Chapter 95: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 95

Astrape.

A unit known as the strongest spear and shield of humanity, comprised of individuals who were once considered the crème de la crème among existing heroes.

Among them, there were four squad leaders, each praised for their exceptional abilities, who guarded the north, south, east, and west of the city.

The leader of the 4th Squad, responsible for the northern part of the city, was none other than Martina Ivanova, once hailed as part of the "Golden Generation" and also known as the "Archmage of Elements."

She was a role model for countless mages and a respected figure among many heroes, thanks to her numerous achievements and outstanding skills.

“Hey, newbie. We happen to have overlapping days off. How about going on a date with me? Since I'm somewhat famous, I can easily get us into hard-to-reserve restaurants. What do you think?”

Martina was eagerly promoting herself to a boy who had recently joined her squad, sticking close to him.

Despite her usual confidence and charisma, she was acting coy in a way no one would have imagined.

However, Yoon Si-woo, the new recruit in the 4th Squad, showed no sign of being swayed and simply smiled quietly.

“I’m Yoon Si-woo, not a newbie, Captain Martina. And with all due respect, we should refrain from personal conversations since the monsters are gathering up ahead.”

Martina shrugged at Yoon Si-woo's formal and mechanical response.

“Why bother with trivial things like that? I want to have a close conversation with my Si-woo. Those monsters are no big deal.”

With those words, she waved her hand a few times towards the monsters charging at the barricade. They were instantly reduced to ashes by flames that erupted from the ground.

Watching the spectacle, Martina laughed and said, “There, no more monsters. So, what do you say? How about a date on our day off?”

Yoon Si-woo responded sharply, “Sorry, but I have prior commitments on my day off.”

“Prior commitments? Are you meeting family?”

“I don’t have a family. They both passed away when I was young.”

“Oh, I'm sorry…”

Martina's pupils shook violently as she realized she had stepped on a landmine by asking about his prior commitments.

But her shaken heart soon turned into compassion for the boy standing before her.

How difficult must it have been for him to grow up without a family?

Feeling a maternal instinct she had never experienced before, Martina said, “Well… if you have a prior engagement, there’s nothing I can do. I guess it’s not a girl you’re meeting, is it?”

Yoon Si-woo answered, “It is a girl.”

“…What?”

As Martina let out a sound full of surprise, Yoon Si-woo glanced at his watch, his eyes lighting up.

It was time for him to patrol around the barricade. Since speed was crucial for the reconnaissance mission, Yoon Si-woo quickly got up and ran, shouting, “I have to go on patrol now. Please hand over the duties to the next person on shift!”

“Hey, hey! Wait a minute… Wow, he runs fast.”

Martina, left alone at the guard post, muttered helplessly as Yoon Si-woo disappeared in an instant.

Honestly, she was at a loss for words.

He said he was meeting a girl?

And he turned me down?

Being always full of confidence, she couldn't understand Yoon Si-woo's words at all.

What did she lack compared to other women?

“Captain, why do you look so gloomy? Did something happen? Did the enraged beasts from the forest act up again?” Kanna, the squad leader of the 4th Squad who had just returned from patrol, asked Martina, who was deep in thought with a serious face.

Recently, there had been an incident where lower-level monsters, driven out by the enraged beasts in the northern forest, had swarmed the defense area all at once.

Kanna, with a hardened expression, asked Martina, who mumbled in a very serious voice, “Hey, do you think there's something I'm lacking compared to other women?”

“Don’t make that serious face while thinking about such useless things. I thought something bad had happened. Why do you ask?”

“I asked the newbie on a date, but he turned me down because he had to meet another girl. What do I lack?”

Kanna replied with an exasperated look on her face, “I think you lack a sense of decency. Haven’t I told you multiple times not to act like that towards the newbie? Don’t you know it’s a crime?”

“We can get married once he’s of age. Besides, if we like each other, age is just a number, right?”

“Think about your age. He’s around the age of a first-year academy student, so there’s at least a double age gap. Even if you see age as just a number, what about him? Would he see an older woman as attractive?”

Martina tilted her head and said, “Despite that, there were many boys around his age who confessed to me, asking me to wait a few years. Among heroes, many don’t care about such things. Because of magic, we don’t age, so our bodies are no different from being in our 20s. And it’s not like we’ll die of old age; we’ll die fighting monsters.”

Kanna clicked her tongue and glared at Martina.

Well, to be honest, she was incredibly beautiful.

No wonder she was always on the ranking list of heroes people wanted to marry.

However, Kanna, being younger but still unmarried, had no desire to see her superior dating a much younger boy at work. Thus, she brought up a name that was almost taboo to Martina.

“I heard that Marine, the daughter of Captain Natalia, is the same age as the newbie.”

“...How many times have I told you not to mention that woman in front of me?”

At the mention of Natalia, Martina's face instantly turned grim.

Natalia was the one person in Martina's life who had ever made her feel defeated.

Back in the academy days, Martina’s class was called the Golden Generation.

There were three individuals in that generation who were said to have the talent to lead the next era.

