Shinyoung’s Center (2)

On the Friday of the first week of school, it was quickly decided the position of vice-captain would be handed to Kang Shin-hyuk. This was because what happened with Baek in-ha had spread throughout Shinyoung, reaching the point where none could argue. In the end, Kang Shin-hyuk had no desire to leave the Wyvern Knights, and after class, all of the Wyvern Knights gathered to hold the inauguration ceremony. That was how he was given a badge and the vice-captain’s cloak from the captain.

“Congratulations, Shin-hyuk!”

“Congratulations!”

“Congratulations!”

“Congratulations!”

“Congratulations!”

“I’m sorry, seniors, would you please give me some space?” Kang Shin-hyuk barely escaped the circle his seniors had formed, who were all saying that their aspirations had been achieved. Incidentally, among them was the man who had been the vice-captain until Kang Shin-hyuk had taken the position over.

“If it’s you, I can trust the Wyvern Knights will be safe. I’ll admit you’re the vice-captain, but I’m not going to hand her over to you.”

“No, I know. I have no intention of receiving her, but she’s not yours in the first place…” Douglas Payne congratulated Kang Shin-hyuk on his inauguration, all while frowning.

“You’ve gotten cocky in just a few months.”

“He is the vice-captain now. Haha.” Reading his status, Kang Shin-hyuk was confident he could beat Douglas Payne. Thus, his attitude around him was a lot more comfortable. Douglas wrinkled his eyebrows, admitting that he had changed frankly.

“But since then, I’ve struggled and trained a lot. I’m no longer the old me.”

“Shouldn’t you say that to the captain and not me?”

“That’s a little embarrassing.” Wasn’t that the same as before? No, unlike then, he at least could admit his own feelings now.

“I won’t be in school anymore. Until she graduates, protect her.” Shin-hyuk felt like he was uselessly friendly. He stared at him, contemplating what to say.

“Where are you going?”

“The third years will be active as practical superhumans in the second semester.”

“Ah, after the countercurrent…”

“That was an exceptional thing.” Kang Shin-hyuk was in the center fighting, so he hadn’t noticed, but Shinyoung had been supporting from the outskirts. Among them was Douglas Payne, who was considered to be one of the ranked reserve forces. He had secured his position after he graduated that way.

“So protect her here. After she graduates, I will take responsibility.”

“…What are you going to do?”

“Bring her into my family. Even the British royal family wouldn’t be able to interfere with her.” He hadn’t explained the details, but it seemed that Douglas had done some of his own investigating using his family’s power and connections. It sounded almost criminal, but Shin-hyuk figured he was only trying to ensure Eleanor’s safety.

“Well… make sure you get permission in advance.”

“Sure. I won’t make any clumsy mistakes.” Didn’t that mean you were trying to commit a perfect crime? Kang Shin-hyuk looked at him anxiously, noting that he should remind Eleanor to be careful later.

“Shin-hyuk, over here! Cheers, cheers!”

“I’ll be back.”

“Hmm.” It was good timing. Shin-hyuk decided to chat with Karen and the others until Douglas calmed down. This would probably be the last time he met the Knight Crown, and was surprised to find the thought left him a bit sad. He wasn’t sad at all to think the Magic Crown would be going away, however.

“Nathan Bodin dropped out?”

“It’s the first time that a Magic Crown escaped.”

“Crazy, he was going to graduate in half a year…”

“No, just say he dropped out, not that he escaped.” While the party to celebrate Kang Shin-hyuk’s inauguration was in full swing, several seniors began to talk about such matters. Thanks to the fact that Douglas Payne was approving of Kang Shin-hyuk, the factions put aside their differences and reconciled.

“Nathan Bodin? That person was lacking…”

“There was only one reason he left. He realized he couldn’t get what he wanted.” Douglas Payne responded with a click of the tongue to the seniors who were talking. His gaze was on Kang Shin-hyuk as he did.

“You beat him badly. Hearing the rumors about you and Baek, who would think he could win?”

“If he doesn’t become a superhuman, he won’t continue to grow…”

“I heard about what happened from a guy in the Magic Department. It was about a relationship with someone named Lee Na-hee.”

