Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
49. Sport Exchange (4)
Morning of Hwang Myeong-ho’s great mansion.
This time would always be noisy thanks to Eun-ho’s descendants, but today they returned to their rooms early, so it was very quiet.
The first, Eun Seoho and the second, Eun Niho, who were born ten months apart, were recently diligently preparing for entrance exams.
As if the scene of Ju Su-hyeok and An Dain standing side by side on stage and giving a freshman oath in the video from Eungwang School’s entrance ceremony, left a deep impression on them, they aimed to receive prefect scores and stand together on the stage and even break off the games.
To not interrupt the two, the youngest Eun Jaeho tried to play with the Mountain Spirit or Divine Beast, but the Mountain Spirit was strangely dispirited and the Divine Beast was busy following Baek-ho, while growling.
Even while Eun Jaeho regretfully went to play games alone, the Divine Beast bit Baek-ho’s pants, or tugged on his arms, while pleading for something.
Woof, woof!
“No. I don’t plan on bringing you.”
Woof-woof!
“Your power isn’t a problem. Though it’s not as much as in your prime years, I know that your strength recovered a lot.”
After Baek-ho, who was in charge of the Divine Beast’s training, spoke confidently, the Divine Beast’s eyes filled with expectation, and it quickly wagged its tail.
But Baek-ho’s following words crushed the Divine Beast’s expectations to pieces.
“I can’t bring you unless you plan on revealing your natural appearance in front of Jo Uisin. With your current appearance, you only scatter his concentration.”
Keeung….
After Jo Uisin was mentioned, the Divine Beast, who was begging for a while, gave up and dropped its tail.
The Divine Beast was reluctant to show Jo Uisin its natural form, just like before.
“Hahaha! You treated Jo Uisin so coldly since yesterday, now you’re regretting it?”
Hwang-ho, who finished an early breakfast and was having a morning tea time, while drinking cinnamon apple tea, made from freshly harvested Hongro[1], burst out laughing.
Grrrr….!
“Hahahaha!”
The Divine Beast growled threateningly, but Hwang Jiho just laughed.
After finishing the first practice as Hwang Jiho of the 1st year class 0, Hwang-ho, who seemed to keep being in a bad mood, sometimes laughed like this, as if his mood was relieved during the weekend.
Hwang-ho, who was laughing lively, even when the Divine Beast went to the youngest Eun Jaeho’s room, abruptly stopped.
Instead, he looked towards the entrance door and threw a greeting.
“Come in, Jeok-ho. Did you finish the investigation?”
Under Hwang-ho’s gaze, red smoke rose and then scattered.
After the smoke completely disappeared, Jeok-ho appeared without a sound.
“I’m back.”
“Okay, report results.”
“If I’m to start with results… Jo Uisin doesn’t have any records of being exposed to domestic or school violence. The possibility of suffering long-term violence ‘enough to get accustomed to pain’ is close to 0.”
“Any possibility he was involved with Jin people or Enemies?”
“None.”
Hwang-ho raised the tea cup, he was holding, from the tea plate and fell into thoughts.
“You mean that he never joined a sports club nor attend a sport institution, right?”
“Yes.”
“His hospital records are clean and Acea’s disciple and Hyangrok asserted that there are no abnormalities with the body right now, so there is no relation to illness and…”
“Couldn’t he just be born like this?”
At Jeok-ho’s words, Hwang-ho shook his head.
“There exist people with low sensitivity to pain since they were born, but no people who got accustomed to pain. Hyangrok said that Jo Uisin’s pain perception is normal. Even though his arm was almost severed, he was pretty stable. Like he was accustomed to pain.”
“… His arm was almost severed?”
“Yeah. Something bothered me since he let his body be pierced by the Nine Iron Teeth Rake’s blades and grabbed the handle. You experienced being pierced by the forks, so you would know.”
“I just thought that at the time he activated one of the effects of the Gwangrim he possessed…”
“Jo Uisin didn’t use a regenerative superpower during the first practice. The stab and cut… No, it was close to being cut off. There are traces left by recovery item on the arm, which was almost cut off.”
At Hwang-ho’s words, Jeok-ho recalled the moment when he was pierced by Zhu Ganglie’s Forking.
The moment the Nine Iron Teeth Rake spread out straight and pierced his body, he was flooded with pain as if his internal organs, blood vessels and cells were being destroyed one after one.
It was a pain that was difficult to endure even for Jeok-ho, who fought on the front lines and finally was tied to the Red Rack.
