Chapter 16
The Academy was established to protect young Hunters who awakened at an early age from various dangers and teach them the proper use of their powers.
In such a place, a Hunter got injured during a test? A Hunter who wouldn't even get cut by a blade was bleeding?
I stared at Baek Hamin's wound, then looked around at the teachers.
"Seeing how everyone is just standing by even though Baek Hamin is hurt like this, I can tell how barbaric the Academy's classes must be."
The other guardians who had been quietly observing the situation started murmuring. I watched them lifting the young Hunters' clothes looking for wounds, then gave Baek Hamin a signal.
When Baek Hamin met my eyes, he heaved his shoulders dramatically and pretended to cry, then deliberately showed himself growing broad-leaved grass to treat his own wound. At that pitiful sight, the murmuring grew louder, and some guardians started protesting to the teachers.
'That smart little kid.'
I was covering my mouth and laughing in admiration when Baek Eunseong was glaring at me with raised eyebrows.
"...What are you looking at?"
Feeling momentarily annoyed, I was having a staring contest with Baek Eunseong when the strict teacher gestured to me.
"Hunter Seong Dohyeon, please step aside. I need to speak with Baek Hamin's guardian."
"Wow. Us non-guardians must be so left out. And I'm Baek Hamin's temporary guardian, you know. TEM-PO-RA-RY. Do you have any idea how close Hamin and I are?"
With raised eyebrows, I considered making more of a scene, but then approached the shifty teacher who kept glancing around nervously.
"Is there something you need from me...?"
"No, I was just curious about what exactly you did."
"What do you mean..."
The teacher who had been avoiding my gaze blurted out like a bullet when I rolled up my sleeve and took another step closer.
"I was in charge of adjusting the output intensity of the shadow demonic beast."
So this guy is the culprit after all. I glared at the shifty teacher, then looked at Baek Hamin quietly nestled in Baek Eunseong's arms.
That thing is a shadow demonic beast? That's nonsense.
After nearly dying to a demonic beast that one time, I holed up in the Association library and read every demonic beast encyclopedia that existed in this world. So I learned a few things about demonic beasts...
First, demonic beasts cannot use status ailment skills. The only things that can cast status ailment skills on Hunters are artifacts from dungeons, not the demonic beasts themselves. And shadow demonic beasts can perfectly replicate a target's appearance, but they can't speak and only lure people through actions.
I recalled the fake Baek Hamin who called me uncle earlier and looked at the shifty teacher.
'This half-wit doesn't seem like someone who'd use an artifact.'
I crossed my arms and surveyed the surroundings.
'I was...' So there must be someone else who used an artifact to create the fake Baek Hamin. While pondering, I summoned Asil and signaled toward Baek Eunseong with my eyes.
Asil, who had flattened himself and crawled like a snake, secretly tapped Baek Eunseong. He looked at me with a strange expression before nodding. Seeing that, I started to recall Asil but ended up chuckling.
'It's nice that both uncle and nephew are quick on the uptake.'
I pointed with my eyes at the strict teacher who was ordering the elimination of the shifty teacher and Baek Hamin, then gestured to Baek Hamin.
"Baek Hamin, just get eliminated today, okay?"
"No, Hunter Seong Dohyeon! What do you mean..."
Baek Eunseong pushed aside the strict teacher who was trying to stop me and approached the teachers involved in the commotion.
"Fine. We'll forfeit the test."
"Huh? No, Hunter Baek Eun―"
"I interfered with the test on my own, so please process it as an elimination. Hamin will retake the test the year after next."
"Since the primary guardian says so, please hurry up and remove them. Watching this, I'm getting confused about which one is real."
"Uncle!"
"I'm the real one!"
The strict teacher, who had been looking at the two Baek Hamins screaming with startled eyes, turned to look at his colleagues with a flustered face.
"Hunter Jeong Dongseong... Turn off the demonic beast output device right now."
At the strict teacher's command, the Hunter who turned off the output looked at me with panicked eyes.
"Why are you looking at me?"
I waved my hand to indicate I hadn't done anything, and Baek Eunseong, who stepped in front of me as if blocking me, gathered both Baek Hamins in his arms.
"It seems like the output device was just turned off, so why is our Hamin still two people?"
"Why do you think? Isn't it just saying they can't even manage their own demonic beasts properly. And they make kids fight those things? Oh, the Academy is running so well. So well."
As I was being as obnoxious as possible, Baek Eunseong looked at me as if telling me to stop. This guy makes a fuss even when someone helps him?
When I sent him a dissatisfied look, Baek Eunseong shook his head before glaring at the teachers. The strict teacher, looking down at the lightly trembling ground, bowed his head.
"I'm sorry."
While the teachers associated with Baek Jiseong were looking away, the strict teacher and other teachers made mumbling excuses to Baek Eunseong.
They claimed there seemed to be an output error, and since Hamin had handled the dummy flow intensity well until now, they thought it would be fine this time too—spouting nonsense.
Then they said the output device's maintenance duration was twelve hours, so it would be resolved by tomorrow. The more I listened, the more unbearable it became.
