Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Knife (Novel) - Chapter 111 - New Beginning (2)

Chapter 111 – New Beginning (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Inside a bus racing down the highway.

In the third row from the back, a young man and woman were seated together.

They were Kang Geom-ma and Abel. The people on the bus kept stealing glances at the two of them.

The black-haired cadet was unusual enough, but Abel’s presence stood out even more than that.

“…Wow, she’s even prettier in person.”

When one man, stealing a glance at Abel, muttered a small admiration, the woman sitting next to him pinched his side.

“Aagh!”

“You’re really saying that while you have a girlfriend? And what do you mean pretty, just look at her-”

And then, the moment she turned her sharp, ringed eyes toward Abel.

‘…Huh.’

The hostility that had been faintly smoldering instantly subsided.

‘Crazy.’

Even as a woman, Abel’s looked were pure unreality itself. It was enough to understand why men practically lost their minded over her.

But for some reason, there was a cold wind flowing between the black-haired boy and Abel.

If he were sitting next to Abel, he should have been shouting for joy, yet the black-haired boy was wearing an indifferent expression.

Abel shifted only her eyes slightly to the right. Kang Geom-ma was leaning an arm against the window frame, silently looking out at the scenery.

With those pitch-black irises, it was hard to tell what on earth he was thinking.

Abel considered trying to speak to him, then stopped herself.

‘…It’s kind of awkward with Geom-ma.’

Their first, dishonorable meeting. Then their second meeting on Avalon Island. Every time Abel’s path overlapped with Kang Geom-ma’s, he grew more and more quiet.

Abel secretly felt a little hurt by the way his taciturnity kept deepening.

‘It really feels like he’s trying to keep his distance on purpose……’

She wanted to ask why. The knotted question rose all the way to the end of her throat, but she held it back.

And on top of that, wasn’t he the one deliberately trying to keep his distance? She had no desire to force a conversation on someone like that. And opening her mouth first would have hurt her pride too……

“……”

“……”

Her lips kept twitching and her fingers fidgeted. This endless silence was terribly uncomfortable.

But hadn’t he gotten along well enough with other girls?

Suddenly, names rose in her mind.

Chloe, Rachel, and Saki Ryozo.

Those three.

‘……’

Before getting on the bus, when she heard those frivolous upperclassmen talking, her brow had furrowed and her mouth had opened on reflex.

But the more she thought about it, could it be true that Geom-ma really did have a lot of scandals with other girls……?

It had been three months since entering the academy. Even if it wasn’t a different girl every week, there had been a new one every month.

For a brief moment, she regretted having defended him for no reason.

‘…Ugh, suddenly my head is pounding.’

Abel reflexively touched her forehead. A faint dizziness rose up.

‘Is it motion sickness?’

Come to think of it, how many years had it been since she had last ridden a bus? The last time had been when she traveled around England with her parents when she was little.

Her mother rubbing her back for her because she suffered from motion sickness. Her father attaching a motion-sickness patch behind her ear with a gentle smile, saying they’d be there soon.

What had the name of that sticker medicine been? It had been a Korean product, she thought……

Trying to remember what the motion-sickness medicine had been only made the nausea rise instead. Abel leaned more deeply into her seat and lowered her lashes.

‘It’s been about ten years.’

Faces that were now only faintly remembered.

Before she was old enough to understand, Abel used to flip through the photo album now and then so she would not forget them. But the more she did, the more sorrow and longing piled up.

That was why Abel no longer took out that old album.

No amount of sorrow would bring them back, and it would also be a cruel thing to do to her grandfather, who cared for her so devotedly.

The death of family.

That despair and sadness were not something Abel alone had felt in full. She had lost her parents, but her grandfather had lost his son and daughter-in-law.

“……”

A gloom spread across Abel’s face. This was her homecoming for the first time in a very long while.

Yet all it took was a single fragment of memory for her chest to ache.

“Abel.”

At the voice from her right, Abel’s eyes flew open. Startled, even her shoulders jerked.

“Y-yeah?”

“If your motion sickness is bad, try using this.”

Kang Geom-ma held out a slip of paper no bigger than a fingernail. Abel’s eyes darted once between his face and his hand.

“What’s this?”

“Motion-sickness medicine.”

At those words, Abel felt a heavy sense of déjà vu. Her golden eyes widened even further.

“I don’t really get motion sick, but since it’ll be my first time on a plane, I brought it just in case. I bought it yesterday at the pharmacy as part of a small medicine kit, so if your motion sickness gets bad, try it. It works well.”

