TRPM 350

chapter 350

To get straight to the point, none of the men were arrested by the police.

The guy who stalked Ryu Ah-young yesterday had clearly committed a crime, so that couldn’t be overlooked. But the men who followed Teacher Son Ji-hye today had only done so to confirm whether it was really her.

The teacher herself felt uncomfortable because those men had once confessed to her, but she didn’t see them as criminals. She even spoke up in their defense.

“…I understand the circumstances, but awakened individuals carrying weapons moving around in groups like that makes citizens uneasy. I’m sorry, but please store your weapons in your vehicles, or in a subspace if you have one.”

It seemed the police had received many reports because armed men were following Teacher Son Ji-hye.

The men, realizing how they must have looked, returned to their lodging to put away their weapons.

And then…

“Hey, Ji-hye? No matter what, running away like that hurt a little, you know?”

“Yeah, I get why you avoided us, but still….”

The men and Teacher Son Ji-hye ended up having a sort of “meeting” in a nearby café.

For reference, Ha-eun and I sat beside the teacher too. She said it was too overwhelming to face them alone and asked us to at least stay by her side.

‘Well, of course. There are more of them, and they were her seniors back when she was in the Cleaner Guild.’

Above all, those men were all stronger than her.

If they ever attacked her out of spite for rejecting their confessions, she wouldn’t be able to handle them alone.

So, Ha-eun and I willingly sat beside her.

‘Thankfully, it doesn’t look like any of them have bad intentions.’

I’d seen enough news about people taking revenge for being rejected, so I was a little worried. But the three men before her now seemed genuinely fond of Teacher Son Ji-hye and sincerely wished for her happiness.

Well, that’s how it should be.

“Phew… I’ll say this now, but I have no intention of accepting your confessions. Not before, and not now.”

Perhaps she read their atmosphere, or maybe she trusted having Ha-eun and me beside her—but the teacher gathered her courage and said this.

…Honestly speaking…

‘If she just revealed that she’s actually a man, all this would’ve been resolved ages ago….’

But since she clearly had no intention of saying it herself, I’d let that go.

Anyway—

“Yeah… we know.”

“Figured as much….”

“True, the thought of a kid like Ji-hye dating old guys like us is awkward, honestly.”

The men nodded at her words.

It seemed they already knew they didn’t match well with her.

Of course, they looked disappointed too.

‘…Well, if she really were a woman….’

Even though she quit the Cleaner Guild, she’d once been a promising young member there.

Hard-working, with a good personality.

And above all, she was such a beauty that two boys in our class had fallen for her at first sight.

So it wasn’t strange that many men would be drawn to her.

…If she were truly a woman, that is.

‘The fact that she’s actually a man really changes everything.’

While I was thinking that, the men began asking her questions.

Whether she’d been doing well since leaving the guild.

If she faced any difficulties as a teacher.

They even apologized for taking her time when she was out with her “niece and nephew”—meaning Ha-eun and me.

‘…Looks like they didn’t recognize us.’

I suppose it was possible.

Actually, if they did recognize us, it might just cause trouble, so staying quiet was probably better.

“Kids, want some pocket money?”

“No, seniors, there’s no need for that….”

“It’s fine. We’ve got money to spare.”

“Besides, these two are my niece and nephew….”

Watching them, these men just seemed like ordinary uncles you’d see anywhere.

Thinking that, I quietly sipped my coffee.

Of course, we politely declined their pocket money.

They tried to force it on us, saying kids should just say thanks and accept it, but Ha-eun and I weren’t ordinary high schoolers—we had plenty of money already.

After some time chatting…

“Anyway, glad to see you’re doing well.”

“If you ever face hardship, contact us. Our guild still treats former members as honorary guildmates.”

“You have our numbers, right?”

The men said that and stood up first.

Mistaking us for her niece and nephew, they left so that we could spend time together.

“Phew….”

Once they left, the teacher let out an obvious sigh.

She hadn’t shown it on the outside, but being face-to-face with seniors who had confessed to her had clearly been stressful.

“Still, thanks to you two, I managed to get away quickly.”

“…If you’re tired, you should head to the lodging first and rest.”

“No, this much is fine… Besides, honestly, I think looking around the exhibition will be fun.”

Apparently, she still wanted to see more of the exhibition after what she’d seen earlier.

Ha-eun felt the same.

We had only looked at one display near the entrance before leaving, so of course she’d want to see the rest.

