Chapter 36: The Beginning of Assistant Professor Minseo Choi

“Is it Irua, then?”

Choi Min-seo repeated her name to herself. Jeong Ui-seok gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Then let’s start the training, Min-seo. You have the best fundamentals in the Dragon King Squadron, so you’ll be a huge help to your juniors.”

Hearing those words, Choi Min-seo forgot about the strange feeling she had just moments ago and quickly smiled.

“Me, I have good fundamentals?”

“Of course. The others are so unreliable. Ji Se-hwa and Shin Yu-gyeong, you have to be able to trust them. Naturally, you’re the best.”

“Eheh. Heheh.”

Choi Min-seo twisted her body. She and Irua entered the training area.

“Then I’ll transform!”

[QUETZALCOHUA’TL!]

[On your Way!]

[Here comes the Dragon Lord!]

Choi Min-seo equipped the green dragon switch for her transformation. She changed into Green Nature.

On the other hand, Irua simply took a light stance.

‘Since they’re a junior, I’ll start with basic martial arts!’

Choi Min-seo lightly stepped forward and approached with a punch. It was a fighting technique she had learned from Jeong Ui-seok.

Even though she was assigned to rear support, she was a member of the S-Squadron. Her skills in martial arts, swordsmanship, and marksmanship were top-tier among the heroes around the world.

However…

Swoosh, slap, pow!

Irua’s moves were faster. In an instant, she swatted Choi Min-seo’s arm away and landed a series of strikes to her chin with the bottom of her palm.

‘Huh? What?’

Her helmet shattered in an instant. Her lips were hot. Choi Min-seo ran her fingers over her chin, realizing blood was dripping from it.

In a panic, she turned to look at Jeong Ui-seok, who was wearing a strange smile. Choi Min-seo decided to pull herself together. This hero was incredibly strong.

The training continued. Choi Min-seo gradually started getting serious, but she couldn’t even land a scratch on Irua.

It almost felt like Irua was the one receiving the training, not her.

Choi Min-seo’s breath grew heavier. As the injuries on her body began to multiply…

Whoooosh—Kwahh!

Irua’s spinning kick, with far more power than anything so far, landed on Choi Min-seo’s abdomen. She spat out blood mixed with saliva and rolled across the floor in a pitiful manner.

“Okay, that’s enough. Let’s both take a little break.”

When Choi Min-seo heard Jeong Ui-seok’s voice, she stood up nonchalantly and patted her thighs to brush off any dust.

Jeong Ui-seok’s expression as he approached her was filled with a gentle smile.

For some reason, Choi Min-seo felt uneasy about that smile.

“Just like I thought, Min-seo! You didn’t hold back for your junior like that. You didn’t use your full power because you were worried Irua might get hurt, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Ah… yes, that’s right.”

“Good. You really remember what I taught you well. You’re so smart.”

Jeong Ui-seok praised her, patting her back. Hearing the compliment, Choi Min-seo felt like the pain from the hits was worth it.

“Hehe. Well, that’s true, but… who is this junior? You’re better than I expected…”

“Hmm. They might be a hero we could recruit. I’m thinking of taking them as a new member of the Dragon King Squadron.”

“New member? But there are already six of us. Isn’t that too many?”

At those words, Jeong Ui-seok slightly frowned, but it was only for a moment.

“Haha. It’s hard to manage, but there have been squads in the past that started with nine members in the S-Squadron.”

“Really… So, did you personally teach them, Oppa?”

“Yeah. They’re a talented one.”

Talented.

At those words, a sense of unease started to rise within Choi Min-seo’s chest.

“Uh, how talented are they?”

“Quite a bit. The future looks very promising. Their growth potential doesn’t even have a clear limit yet.”

“More than me…?”

Choi Min-seo, feeling the growing unease that Jeong Ui-seok might abandon her, unconsciously grabbed the collar of his clothes.

“Haha, that’s impossible. Of all the heroes I’ve seen, you, Min-seo, are the best.”

“Hehe, hehehe.”

“Well, the others are a mess. Ji Se-hwa, Shin Yu-gyeong, Kang Ye-rin—none of them are any help to me.”

“R-right? No help…”

“I only want those who can really help me by my side. I might even reduce the Dragon King Squadron this time. The number’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

Choi Min-seo swallowed her saliva. Hanging onto his form, she looked up at his face, which was much higher than hers, and shouted.

“I’ll help you, Oppa!”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

“Hm. Actually, there’s something troublesome that’s been going on recently.”

“Really? What is it?”

“It’s nothing big, but a thief broke into my house. I lost something I had been using and have been in trouble because of it.”

“Something you were using…?”

Choi Min-seo tilted her head.

“Well, no matter how much I think about it, it seems like the association president took it. I don’t have solid proof, but…”

Upon hearing that, Choi Min-seo immediately had an idea where it was going.

No, she knew exactly what had happened.

Her memory was in a confused state.

She remembered everything up until now clearly: the association president, the task she had taken on for Festam, and the Galactic Empire.

