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chapter 355
Asking the teacher about the theory of relativity had only been half a joke.
After all, it was hard to imagine that Son Ji-hye, just a high school math teacher, would be well-versed in relativity.
…Still, I hadn’t expected her to grab my shoulder and radiate killing intent.
“Alright then, where exactly did you get stuck, Amin, Ah-young, and Cheon-ha?”
“Uh… well….”
With that glare still on me, Teacher Son immediately shifted her focus to the three problem children in our class.
Not that their attitude toward lessons was bad, but their grades were definitely lower than expected.
The teacher knew this, which was why she seemed intent on giving those three extra attention.
As for the rest of the kids…
“Ooh, this juice tastes good.”
“I don’t think it’s just blended fruit. Did they add syrup or something?”
“… It’s sweet….”
They ignored the struggling trio and instead focused on their share of snacks.
Even Lee Doo-min, who secretly had a crush on Teacher Son.
That was how intimidating she felt at the moment.
“No, no, Cheon-ha. You don’t need to rush the calculation like that. First, read the problem carefully, set up the equation, simplify it as much as possible, and then solve it like you would a system of simultaneous equations. Most problems can be solved that way.”
“… Okay.”
“Amin… ah, this is a Korean language problem? What’s giving you trouble?”
“Well, it’s just….”
“Ah, passages like this can be hard to interpret. For these, you need to…”
Still, the teacher explained everything in a way suited to their level.
It wasn’t just math, either—she was surprisingly adept at explaining other subjects too. Judging from that, she was fully capable of teaching high-school-level problems without difficulty.
‘… And since the kids are basically having one-on-one tutoring right in front of them, their problem-solving speed has skyrocketed.’
Each time they solved a question, they got faster at handling similar types.
Of course, they still stumbled when encountering entirely new types, but at this pace, they’d finish their homework before too long.
“Ugh… I’m done!”
“Oh, really?”
“I finished mine too.”
While I was sipping my drink, the other kids—those who weren’t problem children—finished all their homework.
Not that it was surprising; most of them were nearly done already.
Still…
‘So what do we do now? It feels wrong to leave the teacher and those three behind.’
‘Should we help them?’
It was great that we’d finished our homework, but since the three still weren’t done, we decided to stay put and wait.
‘Maybe I’ll play a game….’
‘Don’t.’
Right in front of us, as the others were studying, Lee Doo-min pulled out his phone to start gaming. I immediately stopped him.
I understood he was bored, but still—no need to ruin the atmosphere.
‘If you want to play, go outside.’
‘Mmm….’
I pointed at the door, and though he hesitated for a moment, he eventually shoved his phone back into his pocket.
Since everyone was gathered in the room, he figured it wasn’t right to be the only one stepping out just to play games.
So, we all sat and watched as the teacher instructed the three and they worked hard on their homework.
I don’t know how much time passed when suddenly—
“Unnie…!”
“You’re here, Neoul?”
The door burst open with a child’s voice, and a small yellow figure leaped into Kang Ga-ram’s arms.
At first glance, I thought of one animal above all.
‘… A chick?’
Her outfit was almost entirely yellow, and she was wearing a yellow backpack too.
Above all, she was tiny.
“Was kindergarten fun?”
“Yeah!”
That small creature answered while nestled in Kang Ga-ram’s arms.
Then, following behind—probably having chased after the child—a housemaid entered the room and gently separated the girl from Ga-ram.
“Little Miss? What’s the first thing you should do when coming home from outside?”
“Wash hands!”
“Correct. Let’s go wash your hands then.”
So she must have run straight into this room as soon as she got home.
“Okay! Unnie, I’ll go wash my hands and come back!”
The little girl waved at Kang Ga-ram as she followed the maid out, and Ga-ram waved back with a smile.
“Your sister really adores you.”
“Of course. Our parents are so busy that I usually took care of her myself.”
“Wait—kindergarten? Don’t kindergartens get summer vacation too?”
“They do, but it was only a week long.”
Naturally, the kids began asking about the girl who’d just left, and Ga-ram answered all their questions.
And while she spoke…
‘… Her lips are curling upward.’
She couldn’t help but smile when talking about her little sister.
“People always say siblings fight, but it doesn’t seem like that with you two.”
“… Well, I usually just let Neoul have her way. Besides, she and I are twelve years apart—arguing with a kid that young would just hurt my pride.”
“Either way, having good sibling relations is a blessing.”
As we said this, our gazes naturally shifted toward the white-haired twins.
“What. Why are you looking at us…?”
“… What’s that supposed to mean?”
Oh, nothing. It’s just that…
“You two get along too, which is also a good thing.”
I said it without much thought.
