Chapter 26: Affection (3)

Hold me tight.

The boy thinks. What a historic moment this is!

The Chilshinwi.

A term referring to the seven beings at the pinnacle of spirits and divine beasts, and the vessels they have chosen.
Individuals whom any person with supernatural abilities would wish to meet at least once.

Jindal Academy housed no fewer than four members of the Chilshinwi.

The 5th Divine Pillar. Yggdrasil.

The person holding the title of Director of Jindal Academy, inheriting the academy and the divine beast through generations within the family.

Being the Chilshinwi most easily accessible to Jindal’s Ineungnyeokja, perhaps due to her realistically tangible title, she wasn’t as popular as the other Chilshinwi.

Nevertheless, a fandom did exist.

The 1st Divine Pillar. Heukgumiho.

Undoubtedly the king of all spirits and divine beasts.

As such, the incident about a year ago came as a shock to everyone.

Unfortunately, the previous vessel passed away, but the situation stabilized thanks to the spirit quickly inhabiting a new vessel.

The newly ascended Chilshinwi, being young twins, contributed to the formation of a niche fanbase.

The boy was neither a lolicon nor a pedophile, so he had no interest in this side.

The 6th Divine Pillar. Wolmyo.

Also known as the Jade Rabbit.

The boy had never met this one in person.

However, seeing every man who claimed to have met her gush blood from their nose while exclaiming “Good job,” the boy also wished to see this Chilshinwi at least once.

Finally.

The woman standing before the boy’s eyes right now.

Large, moist eyes slanted downwards.

Long eyelashes.

Gestures that stimulated a man’s protective instincts.

This somewhat frail-looking woman was the one garnering cult-like popularity within the academy,

The 2nd Divine Pillar. Baekgumiho.

Name unknown. Age unknown. Whereabouts also unknown.

The most beautiful girl in the prefecture (SS-rank!), who always appears and disappears abruptly!

This fragile girl who stimulates protective instincts is the supreme majesty of the Chilshinwi, whom all

Ineungnyeokja adore, wishing to meet even just once!

Rumor has it that in the war against demons, while Yggdrasil, Director Lee Yeonkyung of Jindal Academy, primarily handles ‘defense’, Baekgumiho handles ‘offense’, standing at the forefront to subjugate demons.

The boldness to stand on the front lines.

Powerful martial prowess.

Yet, her appearance is that of an innocent-looking, super cute girl (very important!).

The gap-moe arising from that! She is a woman of devilish charm that one cannot help but fall for.

And now, a historic event was taking place.

Just seeing Baekgumiho before his eyes was an honor he thought he could boast about for generations, but now, she had met the boy’s other idol!

A petite frame.

Porcelain skin and cherry-like lips pressed firmly together!

A perfect nose sculpted by the gods and upturned eyes possessing a sly yet provocative charm!

The girl who showed the true meaning of re-education to the crazy pervert Ju Jiho, who got an erection while bullying a girl during a match not long ago.

Ah, I want to be stepped on too… no, that’s not it.

Jeon Chayeon. Age unknown, origin unknown, ability unknown!

But extremely strong! And cute (very important!!).

The two idols of Jindal Academy met in one place as if fated.

Ginkgo leaves covered the path, and maple leaves fluttered.

It was just like a scene from the movies (2D, very important!!!) the boy dreamed of.

As if drawn to each other, the two were facing one another.

Baekgumiho looked at Chayeon, and Chayeon looked at Baekgumiho.

Ah, what a magnificent scene this is!

It was the moment the boy’s dream, as a devoted Baekgumiho fanboy and an elite member of 「Eungchaa~」, came true.

F*cked.

That thought immediately came to mind upon hearing Heukgu’s words.

The silver-haired woman was already staring intently this way.

‘How could you just drop this on me! You should have told me beforehand.’

<<I didn’t know either. And don’t talk to me. I’m going to hide.>>

She felt Heukgu withdrawing his energy inside her.

She could almost picture Heukgu curling up.

“?”

The silver-haired woman looked intently this way and tilted her head.

Taking small steps, the woman approached Chayeon.

Thump-thump-

It felt like she could hear her own heartbeat.

Up close, her eyes were very large.

Moreover, the corners of her eyes drooped downwards, giving her a very gentle impression.

This gentle-looking woman was the one trying to kill Heukgu and Chayeon.

Simultaneously, the woman Chayeon had to kill to return.

The woman approached the frozen Chayeon.

Light steps, yet to Chayeon, they seemed infinitely heavy.

The woman finally stood before Chayeon.

And,

…….

Sniff sniff-

She buried her nose.

That woman.

Into Chayeon’s chest.

“Haa-haa-“

Deep inhales and exhales escaped outwards.

…What is this situation?

Her brain couldn’t keep up.

“Wh-what!? You!?”

The first one to snap out of it was Arena.

She grabbed Chayeon’s body and pulled her swiftly towards herself.

“Ah… Huat!”

The silver-haired woman looked blank for a moment, then suddenly startled.

And then,

“S-Sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

She repeatedly bowed her head, looking like she was about to burst into tears any second.

“Just saying sorry isn’t enough, tell me the reason! What are you doing suddenly burying your face in someone else’s chest and sniffing!”

Arena said fiercely, holding Chayeon tightly.
Faced with that menacing aura, the silver-haired woman let out a ‘Hiiik!’ sound and bowed even lower.

“Th-that! You smelled similar to someone I know, so I just! Ex-excuse meee!!”

The silver-haired woman fled.

At that sight, the crowd followed her en masse with shouts of ‘W-wait a moment! Lady Baekgumiho!’.

In an instant, the crowd dispersed, and the park, full of autumn leaves, became quiet.

