"Um, excuse me... j-just a moment..."
"Move it! Hurry up and check, then go!"
"..."
A purple-haired girl stood lost in the crowd jammed in front of the bulletin board, glancing around helplessly.
Her small stature made her get jostled by guys and girls alike, and it was painful just to watch.
You'd think someone might help her out, but with exam time closing in, no one noticed Cha Eun-ju floundering nearby—they were too busy packing the area in front of the board.
She'd probably find her exam room and get in on her own eventually, even without help... but it was still a perfect chance to boost some goodwill.
"Ah, ugh, ahh..."
"Need a hand?"
"Y-yes?!"
"You looked a bit lost. Checking your exam room, right?"
"..."
-Nod.
Was it fear of strangers? She hesitated a moment, her face uncertain, then nodded cautiously.
Looking up at me with eyes trembling like a wary squirrel, she was so cute I half-wanted to skip the exam, grab her, and take her home right then.
"What's your name? I'll check for you."
"...Cha Eun-ju, here."
"Department?"
"M-Magic Department..."
"Cha Eun-ju, Magic Department? Hang on a sec."
I pulled her out of the crowd for a moment, then pushed through to get closer to the board. I already knew her exam room, but I had to pretend to check.
I waded about halfway through the throng until I could see the board, then headed back. I'd confirmed it long before she arrived, but I told her anyway.
"Cha Eun-ju, Magic Department—room 305 in Hye-seong Hall."
"Th-thank you..."
"I'm heading to 305 too. Wanna go together?"
"Y-yes...?"
"I'm an aspirant for Cheonmu Academy too. Combat Support Department, though."
"Oh, y-you're an aspirant... I thought you were a senior here..."
...Even after gaining some weight on my face, I didn't think I looked that old. Maybe Lee Seon-ho's face just aged me a bit.
Or maybe it was the height difference overwhelming her.
Canonically, Cha Eun-ju was under 150cm, so compared to me, she was over 30cm shorter. No wonder she assumed I was a senior.
"So, wanna go together?"
"Yeah..."
"Saw on the map earlier—Hye-seong Hall's up that hill over there."
"Uh-huh... I saw that too..."
"Stick close so you don't get lost. Crowd's thick—try to stay right behind me."
"Got it..."
She still had some wariness, but she seemed grateful I'd checked for her and started leaning on me a little.
I kept my eyes off her massive chest that jiggled with every step as we headed to Hye-seong Hall.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Ah, there's my name..."
"Found the right spot, yeah?"
"Uh-huh, th-thank you, so much..."
Cha Eun-ju spotted her name on the roster outside room 305 and thanked me again.
She must've worried it was the wrong room. Unlike me, who'd checked the board myself, she'd come all this way trusting my word alone.
There were no assigned seats—Magic Department, Recovery Department, and Combat Support were mixed to prevent cheating. Any seat matching your department was fine.
I found spots side-by-side for Magic and Combat Support, sat her down naturally, then finally got to my intro.
"Sorry for the late intro. I'm Lee Seon-ho, Combat Support aspirant."
"Oh, uh, Ch-Cha Eun-ju... Magic Department aspirant..."
"Heard that already. What kind of magic?"
"D-Dark magic..."
"Whoa, cool. Heard dark magic's one of the toughest."
"N-not really... I-I'm not that good with it anyway..."
I already knew all this. Her major was dark magic. And that she couldn't handle it well.
...And that my Suggestion skill would help her master that unruly dark magic.
"S-Seon-ho, what's your ability...?"
"Hard to sum up in one word, but basically like buffs."
"Buffs...? Like boosting strength or magic power...?"
"Nah, mine's more mental. Kinda different."
"Oh...?"
"Like calming excited nerves, sharpening scattered focus, that sorta thing."
"Ahh, buffs like that exist... A-amazing..."
"Or pumping courage into a shaky hunter mid-battle so they don't freeze."
"...!"
There it was—the reaction.
She instantly realized it was exactly what she needed most. The way she looked at me shifted.
