I had become so absorbed in Yeon Haneul that I had neglected to stay alert to my surroundings.
Belatedly sensing someone’s presence, we started in surprise, broke off the kiss, and put distance between us.
‘Who on earth is it?’
Even so, it was strange.
Even if my attention had wavered, there was no way I should have failed to notice someone approaching this close.
The fact that we had still been discovered proved the other party was quite skilled.
Half doubtful and half curious, I quickly turned my head toward the direction where I had sensed the presence.
There stood….
‘Ham Minju?’
A junior one year below us, whom Kang Hanbyeol would recruit into the party in his second year.
The Wolf Princess of the Tangung Ham Family, Ham Minju.
She was staring at us together with her wolf phantasmal beasts.
‘Why is she here? No, even if we had to meet, why did it have to be now….’
Ham Minju was a junior one year below us, a character Kang Hanbyeol would recruit into the party as the story progressed.
In other words, she was someone who would become our companion.
And yet our first meeting with her had taken place like this.
For my part, I was deeply flustered.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t glad to see her, but the sense of disaster came first.
Because….
‘She’s ridiculously conservative.’
I wasn’t talking about her political views.
I meant her personality was conservative.
To the point that she had no flexibility whatsoever and strictly insisted on principles and rules.
That was exactly the kind of painfully rigid person Ham Minju was.
‘And that kind of kid was in the student council’s disciplinary division. That’s why she earned a lot of resentment from the students.’
In the game, she had earned Kang Hanbyeol’s resentment as well.
Because Ham Minju had given penalty points to Kang Hanbyeol when he went around illegally challenging people to duels with weapons on the line.
That had been the first meeting between the two of them.
After that, the two of them clashed like archenemies until they came to understand each other to some extent.
‘…I didn’t think about it when I was playing the game, but now that I do, wasn’t Hanbyeol the one in the wrong for going around holding illegal duels? Ham Minju was just carrying out her role as part of the student council disciplinary division.’
In a way.
You could say Ham Minju had inherited the position Min Arin had held when she bickered with Kang Hanbyeol in their first year.
In any case.
‘This is bad.’
This was a problem.
As I said before, Ham Minju’s personality was extremely conservative.
Especially when it came to relationships between men and women.
How would she think after witnessing my and Yeon Haneul’s affectionate behavior?
Reaching a conclusion in an instant, I sighed inwardly.
I had botched the very first step.
Sure enough, the seemingly shaken girl abruptly frowned and spat out a word.
“Pervert.”
“….”
…What did she say?
Even though I had been expecting something while listening to Ham Minju, I couldn’t help but freeze.
I hadn’t misheard.
I had read the shape of her lips, too.
‘I’m screwed.’
I realized it all over again.
Now that things had come to this, it seemed best to smooth over the situation as much as possible.
But before I could explain, Ham Minju left without even looking back.
‘Ah, this got tangled up…. What do I do?’
It would be strange to chase after Ham Minju now, and it would be ridiculous to leave Yeon Haneul behind.
I sighed.
It couldn’t be helped.
For now, I had to take care of Yeon Haneul first.
She looked ready to cry.
“You said…. there was no one around…. Then what was that….”
“I’m sorry. I messed up.”
“She’s in the same exam site as me! How am I supposed to face her later….”
Yeon Haneul blamed me with an expression as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
In order to soothe her, I accepted all her anger.
“It’s okay, Haneul. Even if we enroll, we probably won’t have anything to do with her anyway.”
…I’m sorry, Haneul.
That Ham Minju girl ends up joining the student council, you know?
Even knowing the game’s progression, I lied.
* * *
Starting last year, quite a number of impressive incidents had occurred in the world of Hunters.
The Doll Demoness Lee Gahyeon’s infiltration of Geumgang Academy’s entrance exam.
The enrollment at the Academy of promising talents evaluated as the center of the next generation, including Kang Hanbyeol, disciple of the Fighting Demon.
The mana rampage of Min Arin, the Little Griffin of the Mado Min Family.
The misconduct of Do Seungwoo of the Divine Sword Do Family.
Oh Junsu of the Black Demon Oh Family summoning the Demon King.
