TRPM 152

chapter 152

Teacher Son Ji-hye did not reveal that she was male.

Thanks to that, Ryu Amin and Lee Doo-min assumed Teacher Son Ji-hye was a beautiful female teacher, so their eyes kept wandering to her face.

‘Alex and Jin Cheon-ha… they don’t seem interested.’

Alex was eager for the class to end quickly so he could spar with Lee Doo-min, while Jin Cheon-ha just sat upright, proper and composed, as if he were some scholar from the Joseon Dynasty.

As I observed the boys’ behavior, Teacher Son Ji-hye got down to business.

“Once the brief self-introductions are over, I’ll hand out the textbooks. You can either put them in your locker at the back of the classroom or take them home. Got it?”

Following her instructions, our class began the self-introduction session.

“Shall I start? My name is Son Ji-hye, and I’m 27 years old. You’ll see me often as your homeroom teacher, and I’ll be teaching math. Oh! And, I don’t have a boyfriend!”

“!”

“!”

… Teacher Son Ji-hye deliberately said she didn’t have a boyfriend, aware of Ryu Amin and Lee Doo-min’s gaze. It wasn’t to hide her gender—it seemed intended to mislead them.

No matter how I looked at it, she seemed to enjoy the fact that no one knew her real gender.

“Now it’s your turn. Should we go in number order? Oh, you don’t know your numbers yet? Then I’ll call you. Number one, Kang Ga-ram.”

“…Haah…”

Perhaps unable to match the teacher’s energy, Kang Ga-ram sighed, stood up, and introduced himself.

“I’m Kang Ga-ram. Nice to meet you all.”

“…That’s it?”

“Yes.”

After that, Kang Ga-ram sat back down. Teacher Son Ji-hye seemed slightly troubled but didn’t force anyone to introduce themselves unwillingly, moving on to the next student.

“Then… number two, Kim Eun-yeon.”

“Hehe… yes…”

Kang Ga-ram was number one, Kim Eun-yeon was number two… it seemed the numbers were assigned alphabetically.

“My name is Kim Eun-yeon… my awakened ability is alchemy. I like research and experiments… If anyone needs potions, let me know… I’ll make them cheaply…”

“Eun-yeon, you don’t have a potion-making license yet, right? Making potions for money before the license is out is illegal.”

Even though the teacher said that, Kim Eun-yeon had probably already been secretly selling her potions somewhere. Before reincarnation, she had been caught distributing her homemade potions before obtaining the license. The potions weren’t flawed, and alchemists were rare, so she was only fined lightly.

“Next… number three, Ryu Amin.”

“Yes!”

Ryu Amin jumped up from his seat to introduce himself.

“M-My name is… Ryu… Amin… and… that is… uh…!”

Because he thought the teacher was watching him closely, he blushed and stammered, making it hard to understand his words.

“Number four, Ryu Ah-young.”

“Yes, my name is Ryu Ah-young, and I’m a manifestation psychic. I’m the fraternal twin of Ryu Amin, who just introduced himself.”

In contrast, Ryu Ah-young introduced herself smoothly, highlighting the difference between the twins.

“Next, number five, Elena.”

“Hello everyone. I’m Elena, studying from England. I mainly use wind spirits.”

For some reason, Elena didn’t give her full name or reveal that she was royalty. The teacher didn’t either. It seemed she intended to live as a regular foreign student.

“Next, number six, Elliot.”

“My name is Elliot! I love sparring! My goal is to defeat Lee Doo-min overwhelmingly and then challenge Han Geon-woo again! Nice to meet you!”

… Does Elliot really want to say things like that during self-introductions?

“Hmm… I see…”

Even Teacher Son Ji-hye, who had been calm until now, seemed slightly taken aback but quickly regained composure and called the next student.

“Number seven, Lee Doo-min.”

“Yes!”

Lee Doo-min stood up confidently like Ryu Amin had but spoke boldly.

“My name is Lee Doo-min, I’m a steel-type psychic! And my first love is Teacher Son Ji-hye! May I confess?”

… He said it so confidently.

“Thank you for the sentiment, but I must decline~. Next, number eight, Lee Ha-eun.”

Teacher Son Ji-hye, seemingly used to this kind of situation, smoothly called the next student.

“Yes, I’m Lee Ha-eun, a magician. My specialty is support magic, and I like love and friends!”

“Love? You mean the word ‘love’?”

“Oh, no, I mean my familiar, Sarang!”

Ha-eun smiled brightly as she explained, and the teacher smiled in return.

“Oh, so the famous wolf’s name is Sarang? Got it. Next, number nine, Jin Cheon-ha.”

When called, Jin Cheon-ha rose gracefully from his seat and began his introduction.

