NOVPUBIt was good news, but there was something that weighed on my mind.
‘You said you chose to return home, not that you’d attend school. I guess attending school isn’t confirmed yet.’
The bait thrown to catch the school refusers was something the leaders of the two clans had said.
The content was simply this: ‘The nightmare is in the Korean Peninsula.’
With just that, even if they decided to return home, it would be hard to reach the decision to attend school just yet.
[Ong Gil-dong] After coming to the Korean Peninsula, he said he would look for a way to contact the leaders of the two clans.
[Guseulbi] We plan to go together. I heard the leaders of the two clans are now holed up in the Shin-yuk region, making it really difficult to contact them. They won’t be able to do it without our help, right?
Honestly speaking, I didn’t think adding these two attention-seeking individuals to the group would help much in dealing with the leaders of the two clans.
At the 12 Zodiac Alliance meeting, the leader of the two clans, whether other leaders were annoyed or not, only spoke about what he wanted to say.
But it’s true that having these two with us increased the chances.
There would be a chance to gather information about the nightmare through the leader of the two clans, and it would become easier to think of ways to get the school refusers to attend school.
‘Then, the remaining two school refusers must be in the Korean Peninsula.’
One of them is said to be harder to get to school than the one chasing the nightmare, but who knows how that will go.
When I tried to ask about it, they shut their mouths, using ‘that word’ and warning that I might hinder things.
Hearing ‘that word’ was painful, so I decided not to press any further.
Instead, I asked for something else.
[I] “Even if you're busy, attend school on the first day. The teacher and the kids will be waiting.”
At least, you should show your face on the first day.
After I asked the two to attend school, they sent replies with smug attitudes.
[Guseulbi] “It’s only natural to wait for the great Druyid’s school attendance. I can’t help it. I’ll attend school that day and show my greatness.”
[Ong Gil-dong] “You’ve been waiting for my grand entrance! I’ll make sure my entrance to school matches the start of my glorious school life. Wait for it.”
I hadn’t called them to do such attention-seeking things, but I swallowed my words, thinking about how happy our classmates would be just with them showing up at school, no matter what trouble they caused.
The entrance ceremony and the start of school were approaching, and I left the Tiger Mansion, where I had stayed for a long time.
The tigers seemed to have planned for me to leave the dormitory and commute from the mansion, as they made a lot of strange remarks.
“It would be easier to ensure the safety of the descendants if we commute together in the morning.”
Does it matter whether I’m there or not when Hwang Jiho is commuting with me?
Could they really be trying to force me into that short commute out of laziness?
I didn’t respond to Hwang Jiho’s nonsense, but I was shaken by the descendants’ words.
“If you stay in the mansion, you can walk the divine beast every day!”
“We can help with the divine beast’s bath!”
“The White Tiger-sama must have found it hard to do it alone every time...”
Are they saying that my days with the divine beast will continue after school starts?
Just imagining it made my heart feel warm.
And the fact that spending time with the divine beast would help my last playable character made me even more inclined.
If I think about it a bit, it wouldn’t be hard for a noble of the mythological world to walk and bathe a soft, fluffy divine beast, but still, it might be tiring, so helping out seems like a good idea, right?
But I’m worried that I might get used to staying at the Tiger Mansion.
Staying at the Tiger Mansion would also restrict my mobility.
“I’m looking forward to living in the dorms with the senior, Eui-shin. We’ll be able to see each other more often, right?”
While my mind was conflicted, I stopped by the modern annex and heard Eun-ho’s words, which brought me back to my senses.
Come to think of it, Eun-ho was going to become a dormitory student.
Like I did, he would immediately enter the dorms after the entrance ceremony.
I’d have to help Eun-ho adjust well to the dorm life as a senior.
When Eun-ho said that, Hwang Yuuho, who looked like Hwang Jiho, suddenly intervened.
“Eun-ho, you’ll go to the 1st-year building, and Eui-shin will go to the 2nd-year building. Even though it’s the same dorm, it’s different.”
“Still, I’ll be able to see you more often than now, and it will be easier to ask for help. I don’t know much, so I hope Eui-shin will teach me a lot. Dong-ha-hyung will continue commuting, right?”
“Eun-ho...”
When Hwang Yuuho expressed dissatisfaction, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
Should I soothe him with something delicious?
Today’s snack was dried persimmons that Kim Shinrok had bought as a souvenir. I wasn’t sure if it would suit young Hwang Yuuho’s taste.
While I hesitated about what to give him, fortunately, Eun-ho comforted Hwang Yuuho.
“It’s okay to invite him after graduation. But it’s better to invite him to the mansion often.”
What he meant by “inviting him” was secondary, but I felt relieved when Hwang Yuuho cheered up.
After finishing my stay at the Tiger Mansion, I returned to the dorm.
The first-year building, which would be receiving new students, had to be vacated, so the great migration of the second and third-year students began ahead of the entrance ceremony.
Our class dormitory students, who had been away during the vacation, returned, and we all saw each other’s faces again.
“I’m so glad I can eat school meals again starting today!”
Among the returning kids, Sa-wol Se-eum was the most moved.
She said she had to eat Korean food at home all through the vacation.
Occasionally, Oh Hye-jeong made Western dishes for her, but it seemed she couldn’t eat enough of what satisfied her.
‘I did feed her a lot when we met, but she seems thinner than before.’
I had tried to make sure she ate well at events like Kwon Lena and Dokgo Miro’s birthdays, but it seemed that wasn’t enough.
