“How far are you going to play along?”
With a snap.
Kim Deok-Sung scooped up Mayuzumi Mayu in a princess carry.
Poof!
Mayuzumi’s face turned bright red.
Thump, thump.
Her heart raced.
In this moment, she wanted to forget the status difference between teacher and student.
Kim Deok-Sung looked several times more handsome than usual.
In the background, it felt like rose petals were swirling around him.
‘Kim-kun…’
Thoughts of their school trip flashed in her mind.
A memory of him hugging her and saying she did a great job.
Mayuzumi’s cheeks flushed even more at that time.
“Ugh!”
Seira, sitting as the team leader, gritted her teeth.
Her arms trembled violently.
To be betrayed by a trusted subordinate was utterly devastating.
‘I should have been the one in that spot!’
As she watched Mayuzumi grinning in Kim Deok-Sung’s arms, a dark jealousy surged in Seira’s heart.
Seira grabbed the armrest of her chair with trembling hands.
‘How could a teacher have feelings for a student…? How can someone have such shameless and unwholesome thoughts!’
Seira muttered to herself, rationalizing her boiling jealousy.
Yeah.
A teacher and student relationship is socially unacceptable.
And not just any teacher—her homeroom teacher harboring feelings for a student in her class? Absolutely intolerable.
Mayuzumi’s gaze, nestled in Kim Deok-Sung’s embrace, shifted toward the trembling Seira.
‘How can this old woman have affection for a much younger boy…!’
Unacceptable.
As a homeroom instructor, she must protect her student, Kim Deok-Sung.
Mayuzumi thought so.
Swoosh!
At that moment, the gazes of Mayuzumi and Seira collided in the air.
“President! Quickly into my arms…”
Seeing the shaking Seira, Aris panicked.
While Seira was distracted, Kim Deok-Sung had already dashed off, holding Mayuzumi far ahead.
To win the running mission, earn the MVP title, and get a date invitation, she had to quickly scoop Seira up in a princess carry and chase after Kim Deok-Sung.
“Uh… got it…”
Finally coming to her senses, Seira leaped into Aris’s arms.
With Seira in her grip, Aris kicked off the ground and took off.
In her line of sight, Kim Deok-Sung and Mayuzumi were already far ahead.
‘I too… I want to… Ugh…’
“I want to too… like that… ugh…”
Aris bites her lip.
I want to snuggle him like a princess.
Someday…
With that thought, Aris moves her legs.
If I win the date ticket, I’ll definitely ask him for a princess hug.
*
[Both representatives from the Red Team and the White Team have successfully completed the mission! Running while hugging Mayuzumi-sensei and the chairman, no, Seira, are the representatives from both teams! Unlike the first half, in the second half, the Black Beast is sprinting ahead of the seniors!]
The voice of the host, Amano Nodoka, echoes in my ears.
Ignoring her, I keep moving my legs.
I’ve pulled ahead in the mission, but Aris is tailing me at a terrifying speed.
“Mr. Kim, hang in there.”
Mayuzumi-sensei whispers softly in my ear, nestled in my arms.
She cups my cheeks with both hands and adjusts her messy hair.
While some are struggling to run, she’s completely relaxed.
[Partner. Such a sinful man.]
The Black Prince’s nonsense is just the icing on the cake.
Thump, thump.
Maybe it’s from all the running, but my heart feels like it’s about to burst.
A sweet taste lingers in my mouth, and my breath is coming in short gasps.
It’s like when I had to run 3 kilometers for the military fitness test.
“Um, Mr. Kim…”
Then, Mayuzumi-sensei speaks up.
“Sensei, is it heavy?”
She asks with a flushed face.
She goes and barely says this after finally initiating conversation?
Of course, carrying a fully grown woman like a princess while running is heavy.
[Partner. You won’t actually say it’s heavy, will you?]
The Black Prince chimes in.
There’s no need to vocalize that it’s heavy.
This princess-hug running is already tough as it is, and if she keeps talking, it’s going to get harder.
So it’s crucial to keep the conversation brief.
Plus, Aris is so close behind.
I’m barely ahead.
In this situation, any small variable could let Aris overtake me.
I can’t let that happen.
And right now, talking is hard, even opening my mouth to speak.
I’ll just give a rough gesture as a response.
I shake my head.
“Does that mean it’s not heavy?”
Mayuzumi beams and asks again.
This time, I nod.
“I’m glad! Sensei, I’ve been enjoying beer after work recently, and I’m worried about gaining weight around my waist… hehehe… But Sensei, I really need to diet! So I can attempt a bikini next summer…”
I half-listen to her rambling while my face turns red.
Tatata-ta!
I keep running.
I keep going.
Ahead, the finish line, split in impressive colors of red and white, comes into view.
Just a little further…
Then.
BAM!
Aris, charging right next to me.
Hmph.
I can see the smile on her lips.
“Didn’t I tell you I’d win? Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
“…”
Seira, in Aris’s arms, gives Mayuzumi a slight glare with her red eyes.
[Ooooooooooooh! The Senior is making a last-minute sprint! With the finish line in sight! It’s a chaotic showdown where even one step ahead is unpredictable! The thrilling match where you can’t let your guard down until the end is now unfolding!]
“Put! We’re now entering the unpredictable chaos just before the finish line! An intense match where you can’t let go of the tension until the very end is unfolding right now!”
“Go, red team! Black Beast! We can’t lose to the club president!”
