Chapter 323
[Virtual Battle Ends- Virtual Battle Ends-]
The training grounds began to glow once more, slowly returning to its original form.
As the space shrinks and the trees begin to disappear, children begin to appear one by one…….Until Jin-woo, who was lying on the ground.
He’s so loud when he gets up…….
I sigh and shake my head, and the kids gather around me one by one.
Park Yunho, who was inside the administrative office, comes out and walks toward us.
“You’re quite amazing, Eugene Han. Did you know the correct answer?”
I can’t believe he asked me if I knew the answer as soon as I came out.
The answer right there was yes.
Didn’t he say it himself before we started, that the Silent Sniper we’d be fighting was based on data from ‘six years ago’?
“Yes. Six years ago, we nearly captured the guy in Korea by bombing the area with magic. I recalled the data from that time and recreated it with the items I have.”
He was good at stealth, but not so much at mobility.
“……You’ve studied hard. You get two extra points.”
“Thank you.”
After bluntly awarding me the extra points, he nodded once and turned to the children.
“As Eugene said, this data is from six years ago. At the time, we were able to estimate its location at the cost of the lives of our fallen comrades, and we were able to carpet-bomb it, causing it great damage, which is why it has been inactive for several years.”
At this point, Se-ah raised her hand and asked the instructor a question.
“If he was injured, where was he injured?”
“Left arm and face. We found a torn arm, nose, and one of his ears in the area where we believe he was.”
Injuries that don’t sound light at all but it’s more of a question of how he escaped alive.
“I’ll tell you now,” he said, “there’s actually a reason we’re doing this class today.”
Finally, Park Yunho reveals what I had only guessed in my mind.
“Recently, it was confirmed that the Silent Sniper has resumed its activities. And the last reported location is Fukuoka, which is also the location of your school trip.”
The bombshell of a statement is met with a chorus of murmurs.
“Uh, so we’re not going on a school trip, we’re going to hunt down a villain?”
“That’s not a trip……!”
“That monstrous villain is in Japan?”
It was not surprising that the kids had these reactions.
We recently had a confrontation with the naturalists and for the children, who were looking forward to having fun on their school trip, this news could have been disastrous.
But Park Yunho shook his head as if to say, “Don’t take this the wrong way.”
“No, we won’t be going on a school trip to catch villains. It’s going to be normal, just like the other grades. But don’t worry too much, this lesson is just for fun, just in case.”
Jin-woo grumbles quietly in disbelief.
“……I’ve heard of things happening when you do that.”
“Jin-woo Bevalt. What did you say?”
“Nothing! Nothing!”
“Okay, then let’s get back to class.”
With that, he uses his powers to bring up a screen.
It showed the image of me using a bomb to wipe out the sniper’s location.
“Bombing an area with snipers. It’s a tactic used in warfare, and it tends to work pretty well. Perhaps this is the answer if you’re facing a villain who specializes in sniping. But!”
-Thump!
Park Yunho stomps his foot to get the students’ attention.
“He’s different. If he came back after being so badly injured, he must have been prepared for the bombing. So I’ll warn you in advance.
If you encounter him, think of your own lives first. Get down, get behind cover, and stay down. Don’t move your mana, stay quiet, and hold your breath until backup arrives. That’s the best method you can use in a situation like this.”
Raising his hand, Kang Hyun asks the instructor.
“Even if civilians are in danger……?”
Park Yunho’s body twitched and trembled when he heard the question. But then he opens his mouth again.
“……In that case, I guess that’s all I can say.”
The closest answer I can think of.
“In that case, trust your teammates and do what you want to do.”
In a way, it was the most appropriate thing to say to the kids at Hero Academy.
* * *
As the time for the school trip approached, the atmosphere in the academy gradually became brighter and brighter.
“It’s my first time in Japan, but I’m nervous!”
With less than a week to go, he was shaking with nervousness.
“It’s your first time in Japan? Didn’t you say you usually go on boats?”
The Bevalt family was a family with ties to trade, based in a coastal city.
How come he had never been to Japan, the country next door?
“We’re from the west coast, so I’ve only been to China, and Japan is something I’ve only seen on the internet.”
That’s certainly understandable.
“By the way, Kim Se-ah, what are you looking at?”
Jin-woo suddenly turns his head and asks Se-ah, who has been muttering to herself since earlier.
“Eh? Huh? Me?”
Se-ah turns her head in response to the sound of her name from behind.
