NOVEL WEB Chapter 40
“Pro-fessor!”
From high in the sky, Professor Jin descended in her suit, trailing a long aura of dark night colors and landing right beside us.
“It’s Brown Tail…!”
People who recognized Professor Jin quickly gathered around, snapping pictures.
It was as though they’d already forgotten the chaos that had just occurred.
Professor Jin is a B-rank hero famous for her dazzling aerial acrobatics.
Additionally, her innocent smile and beautiful looks make her extremely popular.
So, it was only natural that people went wild upon seeing such a hero appear before their eyes.
“Hello, Professor Jin. Were you on emergency standby today? Thank you for your hard work on a Friday.”
“What about the villain?”
I lightly tapped the defense barrier on the ground with the tip of my shoe.
“Huh? This?”
Professor Jin looked curiously at the small defense barrier that had trapped the villain, whose body parts were wriggling as if asking to be let out.
“What kind of guy causes trouble right in front of the Academy?”
“That’s something the Organization will figure out. It seems to be an unconscious villain based on its behavior.”
“Then it makes sense. Did you get injured anywhere?”
“I’m fine. As you can see, perfectly okay.”
“Thank goodness Professor was here. Otherwise, there could have been significant damage… Hmm… Already considerable…”
Jin observed the injured people protected by the defense barrier and trailed off.
No. This is relatively good considering the circumstances.
If I hadn’t been here, this place would likely be a bloodbath by now.
In that regard, Han Min-ha and Yu Hye-won’s actions, though reckless, were quite an effective initial response.
If they hadn’t been here, several dozen people would have been injured by the time I assessed the situation and arrived.
While I don’t know exactly why those two were here…
It’s certainly not something possible without considerable courage.
“Uh? Min-ha? Why are you here?”
Upon seeing Han Min-ha sitting behind me, Professor Jin’s eyes widened.
“Ugh… My whole body hurts…”
“Hye-won…?”
Just then, Yu Hye-won also appeared, wobbling as she approached, and Professor Jin looked at me with a perplexed expression.
Any professor would likely have the same reaction upon seeing two Academy students in dirty and torn gym uniforms in a bustling area where a villain appeared on a Friday night.
Hye-won may not face consequences, but Han Min-ha could end up expelled.
This unauthorized departure, unpermitted flight, near-death experience, and the potential to tarnish the Academy’s reputation could escalate into an enormous incident.
I activated my specialized technique of “making excuses.”
“We went out for a study group and dinner.”
I interjected before any of us could say anything.
“It is Friday, after all. We figured since it was Friday…”
“Ah, I see. Anyway, I’m glad everyone is safe. Hye-won… Are you alright?”
“Just a bit sore.”
At that moment, Chae appeared, pushing through the crowd.
“Professor Hyun!”
“Huh? Director?”
Professor Jin and Chae exchanged bewildered glances upon spotting each other.
“Emergency standby…?” “Why are you here…?”
Seemed like things could get awkward for me if things went south.
Activating my special skill again.
“We happened to meet Director Chae outside a grilled pork restaurant and joined her table, Professor Jin.”
Though Chae seemed about to say something against the clearly fictional story, she noticed the children standing next to me.
Upon seeing Han Min-ha, Yu Hye-won, and my face, Chae started laughing and gestured with her hands.
“Hahaha! That’s right. I was craving grilled pork, and there happened to be Professor and the kids.”
Impressive judgment.
One needs that level of perceptiveness to become an Administrative Director at such a young age.
Fortunately, the innocent Professor Jin readily believed the story without suspicion.
…
Later, the police and ambulances arrived at the scene.
Professor Jin, who had been on emergency standby, handed over the scene to the police as the responsible hero.
The still moving, unconscious villain’s body parts were individually placed in super-alloy boxes and prepared for transport to the Organization.
“Well… I’ll be going now.”
With everything wrapped up, Professor Jin bid us farewell.
She held a bag of fried eggs that I’d bought for her to eat when she got bored, since she had to stay in her suit overnight without being able to leave work.
“Thank you for your efforts, Professor Jin.”
As Professor Jin ascended with her dark-night aura, the crowd cheered.
“Alright, let’s go. Before the reporters arrive.”
I led Chae and the children through the crowd.
“Hey? My phone!”
Suddenly, Yu Hye-won shouted and began patting her pockets.
“Dammit… Did it get lost earlier?”
At that moment, something tripped me, and I noticed a cracked phone lying on the ground.
It was the very phone Hye-won never let go of.
“Is this yours?”
As I picked it up, I accidentally pressed a button, and the screen lit up.
What I saw on the lock screen…
“Give me that!”
Hye-won grabbed the phone from my hands and got angry.
“Why is a thirty-year-old uncle snooping into a girl’s phone so creepily…”
While muttering something, Hye-won quickly shoved the phone into her pocket.
Hmm… Strange.
The picture on the lock screen seemed to be of my side profile.
…
I intended to take the children back to the Academy immediately, but it became difficult.
I heard they hadn’t eaten dinner, and how could a proper academic advisor send children back hungry?
So, we entered a secluded kimchi roll shop away from prying eyes.
Chae knows it as a hidden gem in Graford City.