“Me? With her?”
“Me? With him?”
The two reacted as if I’d just said something incomprehensible—no, something revolting.
But the fact that they reacted in sync—wasn’t that proof enough that they were close?
“Her? Don’t call your older sister ‘her’!”
“Older sister, my ass! Don’t call your older brother ‘him’ either!”
And just like that, they started bickering.
“Yep, that’s how real siblings are. The moment you say they’re close or look alike, they blow up.”
“Wonder when those two will finally settle their hierarchy.”
Beats me.
The fact that they were still at it even in high school, and that they’d been the same back at the academy before my regression…
‘… Probably for life.’
That was my guess.
At that moment, the teacher spoke up—directed squarely at the two squabbling.
“You two—did you finish your homework before fighting?”
“Ugh…!”
“Eek?!”
Her killing intent froze them both on the spot.
Not enough to cause lasting trauma, thankfully.
… Probably.
A few days later.
Finally, the day of the new semester arrived.
“Yo! Long time no see, everyone!”
“Hello, everyone.”
Which also meant Elena and Elliot had returned from England.
“Hi Elena, Elliot. What did you do over break?”
Since the other eight of us had occasionally met up at Ga-ram’s house to do homework, we already knew each other’s updates.
But Elena and Elliot were different, so we asked them.
“We went dungeon diving with an Awakener we know. Unlike Korea, where the procedures are complicated for foreigners, it was much simpler in England.”
“And we got stronger from the training. Doo-min! You know what’s happening after school today, right?!”
An Awakener Elena knows…
Unlikely to be Arthur—he was busy with the hidden-dungeon request I’d given him.
‘Still, since those two are royalty, they’d have plenty of powerful Awakeners around them anyway.’
And Elliot—sparring right on the first day of school, huh.
“Of course I know!”
Doo-min eagerly accepted.
“Geez… ah, right…”
Elena sighed at their antics, then remembered something.
“Mr. Ryu Amin? I saw that video of you getting lost.”
“Gyaaah?!”
Amin practically exploded.
He’d finally managed to push that memory aside, but hearing it at such an unexpected time must have stung badly.
“Oh, so you watched it too, Elena?”
“Of course. They sent us the video saying, ‘Make sure you see this.’”
Leaving Amin to wallow in shame, Elena casually started chatting with the girls.
That was when—
Clack.
The classroom door opened.
It was Teacher Son Ji-hye.
“You’re all energetic for the first day back. Good, but let’s get to attendance first.”
The students quickly went to their seats.
After calling roll, the teacher looked over us and said:
“Classes resume as normal today. Each subject teacher will collect your vacation homework during their period, so be ready. Ah—nobody skipped their homework, right?”
Smiling as she asked, most of us nodded.
Even the three I had worried about.
‘Thanks to Teacher’s active support, they’d managed to finish that day at Ga-ram’s house.’
I doubted every answer they wrote was correct, but at least they’d finished.
And the teacher had been there to witness it.
But…
“……”
One student was deliberately avoiding her gaze.
“… Elliot?”
“……”
“You didn’t do your homework?”
“Training was way more important than some stupid—”
“You didn’t do it?”
“……”
Judging from the silence, Elliot hadn’t done any of it.
He never cared about grades, but being the only one who hadn’t done it made him self-conscious.
“… Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do. Just know the subject teachers will dock your participation scores.”
“… Yes, ma’am….”
With that, the teacher left the room.
Immediately, Elliot looked at us in protest.
“How is it possible that I’m the only one who didn’t do it?!”
“… What are you talking about?”
Complaining to us when he hadn’t done it himself?
“Especially you—Amin, Doo-min, and Cheon-ha! As my friends, I thought for sure you three wouldn’t touch your homework either!”
“… Just what kind of person do you think I am?”
Doo-min looked utterly baffled.
But…
“……”
“……”
Neither Amin nor Cheon-ha could say a word.
Because if Ga-ram hadn’t gathered us for homework, they really wouldn’t have done theirs.
“Hahaha… sorry about this. Give me a moment?”
Elena stood up, walked behind Elliot, and—
“A true friend should stand in solidarity—if one skips homework, then—”
“(Shut up! You’re embarrassing me!)”
Whack!
She smacked him on the back of the head.
Oof.
‘That landed solidly.’
Even if Elena was stronger overall, Elliot’s physical stats were higher.
But caught off guard from right behind, he toppled forward unconscious.
“Sorry. My brother’s an idiot.”
With that, Elena sat back down, leaving her fainted brother on the floor.
Watching this, Ryu Ah-young muttered without thinking:
“… Maybe I should also establish dominance by force?”
Hearing that, Ryu Amin broke into a cold sweat.
