NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41
On a late spring morning at a brunch café.
A woman settled into a sun-drenched spot by the window.
Her long, white hair glimmered softly in the morning light.
With a blank expression, she surveyed the café’s interior.
Bright paintings hung on the walls, soft music played, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air.
The relaxed atmosphere of the café seemed to please her, and she lightly nodded.
A moment later, the café door swung open, and another woman entered.
Spotting her friend by the window, she smiled and waved.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Yeah, you?”
Si-hyun and Ji-a exchanged casual greetings.
Ji-a sat across from Si-hyun, her medium-length hair swaying gently.
“Hope your business trip wasn’t too tough.”
“Hehe, thanks. It’s tiring, but it’s just part of the deal.”
Ji-a sighed lightly.
“Today’s meetup was really awkward timing, huh? I’m sorry; this was my only free moment.”
“No, it’s alright! You made time despite being busy.”
“Still… Ah, once my pending work is done, let’s go grab something delicious.”
“Sounds good! When do you think it’ll be done?”
When Si-hyun asked, Ji-a started to vent lightly.
Si-hyun smiled softly, responding to Ji-a’s stress relief.
Thanks to the supportive friend, Ji-a felt her stress wash away and flashed a pretty smile.
Afterward, the two discussed what to order as they looked over the menu.
The server who took their order confirmed it and left.
Resting her chin on her hand, Ji-a looked at Si-hyun.
Usually, Si-hyun wore her long, unadorned hair down, but today she had styled it nicely.
It definitely seemed like her beauty shone brighter when she made an effort.
“Cute half-up hairstyle! Did Si-yoon do it for you?”
“…Yeah. I learned how to do it, too.”
Si-hyun awkwardly fiddled with the tied part of her hair.
Feeling shy, her earlobes turned red.
Seeing that adorable reaction, Ji-a chuckled.
“What’s this? You actually thought to learn?”
“…It was forced learning.”
“Forced, you say?”
“Uh-huh….”
In response to Ji-a’s question, Si-hyun fidgeted with her knees as she answered.
“They even gifted me goods, so I had no choice but to learn…”
“Aha.”
Ji-a understood right away.
It meant Si-yoon had turned her sister into a toy by sacrificing some Momo-bin goods.
Moreover, she even taught her to do it herself.
Si-yoon had done quite well.
The image vividly formed in Ji-a’s mind, and she giggled.
“Is this… strange?”
“It looks great! Why don’t you style your hair more like this from now on?”
“…I know that it was bullying, okay? But I heard constant reminders not to act like I’m pretty when I’m ugly…”
“…Ah.”
Although it was an incomplete sentence, Ji-a understood perfectly.
Here we go again with that obnoxious hero party.
“No, you really look pretty and it matches you well! I think you should be more confident and dress up more!”
“R-really…?”
Si-hyun answered while pressing her cheek with her hand.
Her slightly slouched shoulders seemed to lift a bit.
“Yeah, take your time and try more!”
“Sure! No need to rush.”
Ji-a nodded in satisfaction.
When Si-hyun typically rejected something, she would say, “I’ll think about it.”
Her current response indicated that she truly felt positively about it.
“Your food is here!”
The server approached and placed their meals on the table.
The two began to eat while chatting cheerfully.
They shared thoughts on what life was like teaching at the Academy, whether they had made any new professor friends, and so on.
In the midst of this, Ji-a checked her phone for the time and said,
“Actually, I wanted to talk about going to the dungeon together after we met today.”
“Oh, right. I’m fine as long as it’s not on lecture days.”
Recently, Si-hyun had been busily working with the Wings Guild members, wrapping up various requests.
Although Si-hyun expressed her willingness, Ji-a lightly shook her head.
“I reserved a high-ranking A-rank dungeon, but a major guild got there first.”
“……Huh? They got there first?”
“Since it’s a high-level dungeon, it doesn’t open up just right away. The management also has to consider various factors.”
“Aha.”
Si-hyun nodded as she understood the explanation.
“I hoped to receive buffs from you again…….”
“Hehe.”
As Ji-a slouched, Si-hyun smiled lightly.
That was nearly a compliment for a supporter.
“Opportunities will come again. How about other A-rank dungeons?”
“We have time, but they’re just too far. One-day trips might be tough, right?”
“Hmm, I see.”
It didn’t have to be a one-day trip, but if it was too far, it would be tiring both physically and mentally.
If they indeed had to go, they decided to come up with a concrete plan when the time came.
