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chapter 447
“Ahahaha… Since when did you know?”
“Ah, hello…”
The people hiding nearby and watching me were somewhat familiar faces.
Violet, a former elite of the Martian organization now affiliated with the Night Eagle Guild, a shadow-manipulating esper.
And Oliver, the disciple of a druid who had practically handled the law enforcement of Australia on his own.
“Did you two come to hang out too?”
“Yes. We’re treated as executives of our respective guilds, so Chairman Shin Hanji invited us. Still, the adults kept us together while the kids went off to play,” Violet explained, glancing at Oliver.
“If he hadn’t been tired, he’d probably still be skiing now.”
“Ha… but it’s exhausting…”
Violet seemed full of energy, but Oliver looked like skiing was tough for him, wanting to rest whenever possible.
“So… why were you hiding nearby, watching?”
“Oh, just a little while ago, Chairman Shin Hanji was over there, right?”
Violet spoke with a hint of embarrassment.
“I used my ability on an artifact that Chairman Shin Hanji had put a lot of effort into creating.”
“Ability? Ah…”
Violet was a revenge-type esper. Her power wasn’t limited to controlling shadows. It was why she could once evade psychometry users’ investigations.
“Don’t tell me… you erased the magic in the artifact?”
A magic-erasing ability. That must be what she used.
“Yes… They say all the magical circuits embedded in the artifact were damaged.”
Since then, she’s been avoiding Chairman Shin Hanji… Violet said.
Hmm… That’s…
“I guess you’ll have to stay hidden.”
“Yes…”
It’s hard to imagine the value of an artifact personally crafted by Chairman Shin Hanji. Breaking such an artifact would naturally anger anyone…
‘…Or at least anyone who doesn’t know Chairman Shin Hanji.’
A still-young student—even a high schooler not yet officially enrolled—making a mistake likely wouldn’t provoke his full wrath. Violet didn’t intend to break it, and even if the artifact was priceless, considering Chairman Shin Hanji’s wealth, it wouldn’t be a huge deal. He’d probably just scold her lightly.
But I didn’t bother explaining that.
‘Chairman Shin Hanji noticed Violet but didn’t say anything earlier.’
It was better to let them handle the conversation themselves. Of course, Violet would keep avoiding him for now…
“Violet. You’re graduating high school this year, right?”
“… Yes. That’s right.”
“And you’re planning to enter the Seoul Awakened Academy?”
“… Yes. The guild master said I more than qualify, so I should go.”
Once Violet enters the Seoul Awakened Academy, avoiding him will become much harder. I figured that eventually, she’d tire of tiptoeing around and go see Chairman Shin Hanji herself.
“Ha… what am I going to do…”
Violet slumped into a chair, letting out a deep sigh as if her life were ruined. Seeing that, I asked Oliver, who was standing blankly nearby:
“And you, Oliver?”
“Huh? Me?”
Even as he answered, Oliver kept glancing at Violet. I roughly guessed their relationship, but for now, I let it slide.
“Oh, you’re preparing to enter the Seoul Awakened Academy too, right?”
“Yes, but… my ability is so unusual that I’m not confident.”
Oliver lowered his head. He wasn’t particularly strong. He had only learned to control kangaroos from his master and hadn’t trained in other druidic skills. Apparently, he was learning some druidic spirit arts at school now, but since he wasn’t particularly talented, he didn’t feel confident about the Academy.
“The Academy’s interviewers will consider that, so don’t be intimidated in advance.”
Oliver’s kangaroo-controlling skill was probably top-tier in the world now that his master had passed. The interviewers would recognize that, so he’d likely pass.
“And…”
I had been observing Violet and Oliver’s subtle attention to each other, so I asked:
“When did you two start dating?”
“… What?!”
“Ah… no… we’re not dating yet…”
Hmm. They weren’t dating yet. I had assumed they were, since they spent time alone and kept sneaking glances at each other.
‘I’m not the only one who thought that.’
Adults in the Night Eagle and Cleaner guilds likely thought similarly and gave them space. But they weren’t dating…
“Then… we’ll be going ahead first!”
“Enjoy the ski resort!”
Perhaps uncomfortable with the topic, the two of them leaned back and dashed off.
