I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius

I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius – 129

EP.129 Kuyamoto’s Cherry Blossom (1)

About 10 minutes ago.

While Kang Seo-jun was engrossed in looting Omen’s secret vault.

– Boom! Boom! –

– Rumble…! –

“It’s breached!”

“Let’s move in immediately.”

Kuyamoto Sakura, along with the clan’s swordsmen who followed her, broke through the debris-blocked entrance and entered the underground hideout.

– Yop! Yop! –

– Ui! Ui! –

The minions, who were farming near the entrance, scattered like stray cats as soon as they heard the explosion.

– Zawa zawa zawa zawa! –

The minions, who had fled to the third basement floor, gestured frantically for Park Tae-ho to escape as well.

“Adorable creatures.”

Park Tae-ho patted one of the minions on the head and started walking upstairs.

‘Something seems to have happened upstairs…. Did the minions mess with something? Or did the demons send reinforcements late?’

Whether it was the former or the latter, it didn’t change the fact that he had to step in. He couldn’t let anything disrupt his grandson-in-law’s farming.

If it was a mistake, he would handle it himself, and if demons had sent reinforcements, he would turn them into bloody pulp.

“Hmm?”

“…!”

However, what he encountered upstairs were people he never expected to meet in such a place.

“Kuyamoto…?”

The white sword emblem engraved on the black uniforms. It was the emblem of the Kuyamoto clan, whom Park Tae-ho was very familiar with and had clashed with countless times in the Tower.

“No way…. What a coincidence.”

To meet the Kuyamoto clan, of all places, in the secret hideout of demons. It seemed the Kuyamoto clan had also planned to raid this Gangwon-do hideout today.

“…How are you here…?”

Sakura was equally surprised by the unexpected encounter.

‘The Mountain Lord of Taesan…. Park Tae-ho….’

The Taesan Group and the Kuyamoto clan considered each other rivals in East Asia, engaging in friendly competition.

Sakura had seen Park Tae-ho in person a few times before, so she could recognize him.

‘I thought something was off when the logistics center building collapsed….’

She never expected that Park Tae-ho, the strongest force of Taesan, would have gotten here first. It was beyond her expectations, something she hadn’t even considered. She had heard he was actively working in the Tower….

“Why is Chairman Park in a place like this…?”

“…Obviously, to hunt demons. And you?”

“…We are here for the same reason.”

“Haha. It seems our raid targets coincided by chance. Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?”

“…It seems you finished your work a while ago.”

Sakura looked behind Park Tae-ho. The hallway was littered with dozens of demon corpses, torn apart and scattered, as the minions had not yet collected them.

But then….

– Yop! Yop! –

– Ui! Ui! –

‘What are these….’

The small creatures trembling behind Park Tae-ho’s calves, peeking out timidly.

‘They’re cute….’

A faint blush appeared on Sakura’s cheeks.

“Well, that’s how it turned out. It seems we unintentionally got ahead of you.”

“…No problem. We had the same objective, so there’s no complaint.”

“Good. That’s a relief.”

In the Tower, such incidents often led to conflicts of interest between guilds over a single dungeon. Regardless of who arrived first or fought more battles, the stronger side usually took more loot. In severe cases, it even escalated to massacres between guilds. It was fortunate that the other side was backing down quietly.

‘But still….’

Park Tae-ho stroked his bearded chin as he looked at Sakura. She was observing the minions with her inscrutable pink eyes.

‘Musashi’s granddaughter has grown so much already.’

He had heard she was ranked [S-]. Having awakened by consuming the ‘Fruit of the Sun’ at the Japanese Academy, she was sure to grow even more in the future.

‘Musashi must be pleased with his capable granddaughter. Of course, our Seo-yoon and Shin-hye are much cuter.’

Enough of admiring someone else’s child. It was time to send the uninvited guests away and finish what he had started.

“Then, please leave now. I need to finish cleaning up.”

Park Tae-ho put his hand on his waist and issued a dismissal. He couldn’t let uninvited guests stay when he didn’t know what kind of loot might appear.

“Yes. We won’t interfere.”

Sakura also intended to leave quietly. However….

“But before we go, may I ask you one question?”

“Hmm? Is there something left? Surely you don’t mean to ask for a share of the loot….”

As Park Tae-ho’s expression turned grim, Sakura quickly waved her hands.

“No, no! It’s a personal question. I’m looking for someone.”

“Looking for someone?”

“Just a moment….”

– Rummage rummage…. –

Sakura rummaged through the inside of her uniform and soon pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“By any chance….”

She unfolded the paper and held it out.

“…have you seen this man?”

“……!!?”

Park Tae-ho blinked in surprise at the sketch of the man on the paper. The face drawn on the paper was unmistakably that of his grandson-in-law, Kang Seo-jun.

“……Why are you looking for this man?”

“……?”

Sakura’s eyes narrowed at Park Tae-ho’s response. He didn’t say he didn’t know…? Could it be…?

“Do you know who this man is?”

“Answer my question first. Why are you looking for him?”

“……I’m sorry. I can’t tell you that.”

How could she explain in a place like this that she had been assaulted by that man and was now pregnant? Only her best friend knew about this so far.

But Park Tae-ho didn’t give up and persistently asked again.

“No, no. This is an important question. Why are you looking for him?”

This involved his family. He had to find out the reason.

“……I can’t tell you.”

But Sakura had her own reasons.

– Saaa. –

“…I thought you said it’s an important question, didn’t I?”