One was Martina herself, another was that damn Natalia.

The last one was a male student named Lucas.

Lucas, who was almost as strong as Martina, was the only boy who caught her eye.

Martina secretly had a crush on him, despite being in different classes, visiting him occasionally to talk and discuss ways to get stronger.

Just as she thought they were gradually building mutual affection, a shocking rumor spread through the school.

The rumor was that Lucas had impregnated Natalia.

How could students of the sacred academy commit such a disgraceful act?

But upon seeing Natalia's proud smile when she rushed to the other class, Martina realized she had experienced her first defeat in life.

Lucas Eloise and Natalia Ucracia became a married couple, and Natalia became Eloise. Until their child entered the academy, Martina hadn't found anyone who matched Lucas in her heart.

Finally, she had found someone she liked even more.

“I... won't give up.”

Kanna, slightly intimidated by Martina, who was leaking magical energy around her and emitting killing intent, cleared her throat and spoke to her.

“...Ahem, giving up or not, isn't the woman who's going to meet the new recruit around his age? Since he's young, his preference would be for girls his age.”

“So, you're saying he prefers younger girls...”

In that case, she just had to match his preference.

Martina quietly resolved to get a haircut that made her look like a student when she went out this holiday.

---

It's been a week since Yoon Si-woo joined Astrape and started his day and night shifts on the front lines of the boundary area.

On his first holiday in a week, Yoon Si-woo returned to the barrier to spend his day off and mumbled with a wry smile.

“...It's really troublesome.”

[Well, isn't a woman troubling the fate of a great man? It’s proof of your charm, Si-woo, so you should be happy about it.]

“How can I be happy when the person coming after me is my superior at work?”

Si-woo grumbled to Lucy, who spoke in a voice mixed with laughter.

There had been many women who expressed their interest in him from childhood to now, but this was the first time he was unsure how to handle it.

[If you don’t intend to accept her feelings, you could just refuse her.]

“...It's not that simple, you know.”

Having joined Astrape straight out of the academy, Yoon Si-woo was essentially like a new employee.

He couldn't help but worry about the repercussions if he rejected his superior, who was openly pursuing him.

Honestly, he wanted to reject her by saying he already liked someone, but if his superior bore ill feelings and kicked him out of Astrape...

[Are you worried that you won’t live up to that child's expectations after having worked so hard to become a hero?]

“...Well, something like that.”

Si-woo nodded awkwardly at Lucy's blunt statement.

He couldn’t help but be cautious in his actions, fearing she might be disappointed in him.

Is this the difficulty of working life...

Sighing internally, Si-woo quickened his pace.

After walking for a while, he stopped at the place where he had been raised as a child, Future Orphanage.

For him, who had no family, the closest thing to family was the director here, Ms. Maria.

Having received a call asking why he hadn’t visited since becoming a hero, he promised to come on his day off.

Remembering his childhood memories, he stepped into the orphanage building, and Maria, who ran out of the director’s office, gave him a slight glare as she spoke.

“Oh my, who do we have here? Isn't it our busy hero? What brings you here despite your busy schedule?”

“Ahaha... I’m sorry. I’ll visit more often from now on.”

“You say that well. If you don’t, I might get upset.”

After glaring at him for a moment, Maria smiled brightly and hugged him tightly.

“...Our Si-woo, you’ve grown so much... Is your work dangerous?”

“Dangerous? No way. Don’t worry. I’m strong, you know. See?”

“Oh my, aha! Alright, alright, put me down!”

Lifting Maria and spinning her around once, Si-woo felt the passage of time as he watched her laugh like a young girl.

She had seemed so big before, but now he could lift her so easily.

The facilities in the orphanage, scaled to children's sizes, also seemed much smaller now.

He reminded himself that he decided to become a hero to protect these things, as Maria spoke.

“Since you’re here, you’ll play with the kids, right? They were so excited when I told them you were coming. The boys want to be like you now, Si-woo, who was once only popular with the girls.”

“Of course, I’ll play with them. Ahaha...”

Si-woo replied with a strained smile.

Maria’s words about being popular with girls brought back a difficult memory.

He remembered the time when several girls had cried, saying they would die if he didn’t marry them, which was too tough to call just a fond memory.

[Thinking back, Si-woo, you’ve always had many girls who liked you. It’s amazing you’ve never been in a relationship.]

Si-woo silently responded to Lucy.

...How could I date everyone who liked me? I have my own ideal type.

[Oh, your ideal type? Now that’s interesting. Tell me.]

My ideal type...

Following Maria towards the playroom, Si-woo pondered.

First, someone kind and who thinks of others before themselves.

Next, someone who, if possible, doesn't lie.

And someone who can smile even in tough times.

And also,

“Oh, I almost forgot to mention that we have a guest today. Si-woo, you know her, right?”

“Sis. Let’s draw with Rion.”

“Together? Alright. Then I’ll draw Rion.”

The girl with red hair who was kindly smiling at a child,

“...It’s been a while.”

“...Yes, it’s been a while.”

might just be his ideal type.

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