“I don’t know where to start explaining.”

“The school has its rumors… That you kicked out Nathan Bodin and took Lee Na-hee.” In fact, rumors had also been spreading about him and Eleanor after he had tamed a wyvern, but Douglas Payne was struggling to ignore them.

“There’s nothing strange about dating her. So don’t get greedy for Eleanor, huh.”

“Well, not both.” Douglas Payne glanced at him as if to say, ‘I’ll be watching you,’ as he ignored Eleanor staring at them.

“You didn’t know, but there are a lot of guys spreading nasty rumors, led by the Magic Crown. He was the one who created this sense of competition with the Knight Department among the mages. It must’ve been easy enough for him to incite anger at you.”

“So, how did you respond to him?”

“The Knight Department doesn’t avoid a hard fight.” Kang Shin-hyuk’s desire to fight the giant before him rose quickly. However, it wouldn’t be possible to solve the harsh atmosphere between the two departments by doing so.

“It was virtually a solo stage for the Knight Department at the sports competition, but I didn’t know this would happen.”

“Well…”

“There are only two paths left for him. He can become a superhuman by taking the graduation exam or transferring to another school…or he could walk a rough path.”

“A rough path…” That was, he could choose something other than being a superhuman. Being a craftsman was an option, but that seemed ill-suited for the militant Nathan Bodin.

“A mercenary. That is, an illegal mercenary.”

“An illegal mercenary…” If you were going to become a legitimate mercenary, it was better to become an official superhuman. Therefore, the only option left was to become an illegal mercenary. That referred to a group of criminals who would make unauthorized use of gates and even engage in the hunting of superhumans, as well as crimes against civilians. He had heard from Shin Eunah that some of them were connected to Jormungand.

“He must be hostile towards you.”

“…” Kang Shin-hyuk could sense that annoyances related to Nathan Bodin would pop up sooner or later. Douglas Payne looked at him with a soft smile.

“So… if he bothers you later, come to my family too.”

“Yes?”

“I can’t give you Eleanor, but I can guarantee you better treatment than other guilds.”

“Senior…” He had thought he was just an idiot, but then he said something that suited the leader of a big company. Of course, he kept that thought to himself.

“Well, because Eleanor doesn’t belong to you.”

“…Huh.”

“Huh…!” Unfortunately, because Eleanor had been listening to their conversation, the distance between the two, which had narrowed slightly, widened as far as the Andromeda galaxy.

***

After the party, Kang Shin-hyuk made his way to the club room. To his surprise, he found Lee Na-hee was playing around there already. She had some cake at the party.

“Have you heard about Nathan Bodin?”

“Of course.” Lee Na-hee frowned, fresh cream on the side of her mouth.

“People were so noisy about it today.”

“What happened to you?”

“He suddenly showed up at lunch today, then disappeared after saying some annoying nonsense. Ugh, just thinking about it is creepy.” Lee Na-hee’s annoyance was apparent as Kang Shin-hyuk stood stunned.

“Let’s go together, and next time we meet, it won’t be the same… oh, did he stay in his room during vacation and only watch cartoons?”

“He went with some brave remarks.” As Kang Shin-hyuk prayed that Nathan Bodin would forget the embarrassing things he said, Lee Na-hee continued to speak as she ate.

“So I told him I would go even if I died, regardless of my junior.”

“Junior?”

“You. He keeps mentioning you and asking me if it’s because of you. How annoying!”

“Ooh.” He had heard everything he needed to.

“Anyway, rest assured. I made it clear that the reasons why I don’t like him had nothing to do with you… well… not that that will necessarily keep you safe.”

“Just say you don’t like me.”

Only

“…” From Shin-hyuk’s point of view, he had said something rather reasonable, but Lee Na-hee puffed her cheeks at him.

“I don’t like you.”

“I meant tell Nathan Bodin that.”

“I hate you.” Lee Na-hee ate the cake with a slight hum.

“Work with me tomorrow.”

“If not tomorrow, the day after…”

“I hate Shin-hyuk!”

Club activities for the second semester were also able to start up smoothly.