The revival of the Mainhoe and the unification of villain society brought about by the resurrection of Fallen Heaven.
The villains’ infiltration of Hunter society and the death of the Doll Demoness Lee Gahyeon.
The fall of the Cycle Cha Family, who had incurred the wrath of the First Spirit.
The search for spies within Academy City, centered around Geumgang Academy.
And so on.
The past year in the Hunter world had been so tumultuous that there had not been a single quiet moment.
Naturally, the Shadow Yu Family, who protected the world from the shadows, had no choice but to take interest.
As a result.
―Children who haven’t even stepped out into the world yet are far too conspicuous.
The Shadow Yu Family took note of Do Gyeonwoo’s group, who were at the center of most incidents in one way or another.
Especially Do Gyeonwoo, the Thunder Cat of the Divine Sword Do Family, who seemed to have marked the beginning of this flow.
―A child who, until five years ago, was called Rabbit and received no particular expectations has shown such growth…. I am deeply curious what on earth happened in that time, and what that child’s true identity may be.
The head of the Shadow Yu Family, Muyeong, could not help but feel intrigued.
In order to monitor Do Gyeonwoo’s group, he gave an order to Yu Gaeul, a direct-line descendant of a similar age to them.
―Go to Geumgang Academy. Go there and build friendships with those children.
―Yes, Family Head. I’ll do that.
As it happened, Yu Gaeul had also been growing curious about Do Gyeonwoo’s group.
Her instincts were telling her.
For some reason, if she spent time with them, her days would become more colorful.
And so, after receiving the family head’s order, she applied to Geumgang Academy.
And luckily enough.
‘I never thought I’d see him here. I thought I’d see him after enrolling…. But what brings him here during the break? Is he here because of Senior Bunny, the one he’s supposedly only dating in name but practically acts like he’s in a relationship with?’
Yu Gaeul, who had come to the Academy as an examinee, encountered Do Gyeonwoo.
Thanks to that, she was able to approach him while pretending it was a coincidence and form a connection with him.
It meant she had obtained an unexpected gain from the entrance exam, which had only been part of the process.
Of course, even if she had already made contact with him.
“I have to get admitted first, though.”
Yu Gaeul did not simply get carried away.
Having finished the second practical exam, she walked alone beneath the night sky and composed herself.
She decided to focus on the third, fourth, and fifth practical exams, which would be held inside a Gate starting tomorrow.
Even so.
“There’s no need to worry.”
There was no way she would fail to get in.
Yu Gaeul was confident.
* * *
Starting from the second day of the entrance exam, the examinees entered a Gate to take the third, fourth, and fifth practical exams.
The same was true for Yeon Haneul, who had to support their exams.
‘I won’t be able to see Haneul for four whole days….’
For my part, it was somewhat depressing.
Perhaps.
Yeon Haneul, who had waited for me when I entered a Gate for the evaluation meeting, had felt something similar.
I felt like I understood now.
‘I hope she doesn’t overdo it…. And that she doesn’t get hurt. …No one’s going to hit on her, right?’
If there was anyone who tried to flirt with Yeon Haneul, I wouldn’t let them off.
For now, I could only hope she would return safely so we could reunite soon.
Of course, before that.
‘I have to clear the Temple of Time first.’
There was something else I had to do.
The third day of the entrance exam, deep at night.
With a silent atmosphere settled over the Academy, where it was hard to find anyone walking around.
Kang Hanbyeol and I advanced as stealthily as possible.
Our destination was the faculty building.
“You said it was the back door, right?”
“That’s right.”
Could there possibly be anyone watching?
After arriving behind the faculty building, we lightly surveyed our surroundings.
Then we entered through the back door So Hyeyul should have opened.
We went down the stairs, heading to the lowest floor.
There….
“So there was a place like this underground.”
“…Yeah.”
Following what So Hyeyul had told us in advance, we stepped into the hidden space on the lowest floor of the faculty building.
I illuminated the darkness with magic.
When I raised the sphere of light upward, a corridor stretching far into the distance came into view.
‘It appeared in the game too.’
After clearing several episodes, there would be meaningful scenes of So Hyeyul passing through this place.
