Correcting the Villainess of the Academy

“Stop! The winner is Yoo Jin-hyun!”

At the announcement of the judge declaring the end of the spar, I ceased my movements.

I can see Choi Woo-jin kneeling with one knee down, as if he’s holding a shield high above, while my blade is pressed against his neck. Around us, the debris of the shattered particle barrier glimmers as it dissipates into the air.

Huff… Huff…!

The muscular male student was taking heavy breaths, seemingly struggling to catch his breath. Hearing the judge’s signal, he raised both hands in refusal, shaking his head.

Hahaha!

Suddenly, he burst into a hearty laugh.

“Wow, I never expected the difference to be this huge. It’s a total defeat!”

Caught off guard by his unexpected attitude, I relaxed my grip on the blade. Soon, he steadied his breathing, dusted himself off, and extended his thick right hand to me.

“You fought well. I learned a big lesson.”

“… Me too.”

I couldn’t refuse the friendly handshake he offered. He seems to enjoy the competition itself rather than obsessing over the win or loss.

What a surprise. I never expected this side of him after only hearing him boast to his friends or see him growling at Jin Yeseo. It’s completely unexpected.

Upon sheathing my blade, he shook my hand up and down vigorously.

“Me too, my foot! I didn’t think the gap would be this wide, even letting you win. I didn’t expect to last less than five minutes…”

“What? I never let you win.”

“Didn’t let me win? I saw you turn Jin Yeseo into a rag doll right in front of my eyes! Dang, this stings my pride…”

“…”

Choi Woo-jin frowned as if he were genuinely upset about being beaten by Jin Yeseo. Does he think that I went easy on him because he still had all his limbs intact?

I’d prefer a clean victory. If Jin Yeseo hadn’t been such a nuisance, we could have concluded the duel just by holding my fist to his neck like this. Considering I always need to save time due to overloads, this makes sense.

“Hey. Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

Choi Woo-jin spoke with a serious tone, in stark contrast to his previous demeanor.

“Between Jin Yeseo and me… who did you find harder to deal with?”

“…”

Choi Woo-jin had a genuinely determined look on his face as if he really didn’t want to lose to Jin Yeseo. No, it felt even closer to disdain than just not wanting to lose.

It seems that he doesn’t completely disregard winning and losing…

“You.”

After a brief moment of thought, I returned my answer, and Choi Woo-jin’s serious face lit up in glee.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Kuhehe, so that’s how it is…!”

I just shared my honest feelings in a moment that didn’t need consolation. Even if I felt like Jin Yeseo wore a dress that didn’t fit her, it’s still true that breaking through a heavy barrier is more laborious than facing an opponent who charges at you recklessly.

“Alright. For now, that’s enough. Ha, I can’t wait to tease you about this later.”

Choi Woo-jin chuckled heartily, but soon enough, he seemed a little dissatisfied, licking his lips.

“Still, it’s a pity. It looks like the score between that b*tch Jin Yeseo and me is going to widen even more. I thought I could catch up this time, but… tsk.”

From what Choi Woo-jin had said earlier, it seems like Jin Yeseo chose to push through rather than delay the ranking match.

“Why? Isn’t it possible that Jin Yeseo could lose?”

“Not a chance. That’s impossible.”

Choi Woo-jin shook his head firmly.

“Her personality is a mess, but her skills are for real. Moon Yeowool has never beaten Jin Yeseo, not even once. Even if she got injured…”

However, just as he was boasting, a loud cheer erupted from another sparring area that shook the atmosphere.

My ears went momentarily numb, and I raised my brows. What could be going on?

Without a word, both Choi Woo-jin and I turned our gazes toward the massive real-time ranking board.

– 21st Match! The winner is…

And with a thrilling shout amplified through the speakers, an unexpected result began to be inscribed.

Rankings Match (1st Year Students)
21st Match Result Announcement
Jin Yeseo vs. Moon Yeowool (W)
– The winner is… Moon Yeowool!!

As soon as that was declared, the names on the real-time leaderboard started to shuffle. The victory, overturning previous predictions, caused a significant and rapid change.

The name Jin Yeseo, who had been in second place, plummeted to 11th in an instant, while Moon Yeowool, who seemed to have beaten her, soared to 8th place, achieving a single-digit rank.

“Hah, hahah! Is this real? Huh?”

Choi Woo-jin, who had been staring blankly at the text, suddenly doubled over in laughter.

“Jin Yeseo lost her rank to Moon Yeowool?”

Tears welled up in his eyes from the unexpected joy.

“Phew, phew… This isn’t the time for celebrations. I have to go first. Let’s match again sometime. Next time, for real.”

Choi Woo-jin vanished from the sparring ground like he had suddenly remembered an errand.

– 24th Match! The winner is… Yoo Jin-hyun!

He didn’t even properly hear the judge’s announcement of the results.

With the atmosphere rapidly shifting, I ended up standing alone in the sparring ground.

Yet, I felt an intense stare from the spectator’s area behind me.

