Academy's Silver Gatekeeper-Chapter 48

He wanted nothing more than to run away. If fleeing was not possible, then he wished he could faint on the spot. Irina’s secretary had simple wishes like that.

“What did you just say?”

However, that woman did not allow either running or fainting.

He could not do it. He could not lose consciousness or leave his seat. Gazing at that terrifying look in her eyes, he found himself unable to do anything at all.

He almost wished she would beat him, the way she did to villains. The pain in his body might have been severe, but at least his mind would be more at ease.

“What did you say?”

Irina rose from her chair and came closer with determined steps. His heart felt frozen. Fear burrowed into his bones. It felt like death was standing right in front of him.

“One last time. I will ask one last time, yes?”

When Irina said that, the secretary’s face turned completely pale. He knew too well how dangerous she became when she switched from informal speech to polite forms. Whenever a person who usually spoke casually suddenly used honorifics, it meant Irina was truly upset.

“Just now. What did you say?”

He needed to answer. That was the only way to survive, yet his mouth would not open because of fear.

He worried that he would be crushed on the spot if he said the wrong thing, or vanish without a trace. The possibilities stuck to him like tar and kept his lips shut.

Would an ordinary superhuman do such a thing? Maybe not. But this was Irina. The crazy blonde. The Association barely managed to rein her in. If not for that, she would have gone around ripping villains to shreds. And if someone annoyed her, she could turn on them just as easily, even if they were not villains.

Her recent stomp on the Jinhan Group was a prime example. She suddenly talked about creeping into back alleys, and though the secretary tried to stop her, she brought back random men she caught somewhere and was livid with rage. The next day, she marched into Jinhan Group and caused an uproar.

The secretary had no idea what triggered her anger this time.

He was called a “secretary,” but in truth, he acted as a messenger who reported her movements to the Association. He tried to calm her down when she seemed about to lose control. Those tasks were the extent of his job.

One thing was certain. The Jinhan name had nearly been wiped from the world. The man was not talking about forced takeovers or abrupt liquidation. Irina was ready to remove them physically, leaving no traces behind.

“S-some… villains caused chaos in the heart of the city… and, and….”

“And? Do not stop there.”

“Ah, yes. Kim Suhyeon, the granddaughter of Kang Minseong, happened to be there….”

“When did I ask about that? About that old man’s granddaughter living or dying? That is not what I asked.”

Sssss―

Irina’s unrestrained powers made the air around her burn. Or maybe she was not even trying to restrain herself. The enormous pressure crushed the secretary’s entire being. It was the raw, primal fear of standing before an overwhelmingly powerful foe. He wanted to speak, but the words stuck in his throat.

“Th-that Examiner you met before… named Baek Seojin, was there as well….”

Driven by the need to survive, he overcame his fear enough to finish his words.

“….”

Irina said nothing. Not a single word.

Given her habit of blurting out whatever she felt, this was shocking. People joked in the Association that “Irina not talking is as good as Irina being dead.” The secretary found it horrifying to see her go completely silent.

“…They touched him. My handsome oppa.”

After an unknown amount of time, Irina finally spoke, murmuring those words in a quiet voice.

“They messed with someone I already marked as mine.”

“M-Miss Irina?”

“Some random fools tried to scuff him up earlier, which annoyed me, but now the villain rats are getting involved?”

She let out a snort and suddenly whirled around, walking away with heavy footsteps.

“Miss Irina! Where are you going!?”

“Gonna smash the ones who wrecked my stuff.”

“What? Ah, no! Please hold on! If you just leave right now, then what about…?”

They were not in South Korea. Irina and her secretary were in a certain Russian port city.

Reports had surfaced that certain Russian-flagged vessels were sneaking drugs into other countries, so top officials arranged a joint investigation between nations. Normally, Russian and Korean agencies would handle it, but some problems arose.

A few of these drug syndicates were rumored to include villains, and that area was considered an unofficial territory of one of the Elders. Ordinary investigators would be in danger. On top of that, there were issues with the Russian side’s internal situation.

“Currently, most of our S-rank superhumans are dealing with a giant Gate near Saint Petersburg. We only have one available, so if the Korean side can send support, our government will be very grateful.”

That meant they wanted an S-rank superhuman from Korea. Korea agreed, and the Association sent a team of staff and an S-rank bodyguard. That was Irina.

