Episode 50: Short Leisure (1)
The face of Seo Yeom-jeong, an employee in charge of the club department, turned pale.
The entire administrative office stands in a line with their backs straight and their hands against the wall, carrying their bags behind their backs.
A flowing black silk robe. Her hair shone like crystal from her shoulders in the morning sunlight.
A deadly woman approached with her arms linked and her shoes clanking. Two attendants with broad shoulders followed closely behind her.
‘… The principal?’
The principal of the academy soon approached Seo Yeom-jeong. Seo Yeom-jeong swallowed heavily at the cold gaze. He tried to understand the situation in front of him, but his mind only became more complicated.
The cousin of the principal’s close friend? Of course, it was a blatant lie.
But the advisor in charge of this special student’s club is the academy director?
Does it make sense that the sage Medea, the main character of the Seven Sages, would claim to be the guardian of a special student? A situation that would make even a newborn baby laugh is unfolding before Seo Yeom-jeong’s eyes.
I’ve been working at the Academy for nearly ten years, but this is the first time I’ve seen her face this close.
She had a youthful and fresh appearance that made you believe she was in her early twenties. However, the eyes of the academy director looking at her were not fresh at all.
Gulp. A heavy silence that felt like suffocation seeped into the walls, and Seo Yeom-jeong, who had been staring at the principal with a blank look, instinctively jumped up as if waking up from a dream.
“Ha, principal!”
Seo Yeom-jeong’s personality was one of strength and weakness. She was kind to those she considered weak, but she bowed down to the socially powerful to the point of being cowardly.
Media frowned, not liking her tone of speech that was full of humility. Then, she looked at the special student who was calmly crossing his arms next to her and gave a gentle smile.
“We only talked on the phone yesterday, but I’m so happy to see you in person like this.”
“I’m sorry for bothering you when you’re busy.”
“Hey, no. If you asked me to do it, I would have come running even if I had to run barefoot. And I was on my way to work at the time.”
In the tense atmosphere of the administrative office, only the principal and the special student were having a friendly conversation.
All the staff members remained silent and watched the principal closely. Seo Yeom-jeong, who was bowing her head, glanced at the special promotion student out of the corner of her eye.
How can the supreme commander of Joaquin Academy treat a mere cadet, a special promotion student at that, so rudely?
… But wait, that special promotion student’s name is Kang Geum-ma? Suddenly, a sense of discomfort grips my heart. I heard this story from a close instructor. The name of this year’s top student is clearly… … .
As the thoughts floating in her mind began to fit together like a puzzle, Seo Yeom-jeong’s lips began to turn pale. Her eyelids fluttered as she glanced at Kang Geum-ma.
“Geumma-ya, can you give me the documents first? I, the club’s head, will take care of the rest of the procedures for you. It’s already ten minutes before nine. There’s a written test next week, so you can’t be late for class. Go quickly!”
“Ah, it’s already time. Then please.”
Kang Geum-ma nodded to the academy director. The older staff members showed signs of discomfort at his light nod, but when the academy director glanced at them, their expressions returned to normal.
“Then, then. Leave this to me! Study hard!”
“Okay, see you next time.”
Media smiled faintly and waved gently until Kanggeomma grabbed the doorknob.
widely.
Kanggeomma closed the door to the administrative office and left. Media’s fingers, which had been swaying gently toward the door, stopped. Then, she slowly turned her body.
“I have a rough idea of what the situation is.”
“… … .”
Her voice was so cold that it was almost painful. She was an infinitely kind and warm principal to the students, but to the staff, she was a terrifyingly strict and cold boss.
Media, who had just read the air, finally let out a hollow laugh.
As befitting his title of wise man, he was able to infer the situation almost perfectly just by looking at the details of the situation. There was no need to even invoke his special protection, the ‘Poet’s Protection’.
“I’m the principal of the academy, and yet there’s still such an inconsiderate person working there? I bet he said something about his background as a Bona Mana. That too⎯”
The air in the room grew cooler. The curtains on the window frame fluttered violently.
