“This is truly delicious.”
Holding a piece of bread, I chewed it slowly, murmuring my appreciation.
I hadn’t gone to the cafeteria for lunch.
Instead, I’d bought some bread from the convenience store to eat.
This unpleasant sensation in my hands.
It felt as if I had personally murdered So-yi.
“Still, I’m glad you like it.”
In-ju smiled, watching me.
We were currently on the school rooftop.
The sea stretched out in the distance, and the only sound was the quiet hum of the day.
I was so happy that I could forget about the headache-induced dream I’d had.
“Eating together like this really brings back old memories, doesn’t it?”
In-ju tapped my shoulder as he spoke.
My childhood came to mind.
My elementary school days.
How hard I’d worked to become close with him.
I nodded in response to his words.
“Yeah.”
“Eun-ah, do you remember when we said we’d get married as kids?”
In-ju chuckled.
‘How could I ever forget that?’
I hesitated, then continued my reply.
“Did we? We must have been so cute back then.”
At my words, In-ju, whose arms were crossed, stared intently at my face.
He gazed fixedly at me.
I flinched, quickly lowering my head.
“W-why are you suddenly looking at my face…?”
“You’re still cute now, though?”
“Huh?”
“I said, you’re still cute.”
In-ju’s serious declaration made my face flush and heat up.
A reply slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself.
“Y-you idiot…”
In-ju let out a small laugh at my words.
He then immediately pulled out a rice ball and began to munch on it.
“This is good.
The convenience store isn’t bad either.”
In-ju ate his rice ball, gazing at the distant sea.
‘I wish these moments could last forever.
Continuously.
Without interruption…’
****
*Thud.* Without realizing it, I dropped my bread onto the floor.
The bread falling had stained my skirt, making it a mess.
“What am I going to do…?”
As I panicked, In-ju pulled a tissue from his pocket and offered it to me.
I hastily took the tissue he handed me and began wiping my clothes.
‘I shouldn’t have eaten chocolate bread…’
“Eun-ah, you’ve got some on your mouth too.”
In-ju looked at me, beginning to speak.
He said it was on my face.
I quickly tried to wipe my mouth with the tissue.
“No, not there.
Give it to me.”
In-ju snatched the tissue from me and began to wipe the corner of my mouth.
Being this close to In-ju.
‘He smells nice.’
Wiping my mouth, In-ju smiled as he gazed at me.
“There, all done.”
I felt good today.
It was as if everything would go well.
****
Mid-April
I quickly adapted to the academy.
I’d grown closer to Seol and In-ju, and I was even achieving decent grades in firearms practice.
With Ret, my homunculus, we boasted fantastic teamwork, even known as the ‘dream pair’ in class.
And So-yi had been avoiding me ever since that day.
It felt as if she was deliberately shunning me.
Since she usually hung around with other male students anyway, I might have been out of her sphere of interest from the start.
The students who used to bother me had vanished without a trace after I became friends with In-ju, and I thought my path forward would be nothing but smooth sailing.
[Midterm exam period announced.]
“Midterms already? That’s ridiculous!”
Seol was despairing as she looked at the midterm exam notice posted on the board.
Midterms.
As a non-awakened individual, I had no practical exams other than firearms class.
This meant only theoretical studies remained.
I was worried about theory.
I didn’t exactly study diligently.
Ha Eun-ah had always been a student who managed to keep up with both practical and written work, so I’d assumed I could quickly catch up, but that was my mistake.
Without effort, I wouldn’t be able to keep pace.
“Hey Eun-ah, want to study together?”
Seol looked at me, making the suggestion.
‘Study together?
Seol might actually be able to help me with my studies.’
‘And honestly, I really need to study.’
“Let’s study together, okay?
I’ll even buy you your favorite chocolate bread.”
At her words, I nodded.
‘It’s not because of the chocolate bread.’
‘I merely need Seol’s help to do well on the midterms.’
“What? You two decided to study together?”
In-ju suddenly appeared behind us, speaking up.
Seol immediately tossed her hair back, speaking with confidence.
“Of course.
Eun-ah agreed to study with me.”
Seol threw her arms around me in a tight hug.
‘Seol is a bit too much.’
‘If we study just the two of us, it’s bound to cause all sorts of annoying complications.’
“But I was going to study with Eun-ah.”
“Well, you should’ve said something before me then.”
“What kind of logic is that?
Eun-ah isn’t yours.”
In-ju and Seol bickered, squabbling with each other.
I watched them thoughtfully for a moment, then turned to Seol, beginning to speak.
“Um, Seol.”
“Yes?”
At my words, Seol tilted her head, looking at me.
‘I should tell her I want In-ju to study with us too.’
I stammered, starting to speak.
