02. A visitor from the future (11)

I am now at a crossroads with an enormous choice.

Academies are Awoken’s higher education institutions that replace regular high schools.

Although there is a summer vacation like regular schools, students are required to improve steadily.

In other words, I have vacation homework.

It was a pitiful situation to have to do vacation homework, which I didn’t even have when I was in middle school, after entering the academy.

Submit the same creative work as the final practical work for the vacation homework of the Support Department.

In other words, it is also an opportunity for me to receive high-quality magic steel and make a sword during vacation.

As the items to be applied for support are subject to the student’s discretion, they can freely select items within the budget allowed for each individual.

If you have the will to do so, it is not impossible to receive first-class magic steel, even if it is in a very small amount.

That’s why I’m thinking about two options right now.

Do you reinforce the golden eggs during the vacation?

Or restore the death sword?

“Mmm.”

The fact that I used low-quality iron when I first made gold eggs remains like a heavy burden in a corner of my mind to this day.

It is said that the situation at the time was unavoidable, but in the end, the completed golden egg had a clear limit of B-class birth.

If you look only at the quality of the material, it might be a C grade, let alone a B grade. There is also the issue of durability, and anyway, it is not a sword that can be used for a long time.

As a maker, I am very happy that Yoon Seo-hee cares for her sword so much, but she wasn’t in very good shape the other day, and since she uses her sword so harshly, it’s almost certain that she will break sooner or later.

Before that happened, I wanted to get a good iron and make it properly once again.

Originally, if nothing else happened, I planned to make a schedule in the direction of reinforcing the gold-lane during the vacation.

“Ugh… !”

I care.

I care too much about the death sword!

Even though it’s broken, it’s a national treasure item dating back hundreds of years that should have been treasured in a museum somewhere. It is not something that a single student can touch.

It is natural for a swordsman to want to restore such a treasured sword with his own hands.

Of course, it is impossible to completely repair the sword of the dead man according to tradition. Because the year, month, day, and hour where signs intersect have already passed.

However, it is possible with a three-person sword.

The sword made on the day when the three seals of human year, human month, human day, and human hour intersect is called a three-person sword. A sword made of .

This year is the year of the person, so even if you missed the person month, you only need to match the person day and the person hour.

And the earliest coming time is 3:00 a.M. On August 17th. It just coincided with vacation.

“What should I do….”

As for vacation assignments, you cannot re-request an item just because you failed, just like the final exam. Because it could only be received once, the chance to make a sword using expensive high-grade steel was only once.

Should I focus on reinforcing the Golden Lantern, or would it be better to make a three-person sword?

At that choice, I felt a tremendous conflict.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh.”

Startled by the soft whisper tickling her neck, I turned around to see Yoon Seo-hee giggling with a mischievous smile.

“Yoon Seo-hee?”

“I came to play because I was bored.”

Now it is time for afternoon major classes. Since it was vacation soon, the atmosphere was close to self-study, so it seems that he skipped training and came to play.

Yoon Seo-hee looks around the quiet workshop with her hands behind her back with a curious look on her face.

“Wow, this is a smelting workshop. But why is no one there?”

“Because sword making is not popular.”

I said rubbing the nape of my neck.

Apart from swords and armor, crafting equipment is not popular. Hunters with money want to use the top items from the tower, and if you don’t have money, you can use cheap weapons from factory workshops.

In these days, handmade artisans are caught in the middle, and their position is very ambiguous.

At least, since the size of armor is different for each person, orders for repair or customization sometimes come in, but swords are really terribly unpopular.

That’s why the smelting workshop is always quiet. Even the few students majoring in armor seem to be taking a break in the classroom today.

Even if I don’t have anything to do, it’s my habit to constantly attend and take pictures of the workshop, so I was alone in this space.

Now that Yoon Seo-hee is here, it’s just the two of them.

“Wow, what is this big machine?”

“That’s a mana press. It is used to shape iron.”

“Then what about this?”

“Magic Auto Hammer. It’s what you use when you hit iron.”

“Hey, aren’t you hitting each one with your hands?”

“Usually it is done by machine. Because it is easy and fast.”

Making swords by beating iron one by one with a hammer and an anvil is an old way, and now, even those who claim to be handmade craftsmen use machines. From the beginning, I was a different kind of person who only learned skills in the traditional way.

“I thought doing it myself was cooler….”

“What?”

“Oh no! Never mind!”

Yoon Seo-hee slapped her mouth as if she had said something wrong.

“By the way, what was the thing you were thinking about doing earlier?”

Yoon Seo-hee turns the topic around with a blushing face.

She decided to pretend she didn’t hear me at the blatant change of topic.

Because she also wanted to consult Yoon Seo-hee directly.

“Actually, during vacation, I was contemplating whether to reinforce the golden ribbon or make a new death sword.”

“Huh? Why?”

Yoon Seo-hee tilted her head as if sincerely wondering.

“I am still useful enough, right? No, rather, this or that you don’t like it?”

Are you trying to take the golden egg from me? I swallowed my saliva at the hot gaze that seemed to say. In the meantime, it seems that he developed a considerable attachment to Geumran.

“It’s because the ingredients are lacking. Because we only care about magic conductivity, we have many weaknesses, including power and durability.”

“Still, it’s really okay….”

“Reinforcement, reinforcement. There won’t be any big changes like changing the existing form.”

Perhaps? It will. Of course, I might be greedy while making it, but since Geumran was designed for Yoon Seo-hee from the beginning, there is still no room for major tweaks in terms of perfection.

