novelraw Chapter 214 : Chapter 214
Chapter 214 : Chapter 214
Chapter 214: Stance
The newspaper in his grip crumpled as force entered his hand.
“Keueung.”
A low groan escaped through Ho-cheol's tightly shut lips.
The sigh, laden with all sorts of emotions, clearly represented his complicated feelings.
The photo in the newspaper was that shocking.
Choi Da-yeon and the Sword Demon.
Their relationship wasn't something that could be simply described as a father and daughter who didn't get along.
Enemies.
At the very least, Da-yeon considered her father, the Sword Demon, to be her lifelong nemesis and enemy.
How much must she have hated him to abandon a perfectly fine sword and pick up a bow, a weapon for which she had less talent, just because she didn't want to use the same weapon as him?
Of course, it wasn't as if the Sword Demon was actually a good person, nor could everything be called a misunderstanding, but he wasn't the kind of irredeemable trash Da-yeon thought he was.
And that misunderstanding and resentment had been somewhat resolved recently through a conversation between the three of them, including Ho-cheol.
Still, I thought it would take more time to resolve those deep-seated feelings.
To see them together like this... It was a situation I should be happy about as an educator, and yet something felt unsettled.
“What is it?”
Se-ah sat up and slowly crawled over.
Then, she rested her chin on Ho-cheol's shoulder and whispered playfully.
“Are you feeling all bitter and twisted just because your precious student is learning somewhere else?”
Ho-cheol's lips parted, and he answered as if muttering.
“……A little.”
Was she just trying to tease him?
Never expecting Ho-cheol to answer so sincerely, Se-ah's eyes widened.
“For real?”
“Would I be faking it?”
Ho-cheol clicked his tongue and turned the page of the newspaper.
He was in the middle of raising kids who were barely even proper people, let alone functioning heroes, into respectable members of society.
Just as he was nearing the end, some other guy had snatched one away.
How could he not feel bitter?
Perhaps because it was a hero newspaper.
The second page was also about Clington's new curriculum, the job experience program.
To be precise, as if the first page wasn't enough, the main topic was about the Sword Demon and the student who had newly joined the job experience program—Da-yeon.
In fact, until now, the Sword Demon had not cooperated at all with Clington's internship program.
All the sidekicks or aspiring heroes who entered his office had a history of properly learning the sword for a certain period at the Sword Demon's dojo.
There were no other conditions.
The special case of Da-yeon was certainly a tasty morsel for the news to chew on.
“They're having a field day calling it special treatment.”
Anyway, that's what all media companies do.
Just as Ho-cheol was about to turn to the next page.
“Ah. Huh?”
Ho-cheol, flustered, pulled the newspaper closer to his face.
As he was about to turn the page, his eyes caught something strange in the photo.
The photo didn't just contain the Sword Demon and Da-yeon.
Although it was almost completely cut off in the bottom right corner of the photo, there was another familiar face.
Jeong Ye-jin.
Ye-jin's head was peeking out, half cut off.
It seemed she wanted to be in the photo too, but the reporter's brilliant editing skills had shone through.
Still, she was smiling brightly even in the half-cut-off photo, so it was a relief that she seemed to be doing well.
Ho-cheol let out a hollow laugh.
“Right. This one's here too.”
Whether she got in through Da-yeon's connections, or for some other reason.
However, that laughter couldn't last long.
More than the joy of finding someone he knew, the face of Smiley overlapped with Ye-jin's, so he couldn't be entirely happy.
If Smiley were to contact Ye-jin…….
Only a horrifying situation that even Ho-cheol couldn't be sure he could handle the aftermath of came to mind.
With her chin still fixed on his shoulder, Se-ah moved only her upper lip and said.
“The other students have been assigned to pretty decent heroes too, so it should be fine.”
Ho-cheol was an exception because his standards were too high, but these were heroes that Se-ah, who had a rather picky eye for people, had confirmed and decided upon after much deliberation.
At the very least, they were good enough to be entrusted with the students.
“If so, that's a relief.”
