TRPM 467

chapter 467

Two days after the group of female Awakeners had torn off dragon scales and ground them into powder,

it was time to return to Korea.

“Artist.”

As soon as I boarded the plane bound for Korea, Sir Sergey called me with a strange expression.

“You called for me?”
“Do you want to live a long life?”
“?”

His sudden question made me tilt my head in confusion, but I still answered.

“Well… living long would be nice, I guess. Though I don’t intend to live too long.”
“Hmm… is that so.”

But it wasn’t just Sergey who reacted to my words.

“?”

For some reason, Director Shin Hanji, Woo Jimin, and Chloe were all avoiding my gaze.

As I wondered why they were acting that way, Sergey explained.

“It’s nothing serious. Those three just want to make you live longer.”
“… Excuse me?”

What kind of nonsense was that?
They want to make me live longer…?

‘Ah… right.’

Of course. They don’t know that, if push comes to shove, I can actually reverse my age through Rejuvenation.

With that in mind, I could more or less guess what was going on.

Either Jimin or Chloe must have wished for me to live longer, and Director Shin Hanji likely decided to help them.

‘… But how am I supposed to explain Rejuvenation to them?’

Being honest about it would be insane.
If people found out that I could not only halt aging but actually reverse it, I’d never hear the end of it.

And yet, simply lying and saying I’m just an Awakener with slow aging wouldn’t work either…

‘Chloe has entered my dreams before, so she probably already knows I’m not the “slow-aging” type of Awakener.’

After thinking about it, I reached a conclusion about what I should do.

“… I see.”

Just keep my mouth shut.
None of those three would ever do anything to harm me.

“You’re not saying much.”
“Well, if they want to do that, I don’t see any reason to stop them.”

Besides, even if I tried to stop them, those three would likely conduct their research behind my back anyway.
Better to have them do it openly in front of me.

“… With you taking that stance, I’m the one left in an awkward position….”

Awkward position?

‘Ah, because he just spilled their secret to me.’

After all, Director Shin, Jimin, and Chloe all work at the same academy as Sergey.
If I were in his shoes, I’d feel awkward too—though only in the sense of strained workplace relationships.
It’s not like they’d ever harm him.

“Anyway, Sir Sergey, I suppose you’ll officially be giving lectures now.”

Starting tomorrow, I would be entering my second year of high school.
At the same time, the Academy would begin its new term, and Sergey, as the Head of the Aura Department, would be opening his classes.

“Ah, yes. I’ve already organized how I’ll be teaching.”

He hadn’t yet met the cadets who signed up for his course, but…

“No matter how talented they may be, they’re still basically fresh-faced kids. I can’t exactly put them through the same brutal training I gave the Spetsnaz.”
“Ugh…”

…For some reason, Ivan, his grandson, grimaced deeply.
He may not have been Spetsnaz himself, but it seems he knew exactly how harsh Sergey’s methods had been.

Just how bad was it, if even the thought twisted Ivan’s expression like that?

“Also, since I’m the Head of Aura, not of Swordsmanship, my lectures will focus primarily on Aura.”
“That makes sense. If you were to start teaching swordsmanship, the Swordsmanship Head would be in a difficult spot.”

I glanced at the Swordsmanship Department Head, who happened to be on the same flight with us.
He might not have much presence, but he was still an Aura Master in his own right.
Of course, compared to Sergey, his skills fell short, but he had been a department head for many years. In terms of teaching ability, I didn’t think he was inferior at all.

And…

‘It’s not just Sergey—those two will also be teaching.’

I looked at Woo Jimin and Chloe.
One would be instructing in marksmanship, the other in mental magic.
I wondered what their teaching styles would be like.

The next day.

The moment I returned to Korea, I went home, changed into my school uniform, and headed straight to school.

The others likely went to the Academy or the Iron-Blood Guild.

‘And those must be… the new first-years.’

When I arrived at school, I saw unfamiliar faces heading toward the auditorium.
Today was both the opening ceremony for second and third years, and the entrance ceremony for the new first years.

“Wow… they’re so fresh. Hard to believe we were like that once too.”
“…You know we’re only a year older than them, right?”

I replied to Lee Haeun, whom I had met on the way and walked together with.

“A year’s a huge difference.”
“Oh, fine.”

Well, if an actual high school girl thought so, I guess that’s how it was.

“By the way, Geonwoo, didn’t you go to America this break?”
“…You make it sound like I went there as a joke, but sure, let’s just go with that.”

