Chapter 42: The Will of the Moon

“What… do you mean?”

Hoshikawa Toshio spoke, bewildered. He seemed so taken aback by the unexpected turn of events that his tone had softened.

“M-My name is Han Ruah, and I’m the school nurse at Felix Academy.”

Ruah spoke calmly. Facing the Head of the Family was terrifying, but after practicing countless times, she managed to get the words out.

“I have something to say to you, Head of the Family.”

Hoshikawa Toshio’s eyes narrowed.

“I’d like you… not to take Himari away.”

“You attack me out of the blue, and then you tell me to leave my daughter…?”

—Shing!

Hoshikawa Toshio drew his sword and placed its tip against Ruah’s throat. His face was stern, but his expression seemed more curious than angry.

“Father, put your sword away!”

Himari rushed forward and stepped between her father and Ruah.

“This is the teacher I serve as a ‘moon’!”

“…!”

Hoshikawa Toshio’s eyes widened. Himari turned her back to her father and knelt down to Ruah’s eye level.

Himari’s touch, as she examined Ruah, was gentle and warm.

“Teacher, are you alright?”

“Y-Yes, I’m fine.”

“Your left arm…! Please get it treated immediately!”

Himari instructed the bodyguards behind her to heal Ruah’s left arm. Although not as skilled as Ruah, the school nurse, they activated a fairly powerful [Healing] skill.

“Ah… that’s much better. Thank you.”

“Teacher, this injury… is it from Battoujutsu?”

Ruah nodded. Surprise flickered across Himari’s face.

“How did you learn the [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu]?”

The Head of the Family’s question hung in the air.

“Himari, did you teach her?”

His tone was laced with anger. Ruah gently pushed Himari aside and faced the Head of the Family. She was still afraid, but this was the time to step up.

“No, I practiced it on my own.”

The [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu] wasn’t a skill that only two people in the world could learn.

In the game system, the protagonist only needed to fulfill the condition of ‘listening to Himari’s backstory’ to unlock it.

However, not many players bothered to learn the [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu]. Since they could simply use Himari as a companion and have her use it, there wasn’t much need for the protagonist to learn it themselves.

Due to the game’s mechanics, it took significantly less time and effort to develop companions compared to the protagonist, so using it as the protagonist’s main skill was a waste.

But,

Today, it was necessary.

She had to show Hoshikawa Toshio the shock of seeing the family’s prized Battoujutsu activated by a complete stranger.

‘It was incredibly difficult.’

For the past three days, Ruah had been in the gymnasium.

Replaying Himari’s [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu] activation scene countless times, from memory, and from videos and photos.

The condition for acquiring the skill [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu] was to imitate the Battoujutsu movements 3000 times.

Furthermore, the pose had to be exactly the same as Himari’s, so at first, only one out of every ten attempts counted.

After a few hours, it increased to one in seven.

After staying up all night, it became one in five.

By lunchtime on the second day, it was one in three.

And yesterday, it finally reached one in two.

—Ding!

<You can acquire the skill [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu (Lv.1)]. Do you wish to acquire it?>

“Acquire.”

<You have acquired the skill [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu (Lv.1)]!>

<Skill Description: The secret Battoujutsu passed down through the Hoshikawa family. A skill granted only to the head of the family and the heir, but if you move the heart of the heir, Hoshikawa Himari, perhaps you too will have a chance…>

When the system notification finally popped up, Ruah collapsed on the spot, gasping for breath.

With this, she could persuade Hoshikawa Toshio.

She could keep Himari from leaving.

Although her body was exhausted, there was no time to rest.

She eavesdropped on Hoshikawa Toshio’s visit schedule in the faculty office, snuck onto the empty runway with a wooden sword, and charged the Battoujutsu for three long hours.

While Himari only needed a little over 10 seconds, Ruah, having just acquired the skill, and with a blunt wooden sword as her weapon, needed a long time to charge it to the desired power.

—Crash!

“Ouch!”

Even after cutting the helicopter as a threat, the aftereffects were significant. Unlike Himari, who only injured her left ring finger, Ruah’s entire left arm below the elbow was fractured, and her mana was completely depleted.

‘I definitely can’t use this in actual combat.’

This would probably be the first and last time she activated it.

—But it was alright.

“Teacher…”

If it meant bringing back a student who was about to be taken away.

“Practice, you say.”

The Head of the Family let out a hollow laugh. Even his heir, Himari, took considerable time to master the skill. And this school nurse was dismissing it as mere ‘practice.’

“Only the heir to the family can learn the [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu].”

“No, anyone can learn it, but no one even tries. Because they’re afraid of the Hoshikawa family, or they give up beforehand, thinking they can’t do it.”

Ruah continued, holding Himari’s hand tightly. Strangely, holding Himari’s hand made the Head of the Family in front of her less frightening. It felt like courage was flowing from their clasped hands.

“But you just saw it. Even someone like me can use it if I set my mind to it.”

Ruah pointed at the long gash on the helicopter.

“It’s just a skill. A skill that anyone can learn with enough effort.”

“…”

“This… shouldn’t be Himari’s future.”

She had expected him to rebuke her for insulting the family’s Battoujutsu, but surprisingly, Hoshikawa Toshio simply looked down at Ruah and Himari without a word. He probably couldn’t refute her since she had demonstrated the Battoujutsu herself.

“Head of the Family, you may need Himari’s Battoujutsu, but I need Himari.”

It wasn’t because Himari was a member of her party or a skilled damage dealer.

