Correcting the Villainess of the Academy

Thump, thump, thump!

In the early evening, already shrouded in darkness, Sa Jaehyeok’s office at the northeastern front base.

At the sound of something tapping against the window, Sa Jaehyeok, who was organizing documents at his desk, turned his head.

Soon, something flew into the office through a small entrance next to the window. It was a familiar-looking crow with white feathers on its head.

Caw!

The crow called out briefly, as if to say hello, and then delivered a note tied to its leg by pecking it free. It then continued to look at Sa Jaehyeok, seemingly expecting something.

Seeing the crow’s gaze, Sa Jaehyeok pulled out a small box and tossed a couple of dried caterpillars inside. Satisfied at last, the crow took one in its beak and flew back out through the entrance.

Sa Jaehyeok paused his work, moved to the sofa, and unfurled the bundle of notes to check the contents.

No updates on the boy’s information.

“Tsk.”

Sa Jaehyeok clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. Once again, the information was far from what he desired.

Though he hadn’t told Lee Hyun, Sa Jaehyeok had been conducting investigations related to him on multiple fronts.

Fortunately, Lee Hyun’s identity had been completely verified.

His testimony matched the remaining records, and thanks to his occasional trips to nearby areas on errands, there were residents who remembered him from other localities.

They couldn’t hide their sadness over the fact that the cheerful boy they had known had died in an unexpected attack.

Furthermore, Sa Jaehyeok had examined Lee Hyun’s body under the pretext of a health check. This was a very thorough kind of investigation, including testing bodily components, particularly focusing on the brain.

However, throughout all the examinations, he had never found conclusive evidence that Lee Hyun was a witch.

Rather, he confirmed what he had said himself—that Lee Hyun had a complete non-responder constitution.

Yet, it still puzzled Sa Jaehyeok that Lee Hyun undoubtedly possessed witch powers and was at least partially expressing characteristics of a witch.

He also investigated the incident when Lee Hyun’s village was attacked, but this inquiry had only deepened the mystery without revealing anything concrete.

The records from that time claimed that the garrison, alerted by the alarm, had eradicated the remnants of the demon race and sent the sole survivor, Lee Hyun, to the hospital.

However, the scene that Sa Jaehyeok investigated personally differed from the records. First, he examined the particle remnants left at the scene.

Although considerable time had passed since the incident, the traces left on natural objects could last quite a long time, allowing him to deduce certain details about the situation.

If the garrison had indeed wiped out the demon race, there should have been various types of residue left behind.

The garrison was comprised entirely of magically adept units; they couldn’t possibly have fought demons hand-to-hand unless they were intent on suicide.

However, the only particle remnants Sa Jaehyeok could find belonged to a single individual.

The remnants spread in a fan shape from the spot where Lee Hyun had been found. The scale was surprisingly huge.

Yet, it was inconceivable that a lone sorcerer among the garrison could wield such large-scale magic. He even checked the list of names himself.

The conclusion drawn after verification was only one: there had been an outside party at the scene, not just the garrison.

But the investigation hit a dead end there.

As confirmed before, military records were already contaminated by someone.

Even the doctor at the hospital where Lee Hyun was admitted, who seemed to know something, had vanished without a trace.

The strong magical residue that clearly remained at the scene.

Military records that were completely incompatible with that.

The disappearance of those involved.

The behind-the-scenes manipulation that had tried to have Lee Hyun killed by the Yakgyeongdan.

Despite receiving help from the Intelligence Bureau, all of these processes seemed to lead nowhere.

While he thought he’d developed a paranoia, now even the village attack by the remnant demon race seemed suspicious to the extreme.

Could it be that Lee Hyun’s powers were the reason behind the attack? It seemed pretty unlikely at this point.

Those who directly faced the witches fifteen years ago had long since met their end. The only ones left alive were himself and his team.

Sa Jaehyeok still vividly recalled the horrific and bizarre powers displayed by those witches.

Given that, he instinctively picked up on something when he saw Lee Hyun; if others had seen him, they might have thought, like Yeojin, that a machine was on the fritz.

While there might still be records of the witches in a secret vault somewhere in the Republic, connecting those texts with Lee Hyun to remind one of witches was nearly impossible.

Moreover, he had officially been declared an insensitive person through an authorized exam.

Ugh.

Whoosh…

Deep in thought, Sa Jaehyeok grimaced. Suddenly, he felt a sharp sensation in his heart. Outside the window, rain was lightly drizzling.

Sa Jaehyeok finally realized that the seasons had turned once again.

“It’s already March…”

He bit down on a cigarette and lit it up.

