The Villains I Taught Became Heroes

Arisha had been learning martial arts since she was very young.

Her parents were busy people.

Of course, her mom and dad were both members of the republic’s assembly.

Being high-ranking individuals, they had everything they needed, but that also meant Arisha spent a lot of time alone.

Feeling sorry for her, Arisha’s dad asked his brother to help out.

He wanted to know if he could teach Arisha martial arts while keeping her company.

As the King of Rights, he was busy testing his skills throughout the continent, so it was annoying, but he couldn’t ignore his only niece.

And when he first taught her the Arang Technique, he realized something.

His niece was a genius.

From then on, the King of Rights traveled the continent with Arisha.

Despite being a child from a noble family, Arisha was bright, curious, and adapted easily, so it wasn’t hard for her to follow her uncle on his travels.

It was the same with martial arts.

Being a genius, Arisha quickly mastered the Arang Technique as if everything came easy to her.

However, the King of Rights only taught her the Arang Technique and nothing else.

Because of this, Arisha practiced only the Arang Technique, and her skills were maturing beyond her years.

But honestly, it started to get a bit boring for Arisha.

She was so familiar with the Arang Technique that she could do it even with her eyes closed.

So it was only natural that she felt bored since she couldn’t progress to anything else.

And just when her interest in martial arts was fading, she met someone.

Lee Hyun.

His movements made Arisha’s heart race.

His martial arts were much more beautiful than the King of Rights’s.

They flowed like water, effortlessly overpowering opponents with minimal strength, and Arisha was completely smitten.

Her lost interest in martial arts began to rekindle.

It was fun.

Learning something new, like water soaking into dry earth, Arisha quickly adapted to the new martial arts.

So it was a pity that she had to part ways.

But she could endure it.

Because he would remain in her memories.

She could always recall him by replaying those moments in her mind.

And…

They promised to meet again.

Hmm…

It had been a while since she’d had a dream.

Arisha was sitting on her bed, scratching her head, not even brushing aside her fallen hair.

As she yawned widely and stepped into the living room, she saw a woman coming out of the bathroom.

A beautiful woman with deep silver hair.

Though she flinched whenever someone looked at her, she was a powerful mage with immense knowledge.

It was Lena, the head of the Colorless Tower.

“Sis! Good morning~!”

“Ah. Um. G-Good morning…”

Lena stuttered, her voice barely escaping as she dashed back into her room.

It had been several days since they’d met, and Arisha wished Lena would feel more comfortable around her, but it seemed like interacting with people was a struggle for her.

Hmm. I can’t understand…

Isn’t talking with people supposed to be enjoyable?

Why does she find it so hard?

But people are all different, aren’t they?

Arisha decided to just accept it and stepped outside.

The chilly morning air cooled her down. Feeling that, she headed toward the garden and slyly glanced toward the instructor’s quarters.

I wonder if the teacher is awake?

If he wasn’t, sneaking in and waking him up wouldn’t be a bad idea.

She even thought it wouldn’t hurt to skip morning training just to see Lee Hyun’s sleepy face, but soon she smiled.

Because she spotted someone coming out from the instructor’s building.

“Teacher!”

“Oh, Arisha. Good morning.”

“Yup! Good morning!”

Was he coming out to practice morning training like herself?

As she pondered whether she should invite him to train together, she remarked,

“Oh? Teacher, your hair is sticking up!”

“Where?”

“Right here!”

Arisha darted over like a puppy when she noticed the little tufts on the back of Lee Hyun’s head and pressed them down.

After a few presses, his hair settled a bit.

He looks cute even when sleepy.~

He always seemed perfect during training, but seeing this side of him made her smile.

Seeing her smile, Lee Hyun also grinned lightly and loosened up his body.

“Are you out for morning training? Want to train together?”

“Yup!!”

Her bright smile and raised hand just made the moment even better.

But then…

“I need to train too, mind if I join?”

At that voice from behind, Arisha froze for a second.

When she turned, Sowol was there with a grin.

Had she just returned from dawn prayers?

Unlike her and Lee Hyun, who were dressed casually, Sowol appeared stunning in a proper uniform.

Ugh.

Seeing Sowol approach Lee Hyun with that smile made a pang echo in her chest.

Gently squeezing her ample chest, Arisha looked at Lee Hyun.

Even when Sowol spoke to him, a smile lingered on his face.

And that was leaving a rather bitter feeling in Arisha’s heart.

For her, training in martial arts meant following an ideal image.