“I-I thought it would be good if In-ju studied with us too.”
“Hmm.”
Seol stared at In-ju.
She pondered for a moment, then continued.
“Since Eun-ah says so, I guess there’s no helping it.
Even though I don’t like it…”
Seol scowled as she looked at In-ju.
‘That’s a relief.
At least Seol agreed to let him study with us.’
“Alright, so today, let’s just go to the cafe for a quick review, and then we’ll study in the library from next time on.”
Seol smiled, speaking as if she had planned it all beforehand.
‘A cafe?
I’ve never been to the campus cafe.’
‘I’ve heard it’s a well-designed, modern cafe, though.’
“Why a cafe?
We could just review at the library…”
“Eun-ah.
Have you ever tried the cafe’s special chocolate bread?”
Seol interrupted In-ju, chattering excitedly.
‘Chocolate bread?
This is the first I’m hearing of it.’
“No.”
“Then let’s go quickly!
In-ju, you hurry up and follow us.”
Seol immediately latched onto my side and started walking.
‘It seems things are only going to get more troublesome.’
****
*Munch.* With a piece of chocolate bread in my mouth, I was trying to solve problems.
‘Heroics: An Introduction’ felt utterly incomprehensible, no matter how much I looked at it.
Beside me, In-ju and Seol were studying, having only ordered one drink each.
We were currently in the academy cafe.
It was a popular spot favored by many students.
The special bread was delicious, but absolutely no information was sinking into my brain.
‘Has my brain turned to mush?’
Beside me, In-ju and Seol were diligently working through problems, their pens moving rapidly.
‘Somehow, I feel like I’m being compared to them.’
“Eun-ah, aren’t you studying?”
In-ju looked at me as he spoke.
I hadn’t made any progress at all.
‘I still hadn’t moved past Chapter 1.’
“I try to memorize it, but it just won’t stick in my head.”
As I mumbled, chewing on my bread, In-ju spoke with a worried expression.
“Then let’s start with something easy.
I’ll help you.”
In-ju offered his assistance, explaining various things.
His explanations were concise and clear.
Seol, who was next to us, flinched, then interrupted In-ju’s explanation.
“You can’t do it like that.
This is how you’re supposed to solve it.”
Seol suddenly cut in, chattering over In-ju’s words.
‘But I only wanted to listen to In-ju’s explanation.’
Just as Seol and In-ju were bickering, someone approached from in front of them.
“Oh, I thought it was noisy.
So Seol was here.”
The one approaching us was none other than Baek Seol-hwa.
At Seol-hwa’s haughty gait, Seol’s face crumpled into a deep frown.
‘That annoying b*tch is here again.’
Seol muttered, turning her head away in irritation.
‘As expected, the two sisters don’t get along.’
‘And since neither of them intends to back down, it only makes things worse.’
“May I sit here for a moment?”
Seol-hwa, who had been looking at In-ju and me, sat down as soon as I nodded.
Seol fumed at her.
“Don’t sit! Don’t sit!”
“Why are you like this?
Your friend said it was okay to sit.”
Seol-hwa smiled, sweeping her hair back.
Seol-hwa was radiating overwhelming charisma.
‘How could anyone possibly defeat a woman like that?’
‘Seol would be more at peace if she just gave up.’
“But why are you even here?”
Seol, arms crossed, spoke with annoyance.
In response to Seol’s words, Seol-hwa replied with an air of mild exasperation.
“I didn’t come here to see you, but to see Eun-ah.”
‘She came to see me?’
Her words made me flinch.
‘There was no reason for Seol-hwa to see me, unless it was because of that time.’
Early March.
I distinctly remembered being invited to a meal by Seol-hwa’s maid while training with the homunculi.
‘But I don’t recall making an actual appointment.’
“Me?”
“Yes, Eun-ah.
I was a little hurt that you didn’t tell me you wanted to have a meal together.”
Baek Seol-hwa spoke calmly.
It wasn’t a regretful expression.
“Oh, about that…”
“You don’t need to make excuses.”
Baek Seol-hwa spoke firmly.
At her words, In-ju, who was next to me, also became tense.
“We can always have a meal together later, at our leisure.”
Baek Seol-hwa, who was sitting with her legs crossed, slowly gazed at me, about to speak.
‘Why is she making me so nervous?’
‘I just came here to study normally, but now I’m caught in this situation.’
Tensely, I mumbled.
‘Please, just let me avoid the worst-case scenario.’
“So why are you coming here and causing trouble when we’re all trying to study?!”
Seol, seemingly furious, flailed a bit as she retorted.
Seol-hwa’s eyebrows twitched at Seol’s outburst.
“I was about to speak, wasn’t I?
Could you be quiet for a moment?”
