I can dress myself. Obviously. I’m already an adult.
“Geom-Ma, the coat.”
“Oh, the tie first.”
“Which one do you think looks better?”
“The black one.”
From my point of view, they’re both equally black.
“Urgh. Abel, I’m choking.”
“Sorry. But bear with it a bit longer. Today is an important day. If you wear your tie loose, people might say weird things.”
Glup, I’m suffocating. Abel, unfazed, tightened the tie knot even more.
‘I know what Abel means.’
Normally, I dress quite sloppily. I barely wear a tie, and if it weren’t for Abel or Ryozo buying me clothes, I wouldn’t even bother. I’m too lazy.
‘That’s why I always wear the same coat from the Seven Stars.’
For someone like me to appear in public in formal attire? The inaugural event of Joaquin’s graduate school will feel even more solemn.
But even keeping that in mind—
“There’s no choice, Geom-Ma. You’re an adult, right? There are things you don’t like, but you have to do them.”
“True.”
“Still, this is way too fun.”
…She really said it.
‘She’s enjoying this way too much.’
I wonder if these two people really understand that today is a symbolic day. They seem to be using this important occasion as an excuse to play dress-up with dolls.
“Ugh.”
“Huh?”
“M-my crotch.”
It’s too tight.
If they pull it up any more, it’s going to burst!
“It’s fine. These things don’t rip for that.”
“And how do you know that, Abel?”
“I don’t know, isn’t it obvious? I’m your wife.”
“……”
The adult world is very deep.
I still have a long way to go…
‘Abel’s joke level keeps rising.’
Is she taking private lessons with Shail? Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her in the afternoons lately.
‘The Sword Master uses internet memes, and his granddaughter makes racy jokes… Descendants of the Sword Master. I don’t know why the Nibelung family is so vulnerable in these areas.’
As I thought that, I glanced inside.
A dressing room full of full-length mirrors, arranged like a fan. To me, it’s a torture chamber you’d only find in an amusement park.
After hours of adjustments in there, Ryozo and Abel stepped back a bit to make the final inspection. “Final” only from my wish, of course.
“It’s not perfect, but I think this’ll do.”
“Want to turn a little?”
“No reason to refuse.”
I spin in place as instructed.
The hem of the coat flares out in a triangle and falls behind my calves. As soon as they smile, Ryozo and Abel go serious instantly.
Their previously radiant faces now reflect pure dissatisfaction. Ryozo spoke first.
“What a shame…”
“Right? I feel the same.”
Tsk.
As if they genuinely regretted it.
‘Save me.’
I don’t know if they noticed, but they looked at each other and let out a mischievous giggle.
“Since Geom-Ma is already suffering, should we stop here?”
“Hmm. I’d feel bad leaving it like this.”
“True. Opportunities like this don’t come often.”
They approach again slowly. I step back like a rat cornered by cats. But the room is small.
Just three steps back and the cold mirror grazes my nape.
“Hehehe…”
“It won’t hurt.”
A shadow looms over me. The corner of the eye in that shadow curves slightly, mischievously.
Then, the dressing room door opened. An unexpected savior—Shail and Choi Seol-Ah entered.
“Hey!”
Choi Seol-Ah stepped forward, snorting. Her footsteps echoed, shaking our reflections in the mirrors.
“Now’s not the time to be wasting it, you know?”
Someone might wonder where this girl gets so much confidence. Honestly, she’s pretty bold.
But recently, Choi Seol-Ah has gained quite a bit of authority. Her name appears as an editor in the book Fundamentals of Magic.
Though thanks to the dragons, the initiative was hers.
When someone gets an authority bracelet, they change.
Choi Seol-Ah, who used to crawl around in fear, is now fully committed to founding Joaquin’s graduate school.
Students will study from a book she helped edit. Just thinking about it fills her with emotion.
With that enthusiasm, excitement, and a sense of responsibility, she now dares to yell even at Ryozo and Abel. Is she nuts?
“Excuse me… Instructor Kim.”
Shail couldn’t help but intervene, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“I understand how you feel, but you’re going a bit overboard.”
“…”
Choi Seol-Ah stared at her. Then she snorted so hard her nostrils flared, and walked back to the door.
“Everyone’s waiting! Hurry up!”
