I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor

Chapter 19

As a rule, Admissions Inspectors never move alone.

‘Because they have too many enemies.’

This wasn't a story limited to just instructors from the Central Special Mission Military Academy.

Regardless of the military academy, what is an instructor?

Ultimately, they are Superhumans and important assets prioritized for deployment in wars or disturbances.

Furthermore, they are easier to approach than Special Mission Officers currently deployed on the battlefield, and at the same time, they are the ones who nurture and educate the cadets who will serve in the military in the future.

This meant that even without the Empire, there were more than enough factions, organizations, and even individuals who would target an instructor.

“Well, of course, it's to protect you from the bad guys who might be targeting you, Instructor!”

……In the end, Major Obia.

What she said wasn't complete nonsense.

It was true that the Military Police from each military academy moved together for the instructors' safety.

However, the problem was that it was inappropriate for her, the battalion commander of the academy's Military Police, to make a move.

Jin Crow silently watched Obia, who was grinning incessantly and hovering in front of him, before sending a silent gaze to the two Military Police officers standing behind her.

‘Didn't you stop her?’

‘……Would she listen even if we did?’

No conversation was exchanged, but for some reason.

They understood each other.

Tsssk-.

In the end, instead of dealing with Obia any longer, Jin Crow had no choice but to take a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

[Commencing internal air purification.]

At that, the AI inside the cabin murmured softly, and after a short mechanical sound, the noise of vibrating and circulating air replaced the momentary silence.

Was it because he was showing his annoyance?

Or had she simply lost interest?

“Alright, alright. You want me to leave, right? But I'll be back later, so stay on your toes!”

Obia Timist blinked her characteristic red eyes at the indifferent-looking Jin Crow, who had a cigarette in his mouth, gave a bashful smile, and left the cabin without giving him a chance to reply.

……It felt like a storm had just passed.

But thanks to that, he had gained some time to gather his thoughts, so he inwardly relaxed and sank into the sofa.

‘The more I see her, the harder it is to get used to her.’

Obia Timist.

A Major in the Military Police and a Quad Gear-class Special Mission Officer.

On the outside, she seems endlessly lighthearted and airheaded, but the reality was completely different.

‘A sociopath? No, it's different.’

It was complicated to explain, but to put it very simply, she was a woman who moved based on 'interest'.

‘She likely noticed something during my last meeting with Idealle, too.’

Since Idealle, a Penta Gear Special Mission Officer, didn't sense it, she probably couldn't have eavesdropped openly, but her playful escape back then was clearly a ploy to gloss over the situation.

He himself had been flustered at the time and let it slide, but in any case, it was certain that she was a dangerous woman.

It was clear that she was accompanying him on this mission because something had piqued her personal interest.

‘Is it me?’

No matter how he thought about it, the most likely candidate was Jin Crow himself.

……It wasn't strange.

He had tried his best to imitate Jin Crow's personality to avoid raising suspicion, but hadn't he caused quite a lot of trouble in a short time?

‘For now, let's just be wary. Just wary.’

There was a point that made him hesitant to be openly hostile.

She was neither a villain nor a hero.

As someone who moves purely on 'interest', if he could somehow get on her good side, she could become a very good ally.

‘Yes, if I can handle it right.’

He felt like his head had just gotten needlessly more complicated.

In the end, he got up and took a can of beer from the simple minibar set up on one side of the cabin.

Tssssk-.

After opening the beer can, he turned on his watch and checked the contact information Rosen had sent him before, but as expected, there were no new messages.

“Hoo.”

It would have been nice if there was something clear.

No, maybe it would have been much easier if I had been possessed as the protagonist, Baek Hwi-young.

In the end, all that was left was grumbling.

It was around the time he was finishing the can of beer.

[Entering Hyperspace shortly. All crew members on board, please remain in your positions.]

The captain's voice, full of experience yet somehow carrying a profound power, flowed from the speaker.

Following that, a blast shield lowered over the window that had been showing the vast expanse of space just moments before, and soon, a short but powerful impact violently shook the ship.

Ruuuumble!

If one didn't know what a 'Hyperspace Jump' was, the brief but intense vibration and noise were enough to make one think the ship was under attack.

‘So this is a Hyperspace Jump.’

How was humanity able to establish a galactic-scale nation?

The answer is the 「Hyperspace Jump」.

He couldn't remember the detailed principles or structure because it was so complicated, but it could be simply thought of as a 'highway in space'.

‘However, it’s dangerous in many ways.’

There's a reason they go out of their way to lower the blast shields.

It's less severe for Superhumans like Special Mission Officers, but the matter in Hyperspace has adverse effects on both humans and androids.

It was so bad that there was even a national holiday commemorating the pioneers who wandered through Hyperspace searching for paths in the much harsher past.

“They said it would take three days to get to Atla Colony, right?”

He mulled over the words of the crew member who had briefed him before departure, his gaze fixed on the ashtray that had somehow turned into a small cactus of cigarette butts.

It might seem like a long time at first glance, but it only takes three days to go from the galactic center to the outer regions.

