The Spoon Villain Is Obsessed with the Hero Again Today

Educational Training (3)

No matter how angry, one couldn’t skip a meal. Arna had come to the student cafeteria for lunch.

“I’m in a bad mood today, so I need something spicy…”

After all, there was nothing quite like spicy food to relieve stress. Arna touched the kiosk screen.

“Shall I go with a simple jjampong? Or maybe jukkumi bokkeum after all this time?”

—Waaah!

“Huh…?”

While choosing a menu item, she heard a sob from somewhere. It came from the direction of a table in the distance.

Arna’s gaze naturally drifted towards the sound.

—I hate you…! I really hate you…! Always making fun of me for being a dropout…! Bullying me…!

“Excuse me…?”

Arna’s eyes widened in surprise. She’d recognized a familiar face.

“Why is Ms. Son Iseo here at the school…?”

A rather youthful face and a petite frame like a flying squirrel. And lastly, twin-tailed hair to express her cuteness. Son Iseo was in the cafeteria.

For reference, she wasn’t a student at this school. She was a combat operative from Guild Hyun-gwang.

“Could it be that Ms. Son Iseo is also a trainee…?”

The only explanation for her being here at the school was that. It also happened to be the educational training period.

Speaking of which….

—How long are you going to keep sniveling?

“…”

Why was Shin Yoon-sung with Son Iseo? Hadn’t he gone to lunch with the other colleagues?

—I don’t know…! You ruined my whole day…! Making a fool out of me…! Waaah…!

─ Not that he made you a fool, but you were always a fool, weren’t you? Son Iseo, the middle school dropout hunter.

─ Please, just stop that alreadyyyy…!

─ Let’s eat first. Tonkatsu tastes best when it’s hot.

*Scritch-scratch.*

Shin Yunseong began to cut the tonkatsu himself.

*Plunk!*

Then, he pierced a small piece of the cutlet with a fork. He held it out towards Son Iseo.

─ Here.

─ Aahh.

*Gasp!*

Son Iseo, having been crying moments ago, opened her mouth and ate the tonkatsu.

─ How is it? Does it have some taste?

─ Yeah… delicious….

─ I like that you’re honest. Now, eat some rice too.

─ Aahh.

Once again, Son Iseo received the food Shin Yunseong offered. She looked just like a baby bird.

“N-no, no way…”

For Arna, it was a deeply shocking sight. Feeding her food, no less. An act of affection straight out of a shoujo manga, happening right here in reality.

And even in the middle of this crowded restaurant.

“E-eeeek…!”

When *she* suggested lunch, he didn’t even spare her a glance. But in the meantime, he called another woman to have a meal?

And even feeds her?

Himself?

“Hmph!”

Arna spun around and stormed out of the restaurant.

She would never associate with Shin Yunseong ever again.

She wouldn’t even talk to him.

Ever.

*

The next day, it was the lecture hall.

“Hmph!”

Before the lecture began, Arna plopped down in the seat next to me.

“Hmph! Hmph!”

“….”

What’s with her today? Seething, she is. Even worse than the last time we met.

“Hmph! Hmph! Hmph!”

Honestly, you can never understand a woman’s true feelings. Jiwoo and Arna, both the same. If they have a complaint, they should just say it outright, instead of making people uncomfortable like this.

“Hhmphhh!”

I’m going crazy. It’s obvious she’s sulking, signaling she wants to be placated.

But first, I need to have actually *done* something wrong to placate her. No matter how much I think, I can’t see that I’ve done anything wrong.

To anyone watching, it’s just Arna’s sudden ignition.

“Hmph! Hmphhmph! Hmphhmphhmph!”

Still, I can’t just ignore her completely….

If I leave her like this, she’ll just build up more stress and maybe do something weird like last time.

Here, I guess I have no choice but to give in.

“What’s wrong this time?”

“Hmph…!”

Arna didn’t open her mouth to my question. She even turned her head completely away. She clearly has no intention of making eye contact with me.

Then she shouldn’t have sat next to me in the first place….

“Haa….”

How am I supposed to resolve this?

Should I take her to a Chinese restaurant like I did with Jiwoo last time?

I said,

“How about we grab some *jjajangmyeon* for lunch?”

“….”

No reaction. Seems simple *jjajangmyeon* won’t cut it.

Moving on to the next level.

“Alright, alright. I’ll treat you to *ganjjajang*.”

“….”

For a moment, Arna’s eyebrows twitched. But she still didn’t say a word.

In the end, I decided to play my last card.

“Alright. Seafood Jjajangmyeon. I can’t concede anything more than that.”

“You’ve been going on about Jjajangmyeon, Jjajangmyeon… what are you even talking about…?”

Arna, unable to bear it any longer, finally spoke up. She glared at me, her eyes filled with disbelief.

I tilted my head, puzzled.

“Huh? Weren’t you hinting you wanted me to buy lunch?”

“Not at all!”

Strange. Yoo Jiwoo had jumped at Kang Taehoon’s offer of Seafood Jjajangmyeon.

It seemed to be having no effect on Arna, though.

“So, what were you sulking about then?”

“…”

Returning to the beginning, I asked the reason for her anger.

“Th-that’s because…”

It couldn’t just be boredom causing this. She clearly had a complaint about me that she was protesting.