He was suddenly reminded of receiving a message from his old master not long ago.

She was currently the headmistress of the Republic’s top magical academy, the Cradle.

Spring was also the season when the new semester at the Cradle began.

The establishment’s objective was surely to properly educate young sorcerers and turn them into respectable mages… wasn’t it?

How ridiculous.

Sa Jaehyeok twisted his lips in disdain. It wasn’t that he denied Cradle’s ability to provide quality education, but it felt more like a miniature political arena than a place of learning.

According to his master, last year had reached its peak. The cause? Two noble ladies who entered at the same time.

The Paecheon Baek family and the Jeokhwa Yeon family.

With the two rival noble ladies attending simultaneously, it was only natural that a competitive spirit would ignite.

To make matters worse, both were exceptionally skilled and, coincidentally, had completely opposite personalities.

Putting such individuals in one place naturally led the academy to become almost a battlefield.

Indeed… hadn’t the number of incidents that occurred last year surpassed all those of the previous five years combined?

Of course, most of the incidents weren’t caused by the individuals themselves, but were rather a result of their followers’ heated competition, though it couldn’t be denied that the root cause lay with the parties involved.

…

Sa Jaehyeok couldn’t help but think of Lee Hyun.

He figured Lee Hyun was probably at that age when he should be receiving an education too.

“He’s already eighteen…”

Sa Jaehyeok mentally replayed events from that time.

Though he felt a hint of pity, the main reason he took him in was the danger he posed.

He couldn’t just let a person with witch powers roam freely.

If any suspicious signs were to appear, he thought he would have to deal with it himself before it became a threat to others.

But it had already been two years since they were together.

Even though he still didn’t know the source of Lee Hyun’s powers, there was one thing he was certain of.

He found no hostility or threat towards humanity in Lee Hyun whatsoever.

…

Sa Jaehyeok contemplated.

If Lee Hyun was merely a poor boy who accidentally inherited witch powers, he couldn’t keep him with them any longer.

He was supposed to leave for the place where he belonged. He needed to learn the culture and knowledge of a sorcerer and mingle with his peers.

While sorcerers and battlefields were inseparable, everything should progress in natural order over time. Even if his identity turned out to be some kind of faulty witch, that would be better.

And without a doubt, there was no better place to learn those things than the Cradle.

Even the political games that unfold among students were experiences that he needed right now.

The admissions tests for this term had likely concluded, but there was still room for recommendation admissions.

The timing was just right. The northeastern flattening operation had officially concluded a few days ago, and he was about to move to investigate another incident.

For now, Lee Hyun’s safety was not a significant issue. Whoever had targeted him back then wouldn’t recognize the Lee Hyun of today.

Moreover, right now, Lee Hyun was living under a completely new identity that he had created for him.

What they had found that day were merely traces of someone who had been burned alive.

They had succeeded in exterminating the culprits, but unfortunately, they couldn’t prevent the death of that poor boy.

At least that report went up that way, and now the truth was known only to him and his squad members.

…

As his thoughts reached that point, Sa Jaehyeok finished reading the contents of the note.

It listed strange and hard-to-explain rumors occurring across the country.

For example, there were claims of talking frogs appearing, residents of a village disappearing overnight, and high-ranking monsters rampaging outside their domains.

Initially, when Lee Hyun had appeared, it seemed like an omen of some sort, and coming to the northeastern area was part of investigating those omens.

From past experiences, bizarre and surreal occurrences happening in the outskirts and beyond the borders were usually a precursor to witch activity.

Yet, up until now, they hadn’t discovered any decisive traces. Most were mere tall tales or misunderstandings of natural phenomena.

Just as he thought this would turn out to be another load of hot air, the content at the very bottom of the note suddenly caught his eye.

Witnessing reports of resurrected corpses in the C23-A development area on the Eastern Sakju border.

“…It’s not even monsoon season and there are already ghouls?”

Sa Jaehyeok squinted as he muttered. Were ghouls ever born in spring? It had been nearly ten years since he last flipped through an introductory book on monsters. His memories seemed elusive, brushing at the surface but never fully surfacing, causing great frustration.

Misreports concerning corpses were received far more frequently than one might think. Often, it was due to monsters disturbing graves or misidentifying humanoid monsters, like bat-like beings.

He wondered if this was yet another instance of such a situation, but a nagging feeling kept pulling at him.

Hmm…

After a moment of contemplation, he quickly reached a conclusion. At times like these, it was best to directly verify it.

However, this time, they would only be going with themselves.

Lee Hyun had other things to tend to.

Tap, tap, tap.

