Chapter 321: One of the Two Will Die (2)

Director’s Office, Joaquin Academy.

“What happened was…”

Sung Yuchang explained to Ryozo what had occurred earlier.

Even as he spoke, he kept checking his phone over and over. An urgent report could arrive at any moment saying that Parsy Academy had been “wiped off the face of the earth.”

Because he knew how deeply Heavenly Sword cared for Joaquin Academy. And because he knew all too well his resentment toward the nobles, Sung Yuchang couldn’t help but feel anxious.

He didn’t think well of Parsy Academy either. But the nobles were utterly crushed under the overwhelming weight of Heavenly Sword.

The more they were oppressed, the more they twisted in resistance. The nobles’ pushback only grew stronger, and they demanded a way out.

That was the decisive reason behind Parsy Academy’s creation.

The nobles, terrified of Heavenly Sword, hid their children in another school.

The Hero Association acted as a bridge between Heavenly Sword and Parsy Academy.

Since Sung Yuchang became president, the Association had served as mediator.

In any case—

‘Heavenly Sword understood everything.’

That’s why he accepted the creation of Parsy Academy without complaint.

‘As long as they didn’t provoke him, there would be no problem.’

As long as they didn’t…

But they did, and now there was a problem.

“So, in summary, Heavenly Sword and the Lady of the Sword went to threaten Parsy Academy?”

That was Director Ryozo’s question immediately after Sung Yuchang finished explaining the situation.

For a moment, Sung Yuchang was speechless.

He had come seeking her judgment in this unprecedented situation, but her reaction was surprisingly indifferent.

“Parsy Academy is on the verge of being erased from existence, Director…”

“It almost was—but you placed the Lady of the Sword next to Heavenly Sword precisely to avoid that, didn’t you?”

Ryozo replied calmly while flipping through documents.

“I know Heavenly Sword usually listens to the Director and the Lady of the Sword, but this time was different… If we let this continue, it’s going to be a disaster, Director!”

“But that disaster isn’t Joaquin Academy’s problem, is it?”

“Directorrr!”

Sung Yuchang shouted in desperation. Ryozo sighed deeply and rested her elbows on the pile of papers, fingers interlaced.

“You made two mistakes.”

“T-Two mistakes? What do you mean…?”

“The first was assuming the Lady of the Sword would be more rational than Heavenly Sword. He may seem impulsive, but he’s the calmest, most composed person I know.”

“That sounds very biased…”

“Listen to the end.”

“Yes…”

Ryozo continued.

“If he always did what he wanted, he would’ve annihilated all the demons in the Second Great War and ended it there. But he didn’t. He knew that would only cause humans to fight among themselves. That’s why he let them live as a ‘necessary evil.’ He has a sharp grasp of international strategy.”

It wasn’t just flattery. Though Heavenly Sword had a violent streak, he wasn’t the type to destroy entire factions. Sung Yuchang completely agreed.

“He may look like a volcano, but he knows when to cool down. The Lady of the Sword is the opposite. People get fooled by her appearance, but of everyone I know, she’s the most combative. Maybe only the Sword Master could compare. You know her temperament, don’t you?”

The mention of the Sword Master twisted Sung Yuchang’s expression. Damn, why hadn’t he thought of that?

“If only Heavenly Sword had gone, the worst-case scenario would’ve been the death of a director. But with the Lady of the Sword there, things could escalate much further.”

“Isn’t it already a problem if a director dies?”

“Compared to the disappearance of an entire institution, that’s a minor issue.”

There was no way to argue with that.

“The Director is incredibly calm. It’s like she already knew this would happen.”

“Rather than knowing, I deduced it.”

Ryozo shrugged. But Sung Yuchang sensed she was lying. She knew he’d contact the Lady of the Sword. And that instead of moderating the situation, she might end up triggering it.

Ryozo had foreseen everything and still did nothing. That meant she had a plan.

Though quite intelligent, Sung Yuchang couldn’t grasp the full scope of her intentions.

She had managed to rebuild Joaquin Academy in her early twenties. She was regarded as the most brilliant director in history.

“…I’ll trust that you have everything under control…”

He had no choice but to place his trust in her. Ryozo responded with a faint smile.

‘By the way…’

Didn’t she say he’d made two mistakes?

“What was the second mistake?”

“…”

Ryozo paused, then said.

“Today was my turn.”

“Sorry…?”

“It was an odd-numbered day.”

Ryozo repeated with a tone full of frustration.

“It was an odd-numbered day!”

Who would’ve guessed? The routine between Ryozo and Abel was a constant silent war.

***

A storm of blood swept through Parsy Academy.

When Abel pointed Notung, the Parsy director surrendered.

For a Nibelung to draw Notung was a clear acceptance of combat. Parsy Academy had declared war under the guise of an “exchange.” They were out of excuses.

Had they continued resisting, I would’ve “erased” Parsy Academy myself.

“One representative per grade. Three in total for the exchange. The details will be written separately…”

The Parsy director drafted the agreement, reading out each word slowly.

With the tip of Notung brushing his forehead, his handwriting looked like a worm crawling.

“Everything seems to be in order.”

Karon checked the documents thoroughly and confirmed.

Even so, the director, trying to preserve some dignity, muttered.

“That agreement must be honored. About the loser shutting down, I mean. I—no, we students of Parsy will make you eat your arrogance.”

We didn’t respond harshly to his threat. After all, a fair duel had been agreed upon, and the phrase “our students of Parsy” carried some weight.

It was a relief that he wasn’t just a coward. The more intense the rivalry, the sweeter the victory.

