TRPM 293

chapter 293

Originally, we planned to have lunch at a nearby restaurant, but because Elena’s conversation with Director Shin Hanji dragged on, we ended up eating at the café instead.

…She’s good at socializing.

Even while eating, Elena continued chatting casually with Director Shin.

And Director Shin…

…She looks like she’s enjoying herself.

It seemed like she genuinely enjoyed talking with Elena.

Thinking that, I took a bite of the sandwich I had just bought. I was halfway through when—

“Oh, right. I had something else to do this afternoon… I almost lost track of time chatting.”

Director Shin checked the time and stood up.

“Gunwoo, Elena, you should both head back early and prepare well for tomorrow’s exam. I’m sure you’ll both be fine, but review is important.”

With that, Director Shin left the café.

Watching her go, I turned to Elena.

“You’re pretty good, huh?”
“At what?”
“Flattering Director Shin… I mean, she’s not the type to fall for that easily, but she seems to like you.”

I almost slipped and called her “Shin-maldong” out of habit, but corrected myself in time.

“Shin-mal…? Well… it wasn’t flattery.”
“Oh? Not flattery?”

I asked again, curious what she meant.

Elena just shrugged as if it was nothing.

“I meant every word. When I asked her questions because I was genuinely curious, when I said her skin looked good, and all the other things that might have sounded like flattery—they were all sincere. That’s probably why it worked.”
“…I see.”

Hearing that, I understood why Director Shin liked Elena.

She has a knack for seeing through people. It wouldn’t have been hard for her to sense the sincerity in Elena’s words.

That’s why sincere compliments worked on her.

“For someone like Hanji, it’s better to approach with pure honesty than a well-crafted lie.”

Elena said this while sipping the coffee in front of her.

“Hm… I ordered a coffee without bitterness, but it’s not really my taste.”
“Why? Coffee in England is different?”
“Not very different… but this feels like they tried to remove the bitterness and ended up wiping out the aroma too.”

She muttered that she should’ve ordered the iced Americano I was drinking, or a flat white—common in England.

“…Flat white? That’s not on the menu here.”
“Ah, maybe not in this café. I saw it in another one before.”

I wasn’t into coffee—other than iced Americano, I hadn’t tried much—so I didn’t know.

While I was thinking that, Elena set her coffee aside and pulled out the exam paper from her bag.

“Anyway, let’s check our answers.”
“…Alright.”

I was confident I got everything right, but Elena wasn’t as sure.

So, for her sake, I pulled out my own test paper from my bag and spread it out.

And…

“They’re exactly the same.”

After comparing every question, our answers matched perfectly.

If I got full marks, Elena did too.

“Thanks. Now I can relax and focus on tomorrow’s exam.”
“Glad to hear it.”

With that, we got up.

The coffee was finished, and there was no reason to stay longer.

“You’re going to study for tomorrow’s subjects once you’re back at the dorm, right?”
“Yes. What about you?”
“Same here. A high schooler wandering around during exam season doesn’t look too good.”

Though of course, there were plenty who didn’t care and went out anyway.

“…If you happen to see Elliot wandering around, could you send him back to the dorm? He probably went out with Lee Doomin.”

So Elena thought Elliot and Doomin were the type to slack during exams.

Well, they were always sparring whenever they got the chance, but…

“I’m not sure about Elliot, but Doomin definitely went straight home.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Despite appearances, his grades are high.”

A lot of people misunderstood because of his behavior, but Doomin was an honors student.

Not only in practice, but his written scores were always top-tier.

And to be like that, of course he had to study diligently.

“Right after today’s exam, he probably went home to prepare for tomorrow’s.”

Normally, Doomin would spar with Elliot after school, but I knew he always went home afterward to review what he learned.

“…That’s surprising.”

Elena blinked in disbelief.

Understandable.

I still remembered everyone in our middle school being shocked when they found out. Myself included.

“Anyway, if I see Elliot, I’ll send him back.”
“Thanks. See you tomorrow.”

With that, we parted ways—me heading home, her back to the dorms.

“Good work, everyone~.”

Director Shin collected the OMR sheets, marking the end of four days of exams.

