'…Did he not come again?'
Sung Suah scanned the school cafeteria, looking for Seong Suho.
She had been waiting for him since the cafeteria opened.
Perhaps because it was Monday morning, the cafeteria wasn't crowded, so there was no chance of missing him even by accident.
'…Or maybe he hasn't arrived at school yet? Well, nothing I can do… I'll just eat alone.'
Feeling that Seong Suho likely wouldn't come, Sung Suah picked up a tray and got her food.
Just as she sat down after getting her meal, someone placed a tray across from her and sat down.
When Sung Suah looked up with hopeful eyes, what she saw was…
"Teacher!"
"Ah… Ara."
It was Song Ara, her short hair swaying as she smiled brightly.
Sung Suah forced a smile, worried her disappointment might show on her face.
"Ara, did you have a good weekend?"
"Yep! I trained the whole time."
"Huhu… You're really diligent."
In Sung Suah's memory, only one person had trained as hard as Song Ara.
'Oppa used to smile and work hard like that too.'
The Cho Kang-hyun in her memories always gave his all and treated people positively.
There had been a time when he trained even on weekends and was happy just talking with Sung Suah in the evenings.
But after Cho Kang-hyun graduated and joined the church, things changed.
'No… maybe it was after I graduated?'
At some point, he stopped smiling, and his attitude toward her felt like he was reluctantly pretending to be her lover.
'Sigh… No, I shouldn't think like that… Oppa must have his own struggles.'
Disgusted by her own doubts, Sung Suah picked up her utensils again.
In her line of sight was Song Ara, eating enthusiastically.
She ate happily, completely oblivious to the people around her.
Watching Song Ara eat so vigorously, Sung Suah suddenly remembered something she'd heard before.
"Ara."
Song Ara swallowed all the food in her mouth before answering, not wanting to repeat her past mistake.
Gulp!
"Yes?"
"You… said Instructor Seong Suho is your assigned teacher, right?"
***
"What's your main weapon?"
"Well… I don't really have a set main weapon…"
"But there must be something you're best at."
Cho Seo-hyun pressed me relentlessly, determined to get an answer.
After some thought, I replied.
"I'd say the bow is my best."
Cho Seo-hyun lowered her head and muttered to herself upon hearing my answer.
Her crown was truly beautiful.
One thing was certain—any child born to Cho Seo-hyun wouldn't have to worry about hair loss.
"A bow… Good. Then let's go with that."
"…?"
Go where?
...
...
...
"Today's class has been abruptly changed."
At Cho Seo-hyun's words, the cadets in the classroom began murmuring.
A few who knew the network hadn't been restored yet complained to their friends.
-"It's been months since we could play games. I'm going crazy."
-"Seriously, couldn't they at least let us go out on weekends?"
-"I heard instructors can leave whenever. Ugh, I wanna go out…"
Unlike instructors, cadets' idea of relaxation after classes was holing up in the dorm to play games or chat online.
But with even that taken away, everyone seemed frustrated.
Plus, with the network issues, they couldn't even go on weekend outings, leaving them with nothing to do inside the academy.
All they could do was chat, but even that required something fun to talk about.
With nothing but daily training and classes, what excitement could there be?
Cho Seo-hyun frowned at the noise and slammed the lectern.
Bang!
"Do you think you're here to play!? Huh!?"
"…"
Under Cho Seo-hyun's overwhelming pressure, the cadets immediately fell silent and straightened their postures.
Seeing such authority from someone so small made it clear heroes weren't heroes for nothing.
Crossing her arms, Cho Seo-hyun spoke with a slightly softer expression.
"I get your complaints, but remember your place! You're not here as ordinary students but as elite hero candidates. Understood!?"
"""Yes!"""
The cadets answered in unison, their voices sharp.
Cho Seo-hyun scanned the room, her stern expression easing as she spoke.
"Today's class will be… sparring."
"…"
The atmosphere wasn't exactly chaotic, but all the cadets wore puzzled expressions.