Abel found herself accepting the tiny slip of paper before she knew it. Kang Geom-ma tilted his head and asked.

“Do you not know how to use it? Well, it was developed in Korea, after all.”

“No……! Ah, I know!”

Abel waved her hands. She even stumbled over her words, something she normally did not . At that reaction, Kang Geom-ma turned his head back toward the window again.

Abel let out the breath in her chest. Then she looked down at the paper she had been handed.

‘Guimitae’

After ten years, the name of the medicine she learned was absurdly straightforward.

Just as it seemed Abel might smile faintly, a cold smile settled over her lips.

‘Even on Avalon Island, and now too……’

Kang Geom-ma was always like this. As though it meant nothing, he casually tossed out small acts of kindness.

Actions so trivial they seemed neither exaggerated nor driven by any intent.

That part of him looked genuine, and it gave rise to a strange persuasive force.

Could that perhaps be why even the sullen Saki had come all the way down to Wolf Class?

Abel kneaded the little patch paper in her hands for a while, then carefully tucked it away in her clothes.

The bus racing between the wide-open road and the clear sky.

Perhaps because the queasy feelings that had been unpleasantly circling at the bottom of her chest, and even the motion sickness, had eased somewhat.

Abel closed her eyes again and leaned her back into the seat.

* * *

[Dear passengers, our bus has now arrived at Incheon Airport. To prevent accidents inside the vehicle, please refrain from moving until the bus has come to a complete stop……]

The arrival announcement rang out.

After a full three hours, they had finally arrived at the airport.

Passengers rose from their seats and stretched here and there. The gazes moving left and right soon fixed on this side.

And then several sturdy men began whispering among themselves.

“Hey, hey, look over there. Abel’s asleep leaning on his shoulder.”

“Damn it, lucky bastard. Just how much virtue did he build up in his previous life……”

As the owner of a sushi restaurant.

“Forget it, forget it. That’s the Sashimi Sword Saint, isn’t he. In the end, strong men are the ones who win beauties. If you’re bitter, then get stronger than him.”

“Tch.”

A man leaving with his lower lip bitten tight. His companion shaking his head and patting his shoulder.

A white shadow fell over their retreating backs.

“……”

I don’t think I’ve ever had envious stared aimed at me before since coming to this world. Still, the situation being like this felt somewhat ironic.

I could lend one shoulder to a beauty if needed, but because that beauty was Abel, too many eyes were converging on us.

‘I should wake her up.’

I shook my left shoulder. Her glossy blue hair swayed this way and that.

“Mmn.”

Abel blinked open sleep-heavy eyes. Her eyelids looked extremely heavy.

“We’re here, wake up.”

“……!”

Abel’s face turned bright red. She immediately jolted upright and silently began gathering her luggage.

‘I’ll keep it a secret that she drooled.’

I pulled our rolling bags out from the luggage hold and entered the airport.

* * *

“Oh.”

So Incheon Airport really was world-class. I had never been to an airport in another country, but even then, this seemed worthy of being called the best.

If anything, should I say it felt even more imposing than the Incheon Airport on Earth? Come to think of it, in this world Korea was the only country capable of standing in opposition to the United States.

‘This is the sort of thing I really like about the makers of Miracle’s Blessing.’

Unlike me, Abel seemed familiar with the airport layout as she took the lead.

After getting off the bus, not a single word had been exchanged between her and me.

Even so, she consciously checked whether I was following properly. And whenever I looked around the dazzling airport interior, she even slowed her pace slightly out of consideration.

‘The more I look at her, the more she really does have an unexpectedly contrary sort of personality.’

Thoughtful by nature. Separate from that, the problem was that her looked drew too much attention.

After moving for a few minutes like that, I spotted a single person surrounded by a dense swarm of reporters.

“This is NBC! Sword Emperor sir, could you spare a word for us on your plans after retirement?”

“I’m Yoon Pil-seong from WTN! We heard there’s already someone informally chosen for the next Seven Star position, could you tell us who it is!”

“We heard this is connected to Elder Cladi’s passing. Could you tell us whether you were directly involved!”

“Is it true that Metflix is filming a documentary about the Sword Emperor’s achievements?!”

Questions pouring down like a shower, and the relentless barrage of camera flashes.

With no security or hired staff to be seen, the Sword Emperor was taking it all on alone.

The Sword Emperor narrowed his brows tightly and kept his mouth shut. At a glance, he was clearly not pleased.

But the reporters paid no heed and kept thrusting their smartphones toward him.

