“Are there no other friends who got out besides you guys? Is six all there is?”
“Yeah.”
“Whew, I can’t live like this, guys. Na-me, what are you doing following them out? You should have taken care of yourself inside.”
“The six of us will go back to the Academy tomorrow and clean the class and hallway with the teacher.”
““Aaaaah, teacher…!””
“Excuse me? I’m not a student of this school.”
I stepped back a bit from the group of friends.
“Wow, NoName…”
“Na-me… are we being abandoned…?”
The faces of my friends were painted with deep betrayal.
I was merely exercising my basic right to roam around as a guest at this hotel.
But saying that sounded too cold, so I decided to create a little escape route for the kids.
“But, teacher, do you toast with juice too? I thought toasts are usually done with alcohol?”
“Huh… You can toast with juice, right? Na-me, what? Is that weird?”
“Aha.”
Actually, I had heard everything the teachers were talking about from a distance.
[In this atmosphere, I should have had a drink or two, but it’s a shame.]
[Then shall we toast with this? Just to set the mood.]
Right, after taking care of these beagle-like kids all day, the two teachers deserved to have a cozy time together.
That didn’t mean they were forgetting their duties by drinking alcohol.
They just ordered green grape ade, blue lemon ade, and a chocolate strawberry roll cake.
The kids, who knew the teachers well, could easily deduce that these were Jackie Teacher’s favorite desserts.
“Then I’ll give you a good scolding. Hurry up and apologize, everyone. We disturbed the teachers’ date.”
“Aaah…! We’re sorry, teacher!”
“Sorry, Jackie teacher!”
“You two, enjoy your lovely love!”
The teachers both stood up at once and waved their hands.
“No, kids! We’re not that kind of relationship yet!”
“Yet?”
“Not that kind…”
Jackie Teacher was flailing wildly, unable to keep her composure.
Finally, Shim Hyo-chan took on the role of the dark knight.
“Does anyone want something? I’ll buy one for each, but keep it a secret from the others, okay?”
“Wow!”
Thus, the negotiation was successful.
The combination of strawberry whipped cream cake and affogato was fantastic.
At home, my dad barely let me drink coffee.
This is why little breaks are so nice.
“What will you do after the school trip, Na-me?”
The teachers asked about future plans.
As I rolled a gelato soaked in coffee with a teaspoon, I said, “I’m going to do solitude training.”
“Solitude training?”
“Hmm? What’s solitude training?”
“Hahaha! What are you, a martial artist from some novel?”
“…”
“I was serious… Oh dear, your father must be having a hard time.”
“I was always serious.”
Of course, I wouldn’t just hole up somewhere eating wall food like those ancient people.
I’d have balanced meals three times a day and establish a systematic training program to refine the Imperial Palace Swordsmanship with the help of AI.
I also thought of experimenting to see if the magic from my past life could be realized within the 4th circle.
“I wish I could cut off all contact for a while, but as you know, that’s not so easy in modern society. I have to run the clan right away.”
I had to continue discussions about the Imperial Palace Swordsmanship support project under the new government as well.
So, we decided to use the Janjeol Clan as a minimal communication channel.
“It’ll only be two months at most. Plus, I have to join base camp by early July, so it’s embarrassing to call it solitude training.”
“I see. I really wish the teachers could help you, Na-me, but… I feel so useless…”
“Don’t harbor those feelings. You both have been an enormous help to me. May I hug you just one last time?”
“What’s with you acting like you’re leaving? You said you’d be back in two months!”
“Still, I feel like this is the only time I can act like a baby…”
Jacqueline Carroll’s eyes turned red as she opened her arms wide.
I nestled right in and rested my head against her.
“Thank you for being my 2nd-grade homeroom teacher. To be honest, I was quite uncertain if I could adapt to the Academy or make friends. I think it was largely thanks to you, teacher.”
The hand patting my back felt so warm.
“You don’t need to act like a baby anymore now. Even the brave Na-me should ask for help when it’s tough. Always feel free to contact us, okay?”
“Yes. I will remember that.”
Next was Shim Hyo-chan, the teacher who was my homeroom in 3rd grade.
As I did with Jackie Teacher, I didn’t hug too tightly, but I did rest my head lightly on his shoulder.
“I’m really sorry for causing trouble back then. You must have been pretty disappointed.”
“No, I never once felt disappointed in you, Na-me. If anything, I was worried.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Hehe, but teacher, even if I could go back, I’d make the same choice again. I can’t stand bullying.”
“Hey, you can’t say that!”
Why was he the only one feeling like I was ruining the moment?
I wasn’t done yet and decided to take it a notch further.
“Hey? Are you ignoring the visual impairment community across the globe right now? If I hadn’t stepped up, developing the optic nerve connectome Akashic Records wouldn’t have happened…”
“I can’t keep up with this kid in a conversation!”