Sparring was usually the most tedious class, and they wondered why she'd made such a big deal earlier.
But their eyes lit up at Cho Seo-hyun's next words.
"The sparring partner… is me."
The format was simple.
A team of six cadets would spar against Cho Seo-hyun.
But she wouldn't be alone.
"Here… well… the assistant instructor and I will face you together."
"…"
Did she not remember my name and just skipped saying it?
'Good grief… It's been a week, and I'm still treated as a nobody.'
[She values skill highly. I think it'd be good to show some results in combat.]
'That's easier said than done…'
If I fought Cho Seo-hyun one-on-one, it'd be over in a second.
I could charge in and decapitate her instantly.
What could I possibly contribute as her partner?
And my role was just "assistant."
"Do not target the assistant instructor. His position is as an archer—he'll harass you from a distance so you can't focus solely on me."
"Tea— I mean, Instructor."
"Hm?"
It was Song Ara.
She'd almost used her usual friendly "Teacher" but corrected herself to "Instructor."
Cho Seo-hyun, arms crossed, looked at Song Ara.
"Problem?"
"Well… even if it's you, Instructor Cho Seo-hyun… isn't the gap too big?"
"Ah, don't worry."
Cho Seo-hyun answered Song Ara's concern.
"I won't attack you at all."
"…Huh?"
"Go all out against me."
Song Ara's dumbfounded expression spoke for the entire class.
"Grading is subjective. If you disagree with your score, bring it up after class!"
"""Yes!"""
With that, Cho Seo-hyun led the cadets and me to the large combat training hall.
The hall lived up to its name—spacious, with trees and pillar-like objects scattered around.
"Each team gets 30 minutes. Use any means necessary to pressure me. Don't hold back—come at me like you mean to kill."
"…"
Nervous tension was palpable.
Watching Cho Seo-hyun, one worry nagged at me.
'Cho Seo-hyun… isn't she weak in actual combat?'
[But there's a vast level gap between her and the cadets. She must be confident.]
Well, she had been a hero for a long time. I decided to trust her.
'She's meticulous. She must have a clear grasp of the cadets' level to run this exercise.'
I took the bow provided to instructors and moved to the spot Cho Seo-hyun assigned.
My position was about 100 meters from Cho Seo-hyun.
'Guess she's just giving me something to do so I don't slack off?'
[Likely.]
'Damn…'
Don't hit me with facts like that…
"First team, step forward!"
And so, the first spar began.
***
"Hey! If you break formation like that, the instructor will slip through!"
"Then dodge the arrows! You wanna get hit!?"
At first, Team 1 pressured Cho Seo-hyun decently.
Four melee-focused cadets surrounded her while two ranged attackers fired relentlessly.
They already knew.
Cho Seo-hyun wasn't someone who'd be hurt by mere arrows.
But their early momentum crumbled under Seong Suho's arrows, and soon, their formation was in shambles.
Meanwhile, Cho Seo-hyun…
"Your formation's a mess! Keep this up, and you'll be overrun if reinforcements arrive!"
…walked backward leisurely, hands behind her back, effortlessly outpacing the cadets' full-speed charges.
"Hey! Cover that side!"
"Damn it…"
Cho Seo-hyun watched the cadets flounder with amusement.
'Those two need separate teamwork training. Skilled, but terrible at coordination.'
She jumped gracefully, hands still behind her back.
In contrast, the cadets' stances were already falling apart.
And the occasional arrows.
Whoosh!
"Ugh! God, this is insane!!!"
One cadet snapped upon seeing an arrow embedded right where he'd been about to step.
The arrows kept coming, but none hit or harmed the cadets.
They were precisely aimed at their intended paths.
Cho Seo-hyun glanced at Seong Suho beyond the cadets, impressed.
'He's better than I thought. Why's someone like him just an assistant?'
She'd assigned Seong Suho support duty purely to keep him from slacking off during class.
She knew the cadets couldn't so much as scratch her.
