Chapter 129
Lee Han looked down at his clothes.
His uniform, tattered and torn from Basilus’s bite, had seen many battles and had been replaced several times. However, never once had he needed to change it because it was bitten by a classmate’s dragon.
Han Siha, always emotional yet meticulous. When he had been raising that pet rock like a madman, Lee Han’s reaction was simple.
‘No, wait. Guys, it’s not like that…’
‘I get that it might have been tough for you. Let’s just put the rock down and talk. You really seem like a complete lunatic right now.’
‘I’m not!’
‘Hugging a rock makes you a lunatic! What else would it be?’
‘I wasn’t hugging it! Stop twisting things!’
Ah, teasing him seemed like it would be fun.
Lee Han was genuinely curious about how the normally flawless Han Siha would react. He had planned to poke fun at him carefully, and if it looked like it was going too far, he intended to back off.
But then.
‘Bite.’
‘Ahhhhh!’
He hadn’t expected Han Siha to command his dragon to bite him out of nowhere.
Lee Han pressed his forehead while looking down at his shredded uniform.
“I’m sorry. If I upset you, I apologize.”
“…”
“You could, you know… raise a rock if you wanted.”
Han Siha was just as confused. He had simply lashed out in anger, but the person he attacked was the protagonist.
He never imagined he’d find himself in a situation where he’d command someone to bite the protagonist.
‘I’m not going to die just because I bit the protagonist, right?’
‘He’s not going to quit the Order of Knighthood out of anger, is he?’
Both were lost in their thoughts.
Han Siha sighed deeply, furrowing his brows.
“About that pet rock… No, before that, cast a Silence spell.”
“Silence…”
Wait, was the pet rock situation that serious? Serious enough that it had to be kept secret? Had Lee Han exposed something embarrassing in front of everyone?
Feeling even more guilty, Lee Han quickly did as he was told.
A hum resonated in the air as silence enveloped the area.
Only then did Han Siha grit his teeth and speak.
“It’s not a rock.”
“What?”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s… a cube.”
“What?”
“It’s a cube that’s been surgically altered.”
Lee Han froze on the spot.
“A… cube?”
“It’s not a pet rock! It’s a cube, you idiot!”
Lee Han’s brain short-circuited.
Not only had he failed to keep the cube hidden, but he had also gone around bragging about it, not realizing what it was. Now he understood why Han Siha had been so secretive and devoted.
“Uh… uh…”
“You idiot! Why do you think I kept quiet about it?”
The insult stung, but Lee Han had to admit it was deserved.
If he had known it was a cube, he would have hidden it too, no matter what misunderstandings arose. Even if it made him look like a lunatic raising a pet rock.
“Yeah… you’re right…”
Lee Han’s mind was a whirl of thoughts.
“I really didn’t know. I never imagined that rock could be a cube. If I had known, I never would have done that.”
“Let’s just drop it.”
“I’m really sorry, truly. I wouldn’t have done it if I had known.”
Lee Han apologized repeatedly to Han Siha. No matter what, it was his mistake. Although today’s events hadn’t exposed the cube, it was still his fault.
“I’m really sorry this time.”
“Yeah, let’s move on.”
“Thank you.”
It was a warm exchange.
Lee Han looked at Han Siha with a face full of remorse. And then, another thought struck him.
But
Even knowing everything now.
Even if that “pet rock” was actually a cube.
‘Good, good. Yes, you’re doing well!’
‘Wow, you’re climbing fast. Roundy, paw!’
Why did he dress it up? And why was he talking to it?
“Pet… cube?”
Lee Han had these questions but couldn’t bring himself to ask.
* * *
On the day of the academic conference.
Originally, only part of the team was supposed to attend, but plans had changed. With the dark mage Acent potentially appearing anywhere at any time, Seymour and Solia, who weren’t supposed to attend, were now part of the additional forces.
Of course, they couldn’t use the main entrance.
They were near the sewers.
This was a new route Han Siha had discovered to sneak into the conference venue.
It was a route also introduced in the original “Smart Academy” story.
Though it was a bit… unpleasant.
‘Originally, it was supposed to be Solia who attended the conference in my place…’
In the original story, Won had grumbled while squeezing through a sewer to attend the conference. Now that the roles had shifted, Seymour and Solia had to take on that task.
