I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

After asking Yumir to train Yoon Iseon…

I returned to my quarters and turned on the TV.

-…Yoon Iseon, who could be considered the winner of the recent sports festival, has thrown down the gauntlet. What do you think?

-Anyone can challenge. It’s just a matter of whether it leads to victory or not. Haha. I’d like to give her a break since she’s older than me, but I am an S-class reader after all.

-Hmm, to say that yourself.

-I’m not particularly embarrassed. I always think, ‘You have to be stronger than me to be S-class.’ If you’re weaker, you’re A-class. Having too many S-classes would be a problem in its own way, right? Hahaha.

On TV, Armored Taejo was giving an interview on a talk show.

His demeanor was undeniably arrogant, but I understood his feelings.

‘Knowing he’s the favorite.’

Considering Yoon Iseon only had a 10.8% chance of winning, practically 9 out of 10 people expect Armored Taejo to win.

‘But what if Sexy Sister Yoon Iseon steps in?’

Sister Yoon Iseon.

An expert who had completed S-class awakening and received training from me.

She might lose to other S-classes due to a lack of experience, but she could beat Armored Taejo.

Even if she lost to all other S-classes in the world, she would definitely win against Armored Taejo right now.

Because I had tailored the training specifically for her.

If people knew about Sister Yoon Iseon’s existence and that the Goblin taught her from the side?

And that she even learned S-class magic control with the support of Platinum Sun?

‘Then Yoon Iseon would be the favorite.’

Many would bet on Yoon Iseon’s victory.

If that information leaked, my odds would surely drop, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Especially since my 1 billion in the bank could multiply tenfold, or even more, as the odds kept getting better.

‘I must win this time.’

The assets the Goblin had were akin to cryptocurrency.

No matter if the Goblin’s assets in the Secret Society Coins were worth tens or hundreds of billions in the future, for now, since Secret Society Coins were not the base currency, I had no choice but to use cash in won and dollars.

Over the past six months, I had frantically gathered cash through a shell company.

The 1 billion is not my entire fortune, but it represents 70% of the available cash that the man named Do Ji-hwan had put into this bet.

This battle, I must win.

I purposely didn’t tell Yoon Iseon, ‘I bet 1 billion on you.’

In case Yoon Iseon might say, ‘So, you see me as a way to make money? I’m disappointed.’ and purposely lost.

As it stood, Yoon Iseon was sure to win.

Right now, Yumir was sparring in a manner similar to Armored Taejo, so as long as she used that experience, she could not lose.

Unless there’s some external pressure from somewhere else.

Beep.

“……?”

I was looking at the betting screen in my room when my Taeguk Watch rang.

“Ah, hello, Seol-hee. It feels like it’s been a while since we talked.”

[It really has been. I haven’t had the chance to call you directly. And often, I couldn’t pick up when you called.]

It was Baek Seol-hee.

[Are you on Ulleungdo by any chance? Then….]

“I’m on Sejong Island. At my quarters.”

[…I’m on Sejong Island as well.]

“It’s ironic. We’re both on the same island, but it’s harder to meet than if we were on Ulleungdo.”

Sejong Island was a difficult place to meet carelessly, as many people were watching.

[Is Yumir there?]

“No. I’m alone right now. She’s out training with a friend for the night.”

After I had asked Yumir to train Yoon Iseon…

I apologize for implying Yumir had a friend… that wasn’t my intention.

“I understand.”

Indeed, Yumir didn’t have friends and barely made one due to the demon incident and practice in two months.

“It’s a bit awkward for me to go out now, would you like to come over?”

[…I’ll be there soon. The front entrance has CCTV, so I’ll enter through the balcony. Please open the door.]

“Understood.”

The call ended.

I quickly organized the materials I had researched about Armored Taejo and opened the door for Baek Seol-hee to enter.

‘Will she just barge in?’

Given that she’s ‘Snow White’, her white appearance was bound to stand out at night, no matter how much she tried to conceal it.

If she were to dash at the speed of light, it’d be fine, but those with good dynamic vision might catch a glimpse of Baek Seol-hee jumping into a man’s window.

Well, if caught, Baek Seol-hee would take responsibility.

‘Is she coming by spatial movement?’

I wondered if Baek Seol-hee had learned to move through space like Yumir.

Yumir herself said she hadn’t taught Baek Seol-hee the principles of spatial movement, so if she were to use it, she must have figured out the principles on her own.

If so, a true S-class-

Ssssh.

“……?”

It started to rain from the sky.

The weather forecast had only predicted a 10% chance of rain, but the unexpectedly heavy raindrops were indeed a downpour.

“Could this be-”

Splash.

A figure wrapped in something resembling a poncho appeared in front of the window.

Had I not been mentally prepared, I would have been startled, but fortunately, the person who appeared in a black matte raincoat was someone I knew.

“Did you prepare that in advance?”

“Yes.”

Baek Seol-hee entered through the balcony window.

I closed the window and immediately drew the blackout curtains, and Baek Seol-hee, dripping water, stretched her hand downwards.

