Several days went by after Team White’s unsightly self-destruction. Just as they had mentioned in the live stream, they withdrew themselves from any type of individual communication.
Their SNS account was removed and all the public schedules that had been planned were cancelled. And as Team Coin’s wicked deeds came to light, the teams that had been slandered by the teams White and Coin began to receive more attention from the public.
Thanks to that, the teams that had been condemned by Team Coin each received a re-evaluation.
But since Team White voluntarily turned themselves in, they weren’t disqualified completely from the newborn superhuman competition and White didn’t fall into an endless pit of debt either.
The channel, @Search_me_Plzzz disappeared immediately afterwards so the assumptions about their false missions went under the radar. This must be due to the influence of the high-ranked superhumans of the ranking evaluation sector who had done similar false missions in the past… that’s how Tyr Brzenk interpreted the situation.
“Thank you sir!”
“Thank you, thank you a lott… I feel super refreshed…”
In any case, this was where he was going to part ways with them. This point onwards it would be a pure competition so it was now up to them.
“I’ll get going. Try your best.”
“Yes sir!”
He cursorily bid farewell and left the office, but soon heard soft voices from inside.
– Ah, it seriously feels so refreshing.
– They won’t swear at us for no reason now, rite?
– Of course.
– I can finally relax myself. By the way, isn’t Sir Yu Jitae like superman?
– I know rite! He is like Mao Zedongg…!
– What?
– Why…?
– Oh right! Hey hey, Kaeul. Does Sir Jitae need a pet by any chance?!
– H, huh? W, what kind of pet?!
– I know how to use a toilet!
– Aht! I, I can wash the dishes as welll…!
– No no no! T, that’s not good enough!
– Why!
– I can do that as well…!
– Huh…?
He stood still wondering what they were talking about and was dumbfounded. Right when he was about to continue walking again, Kaeul pushed open the door of the office before dashing towards him down the corridor.
“Uh? Ahjussi! You are still here?”
“About to go now. Why”
“Likee! How can you just go like that without even a proper goodbye…!”
“We can call any day though.”
“But even then! You have to say goodbye…!”
Was that how it was?
He still wasn’t very good at things like this.
With her mouth shut, Kaeul twirled her golden hair with her fingers for a bit, before opening her mouth.
“Well, there’s no real reason why I came out but… I thought I had to say goodbye at least, along with an apology…”
“Apologise for what. I did what I had to.”
“You know, I just found myself a bit pathetic… I didn’t want to receive your help this time but…”
She looked slightly bitter.
The fact that she found herself pathetic was because she was embarrassed about receiving help. And being embarrassed about receiving help meant that she thought she could solve the problem by herself.
So Yu Jitae found this to be another proof for Kaeul’s mental growth.
He walked closer towards her, lowered his body and matched his line of sight with her’s.
“It’s alright. You are doing great.”
“Okay…”
“You can call me any time whenever you need help. And look after yourself during the remaining 2 months of the competition.”
“Okay.”
“And while you’re here, don’t forget to find your dream.”
Kaeul gave a nod.
Turning his body, Yu Jitae walked down the corridor. That was when Kaeul shouted at his back.
“Can I call…!”
“Huh?”
“Can I call you more often?”
Yu Jitae nodded.
“You can do it everyday.”
At last, a smile replaced the bitter look on her face.
That was the end of the short, several days of mishap.
***
A month went by.
November. It was slowly starting to get colder as winter came knocking on the door as usual.
With approximately a month till the end of the ranking competition, Yu Jitae walked around various places on foot, looking for a new teaching location for Yeorum.
Teaching was about giving a tool.
He had given Yeorum a tool, and taught her how to use it. That was the most he could do.
Yu Jitae only gave her one tool at a time. The reason he didn’t dump her with a whole bunch of new tools is because giving her new tools would be meaningless if she couldn’t even properly use the ones she had.
But over the last three months, Yeorum repeated endless battles as the leader of Team Mochi. She was slowly starting to perfect all the tools she had in hand.
Since that was the case, it was about time for him to give her a new tool.
It was when Yu Jitae was sitting on the living room couch, sending a message to Yeorum.
“Uh? Team Lair is estimated to be coming first?”
Bom uttered those words to herself, but she wasn’t the type to give monologues. She was probably voicing it out loud so that he could hear it.
