Chapter 109: The Academy's Spring Day (3)
-The era of low birthrate and aging society. Isn’t getting married and having children the ‘patriotic’ act that will brighten the future of this country? Haha.
I didn’t particularly like this group, but it was the chairman of ‘Haegnul’ who said this.
-By getting married, having children, living a happy life, and fulfilling the task of enriching the country and the military, we pass on our nation…uh, an economically powerful nation, to our descendants. I think this is the true patriotic action we can take.
The chairman of Haegnul spoke. Marriage and childbirth, he said, were acts of patriotism.
-Stop talking nonsense! You’re only concerned about increasing consumer numbers!
-Absolutely not. If my intention were that vulgar, would I still be this patriotic?
-What…did you…say?
-After my wife passed away, I welcomed a new wife in order to become a patriot. Let me introduce you. She’s a grade-A ability user and just became of age this year, my wife…
-No, this is crazy!
The chairman of Haegnul first proved his dedication and effort towards the nation through patriotism.
Of course, there was some controversy about whether it was true love to accept a woman just turning 20 as a wife for the sake of patriotism.
-Hey. Do you feel sorry for the chairman of Haegnul or the grade A ability user?
-Shouldn’t you feel sorry for the chairman of Haegnul? He’s the chairman of our country’s top company, right?
-You should feel sorry for the grade A ability user. Why would she marry such an old man? If I were her, I would marry his son or grandson.
In the midst of debates and jokes about who was pitiable, people began to get enthusiastic about patriotism one by one.
-Let’s give birth to ability users and be patriotic!
-What if they’re not ability users?
-…Hey! Don’t say things like that carelessly! Do you buy lottery tickets thinking you’ll lose? You buy them because you think you’ll win!
People turned their heads away from the dark side of the patriotic fervor, and as the light grew stronger, so did the shadow.
-Everyone! Please congratulate me! The first child of the chairman of Haegnul has been identified as an ability user! The estimated power level is…a whopping C grade!
-The chairman of Haegnul should awaken! Call the women and get them pregnant…uh, oops!!
-Well, there was a bit of a commotion. Anyway, it’s a national celebration! In commemoration of the birth of the superpower, Haegnul is offering a whopping 47% discount on Space Notebooks…
The media had never turned their camera lenses to the lowest part of society.
They only highlighted the bright side.
In my life as a villain, having seen the darker side of society, I couldn’t casually mention the word’ patriotism.’ But, if that patriotism could bring the golden sun that could light up even that darkness, I would do it for my own sake, for our cause.
“Already here?”
“Of course.”
As soon as I returned home, Yumir was waiting for me, pressing a mask onto her face and a hat onto her head in front of the teachers’ dormitory.
Her clothes were a Babaricoat, conspicuously covering her skin. I didn’t know where she got such clothes, but I could roughly guess what she was wearing underneath.
“What were you doing today?”
“A girl’s house.”
“Wow, who did you meet?”
“A girl I know. Do you want to go inside?”
“Yes.”
Yes, she said. Seeing her confidence to walk in even while blatantly being caught in a lie was impressive.
It was utterly bewildering, but I decided to adapt again, thinking that this was the assertiveness of a woman from a Western culture.
There was nothing awkward. It may have been a huge shock before, but Yumir was on the mild side.
“Dinner?”
“Did you eat?”
“There’s nothing to cook inside.”
“Then let’s order. We’re that kind of people.”
“That’s different, isn’t it? You’re not Korean.”
I briefly searched for a delivery app on my smartphone and pressed it.
“If I acquire citizenship through marriage, I am Korean, and if I have the status of a Sejong Academy graduate, I get a free pass in the citizenship examination, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I opened the door to welcome Yumir. Yumir entered the room jittery, clutching her coat after taking off only her shoes, and I locked the door.
“So, why did you come today?”
“Exercise!”
“Do exercise in the dorm or the training room. Why do you want to do it here?”
“I can’t do it elsewhere because I’m conscious of the eyes.”
“Is it okay here?”
“Yes!”
Yumir took off her Babaricoat. As expected, her clothes were a black tank top and white leggings, just as she had sent me in the picture.
“So, are you going to exercise like this?”
“Do you think it’s not appropriate for home training? And it’s suitable for what I’m about to do.”
Using the TV and set-top box on the wall, Yumir opened the VTube channel, played a yoga video that seemed to be prepared in advance, and started to follow along.
“Huh.”
“Why do you do yoga as an ability user?”
“Even as an ability user, you need to develop stamina and flexibility, don’t you?”
“…….”
I agreed. I had checked several times through the system, but things like strength or endurance tended to grow more slowly.
“Do you hate exercise, teacher?”
“I don’t hate it. But I don’t make a point to build up my body.”