A chance encounter helping her at the exam hall door. Same room, by coincidence. And my ability was perfect for her.
For an otaku-ish girl like Cha Eun-ju, this probably felt like fate.
If she thought that, it was a huge win. Once she trusted someone, she stuck by them unwaveringly.
...Which explained why in the original story, she silently endured Lee Seon-ho treating her like a lackey, dumping all the dirty work on her.
But I'll never pull that original Lee Seon-ho crap.
I might need her help sometimes, but not exploit her one-sidedly like the original. No dumping chores like cleaning my room on her.
If I had to ask something unavoidable, I'd properly reward her with what she wanted.
...After training her tastes toward the naughty side, that is.
"We'll begin the exam. Turn off all phones and electronics, put them in your bags. Only pens and correction tape on desks—anything else is cheating. Be warned."
"P-pen... c-correction tape..."
-Clatter!
"Ahh, ah...!"
Mid-conversation with me, the proctor's words startled her. She fumbled her pencil case and spilled everything on the floor.
Her tense nature triggered another goodwill event. I smirked inwardly, picked up her stuff, and handed it back.
"Here."
"Thanks..."
"Good luck on the exam."
"Y-you too..."
...That should leave a solid good impression.
Now I just prayed she'd pass the written test unscathed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
True to its rank as Korea's top hunter academy, Cheonmu Hunter Academy's written exam was brutally tough.
Even I, who'd memorized sample questions, hit snags on some.
In a scenario where allied recovery magic is restricted, propose three alternative strategies for a combat support to minimize damage.
During battle, enemy interference magic blocks your awakening ability. What should combat support do first, and what orders should you give the team afterward?
Not multiple-choice "pick the right one"—these demanded real thought and practical responses.
Luckily, most came straight from the original novel's solutions.
When Kim Isabel couldn't use recovery magic in the original, Han Sora shifted to a defense-and-evade formation. Then assessed resources to pinpoint the restriction's cause...
I scraped by on unknowns with whatever knowledge I had, but I figured I'd pass fine.
If the original Lee Seon-ho passed, so would I—anything less would be ridiculous.
Hunter academy written tests just weeded out the hopelessly unqualified. No need to go all-out, but I wanted a good score, so I took extra time per question.
...Enough to forget my plan to finish first and wait for Cha Eun-ju.
-Scrape.
On question 7 of 10, my neighbor's chair scraped as she stood. Glancing over, Cha Eun-ju was already done, tidying up.
...Screwed up.
I should've skipped the hard ones and bailed first, no matter what.
Planned to grab lunch with her, swap numbers even. But my stubbornness cost me time with her.
Passing was key—scores mattered less than one more word with Cha Eun-ju.
Regretfully watching her stand, she suddenly locked eyes with me and blinked repeatedly.
-Blink blink, blink blink blink.
"...?"
-Blink blink blink blink.
"...??"
Her inexplicable signaling as she submitted her paper and left baffled me briefly. Shaking it off, I focused on the last three.
No time to dwell on lost chances.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Good work, student."
"...Thank you."
I bowed to the TA proctor and exited. Cha Eun-ju had left about 20 minutes earlier.
I'd stuck around to finish, but all three were unknowns—no original solutions.
Mashed some plausible answers from memory... but honestly, leaving with her would've been fine.
Need to be sharper next time. Blew a golden opportunity like an idiot.
Missing today meant slim chances to see her before practicals.
Should've swapped numbers pre-exam. Could've used prep as an excuse to meet.
Cha Eun-ju was easy to win over anyway, but regrets were regrets.
Stuck seeing Choi Marie morning and night—no rational affection event yet—I craved some healing time with Cha Eun-ju.
...If I could claim her fully as mine before enrollment, even better.
Too late now.
Hoping I'd aced the written anyway, I shoved regret aside and stepped out of Hye-seong Hall.
"H-how'd the exam go...?"
"...Cha Eun-ju?"
The girl I'd assumed gone approached me outside the building.