Even though they could die from a single flick of the Sword Emperor’s hand……

Once again, I found myself marveling at the reporters’ nerve. In a way, they too were war correspondents.

“Tsk, they’re at it again.”

Clicking her tongue, Abel pulled out a hat, mask, and sunglasses from her clutch bag. It was the standard celebrity disguise set.

At that moment.

“!!!!!!!”

The reporters’ attention swung this way. At the same time, their eyes gleamed. Like wolves who had discovered fresh prey.

Confusion rose across Abel’s face.

The future head of House Nibelung, and extraordinary beauty. She was someone who possessed every sort of headline value.

In other words, to people like them starving for news material, she was the perfect prey.

Abel tried to avoid the spot. But with her feet tied up by the rolling suitcase, she had no chance to run.

Step, step, step, step.

Step, step, step, step.

Step, step, step, step.

The reporters clutching high-performance cameras all rushed over at once.

They formed a ring around us in a wide circle. Abel quickly put on her hat, mask, and colored glasses.

Before long, one reporter opened his mouth.

“Mr. Kang Geom-ma, this is NBC! You’re currently making headlines under the name ‘Sashimi Sword Saint,’ so how do you feel right now?!”

“I’m reporter Yoon Byung-seon from FBS! Not long ago you defeated Mao Lang of China, so what are your plans going forward?”

“Michael Jopon from British media outlet CCB!”

“Elon Mask from America’s DEF!”

The reporters’ camera lenses were aimed not at Abel, but at me.

Abel flinched at the unexpected situation. The sunglasses hanging on her nose tilted to one side.

Bewilderment filled Abel’s pupils. The reporters did not give her even a hair’s worth of attention. They were treating her like a complete invisible person.

Still, I was no less flustered than Abel. Smartphones were being thrust at me like weapons. Beyond the screens, recording apps were already running.

‘…What kind of situation is this.’

Their eyes were full of greed. Eyes carrying the resolve that they would never back down without getting a story.

‘Ah, damn it.’

I hated troublesome things with a passion. If it were up to me, I would have liked to shove them aside and walk out. But if I did that, matters would only get more complicated.

“What brings you to the airport today?”

One female reporter who had come right up close threw the question at me. At that, the other reporters also wore expressions saying they wanted to know the same thing.

“…Ah.”

This was troublesome. My presence might be publicly visible, but my whereabouts during vacation needed to remain unclear.

If the fact that I was following the Sword Emperor came to light, it would become a headache.

If I ignored them and walked past here, speculative articles linking the Sword Emperor and me would be spread around.

In that case, it would be better to say something, anything at all, and redirect the attention entirely somewhere else.

Since I was going to Europe, to the continent on the exact opposite side.

“I’m going to America.”

A blatant lie. Naturally, I felt no guilt whatsoever.

If I could just divert their attention, I could have said Antarctica too.

“America……”

The female reporter who had asked the question rolled the word around in her mouth. Then, as if struck by electricity, her eyes flashed.

“…Don’t tell me! Defeating Iron Leg Mao Lang wasn’t enough, and now you’re even issuing a challenge to America’s All Mute?! Jesus Christ!”

“……”

The shrill cry of shock. Her emotions rapidly spread through the people around her.

“Right, otherwise why would he suddenly be going to America?”

“Come on, no matter what, All Mute is too much……. That guy isn’t quite the same as Mao Lang. No matter how much of a genius he is……”

“Hey, who cares whether it’s true? He just tossed us the bait. He’s telling us to judge for ourselves. I thought he was just strong, but he even knows how to handle the press. As expected, the real monsters are different.”

“Now that you mention it……. We came here to cover the Sword Emperor, but this is an unexpected monster catch, isn’t it?!”

The atmosphere grew disorderly. I seized that gap and grabbed Abel by the wrist.

“Now’s the time, let’s go.”

“Huh?!”

We pushed through the reporters’ disordered formation. The dividers in between gave way if I put some force into my shoulder.

“Ah! This man shoved me! He shoved me!”

Whether that happened or not, the other reporters each opened their laptops. Soon after, their fingertips began to pound the keyboards without restraint.

When I checked the articles they had written on the airplane. I regretted having tossed out a single line and escaped.

•

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‘The Sashimi Sword Saint walking the path of domination. ‘All Mute, come at me!”

‘China is now ‘too boring, it makes me want to die.’ America’s rising superstar All Mute was his only true rival.’

‘Whether youthful vigor or recklessness, his future moves will need to be .’

‘Sashimi Sword Saint Kang Geom-ma. Controversy over assaulting reporters.’