But added on top of that were the memories of the drug made from Festam—cherry-colored clouds—and the noise that made those memories feel real.

Her sense of time was now blurred.

The most significant difference in information was the change in her relationship with Jeong Ui-seok.

She still perceived her relationship with Jeong Ui-seok as a positive mentor-student relationship from two years ago, during the early days of the Dragon King Squadron.

The rest of her knowledge aligned with the present, and she was forcing the contradictions to fit, especially concerning her relationship with Jeong Ui-seok.

‘Not long ago, the association president told me to hide Oppa’s things. I guess this is about that.’

Choi Min-seo concluded. She had justified not returning it right away because he had gone on a business trip to the United States two years ago.

She dismissed the argument she had with the Dragon King Squadron during the Pegasus battle as a minor trouble.

In her memories, Jeong Ui-seok had never died.

‘So, it was stolen. Then, of course, I need to return it to Oppa.’

Choi Min-seo thought that, but…

“Min-seo, what do you think? Do you know anything about it? I need it back right away.”

She didn’t immediately respond to Jeong Ui-seok’s request to return it.

There was an unsettling feeling somewhere in her heart.

An inexplicable distrust that Jeong Ui-seok no longer trusted her.

The obsessive compulsion to keep creating a connection between them continued to rise.

‘But if I act like I don’t know, he might think I’m useless.’

With that thought in mind, Choi Min-seo came up with a cunning idea.

“Oppa, I know where it is.”

“Really? If you bring it all back, Min-seo, it would be a big help.”

“I can bring it. But…”

Choi Min-seo trailed off.

“It’s in a somewhat dangerous place, so it’s hard to bring it all at once. If I bring it little by little, maybe twenty times or so, would that work?”

For a moment, Jeong Ui-seok’s expression hardened. Choi Min-seo had a bad feeling but quickly realized it was just a misunderstanding. Jeong Ui-seok was smiling brightly and looking pleased.

“Really?! I knew I could count on you, Minseo! I’m relying on you. Now, let’s continue with the training!”

“Ah, right now…?”

Looking down at Minseo, Jeong E-seok raised the corner of his lips in a smile. It was a smile that Minseo found unfamiliar.

“You can do it, right? I’m expecting a lot from you, so you won’t disappoint me, right?”

He’s expecting a lot from me. Jeong E-seok, from me.

I can’t disappoint him. I’ll make him praise me.

Only me, only me, only me.

Minseo forced her trembling legs to stand.

Eventually, after Lee Ru-ah had beaten Minseo until she was almost a rag, the training was finally over.

Of course, training against monsters was still efficient. The combatants of the Galactic Empire were always enhanced with scenario bonuses.

But the true enemies of villains were heroes.

Moreover, with the title of S-class and being a member of the S Squadron, the Dragon King Squadron’s Minseo.

In the arena setting inside this abandoned factory, Lee Ru-ah had gained experience at an astounding rate with impressive efficiency.

“Hah, hah, huuu…”

Severely injured, Minseo was sprawled on the floor.

“Is this okay? You said you had something to get back, right?”

After finishing her hunting, Lee Ru-ah came over and asked.

“Yes, I do. If that foolish girl hadn’t been messing around, I would’ve treated her kindly today.”

“Messing around?”

“If she hadn’t said she would bring the Feztam back in twenty trips, that was way too slow. I thought I could just raise the amount, but I underestimated it.”

“Can’t you just force it? I could manipulate her emotions.”

“Your emotional manipulation affects real emotions, so there’s a chance she could snap out of it subconsciously. If she realizes what’s happening, she might turn on us as enemies, which would make things even harder. Right now, we don’t even know where the Feztam is.”

“Can’t we just buy it from Elena again?”

“I’ve already swept up all the high-purity Feztam in the world. There’s not enough time to make more. What’s in the association is all we have.”

“Ugh, how troublesome, Green Nature.”

Lee Ru-ah coldly looked down at Minseo.

“Lua, are you annoyed?”

“A little.”

“Why?”

“…Ze-o, you never talk to me like that.”

“Honestly, this tone feels strange to me too.”

“I know. But still.”

Lee Ru-ah chewed her lips. I nodded.

“Well, if it’s just sometimes, then sure.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“You promised.”

Lee Ru-ah gave a grin.

“What are you going to do with Green Nature?”

I approached Minseo, grabbed her arm, and helped her stand up.

“Minseo, how about we sleep together tonight?”

“Eh? O-opp… together…?”

Minseo looked up at me, her cheeks flushing.

“Yeah. You’ve had a tough time, and I have a gift that I think you’ll like.”

“Wow, a gift?”

“Yeah.”

I placed a collar around Minseo’s neck and handcuffs on her wrists.

“O-opp, what is this…?”

“Our Minseo is so good. I think you’re the prettiest when you listen well. So brave, so brave.”

I patted Minseo’s head, and her suspicious eyes softened as her pupils relaxed.

“Now, shall we do what Minseo likes?”

Saying that, I presented a small envelope filled with pink powder in front of her.

Minseo, like Pavlov’s dog, started wagging her hips and sniffing the air.