I see the book she’s been reading with her head buried in her hands.
“……Easy Japanese Conversations for Beginners?”
Is she embarrassed that I found out what she was reading? Hearing my voice, Se-ah closes the book in anger.
“Well, it’s embarrassing to be in a foreign country for the first time and not be able to say anything, so I’m just studying, it’s not like I’m really excited or anything, so please don’t misunderstand me!”
…… She’s super excited too.
“Japanese? Japanese is important. I studied it just for this day.”
Jin-woo giggles as he says that, and Se-ah looks at him in surprise.
“Jin-woo, you speak Japanese?”
“Of course I do, I’ve been watching Anime for years. Orega Mamoru! Mankai!”
“……Jin-woo, please don’t go to Japan and speak Japanese.”
“What?! Why?”
“Because it’s embarrassing.”
“Yaaaaaah!!”
Even though they were bickering as usual, I realized that their faces were brighter than usual.
“Please take a seat, everyone, there’s an announcement about the school trip.”
Ji-hyun taps her shoulder with the attendance book in her hand, and the children scattered around the room return to their seats.
She glances around the room and gets right to the point.
“First of all, did you hear about that asshole Park Yunho? Because of him, the higher-ups said it was dangerous, so the school trip was canceled.”
Se-ah’s study book falls to the ground.
The other kids were mesmerized by her words, and even Jin-woo was cupping both of my cheeks with his hands and screaming.
“Tame-e-e-e-e!!!”
In Japanese.
“Puhhhh!”
Ji-hyun covers her mouth in laughter as if the reaction was hilarious.
“That was the content of the meeting until yesterday, but fortunately, the outcome of today’s meeting changed. It was decided that the second and third grades will go with you as chaperones for the practical exam.”
The mood instantly reversed at her remark.
“Does that mean we’re going?”
“The seniors are going with you, so you’re going!”
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
The kids are already making excited noises, Se-ah picks up a book that has fallen on the floor and Jin-woo lets out a bizarre scream,
“Woohoohoohooh!”
Truth be told, I wasn’t surprised by any of this because I knew it all beforehand.
It’s most useful to go to Japan as an academy student to get access to various events and gimmicks.
“The seniors who will be traveling with you to Japan are some of the strongest among the second and third years. You should familiarize yourselves with them beforehand, as they’ll be guiding you in battles against real villains, as well as taking my place in case of emergency. Hmm, I suppose it’s about time I came to say hello.”
With those words, the front door opened.
True to her word, two people walked in, one wearing a yellow name tag identifying them as sophomores and the other wearing a black name tag identifying them as juniors.
Ji-hyun stretches out her hand to them and introduces them to us.
“They are your seniors, sophomore Lee Haru and junior Julie Rodman.”
I had already made sure that the people who would be accompanying our class were my people.
“I’m Haru, the vice president of the International Trade Club and your senior, and I’ll take care of you later.”
True to her nature, regardless of her age, Haru introduces herself with a bow and a straight face.
“I’m Julie Rodman, the vice president of the student council at Seoul Hero Academy. Please take care of me, juniors.”
Julie smiles and waves at us.
It wasn’t hard to convince the two of them to travel to Japan with our class.
Julie is one of the strongest in the academy, and her bloodline abilities are a good match for the Silent Sniper. After all, every ball counts in the upcoming competition for the student council presidency, so it was a win-win situation for me and Julie.
Haru was not as skilled or strong compared to Julie. Although considered among the top tier, even in our class alone, there were several kids with abilities comparable to Haru’s.
Nevertheless, she was chosen for another reason.
“This time, our school trip was organized by Haru’s family, the Inomiya Group. We’re getting a chartered plane, an Inomiya Group hotel, a chartered bus, and other things. Everyone, applaud!”
Yes, that’s because of the influence of Haru’s family in Japan. Japan is a country with many complex issues that cannot be solved simply by using the name Corleone.
But the Inomiya Group, with its deep roots there?
She’ll be able to cover just about any eventuality in Japan, and we’ll be guaranteed a comfortable trip.
Best of all.
“Master. This school trip is canceled. Could you please take me with you?”
She said she would go first.
“Okay, stop clapping. We’re seniors here to help us in case something happens, so when you go on the trip, don’t pick on us for being old, don’t make fun of us, and listen to us. Do you understand?”
“Yes!” the children answered her energetically.
“Okay. Morning inquiry over! Go to recess and then to class!”
Now even I am starting to look forward to the school trip.