“Hmm…”
I’m almost certain they’re dating. Maybe it’s a secret relationship?
“Oh, could it be that they think it’s a secret, but everyone around them already knows?”
I sat down, accepting that plausible hypothesis. After Violet and Oliver left, I waited there for a while. The kids who went to get signatures from Chairman Shin Hanji and Chloe Greenwood had left their belongings behind.
But no matter how long I waited, the kids didn’t return. Maybe they hadn’t gotten the signatures yet, or they forgot about their belongings…
‘I can’t just leave this stuff here while I go play.’
…But I didn’t want to be stuck guarding their luggage either. Reluctantly, I sent them a message saying I’d take care of their stuff and stored everything in my pocket dimension. They’d contact me later if they wanted it back.
“Let’s see… a slope with relatively few people…”
Now that I was at a ski resort, it was time to ski. I’d tried briefly earlier, but that wasn’t for fun—it was a race.
“The second-most difficult course has the fewest people,” said the Arch Spirit standing beside me.
When did this person even arrive?
“I came to thank the hero who kindly took the troublesome interview on everyone’s behalf.”
“I didn’t want to be a hero for that…”
More importantly…
“Arch Spirit, why are you in Korea? Weren’t you in your homeland?”
He had said he wanted to learn swordsmanship from me, but hadn’t actually trained with me. Sophia said his schedule made it difficult…
‘Given that he’s here now, maybe he just didn’t plan to learn from me.’
He’s always so capricious, that’s believable. But why Korea, and why was he with Sir Sergey earlier? Given Chairman Shin Hanji’s words, maybe he was with her too.
“You seem to be lost in thought.”
“It’s not because of you, I don’t think.”
“Hoho… right, you asked why I’m in Korea.”
He said it was nothing.
“I heard from the Grand Sorcerer that there’d be things to do in Korea.”
“…”
“And indeed, I was invited to a ski resort.”
Another Grand Sorcerer…
“You speak that way even though you know I had a disagreement with the Grand Sorcerer.”
“The Grand Sorcerer’s advice is not a sin.”
He likely wouldn’t lie about magical matters.
“Don’t worry. I won’t give the Grand Sorcerer any information about you and Richard.”
“Yes…”
I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I could trust that. If he had betrayed us, the White Lotus Sect Leader would’ve come to Korea himself.
“Anyway, let’s go ski already.”
“?”
The Arch Spirit looked unusually excited. I assumed it was the thought of skiing. But why not go alone then?
“Even so, skiing alone is no fun. But going with Shin Hanji or Sergey would draw too much attention.”
“Ah, right.”
So he wanted me to ski with him. But wouldn’t people notice us anyway? I shrugged off the thought and enjoyed skiing with the Arch Spirit.
The next day.
“Master.”
“Hm…?”
After staying a night at the hotel attached to the ski resort, I was sipping coffee in the café when I heard Yeon Mirae’s voice. I turned my head. I hadn’t seen her yesterday, but she was here.
“What’s going on here?”
She held out her smartphone. A photo had been taken—me skiing with the Arch Spirit yesterday.
“Why this?”
I was just skiing with him…
“… If it were anyone else, maybe, but since it’s you, it raises suspicion.”
“Suspicion? What do you mean?”
“Master… could it be… are you thinking of dating the Arch Spirit?”
“… What do you mean? As far as I know, the Arch Spirit has lived a long time, even if not as long as Chairman Shin Hanji.”
So yesterday, when I skied with him, I treated it like playing with a grandmother. He might look like a woman in her 20s or 30s, but… some men have been fooled by that appearance.
“Yes. The Arch Spirit is quite old, so it raises suspicion.”
If it were anyone else…
“You see me, Ha-eun, and Chloe as daughters or granddaughters, right?”
“……”
“So the people you’d consider dating are probably older figures like Chairman Shin Hanji or the Arch Spirit?”
… Huh? Is that really how it works?
‘Considering my mental age, I might see those two as dating candidates.’
I’ve never thought of them romantically, but if I did…
“……”
After a moment, I shook my head.
“No, even so, those two are… a bit…”
I’d rather date Yeon Mirae, Ha-eun, or Chloe, who are like daughters or granddaughters to me… though saying that sounds a bit weird.