“…As I said, I can’t tell you….”

If this continued, they would just keep going in circles.

– Rumble rumble rumble…. –

Park Tae-ho raised his aura, pressuring Sakura and the Kuyamoto clan.

“I asked why you are looking for him.”

“Ugh…!!”

“Ah!”

“Ugh!?”

Sakura and the Kuyamoto clan groaned under the weight of Park Tae-ho’s aura. The hallway vibrated, dropping stone debris, and their bodies felt as heavy as if gravity had increased several times over.

“Ugh, ugh!”

“No, no more!”

– Slash! Slash! –

In the end, the Kuyamoto swordsmen drew their swords and raised their own auras.

“What are you doing!?”

“Are you trying to cause a political incident!?”

“We will report this to the head of the clan!”

“Hah…. I’ve fought Musashi over things like this more than a hundred times…. You bastards.”

– Rumble rumble rumble…!! –

“Ugh…!”

“Ugh!”

“Ah!”

Park Tae-ho intensified his aura even further and asked again.

“I asked, why are you looking for this man?”

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

“Ah!”

Even Sakura, who was ranked [S-], felt her legs trembling under the pressure. The other members of the Kuyamoto clan could barely breathe and were groaning.

“You won’t talk, huh.”

– Clang!

Finally, Park Tae-ho drew the greatsword he had been carrying on his back.

“Speak now, or there will be blood.”

“Ugh…!!”

Sakura bit her lower lip hard. Who exactly was this man that the Mountain Lord of Taesan would go to such lengths?

‘…I guess I have no choice….’

If she didn’t reveal why she was looking for this man, Park Tae-ho seemed ready to kill someone right there.

‘…I can’t let my clan members get hurt.’

She couldn’t sacrifice her clan members to protect her already tainted body. The fact that she had been assaulted by this mysterious man and was now carrying his child was something that would eventually come to light anyway. To protect her clan, she had to speak now.

“Actually….”

Sakura’s lips trembled as she was about to reveal the truth she had been mistakenly believing.

“Grandfather!”

“……!?”

The voice that had echoed in Sakura’s mind for the past few days struck her from behind.

“Wha- What!?”

– Slash!! –

As Kang Seo-jun suddenly appeared from behind, a few high-ranking members of the Kuyamoto clan barely managed to turn towards him, sharpening their drawn swords even more.

“Ugh!”

“Attacking from behind! How cowardly!?”

“…Wait a moment!”

Just as Sakura was about to turn around with wide eyes.

“No! These bastards?!?! Who are you pointing your swords at!!!”

– Boom!!! –

Park Tae-ho exploded with aura.

“Ugh!”

“Ah!”

“Ugh!”

If the pressure had been just hard to breathe under before, now it felt like their bodies were about to be crushed.

‘Damn…! I couldn’t get a proper look…!’

Because of Park Tae-ho’s extreme aura, she couldn’t properly see the face behind the voice.

‘But…!’

Her entire intuition was telling her. It was definitely him. The voice, the silhouette she glimpsed, and the inexplicable feeling she had.

“Grandfather! Stop! You’re going to kill someone!”

Just as one of the Kuyamoto clan members’ faces turned pale, Kang Seo-jun urgently stopped Park Tae-ho.

“Whew….”

At his grandson-in-law’s words, Park Tae-ho slowly withdrew his aura.

However, his face was still filled with anger.

“So, it has come to this.”

He had intended to keep Kang Seo-jun hidden until he found out why the young lady of the Kuyamoto clan was looking for his grandson-in-law.

“So.”

Park Tae-ho walked up to Sakura and asked, meeting her eyes.

“Why were you looking for my grandson-in-law?”

“…Huh?”

It was Kang Seo-jun who reacted first to Park Tae-ho’s question, rather than Sakura.

‘Sakura was looking for me? What?’

Kang Seo-jun blinked and looked at the back of Sakura’s head. Soon, Sakura also turned her head to look at Kang Seo-jun.

Black eyes and pink eyes clashed in the air.

“Ah, ah!?”

Sakura’s eyes widened, and her pupils dilated.

“Ah, ah!!”

Seeing her reaction, Kang Seo-jun was convinced.

‘Damn!!’

It was clear. She recognized him. The look in her eyes confirmed that she knew he was the one who had knocked her down and taken all her equipment that day.

‘Damn it!’

That day…. He had thought she wouldn’t recognize him because the hallway of the Ulleungdo hideout was so dark that she couldn’t see his face properly. He had underestimated the senses of an [S-] grade hunter.

“Gr-Grandson-in-law!?”

Sakura quickly looked up at Park Tae-ho and asked.

“That man is Taesan’s grandson-in-law!?”

“Yes. The man you were looking for is my grandson-in-law. Now tell me, why were you looking for him?”

“Ah, ah…! This can’t be…!”

Sakura’s eyes spun in confusion. The man she had mistaken for a demon and attacked was Taesan’s grandson-in-law? And Taesan’s grandson-in-law had assaulted her and gotten her pregnant? Why? Why would he do such a thing? She couldn’t understand anymore.

“I’m carrying that man’s child!!!”

“Gasp!”

“What?!”

“What the hell!?!?”

Kang Seo-jun, Park Tae-ho, and the Kuyamoto clan members all had their eyes and mouths wide open.

“When did I….”

“You bastard…!!! How dare you…!!?”

“Hold on, you bastards!!!!!!!”

The small ball that Sakura had thrown up. The moment of chaos was about to begin.