But watching Seong Suho's skills, she immediately understood why he wasn't an active hero.
'His lower body's weak. His accuracy's amazing, though…'
Her initial skepticism faded as she saw him hold his position well.
But his limits soon became apparent.
'…Fast firing rate, great accuracy. But penetration, range, and lower body are issues. Tch… shame.'
Cho Seo-hyun recalled Seong Suho's sharp eyes from the first day and wondered if he was a hidden master.
She'd heard of powerful individuals living quiet, ordinary lives and briefly hoped, but soon dismissed the thought.
As Cho Seo-hyun gave up on Seong Suho, Team 1's spar ended.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
"Ugh… Instructor, have some mercy…"
"Don't worry. Failing to catch me won't lower your score."
Cho Seo-hyun consoled Team 1 before immediately starting Team 2's spar.
...
...
...
By the time the last team, Team 6, took their turn, Cho Seo-hyun felt slightly tense.
Though she'd spent hours "sparring" (read: evading) the cadets, she wasn't tired.
The non-stop action had only warmed her up.
But her tension now wasn't from exhaustion.
'…Song Ara. She won't be easy.'
The reason was Song Ara, the top cadet of the Combat Department.
Skill-wise, the gap was vast, but her relentless pursuit couldn't be ignored.
Once she closed in, her tenacity was something even Cho Seo-hyun acknowledged.
After scanning her surroundings intently, Cho Seo-hyun shouted.
"Begin!"
"Haaah!"
Even in broad daylight, Song Ara's eyes gleamed brightly in Cho Seo-hyun's vision.
If Cho Seo-hyun tried to create distance, Song Ara chased instantly. Dodging sideways only led to Song Ara's agile frame closing in again.
Her pursuit was threatening enough to make Cho Seo-hyun nervous.
But…
'Ara… this is the problem.'
As Cho Seo-hyun pondered, Song Ara's teammates shouted from behind.
"Hey! Ara! Stick together!"
"Ara!"
Song Ara was alone.
Once combat started, she had a bad habit of tuning others out.
It wasn't intentional—she just hyper-focused on her target.
'This is tricky… Makes things easier for me, but bad for their training… Hm?'
Whoosh!
An arrow streaked between Song Ara and Cho Seo-hyun with a sharp sound.
"Tch!"
Startled, Song Ara instinctively stepped back.
Cho Seo-hyun was impressed again.
'Wow… his accuracy's insane. Shooting between me and Ara at that speed takes guts. Is he that confident?'
An assistant instructor's top priority was cadet safety.
Even the best teaching couldn't prevent injuries, and one mistake could get an assistant fired on the spot.
Yet Seong Suho had fired an arrow right into the middle of their high-speed exchange.
Meanwhile, Song Ara's teammates caught up.
"Hey! What's the point of charging ahead alone?"
"Ara! You can't take her alone! We have to work together!"
"S-Sorry."
"It's fine. Just calm down…"
While the melee cadets surrounded Cho Seo-hyun, the ranged ones calmed Song Ara.
They didn't blame her.
"Ara, we'll handle Instructor Cho head-on. You circle around and cut off her escape."
"Okay… got it!"
Song Ara instantly arced around, aiming for Cho Seo-hyun's back.
But keeping up with Cho Seo-hyun's speed wasn't easy.
"If I go all out— Whoa!"
Whoosh!
An arrow zipped past Song Ara's face, forcing her to halt.
Annoyed, she turned to glare at Seong Suho.
"Instructor Suho! Why only me—Ack!"
"Eek! That scared me!"
"Kyah!"
"Huh?"
When Song Ara turned, she saw her teammates frozen mid-chase.
"Huh!? What's wrong!?"
"Th-The arrow…"
"…?"
Song Ara didn't understand, but Cho Seo-hyun saw everything.
Cho Seo-hyun stopped unintentionally, staring at Seong Suho in genuine awe.
'He shot arrows perfectly in front of four charging cadets to stop them in their tracks?'
***
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