I darted forward.

The man had no time to prepare.

He must have been stiff with fear, because I was staring at him with the intent to kill.

I grabbed the man by the collar and was about to slam him to the ground when I came to my senses.

If I did that with all my strength, it would be a piece of cake to kill someone.

So I twisted the man’s arm behind his back, forced him to the ground, and restrained him.

My aunt, who had been watching, said casually.

“As expected, my daughter is the best.”

“…Yeah.”

“I’ll go get some coffee, so just stay like that for a bit.”

“Okay.”

I took a slow, deep breath and smiled.

Really, there was no need to overreact like this, even now.

Things were different now than they were back then. It wasn’t a situation where I would die if I didn’t fight.

So restraining him was enough.

There was no need to make sure he was dead.

“I should call 112.”

I let out a sigh and reached for my phone with my free hand.

But it seemed like I wouldn’t need to.

Before long, I saw the police and a hero rushing over.

I handed the driver over to them.

Several police officers rushed at the driver, restraining him with their knees.

They carefully handcuffed him, and even then, they seemed uneasy, with several officers keeping watch.

The hero looked around for a moment, checking to see if there were any other problems.

Then he took out his radio and reported that they had apprehended the final target.

I watched them for a moment, then slowly backed away.

And then I ran straight in the direction my aunt had gone.

I had already made up my mind to do that.

“Hey, wait! You there! Wh-where are you going!”

“I’m sorry, I’m a student!”

I ran away without looking back.

The hero kept calling after me from behind.

Saying they needed my testimony and that they needed to commend me for apprehending the criminal.

Of course, getting involved in something like that would obviously be a hassle.

And I didn’t have much to say in the way of testimony anyway.

Fortunately, the hero and the police seemed too busy guarding the criminal to have time to chase after me.

So I relaxed and left the walking path, heading towards my aunt, who was waiting with an iced Americano.

My aunt, knowing I would run away, smiled wryly and handed me the iced Americano, saying.

“It was good that you ran away. You’re already famous, you know?”

“Famous? Where?”

“As the student who defeated a villain during the entrance exam.”

“…I just got lucky.”

“Could be?”

I sucked on the straw instead of answering.

The Americano filled my mouth, and I enjoyed the taste for a while.

I used to drink coffee quite often in my past life.

No, it wasn’t just coffee that I drank a lot of.

I also drank a lot of beverages full of caffeine.

The reason was, well. Simple.

To survive in Korea, you have to study hard, no matter what.

I also studied hard, and naturally, I became addicted to caffeine, you could say.

Thanks to that, I feel empty if I don’t drink it now.

My aunt seemed to know that about me, and she looked at me like I was cute.

I glared at her, but her gaze didn’t change.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, I said to my aunt.

“What’s so cute about me drinking coffee?”

“You’ve loved coffee since you were little.”

“Even though you never gave me any. It was always just you and my uncles drinking it.”

“Was it?”

“Yeah. You didn’t even give me the common coffee-flavored candy or bread.”

My aunt just smiled cutely instead of answering.

I let out a slow sigh and just kept drinking my Americano.

Well, it wasn’t like I wasn’t cute back then.

So I grumbled to my aunt.

“I probably insisted I wasn’t sleepy, right?”

“Yes. You kept saying you’d sleep after solving just one more problem, and kept fighting off your sleepiness.”

“…”

“Struggling to stay awake with those little hands… It was so cute.”

“…I don’t know. No, I’ll forget it.”

I said that and quickly drank my Americano.

Unlike my aunt, I had to finish everything when I had something like this.

So I even chewed on a few ice cubes and threw the cup in the trash.

Then I suddenly had a worry.

“Aunt.”

“Yes?”

“Was it a good idea for me to run away?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, I’m wondering if it might cause more trouble instead.”

That hero clearly said they needed my testimony.

…Even if I didn’t accept the commendation, I thought I should give my testimony.

So I asked if I should go back now, and my aunt summarized it succinctly.

“If they really need you, they’ll come find you, right?”

“…Right?”

“And you already expressed your intention to avoid troublesome things by running away once.”

“…Is that how it works?”

“If those people come looking for you again, you have a reason not to get annoyed.”

“Well, if you say so, I guess it’s okay.”

The only thing I was worried about was one thing.

The fact that I helped apprehend a criminal being reported on the news.

I was already famous at the academy once, and I thought about it being reported on the news on top of that…

…It was truly horrifying.

It was clear that a large amount of attention that I couldn’t handle would pour in at once.

That’s why I ran away.

My aunt seemed to have some other reason…

But at least we both agreed that we didn’t want to become more famous than necessary.

My aunt took a sip of her Americano and smiled at me.

Seeing that smile, my anxiety eased a little.

“You know your aunt is really good at talking, right?”

“I know. Of course I know.”

“So don’t worry too much. I’ll take responsibility and chase them away.”

“Ah, now I feel a little relieved.”

“But wouldn’t it be okay to become famous?”

My aunt said that and smiled mischievously.

I immediately frowned.

My aunt knew the reason why I dressed up like this.

So I sighed and grumbled.

“You know, Aunt. I like to observe and approach people first.”

“Yes, you’re like us. Honestly, I was hoping.”

“…Hoping for what?”

“That you would follow in our footsteps later, wear a white coat, and do research?”

“That’s… still possible now.”

My aunt didn’t say anything.

She just took another sip of her Americano and walked forward.

So I kept pace with my aunt and continued our walk.

And we continued to walk for a long time, arm in arm.

It had been a while since my aunt had come outside and moved around, so I needed to give her some exercise.

Of course, my aunt seemed to have noticed my intentions.

I listened to my aunt’s grumbling with one ear and let it pass through the other as we continued our walk.

She said that researchers don’t need to exercise, but as someone who wanted to see my aunt for a long time, it was something I didn’t want to hear.