Chapter 27: Affection (4)

Please don’t leave.

“Good work, everyone. Except for those with supplementary training, you’re free to go.”

As Seohee’s last class, Ability Control Practice, ended, students sprawled out on the spot.

Her class, secretly dubbed the ‘milking class,’ was notorious among the practical sessions because it squeezed out every last bit of one’s supernatural ability.

The only consolation was that the academy, aware of this, scheduled Seohee’s class last.

Chayeon quickly stopped Seohee as she was about to leave.

“Teacher.”

She seemed a step too late as Seohee vanished, but reappeared in the same spot moments later.

It seemed she had heard Chayeon’s voice right before teleporting.

“Ah, Chayeon.”

“Do you have a moment?”

“Sure. Shall we move? Or here?”

“Let’s go to the shade over there.”

As they moved to the shade of the tree Chayeon pointed at, Chayeon began to speak.

“You mean Sira-nim.”

“Sira-nim?”

“Right, she’s a student now. I was planning to ask Chayeon about it soon anyway, so this is good.”

Teacher asking me? Wondering what she meant, Chayeon stared intently at Seohee, but when Seohee stared back just as intently, Chayeon, guessing her intention, spoke first.

“That person is famous, right? As a Chilshinwi.”

“Chayeon knows too. Well, it has been quite a while since Chayeon joined.”

Chayeon glanced sideways behind her.
Sira was amidst the exhausted students, perfectly fine alone… or so she thought, but surprisingly, she was sprawled out among the students too.

She could hear a faint ‘I think I’m gonna dieee…’.

“She was Baekgumiho, right?”

“Yes, we talked about it once before, didn’t we?”

The story Seohee told her a few months ago at the cafe after shopping.

The person also called the wandering fox, who appears and disappears so suddenly that no one knows much about her existence.

“Why would someone like that come as a student, and a 3rd year at that?”

At those words, Seohee’s pretty eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“That’s actually what I wanted to ask Chayeon.”

“Me?”

“Hmm, how it happened was…”

Seohee chose her words carefully and slowly began her story.

“Director, I heard you called for me.”

Top floor of the Education Building, the Director’s Office.

Guided by the secretary, Seohee entered.

Yeonkyung was, as usual, seated in the place of honor, savoring her coffee.

“Welcome, Teacher Jeong. I didn’t take up too much of your time, did I?”

“No. It’s fine. So, what is it about?”

At Yeonkyung’s gesture, Seohee sat on the nearby sofa.

“You know Baekgumiho returned to Jindal today, right?”

“Yes. I heard.”

“Didn’t Teacher Jeong ask me to contact you if Baekgumiho visited? She’s scheduled to come here soon, so I called you.”

“Ah.”

About two months ago, to find out about Chayeon’s fox spirit, Seohee had asked Yeonkyung to contact both Heukgumiho and Baekgumiho.

At the time, contact with Baekgumiho failed, so she gave up. Contact with Heukgumiho was successful, but various incidents occurred afterwards, and the appointment fizzled out.

Seohee had half-forgotten about it, but it seemed Yeonkyung remembered her request.

“Thank you.”

“Not at all.”

As Yeonkyung lightly shook her head, her earrings jingled.

‘Director, Lady Baekgumiho has arrived.’

“Show her in.”

Just then, following the secretary’s voice from outside the door, the massive doors opened, revealing the silver-haired woman.

Seohee had met her a few times before.

If you taught at Jindal long enough, she was someone you could meet surprisingly often.
Baekgumiho was fidgeting, her large eyes brimming.

“H-h-hello. Ex-excuse me!”

“Welcome. Please don’t just stand there, make yourself comfortable.”

“Ye-yes!”

It was a bizarre sight that she couldn’t get used to, no matter how many times she saw it.

To think this timid woman, who couldn’t even speak properly, was the Baekgumiho who made all sorts of demons tremble in fear.

“Hoo, hoo.”

The girl took several deep breaths, clearly tense.

Yeonkyung waited patiently, seemingly accustomed to the girl’s demeanor.

“Um, it’s been a while…”

“Indeed. Almost half a year, hasn’t it? Or maybe longer?”

Seohee and the silver-haired girl sat facing each other, with Yeonkyung at the head seat between them.

For some reason, Seohee felt uncomfortable in this situation.

“Yeees… About that long…”

“I see. So, what brings you here this time?”

Although affiliated with Jindal, Baekgumiho wasn’t exactly a student or a teacher.

If anything, she felt like Jindal’s combatant, or perhaps Jindal’s ultimate weapon.

“I-I heard Heukgumiho has revived…”

The girl trailed off.

The revival she mentioned referred to finding a new vessel.

“Yes, that’s quite old news now. Perhaps because of that?”

“Yeees, um, I wanted to m-meet Heukgumiho’s vessel…”

Heukgumiho was the 1st Divine Pillar.

A spirit that could well be considered the king of spirits and divine beasts.

It was natural for Baekgumiho’s vessel to take an interest in Heukgumiho’s new vessel.

“I see. But what should we do? Heukgumiho went abroad last month and isn’t in the academy right now. They aren’t scheduled to return for a while.”

“Ah…”

Noticeable disappointment clouded the girl’s face.

“My, my, made you come all this way for nothing.”

“Ah! No… Um, I can just wait here…”

As the girl said that, Yeonkyung nodded as if understanding.

“That’s right. Staying at Jindal for a while and waiting for Heukgumiho’s return sounds fine. For us, having Sira-nim remain at the academy is reassuring too.”

Sira, that seemed to be the silver-haired girl’s name.