Because she probably didn’t eat much at the grilled pork restaurant before rushing out.
“So… You and the professor were going to have chicken, but since he didn’t show up, you came looking for him… right?”
When Chae heard the explanation for why the children were in the center of Graford in gym uniforms, she stopped her chopsticks mid-reach for a kimchi roll and chuckled awkwardly.
“Haha… Kids these days are crazy… Sorry, sorry.”
Though I knew Hye-won’s explanation was a lie, I remained silent and proceeded to cut the pork cutlet.
Sometimes, when you want to hide something or cover it up, it’s more effective to keep your mouth shut.
“Anyway… I’ll pretend to not know for the professor’s sake, but this is a serious offense. You should know it can’t be resolved with just penalty points.”
“Yes…”
Han Min-ha, with a mouth full of tuna kimchi roll, replied while reaching for a pork cutlet kimchi roll.
Hye-won was picking rice cakes out of the ramen without responding.
“Putting rice cakes in ramen? That’s new.”
“Hye-won, are you listening?”
“I’ll be more careful in the future if the professor keeps her promise.”
“Professor. Buy these kids chicken. If you break your promise again, they’ll both be expelled.”
Upon Chae’s words, I gave a faint smile.
With Chae deciding to help in this manner, I’m somewhat relieved.
Since the gate entry records are managed by the Administrative Office, a slight adjustment should suffice.
I’ll speak to the assistants.
Assistant Bae Ye-eun should be easy to explain things to, but Hye-won’s rude Assistant Kim might be better handled by Hye-won herself.
“By the way, Hye-won student, are you really alright?”
“Nothing seems injured.”
Hye-won is an Academy student, regardless of her abilities.
At the Academy, students are taught to never fight if they encounter a villain outside and to instead flee and report it.
Even if she’s aspiring to be a hero, she’s not one yet.
The gap is as vast as between heaven and earth.
Despite that, Hye-won confronted the villain head-on, buying time and survived unscathed.
Nevertheless, it would be wise to get a check-up when we return.
There could be internal bleeding or minor fractures that aren’t immediately apparent.
Could this be because Hye-won inherited her father’s talent completely as the only daughter?
I wonder how far she’ll have grown by graduation.
On the other hand, Han Min-ha…
Han Min-ha has yet to be able to use aura after the incident earlier, despite stuffing his cheeks full of kimchi rolls.
At such extreme moments, most people activate their aura instinctively for survival.
It might be necessary to discuss trauma resolution regarding his parents’ ordeal with him in the future.
Today, I’ll just send them back after feeding them. It’s the weekend tomorrow, so I’ll talk with him then.
Normally, Academy students are allowed weekend outings, yet not during their freshman year.
A rigorous schedule akin to a military academy, with only a week-long vacation.
“Have a lot; you both worked hard.”
“By the way, professor, what technique did you use?”
In response to Hye-won’s question, I kindly explained.
“Nothing special. It was just the application of the basic defense barrier.”
“Hmm… Can you really do that much with just a defense barrier?”
Hye-won looked quite skeptical.
“Nothing difficult. You just need to be able to create defense barriers of desired shape, size, and intensity wherever you want.”
“That sounds so easy.”
While Hye-won muttered, Han Min-ha was listening carefully to my words with shining eyes.
“Min-ha student.”
“Yes, Sir!”
“If you could use aura, you could easily do what I did just now.”
“Ah, yes.”
Looking at Han Min-ha lowering his head slightly, Hye-won clicked her tongue.
“If you had helped me earlier, we could have finished it.”
“Sorry, but it was too scary…”
“Do you even plan to graduate?”
When Han Min-ha didn’t say anything, Hye-won frowned.
“And stop eating only the rice cakes. Have some ramen too. Are you trying to choke and die?”
“It’s uncomfortable when the steam fogs up my glasses…”
“Then take them off and eat.”
“Oh… That could work.”
“Really, ugh…”
To the one-sidedly scolded Han Min-ha, I said gently.
“Don’t worry, Min-ha student. Your actions just now were truly courageous. Even without using aura, you tried to stop the villain despite being practically a civilian. Of course, you almost died, but still…”
At that, Hye-won muttered under her breath about who actually fought and why someone else was being praised.
“Hye-won student too. Though disregarding the Academy’s advice not to confront villains was wrong, fortunately, thanks to Hye-won student, we avoided a major disaster. You did well. However, don’t do it again in the future.”
“Your side comment stabs me, but it feels strangely good.”
Smiling, I added to the sarcastic Hye-won.
“And, I apologize.”
“Huh…? For what?”
“For all the hurtful words and actions towards Hye-won student in the past.”
Thinking she had become a character in Han Tae-woo’s web novel, I mistook Hye-won as a web novel character with a nasty personality.
Thus, I avoided and shunned her from the start.
But now, knowing the whole truth, I see Hye-won was continuously pushed back without understanding why.
Of course… Her character hasn’t improved, but nonetheless, my manner of treating her was inappropriate.
And in such situations, it’s right to apologize.
“Uh… Excuse me… Suddenly what…”
Not knowing the full story, Hye-won averted her eyes while making fake coughs.
A slight blush appeared on her face.