From the moment she learned the Wall Returning Technique to now, and even now, her most ideal Wall Returning Technique was that of Lee Hyun.

So it was only natural that his image would pop into her mind every time she performed it.

Though their time together was short, she had been thinking about him for years now.

It was only natural to think he was cool and beautiful.

So she wished others could see how amazing Lee Hyun was too.

But why did it feel so bitter?

“…Arisha?”

“Uh?! Yup! Teacher!”

“You seem distracted. Is something wrong?”

“Mmm. It’s nothing!”

“I’ll watch you perform the Wall Returning Technique, so go ahead and give it a try.”

“Uh… What about Sowol?”

“She’s meditating over there.”

Sowol had already completed her Moonlight Blade.

There was no need for her to add or subtract anything.

She was perfectly fine meditating on her own. But Arisha was different.

With both the Arang Technique and the Wall Returning Technique, she had done remarkably well for her age, but it wasn’t complete.

Though her power had increased with Lena and Sowol visiting, the most important part of reaching the true ending was none other than Arisha herself.

If Arisha didn’t grow stronger, that would be a problem.

“Teacher, shouldn’t you train too?”

“Teaching you isn’t more important, so don’t worry.”

Thump. Her heart trembled.

His warm words pulled the thorns out of her heart.

Ahh. He’s so cool!

Looking at Lee Hyun, who smiled softly, Arisha thought as she received his guidance.

Even so, she wished to keep this coolness just for herself.

Wham.

Just because it’s a combat class doesn’t mean they only train for battle.

To prove that, in front of Class 1-A, there stood a female instructor.

With her thin arms and legs, she looked far from a combat instructor.

And that was indeed the case.

She taught composition.

“Many of you might wonder why we learn composition in a combat class. But writing is surprisingly important in your daily lives. Um. Sowol Saint, you know this, right?”

“You can just call me Sowol casually. And to answer your question… yes. When you reach a certain position, you can’t just fight all the time.”

Unless you were thinking of becoming a wandering warrior like the King of Rights or a Swordmaster, interacting with others was a given.

In that process, reports and such were often required, so a skill in writing was necessary.

Of course, there were times when writing skills were needed outside of that too.

“This class aims to enhance your basic writing abilities. Now then, let’s move on to the main class, shall we?”

With a light smile, the female instructor clapped her hands.

“You’ve been enrolled for a few days now, so I believe you’ve made some friends. Now, let’s see, there are 25 of you… can you all form pairs with those you vibe well with?”

At that, the students moved busily, but some didn’t budge at all.

It was simple. Those with higher statuses were hard for others to approach easily.

Especially for Sowol and Lena.

Their status and skills were so high that students felt awe and pressure.

As teams began to form excluding them, Arisha let out a deep sigh.

“Ripa, you’ll be on my team, right?”

“Uh? Sure, but… why?”

“I’m trying to team up with those people.”

“The prince is over there… the remaining ones are the princess, the saint, and the head. Uh… won’t that be too much pressure?”

Despite her concerns, Arisha beamed at her.

“Not at all!”

“Well, if you say so…”

Having befriended all the class members in just a few days, Arisha confidently approached the three.

Pretending to be casual, the others accepted Arisha’s proposal, quickly forming a team.

As other students grouped together around the instructor, she smiled and began writing on the board.

“Today’s class will evaluate your writing skills. You’ll choose one topic, write about it, and present your work.”

“What’s the topic?”

“Someone you respect.”

Writing about someone you respect.

That wasn’t a difficult topic.

As everyone let out sighs of relief, the instructor stepped back, and teamwork discussions commenced.

“Well, we should decide on a topic… who should we write about?”

“If we write about His Highness, the shining star and revered leader of our kingdom, King Seirdon Deorant II, I’m sure many from other countries respect him as well. Doesn’t that sound good?”

As she confidently stated this, Ripa gave a wry smile.

If that was the case, Sowol and Lena might write about the Pope and another head of the Ivory Tower.

“Let’s decide by majority vote!”

“Um, that seems good.”

“That’s probably the best option!”

Confident Lumina jotted down a name and passed it around.

Seeing that, others also noted down names, and they soon reached a decision.

“Alright, let’s hear from Team One about their choice?”

“Yup!”

The first to raise her hand was Arisha.

The instructor smiled warmly at her, and Arisha said brightly,

“I chose Teacher Lee Hyun!”

Ignoring Lumina’s sour look, Arisha said it cheerfully.

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