‘No way, the superpower he used wasn’t related to alleviating pain?’
After Jeok-ho became petrified, Hwang-ho spoke expressionlessly.
“Following the word ‘Seong-hyeon’, the secrets that have to be solved increased by one, eh?”
Hwang-ho turned his eyes from Jeok-ho to Baek-ho.
Baek-ho outfit was different from usual, but he sat with a usual cold face.
“Baek-ho, don’t you have a guess?”
“…”
Baek-ho didn’t reply.
He didn’t have any particular expectations, but Hwang-ho was about to open his mouth to push him for an answer one more time, when Jeok-ho cut in the conversation before that.
“How about You? I thought that if You’re in the same class and club, You would be able to investigate records of his past much more.”
As there was a point to Jeok-ho’s words, Hwang-ho fell into thoughts for a while.
After organizing his thoughts, he opened his mouth.
“I don’t guess how he got accustomed to pain.”
After he ended the first practice, he called the Military School’s cadet to finish Byeoksa ceremony.
Even though he was tired, he didn’t express it, and the next day he looked around the facilities used during the sport exchange and made a plan.
The elixir would lessen the body’s fatigue, but it couldn’t lessen mental fatigue.
But he ignored the fatigue and kept diligently moving.
“Even so, I guess ‘why’ he endures pain.”
Hwang Jiho looked in the direction where Eungwang School was, while he stopped talking.
* * *
Afternoon, after classes ended, I moved with class children to the Eungwang Stadium, where the opening ceremony was held.
There was about an hour distance between the school and the stadium.
The shuttles were in operation, but the majority of children decided to walk.
As if Song Daeseok found walking annoying, as he was busy with the Association’s work, he looked like he deeply hated it.
But because Song Daeseok still didn’t reconcile with Min Geurin after ‘Gim+bap[2]’ incident during the previous first practice, he finally shut his mouth and started to walk behind Min Geurin.
When I was moving, while getting close with class children, something bothered me.
‘The relationship with Sawol Seeum and Kwon Lena seems awkward. Kwon Lena seems to be one-sidedly avoiding him.’
Sawol Seeum was getting along with all children, because he had no rough corners.
These days he got along well with Kwon Lena, because they started to attend school at a similar time, and got even closer when they joined forces and fought against Han Yi.
Even during the first practice, the two were dropped together, so I thought they would get even closer.
‘… Ah, is it because of that, huh?’
As I finished thinking about the first practice, I recalled Kwon Lena, who exclaimed when she saw Hongryong.
Because Sawol Seeum had a lot of interest in ‘that word’, he wouldn’t miss Kwon Lena’s amazed reaction after discovering Hongryong.
‘If I interfere wrong in this case, the situation will become even more awkward.’
I had no idea what may happen between my Playable Characters, but I couldn’t come up with a way to solve it straight away…!
While I was lost in the feeling of helplessness, we arrived at the stadium.
“Wow…! There are so many stalls! Are those all cheering items?”
The kind Sawol Seeum wasn’t able to even notice that Kwon Lena was avoiding him and pointed around in excitement.
On the stalls, cheering products like headbands and t-shirts with prints, cheering sticks, cheering megaphones, cheering pom poms, etc, were laid out.
Each one was printed with Eungwang School and Military School’s symbols, but compared to the things distributed by the Student Council or made by students personally, the quality was low.
‘So many peddlers gathered!’
The enrolled students received cheering goods through the school or Student Council, but outsiders couldn’t do that.
It seemed that peddlers expected such people to gather on today’s opening ceremony.
In truth, the vicinity of the stalls were overflowing with Eungwang School’s graduates, people, who wanted to have something with Eungwang School’s logo as an item of good luck ahead of the highschool exams, and maybe pure Eungwang School’s fans.
“Everything is so cool, huh? I want to own something to celebrate today by any cost.” [3]
“Uh, this is fine. Doesn’t it flow when you put superpower waves into it?”
“No! This operates on batteries. It’s an outdated type, but I want it.” [4]
“Uram-ah, everything is in the box you’re holding. So look well and bu… No, don’t buy! Seeum-ah, Hyodon-ah! All cheering tools are in the box Uram brought, so don’t buy anything!”
Kim Yuri moved busily to stop the 1st year class 0’s official hogu, Mok Uram, and the hogu candidates, Maeng Hyodon and Sawol Seeum.
The hogus opened the box with Kim Yuri and after arming themselves with all kinds of cheering tools from head to toe, it seemed that their buying enthusiasms died down a bit.