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She had actually volunteered to go. She was bored and thought it might be fun, especially if an Elder turned up. Normally she detested bodyguard work, but this time she claimed she would enjoy it.

“…So that fat pig is scaring them, huh.”

“What do you mean?”

“He only gropes women, so what is there to fear? If I stop him from showing up, I am done. Then they can do whatever they want, yeah?”

When Irina asked that, the secretary instinctively nodded without thinking. If someone had watched from the future, they would have screamed that the secretary should not have done that or told her such a thing.

“Miss Irina? Where are you going?”

“To clear away the problem.”

She said so, then turned and lightly kicked off the ground. In a blink, she became a gold streak soaring beyond the sky.

Before long, there was a massive explosion far away.

It was the fight between an S-rank superhuman, Irina, and the Elder named Aleksei, known to some as a half-god or demigod.

“What the hell, why is that crazy woman picking a fight with me?!”

The Elder never intended to get involved, yet got blindsided anyway.

*

[Our next update: The government, in a joint investigation with Russian authorities, has successfully dismantled an overseas organization that was smuggling drugs. The Russian government has expressed immense gratitude for our country’s assistance….]

Wicked scum. If they want to do drugs, they should keep it in their own country. Why haul it here?

“They are terrible, all right. They tried to sneak narcotics into drug-free Korea.”

Since earlier, Kang Hana had been next to me, chattering away.

She was the student council president. I was just a government employee. Yet she was there, striking up a cheerful conversation as if there was nothing else to do.

“All this leads to more work for public servants.”

“That is true. But it does not actually involve me personally. They will handle it themselves.”

Yes, it was not my department. If anything, it was beneficial for us that we owed Russia a favor. Or maybe they owed us. Whichever the case, I was not directly involved.

“Uh, by the way. Kang Hana. Aren’t you going to class?”

“Today is a free day. You don’t have to worry.”

“Then what about the student council work?”

“It was all done in the morning. There wasn’t anything special on the agenda.”

I wanted her to go away, but she was not budging.

“I read that article a few days ago: ‘A public servant who stopped the Gate crisis, now battles villains to protect the city!’”

“It was not really a big fight. I just traded a few blows, that is all.”

“But witnesses say otherwise. They claim you handled everything, Examiner.”

It was impossible not to notice the sparkly look in Kang Hana’s eyes. She wanted something. She kept glancing at me, but she did not say it outright. She was feeling out my reactions.

‘Maybe it is about the Silver rank evaluations? Possibly she wants to address some student concerns.’

The synergy of Ma Hakjun’s support, plus my rhetorical appeals to the Silvers, had caused positive changes. Yet there were definitely some who disliked the new system.

I remember thinking more than once:

Are they trying to act as a group or something? Are they giving a heads-up, trying to find some kind of compromise?

“You really amaze me every time I see you.”

But Kang Hana showed no signs of that whatsoever. At this point, I was starting to wonder if she just had nothing better to do—if she was coming here simply out of boredom.

“Examiner!”

Off in the distance, Kim Suhyeon comes running over with a bright smile.

She was no longer “the genius consumed by inferiority.” Instead, she had awakened as the “Crimson Witch.” That was not ideal, but at least she had escaped her previous crippling Trait. Also, it had not happened through villainous brainwashing. There was some relief in that, though I was still worried.

‘We must live with it now. Maybe it was her fate to become the Crimson Witch, and the question was how.’

“Oh, Suhyeon!”

Kang Hana, who was standing next to me, waved when she saw Kim Suhyeon running over.

I’d learned earlier during our small talk that the two of them knew each other. Apparently, they used to call each other "sister" so they must’ve been pretty close.

“Senpai, what are you doing here…?”

“I was just having a quick chat with the examiner. Are you feeling better now?”

“Ah… yes. Thank you for your concern.”

For reference, Kim Suhyeon had been forced to take two days off by Kang Minseong. He’d said she was probably pretty shaken and absolutely needed rest to recover mentally and physically.

When Ma Hakjun heard about it, he grumbled, ‘The doctor says she’s fine, so why is he the one making such a fuss? Seriously, just strip him of that “hero” title already.’

“I’m so glad. Really.”

Kang Hana pulled Kim Suhyeon into a gentle hug with a bright smile. From that alone, it looked like a touching moment between affectionate sisters…

So why did her face suddenly go stiff?

Come on, Suhyeon. Smile a little. You’re scaring me.