Chapter 19
I went to school the day after I met Kim Jin-Seo. There were no classes because the school had shut down. However, it was still possible to use the facilities available at Florence Academy, so I was thinking of going to the gym.
The school recommended not going out, but I didn’t want to stay alone in my empty room with nothing to do. Today, I planned on doing some chest workouts with bench presses, but there was some guy who looked as if he was built like a monster on the bench. As a result, I decided to just work on my back instead.
“Phew.”
40 kg, 10 reps, and 5 sets. I was working out my back hard by doing a standard lat pulldown and then briefly took a breath. It was harder than usual since it had been a while since I’d done this exercise.
While I was taking a break, I looked around the surrounding area. Considering the school had shut down, there were quite a lot of people on campus. They were all students who wanted to become paladins and crusaders.
Among them was Jin-Seo. She was doing a cardio workout on the treadmill. It looked like she had recovered pretty well. Her face looked better than usual.
“What the... Did you get discharged? When?”
While I was looking at her like that, someone spoke to me. It was Koo Jun-Hyuk.
“Yesterday.”
“You should have told me if you got discharged, dude. Did you know that I went to see you at the hospital?”
“Ah. That’s right. I heard it from my uncle. Thanks.”
“So you knew, but you still didn’t contact me? You’re so cruel.”
“I was really busy yesterday. There were lots of things to take care of.”
There was the deal with Bae Jung-Hwan and the incident with Kim Jin-Seo. I was so tired that I went straight to bed when I got home. It was such a busy day that there was no time to contact anybody. Furthermore, there was no particular reason to contact Koo Jun-Hyuk anyway.
“Is it okay to start exercising right after being discharged from the hospital.... Huh? Look at this guy.”
Koo Jun-Hyuk suddenly made a surprised expression.
“Do you like Jin-Seo?”
“What are you saying out of the blue?”
He was talking nonsense.
“Wait, you were looking at Jin-Seo, weren’t you?”
“I just caught a glimpse of her. So what about it?”
“So you did look at her. You like her, right? Right? Do you like her?”
“No. I was just curious about how she recovered so quickly. You know she was also hurt badly.”
I didn’t feel the need to explain that I met Jin-Seo yesterday, so I just made up something. Jun-Hyuk looked at Jin-Seo, who was running hard, and nodded quietly.
“...You’re right. How did she recover so quickly?”
“What?”
“Does she have good recuperative powers? Hmm.”
Koo Jun-Hyuk pretended to be in agony with his arms crossed, then smiled.
“She must have been treated at a good hospital. She is loaded with money, after all.”
“Yes, that’s what I thought.”
“Anyway, keep exercising hard. I’m going to go cause there’s a crazy guy over here.”
Koo Jun-Hyuk roughly wiped off his sweat with a towel and left the gym. His steps were rushed. Before my flow could get disturbed, I resumed my workout. I didn’t have a moment to think about the crazy guy that Koo Jun-Hyuk mentioned. I completed more lat pulldowns, pull-ups, and seated rows. By the time my back muscles were no longer functioning, I had moved on to bicep curls.
“RIGHT WAY! WHOO-!”
While focusing on lifting the barbell, I heard a strange sound from the bench. It was a voice too wild to belong to a human. It was safe to say that it was the cry of a beast. Perfect arms, legs, chest, and back—a giant man with an impeccable body was doing a bench press. Five 20 kg discs were on each side of the barbell. The giant guy was lifting a total weight of 220 kgs with ease.
[Is that a human? It looks more like a bear that turned into a human.]
Even Legba, who had experienced all of life’s ups and downs, was surprised.
“COME ON! RIGHT WAY. EASY WAY! WHOOOO-!!”
He was simply a madman. I ignored the madman's shouts while listening to a song in my earphones. Nevertheless, his shouts occasionally pierced through my earphones and entered my ears. His voice was so ridiculously loud that it was difficult to believe.
The madman spoke to me when I was about to do my last set. “Stop. You’re gonna get hurt!”