“President! Please beat the Black Beast!!”
The crowd roars as if the sky is falling.
“Mr. Kim! Hang in there!”
Mayuzumi-sensei whispers softly.
Everything in front of me goes blurry.
My breath becomes ragged.
At this rate, I’m in danger of losing.
[There’s no helping it. Partner, this Black Prince will assist you.]
The Black Prince speaks in my head.
Assist? Sounds ominous.
Aris is already running almost parallel to me.
[Relax your body and lungs. Since you rarely exercise aside from sparring, your muscles are tense. If you loosen up and lighten your body, you can turn this around.]
Relax? Should I really believe this? But if I keep going like this, I’ll definitely lose.
It’s worth the gamble.
I take a deep breath and relax as the Black Prince suggested.
My body feels lighter.
Tatatatatatata!
With my lighter body, I surge past Aris.
[The red team’s Black Beast player arrives at the finish line first! The moment when the winner of the mission relay is decided!]
Waaah!
A deafening cheer erupts alongside the announcer’s voice.
Huff, huff.
I place Mayuzumi-sensei down and catch my breath.
“Mr. Kim! You did great!”
She pulls me into a hug with a smile.
Is she happy that we won?
“You did well too, sensei.”
As I cautiously pry away from Mayuzumi-sensei while exchanging pleasantries, I catch a glimpse of Aris and Seira crossing the finish line just behind me.
“I lost.”
Aris concedes defeat.
But she doesn’t look all that upset.
She smiles and extends her hand.
“It was a good match, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
We shake hands.
Seira, who had been next to her, glances over and fans herself with a racing fan.
“Heh. Little kid. Do your best in the next event, the three-legged race with me, okay?”
Seira flashes a deadly smile.
“······Hooowwww······.”
Mayuzumi-sensei suddenly lets out a whimper at Seira’s words.
Seeing that, Seira beams with pride as the mission relay comes to an end.
When the hell is this damn sports festival going to end?
I can’t help but sigh.
*
The next event after the mission relay is the three-legged race.
“Little kid. Hehe. Let’s run together.”
A smile appears on Seira’s lips as she becomes Kim Deok-Sung’s partner.
Her ankle is tied to his with a red ribbon.
They’re close together.
Feeling his body heat, Seira’s face turns red.
Smiles keep sneaking out of her lips.
“Uh, okay······.”
Just as Kim Deok-Sung speaks with a puzzled expression.
Swoosh.
Seira links arms with him.
“If it’s a three-legged race, we need to stick together like one body to defeat the white team, right? Hehe.”
Seira rationalizes, her face flushed.
Her heart races like it’s about to explode.
Thump thump.
From behind, Mayuzumi-sensei bites her lip, watching the scene unfold.
And all of this is being witnessed in real-time by the Professor.
Under Tokyo Bay in a submarine.
The Tokyo Bay underwater submersible.
On the monitor in front, a blushing and happy Seira is smiling closely at Kim Deok-Sung.
Watching this, the bespectacled pretty boy, Professor, clenches his fist.
His fist trembles.
“Master, you really haven’t changed at all…”
In Professor’s view, Seira’s face is beaming as she wraps her arms around Kim Deok-Sung.
“You haven’t changed a single bit since then.”
Professor mutters with a trembling voice.
He bites his lip.
The image of his past master appears in his mind.
A master who cared for no one but fought solely for humanity and the world.
Despite going through countless struggles and wounds while preventing catastrophic disasters, he always smiled, pretending everything was fine.
Even though Seira, as an individual, had no happiness as a hero, she always wore a false smile to reassure those around her.
“It’s agonizing. It’s agonizing. It really is! I can’t bear to see my master doing such things! Watching you pretend to be happy for everyone’s sake! Watching you turn your misfortune into happiness for the joy of others! I cannot endure this!”
It’s painful to see.
Professor bit his lip.
That sight of the man in front of him, Kim Deok-Sung, being clung to by Seira with a happy smile, couldn’t possibly reflect the true heart of his master.
There’s a considerable age difference between Kim Deok-Sung and Seira.
There’s no way the master would genuinely like a boy hero candidate, still smelling of milk and young.
She’s just sacrificing herself for the reassurance of those around her, for their enjoyment.
[Hehe, little one. Have you loosened up after the mission run? It’s about to begin. I, specially, will give you a massage.]
A scene flashed on the screen with a red-faced Seira using her small hands to massage Kim Deok-Sung’s arms and legs.
Like a girl in love, her face flushed, she can’t contain her happiness while playfully joking around, massaging Kim Deok-Sung’s toned limbs, giggling like a teenage girl.
Seeing such a sight of his master made Professor feel miserable and angry.
“Master, how far are you going to keep acting? How long do you plan to keep sacrificing yourself?”
Seira hasn’t changed, whether in the past or now.
She has always sacrificed herself.
For the world, for humanity, for Japan, to save everyone, for everyone’s enjoyment.
It’s the same now.
Through her affection for Kim Deok-Sung, his master aims to bring joy to those around her.
While genuinely feeling no happiness herself.
“I will save such a master. Today. For sure.”
I will create a world where you can truly smile and be happy.
It’s soon.
If I attack at the peak of the Sports Festival and break the seal of the Broken World ruins beneath Shuo Hero Academy.
The day when my master can truly smile happily in the New World will arrive much sooner.
With that thought, Professor clenched his fist.
The image of his master, Seira, shines faintly in the lenses of his glasses.
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