I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 154 : The Sword God (2)

The shock that the 'Blood Plaza' incident brought to civil society was enormous.

[Ma-in's Blade Reaches the Heart of Seoul!]

[Repeated Incompetence of the Execution Force....... Is This Acceptable?]

[Tears of Protesters! 'Can't Endure, Become Ma-in; Endure, Become Homeless']

[Contradiction of the Old System? People Placed in Blind Spots]

The media poured out sensational titles to stimulate citizens' anxiety, seizing the opportunity.

[Heroes Who Sacrificed Their Lives to Save Citizens! Funeral Held Before Tens of Thousands of Citizens.]

[Execution Force's Counterattack! Hundreds of Ma-in Arrested in Three Days]

[There Are Those Who Want Social Fractures Everywhere." Statement from the Execution Force Public Relations Office]

[EFAC Cadets Show Great Activity Again!]

[The Hero's Son, the Hero's Granddaughter, and Even a Lotus Blooming from the Mud....... A Golden Generation Is Coming]

Due to adult circumstances, my name along with Seo Jun-seong and Min Hae-na's were continuously appearing in the mass media.

With the news making a fuss all day long, contacts asking what happened were also pouring in without pause.

-Su-hyeon, are you really okay?

Or.

-How do incidents happen wherever you go?

Or.

-My, whoever made that sword, the performance was quite impressive.

Kim A-yun, Kwon Seung-yeon, Lim Eun-seo, as well as guys like Hong In-hyeon and Nam Tae-hoon were also sending messages.

'Nam Tae-hoon.'

He would definitely be working hard within the "organization" during the vacation.

Seems like he has time to check his phone in the midst of all that.

"Hey, are you some kind of idol?"

Park Min-cheol, who was sipping coffee while watching the news, said.

"Your face doesn't even appear, so what's the point?"

"It would be a big problem if a future Execution Force member's face was exposed this early."

"That's true too."

"By the way, the atmosphere these days is really intense. Even supply procurement isn't going well. Everywhere I go, people are making a fuss about labor shortages."

"At times like this, it's better to focus steadily on the solid routes instead of thinking about expanding recklessly. Since uncertainty is high."

"Sometimes you sound like my consultant."

Park Min-cheol smiled.

"Well, in a way, you are a consultant, right?"

"Then why don't you pay me?"

"I'm already giving you a huge commission."

That's true.

I was absorbed in thought while savoring the aroma of coffee beans personally selected and sent by Director Kim.

'Anyway, it's impossible to catch Sword of Belphegor.'

Even when two of their branches were raided previously, it was only because they deliberately leaked information to throw out bait.

'That bastard Hwang Won-jae is the problem.'

How does he hide so well in this tiny land, not like it's America or Brazil?

'But there's still time.'

Peace isn't immediately shattered and society isn't collapsing right now.

However, public safety will gradually deteriorate, and Ma-in activities will increase.

'Events will also increase.'

I need to diligently collect points and become stronger.

'If the protesters had been massacred, the atmosphere wouldn't be like this.'

There would have been a nationwide treatment as traitors with an ominous atmosphere, and amid that gap, disasters would continue to occur, leading social chaos to its peak.

'He tries to achieve more than one purpose with a single operation. Even if he fails, he gains minimal results. Hwang Won-jae, what a troublesome guy.'

I'll have to continue to clash with him and break the scenario in the future, but the problem was that my range of movement was too narrow from the position of a mere cadet.

'There's a reason it's called a ruined game.'

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"......Hmm. Is that so?"

[Yes, Father.]

"I see. I'll be able to know for sure when I meet him in person."

Sword God Lee Un-hak.

He nodded as he compared the evaluation of Su-hyeon given by his proud youngest son with that of his disobedient disciple Lee Ho-seung.

"So, you can come down briefly tomorrow?"

[Yes. I've already handled all the urgent matters, so I should see my nieces and nephews too.]

"Well done. Let's all gather and have a meal together."

[Good.]

"And by the way......"

[Yes. I should see if he gets along well with Yu-jin too.]

"Although Yu-jin is precious to me."

Despite being a promising talent with excellent sword and martial arts.

The two had no intention of easily acknowledging Su-hyeon.

"Alright, I'll contact you again."