It was because Himari herself wanted to stay here.

“So please, let her decide for herself.”

Ruah bowed her head respectfully. She wasn’t eloquent, but she hoped her sincerity would reach him.

“…”

Hoshikawa Toshio looked down at Ruah and Himari in silence for a long time. Then he suddenly spoke.

“What if I refuse?”

“If you won’t change your mind… then neither will I.”

Ruah subtly pulled a phone from her pocket. It was Park Haengsin’s phone, which she had secured earlier. A flicker of surprise crossed Hoshikawa Toshio’s face. He clearly understood what it meant.

“If you knew, why didn’t you tell the Academy?”

That was because she believed the game’s story shouldn’t be altered any further. If it was revealed that Hoshikawa Toshio was behind the incidents, the Academy might expel Himari.

While his actions were reprehensible, she decided to keep the exposé as a last resort.

“Because I thought we could resolve this through conversation.”

The Head of the Family let out a hollow laugh.

“So you didn’t just barge in recklessly without thinking.”

He looked at Ruah for a long moment before asking,

“Why are you going this far?”

“Himari said she would be my ‘moon.’ Since Himari placed her trust in me, I’m simply reciprocating.”

Ruah played her trump card.

“So please… don’t repeat your past mistakes.”

“…!”

The Head of the Family’s eyes widened.

Of course, those words were meant to remind him of Himari’s deceased brother.

“Past mistakes…”

Hoshikawa Toshio bent down and sat on a luggage box. He had been looking down at them the entire time, but now he was at Ruah’s eye level.

“…”

A gust of wind swept across the runway, passing between Hoshikawa Toshio and Ruah.

After a long silence, he spoke.

“…I knew a long time ago that the [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu] was a skill anyone could learn.”

Deep wrinkles lined the Head of the Family’s face as he sighed.

“But the Battoujutsu, to which I’ve dedicated my life, shouldn’t be like that. It’s a matter of our family’s and my honor. So I prevented anyone from learning it, and I trained my son harshly… and Himari too.”

Faced with a truth he didn’t want to acknowledge, Hoshikawa Toshio had chosen to ignore it.

The price was his son’s death.

But he hadn’t stopped there, and he had driven Himari as well.

“Tell me. Did I make the wrong choice?”

“…Yes.”

Ruah nodded.

“But this time is different. You can still rectify it.”

“…I see.”

Hoshikawa Toshio’s expression was more sorrowful than Ruah had ever seen it.

“I wish I had heard these words when he was still alive.”

The Head of the Family gestured to his bodyguards. They resumed carrying the luggage, which had been temporarily halted.

As one of them reached for Himari’s suitcase—

“—Leave that.”

“…!”

Himari’s eyes widened.

“Himari.”

“Yes, Father.”

“I take back what I said about your poor judgment. No one has ever defied me like this, solely for your sake.”

“…”

“Cherish that bond.”

Soon, another helicopter arrived. It seemed to be a spare one, as Ruah had damaged the Chinook.

As the helicopter landed, the Head of the Family boarded it with his bodyguards. Looking back at Ruah one last time, he lowered his voice.

“I’ll send a medical team along with a donation to the Academy as soon as I return. It will be more than enough to cover the damages.”

“There’s something more important than that.”

Ruah held Himari’s hand tightly and met the Head of the Family’s gaze.

“Promise me you’ll never try to take Himari away using underhanded methods again.”

“…”

Hoshikawa Toshio glanced at his daughter, who was standing beside Ruah.

“I promise.”

Ruah let out a silent sigh of relief, and Himari’s face brightened.

“And, Teacher Han Ruah.”

The Head of the Family handed Ruah something small and sparkling. It was the ring he had been wearing. At first glance, it seemed plain, but upon closer inspection, one could see intricate patterns engraved all around it.

“This ring is only given to members of the Hoshikawa family. Use it without hesitation if Himari ever faces any difficulties.”

In short, it was permission to use his family’s influence as backing.

“I entrust Himari to you.”

The helicopter took off, leaving the stunned Ruah and Himari behind. They held hands and watched the helicopter until it disappeared into the distance.

—Click.

“Phew.”

She finished unpacking her luggage and putting it back in the drawers. The sun was already setting outside the window.

Himari collapsed onto her bed, exhausted, and replayed the events of the afternoon.

‘For my father to give up…’

Her father had been an almost absolute authority to her. It was surprising enough that he had changed his mind, but the fact that it was Ruah who had made him do so made today a day that shook Himari’s world.

And—

—Please, let her decide for herself.

“Those… words…”

Himari recalled Ruah’s image as she spoke those words.

Her small stature, small hands, and frail body.

But at the same time, a teacher with a will stronger than anyone, strong enough to defy Hoshikawa Toshio.

‘Teacher Han Ruah, who stood by my side.’

A tightening sensation welled up in her chest. Curling up, Himari lay on her side and hugged her knees.

Closing her eyes and thinking of Ruah’s face made her heart race. Her cheeks flushed, and a warmth spread through her lower abdomen.

‘Come to think of it… Teacher taught me about this once.’

It was when she had been reading a book in the infirmary and asked a question.

It’s when you can’t think of anyone else, and even when you’re surrounded by people, you only see that person.

You can’t help but want to hug them, to be with them. Do you understand?

It was exactly right. That was exactly how Himari felt about Ruah right now.

The intelligent Himari also remembered the word Ruah had used to describe that feeling.

‘Love, was it?’

It was the moment a new name was given to the feeling Himari had simply perceived as ‘good.’