Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 140

Chapter 140

Heaven’s Door (6)

***

Recipient: First-Year Student Yu Jinhyun, Magic Department, Cradle of the First Wizard Training Specialized Higher Education Institution (hereinafter ‘Cradle’)
(Via) Cradle Academic Affairs Office
Title: Request for Cooperation Based on the Special Enforcement Decree for the Cultivation of Key Talents

1. We hope your magical talent continues to flourish without limits.
2. We hereby send this nomination request based on Article 1, Clause 8 of the Enforcement Decree, and we would appreciate your smooth cooperation.

Attachment: 1 copy of the detailed case summary. End.
Director of the Special Crimes Investigation Bureau, Masada Metropolitan Administrative Office

***

Time flows on its own, whether I’m stuck in contemplation or not.

Wednesday arrived, marking the official resumption of the external request period.

I straightened myself up and headed out to the courtyard. There’s no point in dwelling on things I can’t solve immediately, so I decided to focus on the task at hand.

Even though I thought I had left quite early, the place was already packed with students who were preparing to leave the Cradle for their assignments.

They were either gathered in groups or standing alone, all waiting for the inspection at the main gate.

Those who were heading far away for their assignments were exchanging brief farewells, creating a lively atmosphere.

For the next two weeks, except for those who needed supplementary lessons, the rest of the students would be gaining achievements and field experience through assignments instead of attending lectures. They would face various dangers, both big and small, but this was exactly what the Cradle intended. After all, in today’s world, practical experience is considered more important than knowledge in your head, which is why they changed the curriculum in the first place.

However, aside from a few timid ones, most of the students seemed to be smiling. The number of students who were becoming indifferent to confronting monsters or criminals was steadily increasing.

Maybe they were more excited about leaving the stifling Cradle and enjoying the freedom of outside activities than they were afraid of their enemies.

I could relate to that feeling to some extent.

But speaking of timid ones…

“…Yena?”

“Ah!”

I called out a familiar name when I heard the sound of cautious footsteps approaching.

A small sigh came from not far away.

Turning around, I saw a female student standing with her hands behind her back, illuminated by the morning sunlight filtering through the corridor.

She had shiny brown, shoulder-length hair, and eyes of the same color. A few freckles dotted around her nose like tiny specks.

She gave off the impression of a kind and optimistic country girl, with a small and delicate appearance that triggered a protective instinct.

Yena looked at me with wide eyes.

“How did you know?”

“I could hear it.”

“…Hmm. I was trying to surprise you…”

Yena pouted slightly, unable to hide her disappointment.

Then, she naturally fell into step beside me.

I had just been thinking about Yena. Among the people I knew, she was the most timid. Had she overcome her fear of monsters?

During the Celestial Basin field training, and even during the monster-slaying practice in the Monster Studies class, I had seen her face turn pale every time.

“Were you heading out for an assignment?”

Yena was dressed in plain clothes instead of the usual white uniform.

“Yeah. It’s better to start early. The sooner I finish, the more time I’ll have for other things.”

Other things? What else could she have to do? Unlike me, who was always on the edge, Yena had excellent grades, so she didn’t need supplementary lessons. And her assignment wasn’t even a nomination request, just a regular one.

“Where are you going?”

“Shh. That’s a secret, of course.”

Yena put a finger to her lips and glanced at me sideways.

“Didn’t you hear what the professor said? If you tell people carelessly, it could interfere with the mission.”

Then, suddenly, she stopped in front of me.

“But… I feel like I could tell you, Jinhyun. After all, you’re ‘my favorite friend.’ What do you think? Should I tell you…?”

“…”

Through her slightly disheveled bangs, a pair of brown eyes gazed at me intently.

Her clear gaze felt unusually suffocating today.

…What is this?

Unlike others, Yena and I had become close right from the first day of admission.

We came from similar backgrounds, and she had a unique calmness that made people feel comfortable, unlike others.

There was also a strange sense of familiarity with Yena, like meeting an old friend from home.

I could feel that same sense even now.

But today, something about Yena felt different.

Her tone, her gestures, her gaze.

I couldn’t be certain, but it felt like there was something alien about her…

Now that I think about it, she never used to joke around like she did earlier. Wasn’t Yena the type who would only respond after I greeted her first?

Was she trying to change her timid personality because she didn’t like it? But I felt more comfortable with her old self.

Her sudden change made me feel somewhat burdened, as if she had turned into a different person.

“…It’s fine. I can find out after you’re done.”

“Geez…”

Yena pouted again, disappointed, but still had a faint smile on her lips.

After that, we walked without saying much.

When we reached the Cradle’s main gate, Yena waved at me.

“Jinhyun, I’m going this way. See you later?”

“…Yeah.”

Yena quickly disappeared into the crowd lined up at the gate.

I stared at the spot where she had vanished for a moment before heading toward the other gate.