“Really? Can I touch you once?”
“Where.”
She used to touch me brazenly even when I was the Goblin, and now she wanted to touch me even when I was Do Ji-hwan.
“Are you a pervert?”
“Isn’t it okay to do it to you, teacher?”
“What nonsense.”
“When I joined the community, everyone was saying that.”
“What?”
“They say since it’s a matter of patriotism, we should hurry up and be patriotic.”
“…….”
I thought about kicking Yumir’s leg, which was stretched long upwards, but it was clear that I would be subdued right away if I did, so I decided to refrain.
“Teacher, ta-da. The trend has passed, but it’s an I-Challenge. How about it? Flexible, isn’t it?”
“Fold your leg.”
“Why? Can you do this, teacher?”
“Why should a man do that?”
“I wanted to see it once. You seemed to be quite flexible, teacher.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I thought you could even do things like this.”
Yumir manipulated the remote control to play another video. With both legs on the floor, she turned her back on me.
“Dodjirider, Spin Kick.”
Then she played the video ‘Snow White vs. Goblin’ officially released by the Hero Association and stretched out three fingers to the side.
“Three, two, one.”
Folding one finger at a time, Yumir drew a crescent moon with a spinning kick.
“Ta-da!”
A perfect landing.
Seeing her perfectly imitate the Patriot Side Cutter, I was once again reminded not to recklessly use my techniques.
‘Look at her. She immediately makes it her own.’
Show her a technique, and she immediately made it hers.
Moreover, with a slight variation, it seemed like she could even double-strike or slash down.
‘She’s not just stealing the devil’s techniques. She inherently has a natural talent in handling supernatural abilities.’
Not only were her physical abilities outstanding, but with the added aid of mana, she was truly a perfect ability user.
I was slightly worried she might even launch the Golden Priestess Cutter later, claiming to purify the devil.
“That’s amazing. Cool. Excellent. I can’t even follow along.”
“Ah, what are you talking about? How cool…you were.”
“Does it make sense to make someone with a hurt arm do such a thing?”
“I can move my legs, can’t I?”
“Enough.”
I went outside in response to the alarm from my Taegeuk Watch.
Yumir tilted her head for a moment, but as soon as she realized I was approaching the entrance, she immediately hid behind the wall.
“Delivery.”
“Thank you….”
Outside the entrance door was a delivery rider…
“Excuse me?”
“Yes?”
“That suit… what is it?”
“Oh, this. We’re having an event. The most hot and spicy rice cakes, Shinjeon Rider.”
Outside, a man in a suit wearing a helmet similar to Dodjirider was holding a plastic bag.
“Well, you’ve worked hard. Be careful.”
“Yes. Enjoy your meal.”
The Shinjeon Rider left.
I closed the front door again and put the plastic bag on the kitchen table.
“I ordered tteokbokki.”
“…Why specifically tteokbokki?”
“You like this.”
“…….”
Yumir gave me a scornful look.
That gaze seemed to be questioning, ‘How did you know I like tteokbokki? Have you been investigating me?’
“Why specifically tteokbokki? You didn’t even ask.”
“Because I like it.”
“You could at least ask my opinion. Do you think I’m a woman who can solve everything with tteokbokki?”
“Yes.”
“…Tch.”
After stopping the video, Yumir headed towards the kitchen.
“I’ll get the plates… Oh, you have these too?”
“Of course. Can you bring some spoons from there?”
As she brought out jade-colored bowls typical of snack bars, Yumir chuckled and scanned the table.
“It’s delivery, but it feels like we’re really at a snack bar.”
“Shall we go to a snack bar next time?”
“It would be nice, but I can’t go because I’m worried that someone might cause trouble when I go to eat with you.”
“…….”
Actually, that was the case.
When I went to a restaurant to eat with Yumir, Lilith attacked. When I met with Yoon Iseon at a restaurant, Patent Infringement Rider appeared and caused a fuss.
Since then, I haven’t gone to a restaurant.
Fearing that an accident might happen again, I had been sticking to homemade meals and packed lunches.
Or eating gukbap at Brewer’s house.
“The rice cakes… hey, did you investigate me?”
“No.”
“Then why are all these large rice cakes and every single fried dish to my taste?”
“Isn’t it a coincidence?”
In the original work, the heroines always went out to eat tteokbokki, and as a reader, how could I not know?
Of course, I knew her preference for fried food, whether she liked rice cakes or wheat cakes, what size of rice cakes she preferred, and even whether she liked the soup to be thin or thick.
“Tteokbokki….”
Looking at the red sauce smeared next to the white rice cakes, Yumir smiled at me with her eyes narrowed.
“Initially, it had to be tteokbokki, right…?”
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