‘…Truth be told, I’m curious too.’

Surely the exhibition had more than just holographic butterflies and plants opening pathways for us.

That alone was impressive enough, but considering the technology to create butterfly holograms and the druids who nurtured plants, there had to be more.

As I expected, the exhibition had much more prepared.

From holographic forests, to elevators made of plants that lifted people up, to trees that played with children, to a butterfly release event where thousands of real butterflies took flight together.

‘This is fun.’

Most of the events were aimed at children, but even adults could find them satisfying.

If only the weather had been clear enough for the outdoor events too….

No, what if we’d come in April or May, when the festival had been in full swing?

“Geon-woo.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s come back next spring.”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one thinking that—Ha-eun said it aloud.

Hmm….

‘We’ll still be in school, so weekdays are out… That means weekends. But next April and May, I’ll probably be too busy to spare a weekend….’

Not because anything special happened in that period before my regression, but simply because high schoolers are busy.

We’re students, after all—we have to study.

“Sure, if we remember then, let’s do that.”

There’s no point worrying about next year already.

By then, Ha-eun might be too swamped with studies to even remember this festival.

“Kids, what kind of souvenirs do you think we should get for our classmates?”

As we were talking, the teacher pointed at the souvenir shop.

Hmm… souvenirs….

‘Honestly, I don’t think any of these make good gifts.’

There were butterfly-themed trinkets and plushies, but nothing that seemed fitting as gifts for our classmates.

If they had come here themselves, it might be worth buying one for the memories, but giving it to someone who never came would be meaningless.

If we had to choose….

“Let’s get cups or bookmarks.”

It’d be better to pick useful items people could use every day.

So we discussed and picked souvenirs for our classmates.

On top of that, we bought flower tea bags as gifts for my mom, Yeon Mi-rae, and Sophia.

“These are the same flower teas they sold at that teahouse, right?”

“Oh, yes. The ones at the teahouse were brewed from these tea bags, with sugar or milk added.”

The aroma of the flower tea from that teahouse had been quite nice.

So buying these tea bags wasn’t a bad choice.

Of course, the flavor would depend on the skill of whoever brewed it.

…But if it’s Yeon Mi-rae or Sophia, they’d definitely make it taste good.

With that thought, I stored all the souvenirs into my subspace.

“That’s everything, right?”

“Yes. Honestly, I’d like to visit a few more valleys, but….”

At Ha-eun’s words, the teacher’s expression stiffened slightly.

Visiting more valleys to collect valley water meant she’d have to drive us there again.

Judging from her reaction, she clearly didn’t want to.

“Well, it’s meaningless anyway.”

“Hm?”

The next thing Ha-eun said was something I hadn’t expected at all.

She agreed we didn’t need to visit more valleys, but her reasoning was…

“Geon-woo. That rumor about valley water being good for potion-making with alchemy—it’s nonsense, isn’t it?”

“…You figured it out?”

“I didn’t know until yesterday. But today the car was quiet, so I thought it through.”

Yesterday, the backseat had been filled with Ha-eun, Ryu Ah-min, and Ryu Ah-young, so they’d spent their time chatting. But today, only Ha-eun was in the back, giving her time to think.

And as she sat there, it dawned on her to question whether that rumor about valley water was true.

“I was so stupid. If that were really true, potion companies would’ve bought up the land and been mass-producing potions with valley water.”

…Exactly.

No way corporations would leave such profitable water untouched.

Even if many valleys are protected to preserve natural scenery, there are always loopholes.

If a corporation really wanted valley water, they’d have found a way to secure it.

It seemed she had only just realized that.

“Hehe….”

Teacher Son Ji-hye smiled lightly at her.

Apparently, she too had already known that collecting valley water was meaningless.

“…If you both knew, you could’ve told me.”

Ha-eun pouted once she realized the teacher also knew.

“Haha, sorry. I’ll make it up to you with dessert tomorrow.”

“…Can I have a parfait?”

“Of course.”

Since she wasn’t really mad to begin with, the promise of a parfait immediately lifted her mood.

“……”

…Or maybe not entirely.

“What?”

“Geon-woo, aren’t you going to get anything?”

I let out a dry laugh at Ha-eun’s shameless demand.

Did she think I owed her something too?

Well….

“Would the combo set from the dessert shop by school do?”

“Yep.”

Since I hadn’t told her either, I agreed to buy it for her.