“Are there no more friends who escaped besides you guys? Is it just six?”
“Yes.”
“Ugh, I really can’t handle this, guys. Nameya, what if the others wanted to go outside and dragged you along? You should’ve taken care of them inside.”
“The six of us will return to the Academy tomorrow and do a big clean-up of the classroom and the hallway with the teacher.”
““Ahhhh, sensei…!””
“What? I’m not a student of this school.”
I stepped away from the group of friends.
“Wow, Noname…”
“Nameya… are we going to abandon you…?”
The faces of my friends were colored with deep betrayal.
I was simply exercising my basic right to move around as a guest at this hotel.
Saying that would be too cold-hearted, so I decided to give the kids an opportunity to escape.
“But Sensei, do you toast with juice too? Isn’t toasting usually done when drinking alcohol?”
“Of course… you can toast with juice! Nameya, what, is it weird?”
“Ah ha.”
In fact, I had overheard everything the teachers were talking about from a distance.
[In this kind of atmosphere, we should’ve had a drink at least, but it’s a pity.]
[Then shall we toast with this? Just for the atmosphere.]
Sure, after taking care of the beagle-like kids all day, the two teachers could have a cozy time together.
That said, they weren’t neglecting their duties by drinking alcohol.
They had only ordered green grape ade, blue lemon ade, and chocolate strawberry cream roll cake.
The kids, who knew the teachers very well, could easily deduce that these were Jacqueline’s favorite desserts.
“Then I’ll give you a good scolding. Hurry up and apologize, guys. We interrupted the teachers’ date.”
“Ahhhh…! We’re sorry, Sensei!”
“Sorry, Jackie Sensei!”
“Have a beautiful love together!”
The teachers simultaneously stood up and waved their hands.
“No, kids! The teachers are not in that kind of relationship yet!”
“Not yet?”
“Not that!”
Jacqueline was flustered and struggling to regain her composure.
In the end, Shim Hyo Chan took on the role of a knight in shining armor.
“Is there anything you all want to eat? I’ll buy each of you one, but it’ll be a secret from your friends, okay?”
“Wow!”
And thus, the negotiation was successful.
The combination of strawberry cream cake and affogato was fantastic.
At home, Dad barely let me drink coffee.
After all, that’s what makes breaking away feel good.
“What will you do after the school trip, Nameya?”
The teachers asked about future plans.
I rolled the gelato soaked in coffee around with a teaspoon and said.
“I’ll be in seclusion training.”
“Seclusion training?”
“Huh? What’s seclusion training?”
“Hahaha! What kind of martial artist from a novel are you?”
“…”
“So you were serious… Oh dear, your father is going to have quite a hard time.”
“I’ve always been serious.”
Of course, I wouldn’t be doing some silly thing like hiding in a cave and eating only their fruit.
I planned to have three balanced meals a day and, with the help of AI, establish a systematic training program to reform the Imperial Palace Sword Method.
I also thought I might experiment to see if the magic that existed in my past life could be realized within the fourth circle.
“I’d like to cut off all contact for a while, but as you know, that’s not easy in modern society. I have to keep running the clan right away.”
We also needed to continue discussions about the support project for the Imperial Palace Sword Method to fit the newly formed government.
Thus, we decided to present the Jansol Clan as our minimum communication channel.
“It’s only for a maximum of two months. It’d be embarrassing to call it seclusion training since I need to join the base camp by early July.”
“I see. I wish the teachers could’ve helped Nameya out… but we can’t do anything…”
“Don’t have those thoughts. Both of you have given me immense help. May I, perhaps, hug you one last time?”
“Why are you talking as if you’re leaving? You’re coming back in two months!”
“Still, it feels like now is the only time I can be spoiled…”
Jacqueline Carroll’s eyes turned red as she opened her arms wide.
I stepped into her embrace and rested my head.
“Thank you for being my homeroom teacher in second grade. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could adapt to the Academy or make friends. I think it was largely thanks to you, Sensei.”
The hand patting my back was very warm.
“You don’t need to be spoiled after today. No matter how brave you are, Nameya, if you’re struggling, you can always reach out to me. Got it?”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Next was Shim Hyo Chan, the teacher who had been my homeroom teacher in third grade.
Just like I did with Jackie, I didn’t embrace him tightly but instead rested my head lightly on his shoulder.
“I’m really sorry for causing you trouble back then. You must have been very disappointed.”
“Not at all, I’ve never been disappointed in you, Nameya. If anything, I was worried.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Hmph, but Sensei, even if I could turn back time, I would still make the same choice. I can’t tolerate school violence.”
“Hey, you can’t say that!”
Shim Hyo Chan looked aggrieved for messing up the mood.
I wasn’t about to stop there and added another layer.
“Um? Are you disregarding all the visually impaired people around the world right now? If I hadn’t stepped in, the project to develop the optic nerve connectome might not have happened…”
“I can’t win an argument with you.”