His huge voice pierced through my earphones with ease. "Fix your elbows! If you don't, your joints will get destroyed."
My elbow had been under significant pain, so I corrected my posture like he told me to. Then, the elbow pain magically disappeared, and I felt the stimulation concentrated on my biceps.
"Great, Sun-Woo!"
“What! How do you know my name—”
"It's great to see you working hard on your training even after the incident!" On the chest of his gym clothes, there was a name tag that read Kang Dae-Man. It was a familiar name.
Of the seven freshmen representatives, he was the student who had been given the Holy Name of Diligence. During the freshman evaluations, he was also the only student not listed in the top ranks among the freshmen representatives.
After saying that, Kang Dae-Man went to do his own exercise.
“RIGHT WAY-! WHOO-!”
His intense shouting echoed throughout the gym.
"Is that guy crazy?"
[I think it’s safe to say that he is.]
Even when I concluded my exercise routine and left the gym, Dae-Man still continued his workout. He didn't seem tired at all.
***
One week later—
The school closure period that appeared to stretch on forever eventually ended.
My routine was always the same during that time. I exercised, practiced drawing blessing arrays and healing arrays, and practiced Voodoo magic from time to time. Uncle Lee Jin-Sung delivered some good news. It looked like he could find the Altar soon. Finally, on my way to school, the sky was clear today and my steps were light.
This was my first enjoyable commute to school.
[There will be an award ceremony at the morning mass. Do Sun-Woo, don't be late and come early because you’re getting an award.]
It was thanks to a text message from Teacher Ha Ye-Jin that I received last night. The award was included in the academic achievement record, which greatly helped in becoming a prelate. I was one step closer to my goal.
Before long, I arrived at the auditorium. As I was dozing off in the waiting seat for the award, the mass began.
"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—"
"It's my fault, it's my fault, it's my great fault—"
The priests came out to conduct the ceremony. Mass proceeded quickly in accordance with the procedure. I spent most of that time dozing off. I had no reason to listen to mass in the first place because I was not a Romanican believer.
It was not long before the mass was over. The priest came down from the podium, and a teacher holding a microphone climbed onto the podium.
"Ah, ah. Thank you for your hard work. Moving forward, there will be a brief announcement and an award commendation ceremony."
It was the beginning.
"First of all, please do not spread groundless misinformation about last week's demonic beast incident. There's a crazy rumor going around that a Satanist has infiltrated Florence Academy. The teachers and school’s paladins are investigating, so please refrain from discussing this topic as much as possible until the truth is revealed."
Before the ceremony, the teacher made an announcement.
It was a foregone conclusion that the Satanists infiltrated F.A. Nevertheless, there was a reason why teachers strongly denied it. This was because if rumors spread that Satanists infiltrated F.A., a prestigious private clergy academy, Florence's reputation could be tarnished. The intention was obvious.
"Next, there will be an award ceremony. Kim Jin-Seo, from the Class of Patience, and Do Sun-Woo, from the Class of Charity, please come to the front of the stage."
Jin-Seo jumped out of her seat and steadily walked up to the podium. I followed suit. A bright light shone on us as we climbed onto the platform.
"First-year Class of Patience, Kim Jin-Seo. The above student is recognized for her contribution in overcoming the disastrous situation by exercising her wit and improving the honor of the Florence Academy by promoting safe evacuation. Presented by Kim Chang Won, chairman of the Florence Academy."
Kim Jin-Seo bowed and received the award. Under the podium, students applauded like thunder.
"Next, first-year Class of Charity, Do Sun-Woo. Here's the same thing."
I also bowed and received the award. The students applauded, but the sound was significantly lower than when Kim Jin-Seo received the citation. I understood how they felt, but this was a little too much discrimination.
"Well, greet the audience."
In keeping with the announcer's words, we turned to the students and bowed. As expected, applause erupted, but the applause belonged to Jin-Seo. There was no applause for me.
