Correcting the Villainess of the Academy

Dol-dol-dol!

“…”

Dol-dol-dol!

“…What is it…”

A sound of something tapping on the window filled the guest room. At first, it was mistaken for raindrops, but if that was the case, it wouldn’t have sounded so regular.

As that thought crossed his mind, Sa Jaehyeok finally got up from his seat and approached the window.

Bang!

He unlocked the latch and opened the window. The humid, cold air poured in, waking up his sluggish mind.

Quack!

“…What are you doing here?”

Soon, Sa Jaehyeok spotted a crow sitting on the window frame. The crow leaped into the room as if it had been waiting for the window to open.

With a tuft of white feathers on its head, this crow was someone Sa Jaehyeok knew well. It was Mok Jinwoo’s crow, his cradle classmate and former comrade.

Mok Jinwoo was currently the branch chief of the Information Bureau.

For him to send a message via the secure line meant he had a request for Sa Jaehyeok.

If it had just been to check in, he would have used the hotel phone lines instead.

“You, water… eh, never mind. Just give it to me.”

The crow was happily shaking off water on the carpet. Seeing this, Sa Jaehyeok furrowed his brow momentarily but soon resigned and extended his hand.

Caw!

The crow picked at the bundle of papers tied to its leg with its beak and handed it over.

Receiving the papers, Sa Jaehyeok went to sit in the rocking chair by the window. The sound of rain tapping against the window echoed in his ears.

Sa Jaehyeok untied the bundle and placed his palm on it. Heavy black particles flowed from his hand onto the paper, and letters began to appear on the empty white sheet.

“…Let’s see. What annoying task are you trying to assign me this time?”

The letter contained a brief update on the capital’s situation and a story about a recent incident.

A small settlement in the northeastern Masada area had recently been attacked by demons, resulting in the death of all residents except for a boy.

It was presumed this was done by remnants of demons that escaped from the last hunt, but there were some unclear points that required further investigation.

However, the Information Bureau was currently mobilizing all its resources for the capital, leaving no room to send anyone out, so Mok Jinwoo’s request was to ensure the safety of that boy until this matter was resolved.

“…I knew it would be like this… ugh.”

Just when he was about to frown at the annoying request, Sa Jaehyeok suddenly grabbed his left chest.

Soon, a throbbing pain like fire spreading through his blood vessels began to radiate from his heart.

The ancient wound had been tormenting him relentlessly for 13 years. On rainy days like today, the pain was particularly intense.

Sa Jaehyeok, as if accustomed to it, pulled out a medicinal cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

As he inhaled, he felt the pain ease and his mind stabilize. Sa Jaehyeok sank back into the rocking chair and lost himself in thought.

In fact, he hadn’t been feeling well lately. It wasn’t specifically because his squad was deployed for the extermination of demons moving south.

Sa Jaehyeok and his squad had already amassed a record of slaughtering over a hundred demons, including dozens of high-tier demons with multiple horns.

It was only natural for a unit with such achievements to be put on the task force. Even without a call for support, they would have volunteered to participate.

What was bothering him was an entirely different matter.

Because of the magnitude of the situation, he had no choice but to return for the extermination report this time.

But Sa Jaehyeok didn’t particularly enjoy visiting the capital.

Every time he stepped through the majestic gate, old memories plagued his mind.

Moreover, having to endure the rotten stench of greedy noblemen was no small torment.

Their power struggles had intensified even more than they were when he left over a decade ago.

Though his family had long withdrawn from the frontline, they still fought like ravenous beasts looking for prey.

Recently, there were even signs of armed conflicts, which was also why Mok Jinwoo was mobilizing the full strength of the Information Bureau.

And with factions clashing day by day, it was no wonder that the state of the nation was falling apart.

The outskirts, which had been painstakingly developed over several decades, had become increasingly desolate. Monsters and criminals rampaged everywhere as if it were their world.

In the upcoming extermination, they had certainly completed a tight encirclement, but with each faction vying for credit, there were gaps that arose.

The boy currently hospitalized was a victim of such pathetic chaos.

“…Should I accept? It doesn’t seem bad.”

In Sa Jaehyeok’s mind, this request felt like an excuse made by Mok Jinwoo for him.

Mok Jinwoo was one of the few people who knew well that Sa Jaehyeok was disenchanted with the capital and the high-ranking wizard families.

Moreover, since this matter didn’t significantly contradict the authority of the 66th Brigade, there was little risk of being accused later.