“Hahahaha!”
Thus, the second day of the school trip came to an end.
We proudly entered the hotel’s main entrance with the teachers, like a scene from a film noir.
We also made sure to grab coconut juice from the food truck on the beach as a prize.
Classmates who had come down to buy food at the convenience store looked at us with envious eyes.
Meanwhile, it was unfortunate to hear that the filming schedule had been moved to tomorrow morning due to the fickle weather.
I would have liked to follow them all the way to the aquarium, but I couldn’t let them mess up the shooting.
I made sure to go around and greet not only my classmates but those in other grades as well.
Due to me, the Academy garnered unwanted media attention last year, and the atmosphere became chaotic, so I always felt sorry about that.
“Do well. Don’t lose.”
“I wouldn’t have participated if I wasn’t going to win.”
With that, Kim Gyeol Kim, the core member of the Raon Clan, led the children’s many cheers.
I also quietly whispered my thoughts about competing to Bae Yohan, who once liked me enough to confess his feelings.
“I’m going to get strong enough that no one can look down on me anymore. Make sure to watch the match with my parents. Who knows? If I lose, I might end up confessing to that person!”
The boy’s expression changed dramatically in real time.
Returning to my room, I stretched out on the wide bed.
I raised my arms and blocked the ceiling light with my hand.
My small hands couldn’t block the rays of light streaming down at all.
Moreover, the ceiling was high, and my limbs were short.
But now, I no longer felt powerless.
Was it because I had become as strong as in my past life? That didn’t seem to be the case.
“Nameya, are you going to sleep already?”
Friends who crawled out from under the bed looked down at me, bending over.
“When did you hide again? Are you trying to sleep with us?”
“Yes!”
Thanks to the shadow created by their heads, I wasn’t blinded anymore.
I was the first to grab Yuna’s waist with both legs and tug her into the blanket.
“Eek!”
“Tell me your secret. What did you eat to get so tall? Huh?”
“Hahaha, don’t tickle me! Ah!”
I spat out Yuna, who lost her spirit while laughing, out of the blankets.
“Next is you, Haru. I’m pretty sure you were around my height in second grade. No doubt about it.”
“No, even back then, there was a 10 cm difference. I clearly remember you couldn’t join the Academy competition. Whoa!”
While exploring the fan cafe, I often come across posts expressing fear about my growth.
Humans are beautiful beings because they grow, yet I could somewhat understand the author’s feelings.
I spent a warm night embracing the kids I wished could remain children forever.
—
The departure ceremony videos of the participants began to be uploaded one by one on the official channel of the international exchange competition.
Starting with last year’s champion Kamikita Emika, the overwhelming favorites Nathan Chen and the host nation’s champion Jean-Louis Blanc climbed the ranking of search terms across various portals worldwide.
However, Nameya’s departure ceremony video stood out with outstanding view counts.
[NoName: The Great Little Pioneer]
[Views: 380,293,507]
The great little pioneer, or frontierswoman.
That’s the nickname the French International Exchange Committee had given her.
The Hanla Mountain, touching the clouds in the sky, and beyond the rocks set up like a folding screen, the Baengnokdam lake that moistens rich greenery is visible.
Whether it is cloud or fog, it swirls up the mountain and cascades down the other side, creating a grand dome-like ceiling.
In a mysterious atmosphere that seemed as if dragons and unicorns could jump out any moment, the clouds twisted as if being sucked into a point.
Gradually, Nameya, wielding her sword while softly stepping on green mountain willows and purple thistles, came into focus.
The weapon she held in her hand was a rusty sword, reminiscent of those seen in junk shops.
From the rather unimpressive sword that was no different from a rock, intense sunlight poured forth.
Swoosh—
Nameya’s footsteps were light as if floating over the grass.
The sword, imbued with the aura of life, didn’t dispel the clouds but flowed smoothly in between them.
As she cut through the sky, the cloud ceiling parted, and when she moved the sword along the horizon, the clouds revolved around the whole mountain.
Splash—
After the steps of the right foot and left foot, followed by a thrust into the ground.
Boom—!
The moment the strike point hit, the clouds surged outwards like a wave, clarifying the previously blurry view.
Nameya extended her arms straight ahead, firmly gripping the handle of the sword rooted to the ground.
Her focus was set on a point beyond what the audience could see.
In her black eyes, the blue sky, the sunset, and the galaxy of the night sky reflected in succession, the video concluded.
[The Great Little Pioneer]
[Always looking further ahead]
[NoName, Republic of Korea, 2043/06/11]
[Sponsored by xxxx, xxx, xxxxx-]
[Best Comment]
-(0:55) The frightening thing here is that Nameya will still be born in 2043 ten years later.
└ ???
└ What?
└ No way, lol. Even after 100 years, she’ll still be born in 2043.
└ He is Chinese.
└ Please don’t be embarrassing here.