Nothing major happened during the exam period.

The biggest “event” was just Elena and Director Shin chatting over lunch at a café, like they did on the first day.

“It’s finally over…”
“I’m exhausted…”

Of course, that was just my perspective.

For normal high schoolers, exams themselves were a huge ordeal.

Oliver and Violet, who shared my exam room, slumped over in exhaustion as soon as they handed in their sheets.

“Good job, Violet.”
“Huh? …Ah…”

When Guildmaster Shin Chaegun of Night Eagle—her guild master—spoke to her, Violet froze.

The reason was simple.

The illusion was gone.

Until now, she had seen Director Shin Hanji, Guildmaster Shin Chaegun, and Guildmaster Song Eunji simply as proctors.

But realizing her own guild master had been watching her the whole time left her stunned.

“G…G-Guildmaster…?”

If there were a question asking describe Violet’s feelings realizing her guild master saw her take the exam, the answer would be: Her mind went blank.

“Uh… ah… wha…?”

She couldn’t even speak properly.

“This time, I’ll overlook it since it was your first exam after coming to Korea. But from now on, focus on your classes too.”
“Y-Yes… sir…!”

Meanwhile…

“Um…”
“Hm? Ah, Oliver. Good work.”
“Y-Yes…!”

That was Oliver with Song Eunji.

Were they close? I wondered.

Then—

“Oliver is set to join Cleaner Guild.”

Director Shin explained.

Cleaner Guild specialized in dungeon raids… it didn’t seem like a good fit for a druid like Oliver, who’d focused on maintaining order with his kangaroo summons.

“After the kangaroo gate incident, Oliver said he’d rather not focus on public order anymore. And Cleaner Guild has many spirit users, similar to druids, so he has a lot to learn there.”
“…I see.”

That made sense. After the ordeal with the kangaroo gate, Oliver would naturally feel that way.

“Anyway, shall we head to the café?”
“We’re going today too, huh.”

Director Shin must’ve really taken a liking to Elena.

At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted Elena as her successor.

Unlikely though, since Director Shin was a grand mage, while Elena was a spirit user.

Still, it’s good that Elena’s gaining strong allies.

She already had Arthur, the rumored Aura Master doll, but Director Shin was far more reliable.

Stronger, more experienced, well-connected, and respected.

Not to mention Elena was set to join the Seoul Awakeners’ Academy that Director Shin ran.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Sure enough, when we reached the first-floor café, Elena was already there, hesitating over what to order.

“How did the exam go?”
“I think pretty well. Gunwoo and I will check our answers later, but I feel good about it, unni.”

Just like the past few days, Elena naturally called her “unni” and started chatting.

And, just like the past few days, Director Shin happily joined in.

Sighing, I went to the counter to order coffee and some light food for all of us.

Feels like I’m just tagging along to play servant for these two…

But if I didn’t, they’d probably keep chatting and forget to order anything.

I knew their preferences well enough, so choosing wasn’t hard.

“Now that exams are over, what are your plans?”

Director Shin asked once I set the tray down.

“I’ll be going back to England during summer break, so before that, I need to finish everything here.”
“Like what?”
“Moving into my apartment. I want to set up the furniture, move my stuff from the dorm, and finish everything before heading back to England.”

Right, her apartment was in the new building right next to mine.

“I see, you’ll be busy then.”
“It’ll only take a day, so not too busy.”

After recommending her an app to manage utilities, Director Shin turned to me.

“What about you, Gunwoo?”
“Me? Nothing special planned…”

It was only the end of first semester.

I’d probably just wait for summer break like any other student.

“So you’re planning to waste your time.”
“That’s a bit harsh… but not entirely wrong.”

With finals over, real classes would be difficult.

The teachers would try to keep things meaningful, but there wasn’t much time left before break anyway.

“Then how about this?”

Director Shin suddenly made me a proposal.

“The Academy is hosting a tournament soon. Would you like to participate?”

“……”
“……”

At that moment, I was sure Elena and I had the exact same thought.

…She wants me to enter the tournament?
The other participants are going to be so pitiful…