“Do we really have to go through here?”
Won, though grumbling, was the type to follow orders. Seymour, on the other hand, was more particular. He shook his head in disgust.
“Take Kloshti with you. It’ll clean everything up nicely.”
At least the situation was better than in the original story. Han Siha suggested bringing along his water-type Ptera, Kloshti, to help with the cleaning.
“Kloshti doesn’t seem to like it,” Seymour pointed out.
Basilus added his support to Seymour’s claim.
“It’s a stubborn Ptera!”
Han Siha immediately corrected Basilus’ pronunciation.
“Stubborn? Really?”
“You… you…!”
“If you don’t like it, why don’t you become the Tamer?”
“Argh!”
While Han Siha was teasing Basilus with a smile, Seymour was reluctantly inspecting the sewer. He looked like he’d do anything to avoid it.
“Isn’t there really another way?”
“Think of a better plan. If we get caught, it’s over before we even start. This is the safest way.”
Han Siha cut Seymour off firmly.
It was a method that had worked in the original story, so there was no better-tested way.
“Is there really no other way?”
“Well… there isn’t… but…”
Seymour mumbled, looking miserable.
Meanwhile, Han Siha was trying to persuade Kloshti, who had sprawled out on the ground.
“One sewer equals one ice cream. Sounds like a fair deal, right?”
“…”
“I’ll buy you one every time we pass through.”
“…Squeak?”
“Argh! Don’t fall for it!” Basilus protested.
“Basilus, if you don’t interfere, I’ll buy you cheese.”
“Cheese?”
While Han Siha was quickly negotiating with his two reptilian companions, Solia, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke up.
“There is another way.”
“What?”
Han Siha turned, surprised. To his knowledge, there was no other way into the conference.
But then.
A soft hum filled the air as Solia began channeling her magic. The power gathered in her hands spread slowly, extending through her arms and legs.
[Shadow Form]
One of Solia’s unique skills.
Since her magic was centered around creating shadows, it was easier for her to manipulate and blend into them.
While complete invisibility wasn’t possible, she could hide her body in the form of a shadow.
Artifacts like invisibility cloaks could be easily detected at the main entrance, increasing the chances of getting caught.
But if she used her own magic to cloak herself… the detection spells at the entrance of the academic conference wouldn’t be sophisticated enough to pick it up.
Han Siha finished calculating and slowly nodded his head.
“Hmm… I think this could work.”
A new method that hadn’t appeared in “Smart Academy.” He hadn’t thought of it in the original story, but as he stood in front of the sewer, his brain started working faster.
Han Siha stroked his chin and looked at Solia.
“You think… this will work, right?”
Solia’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“You really… didn’t want to go through there, did you?”
“…”
“Right?”
Solia glanced at Han Siha with a guilty expression.
As always, silence was a sign of agreement.
* * *
Solia’s [Shadow Form] skill allowed her to transform into a shadow and could extend this ability to one other person. It was highly suitable for stealth, but it came with a critical limitation.
The first was the time limit.
They had only 10 minutes to get past the checkpoint. Given the crowd, they could probably avoid attention and use the ability discreetly.
The real problem, however, was something else.
The shadows were too noticeable.
“Is this… okay?”
Seymour, who had turned into a shadow, raised his hand awkwardly.
Solia’s ability was literally [Shadow Form], not invisibility.
Although it looked flat and shadow-like, it was still strange.
“Isn’t it a bit odd for a shadow to be moving around on its own?”
In the middle of winter, with no direct sunlight, it would be startling to see a shadow moving independently on the ground.
Han Siha nodded in agreement with Lee Han’s observation.
It was indeed a bit strange.
“What if we stick close together?”
There wasn’t much time left until they reached the checkpoint. The remaining team members were gathered around, so no one had noticed anything yet, but once the line started moving, it would become obvious.
“That might be the best option. We should match our steps as much as possible.”
“Shall we give it a try?”
“Seymour, come here.”
Creak.
Seymour, in shadow form, awkwardly moved behind Lee Han and stuck to him.
It looked more convincing than expected.
Han Siha gestured for Solia, now a shadow, to stand behind him.
“Try sticking behind me.”
Solia cautiously positioned herself behind Han Siha.