After reading the newspaper to the end, Ho-cheol turned his head to the side and said to Se-ah.
“By the way, shouldn't you be getting back soon?”
About a week had passed since Se-ah was kidnapped.
Her kidnapping was just a grand show to appeal that he had completely broken ties with the academy anyway.
For the first few days after the kidnapping, the media made a fuss, but now that there was no mention of it in the newspapers, it seemed the effect was wearing off.
Then there was no need to keep her any longer.
“Ek?”
Se-ah pulled her head back from his shoulder as if she genuinely disliked the idea.
“As if kidnapping me wasn't enough, you're sending me back just as you please?”
“That's how kidnapping works.”
She fell backward and flopped onto the bed.
“Ah, no, no. I don't know.”
Groaning, she stealthily placed her two legs on Ho-cheol's thighs.
“I'm comfortable here.”
It wasn't an empty platitude; this was much better than living alone at home.
Although the space was half the size, this place wasn't small either.
And they brought three delicious meals a day.
Unlike back then when Gom-gom was her only companion, Ho-cheol now visited often like this to chat about this and that.
To be honest…….
“Can't I just stay here?”
This was much more comfortable and enjoyable than being a professor at the academy.
To the point where she wished this hostage situation, no, this vacation, would continue.
At her tantrum, Ho-cheol asked with a worried expression instead.
“……Isn't your usual life just too miserable?”
“Ah, well. It's not that I hated it back then.”
Of course, she felt a sense of accomplishment from lecturing the students.
But there were no such lectures now.
Above all.
“No one gives me any work! They don't dump their responsibilities on me!”
This was really important.
Of course, even after being kidnapped here, she had taken care of all the work she had brought with her.
But those tasks were only the ones she was originally supposed to do.
At least there was no situation where she would suddenly be contacted and have to take on another professor's work or the academy's official duties.
Excessive workload, the dean who also served as the head of the Emission department among the three departments was absent, and the head of the Augmentation department was an old man on his last legs with little work he could do.
It was perhaps a natural phenomenon that those tasks fell to Se-ah, who was treated as the acting dean.
To be honest, it wasn't for nothing that she had inwardly cheered while being kidnapped by Ho-cheol.
“So I want to stay for about another week before I go.”
She bounced her legs up and down on Ho-cheol's thighs, patting them.
A light whine, a mischievous thought arose in Ho-cheol, and he added teasingly.
“You, your food costs are too high.”
Se-ah shouted in horror.
“How could you say that!”
The legs that had been lightly tapping his thighs a moment ago were now filled with strength.
Thump— Thump— Thwack—!
In fact, she felt a pang of guilt inwardly.
For the first day or two after being kidnapped, she had demurely eaten only one serving, but the food here, she didn't know who made it, but it was really delicious.
To the point where she wondered if they had kidnapped a chef from somewhere.
“Still! Even so, it's only five servings!”
“Geez. And that's supposed to be a small amount?”
At her rebuttal, Ho-cheol once again let out a hollow laugh with an expression of disbelief.
Ho-cheol reached out and poked the lower belly that was faintly visible under her shirt.
“Five servings every meal, and you make sure to eat snacks too. And you get late-night snacks. Only the Augmentation types eat that much. Aren't you eating too much for a Manipulation type?”
“Hikkyaaaak!”
She made a cat-like sound and pulled down the hem of her shirt.
As it was, her exercise amount had converged to zero recently, and her belly had become quite soft.
Having a sensitive spot poked, she panted and struck Ho-cheol's thighs even harder.
“Anyway, I'll be sending you back soon, so pack your things in advance.”
Ho-cheol slapped the sole of her foot with his palm and removed her feet from his thighs.
“Manage the academy well so it doesn't go under. It would look strange if Clington was ruined after I went through all the trouble of sorting everything out and coming back.”
It seemed that Clington was being treated as a punching bag lately.
Whether the media and the Association were intending to thoroughly break their spirit this time, or if they had another objective.
Either way, it was a situation that was not at all welcome to Ho-cheol.
