Chapter 88
“Ugh….”
A few days later.
I came to look around the academy with Ophelia. We were just going to take a quick look at the exterior and the spacious training hall inside. I’m not sure why they insist on calling a school an academy, but apparently that’s the trend.
They even give apartment complexes names like Mega-Awesome-Ultimate-Super-Ultra-High-City-Tower, so I guess schools are trying to sound a little cooler by using English too.
“So this is Seoul Aegis Academy.”
“That is correct.”
The walls were incredibly tall, and the place was huge—really huge. It had been built on Cheonggyesan, and the slope was so steep that getting up there on foot without a car would be difficult.
It wasn’t that far away, since it was near the Seocho border, but it obviously wasn’t within walking distance. Since underage awakeners from all over the country came here in huge numbers, there was a dormitory too. But I didn’t particularly want to live in one. Home was more comfortable.
It was divided into ordinary elementary and middle school facilities for general subjects, and specialized-school facilities for hunter-related studies. Apparently, ordinary non-awakened students attended the elementary and middle schools too.
There was no high school for non-awakeners. Middle school was compulsory, and since you didn’t really have to study after that, the special school apparently taught hunter-related subjects much more professionally than the elementary and middle divisions.
“Are you intrigued?”
“It might be kind of fun..?”
Chaerin unnie hadn’t come along. Hadn’t she said she awakened in college? Surprisingly, there weren’t that many people who awakened while they were minors and then became hunters.
Apparently, the school had a fairly high standard, so it had many underage awakeners from overseas too. It was a private school, but Korea had built a hunter-specialized school surprisingly early, which was why its name carried so much weight.
“But don’t you have to be really good at studying to get in here..?”
“The general curriculum is only slightly more advanced than the average elementary and middle school curriculum. The major difference begins in the high school division.”
“Ooh.”
Honestly, if a hunter academy crammed knowledge into kids from a young age, they’d end up making children stupid. Kids were supposed to play a little when they were young.
Fortunately, it wasn’t some vicious cram-school district where only brilliant kids who were amazing at studying went. The admission criterion was simply whether you had awakened—a thing even an idiot could manage with enough luck. There would probably be some smart kids, but there would be plenty who weren’t.
More importantly, attending this school meant you could skip school like crazy for hunter work. As for me, I hadn’t graduated elementary school yet, so I was technically a kindergarten graduate. I hadn’t even attended kindergarten, so I was completely uneducated.
Still, when I went out into society and someone asked which school I had graduated from, I couldn’t exactly say, “I didn’t graduate from any school,” could I?
So I was thinking that if I did go to school, a place like this might be a good choice.
“If Your Highness is interested, I will begin the admission process.”
“Hmm…. Okay! Sounds good!”
A school where I could legally skip school like crazy? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. I could go there, say I’m ten years old and an A-rank Hunter, and have everyone go, Gasp! That’s amazing! So cool! Ehehe!
If you asked why so many awakeners wanted to become Hunters, the first reason would be to brag about it on the Awakening Gallery. The reaction when an Awakening Gallery user everyone had thought was a complete idiot—a NEET, a high-school graduate with no job—turned out to be an awakener was just too good.
My white hair made it obvious to anyone that I was an awakener, but so what? I’m just saying. Bragging about it in real life would probably be 500 times more fun than getting a top post on the Awakening Gallery.
* * * * *
“Ooh….”
It was almost the end of January. February was just around the corner, but it could still be considered winter. Snow was pouring down outside, and the sky was dark and gloomy, making it feel as though the whole world had grown cozy. Even though it was only one in the afternoon, it was slightly dark, and warm orange lights were twinkling along the streets.
[InsaengAnMangHetta : Nothing big has happened lately
The world feels quiet]
-ㅇㅇ : Oders is really noisy, though
ㄴ InsaengAnMangHetta : They’ve been noisy for like a year
-Gyahong : Want to make the gallery a little noisier?
ㄴ InsaengAnMangHetta : The Awakening Gallery isn’t the world, you idiot
ㄴ Gyahong : T h i s i s h e l l
Watching the snow pour down outside from home made me feel oddly drowsy. I couldn’t keep getting this sluggish, but the snow was falling so heavily that there’d be no walk today, and my training-center schedule had been canceled too.
“Princess. Your meal is ready.”
“Ah, I’m coming out now.”
ㅡBeep-beep!!
I washed my hands with Dangdang, who became most energetic around mealtime, and sat down for lunch. Every time it ate, Dangdang came to me so I could set it on top of the sink and wash its hands for it, but I had no idea why it washed its hands when it didn’t even eat with them.
Still, it liked having its hands scrubbed nice and clean.
“Ophelia. I feel like I’ve been taking a lot of time off lately. Is that okay?”