This was the first time Seohee learned Baekgumiho’s name.

“I’ll give you an honorary teacher position while you’re here. It would be a great honor if you could guide the students.”

“Yeees… Um, excuse me.”

Sira, who had accepted Yeonkyung’s offer without much comment, suddenly lifted her head and asked an unexpected question.

“Do you know a black-haired girl who smells like a fox, no, who has a fox spirit…? Um, h-her eyes are red, and she wears her hair, which reaches her waist, tied up, and the tied part is r-red.”

Like mine… Sira trailed off.

Even after that, Sira continued listing characteristics.

She’s short.

Her frame is small.

Her eyes slant upwards slightly.

She carries a wooden sword at her waist.

She hangs around with a strangely dressed girl with golden eyes and a girl with long purple hair.

The more she heard, the clearer it became who Sira was referring to.

“I’m not certain, but it seems like one of our Jindal students. Jeon Chayeon, she joined mid-this year.”

“J-Jeon Chayeon…”

Sira fidgeted her upper body.

“If she joined this year, is she a 1st year…”

“No. She skipped grades recently, so I believe she’s a 3rd year now. Was it 3rd year Class B?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

No sooner had Seohee finally spoken than Sira continued.

“Th-then… Can you put me in 3rd year Class B as a teacher…?”

“In 3rd year Class B? That’s Teacher Seohee’s class, right?”

“Yes.”

Seohee nodded and continued.

“However, handing over the homeroom teacher position would be difficult. I believe it would cause unnecessary confusion for the students.”

“Hmm, so she says.”

Following Seohee’s words, Yeonkyung lightly expressed refusal.

Unless it was an emergency, she respected and prioritized the opinions of each Jindal teacher.

Even for Baekgumiho, it was difficult to readily grant such a sudden request.

“Is that so.”

Sira’s expression turned gloomy.

After fidgeting for a moment, she gathered her courage and spoke again.

“Th-then! Can you put me in that class as a student…?”

“As a student?”

At those words, Yeonkyung’s eyes widened.

This immensely powerful woman, whom even a truckload of Jindal students, let alone teachers, couldn’t be guaranteed to defeat, becoming a student?

It was absurd.

“Hmm…”

Yeonkyung tapped the table with her fingertips.

But soon,

“Alright. It would be a good experience for the students too.”

She accepted.

Sira’s face brightened noticeably.

Conversely, Seohee’s face darkened slightly.

“Then I’ll process the enrollment. Oh right, we need to hear Teacher Jeong’s business too.”

Yeonkyung turned towards Seohee.

At the mention of business, Sira tilted her head.

Should I tell her?

This was the Baekgumiho she originally intended to contact first to find out about Chayeon’s fox spirit.

But for some reason, Baekgumiho also seemed to be looking for Chayeon.

Why? For what reason? Chayeon was indeed the vessel of a fox spirit with strong supernatural abilities, but that alone wasn’t reason enough for a Chilshinwi to seek her out.

Could she have gotten involved in something else again?

Not even a semester had passed since she entered Jindal, yet she had already faced major crises twice.

“…No. Thank you for remembering, but it’s alright now, Director.”

After agonizing, Seohee ultimately decided to hide it.

“Really? Alright.”

Yeonkyung looked at Seohee with slight surprise for a moment but seemed to let it go without much suspicion.

And so, Sira ended up entering 3rd year Class B as a transfer student.

“She was looking for me?”

“Yes. That’s why I wanted to ask. Why Sira-nim, no, Sira, is looking for Chayeon.”

At Seohee’s question, Chayeon averted her eyes and answered.

“Well. I also don’t know why someone I’ve never met is looking for me…”

“That’s a lie.”

Hearing Seohee’s words, Chayeon thought, ‘Oops.’

She had forgotten about the Mind’s Eye.

Chayeon quickly changed her words.

“…Actually, I met her yesterday. In the maple forest.”

“Maple forest? Ah, you mean Naekseun Park.”

“Yes. She suddenly saw me, then buried her nose in my chest and started sniffing.”

This time, she spoke without lies.

Hearing the unbelievable fact coming from Chayeon’s mouth, Seohee’s eyes widened.

“In your chest? Her nose?”

“Yes.”

Seohee tilted her head.

“I don’t understand. Could it be related to the fox spirit inside Chayeon?”

“I think so.”

She spoke, choosing only the truth, while restraining her words as much as possible.

“Hmm…”

Seeing Seohee lost in her own thoughts, Chayeon inwardly called out to Heukgu.

‘Hey, I think I’m screwed.’

<<I think so too.>>

‘Not ‘I think so too’, didn’t you hide well yesterday?’

<<It seemed so, but seeing things today, maybe not.>>

Heukgu seemed confused too.

<<That one is dangerous, so be vigilant. And now, make up your mind for certain.>>

Heukgu said, lowering his voice.

<<Whether you truly intend to go back.>>

It was a strange thing to say.

‘What kind of obvious thing are you saying? I kept telling you I’m going back.’

<<…Is that so. Still confused. Please don’t be like this at the crucial moment.>>

With those cryptic words, Heukgu fell silent again.

“I’ll ask you separately later. Chayeon, you be careful not to get involved in anything dangerous, okay? Do you even know I can’t sleep these days worrying about you?”

Chayeon accepted Seohee’s playful jab with an embarrassed smile.

Since she didn’t know what was going on, she would be careful for now.

Both Chayeon and Seohee reached the same conclusion.

“Hm?”

Suddenly feeling a gaze, she turned around and saw Arena had arrived.

It seemed she came looking for him after all classes ended, planning to go back together.

…But why is she making that face again?