“Hahahaha!”
Thus, the second day of the school trip came to an end.
We confidently entered the hotel lobby with the teachers as if we were in a noir film.
We didn’t forget to grab coconut juice from a food truck at the beach as our spoils.
My classmates who came down to buy snacks from the convenience store looked at us with envy.
Meanwhile, I heard the unfortunate news that filming had been rescheduled to tomorrow morning due to the unpredictable weather conditions.
I wanted to follow them to the aquarium if possible, but I couldn’t skip out on filming either.
I greeted friends from both my class and my grade one by one.
Last year, my actions had brought negative attention to the Academy in the media, leaving me with a lingering feeling of guilt.
“Do well and come back. Just don’t lose.”
“I wouldn’t have participated if I wasn’t going to win.”
Kim Han-gyeol, the elite of the Raon Clan, led the way with encouraging words, and I received plenty of support from the kids.
I even whispered my thoughts about participating to Bae Yohan, who once liked me and confessed through a message.
“I’m going to get so strong that no one will be able to compare. Make sure to keep an eye on the match, Mom and Dad. You never know! If I lose, I might fall for that person and confess!”
The expressions of the boy changing were quite a sight.
Returning to my room, I flopped onto the wide bed.
I stretched my arms to block the ceiling light with my hands.
My hands were too small to block out the streaming light.
Moreover, the ceiling was high, and my limbs were short.
But now, I no longer felt powerless.
Was it that I had gotten stronger compared to my past life? I really didn’t think so.
“Na-me, are you already going to sleep?”
Friends who crawled out from under the bed bowed down and looked at me.
“When did you hide again? Are you trying to sleep together?”
“Yep!”
Thanks to the shadows created by their heads gathering, my eyes were no longer blinding.
I grabbed Yuna’s waist with my legs first and pulled her into the blanket.
“Eeeek!”
“Let me in on your secret. What did you eat to grow this tall? Huh?”
“Hahaha, that tickles! Eek!”
As I laughed, I eventually ended up throwing Yuna out of the blanket.
“Next, it’s your turn, Ha-ru. I’m sure you were about as tall as I was in 2nd grade. I’m certain of it.”
“No way. Back then, there was still a 10-centimeter difference. I remember you couldn’t join the Academy Competition, you know? Eeeek!”
While exploring the fan cafe, I often come across posts about how people fear growing up.
Human beings grow and thus are beautiful creatures, but I can feel for the writer’s emotions too.
I spent a warm night with the kids who I wished could stay children forever.
*
Videos of the participants’ opening ceremonies began to be uploaded one by one on the official channel of the National Exchange Tournament.
Starting with last year’s champion, Katsuhata Emika, followed by overwhelming favorites like Nathan Chen and host country champion Jean-Louis Blanc, all made it into the global portal sites’ trending searches.
However, Na-me’s opening ceremony video garnered an unparalleled view count among them.
[NoName: The Great Little Pioneer]
[View Count: 380,293,507]
The Great Little Pioneer, or Pathfinder.
That was the nickname given to her by the France National Exchange Tournament Committee.
Hallasan, touching the clouds, revealed Baengnokdam that drenched the dark green scenery as you walked past the rocks stacked like folding screens.
A mysterious atmosphere that made it feel like dragons and unicorns could spring out at any moment was created, and the clouds twirled as if being sucked into a point.
Focusing gradually on Na-me, who was displaying swordsmanship while lightly stepping on the green willow and purple thistle.
The weapon in her hand was a rusty sword that you’d find in a junkyard.
Yet, from that shabby sword, intense sunlight burst forth.
Whoosh—
Na-me’s footsteps were as light as floating above the grass.
The Cheonghwa Sword, imbued with the aura of life, didn’t drive the clouds away but glided gently between them.
As she cut through the sky, the cloud ceiling parted, and as she moved her sword along the horizon, the clouds rotated around the entire mountain.
Splash—
After her right foot and left foot steps, she thrust into the ground.
Boom—!
The clouds suddenly surged away like waves, clarifying the formerly muddy field of view around the impact point.
Na-me extended her arms straight out in front and firmly gripped the sword’s hilt fixed to the ground.
Her focus was directed even further beyond the spectators’ gaze.
In her black eyes, the blue sky, the sunset, and the galaxy of the night sky reflected in succession as the video concluded.
[The Great Little Pioneer / 위대한 꼬마 개척자]
[Always looking further ahead / 항상 더 먼 곳을 바라보며]
[NoName, Republic of Korea, 2043/06/11]
[Sponsored by xxxx, xxx, xxxxx-]
[BEST COMMENT]
-(0:55) The scary part here is that Na-me will still be 43 years old in 10 years ㄷㄷ
└ ???
└ Wait, what?
└ No, haha, that won’t change, even after 100 years have passed.
└ He is Chinese.
└ Please, let’s not be shy here.