The Sword God, who had hung up the phone, turned his gaze to the garden while savoring the scent of green tea.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Even when he watched Su-hyeon on TV with Lee Yu-jin.

He hadn't thought that Su-hyeon would be able to endure so well against the 'Little Evil Demon'.

'Strange. Really strange. That child is different from anyone I've seen so far.'

He had wielded a sword all his life.

All his life, he had met remarkable talents.

But to his eyes, Su-hyeon had something that was difficult to explain simply as outstanding qualities or genius.

'What exactly that is, I'll know when I meet him in person.'

"He should arrive in about an hour."

The Sword God smiled as he heard the voices of his grandchildren bustling about, saying they were preparing to go to the station to meet him.

'Ma-in bastards, things won't go as you wish.'

How much blood had to be spilled to achieve the peace of this era?

Besides the goal of reaching the realm of the sword, he had many things to protect.

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"Sigh."

Seo Jun-seong had been sighing deeply whenever he had a spare moment for the past few days.

'To think that Jeong Su-hyeon is visiting Yu-jin's family home.'

"Are you going to keep sighing in front of people?"

"I guess so. Sorry."

"You're just frustrated, you dummy."

Min Hae-na clicked her tongue.

"Aren't you bothered at all, noona?"

"About what?"

"Jeong Su-hyeon is going to see Yu-jin. Because he was invited by Yu-jin."

"By that logic, Su-hyeon has had several private meetings with our grandfather."

"No."

Although that was true.

"Besides, I even publicly declared in front of my grandfather that Su-hyeon is my ideal type."

"That was really surprising at the time."

"Yeah. Sometimes it's necessary to push forward honestly."

Min Hae-na smiled brightly.

"If you're really concerned, just ask him directly."

"......Okay."

Seo Jun-seong, who mustered his courage to contact, quickly became dejected upon receiving Lee Yu-jin's reply saying she was currently going to pick up Su-hyeon.

"Seems like they're meeting today."

"Oh dear."

Min Hae-na sighed.

"By the way, when did you start liking Yu-jin?"

"......Until the beginning of the semester, I was just interested."

"And then?"

"Well. It's hard to answer exactly when you ask."

"Well, human feelings are all like that."

Min Hae-na sighed deeply at the sight of her brother with a long face.

"Then I could say I want to go there once too later."

"Wouldn't she ask 'Why?' if you did that?"

"Hmm~."

Min Hae-na folded her arms and tilted her head from side to side.

"That's true."

"I told you."

"Love is difficult."

"Is this the time to talk about others?"

"Right. You're going through a lot, Jun-seong."

"You too, noona."

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Clunk clunk.

After getting off the train pulling my carrier, I trudged toward the escalator.

'Yu-jin said she'd wait near the ticket booth.'

I would have preferred to come by motorcycle.

Unfortunately, I still didn't have an official license.

'I should get my license during the vacation.'

When saving Park Min-cheol or getting the adamant, I moved during times with few people, so it wasn't a problem.

But it didn't feel right to go to the Sword God's residence without a license.

"Su-hyeon!"

Lee Yu-jin waved happily from afar.

"Over here!"

Lee Yu-jin, dressed in neat and fresh clothes, gave a quite different impression than when seen in the academy.

'Has her fashion style changed a bit?'

"Did you wait long?"

"No. I just got here too."

"That's good then."

I handed Yu-jin a bag of bread.

"I bought it on the way. It's delicious with coffee."

"Did you buy it for me?"

Yu-jin's eyes widened.

"Of course."

"Thank you."

Yu-jin smiled brightly and took the bag.

"I was nicknamed 'Bread Girl' when I was young."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Just as Yu-jin was about to say something, smacking her lips.

"Ah! It's Su-hyeon-oppa!"

"It's Su-hyeon-hyung!"

Children about elementary school age rushed out of the bathroom in a group.

"Kids, you shouldn't make noise in public places."

"There's no one else here anyway!"

"Tsk."

Yu-jin, who subdued the children by narrowing her eyes sternly, said.

"These are my cousins."

"Hello!"

The well-mannered children, who bowed deeply at the waist, circled around me with sparkling eyes.

"Oppa is really handsome!"

"Hyung, is this all muscle?"

