RE: Player again

353

[Chapter 106] [The Lesser Evil Over the Worst]

The second semester of the 2nd year of middle school academy started late, so it ended late as well.

Because the Hoengseong-gun incident that occurred in the first semester dealt quite a serious blow to the academy's external image.

As a result, the comprehensive ability evaluation scheduled for the second semester was pushed back to after the final exams.

If it were originally, I could have gone home and rested well as soon as the final exams ended...

Eunha regretted that.

He who aimed the gun muzzle pulled the trigger and shot at the monster far away.

Tsk

I got greedy.

He who failed to kill the monster in one shot clicked his tongue and re-aimed at it.

This time he accurately aimed for the space between the eyes of the monster that turned its head after being hit by the bullet.

The monster that was running towards him soon fell forward.

He who took his gaze off it disappearing into mana particles proceeded to kill monsters he could certainly kill from then on.

Rangers and I really don't match.

Professional elective, medium-long range shooting.

The final exam for this class evaluated grades based on students standing in place and taking down the most monsters with the fewest bullets at a certain distance.

Additionally, monsters couldn't come out of protective magic.

...Aiming once is really difficult.

A test that looks easy on the surface.

But monsters moved quickly inside the protective magic to avoid bullets, and even ran far away to minimize the power of bullets.

In that state, fairly large monsters didn't die in one shot, and small monsters were difficult to aim at from far away.

For Eunha who held a Maengoseu in his left hand and a one-handed straight sword in his right hand, and sometimes carried an assault rifle in his previous life, aiming at monsters was no easy task.

Originally, the existence of assault rifles was merely a weapon to check monsters for Eunha.

Did I choose this wrongly?

My grades are ruined.

There were three reasons why Eunha chose this class.

First, he couldn't find any more helpful swordsmanship classes within the middle school academy.

Second, he wanted to learn shooting skills from scratch again.

Unfortunately, his shooting skills don't seem to have improved much.

And the last reason was─

─Itachi no Tsume (Weasel Claw)

Because he thought Hoshimiya Kaede would surely be here.

Sure enough, Eunha was able to meet Hoshimiya Kaede at the beginning of the semester.

...This is really no joke.

Eunha forgot to pull the trigger and looked at the arrow that flew from the far left.

The girl who uniquely uses Korean traditional bows in middle school academy.

The arrow shot by her with her hair tied up randomly made a terrifying sound as it advanced.

And the arrow that approached the monster suddenly spewed out the mana it contained and created two arrows to the left and right.

The arrows connected only by mana soon curved left and right and pierced through the sides of nearby monsters.

Kueeeeek!

Kieeeeek!

Kuaaaaa!

Hoshimiya Kaede who shot three with one arrow.

It was magic that only she who handled bows could use.

It was nearly impossible to use similar magic because bullets were smaller than finger joints and their exact existence couldn't be gauged inside magazines.

Moreover, bullets aimed for rapid fire, and it was quite difficult to contain mana in such small bullets.

At best, deploying magic targeting the entire gun or muzzle.

Nevertheless, firearms had advantages of rapid fire power surpassing disadvantages, convenience, and ease of use by anyone.

"Hey, but isn't that cheating?"

"I don't know, tsk... The instructor allowed it, so what can we say?"

"No, even so. She made one arrow into three, right? Then shouldn't it be counted as three shots instead of one?"

The arrows Hoshimiya Kaede shot flew making such intense sounds.

As a result, even those taking the test couldn't help but look at her.

They forgot about taking the test and argued among themselves.

Even in that situation, Hoshimiya Kaede silently pulled her bowstring.

I must catch her.

Eunha evaluated Hoshimiya Kaede while overhearing their argument.

She who had advantages enough to make up for disadvantages seemed to have improved her skills compared to when he briefly saw her before.

There wasn't a single wasted arrow.

While students rapid-fired at monsters and killed one with several bullets, she killed more than one monster with one arrow.

Although the speed of nocking arrows was long, she showed terrifying accuracy.

Generally, rangers handling bows tended to be undervalued compared to rangers handling firearms.

But if the ranger handling a bow was Hoshimiya Kaede, the story was different.

Hoshimiya Kaede.

When Eunha looked back on his previous life, she was the most capable ranger and a ranger with infinite growth potential.

I should try talking to her once the test ends.

Eunha who clicked his tongue decided to focus on the test again.

Actually, he had spoken to Hoshimiya Kaede since taking the class but hadn't gained any particular results.

As a result, it came to the end of the semester.

He decided to somehow become friends with her since today was the last class.

At that moment─

"─Test over!!"

"...What!?"

He hadn't even fired a few shots.

This test seemed ruined.

☆

He gave up on the test.

Anyway, he gathered points moderately and made his name known in the academy, so there was no need to be hung up on grades.

He gave up on theory classes from the start too.

"It's almost vacation, what will you do?"

"......"

Therefore, Eunha approached Hoshimiya Kaede who was packing her things.

A hairstyle with bangs cut straight and side hair cut around the chin, with her hair that was tied up randomly let down.

She glanced at him with a blunt gaze and focused on packing her things without answering.

"If you have nothing to do, want to go to the academy dungeon together? I decided to train hard with the kids during vacation."

"......"

Eunha was used to it now.

She had consistently remained silent since the day he first spoke to her.

Therefore, Eunha continued speaking as he pleased.

I don't know why she dislikes me so much.

Eunha inwardly complained.

For some reason, she seemed to have an unwelcoming attitude from the moment he first spoke to her.

Her gaze was even cold.

A plain appearance without any makeup unlike other girls her age.

However, the girl who would be considered a beauty if she dressed up seemed uninterested in anything other than training herself.