“Um… Reinforcing the golden silk means that Jin Lee will have to entrust the sword to you for the time being, right?”

“I guess so. There will be places to fix it.”

At those words, Yoon Seo-hee shook her head as if there was nothing more to see.

“Then it’s okay. I have something to write about during vacation.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Yeah, yes, there is also training….”

Yoon Seo-hee shyly scratched her cheek and avoided her gaze.

“I don’t want to lie to Jinyi Lee. Actually, I plan to go around with Baek Ji-soo for the time being.”

“Huh? With Baek Soo?”

“Yes. For now, only during vacation? I’m not sure when it will end. It’s a secret what you’re doing.”

I kept my mouth shut and thought.

If you walk around normally, you won’t need a sword. However, the fact that two Awoken are traveling together and need a sword means that there may be a risk.

I don’t know what the circumstances were, but Yoon Seo-hee herself was putting her foot in a dangerous job.

“So, it would be better to make a signature sword during vacation. Lee Jin-ah.”

“Yes… I get it.”

It was I who told her to set her own path. So she can’t stop coming now.

She said that when she is having a hard time, she also expects it, but Yoon Seo-hee did not ask me for help. So, does that mean you don’t need my help yet?

If it’s Seohee Yoon, she’ll do it on her own. She must believe that and wait while doing my job.

“Then the death sword, no. I’ll have to ask Teacher Yurim for materials to make a three-person sword.”

“Is it different from the material used to make golden eggs?”

“Uh. Actually, there is something I want to test.”

I smiled lightly at her as she looked at me with her puzzled expression.

“I’ll let you know when it’s made later.”

I also wanted to make at least one secret.

–

After class, she went back to the classroom, and teacher Song Ha told her a shocking story.

“City volunteer work was added as homework for this vacation.”

At those words, the children in her class were angry.

“Yes? Why all of a sudden?!”

“It’s hard even with just homework, do I have to volunteer?”

The atmosphere in the classroom becomes chaotic in an instant.

I was a little surprised too. Volunteer activities by academy students have always been encouraged, but there has never been a case where volunteering is forced as homework.

Teacher Songha beats the teacher’s table and dismisses the children’s angry complaints at once.

“Quiet! It’s not like the teacher wants to do it. It’s a directive from the special affairs department, so there’s nothing we can do about it.”

At the word “Special Affairs Department,” The buzzing noise subsides. Instead, a questionable look hung over the children’s faces.

Special ability management department. This government department, called the Special Affairs Department for short, is in charge of the management of all awakeners and hunters, as well as tasks related to towers and gates.

Academy is an educational institution, but at the same time, because of its speciality of managing awakened people, it is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, not the Ministry of Education, and all instructions come from the Ministry of Education.

The fact that the special affairs department directly ordered the academy students to do volunteer work, what the hell was going on?

“Hmm, I thought it would be like this.”

Byung-Jun Lee nodded with his arms crossed and the tone of guessing something. That look felt a little out of place.

“Do you know anything?”

“Uh. Actually, my older sister is special… No. Anyway, the public opinion of citizens has been a bit ugly these days, right? Incidents happen from time to time in the Tower, and with demon worshipers, crimes related to Awakeners never cease.”

Is that so?

Well, these days, when you just watch the news, there are a series of terrible incidents and accidents, so I often heard my grandfather tut his tongue saying that the world is over.

“There seems to be a smell in the media about bullying incidents in the academy.”

“Ah.”

Hyeonwoo Lee.

In the end, I was even expelled, so I couldn’t have quietly passed on in many ways.

I nodded at Lee Byung-jun’s words. As I seemed to be concentrating on the story, Lee Byung-jun was more excited and opened his mouth.

“So! The government is directly trying to renew its image. We are paying attention to the personality education of the awakened people, there will be no such thing in the future! Something like this.”

“Because you have students do volunteer work?”

“Maybe not?”

Amarani.

After all, he doesn’t know exactly.

As we were having such a conversation, Teacher Song Ha called each of the classmates by name.

“From now on, the papers handed out have the location and date of each volunteer activity written on them. You must attend, so can’t you forget?”

“Yes~”

Since teacher Song Ha called the names in the order of attendance, I, whose last name starts with Giyeok, was able to receive the paper right away.

[New Seoul City Library. August 17 at 6pm.]

“Billion.”

August 17th?

On that day, I had to make a three-person sword.

August 17th, even if it takes a date… I stared at the white paper with a pale complexion.

Looking at me like that, Lee Byeong-jun, who had just returned to his seat after receiving the paper, started talking to me.

“Why do you look like that?”

“… I have an agenda for this day. Can I ask Teacher Song Ha to change the date?”

Lee Byung-jun looked at the paper I was holding and raised his voice.

“Huh? Are you in the same place as me?”

“What?”

“Really. Look at this.”

He [Shin Seoul City Library. August 19 at 6:00 PM] Was written on it.

“Shall we change the date?”

I felt like I was being pulled out of the water at that nonsensical tone.

“Really? It’s okay?”

“Uh, what. I’m free on vacation. It doesn’t matter when you go out for volunteer work.”

“Thank you, Byungjun. You saved me.”

If I hadn’t been able to make a three-person sword because I had lost time due to volunteer work, I would have collapsed.

When I sincerely thanked Lee Byung-Jun, he made a rather embarrassed expression.

“What? Hey, with that much… We are friends.”

“Yes, yes.”

I was greatly relieved to think that I could now focus only on making the three-person sword.

As expected, making friends was something to see.