The door closed. Our dumbfounded faces were reflected in the mirrors.
After a moment, Ryozo let out a chuckle.
“Well, the director herself came to scold us.”
“Cut her some slack. Instructor Kim has worked more than anyone this time.”
“Yeah, well…”
Ryozo let it go with a resigned smile.
“She’s not wrong, but she’s not exactly right either. It’s time. Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Ryozo and Abel went ahead. I walked awkwardly, as if my crotch were tied with ropes.
Shail approached and, only with her lips, spoke to me in secret.
— In about ten minutes, you’ll get used to it.
If Garyeon has the Blessing of Transmission, Shail’s style is talking without moving her lips.
‘Shail doesn’t know what this pain feels like.’
I glanced at her in response, and as always, she instantly understood.
She had once said that maids rarely go hungry because they’re well-fed with “intuition food.”
— It may not be the same pain, but I always deal with a similar one.
‘Similar pain?’
She didn’t respond. Only when Ryozo and Abel crossed the doorway did she show me something.
Rustle.
Her clothes brushed her skin. Not on my side, but the other. The fabric of her skirt rose to her hips. From the outside, you couldn’t tell the exact texture of the fabric.
Even so, my pupils trembled.
My eyes were frozen in winter.
A crisscrossed plaid pattern up to the thigh, a pair of ribbons connecting her shirt to the lower part.
A garter belt. It was my first time seeing one in person.
— That’s how I store my weapons.
She had expertly used the mirror’s reflection angle. Even if Ryozo or Abel turned their heads, they wouldn’t see a thing.
‘….’
— This is our little secret.
The original is the original for a reason.
No matter how many racy jokes Abel makes, she can’t beat Shail.
That’s not learned. It’s natural talent.
***
The event venue was packed. Joaquin was surrounded by journalists who had come from all over the world.
‘So exhausting.’
Kang Geom-Ma had never gotten along with journalists. Not because they didn’t write praise articles about him. Not at all.
‘It’s because they make up things that never happened.’
Most of his loyal readers often harshly criticized the press.
— Such nerve towards a hero who saved humanity!
However, public opinion is like a balloon—where there’s high tide, there’s also low tide. Even if they were a minority, there were always those who supported the journalists.
They were what people called “irrational critics,” born from fools. Since everyone else treated Kang Geom-Ma like a god, these people felt an automatic rejection. For example.
✶ Title: The Heavenly Sword’s indiscriminate violence. No control measures?
……Comment……
【Doesn’t he have a point?】
Honestly, did this journalist say anything wrong? From my perspective, he’s right about everything. If the CS gets serious and starts cutting, several countries could vanish. Are we supposed to just stand by? Am I the only one thinking this?
ㄴre:[HeavenlySwordFan♥]
Sure, another whiner.
ㄴre:[HeavenlySwordFan ♥*******]
That topic is so played out.
【ImNotASlave*******】
I agree with the above. There are so many precedents I can’t even count them. Because of him, the nobles can’t move a finger and only tremble. And how is that different from a one-man dictatorship?
ㄴre:[MmAbungf*******]
That’s what we call cleaning up corruption.
ㄴre:[MmAbungf*******]
Did you already forget everything the nobles did to us? lol
ㄴre:[HeavenlySwordFan ♥*******]
How convenient your selective amnesia is, haha
【Doesn’t he have a point?】
In the end, just mindless fans.
ㄴre:[ImNotASlave]
Just from the way you write, we can tell your level.
ㄴre:[ImNotASlave*******]
Sure, the nobles were tax thieves. But before the CS came along, they were also the ones maintaining the continent.
ㄴre:[Doesn’t he have a point?*******]
And now, if we don’t do it, they’ll be the ones to ruin it, lol
The confrontation between both sides intensified. When ceremonies ended, journalists would throw bait to reignite the flames.
The funny thing was, of all the journalists he’d met, not a single one failed to show respect for Kang Geom-Ma.
It would have been better if they had just spit in his face. At least that would have been brave. Kang Geom-Ma never wanted to crush the spirit of journalism.
Even though they praised him as a savior hero, behind his back they used the three syllables “Kang Geom-Ma” to make profit off misfortune.
‘I can’t keep tolerating this.’