Just like the competition happening outside, there was a similar one happening inside Unit 301. Bom was still visiting Kaeul during the weekends to teach her magic while Yu Jitae was Yeorum’s teacher. The extension of the competition outside had led to a similar war of nerves happening inside.
“Yeah. I saw it. White’s team fell to second place it seems.”
“Yes. Our Kaeul is very good right?”
“She is.”
There was a mischievous look on her face as she casually sat next to him on the sofa.
“If I knew it would be so favourable to me, we should have put something on the line.”
“I will be the winner anyway. Yeorum is smiling.”
“Why is she smiling?”
“Because the strong have the leisure to.”
“Is that how it is? Kaeul is also smiling though,” said Bom while showing him Kaeul’s profile picture that was printed on the 2nd page of the newspaper.
Printed newspaper in this time and age? Yu Jitae thought while standing on Yeorum’s side for the time being.
“Yeorum is still holding her power back.”
“There’s only a month left and she’s still holding back?”
“She’s trying to sprint at the very end when everyone else is tired.”
“I don’t think so… Here in this newspaper it says Team Mochi is the one that has been the most diligent in attending missions for the last three months.”
In fact, Bom was right.
Yeorum was trying her hardest but she still fell short of Kaeul.
This was something unavoidable. No matter how hard she tried, the gap in the ability they were born with was way too big.
Like how a human won’t be faster than a four-legged animal no matter how fast they were to run, Yeorum’s team beating Kaeul’s team was realistically speaking, an impossible feat.
At least for now.
Bom continued while fluttering the newspaper.
“And apparently the Tower of Mages is looking for the one who taught magic to Kaeul.”
“What are they trying to do after finding them,”
“Maybe they’re just curious. Apparently teaching someone to manage such a high-output spell is not easy?”
“Who says?”
“An article in this newspaper.”
It wasn’t a very likeable newspaper.
“And here on another page, it estimates Kaeul’s rank to be in the 400’s.”
“What about Yeorum.”
“Yeorum…… Nn? Where is she?”
“She’s not there?”
“It guessed up to rank 1000 but… why can’t I see her name…”
“Must have been made randomly.”
“I think the paper is well-made though…”
“Pass it here. Let me look for it.”
When Yu Jitae reached his hand out, Bom pulled the newspaper back. He thought to himself for a bit, before opening his mouth.
“What are you doing. Let me have a look.”
Bom shook her head in response.
When he reached his hand forward again to grab them, Bom rotated her body in reflex and avoided it. ‘Let me see,’ he said, and ‘Don’t want to,’ she replied as though she really didn’t want him to see it.
The two of them turned silent, as tension slowly started to build up.
Yu Jitae raised his body. Seeing that, Bom flinched and started running away but there was nowhere to hide within Unit 301 from Yu Jitae and his long legs. When he coerced her with his long strides, Bom ended up next to the living room wall with her sides covered by his body.
His left shoulder was in the way when she tried to go left, and his arm was in the way when she tried to go right.
“Ahh, why. Please don’t.”
“Give it to me. Where did you bring that weird newspaper from.”
“I subscribed to it. $19.90 a month. Got the agency discount for $17.90 and cadet discount to make it $14.87.”
“That’s quite cheap.”
“Hehe.”
“But that’s a newspaper from a company partnered with the Tower of Mages. That’s why they’re supporting Kaeul, since she’s also a mage.”
“That’s not how it is!”
“Then give it to me. I’ll see it for myself.”
Bom shook her head once again.
Yu Jitae contemplated. How would he snatch that unlikeable newspaper from her hands? Since both of her hands were carrying the paper behind her back, the first idea that popped up was tickling her.
However, that wasn’t a good idea because it seemed that Bom was fairly uncomfortable with physical contact in a strange atmosphere.
He didn’t know the exact reason. Perhaps it was a simple reason – although a dragon, she was still young and maybe she was uncomfortable with physical contact that she wasn’t used to.
The thing about romantic feelings and whatnot was his business and not hers. That’s why he had recently been trying to avoid excessive physical contact with Bom.
So tickling won’t do.
Thus, Yu Jitae decided to pinch her cheeks. Her eyes widened from the shock and pain.
“Buuuu…”
Bom frowned because he wasn’t playing around with the pinch.