"Still, there are healing-type Hunters on standby, so getting injured is, urk...!"
"Getting injured is?"
I grabbed the shifty teacher by the throat and pressed down while tilting my head. He saw Baek Hamin get injured, so how could he confidently say there was no chance of getting injured? That level of injury doesn't count as being hurt?
I sighed and let up to let him speak more, but the shifty teacher was just clutching his throat and gasping.
"If you're a teacher working at the Academy, think before you speak. Ah, if you hurt your head, maybe you should get treatment from those healing-type Hunters standing over there."
"Gasp, hah, ack!"
I glared at the shifty teacher who was catching his breath, then looked at Baek Eunseong holding both Baek Hamins in his arms.
What on earth was the reason for this commotion?
Seeing that an artifact was even involved, this wasn't something done simply hoping Baek Hamin would fail the test. If that were all, increasing the intensity of the dummy flow would have been sufficient, so why go out of their way to use a status artifact?
"Hah..."
Probably because of me.
Since I, who possessed 'Seong Dohyeon,' wasn't moving according to the original story, it seemed like some other human was working hard to kidnap Baek Hamin in my place.
Make Baek Hamin into two to cause confusion, then hand over the fake while smuggling away the real one—kidnapping success! That must be it.
Should I just pick a day and pretend to kidnap Baek Hamin? That way Baek Hamin might be able to live a bit more comfortably.
I was pressing my throbbing head when Kang Youngchan, who had approached without a sound, grabbed my forearm. I glared at Kang Youngchan, who was using me as a cane again today, but he let his white eyebrows droop and smiled vaguely.
"Thanks for helping."
"With what?"
"Don't play dumb. With the Guild's pressure, this old man couldn't even stand tall. Thanks to you, I was able to say something, wasn't I?"
...Wait a minute. Is this guy saying he knew Baek Jiseong was trying to harm Baek Hamin but just left it alone?
When I tried to shake off my arm, Kang Youngchan gripped my wrist tightly.
"Still, don't be too abrasive. They say the protruding stone gets hit first."
"There's a protruding stone right in front of me right now, can I hit it?"
I glared at Kang Youngchan, who laughed at my words and scurried away.
He was a grandfather who bounced around so unpredictably I had no idea what was in his head, but in the original story, he was somewhat of a good character who chose death to save Doydam.
Moreover, there was a Hunter belonging to the Center named Jeong Uichan, who was said to be exceedingly just... and since Kang Youngchan was someone he trusted and followed, I had felt reassured, but I didn't know he'd be pulling something like this behind the scenes.
Unlike other novels, large Guilds were responsible for world stability rather than the Association or Center, so both the Association President who was 'Seong Dohyeon's guardian and Center Director Kang Youngchan were essentially has-beens. Still, since they didn't show any particular signs, I thought they were just living going with the flow.
But to think he was actually trying to change something. I clicked my tongue and looked at the Baek Hamins tightly held in Baek Eunseong's arms.
'If things are like this, the Academy isn't safe either.'
I felt a moment of worry, but also wondered if it was just unnecessary meddling. Well, Baek Eunseong would handle it. I helped this much, so even if Baek Hamin gets kidnapped, he won't think it's my doing.
Sighing, I signaled to the real Baek Hamin who met my eyes. The real Baek Hamin, who created stairs from leaves and bounced down, glared fiercely at the fake and ran toward me. Then the fake Baek Hamin also leaped from Baek Eunseong's arms and clung to my right leg.
Baek Eunseong glanced at me before starting to talk with the teachers again. Whatever they were discussing, he looked extremely upset, so instead of opening my skill window, I examined the knees of the Baek Hamins where bruises were forming.
"Go get treated and come back."
One had a wound on the right knee, the other on the left. Thanks to the real Baek Hamin growing grass to treat it earlier, the bleeding had stopped, but they still needed proper treatment. I wanted to teach them that even an S-rank with a strong body needs treatment when injured.
They weren't ordinary people living peaceful lives; they were Hunters whose daily life involved fighting demonic beasts, so getting injured was natural. But I didn't want to leave them thinking, 'I'm a Hunter so this much is fine, it's okay to get hurt.'
The 'Seong Dohyeon' who had lived like that had nearly died from overreaching more than once or twice, and the funny thing was that I had almost died the same way.
I made a bit of a fuss telling the two Baek Hamins to go get treated, then looked at Baek Eunseong. Maybe he was already looking at me, because our eyes met immediately.
"What?"
"...They told me to stay where the Academy can watch, to prevent any potential cheating or other issues."
"So, what are you going to do?"
"For now, since Hamin isn't in such an agitated state, I was planning to observe tonight... but..."
Baek Eunseong rambled in explanation, then shut his mouth with an 'oh crap' expression. It was the face of someone who realized he had made the stupid mistake of sharing his plans with Seong Dohyeon of all people.
Seriously, you already told me everything? When I let out a hollow laugh, Baek Eunseong fled with the excuse of asking the teachers where to stay, his face red.
And naturally, I couldn't go home.
"Uncle..."
"Are you going to leave Hamin behind?"
"Really?"
It was because of the two Baek Hamins clinging to my legs.