With the dean not in his right condition, if Se-ah was also away for too long, Clington really could go under.
At those words, Se-ah's eyes widened as if in surprise, forgetting to be annoyed.
“……You do plan on coming back?”
“Of course.”
Ho-cheol answered immediately, as if asking something so obvious.
The contract, the sentence reduction based on the hero rank at graduation, and so on.
In truth, this was not a situation to be greatly concerned with those things now.
He just.
“I have to see my kids graduate.”
His sense of responsibility towards the students was a sufficient reason to return to the academy.
“Well, if they say they won't accept me, that would be a problem in its own way.”
“I see……”
At those words, Se-ah, who had been deep in thought for a moment, grinned.
She got off the bed.
“If you're doing that, I can't just play around saying it's comfortable.”
She confidently patted his shoulder with her palm.
“Don't you worry about Clington. I'll protect it properly. And if the academy doesn't accept you, that's fine too.”
As if in return for teasing her just now, she added mischievously.
“I'll make sure there's a spot for you as a janitor.”
***
The news that Se-ah had dramatically escaped from the villain's hideout and returned was only a small article in the corner of the morning paper.
Feeling sorry for her poor treatment, Ho-cheol continued his activities even more vigorously.
Today, too, he successfully destroyed several villain organizations and took their place.
A method of crushing the enemy with overwhelming force and compelling their obedience.
The speed at which his organization grew was unparalleled in modern and contemporary history.
An absurd speed.
And the areas he controlled quickly regained peace.
In fact, Ho-cheol could have cultivated peace in this way at any time since his release.
However, this method was illegal from start to finish.
To think that he could only achieve peace after throwing away his professorship, his contract, everything.
Wasn't it ironic?
Confirming that the situation below was more or less wrapped up, Ho-cheol let out a sigh.
The number of his subordinates had now increased considerably, and there was no need for him to step forward first.
It was a situation quite far from his disposition, but it couldn't be helped.
The boss was the face of the organization, and its dignity.
Frequently showing his face on site and moving personally would result in damaging that weight and dignity, so unless it was something important like this, it was essential to watch from a step behind for now.
Of course, he was waiting nearby to be able to move at any time in case of an unexpected situation, but at least for today, it seemed there would be no need for him to step forward first.
His gaze, which had been watching his subordinates leave, turned to the massive building behind him.
In the distance, the Sword Demon's hero office stood tall.
In the first place, this area was just outside the precarious boundary line that barely touched the Sword Demon's jurisdiction.
The villain crime rate in the Sword Demon's jurisdiction was extremely low, but as a result, this border area had more than double that of other cities.
Naturally, it was teeming with villains and organizations.
That meant there was a lot for Ho-cheol to devour.
Staring blankly at the Sword Demon's office, Ho-cheol thought of Da-yeon.
Even after seeing her in the newspaper for the first time, she occasionally appeared in the media.
Of course, it was more a case of her being incidentally filmed when the Sword Demon was being filmed rather than her proactively revealing herself, but in any case, the distance between her and the Sword Demon didn't feel significant in those videos and photos.
What kind of change of heart had she undergone?
Had she resolved everything, or was she still contemplating?
Either way, he just hoped she had undergone a positive change.
And just as he was about to turn back, Ho-cheol stopped in his tracks.
The rooftop door opened.
His subordinates wouldn't be crazy enough to come up, so it was probably some riffraff hero or a runaway villain.
It was natural to think so.
No matter how close, this place was clearly outside the Sword Demon's jurisdiction.
Ho-cheol had naturally not anticipated at all that the Sword Demon, who was strict about public and private matters, or his associates would come this far.
“Ah.”
“……Huh?”
However, the person who came through the door was an 'associate' that Ho-cheol had not considered at all.
Holding a bow and arrow, Da-yeon, who had opened the door with her shoulder, spotted Ho-cheol and froze in that posture.
“Pro, Professor?”
Ho-cheol wiped his face.
“Goddammit.”
It was the moment his plan to just knock out any villain or hero and leave the scene was ruined.