I told her part of what had happened in the U.S.—though I kept quiet about what Association President Richard had announced, since that was classified.

And then…

“…You went on a date, didn’t you.”
“Yeah.”

I didn’t hide the fact that I’d gone on consecutive dates with Chloe and Yeon Mirae.
Even if I stayed quiet, the truth would come out eventually anyway.

And besides, as Mirae herself had put it, those dates had been “therapy.”

[Don’t worry, Master. We’ll find a way to fix your tastes so they’re normal.]
[We understand your mental age, but do you really plan to keep living like that forever?]
[The past is the past. Right now, you should act your age.]
[I don’t really get it, but just do what the big sisters tell you, Geonwoo.]

That’s what the three of them had told me before.
They were trying to adjust my tastes—or more precisely, my mental age—to match themselves.

I wouldn’t say it was about preference, exactly. It was more that my mental age was the issue.

Still, I think their efforts were starting to bear fruit.

‘Up until now, I thought of them like granddaughters. But now… I see them more like daughters or nieces.’

…It’s still problematic, sure, but it’s progress.

“So this weekend, go on a date with me.”
“Alright, let’s do that.”

If they kept working at it, maybe someday my mental age would catch up to my physical one.

‘And once my body and mind fully align…’

Then I believe I’ll finally be able to advance to the next stage.
After all, one of the reasons I’ve been stuck here is this very disconnect between body and mind.

“But speaking of dates, shouldn’t we be heading to class first?”

As Haeun and I were talking, watching the first-years head toward the auditorium, Kang Garam came over to us and spoke.

Then she started walking toward the first-year classrooms.

“Hey, Garam. We’re second-years now.”
“…Oh, right. Second-year Class 1 is that way, huh?”

I stopped her before she wandered off to the wrong classroom, and the three of us went together to our new room.

Several students had already arrived when we got there.

“Hey guys, you’re here. Oh, and guess what? Ryu A-min went to a first-year class earlier, just like he said he might.”
“…Don’t bring it up….”

Our classmates were teasing A-min, who looked like he had indeed accidentally gone into the first-years’ room.

“Apparently, he sat down and only realized something was off when he noticed way too many desks around him.”
“Grrrghhh….”

A-min ground his teeth, begging them to stop, but the ringleader kept going without mercy.
For the record, that ringleader was none other than his twin sister, Ryu A-young.

‘…Do those two really commute separately even though they live in the same house?’

I sat down, thinking such idle thoughts.

Seats hadn’t been assigned yet, but everyone sat where they had during first year, so I did the same.

“……”

As I settled in, I sensed someone outside the classroom.

Someone was hesitating at the door, unsure if they should come in.

“No need to stand there awkwardly. Come in.”
“Ah….”

At my words, everyone turned their heads toward the door.

Standing there was Min Yerin.

“She’s….”
“Oh right, she’s in our class now.”

The mutant idol—a Siren.

Last year, she had been in another class, but because of her status as an idol, it had been difficult to treat her like any ordinary student. So she had been moved to ours.

“Uh… h-hello, everyone.”
“Formal speech? Just relax. We’re all classmates here.”

Yerin entered, looking visibly awkward.

For some reason, though, she avoided meeting my eyes.

“?”

Strictly speaking, it didn’t seem intentional. More like… she found it difficult to look directly at me.

Not because she disliked me, but…

‘…Energy is pooling in her head. Not spirit power, but mental energy. She’s a psychic… and it’s concentrated most heavily in her eyes.’

So she was a gifted psychic specialized in seeing.
Did she see something in me that made it hard for her to keep looking?

‘…Ah. She deactivated her power.’

Only then was she able to meet my gaze properly.

Lowering her head, she said,

“Ah… h-hello, Artist! Um… thank you for saving me when I was little!”

Given that she was a mutant, it made sense—she must have been one of the many I had saved.
I nodded in acknowledgment.

But then, she did something I hadn’t expected.

“P-please sign this for me!”
“…?”

A signature? Out of nowhere?

‘Well, I don’t mind, but….’

The problem was the item she handed me along with a pen.

“…An album?”

Not a photo album, but a music album.
Specifically, an album from her idol group, Ironblood.

“Uh… is it not okay?”
“No, no. I was just surprised you handed me an album instead of a notebook or sketchbook.”

I accepted the pen and album she offered.
Using Telekinesis, I popped the pen cap off, then…

‘Now that I think about it, I’ve never signed anything for anyone before.’

With that thought, I scribbled my signature onto her album.
Without considering at all what it might mean that my very first autograph had gone there.