At Seol-hwa’s words, the surroundings instantly fell silent.
Baek Seol-hwa immediately gazed at me.
Seol-hwa’s lips parted, and she began to speak.
“Eun-ah, I’d like you to join the student council.”
“Unnie (TL Note: Korean term for an older sister or close older female friend, used by a younger female)!”
Seol began to speak, clearly flustered.
Seol-hwa raised a hand, stopping Seol.
“Shh.
What do you think, Eun-ah?”
Seol-hwa’s words left me bewildered.
‘To suddenly ask me to join the student council.’
“But it’s so sudden…”
“The disciplinary committee has an open position, you see.
It’ll be recorded on your student record, and you’ll receive support funds and external activity opportunities, so I thought it would be beneficial for you, Eun-ah.”
I hesitated at her words.
Joining the student council would certainly be advantageous.
Seol-hwa’s influential position.
And the strength of solidarity as fellow non-awakened individuals.
Seol-hwa took my hand and continued.
“Non-awakened individuals should help each other, shouldn’t we?”
Seol-hwa’s words made my resolve waver slightly.
Certainly, in the original story, Ha Eun-ah had no connection to the student council.
‘Perhaps aligning with her for a different route wouldn’t be a bad idea.’
“No.
I refuse.”
The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.
Baek Seol-hwa smiled at my refusal.
“Somehow, I thought Eun-ah would say that.”
Seol-hwa accepted my words lightly.
‘I don’t know why, but a part of my mind, Ha Eun-ah, was shouting.’
‘If I join the student council, the time I spend with In-ju will decrease.’
‘And I won’t be able to see him for that much less time.’
‘I thought Ha Eun-ah’s words made sense.’
‘After all, what matters most is In-ju.’
“Alright, if you’re done with your business, you can leave.
Eun-ah will never join something like the student council.”
Seol pressed close to my side, trying to quickly push Seol-hwa away.
Seol-hwa smiled and stood up.
“Still, the position is open, so if you change your mind, feel free to let me know.”
Seol-hwa spoke, gazing at me.
‘Is she really determined to get me into the student council?’
Flustered by her words, I nodded.
“Then, get along well with our Seol.”
“Nyah!”
Seol, clearly annoyed, retorted curtly to Seol-hwa.
Seol-hwa let out a small chuckle and disappeared.
Seol-hwa promptly exited the cafe.
‘Asking me to join the student council?
What was she thinking?’
‘No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why she wanted to recruit me.’
‘Me, of all people, someone so utterly ordinary.’
****
“Grant us salvation, O Saint John’s Academy… A single ray of salvation will save us all.”
A woman sat on the dais.
She was kneeling, offering a prayer to the statue of the goddess before her.
Her name was Samael.
Platinum blonde hair and a delicate, sickly face.
Melancholy eyes, and a small, perfectly formed nose and mouth.
To anyone who saw her, she was undeniably a beauty.
Mid-twenties.
Though young, she was a dignified Mother Superior.
“Mother Superior!”
Someone rushed onto the dais, calling Samael’s name.
Samael immediately turned her head, gazing at the nun who had hurried over.
“What is it?”
“Th-the rebels have arrived.”
At the mention of “rebels,” Samael’s composure faltered for a moment.
Samael nodded, her face regaining its peaceful expression.
“Then tell them to come in.”
Even before Samael finished speaking, a burly man slowly walked in from outside.
The middle-aged man with white hair, dressed in a suit, approached them.
Coiled around his neck was none other than a white snake.
The white serpent moved freely around his neck.
Wearing sunglasses, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and clamped it between his lips.
“Are you the rebels?”
“We prefer a more refined term than ‘rebels.’
Among ourselves, we use the word ‘Resistance.’”
At the man’s words, Samael frowned deeply, clearly displeased.
“Resistance, you say?”
“It sounds cooler, doesn’t it?”
*Phew*—he exhaled a puff of smoke, smiling.
Samael coughed, irritated by his cigarette smoke.
“Oh, my apologies.”
He spoke, scanning the cathedral.
From expensive-looking statues to elaborate stained-glass windows, the man chuckled, exhaling smoke.
“This must be worth quite a bit.
Saint John’s Academy.”
“What do you mean…?”
“We’ll be taking over this place, Mother Superior.”
At his words, the Mother Superior flinched.
“And Mother Superior, you will assist us in our work.”
Samael nodded at his words.
Seeing her expression of resignation, the man smiled.
He turned abruptly to leave.
Samael watched him, beginning to ask.
“Before you begin your work, your name…”
At Samael’s words, the man pondered for a moment, then lowered his sunglasses and began to speak.
“Baron.
Just call me Baron.”
Baron smiled as he exited the Grand Cathedral of Saint John’s Academy.
