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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: American Monster Extermination Request (2)
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'How anxious and shaky I was…! Legal interest rates, sub-parties, and, and, Lee Yuri… How could you say such things…!'
As Jin Yuha revealed it was a lie,
Lee Yuri bit her lip tightly.
Her face flushed crimson, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
"You, how could you—! After everything I felt! How much—!"
A huge surge of anger and betrayal heated her head, making it difficult to even speak properly.
However, Jin Yuha merely glowered at her with a sullen expression.
"What about you?"
"…What?"
"I'm the one who was more upset and hurt by what you said. That's why I did it."
"Now, what in the world are you talking about…"
"Lee Yuri, you don't even know why I'm angry, do you?"
As Jin Yuha let out a deep sigh,
Lee Yuri's eyes widened, her face dumbfounded.
A sense of crisis instantly washed over her.
She vaguely remembered reading somewhere that when a man says, 'You don't know why I'm angry, do you?' it usually means the woman has made a big mistake.
'I, I was wrong…? But you're the one who lied, Jin Yuha!'
Still, she had to ask for the reason first.
"…Th-Then, why are you angry?"
Lee Yuri asked, a slight hint of shrinking back in her tone.
"Haa, look at this. She doesn't know any of her own faults. Only her own feelings matter, don't they?"
"I-I'm sorry…"
Even though it was clearly her turn to be angry, Lee Yuri found herself apologizing, overwhelmed by his momentum.
But the conversation didn't end there.
"Sorry for what?"
"J-Just everything…"
If Jin Yuha had been an ordinary man, a second round of argument might have begun here, with him saying, 'You don't even know what you did wrong, and you're apologizing?'
Fortunately, Jin Yuha was a man from a world where common sense was flipped on its head.
Jin Yuha stared at Lee Yuri, then opened his mouth as if he couldn't help it.
"What? Disappear without a word? Quietly, by yourself? Because you failed the test? You're not qualified as a tank? What else was it… Oh, debtor and creditor? I can't believe it. To say all that and then have the nerve to act like *I'm* in the wrong."
"N-No. I truly…"
"That's what makes it worse. You made all the decisions by yourself. It means you never once considered my position, having to be informed of them."
At that, she found herself at a loss for words.
Because she had genuinely and seriously considered leaving for the sake of the team, and even tried to put it into action.
She had thought about Jin Yuha holding her back, but she hadn't considered the shock he would feel.
"Did you really think I would cast you aside just because you failed one test?"
At Jin Yuha's reproach, Lee Yuri could only hang her head and repeat the same words.
"…No, I know that's not true. That's why…"
S-t-r-e-t-c-h—!
"Aieee!"
Jin Yuha pinched Lee Yuri's cheek, which had scrunched down, and pulled it upwards.
"If you didn't pass the test, then you just pass it again."
His tone was resolute, as if cut with a knife.
A solid conviction, without a shred of doubt.
Yes, this was it.
The reason she had staked her beliefs on him as her shield.
"I've told you before, again and again. I've never once considered any other tank besides you. And you dare say such things?"
Jin Yuha stared intently into Lee Yuri's eyes.
"So, don't ever say such ridiculous things again. I have no intention of ever letting you go."
Lee Yuri swallowed hard and subtly averted her gaze.
'Seriously, how can he say all that without his expression even changing…?'
By this point, the anger she had felt just moments ago had completely dissipated.
In its place, a mix of apology, gratitude, and embarrassment filled her.
As a bonus, her lips twitched upwards despite being scolded.
"Okay…"
Lee Yuri nodded slightly, her cheek still held.
"…Are you done now?"
At that moment, a listless voice came from in front of them.
It was Lina, the Director, resting her chin on her arm with a sulky expression, like a child.
"I don't care if you two are playing your little love games… But I truly don't understand why you had to come all the way here to do it."
"L-Love games?! N-No, it's not like that!!!"
Lee Yuri flusteredly distanced herself from Jin Yuha.
"…I'm jealous. My cheek too."
Ichika said in a small voice, putting a finger to her lips.
* * *
'Phew, well, Gukbap-ie is settled now.'
At first, I just wanted to tease her a little because she was being vexatious, but her reaction was so amusing.
I might have gone a bit too far.
'Hmm, 'Oppa, do you even know why I'm angry?' This tactic is always a guaranteed win, no matter the world.'
It was a good thing this was a gender-reversed world.
Anyway, it was time to get down to business.
I opened my mouth towards the sullen-faced child in front of me.
"Ah, before we go on the American monster extermination request, we came here to get a spatial tattoo for our newly recruited Special, Ichika, and because our tank's shield was destroyed during training."
Clean demands.
As I spoke my wishes,
Lina's mouth hung open.
Though she didn't say anything, anyone could see the exasperation on her face.
*Tilt—*
Lina tilted her head.
"…Did you deposit them here?"
"Excuse me?"
"Did you deposit them here?"
'Huh, did the leverage wear off already?'
