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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
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Thud.
Click.
Different footsteps echoed, intertwining.
The atmosphere between the two of them was truly peculiar.
The instructor kept glancing at the student, her lips wavering as if gauging his mood, while the student, in contrast, walked calmly despite the instructor's attitude.
It was an odd situation, almost as if their positions had been reversed.
"..."
Amidst the peculiar atmosphere, Kali and Cheon-seong were moving together. After some time, Kali very cautiously opened her mouth.
"Student Han Cheon-seong."
"Yes, Instructor."
As Cheon-seong responded instantly, as if he had been waiting, Kali stopped walking and looked directly at him.
The place they were headed was Kali's private training room. But before they even reached the training room, Kali stopped.
She felt she had to apologize as quickly as possible.
She felt she couldn't not.
The mental preparation had dragged on for so long.
Was it her pride as an instructor that formed its basis, or perhaps her unfamiliarity with how to apologize?
Even Kali herself didn't know the answer.
But one thing was clear:
She had to speak her true feelings and apologize to him before it was too late.
"..."
"..."
Between their locked gazes, Cheon-seong calmly met Kali's greatly wavering gaze.
Ever since they started moving together, Cheon-seong had waited for Kali to speak first.
The moment they had called out to each other in the classroom.
When Kali met his gaze with an odd, almost strange look in her eyes, he felt his thoughts had lost all meaning.
As the instructor and student unexpectedly met each other's gaze, some students in the A-class classroom casually looked their way.
Then, Kali spoke.
"Student Han Cheon-seong, I truly… truly regret what I did. As an instructor, I believe I did something I shouldn't have, something very foolish. I didn't consider Student Han Cheon-seong at all… I was just swept away by my own emotions and acted stupidly. I want to properly apologize for everything I said and did today."
"Instructor…?"
Cheon-seong, who had been looking at her, was greatly surprised.
—An instructor apologizing to a student.
It was a sincere apology, completely different from the words she had uttered during their training session before.
Considering an instructor's authority and position within the academy, this apology was something utterly unimaginable.
For a moment, Cheon-seong didn't know how to respond.
Even now, they were in a space where other students were present. Yet, she was offering such a direct apology.
"Regarding scolding Student Han Cheon-seong when I entered the classroom today… I truly have no words to express my regret. At the very least, I shouldn't have said such things in front of all the students. I said I wasn't trying to blame Student Han Cheon-seong, but now that I think about it… I believe I spoke with the intention of reprimanding Student Han Cheon-seong. It was a foolish thought, and incorrect behavior. Even between an instructor and a student, there's a line that must be upheld. I completely crossed that line."
Kali spoke in an extremely cautious voice.
Her voice, too, wavered along with her trembling eyes.
Nevertheless, Kali did not avert her gaze.
Both her eyes and voice trembled greatly, but her gaze on Han Cheon-seong remained unwavering.
She felt foolish for not apologizing sooner, for only now offering a proper apology.
She believed Cheon-seong must have been greatly disappointed in her, and Kali continued to agonize, blaming her own foolishness.
"..."
Cheon-seong, who had been silently meeting Kali's gaze, let out a small breath.
"Instructor Kali. It's alright. I understand you might have misunderstood me due to the rumors, and I can see why you might not have thought highly of me if such rumors spread early in the academy."
If anything, Cheon-seong had regained his composure more than she had.
"The shame and humiliation Student Han Cheon-seong must have felt… when I think about how immense it must have been… I truly have no words. I am so… so sorry."
As Kali, who had been speaking cautiously, finally bowed deeply at the waist—
"...!"
Gasps of shock escaped from among the A-class students who had been watching, wondering what was happening.
And the same was true for Han Cheon-seong, who was facing her.
"..."
His mouth hung open blankly.
Even Han Cheon-seong was speechless at that moment.
'Why go to such lengths?'
As he looked at Kali, who had bowed at the waist to him, all he felt was questioning and surprise.
Who was Kali, after all?
She was one of the key figures often referred to as a pillar of this world, known by the epithet "Crimson Dawn."
Her formidable supernatural ability known as 'Vibration,' her overwhelming feats on the battlefield, like a one-person army.
In addition, her well-rounded character and passionate demeanor earned her high praise within the Empire. And now, she was bowing to him.
And in this open space, where other students were clearly watching.