“Give it to me right now.”
“Uuu… Dun wanna…”
She remained stubborn so he pinched the other side of her cheeks as well.
“Uuu… Buunuu…”
She was still stubborn – he had no idea why.
That was when Bom also pulled one of her hands out and pinched his nose. It had been dozens of years since someone grabbed his nose like that so he had forgotten it, but Yu Jitae belatedly realised that he wasn’t fond of people touching his nose.
Therefore, he pulled his head back. Due to the difference in arm length, Bom’s hand flailed around in mid-air but she soon inserted her fingers into the neck part of his business shirt. She then began pulling the shirt down.
“Oi, oi.”
“Buu…”
“Let go. It’s gonna rip.”
“U let go furstt…”
What am I doing with her right now, he suddenly thought to himself.
That was when he started to hear the soft footsteps of Gyeoul from nearby. If they were too close, the child might misunderstand so he distanced himself from Bom.
Bom rubbed her reddened cheeks while glaring at Yu Jitae when Gyeoul poked her head out from behind the wall. With a fluttering piece of paper in her hand.
“What is that.”
“…Look.”
Yu Jitae received the fissure travel pamphlet that she gave him.
There were travel destinations on it.
*
[Walk across the sky on transparent ground and enjoy a walk! ★ Sky Garden ★]
[Let’s walk under the rainbow-coloured sky. An Impossible sight on Earth!]
[The underground fortress of the past dwarves. Enjoy the town integrated with the essence of magic engineering!]
After the New Era, the tourism industry was met with a whole new epoch.
Sometimes, in stabilised fissures that have been fully conquered, were spectacular natural environments of other dimensions. They had fancy sceneries and unique food, unseen before on Earth.
The pamphlet Gyeoul gave him was on such ‘fissure travels’.
“…How about here?”
Sitting next to him on the sofa, Gyeoul pointed at the corner of the pamphlet with her finger. It seemed like a relatively unpopular travel site.
[Forget the worldly problems and spend your time meditating on the [Tranquil Sea]]
“This one?”
“…Yes.”
It was an interesting coincidence.
This happened to be the new training area that he was going to bring Yeorum to.
This ‘Tranquil Sea’ was a unique fissure. There was an extremely dense water-attributed mana within and the waters were small yet extremely deep.
It was the place that best restricted Yeorum’s mana attribute and was therefore a place that would allow her to train as exhaustingly as possible. It was by pure coincidence that Gyeoul wanted to go play there.
“Alright. Let’s go this weekend.”
“…!”
“How about for a week. I’ll talk to your school about it.”
…For a whole week?
Gyeoul nodded with a bright smile before turning towards Bom.
“…Go together?”
Bom, who was still rubbing her cheeks with a resenting look on her face, widened her eyes into circles and gave her the unique expression that she only showed to Gyeoul.
“Me?”
“…Nn. From this weekend. Do you have time?”
“Ah, this weekend will be a bit hard. Unni has to teach Kaeul magic.”
I see. Gyeoul nodded.
She was now old enough to not show it on the outside, but Gyeoul liked hearing that even more, because it was extremely rare for her to go somewhere alone with Yu Jitae and play.
“…What a shame.”
Bom gave a mysterious smile and looked into her eyes.
“You don’t look like you think it’s a shame though?”
“…Not true.”
“Then should we go together?”
“…N, n? Nn.”
Bom saw through her hesitation and giggled under her breath.
“Just joking. Look at you being so surprised.”
Gyeoul walked up and wrapped her short arms around Bom, and buried her head into her stomach.
“…It’s a shame. Reallyy.”
Bom caressed her blue hair.
Even then, Gyeoul was thinking about the fish tank in her room. Although there were a few fish, seaweed, shells and conches, the tank was so big that it still appeared very empty. There seemed to be a lot of fish inside the Tranquil Sea so they would probably do some fishing when they get there.
Yu Jitae was very good at fishing and he had gotten her a lot of fish last time as well. She would quietly chat with him while fishing, boil a seafood stew and play with water. If there were pretty corals or stones, what about picking them up and selling them at school? Maybe it would net her quite the money…?
But the following words that left Yu Jitae’s mouth shattered her fantasy.
“Then let’s go as a 3 including Yeorum.”
Drop.
The pamphlet dropped from her hands.