Even using a little force in front of someone made them collapse. He couldn’t even properly adjust his strength anymore. Kang Geom-Ma’s sincerity had become more intense over time.
“We have to ignore them. What else can we do?”
Kang Geom-Ma sighed in resignation. He worried that, because of this constant siege, he might truly lose his humanity.
He slightly lowered his head and stopped in front of a new building. Its name Joaquin Graduate Institute.
Its structure resembled a traditional Korean palace, but made of stone in the style of an ancient Greek temple.
An impressive tower, a seamless fusion of East and West. Under the eyes of the world, Ryozo gave the inaugural speech.
“Before we begin, I would like to thank everyone who has supported us…”
The journalists clapped mechanically. Ryozo didn’t give them a chance to derail the speech with provocative phrases.
“Education is entering a new stage. We once again express our sincerest gratitude to all the members of Joaquin for allowing us to be here in this glorious moment.”
She then gave the floor to the president of the Sacred Studies Association. The journalists remained silent. It was boring.
After a suitable amount of time had passed, Kang Geom-Ma stood up. The journalists’ eyes regained their shine.
“Thank you for attending.”
In truth, that was all he came to say. The questions would all be the same.
Just as he was about to sit down after that greeting, a firm voice grabbed him by the ankle.
“I heard that ‘magic’ will be taught at the Joaquin Graduate Institute. They say it was your idea, Heavenly Sword. Is that true?”
Interesting.
“Since it’s an extension of the Joaquin Academy, whose purpose is to train heroes, teaching a technique used by demons might seem unsettling to many.”
I glanced toward a calm-faced woman holding her pen up.
“If it’s true, could you give us your opinion?”
Murmurs.
“Who’s she? Thinks she’s the only journalist here?”
“She’s clearly new. Doesn’t know time or place.”
“She’ll only learn after her boss scolds her badly.”
“The most important thing in this job is tact. She won’t last long.”
Ignoring the accusatory glances, the woman pressed on.
Amid the murmuring that rose like steam, our eyes met. Kang Geom-Ma spoke first.
“For a long time, demons were an object of fear for humanity. And what caused that fear was their technique—magic.”
The journalists held their breath. No one expected him to answer such a disrespectful question from a rookie.
“But demons are no longer something to be feared by humanity. Nor is magic.”
“Are you saying it no longer needs to be treated as taboo?”
Kang Geom-Ma nodded.
“Ten years is a long time. Of course, for centuries, magic and demons have been a thorny subject for humans. You can’t break a centuries-old prejudice in just a decade.”
The journalist eagerly took notes. The others finally turned on their recorders.
“Still, we must move forward. We must try to break them. And I believe that change should begin with educational institutions.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I’ll return the question to you. Why did the Founding Hero create Joaquin Academy? He was the one who ended the First Great Human-Demon War, wasn’t he?”
“It was to prepare for the conflicts that would come afterward.”
The journalist responded without hesitation.
“But back then, demons were still a threat. As you said yourself, currently humanity doesn’t have a clear enemy like the demons…”
“The Parsy Incident.”
That single phrase changed everything. The atmosphere turned solemn.
“Is there any guarantee something like that won’t happen again? I think differently.”
“…”
“Let’s suppose, just for a moment, that I wasn’t here. Shouldn’t we be prepared to survive on our own?”
The journalists swallowed like gulping down ice. One of them, bald on top, asked tremblingly.
“Does that mean… you could give up your duties as a hero?”
“That won’t happen. I just wanted to emphasize how important it is not to look away from the current situation. And also…”
“And also?”
Kang Geom-Ma tilted his head slightly. The Joaquin Graduate Institute shone brightly.
He looked back at the journalists and said.
“The Joaquin Graduate Institute will be the institution that keeps me in check.”
“I see.”
The journalist closed her notebook.
“Excuse me, what’s your name?”
She replied with a smile.
“San Ha-na.”
I see. So that’s what it was.
Kang Geom-Ma turned his gaze toward Ryozo and Abel, who stood behind.
Both pretended to look straight ahead with indifference.
A moment later—
They let out a quiet chuckle.
“With me,”
said Kang Geom-Ma,
“All of us at Joaquin will give it our all to make it happen.”
A radiant smile spread across his face.
____
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