Chapter 6: CH 5

The Japanese thug, a few times Renka’s size, that had just got slapped out of nowhere froze from the sudden situation and,

he shouted getting up but,

Slap!

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This time he got slapped on the right cheek with the back of her hand.

‘That must hurt.’

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Renka’s slaps looked painful, even from a distance. Although the scene was refreshing, I couldn’t understand Renka’s actions and it caused me doubt.

‘Wait, why is she here?’

Why was Renka beating up these bullies? Wait, was it for me?

But common sense told me, there was no way a Japanese person, let alone someone from the Japanese aristocracy like Renka, would take the side of a Joseon person like me.

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Of course, last night, after defeating the monsters, she had amicably asked me for a handshake and my name. But that probably wasn’t her showing favour to a Joseon student like me, it was her just being nice to a fellow student.

As a matter fact, hadn’t she suddenly let go of my hand as soon as the union member shout that I was a Joseon person?

After that, when me and her union member were facing each other, it was natural to think that her stopping her union member was more to save the image of such a large guild rather than to side with me.

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If I thought about it like that, then the reason Renka had just slapped the bully wasn’t to help me either.

Then why……?

‘Just because she doesn’t like them?’

Now that I thought about it, between the things these Japanese thugs had been saying to pick on us, they had also said 「those Joseon guys, and now with a girl」 and 「Joseon people, whether they’re men or women, are a nuisance」.

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It seemed that they had mistaken us all, including Renka, to be Joseon people when we were speaking by the doorway.

And there was no mistaking that Renka, having suddenly been insulted whilst getting called “Joseon-jin”, had gotten pissed off.

‘That’s it.’

As proof, Renka was saying this to the thugs.

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『I don’t care who you are. However, what you said earlier, take it back.』

『What?』

『Your words about Joseon people.』

Renka’s voice was as cold as ice. Getting treated as a Joseon person must have seriously angered her.

『What? Hmph! Great Japanese men don’t say two things with one mouth! Do you think I’ll take back what I’ve already said?! I’m Murasaki! My father is inspector Murasaki, chief of the Jongro Police Department! I don’t give a shit who you—』

『Is that so?』

Slap!

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The guy that was claiming his father was the police chief got slapped by Renka once again.

『Damn it! This bitch! I won’t take you lightly!』

As the guy that had just been slapped was about to grab the sword he had on his waist, another guy from the gang said, as if he had just seen a ghost.

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『Shi…… Sh-sh-sh-sh…… Shi…… Lady Shimazu?』

Hearing this, the guy that was about to draw his sword was startled.

『What?』

『Shi…… Shimazu family! The aristocrats! She’s Lady Shimazu Renka!』

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After hearing this, the guy’s face got pale and his expression froze. The other guys pushed him towards the door.

『L-let’s leave, Murasaki!』

『…….』

『L-Lady Sh-Shimazu! We’re sorry!』

After saying that, the gang of thugs hurriedly left the restaurant, and only silence remained.

In the midst of all the silence, Renka turned to face me, flicking her long hair. And with a smile,

『I’m sorry for causing such a fuss.』

she said.

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‘Are you nuts?’

After looking at her slapping the police chief’s son saying she had been offended, and then soon after smiling as if nothing had happened, I was convinced.

‘She’s insane as well.’

『I will go on ahead first, Shirabayashi-san…… Ah!』

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Renka, as if she had just remembered she had something to tell me, turned towards me,

『I forgot to tell you this. Regarding yesterday’s Magic Gate incident at the Myeongryunjeong 2-jeongmok intersection, I believe that your initial response helped in preventing much collateral damage in the surrounding area, and it also helped our Shimazu Gumi’s operations to go ahead more easily.』

she explained, softly. And then, she bowed her head slightly.

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『I wanted to thank you myself, as the Shimazu Gumi’s Gyeongseong branch head……Then, as I have a busy schedule, I shall go on ahead first.』

After saying this, Renka turned her body and walked out of the store. An attendant waiting outside opened the back door of a luxury car for her, and after Renka had climbed into the seat, the car moved away, climbing the mountain trail.