As far as Eunha remembered, she rarely dressed up for external activities in his previous life too.

"If you won't answer, I'll take it as a yes?"

Anyway, Eunha decided to pique Hoshimiya Kaede's interest.

Eunha who followed her around this semester realized her interest lay in improving her skills.

Also that she doesn't respond with ignoring if he pushes like this.

Sure enough, she suddenly opened her mouth.

"I'm not going. Satisfied?"

"...This is unexpected."

However, Hoshimiya Kaede gave an answer Eunha hadn't thought of at all and turned her body.

She who slung her Korean traditional bow over her shoulder and went outside didn't even look back.

Meanwhile, Eunha left behind organized his thoughts for a moment.

What on earth was the problem?

Does she dislike me that much?

He was rejected all semester.

Even Bae Subin didn't do this.

Recently, Eunha asked Minji who took the same class to try talking to her just in case.

Then Minji approached her with a friendly face, but she ignored Minji then too.

He asked Eunwoo too but it was the same.

As well as other friends.

Why on earth?

As a result, he could tell that Hoshimiya Kaede didn't like him and his friends.

So he couldn't understand.

He and his friends were classified as promising rookies in this academy.

There was no way she who was also classified as a promising rookie wouldn't be interested in him and his friends.

Given her personality of wanting to improve, she should have tried to become close to gain a lot from him and his friends.

Of course, Hoshimiya Kaede's personality was similar in his previous life too.

I knew she was a quiet kid but...

To be precise, Eunha had never directly conversed with the Sword Saint.

Because there was no need to approach her who was On Taeyang's fifth wife.

Hoshimiya who he occasionally saw from afar almost always kept her mouth shut.

How on earth did On Taeyang recruit such a kid?

Eunha wanted to ask if On Taeyang were here.

How on earth he maintained a connection with Hoshimiya Kaede from school days, how he drew her into his party, how he took her as his wife.

If he could just know how On Taeyang won her heart, it would be very easy to recruit Hoshimiya Kaede into his party.

"I thought she wouldn't be like this to Eunwoo, but she dislikes Eunwoo too..."

Cha Eunwoo who was On Taeyang's second wife in his previous life.

Eunha also thought they might get along because they were members of the same harem.

In his memory, the two almost always stuck together in his previous life.

Including her, as well as Yoon Ibyeol who was the third wife.

However, Hoshimiya Kaede frowned deeply when facing Cha Eunwoo recently.

"I really don't know. Why things got tangled like this..."

When Hoshimiya Kaede showed such a reaction seeing Cha Eunwoo.

Eunha only then realized the future had changed due to something.

Because Hoshimiya who got along somewhat well disliked Cha Eunwoo that much even though it was a time before On Taeyang existed.

Oh well, I don't know.

For now, if I follow her around like this, she'll tell me the reason someday.

Eunha steeled his heart.

He decided to follow Hoshimiya Kaede around and annoy her.

Wasn't it an effective strategy he used on Bae Subin too?

His reputation that had already plummeted since last semester didn't matter anyway.

And there's still a chance.

Eunha left the shooting range to catch up to Hoshimiya.

Eunha who heard information about the final evaluation from Shin Seoyoung yesterday thought it was too early to give up.

Hoshimiya Kaede would surely seek him out to improve her own skills.

Or his friends.

"Hey! Let's go together!"

Even if she regrets it then, Eunha won't go easy on her.

Anyway, the Sword Saint had already fallen to him for all intents and purposes.

☆

"...Hah..."

Minji who was taking the same class as Eunha blankly watched him following Hoshimiya Kaede.

She who came out only after he left the shooting range sighed deeply while feeling the wind.

"My grades will drop a bit compared to last semester."

Minji sat on a bench and looked up at the tree with only bare branches remaining.

She who decided to aim for ranger from 2nd year repeatedly had overlapping classes with Hoshimiya Kaede.

Minji initially tried to become friends with her while suppressing her inferiority complex.

Because Eunha tried to become friends with her somehow.

However, she didn't open her heart to her and Eunha.

Rather, she slammed it shut.

She couldn't understand why.

Still, it's understandable that Eunha thinks to draw her in somehow.

Minji honestly didn't like Hoshimiya Kaede.

Not only because of her cold attitude, but because the division she aspired to overlapped with hers.

Above all, she showed skills surpassing herself.

Because she had many overlapping classes with her, because they met at the cultural festival division competition this year, Minji could tell how great power she possessed.

She also knew students taking the same class compared herself and her.

So every time she saw her, Minji couldn't do anything about the inferiority complex harbored in her heart.

"Like this... I hope it continues..."

She rather hoped Hoshimiya Kaede would keep turning her back on Eunha.

Only then would Eunha give her attention.

I guess I'm really a bad kid.

Then Minji who came to her senses soon lowered her head deeply.

Recently, she was increasingly unconsciously comparing herself to others and becoming consumed by an inferiority complex.

It felt like she was gradually losing her light.

Meanwhile, she was desperately trying to show a bright appearance to not let Eunha and friends detect her misery.

Every time she did so, her insides rotted even more.

"What should I do now..."

She lost her way.

Minji didn't know anymore.

But she could know only this.

That the time for her to choose had come.

If only someone... would tell me the right answer...

Whether to wander searching for the lost path.

Or to pioneer a new path.

The former was uncertain if she would find the path.

And the latter required accepting reality rather than ideals anymore.

"...Hah..."

That day, the last day of final exams.

The middle school academy announced the 2nd year 2nd semester comprehensive ability evaluation.

Students had to create parties of 6 and perform missions on an uninhabited island.