"Wow. Look at his forearm."

"I want to hang on him!"

"Me too!"

In the blink of an eye, one child each clung to both my hands and legs.

"Are you coming to greet Grandfather?"

"That's amazing!"

"I know! They say you should visit your girlfriend's parents before getting permission to marry!"

"Wow! So they're getting married?"

"No!"

Yu-jin shouted loudly.

"I'm sorry, Su-hyeon. The kids are all very sociable."

"It's okay."

"We're a big family, so we all grew up like friends. Because of that......"

"The shoulder is empty!"

A child about 5 years old quickly climbed onto my shoulder for a piggyback ride and grabbed my hair like reins.

"So high!"

How could I tell the child to come down when they were so delighted?

"......Because of that, they're quite familiar."

"It's fine. It's nice to see."

Seeing that I showed no sign of discomfort with the siblings, Yu-jin smiled happily.

"Shall we go then?"

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Since they arrived exactly at lunchtime, Su-hyeon had to sit down for a meal with the extended family as soon as he unpacked.

More precisely, he sat next to Lee Yu-jin, facing the elders of the family.

"......"

Su-hyeon broke out in a cold sweat in the awkward atmosphere where even food was hard to swallow.

It looked almost exactly like bringing a son-in-law home for the first introduction.

"My, he eats so well."

"Look at how he doesn't have an ounce of fat despite eating like that. It shows how diligently he trains regularly......"

"Hmm. His chopstick skills are precise and elegant."

"Oh come on. Who judges people by their chopstick skills these days?"

"Ahem. No matter how times change, we can't completely ignore such things......"

It was practically the same as the elders' gaze evaluating a prospective son-in-law.

"By the way, our Yu-jin has grown up. Already bringing home a potential son-in-law."

"It's not like that, I'm telling you!"

Yu-jin's fair forehead was about to be furrowed from explaining for the tenth time today.

"AHEM!"

The Sword God, seemingly displeased with the atmosphere, cleared his throat loudly and asked Su-hyeon.

"So, Su-hyeon."

"Yes."

"Do you have some time this afternoon?"

"I do."

"Then come see me for a moment."

Curiosity, wonder, anticipation, slight displeasure.

Su-hyeon bowed his head toward the Sword God, who concealed all those emotions beneath a kind yet dignified old man's face.

"I understand."

After finishing their meal, Su-hyeon and Yu-jin deliberately ignored the surrounding gazes and took a walk around the residence together.

"I'm sorry, Su-hyeon. Everyone is being mischievous......"

Yu-jin, who had not been unaware of this atmosphere, glanced at Su-hyeon with a fluttering heart, carrying both embarrassment and a slight sense of satisfaction.

"Did you like the food?"

"Of course. It was delicious."

"That's good then."

"There was plenty of protein too."

"I see."

The sound of cicadas.

The mountains and fields showing the intense colors unique to summer.

The faint sound of children's laughter from afar.

Under that pastoral and peaceful, familiar scenery.

This moment of walking shoulder to shoulder with Su-hyeon felt as sweet as cotton candy to Yu-jin.

"About the private meeting later, don't worry too much. Grandfather is a kind person."

Su-hyeon, swallowing the words 'That's probably only toward you,' nodded.

"I see."

"Yes. And he has high expectations for Su-hyeon's sword talent."

"How about you? Are you receiving guidance from the Sword God these days?"

"He gives me lessons whenever he has time. Especially the day before yesterday......"

Su-hyeon laughed softly as he looked at Yu-jin chattering with a slightly excited mood.

"Why, Su-hyeon?"

"Just. You seem a bit different from usual."

"Is, is it strange?"

Su-hyeon shook his head at Yu-jin, who was touching her own cheeks.

"No. It looks nice."

Whoosh!

Yu-jin, whose face heated up, hastily turned her head.

"?"

"Ti-time has already passed this much!"

Yu-jin, who frantically fanned her cheeks, spoke with her back turned to Su-hyeon.

"Sh-shall we head back?"

"......Sure, why not."

Su-hyeon nodded, feeling puzzled.

'That Su-hyeon. Suddenly saying such things.......'

Lee Yu-jin, 17 years old.

She was at an age where she would attribute meaning to everything and feel embarrassed all by herself.