Given her personality, which disliked being indebted, I thought I could use the debt from the mid-term evaluation one or two more times.
It seemed the house she received last time was a much bigger deal than I thought.
'Tsk, this is troublesome…'
When it came to spatial tattoos, those received from Director Lina were incomparably superior in terms of performance and stability.
And now that Lee Yuri was a 4-star, using a store-bought shield was beneath her.
'Hmm, if that's the case, do I need to farm materials somewhere and find a spatial artifact crafter and a blacksmith to make them myself…?'
Of course, I could probably get it done through Shin Se-hee, but I wasn't really keen on that.
After all, there was a golden goblin with short limbs, piled high with treasures right in front of me. It would be foolish to give up and turn back.
'Is there no other way…?'
Just then.
*Whoosh—*
Suddenly, a window opened, and a woman appeared like the wind.
*Thud.*
A black-haired woman stepped quietly, her expression indifferent.
My master.
Baek Seolhee.
"Disciple, what were you doing here?"
She spoke to me with an icy, cold expression.
"Huh?"
*Thump!*
"Se-Seolhee! What in the world have you been doing all this time?! For a week without contact! What were you doing, where were you—!"
"I asked what you were doing here."
Director Lina shouted, standing up in front of me, but Master asked again as if she hadn't heard her words.
"Ah, well, the new recruit needs a spatial tattoo, and our tank's shield broke, so we came to get a replacement…"
*Glare—*
Only then did Baek Seolhee glare at Director Lina with a terrifying expression.
"You, despicable… Gaining affinity like that… Again."
"Aff-Affinity, what are you talking about—!"
"Every time, you tempt my disciple with material things to raise his stats, and now you're pretending you don't know anything again. Honestly, I'm sick of it."
"What in the world would I gain by tempting that boy—!"
As Director Lina spoke, her pupils suddenly dilated.
And then, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
— Jin Yuha, just answer in your mind. This is urgent, so I've used mind-reading magic.
'Huh, Director…?'
— That artifact you just acquired! Where and from whom did you get it?!
'I got it by catching an Incubus Apostle?'
I didn't know why she was suddenly acting like this, but I answered what I knew for now.
— My word…
Lina looked up at the empty air, then tightly closed her eyes.
Then, her shrunken voice came again.
— …J-Jin Yuha. I'll grant you everything you want, so, c-can you just help me for a moment…?
'…Huh?'
I tilted my head.
'This… isn't this an opportunity?'
— No! This is the last time! The last time!
Ah, this golden brat, she was reading my mind just now, wasn't she?
— Golden brat!?
*
'So, Director Lina's stats went up by 7% because of my artifact, and then it disappeared…?'
Is that even possible?
Originally, 5% was the maximum.
'Hmm, well, I guess it's not impossible. After all, my name suddenly appeared and disappeared due to a bug before.'
Anyway, I understood the situation.
And the method of persuasion was simple.
All I had to do was show her.
"Master, I think there might be a misunderstanding."
"…A misunderstanding?"
Master's eyebrows twitched as she asked again.
"Hmm, Director? You can use emotion magic, right?"
"Th-That's right! Of course!"
"Then, could you use it on this ring here? So others can see it too."
*Hum—*
Lina's magic settled on my finger.
And the detailed description of the artifact unfolded for everyone to see.
"If you look here, this ring can grant a 3-5% enhancement depending on favorability. And over here, you see Director Lina's name is blacked out and deactivated? And next to it, it says 3% in black."
Master stared intently at the translucent window spread before her.
"Indeed… It's 3%. But why does the Director say it was 7%? Could it be, such a base act as lying about the stats…?"
"Th-That's—!"
"I think it's an error."
Lina tried to interject, but I cut her off first.
"…An error?"
"Yes, it was originally 3%. But it's strange that it suddenly became deactivated. Director Lina also said that the enhanced power disappeared."
At that, Lina nodded vigorously, eager to show her hands.
"Th-That's right! The enhanced power is completely gone now! The ring isn't even here anymore!"
Watching her, I thought to myself.
'Is she, by any chance, lying about it being 7% and now trying to cover it up?'
For a moment, that suspicion crossed my mind.
But surely, someone who was the Director of an academy wouldn't do something so petty.
Anyway, once the misunderstanding was cleared,
Baek Seolhee's face brightened considerably.
"…So that's what it was. Only 3%. That's just a reasonable amount of gratitude. But everyone else is 4%. Didn't it say the maximum was 5%? How can I raise that?"
"Hmm, you're asking me about that…"
"Right, it means it's up to me. Understood. Disciple. I apologize, but I have business, so I'll be going first. I'll see you next time."
*Whoosh—*
Master vanished as abruptly as she had appeared.
With everything settled,
We stared intently at Director Lina.
"Ah, I understand! Ah, the spatial tattoo and the shield! I'll hand over the shield!"
She said, flustered, as if something had pricked her.
'…Did she really lie?'
I looked at Lina with eyes full of suspicion,
And Lina subtly shifted her gaze upwards, avoiding my eyes.