With the blue Gate Key she had wrung out of the heads of the Ten Great Families in her hand.
‘To think I’m walking through the corridor that served as the background for that scene…. It feels strange.’
Memories of my past life, when I had first played the game and dug into So Hyeyul’s secret, came to mind.
After briefly sinking into that sentiment, I advanced down the corridor together with Kang Hanbyeol.
Before long, at the place where the corridor ended.
“Welcome. I was waiting for you. You arrived on time without being late.”
“Hello. It’s been a while.”
“Hello, Chairwoman! Chief Secretary! Have you been well?”
“Hello. You too, Chief Secretary.”
So Hyeyul and Oh Seungah were waiting.
We exchanged greetings with them.
Meanwhile, I looked around the space.
‘…I don’t see the crystal orb.’
According to the game’s setting.
The academic building, especially the location we were in, was a kind of auspicious site where the spirit veins of Academy City intersected, making it easy to draw out natural mana.
That was why So Hyeyul had secretly been operating an artifact in the shape of a crystal orb here, one that gathered mana.
Because an enormous amount of mana was needed to fulfill her cherished wish.
‘Inside the crystal orb, Gate Keys of various colors floated around. There was a black one too….’
In the game’s first-run regression ending.
The fact that So Hyeyul had been able to implant memories of the future into the aged and dying Kang Hanbyeol and turn back the world’s time had owed a great deal to this crystal orb.
Even in So Hyeyul’s episode during the first semester of third year, which would occur because of the Stake of Time….
‘If I had my way, I’d like to destroy it, but there’s no way the Chairwoman would just let that happen. To begin with, I don’t even know if it’s an artifact that can be destroyed, and even if I somehow destroyed it, that would be a problem. I can’t ignore the aftermath.’
And yet the crystal orb that should have existed here was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed So Hyeyul had hidden it.
Around us were an artificial Gate activated with green light and some equipment.
And on one wall, there was a black curtain….
‘Wait, a curtain?’
I turned my gaze toward the curtain.
I hadn’t noticed it when I first passed by, but I could feel a faint trace of mana that would be easy to miss unless I consciously paid attention.
It was an artifact.
‘A concealment type, huh.’
The crystal orb I had been looking for was probably behind that curtain.
I was about to bring up a message to check the curtain’s information.
Right then.
“Student Do Gyeonwoo, don’t stand there. Come over here. You need to prepare to enter the Gate.”
So Hyeyul, who had moved in front of the artificial Gate, called to me.
Her yellow eyes, curved in arcs, seemed to be warning me not to get close to the curtain.
“…Yes, I’m coming.”
In any case, my desire to see the crystal orb was nothing more than curiosity.
I didn’t want to offend So Hyeyul for no reason and have our relationship sour, so I decided to follow my intuition.
At that, I moved toward the artificial Gate.
As soon as I approached, she spoke.
“You’ve already sufficiently familiarized yourselves with the clearing conditions for the Temple of Time, haven’t you? Still, I’ll explain them once more, briefly, so you’re fully aware. To clear the Gate, you need to defeat the Rank 4 boss monster at the deepest part, the Foolish King. To that end, I gave you tools effective against undead-type monsters. You remembered to bring them, didn’t you?”
“Yes! I put them in my pocket!”
“Me too.”
“Good. Then there shouldn’t be any problems. Student Kang Hanbyeol, take this with you.”
So Hyeyul handed Kang Hanbyeol a metal plaque she had taken from within her clothes.
That metal plaque, made of gold, was the key to the door where the Stake of Time was stored.
“I’ll take good care of it so I don’t lose it!”
“Yes, please do.”
Kang Hanbyeol spoke energetically.
So Hyeyul let out a soft chuckle.
“Then, Student Kang Hanbyeol, Student Do Gyeonwoo. We’ll be standing guard, so please do your best on the mission. I pray for your safe return.”
“Yes, leave it to us! We’ll be back!”
“We’ll work hard, just as you said.”
So Hyeyul waved her hand as she saw us off.
Leaving her behind, Kang Hanbyeol and I stepped into the dimension rippling with green light.
My vision turned white.
[You have entered the Gate.]
[Green: Temple of Time]
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss