I Became the Academy's Disabled Student-Chapter 264: The Revenge of a Gentleman (2)

Although the snow had not yet fallen, the outside air was cool enough to be noticeable.

Lunch had already passed, and it was still too early for dinner. The students who had left the evaluation hall each moved along, feeling the winter chill.

Among them was Hong Yeonhwa.

However, unlike the others, she did not feel the cold as much.

An extraordinary body is inherently resilient. Of course, her sensory threshold is not always high, but her endurance had clearly improved, allowing her to handle the cold better than ordinary people.

Hong Yeonhwa's body, being influenced by her Fire Qi, was naturally full of heat. Unless she encountered some kind of disaster like the trials of Fire Qi, she could maintain a warm body temperature even if dropped in the middle of a snowfield.

When she was young, traveling around the Changhae territory to gain battle experience, while others were complaining of the cold, Hong Yeonhwa alone managed to stay warm.

"Yeonhwa Yeonhwa."

But the warmth Hong Yeonhwa was feeling now was different.

Her left hand, which she had been holding, was gently pulled. Looking to the side, she saw Ha-Yul, who was holding her hand tightly, shaking a cup.

Ha-Yul, with a subtle smile, gently shook the cup.

"You did well on the notes. I bought this from the café; would you like some?"

"What is that?"

"Iced chocolate. You usually feel hot even on cold days, don't you? Or I have hot chocolate as well."

"Ah, thank you."

Her mouth had been feeling dry, so Hong Yeonhwa brightly accepted the iced chocolate.

She immediately tilted the cup towards her mouth, feeling the refreshing coolness, while the scent of chocolate that brushed against her nose filled her mouth and flowed down her throat.

"Ugh... it's sweet. I like it because of that."

"Hehe, did you do well on the exam?"

"...uh..."

As Hong Yeonhwa savored the sweetness left in her mouth, she flinched at Ha-Yul's innocent question.

'...Am I not going to lose second place this time...?'

For the past few days, everyone had been studying together at the mansion. During several mock exams, Ha-Yul had shockingly scored perfect marks in all of them.

And he did so with plenty of time remaining. Everyone had been astounded by his speed, even faster than Baek Arin.

'And the practical exam...'

In sparring, it had always been a crushing defeat. Although he hadn’t used his unique ability, he had been overwhelmingly defeated by basic skills. If that was the case, it seemed likely Ha-Yul would surpass her in the practical exam as well.

As those thoughts surfaced, her eyelids fluttered. The feeling was quite unpleasant.

What should she say... her pride felt strangely wounded. She, who was already overwhelmed by her talented husband, was now being surpassed in even her main skill...

"...No, um... I did okay."

"Aha."

Ha-Yul nodded without pressing further, quickly guessing the result from Hong Yeonhwa’s evasive response.

She didn’t think she had completely failed. Even though Hong Yeonhwa lacked confidence, she had been ranked high in written exams in the first semester as well.

"Hehe."

Despite that, a smile continued to spread on her face. Whenever she saw that bright red scarf in her field of vision, a careless smile would form on her lips.

At the same time, a little anxiety lingered.

Ha-Yul gently pulled at her hand. Hong Yeonhwa, who had been tilting her cup, turned her gaze. Looking into the misty space, Ha-Yul whispered softly.

"How's the scarf...? Is it uncomfortable?"

"Not at all. It's really comfortable. It’s not uncomfortable outside, and it’s super soft."

"Really?"

Hong Yeonhwa answered immediately without hesitation. It wasn’t just flattery. There was no discomfort at all.

The texture was incredibly soft and perfectly warm. It wasn’t too long to be cumbersome, and it wasn’t too short to leave her feeling exposed.

Though many mistook her for someone who casually threw on a baseball jacket, Hong Yeonhwa was familiar with luxury.

This wasn’t just an expensive item because of its brand; it was genuinely made from expensive materials and a lot of care.

As the precious heir of the Fire Qi family, Hong Yeonhwa had been surrounded by such luxury her whole life, and by her standards, this scarf was very comfortable.

Considering that Ha-Yul had made it by hand with such care? For Hong Yeonhwa, this scarf was a treasure that couldn’t be measured by its price.

"Hehe, I’m glad to hear that."

Though she didn’t openly say everything on her mind, just hearing that made Ha-Yul smile brightly, his smile lighting up the surroundings.

The small anxiety that had been hidden inside her was alleviated, and the smile grew even brighter. Hong Yeonhwa, now accustomed to Ha-Yul, felt a small breath of relief.

He was beautiful. That thought immediately crossed her mind.

Beauty standards were subjective. They had changed over time, across regions, and cultures.

But Hong Yeonhwa was sure that anyone would consider Ha-Yul to be handsome.

In fact, Ha-Yul would easily win a beauty pageant for men if he entered one now.

It was as if she was being forced to acknowledge how conceptually beautiful he was. But there was no discomfort in that, so she simply accepted it.

'...His unique ability?'

She wasn’t sure. She didn’t even know if he had such a unique ability in the first place. What was important now wasn’t that.

"......" "......" "......"

A silence spread around them. There were no sounds of conversation or footsteps.

The students walking in the same direction as them from the evaluation hall and the pedestrians approaching from the opposite side all stared at Ha-Yul, who was smiling brightly.

‘Tch.’

The attention made her uncomfortable, especially the looks from the female students, which felt like thorns poking at her.

She might have been overly sensitive, but when it came to Ha-Yul, one couldn’t afford to be careless.

Everyone knew how vulnerable Ha-Yul was to kindness.

Someone with a large chest, sweet to him, could easily get him to lower his guard and follow them.

The possibility of him being kidnapped—or even kidnapping someone and bringing them back to the mansion—wasn’t far-fetched.

How many women had entered the mansion already?

Hong Yeonhwa thought, listing them in her mind: Baek Arin, Elia, Ariana, Athara... and occasionally, Ji-Yeon, who sneakily entered and naturally stayed the night.

As she recalled their names, Hong Yeonhwa straightened her face, which was starting to show signs of irritation.

She clicked her tongue inwardly and pulled Ha-Yul closer, wrapping her arms around his waist like wings.

"Huh?"

"Huh."

Feeling the warmth between them, they both paused and blinked at each other.

"...Heh, let’s go quickly."

"...Okay!"

For a moment of surprise, Ha-Yul quickly smiled and clung to her again.

The wings wrapped around his waist tightened and secured her more.

"Excuse me?"

"Ah, yes, yes. I’m sorry."

The people who had stopped in front of them quickly stepped aside, startled.

It just so happened that the people were all female students. Judging by their yellow ties, they were third years.

Hong Yeonhwa, holding Ha-Yul tightly to her side, walked through the crowd.

Although their eyes stuck to Ha-Yul until the last moment, the envy in their gaze gave Hong Yeonhwa a strange sense of superiority.

"Yeonhwa?"

"It’s nothing."

Ha-Yul tilted his head to look at her, but Hong Yeonhwa avoided his gaze and pulled him closer.

"...Isn’t it uncomfortable to walk?"

"It’s completely fine. I can lean on you more."

"Yeah... I like that it’s warm."

Ha-Yul, reassured, leaned closer, burying his face in her embrace.

"...Hmm, Ha-Yul, why did you come out to meet me?"

As she patted his head, Hong Yeonhwa voiced the question she’d been pondering since earlier.

It wasn’t strange that he came to meet her, but they had all agreed to meet at the café after finishing their exams. There was no need for him to come all the way here to meet her when they could have gone straight to the café.

"Yeah, I had something to say."

"Mm, what is it?"

As expected, it seemed like he had something in mind.

Hong Yeonhwa, feeling a little tense, asked, and Ha-Yul looked up at her, opening his mouth.

"Why do you seem uncomfortable with me lately?"

"Me? When?"

Feeling slightly caught off guard, Hong Yeonhwa stammered.

"Did I do something wrong...?"

"No, absolutely not."

But when she looked down, sensing his sudden unease, she quickly shook her head.

"Then, why...?"

"Um..."

Ha-Yul, looking up at her with a little unease, paused and then, after some hesitation, finally asked about something that had been bothering her for a while.

"...Do you remember the elixir I gave you a while ago? Did you take it?"

"Yeah, I took it before the entrance ceremony."

"Did anything happen then?"

A slight tremor ran through Ha-Yul’s body, so faint that even Hong Yeonhwa, with her sharp senses, almost missed it. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him carefully.

"Uh... nothing happened."

"Really? You’re not lying?"

Hong Yeonhwa lowered her head, her serious face filling Ha-Yul’s vision. He quickly turned his gaze to the side.

"...Hmm, uh... well, there was a tiny thing, but it was nothing, really."

'Damn.'

A small issue, huh?

Ha-Yul tried to skirt around the matter, but it was clear something had happened.

Hong Yeonhwa’s head started to spin. Her stomach churned.

She had been wearing the gift Ha-Yul gave her, but now he was saying there had been a problem with the elixir she had given him.

If there had been a problem with the elixir... that didn’t sound good at all.

Problems caused by the elixir could usually affect the core or circuits, and in the worst case, they could even endanger his life.

Slightly staggering, Hong Yeonhwa was quickly enveloped by Ha-Yul, who was panicking.

"It’s true! I was a little surprised, but in the end, it was all for the better! There’s no problem! You saw me at the Tower of Growth, right? I got way stronger!"

Ha-Yul’s hurried explanation did ease her anxiety just a bit, but her head was still spinning.

Hong Yeonhwa tightly embraced Ha-Yul, who was still fussing.

"Ah... Damn, Ha-Yul, I’m really sorry..."

"Pl-please don’t curse... And really, it’s okay..."

"Sorry..."

"It was really fine, though..."

Though eyes were on them from all around, Ha-Yul focused only on Hong Yeonhwa, stepping restlessly as they stood there.

"Ah! If that’s the case, then just let me make up for it a little. A little reward, please."

Thinking quickly, Ha-Yul brought up his suggestion, and Hong Yeonhwa, her mood darkening, slowly glanced up at him.

"A reward... Sure, whatever you want, I’ll do anything for you..."

Her voice, drenched in gloom, rang out. Ha-Yul, unable to hide his confusion, watched as Hong Yeonhwa sank into a gloomy mood.

"Uh... a... a kiss?"

The unfiltered words spilled out before she could think.

At that moment, a light appeared in Hong Yeonhwa’s eyes.

"Yeonhwa...? W-wait, not now! Not here in the middle of the road!?"

[Happiness]

The next day after the written exam, the practical evaluation was held.

Just like the first semester, it wasn’t held with much fanfare.

Unlike the first semester, which had hosted a grand tournament with external guests and live broadcasts, the second semester would only have the practical exam for the major.

This time, I was taking the combat major exam, which involved random matches with other students, each of us having three rounds of sparring.

‘I wonder who I'll face.’

The venue for the sparring was the Combat Hall, which had numerous arenas.

True to its name, it was fully equipped for all sorts of combat training and was used whenever many students had to spar, such as for midterm evaluations.

So, early in the morning, I entered the designated arena in the Combat Hall on the third basement floor.

Since this was a midterm evaluation, I’d be matched up with another first-year student. If I were lucky, I might face Baek Arin or Hong Yeonhwa.

...Considering I had just sprinted here to avoid the gaze of others, it would be a bit awkward if I ran into Hong Yeonhwa again.

Fortunately, my opponent wasn’t Hong Yeonhwa.

Instead, a surprising opponent entered through the opposite door.

“Katsuki Yusei, long time no see since the last assembly. I look forward to our match.”

A male student with dull silver hair and eyes.

He was part of the representative faction from the Japanese region, the “Three Bladed Sword,” and was expected to be a major figure in the future, likely becoming the leader of that faction.

‘Hmm...’

I watched him from afar with a strange expression.

I had intended to build a bit of a rapport with him, but for some reason, we hadn’t had a proper exchange so far.

At most, he had knocked me out cold during the freshman welcoming ceremony, and I had received a brief apology for it.

Since then, we had only exchanged greetings a few times during the assembly.

[Yes, I look forward to it.]

I nodded, acknowledging him.

Thinking back, he was actually a good opponent for me.

During the freshman welcoming ceremony, I had the chance to take revenge for the incident when he had thrown something at me like a baseball.

The heavy impact that hit me so suddenly, and the stars I saw when my vision blurred, still vividly linger in my memory.

His fault wasn’t exactly clear, but it was what it was.

Actually, this was a great opportunity to test my strength.

It would be my first time facing off against someone I had seen engage in battle as a superhuman.

Back then, I couldn’t figure out how he moved so fast. Now, I would get the chance to fight him directly.

...But right now, I just wanted to clear my head with a sparring match...

Shaking my head to cool my face, I drew the sparring sword that was strapped to my waist.

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The cool vibration that ran up my sword made my senses sharpen.