For now, I decided to listen to what Arna had to say.

“You… weren’t looking at me properly…”

“Everyone, take your seats.”

At that moment, the professor appeared in the classroom. The timing was truly remarkable.

Kim Dong-hak, an old codger who was now at an age where he should be fitted for dentures and where booking a spot at the columbarium wouldn’t be too early, had appeared. We naturally turned to face the front.

“Yo…”

Perhaps frustrated that she couldn’t finish her sentence, Arna pouted her lips.

“Hmm.”

Meanwhile, Kim Dong-hak scanned the classroom.

“There are familiar faces here, as well as quite a few new ones.”

New faces. He meant the trainees.

Right now, this classroom contained not only students from Hanyul Academy but also trainees from outside.

For the record, Son Iseo, the middle-school graduate hunter, wasn’t here. She had gone to attend a first-year foundational course.

“I will not be taking attendance today.”

Kim Dong-hak boldly skipped attendance from the very first class.

Well, at his level, calling out each name would be understandably tiresome. I can definitely understand.

“I won’t bother with a course introduction. If you want to know the evaluation methods or the content of each week’s class, look up the course syllabus yourself.”

He even skipped the orientation, which is practically gospel on the first day of class.

So, what does he plan to do? Is class just ending like this?

“Instead, today we’ll conduct a mana observation experiment.”

Figures.

It wouldn’t be Kim Dong-hak to just quietly end the class here.

Soon, the teaching assistants entered the lecture hall carrying large machines. The machines boasted a height that nearly touched the building’s ceiling.

Turns out, they were tools for measuring mana.

“Let’s see how much you’ve grown over the break, how diligently you’ve trained.”

To measure mana in a place with trainees, no less. How is that any different from revealing our test scores?

Those with low mana levels must be pretty anxious. Like someone like me, for example.

“The method is simple. Place your hand on this hand grip and release your mana. Then the ink mixed within this solvent will diffuse, carried by your mana.”

Inside the machine, a transparent glass tube was inserted. It was about 2 meters 50 centimeters long in total. Additionally, ink was laid at the bottom of the glass tube.

In other words, the ink would rise according to the amount of mana.

Think back to the chromatography experiment you probably did in middle school science class.

“Who wants to go first?”

Of course, no one volunteered. Whatever it is, being the first one up is always a burden.

“Then I’ll designate someone.”

Kim Dong-hak’s eyes swept over the students. Everyone hastily avoided his gaze. There’s no point in being chosen first.

“Hmm. Can’t call up the top student from the start.”

Imagine a skilled person like Arna coming out as the first participant. What would the people coming after that be? Nothing but laughingstocks.

Kim Dong-hak was aware of that point and was choosing someone who was, at least, a loser.

“You, over there.”

“Ack.”

The first student to be designated was the tattooed guy.

Come to think of it, didn’t something similar happen last semester as well?

“Come forward.”

“Tch….”

The tattooed guy reluctantly got up from his seat and stood in front of the machine.

“Don’t feel pressured. It’s just measuring how well you handle mana. It can’t be said to be the absolute measure of an Awakened One’s strength.”

“So, how high does it have to go to be worth a damn? There’s gotta be an average, right?”

“We’re looking at 1 meter as the average. Just so you know, the top score last semester was 2 meters and 14 centimeters.”

A figure more than double the 1-meter average. There’s only one person in this school capable of such a record.

Arna, sitting right next to me, she’s the one.

“Well, I should be able to clear at least 1 meter, no problem. Guess I’ll give it a shot.”

Tattoo-guy confidently placed his hand on the hand grip. Then, he closed his eyes and unleashed his mana.

*Shwaaa-*

The blue ink at the bottom of the transparent glass tube rippled. The ink began to spread, following the solvent.

A moment later…

“84 centimeters.”

“W-what? Only 84 centimeters? You’re saying I’m below average?”

“You must have slacked off on your training over break. Return to your seat.”

“No way…”

Tattoo-guy wore a dumbfounded expression. He seemed profoundly shocked by the fact that he couldn’t even surpass the average.

“Next. Come forward.”

Without delay, Kim Dong-hak called out the next contender. That was me.

“…”

This feels like a scene I saw last semester, doesn’t it? I can’t be imagining things, can I?

Anyway.

Following Kim Dong-hak’s instructions, I stood on the podium. Then, just like Tattoo-guy, I placed my hand on the hand grip.

“Hooo…”

Mana measurement. I wonder what my score will be.

Still, I had special training under Park Won-hyuk during the break, there has to be some result.

At least, I hope I’m above average.

*Shwaaa-*

The ink, reacting to my mana, began to rise through the glass tube.

A moment later…

“1 meter 56 centimeters.”

The result was in. 1 meter 56 centimeters.

A figure far surpassing the average record of 1 meter.

It was a record twice as close as the one that tattoo guy showed earlier.

Is this really my report card?

—oooh.

The other students were just as surprised. They exclaimed in unison, astonished by the unexpected result.

“So you weren’t just mindlessly bulking up all vacation.”

Kim Dong-hak glanced at my record and smiled subtly. I hadn’t wasted my vacation; I’d been diligently honing myself. From an educator’s perspective, naturally, he couldn’t help but feel proud.

He stroked his beard and said to me,

“Shin Yun-sung. Very well done.”