“⎯I’m talking to the cadet that Zeke and I have marked as our successors.”
Cold sweat flowed down the employees’ backs like a stream. Some doubted their own ears. Seo Yeom-jeong was so embarrassed that she lifted her head slightly.
As Media nodded, one of the attendants pulled out the chair that Seo Yeom-jeong was standing on. Seo Yeom-jeong couldn’t say anything and just moved her lips.
Media sat down on Seo Yeom-jeong’s chair and crossed her legs provocatively. Then she rested her chin on her hand, stared at Seo Yeom-jeong, and opened her mouth low.
“Don’t talk long. I’ll give you five minutes.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Seo Yeom-jeong took out a pen and paper and wrote a letter of resignation. She wrinkled her nose to keep herself from crying and moved the pen with trembling hands.
Because if I made an excuse, I felt like I would resign from this world, not my job.
* * *
That afternoon.
After class, I went back to the administrative office and was notified that my club creation application had been accepted.
Of course, the club is still not officially established because it is short of one member, but in other words, once that is resolved, the club will be established.
Since it wasn’t something that needed to be done in a timely manner, we decided to find the rest of the members after the exams next week.
But somehow, the seat of the female employee who had blatantly ignored me in the morning was completely empty. And the administrative staff who had spoken to me in a friendly tone and offered me refreshments…
It seems like the media has said something, but even so, their changed attitude was quite burdensome.
Well, I decided not to take it too negatively since I think I’ll be visiting the administrative office a few more times for club-related matters.
I scratched my head, shook off my distracting thoughts, and hurried my steps toward the blacksmith shop in the academy.
* * *
“Sir, I’m here.”
At those words, Buland, who was pickling and sweating profusely, turned to me. He wiped the sweat with a rag covered in black rags and tried to control his ragged breathing.
“You came here to find weapons, right? Just wait a moment.”
I nodded as if I understood. Then he made a mysterious expression and headed towards the warehouse to get the Murasame I had requested.
The firm, well-toned latissimus dorsi stood out through the gap in the tunic he was wearing. I looked at his back for a moment, then pulled out a random chair and leaned against it. Sweat was dripping down from the hot air coming from the palanquin.
It was already the beginning of summer and the weather was starting to get warmer, but looking at the blazing fire, I couldn’t help but nod my head.
I loosened my tie as much as possible and let out a deep sigh.
‘How does that person continue to work in a place like this?’
I don’t know what that blacksmith thinks of me, but to me as a user, he is a character with both love and hate.
Back when I was playing the game, I was a small paying user, so I didn’t really have any feelings for him.
… Well, the ‘evidence’ has grown a bit because of what happened a while ago, but it’s true that I feel sorry for him.
Blacksmith Bulant. One of the main NPCs who takes care of almost all the work related to armament. At the same time, he is a character with two sides, who is also a target of abuse as he instantly throws away the bullets loaded by the users.
Judging from the dialogue in the work, he was a character that was hard to hate because of his unique humor, even though he was very talkative about money. But that was probably because I was a small paying user.
On the other hand, heavy spenders harshly criticized him in the community, calling him Juralt, Doomland, and even Buralt.
Even though it is ‘Miracle Protection M’ belonging to Hyeja’s axis, its origin is ultimately a K-mobile game. In such a world, it is impossible for Bwyland, who is in charge of weapon refining and strengthening, to avoid resentment and anger.
Actually, I was also furious when he upgraded my Murasame from B-rank to E-rank.
But if you take it into consideration, he probably did his best… … . I wanted to believe that. Otherwise, I think I’d get even angrier.
Anyway, before users who paid for the upgrade gacha, they would put up a picture of Bwyllant in the upgrade window and make a wish, saying, “Lord Bwyllant, please just this once!”
The game company may be the one sucking the blood of the users, but it is Bulanty who is using the users’ money as firewood to light the fire.
Besides, he is no longer a dry NPC to me, but a real person, a business partner. Thinking about it, my feelings became quite complicated.
“What are you thinking about?”