“I have no memory of permitting it. Fearless, eh?”
Hwang Jiho looked at the crude cheering products laid out on the stalls and continued on.
“As this is the first day of festival, I should turn a blind eye to it for today. I won’t leave it starting tomorrow. The profits the peddlers obtain today, will also have to be collected starting tomorrow, eh?”
While listening to the school chairman’s bloody comment, I entered the Eungwang Stadium.
There was a whole line to the stadium, but thanks to the exclusive entrance for the school members like enrolled students, it was possible to enter fast, and we were able to immediately find the seats.
The seats allocated to the 1st year class 0 were close to the entrance and there wasn’t any obstacles obstructing the view.
‘It’s a pity I can’t see it together with them from here.’
However, I had work to do.
I conversed with the children for a while, looking at the pamphlets distributed by Eungwang School’s Student Council and Player Military Academy’s Cadet Council, until there were 30 minutes left to the opening ceremony.
I and Hwang Jiho stood up.
“Then we will be going.”
Around my neck hung an ID with ‘PRESS’ written on it.
The Newspaper Club picked the club members to cover this sport exchange beforehand, but when I and Hwang Jiho applied late, they happily agreed as opportunely they lacked manpower.
I and Hwang Jiho were to wander around the stadium and take pictures, and get an interview with at least two spectators.
“… Ah, you and Hwang Jiho said that you had Newspaper Club coverage to do. You said that you were going to take pictures of the stadium?”
At my words, Han Yi made a regretful face.
“We will be back. As we will return after finishing the work, protect this place well.”
“…”
At Hwang Jiho’s words, Han Yi erased her regretful face.
* * *
When I parted with Hwang Jiho and moved.
I discovered an unexpected combination.
‘It’s Im Yeonhwa and painter Hong Gyeonbok, you know?’
Both of them were teachers, but they didn’t seem to have a point of contact, yet the two people were walking while having a peaceful conversation as if they were quite close.
I didn’t use the hiding skill, but hid the sounds of my footsteps and walked behind the pillar, but the two discovered me immediately.
“You’re in the middle of the coverage, huh? You’re working hard.”
“Um! Not our class kid.”
Hong Gyubin encouraged me, while giving a good-natured smile, and Im Yeonhwa said something strange.
“Hello. Did something happen to the 3rd year seniors?”
“Perhaps it was difficult for my cute disciples to wait for the sport exchange, they asked me to play with them! Right now we’re playing hide and seek.”
What the hell did those people come here to do?
“Hide and seek?”
At my question, Im Yeonhwa explained rules with a bright face.
“To win I have to find all the kids until the opening ceremony. The loser will circle the stadium while duck walking. I agreed because I thought it will help kids with training if they do a circle.”
There were not even 30 minutes left until the opening ceremony, so could she find the 3rd year class 0’s senior bastards within that time?
It didn’t seem like she could waste time here.
But Im Yeonhwa had not only an affectionate but also confident face.
“There is too much time left, so I plan to start searching when there is ten minutes left. Like this the kids will get a taste of hiding for longer, and not the feeling of foolishness.”
Even today, the rules were indisputably disadvantageous for Im Yeonhwa, but it seemed she didn’t even think there was a possibility of losing.
Anyhow, it seemed that even today, the strong homeroom teacher and the 3rd year class 0’s senior bastards were having a good relationship.
But it seemed that only the strong homeroom teacher thought they were kind and cute.
“Those children…”
Painter Hong Gyeogbok’s gaze headed behind me.
Looking back, the students wearing Military Academy’s uniforms were walking towards them.
Among them, there were a few faces I knew.
*~*~*
[1] Hongro — 홍로, a cultivar (Spur Earliblaze x Spur Golden Delicious) of apples in Korea, popularly used as a gift or during ancestral rites, because it’s harvested in September around Chuseok. Its name literally means red dew/red tears.
[2] Gim+bap — Gim: nori, bap: rice.
[3] “Everything is so cool, huh? I want to own something to celebrate today by any cost.” — hogu no. 1 Mok Uram’s sentence.
[4] “No! This operates on batteries. It’s an outdated type, but I want it.” — hogu no. 3 Sawol Seeum’s sentence.
Translator’s note: Jo Uisin’s pain tolerance is indeed hardly explained by the lung cancer, no matter what he says. But also Hwang-ho… I understand that Jo Uisin doesn’t hide it at all, but… I don’t think it’s actually that easy to guess what Jo Uisin is fighting for from an outsider perspective without some inside knowledge…
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