She had set aside her own position and authority as an instructor, facing him as one human being to another.
"Student Han Cheon-seong. I'm truly sorry."
At her repeated words, it was as if his mind finally caught up.
Then, his body reacted before his thoughts.
Thud.
Taking a step forward, he blankly raised his hand.
He gently took Kali's shoulder, who was bowed to him, and very slowly helped her up. And first, he thought they needed to get out of here.
Kali's attitude towards him in the classroom had certainly been very perplexing, and in that moment, he had felt wronged.
But.
No matter how much so… this wasn't right.
She shouldn't have apologized to him to the point of bowing.
"Instructor Kali."
He called her name firmly and steadied his breath.
After their sparring session in the training room, he had always thought she wouldn't view him favorably.
But that had been nothing more than a ridiculous misunderstanding.
On the contrary, it was because Kali thought highly of him, much more so than other students, that she had treated him emotionally, unlike herself.
That was why she could offer such a heartfelt apology.
"You don't need to apologize to that extent. My feelings have already completely settled. As I said before, I think you were justified in feeling that way, Instructor. Just for apologizing like this, I'm actually grateful to you, Instructor Kali."
Admitting one's mistakes and apologizing was harder and more difficult than one could imagine.
Even between friends, or close family members, relationships often soured beyond repair because one couldn't accept it.
How much more so between an instructor and a student…
For someone to set aside their position and authority and offer a sincere apology to a mere student like me was something an ordinary person would never do.
"...Student Han Cheon-seong."
At his words, a laugh escaped him as he looked at her, calling his name with an utterly bewildered expression. He couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why he laughed.
He just laughed, seeing Kali's utterly blank expression.
It was surprising that she had taken it so seriously and felt so much regret towards him.
Even when he was called out in the classroom and heard various unpleasant things, he had felt quite conflicted.
But thinking about it, that reality was only possible because he was receiving such great expectations and attention.
Kali usually didn't say anything to students who didn't try or who achieved average grades.
She either completely ignores them or treats them as if they don't exist.
For her to act like this now meant she regarded him as that important.
"Instructor Kali. I'd like to speak somewhere else first. It's probably too burdensome for both of us to talk here."
As he calmly removed his hand from her shoulder, the stares felt piercing.
He didn't want to damage Kali's authority any further.
***
Click.
Even as she entered the training room with Student Han Cheon-seong, her mind was blank.
Her thoughts connected sporadically, then scattered and vanished again.
Nevertheless, she blankly opened her mouth.
"Then… Student Han Cheon-seong, please rest for a moment. I'll go get the magical engineering items right away."
Even as she spoke, meeting Student Han Cheon-seong's gaze felt strangely terrifying.
"Yes, I understand."
As she moved to a corner of the training room, as if to escape, her heart pounded fiercely.
Thump.
Her heart, her mind, felt strange.
It was beating completely differently than usual, and her thoughts kept connecting and scattering.
'Why am I like this…?'
She felt as if she had been a fool all day.
She had agonized all the way to the training room before finally offering her apology, but even that felt peculiar now.
She didn't know if her apology had been proper, or if it had been enough for the student.
Her mind had been blank ever since.
However, the moment Student Han Cheon-seong helped her up, she felt an immense sense of relief.
The student whom she thought must have been disappointed in her had smiled gently and looked at her.
Even when he led her afterward, as if being considerate, she simply followed his steps.
Rustle.
Even as she rummaged through the magical engineering items in her sight, her focus wouldn't settle.
The various colored magical engineering items shone brilliantly, scattered, and continued to disorient her.
It felt particularly intense today…
"..."
Finally, she stopped her hand for a moment and placed it on her chest, taking a deep breath.
Thump.
Her chest wouldn't calm down.
…Even though she had to help Student Han Cheon-seong with his training later, with this state of mind, even that seemed impossible.
Why was she like this?
She felt strange.
'Could it be that apologizing to a student like that was a shock to me?'
She wondered if she had been that shocked, but she couldn't quite tell.
It was a relief that things had turned out well, and that should have been the end of it. So why wouldn't her chest calm down?
And why did her mind feel so adrift…?
"Um, Instructor Kali?"
Then, at the sound of a voice, she instinctively startled.
"...Student Han Cheon-seong."
As she turned her head and met his gaze,
The pounding in her chest… grew even more intense.