As I was lost in thought with a blank expression, Bulandt, who had come close to me, asked me.
“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that you resemble someone I know.”
“Then that guy must be handsome like me.”
Buland smiled, showing his teeth, stroking his blackened beard. I snorted inwardly. He handed me the Murasame he was holding in one hand.
Then, Bülant gulped down an apricot-colored beverage that looked like alcohol, wetting his tongue. It smelled like fermented grains, and was similar to makgeolli.
According to the setting, Byullant is a person from Northern Europe, and he is seen drinking makgeolli with relish.
I thought of the feeds that looked like foreigners with perfectly Korean patches, and I found that quite amusing. While staring intently, my eyes met with Buland’s.
“Would you like a drink too?”
“…What if you offer alcohol to a minor?”
“Mommy, the kid should be like a kid! That talking punk looks like he’s been through a lot in the world.”
“… … .”
Bulat grumbled softly and swirled his glass. I looked away from him and looked around at the Murasame I had been handed.
“It may be a bit embarrassing for me to say this myself, but I can proudly say that this commission was more than perfect. Of course, the high-quality materials that were mixed in with the demon materials also played a part.”
As the saying goes, it seems like they put a lot of thought into it, and the quality is noticeably better than before.
The blade, which had been cracked by the aftereffects of the aura, began to emit cold air, and the hilt, which had been charred like charcoal, regained the texture of the lonely paulownia tree.
‘Bullant.’
I looked proudly at the upgraded Murasame and thought about the status window.
Phrases that flash across my retina.
Paat⏤
== ==
[Painless Protection]
The pain goes away.
[▷NEW! The activation time has been adjusted as follows when the number of times the protection has been manifested is met.]
[※ Activation time: (40▶50) seconds, Cooldown: 12 hours]
== ==
It seems that the number of times the painless protection is manifested is only counted when it is manifested in actual combat, rather than simply fulfilling the condition by manifesting it many times.
Since I was only constantly checking the Sword God’s Protection, I had forgotten about it, but this is good news. When I think about the dungeons I have to clear in the future, I feel like 40 seconds is not enough.
Although the increased time was only 10 seconds, it was a definite positive.
Although I used to grumble about it being a useless protection, this painless protection that the true ‘Ganggeomma’ has manifested is a protection with excellent general-purpose capabilities for a commander-level protection.
Even when the level of armament is raised in the future, if we consider using it in conjunction with the protection of transfer, there are many positive prospects.
I scratched my cheek and waved my hand a little more to scroll down.
== ==
[Murasame (Raindrops)]
Type: Sashimi
Description: This is a sword that was called a sword that holds dew. It has been reborn as a carbon steel sword that contains the know-how of a craftsman. Although it is small in size, its performance may vary depending on the user?
Specifications: “Blade length – 35 cm”, “Width – 6 cm”
Traits: 「Destruction Power – C」, 「Range – E」, 「Hardness – (E▶C)」, 「Growth Potential – A」
Grade: (E▶D)
[NEW! New features added.] ◀ (Touch to unlock.)
== ==
Since it was a C-class buffalo material, I didn’t have high expectations, but the upgrade wasn’t all that dramatic considering the hard work.
Since there’s also the material of the A-class demon ‘Cow King’, I thought it would be C-class… … Well, things can’t be resolved that easily.
Still, it was quite encouraging that the ‘hardness’ was raised by two levels. In the future, there will be situations where Murasame will suddenly be blown up, and it will be difficult if he can’t hold out and collapses every time.
I feel a little sorry for this drunken blacksmith, too.
“… … ?”
As I was scrolling down, I brought my finger to the phrase written at the bottom and touched it.
Paat⏤!
== ==
Successful reinforcement and the growth potential of this weapon are combined to grant up to 3 special abilities.
1) [ ⎯⎯(empty)⎯⎯ ]
2) [ ⎯⎯(empty)⎯⎯ ]
3) [ ⎯⎯(empty)⎯⎯ ]
※ Special abilities can only be granted through *magic stones*, and are activated randomly.
== ==
“Bralt?”