Neither Abel nor I said it out loud, but we both thought the same thing.

The heroes of Miracle Blessing M were quite different from the usual hero image.

‘That was just an excuse…’

To be honest—

We still aren’t fully grown-ups.

We still want to burn.

***

The original plan had been to return immediately to Korea and report the situation to Ryozo in person.

But Abel suggested we rest at least one day at Castle Sigurd. According to her, it was because of the fatigue from travel.

“If it took us less than two minutes to get here?”

Abel fell silent, and her defender, Shail, stepped in for her.

“Seriously, Heavenly Sword, you really have no sense of tact.”

“If you know I have no tact, shouldn’t you explain it to me?”

“Women who explain everything tend to lose their charm.”

“…What the hell…?”

I turned to look at Karon.

He just shook his head, reminding me we were in the historic neutral nation of Switzerland.

I was led to Castle Sigurd like a criminal, and the day passed like that.

“Aaaah!”

As she stepped out the front door, Abel stretched with force.

The radiant sun lit up her skin with a fresh glow. Maybe because she had slept in her childhood home, she looked especially refreshed.

“……”

I couldn’t say the same.

Far from recovering from the trip, I had spent the night awake, accumulating toxins. I had long since maxed out my [Body Level], so I didn’t feel any physical fatigue, but my soul had aged ten years in one night.

“Take care, Heavenly Sword and Lady Abel.”

Shaile and Karon came to see us off.

…

I wanted to enjoy the reunion more, but under the circumstances, we had to leave immediately. I simply burned both of their faces into my memory.

“Hmm?”

Something strange…

Didn’t they look younger than they did ten years ago?

Even considering that Shail and I weren’t far apart in age, the blush on her cheeks made her look like a young girl.

And even though Karon was over sixty, he could easily pass for a man in his forties.

No noticeable wrinkles, and his hair roots were an intense black.

Could living in the pure nature of Switzerland really rejuvenate someone? I was glad to see them healthy, but something didn’t sit right.

‘I’ll have to ask Lycan when I get back.’

I summoned lightning in a clear sky.

I’d done it several times in front of Shail and Karon, but each time they opened their eyes and mouths in amazement. It seemed they never got used to the fact that lightning was my mode of transport.

Crack! Crack! Krrash!

With their farewell, we literally disappeared like a flash of lightning.

From Abel’s point of view, we returned to Joaquin Academy in the blink of an eye. She had fully recovered her energy (unlike me), so we headed straight for the director’s office.

There, Ryozo greeted me with a rather cold expression.

Foolish me, I had just remembered that yesterday was an odd-numbered day. I whispered in her ear that I’d take full responsibility for the day after tomorrow. Only then did the director’s expression soften.

Inside, I was already dry and withered.

In any case, after hearing the story, Ryozo nodded silently and called all the faculty through Choi Seol-Ah.

Since they had only learned of Parsy Academy’s sinister plans the day before, everyone assembled with maximum discipline.

In their eyes burned a living fury.

The tension before war filled the room when Ryozo finally opened the meeting.

“Yesterday, Heavenly Sword and the Lady of the Sword personally visited Parsy Academy. They were able to confirm that Parsy did indeed propose the exchange.”

Lee Woo-Bin ground his teeth.

“Those bastards!”

“Director! Give the order! I’ll go myself in place of Heavenly Sword and crush Parsy Academy!”

It was clear that with just one order from Ryozo, he was ready to destroy Parsy then and there.

Choi Seol-Ah, occupying one of the main seats, also showed enthusiasm quite sincerely.

Since when had she been so passionate about Joaquin Academy? Probably never.

More likely, it was out of fear of losing her position. If Parsy offered better conditions, she wouldn’t hesitate to feign hesitation and then betray us. That was Choi Seol-Ah, utterly self-interested.

As Ryozo remained silent, the tension in the room slightly eased.

Sung Yuchang, who had arrived at some point, gave me a signal with his eyes and then fixed his gaze on her lips.

“The board is set.”

Ryozo hated long, flowery speeches like those of past directors.
She always got straight to the point.

“Erase them. Parsy.”

The director declared it.

“Eliminate them… legally.”

A brief silence.

Then, as if rehearsed, all the faculty stood up with a loud stomp.

Tap.

Without a word, they gave a perfect bow.

A mixture of savage fierceness and educator dignity radiated from them.

‘The era of peace lasted ten years.’

They had endured long enough. It was time for them to be unleashed.

***

Later, in the director’s office.

Ryozo, Abel, Sung Yuchang, and I.

The four of us held a private meeting. The members were remarkable—one of the Seven Stars, the academy’s director, a noble of stature, and the president of the Association.

The major decisions had already been made in the faculty meeting.
Now it was time to discuss the details.

“Given how things have turned out…”

Sung Yuchang broke the silence with a sigh.

“The Association will handle organizing the exchange event. We’ll notify Parsy Academy of the same immediately. Agreed?”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

“Proceed as you said, President.”

Unanimous.

Sung Yuchang wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and continued.

“Then, we need to select one representative per grade, but the event is fast approaching. We’ll leave the selection to each academy’s discretion.”

My turn.

“There’s nothing to think about.”

I looked away from Sung Yuchang and locked eyes with Ryozo. She was pale, likely due to a certain “group” that had been pestering her.

“For first year, Leon will go. For second, Abel.”

This was the perfect moment to get rid of the annoying ones. I hadn’t done all that theater yesterday morning for nothing.

“And for third year, I’ll take care of it myself.”

I have an interview waiting, Princess Victoria.