They say this speed is possible by crossing through military-managed Hyperspace routes multiple times, and it gives one a sense of just how fast that is.

“Hoo.”

Once they entered Hyperspace, it was comfortable except for the occasional rattling noise and vibrations.

He also liked the unexpected silence.

In the first place, being a Special Mission Officer from the Military Police, not just a regular officer, meant she received treatment on par with his own.

And yet, instead of staying in her own cabin, she had gone out of her way to follow him to his and bother him.

‘I’m tired.’

Since it was a suddenly decided external schedule, he had entrusted the lecture to Assistant Instructor Ginatio, but organizing and handing over the materials overnight had been entirely his responsibility.

Thanks to that, Jin Crow had to feel the fatigue he was already experiencing twofold.

“……”

Tap, tap.

As he blankly tapped the leather of the sofa, his eyelids slowly grew heavy.

He inwardly wondered, ‘Is it okay to sleep?’, but what could possibly happen on a military transport ship?

Furthermore, the thought that if he didn't get some sleep now, a bored Obia might come to bother him again, made him close his eyes without further hesitation.

‘Just for an hour.’

It was a wish born from the unconscious thought that Obia wouldn't leave him alone for long.

However, his hopes were dashed.

“I-Instructor! Instructor!”

Someone's urgent shout reached the ears of Jin Crow, who had been in a deep sleep for the first time in a long while.

“……”

Opening his eyes with a deep sense of drowsiness, he saw a familiar face under the flickering lights.

The first emotion he felt was irritation.

He hadn't been sleeping well lately as it was, and he felt resentful that his first deep sleep in a long time had been interrupted.

“We're in big trouble!”

However, that complaint quickly vanished at the Military Police officer's next words.

Under the constantly flickering lights, the ashen face of the Military Police officer came into view.

Furthermore, seeing the not-so-light injuries on his body, Jin Crow immediately grabbed the special mission weapon, a longsword, that he had placed beside him.

“What's wrong?”

“Th-that is.”

Was he reaching his limit?

The nameless Military Police officer swayed but struggled to keep his balance, speaking with a face full of distress.

“……It's an attack. The enemy has already boarded the ship……”

And the last thing the Military Police officer saw before he lost consciousness was.

“I-Instructor?”

Without a word of reply, his broad back as he headed straight out of the cabin.

***

The Hyperspace Jump expanded humanity's sphere of activity across the galaxy, but it also brought with it countless dangers.

Hyperspace is a place filled with the unknown.

Opinions among scholars were still divided as to whether it was a stable space, a mere crack between dimensions, or something else entirely without substance.

……But one thing was certain.

For humanity, Hyperspace was an indispensable transport route and passage, and at the same time, a strategic resource.

“Kuaaargh!”

“Hold on!”

RUUUUUMBLE!

A heavy vibration rattled the red-painted assault ship.

Was it because they were using an old-model Hyperspace module?

Or was it because the assault ship's mother AI was also severely aged?

[Hyperspace Jump complete. Fusion reactor number 3 is overheating. Isolating the corresponding sector.]

It seemed to be both.

One of the dozens of soldiers in red uniforms standing in the hangar muttered.

“The Krieg... this old girl will have to be retired after this operation.”

“Retirement from the battlefield is an honor for a ship, Sergeant.”

“I know. It's just a shame. Wasn't she something of a lucky charm?”

The Sergeant replied to the young Lieutenant Colonel standing at the front, scratching his left eye, which had melted down to the bone and been replaced with artificial skin, a skeleton, and an eyeball.

The Lieutenant Colonel responded to him with a faint smile.

“That must be why the Grand Marshal gave us this ship. To tell us to come back alive.”

There was no reply, but their bond was not so weak that they couldn't understand it was a silent affirmation.

Rumble…….

The hangar's windows were all covered by blast shields, so they couldn't see beyond into Hyperspace.

“Even if we die, it is not a defeat. It is merely a cornerstone for victory.”

That murmur, which at a glance seemed tinged with madness, echoed in the ears of the red soldiers standing in the hangar.

This is revenge, and the proper price of blood.

Whenever their hearts wavered even slightly, they recalled the insults and sense of betrayal they had received from the United Human Star Nation, a feeling passed down from their parents' generation.

“……”

The silence continued.

As one, they all swallowed their surging anger and silently maintained the weapons in their hands.

How much time had passed like that?

[Maximum output. Commencing assault. Brace for impact. Good luck.]

A voice filled with grim determination echoed from the speaker connected to the hangar.

And then, as if by agreement, all the soldiers in red uniforms pressed the black gas masks they held in their hands to their faces and muttered.

“Hell to the hypocrites.”

KWAAAAAAAAAANG!

Following that, with an explosion, the assault ship rammed straight into the rear hangar of the United Human Star Nation's armored transport that had been moving swiftly through Hyperspace.

Shhhhhhh-.

The sound of deep breaths being drawn through the filters of the gas masks echoed, and soon, the Lieutenant Colonel at the front gave a low command.

“All hands, assault.”