The two shifted from talking about the dungeon to other subjects.
After finishing their brunch, Ji-a checked the time again and said,
“Si-hyun, it’s your lecture day, right? Want me to drop you off in front of the Academy?”
“Uh, can you?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a little time to spare. I think it’ll be fine.”
“I’d really appreciate it if you could.”
Si-hyun had planned to spend the remaining time in her professor’s office since she was out anyway.
She gladly accepted Ji-a’s consideration.
* * *
During the third and fourth periods at the Academy.
Close-combat Hunter students gathered in groups on the field, attending their lecture.
Among them, Kwon Jae-woo wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Hey, that’s the beautiful professor.”
“Where? Where?”
A few male students exchanged looks and gazed at the stairs in the corner of the field.
Jae-woo also glanced over there.
Professor Jeong Si-hyun, in charge of the Introduction to Monsters course, was sitting on the stairs, observing the students.
She was sipping from a disposable plastic cup with a straw.
When the male students recognized her and greeted her, she waved back with a light smile.
“Wow, she’s really pretty. She’s a goddess, a goddess.”
“Ahh! I should have taken the Introduction to Monsters course too.”
“That class is in the same building as ours, right? I get all flustered every time I catch a glimpse of her.”
“She must have a pretty voice, right? I’ve never heard it, though.”
“Right? If she had a rough or husky voice with that looks, that’d be a disaster.”
Jae-woo hadn’t joined the conversation but couldn’t help nodding in agreement.
The Introduction to Monsters class was located at the end of the hallway in a somewhat obscure area, and Professor Jeong didn’t use a microphone.
So, unless you were a student, you’d never get to hear her voice.
“Hey, you guys! Wrap it up and get back to work!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The male students went quiet only after being reprimanded by the lecturing professor.
But that silence was short-lived.
Soon, the third period ended, and it was break time, and Professor Jeong got up to leave.
But the male students began chattering among themselves again.
“That professor is a close-combat hunter, right? Do you think she’ll ever teach the major classes?”
“For a D-rank, what major classes could she offer?”
When the conversation shifted to ranks, the guys chuckled.
Jae-woo remained silent, only opening and closing his mouth quietly.
He hadn’t joined the conversation, but he had already built rapport with them.
He fell into thought for a moment.
“Honestly, what does she have besides her looks?”
“Hey, her looks are already astounding!”
“True! But I doubt the class is anything special. Everyone must’ve signed up just for her looks.”
“……Haven’t you guys heard the rumors?”
Eventually, Jae-woo couldn’t hold back and interjected into the conversation.
He could no longer tolerate the mocking of Professor Jeong.
“The content of the Introduction to Monsters course is amazing; I’ve heard great things about it.”
“Really? Was that so?”
“I haven’t heard that before!”
Everyone looked surprised.
However, Jae-woo didn’t care at all.
“Check the community after the fourth period. There should be something about it.”
“Do we have to?”
“Well, if you remember it, you might look it up.”
The boys responded with indifference.
But Jae-woo’s efforts weren’t in vain.
“Ah, I think I saw something like that. Something was posted in the community last week.”
“Oh, really?”
Other students joined in the conversation.
“What was it again? I remember people saying it had a lot of details or something…”
“That! Was that about the Introduction to Monsters?”
“Sounds about right?”
“And saying she’s a professor at the Academy just because of her looks—does that make sense?”
“…….”
The voices of the students who were responding to Jae-woo’s comment grew louder.
Consequently, the guys who’d been criticizing Si-hyun based on her rank went quiet.
Jae-woo returned to a listening posture.
He felt satisfied with the outcome.
The boys who had mocked Si-hyun didn’t say a word until the fourth period’s lecture ended.
* * *
After the third and fourth periods ended.
Jae-woo grabbed a quick snack at the kiosk in the building basement.
With the next lecture on the way, he didn’t have much time.
Not wanting to wander around, he headed to the lecture hall early.
And then, he discovered it.
“M-Monster?!”
On the desk in the front row of the lecture hall.
There stood a ferocious-looking goblin!
Startled, Jae-woo quickly pulled out his weapon using the status screen.
He gripped the sword’s hilt tightly with both hands.
Oh my, it was the first time he had ever seen a goblin that looked so terrifying.
Tensing up, he got ready to fight at any moment.
“……?”
And then, he noticed another figure a bit late.
Professor Jeong Si-hyun was leaning against the podium, looking at him with a playful expression.