She was very thin when I first met her, but now I hoped she gained weight like Maeng Hyo-don, who recovered and looked healthier.
‘The last time Maeng Hyo-don had a physical check-up, the doctor said his physical functions were back to normal. He warned about excessive use of recovery items, but that’s something to watch out for...’
The doctor in charge of Maeng Hyo-don said recovery items should be avoided until the growth period was over.
He had made significant progress, so even if he used recovery items, no serious issues would arise, but it could still affect his physical abilities.
Maeng Hyo-don was working hard to become stronger, and I hoped there wouldn’t be any obstacles along the way.
“Oh, everyone’s here. I’ve moved all the luggage, so I’ll help you now.”
“I’ll help too.”
“Me too.”
Maeng Hyo-don, Mok U-ram, and Han Yi, who had been guarding the dorm during the vacation, had already moved all the luggage and were helping us.
Although they had been in the dorm the whole time, they greeted each other as if it had been a long time.
‘Han Yi said he was dedicated to training Taehogwon during the vacation.’
I had thought Han Yi would stay at the orphanage all through the vacation, but it seemed he had been coming back to the dorm except on holidays like the New Year.
Even though he had stayed in the dorm, it seemed he didn’t meet Maeng Hyo-don or Mok U-ram much because he was busy with Taehogwon training.
‘Even if they stayed in the dorm, Maeng Hyo-don and Mok U-ram were busy, so they probably didn’t see each other much.’
Maeng Hyo-don had been training with Takgeosan Taoist and Bang Yun-seop, while Mok U-ram had been holed up in the forge.
I haven’t confirmed how much progress they made, but it’s clear that they spent their vacation doing what they wanted.
It was probably the same for Kwon Lena, who had stayed in the Eternal Lake team building.
“Lena, I’ll carry this.”
“This box must be heavy with all the music sheets in it...”
“That’s why I should carry it. If the playing hands get hurt, it won’t be good.”
Wouldn’t a craftsman’s hands be just as important as playing hands?
But Mok U-ram didn’t seem to consider the value of his hands at all.
Given that Mok U-ram was much stronger, he ended up carrying most of the luggage.
While moving the luggage, the two of them talked a lot, and during their conversation, Mok U-ram occasionally fiddled with the inside pocket.
I was sure the Energy Violin Card was in that pocket.
‘I can’t just ask for it right away. I’ll have to wait and watch. Even without the Energy Violin, I can still play the violin...’
We started moving the luggage in the morning, and by the time we had moved everything and finished organizing, it was time for dinner.
Everyone had worked hard, and I wanted to take them out to eat something delicious, but the kids asked to eat school meals at the dormitory since it had been a while.
There were so many students moving in today that the main dish was Chinese food.
We could choose between Korean and Chinese food, but almost all the dormitory students in the cafeteria seemed to choose Chinese food.
“I wanted to have Western food, but Chinese food is good too!”
Sa-wol Se-eum said while only picking fried chicken from the Chinese dish.
Today’s dinner was a great meal, but Sa-wol Se-eum refused Maeng Hyo-don’s suggestion to try the famous noodle dish, and stuck to the Western food-like options. She said she would definitely have a Western dessert for dessert.
The next day, morning.
It felt like I had just woken up in the dorm after a long time.
The building had been moved, but the room layout was the same, so it should have felt familiar, but perhaps because I had moved up a grade, it felt a little more spacious and awkward, and I had a strange feeling inside.
‘I’ll be living here from now on, so I need to think of it as home. I’ve been at the Tiger Mansion for too long.’
When I thought of home, the space the Guardian had opened in the cycle of reincarnation came to mind.
At first, it wasn’t the dorm, but the Tiger Mansion that I had illuminated.
I decided to stop these unnecessary thoughts and shift my focus.
Before the entrance ceremony tomorrow, there was someone I needed to meet today.
This person would likely be very busy with preparations for tomorrow, but I needed to meet them now, considering what was coming up.
[Cheon Dong-ha] “Eui-shin, I’ve cleared the student council room.”
[Cheon Dong-ha] “I’ll be waiting at the back gate.”
The person I needed to meet today was Cheon Dong-ha.
“Eui-shin, come on in.”
It was just past lunchtime when I met him in the student council room at the scheduled time.
Cheon Dong-ha said he had finished all his work yesterday so he could keep this appointment today.
“Sorry for suddenly asking such an unreasonable favor.”
“It’s okay. I needed to rest for a day before the entrance ceremony anyway.”
I checked the student council room just in case.
As Cheon Dong-ha had said, no one was there.
“I’ve been wanting to play chess together after a long time, but I guess you called me for something else today, right?”
“Yes.”
After confirming everything, I immediately spoke about the matter.
“I have something to tell you about the secret passage between the student council room and the student leadership room.”
Cheon Dong-ha’s eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting me to know about the secret organization and to have arranged this meeting to talk about it.
‘Considering what’s ahead, I should let Cheon Dong-ha know.’
To use the secret passage between the student council room and the student leadership room, you needed an access pass, so it would require cooperation from someone affiliated with the self-governing organizations. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
Cheon Dong-ha already knew about the secret passage and had cooperated with it several times, so it was easy to discuss the matter with him.
If I got his cooperation, I wouldn’t need to call in ‘that guy’ just to enter the student leadership room—this was the best possible outcome.
And there was someone I wanted to introduce to Cheon Dong-ha.
“It’ll be quicker if you go see for yourself. I’ll guide you. I also want to introduce someone there.”