*

Even two days after the rankings match, students were still buzzing about the duel between Jin Yeseo and Moon Yeowool.

Not particularly interested in such chatter, I headed towards the large library situated in the annex. With the duels and rankings matches behind me, I planned to catch up on my overdue assignments.

“So the atmosphere is just so tense…”
“It’s almost like a real battle…”
“If the professors hadn’t barged in, we might have had holes in our stomachs…”

However, even though I had deliberately positioned myself against the wall to remain inconspicuous, a rather uptight and sharp-looking male student wearing glasses spotted me and began rambling on. A ridiculously huge mask covered his mouth.

I could see a long bandage stuck to his cheek.

From what I know, Mu-young wasn’t one to talk either. I remember hearing that he experienced a severe defeat against Sera. He even lost to Yena, so Mu-young was currently on a two-match losing streak.
Sera has maintained a decent mid-range rank, but shouldn’t an information agency agent be stronger than this?
Well, he claimed he wasn’t relying on raw strength but rather using his unique traits, so maybe it isn’t an issue…

“By the way, didn’t you say you had something to give me?”

“Oh right. I did say that.”

Mu-young, who had been immersed in gossip, suddenly had a lightbulb moment. He adjusted his glasses and pulled two not-so-thick document binders from his bag and handed them to me.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“Um, it’s something the group leader asked for…”

Mu-young suddenly trailed off, lowering his voice. But I could instantly decipher what he was trying to say.

My ears perked up at the thought of finally learning something about that bizarre dream I had!

I quickly grabbed one of the binders and flipped through it.

But, as expected, it was filled with empty white pages greeting me.

Mu-young stared at me in disbelief.

“Group leader, don’t you know how to handle classified documents? I’ll give you the encryption pattern, so read it in a private space later. After checking, dispose of it immediately.”

I don’t have the luxury of being alone.
I’ll likely have to wait until I put Yeon Minha to sleep before I can read this.

Feeling embarrassed, I put down one binder and examined the other.
The text was densely printed, but unlike the previous one, it wasn’t encrypted.

“So what’s this one?”

“I gathered texts related to witches. I thought you’d be curious about it back then.”

“But this one isn’t encrypted?”

“Of course not, because it’s not classified. You could find this information just by looking up newspapers from 15 years ago. It’s fine to read this right here.”

While saying that, Mu-young gave me a slightly incredulous look.

“Being the second son of Heukryeon, how come you don’t know this? It must have been quite a fuss back in the day.”

Well, I lived in the outskirts where newspapers came in every two or three months. It was a pristine land that didn’t even see a third-tier monster before the demon race attack.

“Surely, you could find all the generally known stuff about witches there.”

“General? Sounds like there are exceptions.”

“I looked it up, and there are areas that I couldn’t access. I couldn’t bring those back.”

“That sounds off. Didn’t you just say that the documents were classified?”

“Right.”

“And yet, you could pull out information from the very top without being able to access some areas? How does that make sense?”

“Sometimes when the hierarchy gets tangled, that happens. It’s not unusual, so don’t stress too much about it. Whatever you were curious about should all be in there.”

Nonetheless, Mu-young brushed aside my question as if it were no big deal.
Although it could be read immediately, the volume seemed significant, making it hard to digest all at once.
I placed the binders in my bag, intending to read them later when I had the time.

“Thanks. This is really going to help.”

“Don’t mention it. The department head ordered me to assist in whatever way possible, so you don’t need to worry about it. I’m off.”

“Wait a second. Can I ask you one thing?”

I stopped Mu-young, who was casually waving goodbye.

“That person I asked about… is he real?”

It was a critical question that could potentially dispel all the stuffiness and stickiness that had enveloped me for days.

However, Mu-young looked at me with a confused expression.

“What do you mean? Didn’t you ask me to look into a real person?”

*

Having left the library, I quickly walked along the hallway.
The orange sunset wrapped around the corridor like a curtain by the time evening arrived. While a washed-out color scheme drew a calm scenery, it didn’t help calm my excited mind.

Mu-young’s response, as if it were a matter of course, swirled in my head like waves.

“Hey, chick! I have something to ask…”

How should I interpret the fact that a person I’ve never seen in real life appears so vividly in my dreams? That person is genuinely real.

“Hey! Hey! Ugh, why are you walking so fast… Is it because your legs are long?”

My fingers itched to check the documents immediately. I want to quickly get back to the oak dormitory and…

“Oh! Wait! The senior is talking, but you’re really!”

Suddenly, at the high-pitched shout piercing through my thoughts, I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around.
I finally noticed the presence of a female student gasping for breath about ten steps away.
With every intake of breath, the buttons near her chest seemed ready to pop off.
A badge symbolizing the second year was pinned on her lapel, and she had her hair neatly tied back, giving off a vibrant and fresh vibe reminiscent of new sprouts, with a beauty mark near her right eye.
The student who always hung out with her.
Second-year Kwon Yuri was looking up at me with a feigned angry expression.

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