“…….”

Coming out of the store, watching the scene for a while, said to Song Byung-oh, who was still standing frozen.

“We should go as well.”

“……Ah, we-we should.”

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As I entered the mountain path towards the school past the arched structure with the sign that read “Gyeongseong Yeopsa Vocational School”, I thought, looking up to the spot where the car carrying Renka had disappeared.

‘That was so fucking scary, shit.’

The thug from earlier was the son of a police chief. And, even worse, of the notorious Jongno Police Station…… A man of such position was sure to be rather powerful, but Renka had casually just slapped his son silly.(note: the Jongno Police Station was notorious for crimes against Koreans during the Japanese occupation)

‘How strong is this clan/guild named Shimazu Gumi? Or is it that the Japanese nobility are above the law?’

The thugs were one thing, but I thought it’d be better to keep my distance from that girl, Renka. Before she left, she bowed to me to thank me, but I just couldn’t take it as a show of favour considering the actions she had shown just a few seconds before that.

A noble lady that completely beat up the police chief’s son just because she was being called a Joseon person! It wouldn’t be too much of a hassle for someone like her to just remove a Joseon student like me if I upset her.

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‘No matter what happens, let’s not get involved with her…….’

***

『With what just happened, surely I earned his trust, right?』

Renka, sitting in the back of a luxury Buick climbing up the mountain path, grinned and muttered. Getting asked this sudden abrupt question, Takahiro, the attendant at the wheel, asked back.

『Trust, my Lady?』

Renka, burying her back into the crimson leather seat, said.

『I’m talking about Shirabayashi-san.』

『Why would my Lady worry about a Joseon……』

Takahiro, looking back at Renka through the mirror, hurriedly changed his wording at Renka’s sharp gaze before continuing.

『…student like him?』

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Renka answered back with confidence.

『He has something.』

Baek Cheol-yeon. This boy definitely had something.

Unlike herself, he was just a regular cadet, and a Joseon person at that, but Baek Cheol-yeon faced the monsters with a high level of confidence and skill, as well as she could.

That scene was like having her 17 years of life – being born into a samurai family and training diligently from a young age to finally reach this level – being denied.

After witnessing Baek Cheol-yeon’s actions, and being shocked from that, she couldn’t bear it without finding out what kind of person he was and how he had developed those skills.

‘If I don’t find out……!’

That’s why she had decided to approach him naturally under the guise of friendliness. For nobility, like her, it was as easy as taking candy from a baby..

But, if there was one obstacle, it was……

‘The fact that he is from Joseon.’

Even though he was the son of a pro-Japan family, that had even received the Japanese surname “Shirabayashi”, he kept on using “Baek Cheol-yeon”, his Joseon name. He even said his Joseon name first when he introduced himself yesterday.

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This was evidence that he had great pride in being from Joseon, and the fact that Renka was of the Japanese nobility could prove to be disadvantageous in building a relationship with him.

‘But on the contrary, I could use that to my advantage.’

Great pride, in turn, could be exploited as a weakness. For example, just a moment ago, she purposely showed up at the restaurant Baek Cheol-yeon was in because of that.

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By showing Baek Cheol-yeon that she was a person who would go to humble Joseon restaurants, even though she was a noble, would make a good impression on him and ease up his wariness.

On top of that, she even showed him respect, despite her social standing, by bowing her head to him to express gratitude on behalf of the Shimazu Gumi for the past day’s events.

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Since she had made such an effort, he probably had gotten rid of his prejudice against Japanese aristocrats and started to see her amicably, as well as even feel grateful towards her.

『Well…… Although my Lady does say that.』

Takahiro asked.