“It’s not as unnatural as I thought.”
Looking at it now, it did resemble a shadow, and if no one paid close attention, they might not notice anything odd.
Adela gave a brief assessment and looked ahead.
“Let’s give it a shot. If things look strange, Yoon Haul and I will stand behind you.”
“Okay!”
They still had people to cover for them, so there was no problem for now.
The line gradually moved forward.
Getting through the main entrance within 10 minutes didn’t seem too difficult as long as they didn’t get caught.
The staff managing the entrance called out to the students.
“Everyone, move forward slowly!”
“You may now enter!”
“Next student? Alright, you’re cleared. You may enter!”
Han Siha began moving at the staff member’s words.
As the line shortened, the distance to the entrance also decreased.
Solia swallowed nervously.
Step by step, she tried to walk in sync with Han Siha, making sure not to look too conspicuous.
It wasn’t easy.
Walking without drawing attention was more challenging than she had imagined. It felt like participating in a three-legged race.
And in such situations, collisions were bound to happen.
“Ah!”
Solia accidentally stepped on Han Siha’s heel as he took a step back.
She let out a small yelp before she could stop herself.
“Did I step on you?”
“Uh-huh…”
“Sorry, hold on.”
“Ah!”
“Oops!”
He stepped on her again.
Han Siha looked back, embarrassed.
“Uh, what should we do?”
He couldn’t see Solia, but judging by her yelp, he must have stepped on her pretty hard.
“Ugh…”
Solia, unable to scream out loud from the pain, instinctively took a step back.
She figured that at this distance, they wouldn’t step on each other again.
But when Han Siha checked the distance between them, he shook his head.
“If the shadow is too far away, it’ll look suspicious.”
Han Siha grabbed Solia’s shadowy arm.
The line was still slowly moving forward.
There was no time to waste.
Han Siha whispered to Solia.
“Instead of that, get on my back.”
* * *
Solia was now a shadow.
And shadows need to stick close.
To avoid detection, they needed to stay as close as possible.
It was only natural.
Solia stood behind Han Siha, thinking it was a logical solution.
Has she ever been this close to someone before?
Probably not.
They had never been on the same team or shared a meal together.
Despite having known each other longer than most others at Ardel Academy, Solia had never had a deep conversation with Han Siha.
Yet here she was, in his team, thanks to Lee Han’s persuasion.
But that wasn’t the reason Solia had joined.
She knew it might be dangerous.
From the moment she heard about the mission, Solia had sensed that danger.
She had felt it during the Drake Subjugation as well, that blindly jumping into something without confidence was irresponsible.
Even knowing that, she couldn’t help but join the team.
Solia wasn’t the same foolish girl as before.
She wasn’t trapped in feelings of inadequacy anymore.
Han Siha’s rise to third place was well-deserved.
No, more than that, Han Siha was capable of much more.
That’s why she believed in him.
That’s why she wanted to help.
Even though she was lacking, she had followed them here to offer her assistance.
And now she was a shadow, sticking close to his back.
So far, everything was going smoothly.
They had almost ended up in the sewers, but still.
However, the distance between them was too close.
Closer than she had expected.
Solia blinked at the unfamiliar sensation.
Her heart raced at the thought of her shadow being discovered.
When Han Siha said, “If the shadow is too far away, it’ll look suspicious,” her heart raced even faster.
Solia was relieved that Han Siha couldn’t see her right now.
If she weren’t in shadow form, her face might have turned bright red from her pounding heart.
Han Siha wouldn’t have known.
But when he turned his head, she had to hold her breath because they were even closer than she had anticipated.
“Instead of that, get on my back.”
Han Siha suggested, feeling guilty for stepping on her foot.
It was the surest way to stay close.
For some reason, Solia didn’t dislike the suggestion, so she nodded.
Shadows need to stick together.
They mustn’t be discovered.
It was a perfectly reasonable suggestion, yet it caused a strange stir in her heart.
Solia didn’t know why.
But she felt a little, just a little, moved by his consideration.
Awkwardly, she reached out her arms.
Han Siha grabbed Solia’s shadowy arms.
And then.
“Oh, by the way.”
Huh?
“Are shadows heavy too?”
“Cheese?”
Solia’s expression instantly turned icy.
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