He planned to return to his original mission in the east after taking a break anyway, so stopping by briefly could work.

Sa Jaehyeok quickly reached a conclusion. He flipped the paper, inscribed the character for ‘approval’ (可), sealed it again, and returned it to the crow.

Caw!

Receiving the bundle of paper, the crow immediately flew away beyond the rain-soaked window.

Bang!

“Seriously! Where does rain suddenly come from?!”

“Shut it… anyone would think I’m being soaked by the rain…”

“Still, at least I bought everything I needed today. That’s a relief…”

Almost as soon as the crow disappeared, the door to the guest room burst open. Three women rushed into the room, their chatter making Sa Jaehyeok’s mind increasingly hazy.

While he had hidden away in the hotel suite to avoid the stench, his squad members were joyfully scurrying around and shopping, fulfilling their desires.

“Aren’t you guys getting tired of this? How many outfits did you buy?!”

Sa Jaehyeok scolded as he stood up. He grabbed the outer garment hanging on the hanger.

The short-haired woman, Yoon Chaewon, who had just dropped her shopping bags, looked at Sa Jaehyeok and spoke.

“Jaehyuk. Are you going out? It’s raining outside.”

“I know. And call me the captain.”

At Sa Jaehyeok’s brusque words, the three women froze. When Sa Jaehyeok referred to himself as captain, it meant it was time to work again.

“…You’re kidding, right? We’ve only been off for three days…”

The long-haired woman, Ryu Sehwa, lamented.

“…I haven’t even finished shopping yet… I’ve got tomorrow’s schedule all lined up…”

The ponytailed woman, Yejin, muttered despondently, her usually expressionless eyes trembling as if an earthquake had struck.

“…Sorry. Let’s plan to come again next time.”

“…No, it’s okay. We’ve rested enough. But what about the report?”

Seeing Sa Jaehyeok in a rare humble mood, Yoon Chaewon asked with a softened voice.

“Jinwoo will take care of that. We’re heading to the northeast. Chaewon, go fetch the combat gear. It should be done by now. Sehwa, pack up. Jinah, prepare the vehicle.”

“Got it.”

“…Understood.”

After hearing Sa Jaehyeok’s orders, Chaewon and Sehwa promptly exited the guest room. In the mirror, he could see Yejin looking puzzled, unlike the others.

“What? Do you have something to say?”

When Sa Jaehyeok urged, Yejin hesitated before speaking up.

“Oppa… I mean, captain. Actually, I ran into my aunt and uncle earlier…”

Hearing Yejin’s words, Sa Jaehyeok halted. After a brief silence, he spoke again.

“My parents? How interesting.”

“…Yeah. And… they asked about you. Maybe this time…”

“Jinah. I think we should get going now.”

“…Okay.”

Sa Jaehyeok seemed to have no desire to hear more as he abruptly cut off Yejin’s words. With Sa Jaehyeok’s intention confirmed, Yejin sighed and followed Chaewon and Sehwa out of the room.

“Huff…”

Left alone, Sa Jaehyeok let out a heavy sigh. His parents were another reason he didn’t want to leave the hotel room.

Sa Jaehyeok turned to finalize his outfit. In the mirror stood a tall man with a fierce expression, eyes that seemed weary from somewhere.

The silver pendant hanging around his neck clinked softly as it swayed.

*

“Ugh…! It hurts… it hurts!!”

“Shut up. Sehwa. Restrain this guy and haul him away. Chaewon. What about that one?”

Sa Jaehyeok stomped down on the captured warlock with his military boot. Yoon Chaewon glanced at the warlock sprawled on the ground for a moment before shaking her head.

“…No biological response. Looks like he bled out due to his arm being severed. Warlocks experience heavier backlash when that happens…”

“Tsk. I see. Jin and I will wrap this up, so you go and assist Sehwa with the interrogation.”

“Yes~”

After hearing Sa Jaehyeok’s command, Chaewon disappeared into the shadows. Moments later, a burning smell accompanied the screams of the warlock from a distance.

‘I thought this was supposed to be purely a security job.’

As expected from Mok Jinwoo’s request, Sa Jaehyeok lamented inwardly.

Having set out the moment he received the request, he had arrived at the destination fairly quickly, but unexpectedly, the boy had already vanished from the hospital.

Fortunately, he was able to confirm the boy’s entry records at the city gate, so after leaving an overly fidgety doctor behind, he followed the trail immediately.