『That guy, Murasaki, was there any need to do such a thing to the son of the chief of the Jongno police chief?』

『It was not part of my plans, but might have worked out even better. Through today’s actions, I will have convinced Shirabayashi-san that I’m a person that works for the people of Joseon, even if it is just this much.』

When she entered the store, it was a good opportunity for her to hear sarcastic remarks about Joseon people.

She has punished a guy that despised Joseon people in front of Baek Cheol-yeon, someone who had great pride in being from Joseon, and this would have increased his trust in her.

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『And, anyway, he is just the son of the police chief? He’s not even the son of the head of the Government General Police Department. What can he do?』

『Well, I guess you are right, my Lady.』

Takahiro nodded in agreement. To be honest, it was exactly as Renka had said.

Compared to Shimazu Gumi, an association that was so large it had branches in Joseon and Manchuria, not to mention the status of nobility of the Shimazu family in the Empire, the Jongno Police Station was nothing but a small precinct station that was in charge of a part of Gyeongseong, a small city in the Empire.

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A thug that hung out with such petty bullies, on the back of being the son of the chief of such a small police station, was not even something she would ever be interested in.

The only thing that interested her was Shirabayashi, Baek Cheol-yeon.

‘Shirabayashi-san, I’ll uncover your secrets.’

Renka thought, looking at her reflection on the car window.

‘Even if I have to use your strong sense of pride as a person of Joseon against you…….’

***

‘Maybe I should just hurry up, escape Joseon and move to America, damn it.’

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It had been 10 minutes since they started walking up the mountain path in the warm spring weather of early April.

I kept on cursing ‘why did they have to build a school in such a mountain?’, and as if I was getting dragged to the reserves troops training grounds in a military uniform, every step felt heavier than the last.

Even if I graduate from this school, it won’t change that this is still hell-Joseon. What kind of dream am I supposed to be chasing, walking up and down this path every day for three years……. And getting bullied by Japanese kids as well.

‘Maybe just going to America three years earlier and starting a laundry……’

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As I thought this,

“Wow!”

At this moment, the slope began to become gentle, and as the panoramic view of the school built deep on Bukhansan was revealed, I forgot about how hard it was to get there and couldn’t help just admiring it.

“That’s rad. How did they build this so deep into the mountain? This is crazy.”

It was deep into the mountain, and because of the era I was in, I thought it would just be a few buildings made out of cement bricks like military barracks, something that just said “I’m a school”, but what I encountered was just something else.

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First of all, the main building. The magnificent brick coloured building, with ivy creeping on its walls, looked majestic. Other than that, there was a large auditorium, several smaller detached buildings, and to add to that, the other several buildings like the dormitory or the research buildings all over the site made this look like a historic university campus.

Of course, in this era a “vocational school” was more of a quasi-college-level higher education institute, but it was impressive that a vocational school, which was obviously more of a technical school than a university, was this big.

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It was simply a scene that was worthy of the dignity of the Hunter Academy.

“I’m nervous……”

“You say that as if it were your first time here. Stop looking around! You’re embarrassing me…….”

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Song Byung-oh, walking beside me, gave me a talking to whilst pulling his hat down, but I couldn’t help looking around and admiring everything. I mean, I can’t help it. I don’t remember coming to school on the day of the preliminary call-up.

“And anyway, now that we’ve come through the school gate you should,”

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Song Byung-oh continued, straightening his clothes up.

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『start speaking in Japanese. Obviously you’ll do well by yourself, but I’m afraid you’ll get caught speaking in the Joseon language.』

Ah. We were in the Japanese occupation period, and nearly towards its end. It may not be so outside of school, but it was an era when the use of Japanese was forced in schools.

‘The pain of losing your country, again…….’

Even so, such a periodical tragedy was not something that would bring me down. To be honest, I was too full of anticipation to feel like that.

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Looking back, in the 21st century I had a normal and boring school career. That’s why it was so exciting to be able to come back to my youth and start school all over again……! And on top of that, this time it wasn’t just a regular school, it was a Hunter Academy!

Even though my mental age was well over 30, and no matter the fact that this was a world where the Japanese ruled, I couldn’t help but look forward to and feel excited about my future school life.