“Greetings. My name is Jin Cheon-ha. I am a practitioner of Taoist magic as well.”

“Hmm…?”

Hearing that, Teacher Son Ji-hye checked the roster, puzzled.

“Cheon-ha, it says here you’re a magic ability awakened student…”

“I am a Taoist using Taoist techniques.”

“…A magician…”

“I use Taoist techniques.”

“…I see…”

As expected, Jin Cheon-ha was a regular magician according to the roster, but he insisted on calling himself a Taoist, rejecting foreign influences.

“Then… finally, number ten, Han Geon-woo.”

“Yes.”

When my name was called, I stood and gave a brief introduction.

“My name is Han Geon-woo, a manifestation ability awakened student. I don’t have anything I particularly like, but I do have something I dislike.”

All eyes immediately turned to me. Everyone had subconsciously been aware of me. It was an open secret that I was the Artist. So naturally, they paid attention when I mentioned disliking something.

“Elliot, who keeps pestering me for sparring.”

“Me?!”

Of course, I didn’t genuinely dislike him; it was half-joking. But it wasn’t entirely a joke either, because I could foresee him constantly challenging me and Lee Doo-min in the future.

“So, no sparring requests.”

“B-But…!”

Elliot looked as if the world had ended.

“Haha… Alright, now that everyone’s introductions are done, get ready to receive your textbooks.”

Hearing this, we all got up and followed the teacher to the staff room, where textbooks were neatly stacked by type.

“Line up and take one each.”

There were so many! Following the teachers’ instructions, we collected our textbooks. Though heavy, since all students here were awakened, it was manageable.

“Ugh… so many…”

“Will it all fit in the lockers?”

“Korea uses a lot of textbooks, huh?”

“Not in England?”

“Mostly no textbooks besides English and math.”

After receiving the textbooks, the students chatted as they returned to the classroom.

‘Our class must have been first. Other classes are probably starting to get their textbooks now.’

Indeed, since our class had only ten students, introductions were quick, so it made sense that we were first.

… Or perhaps the classes were just taking textbooks in order.

Thinking that, the students went to the lockers at the back to organize their books. I considered doing the same but waited until the crowd thinned.

“…Hmm?”

While casually placing my textbooks on the desk, I felt someone’s gaze. Reflexively, I looked to see who it was.

“……”

“……”

It was Kang Ga-ram. She continued staring at me without looking away, even when our eyes met.

“Why?”

“Just because.”

… I had no idea what she was thinking. Since it doesn’t hurt to be looked at, I ignored her. She wasn’t spying, just staring openly.

After Jin Cheon-ha finished organizing his locker, I placed all my textbooks inside. When everyone finished, Elliot asked Teacher Son Ji-hye:

“Teacher, how can we use the school sparring grounds?”

“You can use it anytime outside class… but planning to spar on the first day?”

“Yes.”

Hearing Elliot’s persistent plan to spar with Lee Doo-min, Teacher Son Ji-hye shook her head.

“New students will have lunch and homeroom, while regular students have normal classes. You can’t use the sparring grounds until their classes end.”

“Ah…”

Elliot slumped. Elena sighed and whispered in English:

(Just wait. You’ll have three years to spar endlessly. No need to tire yourself on the first day.)

(But…)

(Don’t whine like a child.)

They weren’t going to rent a nearby guild’s sparring ground like before. Elliot must have realized it wasn’t feasible.

(…Elena…?)

(No.)

(Just once…!)

(We have enough allowance, but not enough to spend recklessly.)

Ah, so it was a money issue. Apparently, Elena managed both of their allowances. If Elliot had unlimited funds, he would quickly spend it renting sparring grounds.

After lunch, Elliot seemed like he was experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

(If the sparring grounds aren’t available… maybe we can use a park? As long as we don’t use aura or magic too recklessly, nothing will break…)

(…Haah…)

Elena looked exasperated. She knew Elliot liked sparring, but this extreme?

“He can’t go a day without sparring. It’s not literal, but Elliot sparred every day unless he absolutely couldn’t.”

“…So not being able to find a sparring ground isn’t considered an excuse?”

“In England, he could always borrow an empty sparring ground through Uncle William.”

Ah, right… William was probably the head of the London awakened association… that’s power abuse, isn’t it?

At that moment, Kang Ga-ram, who had been staring at me, finally spoke:

“…Then you just need a sparring ground, right?”

“Nearby? Do you have one?”

“Yes. In my house’s basement.”

…In the basement of her house?

“Then, why don’t we all go to my house?”

The same girl who had seemed aloof during introductions now made this surprising suggestion.

“There’s a sparring ground, right? I’m in!”

“We have time… let’s go watch some sparring too.”

“I want to see your sparring with my own eyes.”

Since no one objected, I decided to go along as well.