Clearing his thoughts, Sa Jaehyeok knocked three times on the desk.

A moment later, something flew back into the room through the previously used window entrance.

His crow, completely white with red eyes, appeared once more.

“Go gather the kids. Sehwa, Jin, Chaewon, and even Hyun.”

Gack!

The crow sounded as if responding, let out a cry, and then flew out through the window again.

The office fell silent once more.

The only sound was the gentle rain falling outside, layered like background music.

Sa Jaehyeok opened the silver locket hanging around his neck and gazed at the picture inside.

A female student with bright blue eyes was smiling at him, looking straight ahead.

…I should let them go. You too, and those kids…

Sa Jaehyeok murmured while looking at the photo.

This journey to the east was set to be his final endeavor.

*

“Hey, is Hyun here?”

“Hello~”

“Hyun, come here! I made something delicious for you!”

Amidst the commotion outside the office, signs of life could be heard.

The members who had been merrymaking turned their heads and acknowledged it.

…I’m here.

Someone’s shadow was cast at the door. Due to the mask covering the upper half of the face, the figure appeared rather bizarre.

However, no one pointed out the oddity. They all warmly greeted the familiar face.

“Why are you so late, you little rascal?”

Sa Jaehyeok chided Lee Hyun with an unhappy tone.

…I was on patrol outside the borders. So…

Lee Hyun replied in a blunt voice. Sa Jaehyeok still looked dissatisfied.

“I told you not to do unnecessary stuff. Why are you doing things I didn’t even ask? Just rest quietly after work.”

…But…

“Hey, buddy! And I said when we’re together, don’t wear that thing! Do you think I made it for you to wear it?!”

“Yeah! I haven’t seen Hyun in so long; I want to see his face~”

“Right! It’s been too long since we’ve all seen our handsome Hyun~”

…

Usually, the members would defend Lee Hyun, but this time they strangely agreed with Sa Jaehyeok.

With Sa Jaehyeok and the others urging him on, Lee Hyun finally, unable to withstand it, brought his hand to his mask.

With a click, the mask fell away, revealing what lay beneath.

Although traces of a youthful boy still remained, he now appeared quite adult-like and defined.

His typically gloomy expression and the scar running beneath his left eye oddly added to a sense of decadence.

The voice emanating from his throat had also grown thicker and sturdier.

Lee Hyun’s transformation was indicative of the explosive growth he had experienced over the past two years.

It was as if he had been squashed under something for a long time, and now he was bursting forth at incredible speed.

Moreover, having been supplemented by a balanced military diet and regular training, the once tiny boy now stood nearly at Sa Jaehyeok’s height and displayed a solidly toned physique.

“Tsk tsk. Just showing that face would attract three girls. What’s with the facelessness, huh?”

…Mind your own business. If you’re gonna say that, just take it back.

Unable to hold back any longer at Sa Jaehyeok’s ribbing, Lee Hyun shot back bluntly.

“Hey! What’s this girl nonsense? Do you think our Hyun is like you?”

“Right! He has important things to say…”

…Let’s not.

Sa Jaehyeok waved his hand at the chattering members.

As Lee Hyun had mentioned, the mask was actually equipment that Sa Jaehyeok had made for him.

While it served a bit of a defensive role, fundamentally, it was a measure taken after Sa Jaehyeok learned about Lee Hyun’s trauma.

Lee Hyun couldn’t look at reflections in mirrors, windows, or even puddles. If a woman’s hand happened to touch him, he would tremble like a leaf in the wind.

Fortunately, with the mask on, he didn’t face significant issues in daily life.

After spending two years together, he had now managed to establish a degree of trust with both Sa Jaehyeok and the members.

But it was unknown why he developed such trauma. Lee Hyun had shared everything except that.

And Sa Jaehyeok, respecting his personal space, didn’t pry any further.

So why did you call us? I don’t think it was just to throw a party.

Yoon Chaewon, who had been bustling around, changed the subject when she felt the mood had settled.

Thinking the moment was right, Sa Jaehyeok finally introduced the main topic.

“I wanted to inform all members of something. The northeastern flattening operation has officially concluded, so we will be moving to another location.”

“What? That was all?”

“However, we will be the only ones moving. Lee Hyun, you will be given a new task.”

A new task…?

Upon hearing Sa Jaehyeok’s words, Lee Hyun displayed a puzzled expression. Sa Jaehyeok continued with a calm demeanor.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s not a particularly difficult task.”

What on earth is it…?

Now the members were also waiting for Sa Jaehyeok’s explanation. After a brief pause, he opened his mouth again.

“Lee Hyun, you’ll be going to the Cradle.”

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