『I think we should go stand there. Let’s go.』

『Okay.』

We mixed in with the students that were headed to the field in front of the main building, and lined up facing the stage according to the teachers’ instructions.

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On top of the stage, a banner saying “The 34th Freshman Entrance Ceremony of Gyeongseong Yeopsa Vocational School” hung, and a line with various national flags were hanging down towards the field.

‘Alright…….’

This was the start.

Starting today, I would be a student of the Gyeongseong Yeopsa Vocational School. If we were using terms from the 21st century, I was about to become a student of the Hunter Academy!

Of course, I wasn’t the only one excited. It was to be expected that the road ahead would be bumpy.

Although I hadn’t been able to attend the Hunter Academy of the 21st century in my past life, I knew that there were many cases of students getting injured along the way, or in some cases even getting killed.

Even if we were in a different period, this would be the same. No, it could even be even worse. The past being what it is, there would be no sense of security, and there would be no safety devices made through the advanced mana engineering that existed in the 21st century.

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But in my previous life, I was an active Hunter who had fought going through gates.

Compared to that experience the Academy would be nothing. Monster response training? Practice that’s almost the same as the real thing? For someone like me, who had cheated death several times, it was nothing.

And, like in the morning, the national contempt and discrimination from my Japanese classmates would be at best just a joke from 17 year-old kids. It was just something like child’s game to me, an adult who had endured a lot of discrimination and neglect from fellow Hunters.

It just meant that I had the confidence to overcome any difficulties and get my graduation diploma.

『Ah, ah-. Before we begin the entrance ceremony……』

As the students had all line up and gotten ready for the entrance ceremony, a middle-aged teacher, who seemed to be the spokesperson of the event, finally stepped onto the podium and spoke to the microphone.

『Before the begin the entrance ceremony, there will be a kyujo-yohai. Right face!』

Wait, what? We’re doing what?

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Kyujo-yohai(宮城遙拜)? That’s saluting by bowing to the Japanese emperor. I knew that this was something that was done during the colonial era, but did I have to do this?

There was nothing I could do so I turned right at the instruction, 「migimuke migi (right face)」, and faced towards the east. And as soon as I took off my hat according to the instruction,

『Kyujo-yohai, saikeirei-! (最敬禮)』

Was said, and I thought it meant to bow. As the other students were doing, I stood at attention, both of my hands next to my thighs, and bowed my head 90 degrees.

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Solemn music flowed from the speakers. I did as I had been told to do, but this was very uncomfortable inside, so I kept telling myself.

‘I pledge, in front of the proud Taegeuk flag, allegiance to the Republic of Korea (note: South Korean pledge of allegiance)……’

『Naore(at ease)!』

We finally got to get up, but it still wasn’t over.

『Next, we will hold a silent prayer for the fallen armed forces of the Empire.』

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This time I bowed my head. Like earlier, music flowed for a bit and then I lifted my head at the 「at ease」 instruction. Phew…. That was long. At least it’s over. They’ll surely now start the entrance ceremony…….

『Proclamation of the Oath as Subjects of the Imperial Nation!』

Now what’s this? At the teacher’s lead, the students repeated.

『One! We are imperial subjects, and we will repay our country with loyalty!』

『Two! We, imperial subjects, by cooperating with each other…』

『Three! We, imperial subjects…』

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Seriously, they do all kinds of things. I just barely murmured, burying my voice in the compound of other students, the way a sergeant about to get discharged from the military would. I didn’t even know the oath, and even if I did, I didn’t want to put it in my mouth.

The entrance ceremony hadn’t even begun, but I was already exhausted. The worst part was that this was just an appetizer…….

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It just meant that this morning ritual would repeat, not only for this entrance ceremony, but for every morning assembly, or at the very least every time there was an event.

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My vow to overcome any hardship and graduate from this school had already become difficult.

‘I have to do this shit for three years……?’

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