It didn't feel very pleasant, but I didn't mind. The fact that I received the award itself was important to me. Getting closer to the goal of becoming a prelate was enough to rejoice. With the end of the award ceremony, the mass also concluded. I walked to the classroom with my award in hand.
The sky was a little gloomy. I didn't know if it was just because of my mood.
"Um, hey!"
While feeling depressed for no reason, a clear and clean voice came from behind. I turned my head around and found Kim Jin-Seo. Her black, medium to short-length hair was a little messy. Judging from her rough breathing, she seemed to have run here.
“Ah. You, has your finger recover—”
“This.”
Even before I could finish my sentence, Jin-Seo suddenly offered something.
It was jelly.
I heard that this kind of jelly was popular among students these days, but I’d never tried it. It was also my first time seeing it in person.
"I just wanted to thank you. I don't think I said it back then. ...Ah, and my finger is fine now—"
"Yeah. ...Huh? Oh. You mean your finger is all better now, right? Is there a scar?”
"Oh, a scar...There’s no scar." Somehow something went horribly wrong, and the conversation drove itself off a cliff.
When I tried to talk, Kim Jin-Seo cut me off, and when she tried to talk, I cut her off. The atmosphere felt more awkward for no reason. Kim Jin-Seo's face, which was always full of laughter, was locked in a stiff and cold expression.
"Anyway, I'll go,” Kim Jin-Seo said before joining her group of friends. Then she took some more jellies out of her bag and gave them to her friends. It was the same kind that gave me.
She had bought the jelly for her friends in the first place. But she must have given some to me because she had leftovers.
[I reattached her finger, and she barely gave you a bag of jelly in return! What a lucrative business,] Legba remarked sarcastically. If one weighed the advantages and disadvantages, it was an obvious loss.
However, I didn't do it for money in the first place, so I didn't feel like it was a loss at all. I just felt sorry for Jin-Seo. No, that wasn’t right. The reason I helped her was because Jin-Seo was the chairman’s daughter.
It was a little disappointing that what I received in return was jelly, because I hated jelly. I was the type of person to eat anything without being picky, but jelly was the only thing I couldn’t stand. To be honest, I didn't even think of jelly as food.
"Hey, why are you going alone? ...What is that? Jelly?"
After walking for some time, Jung In-Ah and Koo Jun-Hyuk came in while walking side by side. In-Ah looked suspicious when she saw the jelly in my hand.
"They don't sell this near here. Where did you buy it?”
"I didn't buy it. I got it from Jin-Seo earlier."
"Huh? Are you close to Jin-Seo?"
In-Ah's expression hardened a little bit. Just a tiny bit.
"I'm not close with her, there was just some stuff that happened."
Jun-Hyuk, who was listening next to us, stepped in.
"What? Don’t tell me that’s the reason why you were peeking at her?"
"Peeking at who? When?"
“That’s right. You two were close enough to exchange jelly with each other, so it’s hard to call it peeking. It must have been some sort of special signal that you exchanged with each other. It’s safe to look at it that way—.”
Smack.
In-Ah kicked Jun-Hyuk in the shin.
It was quite refreshing. I was getting a bit annoyed with his rambling.
"You be quiet now."
"Oh, hey! Stop kicking my shins. It hurts like hell, you know? Should I hit you back?”
Koo Jun-Hyuk grabbed his shin and hopped. After exchanging such trivial jokes, we had already arrived at the classroom. We opened the back door and entered without too much thought.
However, the students were looking at us in a strange manner. To be exact, they were looking at ‘me’ with a cold gaze. There was clear hostility in the eyes of the students. The hostility was all directed at me.
"What the? What's wrong with the atmosphere?"
Koo Jun-Hyuk also noticed that the atmosphere was strange.
Ring!
It was then that a cheerful tone of text rang.
It was a text message for In-Ah and Jun-Hyuk. I didn't get a text message.
"What is this?"
Jung In-Ah looked at the text with a stiff expression.
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