But by the time he caught up with the boy, he was already cornered.

Thus, he had immediately launched into battle, successfully subduing the warlock, and that’s how things had unfolded until now.

Now that he could breathe a sigh of relief, Sa Jaehyeok’s gaze turned to the boy.

With the appearance of someone in their early teens, a long scar stretched from below the boy’s left eye, standing out unnaturally.

The boy sat there, numbly watching the unfolding events before him. His eyes lacked the slightest glint of light; they appeared vacant.

“Hey. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere…”

Thack!

Just as Yejin was about to check on the boy, he swatted her hand away, slightly recoiling. His entire body trembled so much that it was visible even in the dark.

“Jinah. It’s better to light up the surroundings first.”

“Ah, right.”

Yejin nodded in understanding at Sa Jaehyeok’s words. In this darkness, nobody would appear kindly. Especially since they had been under a life-threatening situation just moments ago.

Yejin raised her hand and prepared to cast a spell to illuminate the area. But no signs of brightness emerged even after some time passed.

Tilting her head while manipulating the particle arranger on her wrist, Yejin wondered.

“…That’s strange. The spell isn’t working. The PA seems fine… but it was operational until we left…”

“Forget it. I’ll handle it for now. You can check it again later.”

Sa Jaehyeok casually brushed aside Yejin’s concerns and raised his hand to cast light magic.

“…?”

However, Sa Jaehyeok’s PA didn’t respond either.

Thinking perhaps he should manually compose the spell, he tried again, but there was still no sign of magic being cast. After repeated attempts, it remained silent.

No, rather than that, it felt like no particles were gathering at all.

“…Wait a moment.”

Just as he had the fleeting thought, ‘Is the aging process already starting?’, a sudden intuition brushed over Sa Jaehyeok’s mind. It was the instinct of a soldier who had survived on the battlefield for over a decade.

Sa Jaehyeok looked back at the boy again. He was still sitting there, vacantly staring ahead.

However, his instinct kept insisting that something lay beyond that.

“…”

After a moment of contemplation, Sa Jaehyeok pulled out a particle filter from his pocket. It was a glasses-like device designed to gauge the concentration of particles in the atmosphere through polarized reaction stones.

“What the…?”

Using the filter and glancing around, surprise flickered across Sa Jaehyeok’s face.

Though the concentration of vessel particles was low, they should exist somewhere in the air. So the scenery displayed by the filtered reaction stone should be filled with small, sparkling particles of light.

However, what surrounded Sa Jaehyeok now was just a heavy, cold darkness of the night. There were no traces of activated particles to be found.

He extended his hand again, but the magic still wouldn’t cast.

“…”

After some pondering, Sa Jaehyeok came up with a realization.

For some unknown reason, not just the atmospheric particles but the inherent particles were likely rendered inactive in this area.

Thus, whether he used the PA or composed the spell manually, it seemed he couldn’t use magic at all.

Sa Jaehyeok’s gaze turned back to the boy.

Beyond the semicircular boundary surrounding the boy, particles of light continued to sparkle in the air. He could see the boundary shifting in response to the boy’s tiny movements.

Sa Jaehyeok quickly understood that this space was unfolding centered around the boy.

“…Captain, what are you doing?”

Sa Jaehyeok didn’t respond to Yejin and stepped outside the boundary. He again composed the light magic spell.

As expected, this time there was no issue in casting the spell. A ball of light floated above Sa Jaehyeok’s palm, illuminating the area.

“Wow…! It worked! So what was the problem? Was it a machine error…?”

Yejin muttered, staring at the glowing orb. Sa Jaehyeok proceeded cautiously, maintaining the luminous sphere, stepping back into the boundary.

And the moment the light sphere touched the boundary, it instantly shattered and scattered into the air.

From the context, it was almost certain that the phenomenon of deactivating surrounding particles stemmed from the boy.

If the boy was consciously controlling this phenomenon, he would be no different from a nemesis to wizards.

A wizard unable to use magic would just be a powerless human.

Not only wizards, but all entities sensitive to particles, including demons and monsters, would find themselves in the same predicament before the boy.

“…”

Sa Jaehyeok was at a loss for words. He had encountered beings possessing similar abilities before.

Entities that held powers beyond magic—a territory of the incomprehensible, known as divinity—he only knew of one such being.

A witch.

The nightmare that had dragged his life into the mire thirteen years ago was resurrecting.

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