“This is a rest period caused by worsening weather, so there is no major problem. Once the weather becomes suitable for activity, we intend to resume more active operations. However, entry-type Gates, which are unaffected by the weather, are available even now if you wish.”
“Mm, do we need money?”
“We are not poor enough to need the revenue from entry-type Gates.”
“I see….”
This was the problem. I was a Hunter, so I was supposed to earn money by working as one, but Ophelia had already earned a ton. Apparently, she was doing all sorts of things online besides stocks too—she was basically at the level of a company president—so my contribution was helping by eating tons of Dubai chewy cookies at home.
Or maybe occasionally taking and uploading photos?
“What have you been up to lately?”
“I think we need a steady supply of rare metals for golem production, so I’m looking into distribution channels.”
“I see. Are you buying them from overseas?”
“For private transactions, purchasing in bulk from overseas is cheaper than domestically. Since they do not need to be high quality, there are many options.”
“Oh? Is it okay to buy the inferior stuff too?”
“There is something I would like to tell you about that.”
Ophelia materialized a large tablet in her hand, showed it to me, and spoke.
“Hmm... what is this..?”
The screen was filled with what looked like graphs, along with strings of alphabetic characters that were difficult to read because they weren’t ordinary words.
“I investigated the metal sample used in the bow limbs we received as compensation from Crown Guard, along with the components of the magic propellant. I have not yet been able to determine the propellant’s exact mixing ratio, but through simulation, I have brought the metal sample to within 99 percent of a match.”
“Oh.”
So what Ophelia was saying was….
“Wait, does that mean that if we have the materials, we can replicate Crown Guard’s metal..?”
“That is correct. That was its intended use from the outset.”
“Huhhh..!! B-but is that okay!?”
“It is fine. Crown Guard has permitted personal research and use as long as there is no external leakage. It was likely possible because the limitations of personal use were clear.”
“I-I see..!”
Ophelia’s boring reward choice had actually been part of a plan all along. She had figured out the structure and mixing ratios of Crown Guard’s secret rare metal all by herself, meaning it could now be replicated indefinitely as long as we had the materials.
The metal used in Hunter bows required an extremely high level of technical skill, so it must have been incredibly difficult. Ophelia really was a master, huh? She had just figured it all out by herself, tinkering away.
“Then we can replicate it and make a whole bunch of super-powerful golems!?”
“Yes, but we will not simply copy Crown Guard’s metal. I intend to begin by reducing its weight, and once we have achieved the improvements we are aiming for, we can resume the golem production that was put on hold.”
“Ooh!! You’ll modify Minyumi too?!”
“That is correct.”
Ophelia was even planning to go a little further and make the metal slightly lighter. Once it had been improved to the desired level, we could start making more golems again.
“And, if we can secure a stable distribution network, I am also planning to sell the metal.”
“Sell it..! Are you going to become Chairwoman Ophelia!?”
“If you want to be precise, Your Highness would be taking the position of chairwoman.”
“Whaaaat!!!!”
I’m going to be chairwoman!
Ten years old and a chairwoman—talk about Young and Rich. Of course, even a chairwoman could still get a 300,000-won allowance.
“How many golems are you going to make? Like, a hundred?”
“Your Highness’s abilities must reach a certain level, so making up to 100 units will be difficult for now. However, once the work gets on track, you should be able to raise your skill ranks easily.”
“Woooow..!!”
To be honest, rebuilding the kingdom had felt a little beyond my reach, but now we were suddenly going to make metal even more amazing than Crown Guard’s and sell it? Maybe we could even build a country stronger than South Korea.
Of course, it was still only a plan. I’m just saying, that’s how it sounded.
“I have ordered the materials needed to produce improved metal samples so that we can compare prototype production and simulation with actual conditions. Unfortunately, metal fusion requires suitable equipment, so we will need Nova Guild’s help.”
“Ohh, I see.”
“If we successfully produce the metal, we will be able to step up our efforts to conquer high-difficulty entry-type Gates and dungeon structures.”
Right. This was it. I was a Hunter, yet I’d forgotten that because I kept playing games at home. Minyumi probably wanted to do Jet Kick too, and Suri must have really wanted to use Bird Strike.
“So, I have one request.”
“For me? What is it?”
Ophelia seemed to ponder for a moment, then nodded and began to speak.
“Princess.”
* * * * *
“To verify the target strength of the metal, we need to calculate the maximum output of the golems, including Minyumi, as well as the impact they produce in combat at maximum output. I would like Your Highness to cheer them on.”
I had to practice while watching the video Ophelia prepared, then perform a cheerleading dance.
“But…. Do I really have to wear this..?”
“Yes, since we will also be taking photographs. Now, I’ll play the video.”
Why is she being so firm….