“…What was that?”

Chayeon, held in Arena’s arms, muttered blankly.

A short while later, Chayeon’s group was sitting on a mat spread out in the middle of the now quiet park.

In the center lay a feast of bento boxes prepared by Arena.

Just how much effort she had put in was evident; if this were on a dining table, the phrase ‘enough to make the table legs buckle’ would have been perfectly fitting.

“No wonder the bag looked heavy.”
“Fufu, you should have seen how hard Arena worked yesterday. She even called me over… Mmph!”

Arena quickly covered Byeol’s mouth, who was saying something cheerfully.
It seemed to be something embarrassing again.

“But you really seem good at cooking.”

She had felt it when she got the bento yesterday too, but the effort Arena put into cooking was extraordinary.

Just the visible menu items alone started with relatively standard tonkatsu and braised fish, moved on to large prawns prepared with a delicious-looking sauce she’d never seen before,

various vegetables and salads, bulgogi, large fried tofu pockets topped with crab meat and pollack roe, and even cup fruits and shine muscat grapes prepared for dessert.

How on earth did she prepare all this overnight?

“Hmph! Isn’t this level basic?”

At Chayeon’s honest admiration, Arena’s shoulders looked ready to soar to the heavens.

“Anyway, what was that earlier?”

Byeol, who had already started eating first, mumbled while chewing.

“Right! That woman, what the heck was she!?”

“Hmm, probably Baekgumiho? Lena, you know her too, don’t you?”

“Of course, I know that! Why was that woman burying her nose in Chayeon’s chest and going sniffa-sniffa!”

Saying ‘sniffa-sniffa’ made it sound incredibly perverted.

“Indeed. Chayeon-ssi, do you know Baekgumiho?”

Along with Byeol’s question, the gazes of the two girls focused on Chayeon.

How should she answer this?

“No.”

After pondering, she ended up saying just that curtly.

It wasn’t a lie.

“Liar!”
“No, really.”

Chayeon met Arena’s suspicious gaze directly.

She hadn’t lied.

He had nothing to be ashamed of.

“Hmm, then what could it really have been?”

“I’m just as bewildered as you are.”

“She definitely said something about smelling similar, right? Maybe she’s someone who distinguishes people by smell?”

It was an absurd idea, but thinking back to the scene earlier, it was persuasive.

“I had this fantasy about the Chilshinwi, but that woman shattered it all. Ah, Han Byeol! Don’t eat it all by yourself!”

Arena, who had been huffing and puffing while speaking, started bickering with Byeol, who had Thanos-ed the lunchbox in the meantime.

Chaos ensued afterwards.

Watching the two’s attention drift away, Chayeon quietly called out to Heukgu.

‘So what happened? She just sniffed me and left?’

<<Hmm, it seems I succeeded in concealing my energy.>>

Heukgu groaned.

‘What, if it was this easy to hide, why did you avoid her like that all this time?’

<<That part is rather strange. No matter how weakened my energy has become, she should have definitely detected my traces. Why did she retreat?>>

It seemed even Heukgu couldn’t understand the actions of the silver-haired woman, or Baekgumiho.

‘Whatever the reason, it’s good that we’re safe. Dodged a bullet there.’

<<…….>>

By the time Chayeon finished the conversation and came back to her senses, the bento box was already almost empty.

The two girls were competing fiercely.

It seemed they didn’t even see Chayeon.

She wasn’t usually greedy, but the menu was too splendid to let it all disappear like this.

Feeling a sense of crisis, Chayeon belatedly joined the bento box battle.

Playing with girls was more fun than she thought.

Whether the enjoyment came from interacting with the opposite s*x or from girl talk, Chayeon herself didn’t know, but either way, it was undeniably an unexpectedly satisfying holiday.

On the way back, there was a happening where Arena and Byeol got fed up with Chayeon insisting on circling the dormitory surroundings and doing bodyweight exercises in an empty lot, but that passed, and Monday morning arrived.

After parting ways with Arena outside the door, Chayeon entered the classroom, and several gazes gathered on her.

They existed even within the same class.

People who looked at Chayeon with strange gazes.

‘Seriously, what part of a woman shattering a man’s balls do they find attractive?’

They called it a fan club, but seeing them sometimes spout nonsense like ‘Please step on me too, Lady Chayeon!’, wasn’t it just some kind of masochist club?

Not long after Chayeon entered, Seohee followed.

“Good morning. Everyone’s here.”

Twenty-two people.

It seemed Ju Jiho wasn’t even counted anymore.

“Hmm, this is awkward.”

Rarely did Seohee show a flustered expression.

It was the first time such an expression had appeared on Teacher Seohee’s face while standing at the podium as a teacher.

“There’s someone I need to introduce to you all.”

“Should I call her a transfer student?”

“It’s a bit hard to understand her being a student too…”

Seohee’s words trailed off, becoming almost inaudible at the end.

“Haa, well, would you like to come in?”

As Seohee spoke, someone opened the classroom door.

She entered the classroom with light steps.

<<Hup!>>

She felt Heukgu sharply inhale and hide again, just like before.

“Hmm, well, could you introduce yourself first?”

Beside the unusually troubled Seohee, the woman opened her mouth.

“Um… Hello…. I’m Jin Sira, and I’ll be spending time with you as a 3rd year for a while…. N-nice to meet you!”

Shimmering silver hair, the students’ gazes focusing in shock.

The 2nd rank in the Chilshinwi hierarchy.

The symbol of Ineungnyeokja, possessing numerous fandoms, and the girl regarded as the most powerful Ineungnyeokja on Earth.

It was the moment the name of Baekgumiho’s vessel, Jin Sira, was publicly revealed for the first time.