Even after Yena had left, a strange sense of unfamiliarity lingered in the air.

***

Not too long ago, the discovery of a dead man’s body in the middle of a pig farm became a huge sensation.

The reason why the death of an ordinary lower-class man became such a hot topic was simple.

The body was found naked, and the cause of death was determined to be intestinal rupture.

Before long, a newspaper dedicated several pages to expose the investigation results to the public, and people eagerly started speculating about the dead man’s sexual preferences, each adding their own twisted imagination.

Even I, who usually didn’t care about such gossip, was well aware of this incident.

Sera had brought a rolled-up newspaper and made a huge fuss about it with a mischievous expression.

‘Look! Look at this! Can you believe something like this happened?’

‘Why…? What happened?’

‘So…hehehe…’

‘Eek… I don’t want to hear anymore…!’

‘Not hearing it? We’re just getting started! The real part comes next! So…’

I still clearly remember Yena’s face turning bright red after asking on my behalf, only to regret it immediately.

But… I never imagined that my nomination request would be related to that incident.

“Sniff… It can’t be true… When he had his physical checkup not long ago, they said there was nothing wrong…”

In the slums on the outskirts of the capital.

Unlike the bustling city center, which never slept, this area was filled with dilapidated shacks. There was no proper electricity or running water.

It was the kind of place where the appearance of evil black magicians who practiced cannibalism and kidnapping, or crazed mutants, was considered normal.

In the middle of it all, inside a shabby little house that looked like it might collapse at any moment, I faced a widow dressed in black.

“He only traveled around the capital… Where could he have been exposed to such a high concentration of particles… Sniff…”

Though the widow nearly fainted when she saw my masked face, her attitude changed once she realized I was a student from the Cradle here to carry out an assignment. She began pleading desperately.

I recalled the analysis results of the body I had received earlier.

The naked body of the man found at the pig farm had an abnormally high particle sensitivity level. However, he was a complete ordinary person, with no signs of a Vessel or awakening.

The Special Crimes Bureau’s conclusion was simple. The widow’s deceased husband had been exposed to a high concentration of particles, which caused a latent mental mutation.

As a result, he exhibited abnormal behavior, leading to his death from intestinal rupture and excessive bleeding.

But the widow was vehemently denying the investigation’s results.

“He would never, ever do something like that… There’s something more… Sniff…”

The Special Crimes Bureau didn’t consider this case to be particularly important. There were plenty of places in the Republic where Vessel particles could be highly concentrated due to geographical or atmospheric conditions.

The Celestial Basin, where I had my first field training, was one such place.

It wasn’t uncommon for non-sensitive individuals exposed to such environments to experience mental or physical mutations.

For a mage, the creation of a Vessel allows them to control particles and even gain vitality. But for non-sensitive individuals, contact with particles often leads to unexpected mutations.

This was common knowledge, something even I had known for a long time. And with the shortage of manpower needed to deal with dangerous criminals, there was no reason to waste resources investigating the cause of death of a deviant. The death of a lower-class man was of little consequence.

However, the widow refused to accept the official conclusion. As a citizen, she had filed complaints repeatedly and even stirred up the media with her protests.

Moreover, the area where she currently lived was scheduled for redevelopment, which was directly tied to the achievements of the current administrative chief.

If this commotion continued, it could affect the upcoming redevelopment review.

That was why they had passed the request to the Cradle.

And what they wanted from me was simple. A show.

Not a full re-investigation of the case, but just a performance.

I was to pretend to look into the matter, then come to the same conclusion as before, convincing the widow to give up on her own.

Relying on the authority of the Cradle and the mage title.

“…”

It was an uncomfortable position to be in.

I couldn’t judge the impurity of their motives, but… logically, there was no flaw in their reasoning.

Unless the evidence of death had been fabricated, they had done their job. It was just that the widow couldn’t accept it.

But simply carrying out their request as it was left me feeling uneasy, as if I were burdening the widow with a heavy heart.

Giving up the request… was obviously out of the question. The points at stake were too important.

“Please… Please help me… He would never do something like that…”

While I was still listening to her, unable to make a decision, something suddenly caught my eye.

A faint glimmer on the widow’s wrist as she knelt, pleading.

Without realizing it, I focused my gaze on it.

It was a silver bracelet. A thin metal band with a small ornament in the center, made of the same material.

A cross-shaped design encircled by a ring. It looked like a religious symbol. Unlike the usual crosses, the upper part seemed oddly elongated.

It almost looked like it was upside down.

But it wasn’t particularly valuable-looking, just an ordinary decoration.

“…”

However, the moment I saw it, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.

There was even a faint sense of unease.

It didn’t take long for me to recall the reason.

I had seen an identical object before.

It was worn by none other than Yeon Jeongmun, the father of Yeon Minha, who is now considered one of the worst criminals in the Republic.

End of Chapter