“Gather.”

At Baek Seol-hee’s soft command, the water droplets clinging to her raincoat and those that had fallen to the floor began to coalesce towards her hand.

“Is anyone else here?”

“No. Unless Yumir shows up suddenly, it’s just you, Seol-hee, today.”

“…Then, that’s a relief.”

Baek Seol-hee, now with a relaxed smile, threw the water droplets into the sink, took off her raincoat, and then.

“Sigh.”

She threw herself onto the bed.

Dressed in a white shirt and a suit skirt, she appeared quite tired today.

“What did those balding old men say this time?”

“…Hmm.”

As I approached Baek Seol-hee and placed my hand on her thigh, she pouted her lips.

“Listen, I…”

“Yeah?”

“I only know about dating from dramas, so… I’m not really sure how it works. So…”

“Is this what you want?”

I approached Baek Seol-hee from behind and hugged her.

“Do you feel a bit more at ease now?”

“…It’s not just a bit, I feel comfortable. I could fall asleep like this.”

“You can sleep.”

“And if you’re not going to sleep, then?”

“That sounds good too.”

“…Maybe a bit later.”

Baek Seol-hee picked up her hero badge she was wearing around her neck.

“I might get busier soon.”

“Why?”

“I think I’ll be dragged around more for S-class government events. After the university department lectures end, I might have to stay in Busan during the vacation to attend to foreigners.”

“Because you’re the second-ranked S-class?”

“…Yes.”

Baek Seol-hee clasped the hand that was wrapped around her waist.

“You’re going to keep working here, right?”

“For now?”

“What do you mean ‘for now’? Where would you go? Follow me to Busan?”

“It’s not impossible. I could rent a place in Busan. Though it’s ridiculously expensive.”

“…Should I secretly buy a pension?”

“If you buy a pension, they’ll install CCTVs all around. They might not be able to film your house, but they’ll try to dig into who you are by investigating the types and numbers of cars that come and go.”

“Then…I can just teleport from Busan to here.”

Suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine.

I was the one hugging her from behind, but it felt like Baek Seol-hee was hugging me from behind-

“……!”

I felt something on my back.

A hand sneaked inside the shirt I was wearing, and I could feel a chill climbing up my spine.

It wasn’t just a sense of déjà vu or a sensation felt through magic, but a real, cold sensation.

As if someone had pressed their cold, frozen hand against my back in winter.

“……What’s this?”

“A new skill.”

“Two Baek Seol-hees?”

“Ta-da.”

Baek Seol-hee, with her hand on my back, chuckled and hugged me from behind.

“Which one is real?”

“The one I’m hugging.”

“How can you be so sure right away? You just guessed, didn’t you?”

“The Baek Seol-hee hugging me from behind, I can only feel the chest, but with the one I’m hugging, I can feel her heart.”

“…What? Have you been reading too many romance novels?”

“But I’m right, aren’t I?”

“…Tsk.”

Baek Seol-hee puffed her cheeks and turned towards me.

Suddenly, I found myself lying next to Baek Seol-hee, who was lying straight, but she didn’t mind my hand on her stomach and stretched her hand out to the side.

“It would be great to teleport, but Yumir wouldn’t teach me that till the end. Well, I understand. It’s like a rivalry thing.”

“……”

“So, I thought of another way. This.”

Baek Seol-hee’s clone, which had risen from the bed, looked exactly like her.

The clothes were the same as Baek Seol-hee’s, but it seemed more expressionless, like a doll.

A cold ice doll.

“Back to original.”

Snap!

Baek Seol-hee snapped her fingers, and the clone immediately turned into a block of ice.

“I can make it move like me with magic power. And this is also possible. For example…”

The Baek Seol-hee I was hugging scattered like dry ice in an instant.

The white fog quickly seeped into Baek Seol-hee’s doll, and soon, life began to emerge in Baek Seol-hee’s frozen doll.

Crack!

The ice crystals broke, revealing Baek Seol-hee.

“……Wow.”

I couldn’t help but marvel at this ability I was seeing for the first time.

It was amazing enough that a human could become like dry ice, but to then inhabit a prepositioned ice doll and appear in its place was something else.

“Is this, by any chance?”

“Right. I’ve managed to achieve something akin to spatial movement with this ice doll.”

“…That’s incredible. How did you come up with that?”

“Well.”

Baek Seol-hee returned to the bed, flopped down on top of me—who had awkwardly sat up—and nestled her face in my shoulder.

“I wanted to see you without anyone finding out.”

“…….”

“What do you think? Now, I can sneak into your room as well.”

“It’s a…remarkable ability.”

Creak.

“Why? Are you concerned about your privacy being invaded?”

Baek Seol-hee’s eyes were shaped into crescent moons.

“It’s fine. I’m not the type to barge into others’ rooms unannounced. I’ll only enter if you give me permission. However.”

Baek Seol-hee’s face gently lifted to hover above my cheek.

“I’d like to leave one of my dolls with you, so I can visit anytime.”