ushernet Chapter 127
Chapter 127
The weekend—the brief period without Winter—passed by quickly.
Sia and Alice were engrossed in their studies, while I took on the role of their diligent tutor.
As for my mentor...
---
*Embrace.*
**"Disciple, look at the news. So many believe you’ll surpass me soon!"**
**"Oh, come on. There’s no way I could..."**
**"Nonsense. The sooner you surpass your master, the better. Nothing would make me happier."**
**"......."**
**"So, let’s get to training again today!"**
Every night, she was relentless, pushing my stamina to its limits.
Thanks to my three wives, it was a busy weekend in many ways.
Of course, there were other obligations besides my wives.
---
**"Mr. Yujin, let’s skip this week’s treatments."**
**"I can’t do that. Handling around 30 people isn’t a burden for me. I’ll finish quickly."**
**"If that’s your decision... By the way, has Alice done something recently?"**
**"Pardon? What do you mean?"**
**"Well, uh... attacked... Ahem. Never mind. Let’s go."**
**"Alright."**
There was the hospital treatment montage, so to speak...
---
**"Someone’s coming from the U.S. for research?"**
**"Yes. They’re planning generous support."**
**"Is the Saintess really that valuable for research?"**
**"There’s no guarantee another monster of her type won’t appear."**
**"That’s a fair point. Fine. I’ll get things prepared."**
**"Thank you."**
---
*Ding.*
**[‘???’ apologizes deeply, bowing for the trouble caused by our child.]**
And there were arrangements with my father-in-law, the head of the Cheonhwa Clan, for research collaboration with the U.S. on the Saintess.
I was so busy that the weekend felt like a blur.
And before I knew it, it was the start of the eighth week of the academy—the much-anticipated midterm exam period.
---
### * * *
At the Pentagon Academy, the midterm exams were surprisingly low-key.
Combat sparring between cadets?
Survival tests on a mountain or deserted island?
A villain attack on the academy?
Nope.
Awakened individuals are precious resources, so there’s no reason to pit them against each other unnecessarily.
Sparring? Most of our battles are against monsters, so where would hand-to-hand combat skills even come in handy?
As for villain attacks...
---
*If Winter had taken down the Chairman in a mutual destruction scenario, then maybe... but now? Not a chance.*
In the game, that was only on the hard difficulty—only if Winter and the Chairman went down together.
But right now? No worries.
After the previous terror attack, where we took down fifty villains, there was no chance of another ambush.
---
*Back in my gamer days, I wondered what they’d do for midterms with this setup.*
This was a point of curiosity when I played the game.
What would they do for midterms, if the terror attack was successfully thwarted?
In my newbie days, I had failed to stop Winter’s attack, so the midterms were an utter mess...
But if you successfully defended against it, then what?
I had tried to answer this question by carefully advancing through the game and saving the Chairman...
---
**[Hmm? What do we do for midterms? Of course, we just have exams.]**
*I never would have guessed it was just a regular college midterm.*
So that’s what I found out.
Midterms were just ordinary written exams.
In the game, it was so uneventful it skipped a whole week.
Even in my first playthrough, nothing major happened.
It was no wonder I was so relaxed.
---
*Murmur murmur.*
**"Article 3, Clause 1 of the Special Act on Awakened Individuals: Duties during gate occurrences..."**
**"Ugh, too many Chinese characters. I miss English...."**
I was the only one who seemed calm, though.
The cadets all seemed nervous.
Even Sia and Alice had arrived an hour early for some last-minute cramming.
It made sense. Scoring well here could help them get into a top clan.
Seeing them work so hard, even though both were already guaranteed A-ranks, made me smile.
---
**"Everyone, take a break. Want me to grab some coffee?"**
*Glares.*
**"Quiet, you! I’m about to smack you if you don’t shut it."**
**"Yeah, Yujin, you’re being so annoying right now."**
**"......."**
I quickly dropped my smile.
...I guess they had a point.
The top student, who didn’t even study, telling them to relax—it must’ve felt like taunting.
Especially with only an hour left before the test.
I could understand why my wives reacted sharply.
After all, both of them were aiming for S-rank and were quite serious.
What would the Hypnotic Master’s response in the second round be?
---
**"Oh, sorry! Didn’t mean to bother you!"**
I quickly made my escape.
No point in hanging around my tense wives and risking their wrath.
The best strategy was to retreat.
---
*Chu-rup, chup. Chu-rup.*
*Wow... this is what a real kiss is like. Both in technique and feeling.*
Thanks to her, my spirits were restored quickly.
Compared to Winter’s clumsy, aggressive kiss yesterday, this was on a whole different level.
There was happiness in being connected with someone you love.
An exchange of affection
that brought joy the longer it lasted.
A kiss should be like this.
Not some mischievous prank like my eldest daughter had pulled.
---
*Chuup.*
**"...Feeling better?"**
**"I’m so happy I could die."**
**"Pfft. You’re silly."**
After the kiss, we held each other, exchanging words softly.
Even the way she patted my back was endearing.
I was so blissfully happy, as if we were the only two people left in the world...
---
*Hurried footsteps.*
**"......!!"**
*Someone’s here!?*
The sound broke the moment’s magic.
I quickly let go of Sia.
---
**"S-Sorry, Sia. I didn’t realize someone was coming..."**
I mumbled an apology.
After all, Sia had asked to keep our relationship a secret.
I’d gotten so caught up in the moment that we’d been caught kissing.
Surely, she’d be upset this time.
---
**"It’s fine."**
**"What?"**
**"——It’s only someone who can know."**
She wasn’t angry at all.
Instead, she said something cryptic.
---
**"Do you know who it was?"**
**"Of course I do."**
**"...Who?"**
The tension was killing me.
I looked at her, confused.
She only smiled.
---
*Swoosh. Lick.*
**"You don’t need to know."**
**"What...? Who was it?"**
**"Knowing could get you hurt, dummy."**
**"Aw, come on, who!?"**
I tried to follow, but she wouldn’t reveal who it was.
Who could it be? It’s driving me crazy.
---
### * * *
Later, back in the lecture hall for the first midterm exam, we were all fired up.
---
**"Let’s do this, Yujin. And... fox girl."**
*Grinding teeth.*
**"Just watch, Sia. I won’t lose."**
The rivalry between Sia and Alice was especially intense...
but a little friendly competition was good to see among peers.
I joined in with their fiery enthusiasm.
---
**"I won’t lose either! I’ll get a perfect score so we can all tie for first place!"**
**"Pfft. Alright, go for that perfect score."**
**"...Geez."**
**"......?"**
For some reason, Alice didn’t seem too impressed.
What was this? Was she disqualifying me from being her rival because I was annoying?
It was a bit disappointing, but...
---
**"Alright, everyone, please take your seats! We’ll start sealing mana shortly."**
*Smirk.*
*Guess I’ll just have to be so annoyingly amazing that I’ll earn the right to annoy her.*
I planned to shatter that reaction, taking full advantage of this midterm exam.
---
**[Question 13: Describe in detail the most effective strategies for dealing with the giant monster Boitata.]**
*Scratch scratch.*
**[The answer says to have tank-class Awakened handle the berserk patterns and withstand the attack...]**
**[But if you press down on the scales near the tail, it’s immobilized. This answer is so inefficient.]**
**[And, questions 2, 3, and 4 all have minor errors too. Let’s speed through.]**
**[The most effective core-processing method is...]**
I didn’t hold back my knowledge anymore.