“Come on, repeat after me.”

Han Soo-Young spoke in a clear pronunciation as if teaching a child, holding my hands with her hands.

“No, I don’t like it. Don't do it."

“.....”

What the hell is she doing with me now?

I wondered if she was teasing me, but her eyes and expression were serious.

As I just stared at her like that, speechless, Han Soo-Young shook the hands she was holding once as if she were frustrated.

“No, don't look anywhere else. Come on, repeat after me. No, I don't like it, don’t do it.”

“.. Hey, Soo-Young. What's this about now?”

She frowned at my question.

“Prevention education. Why?"

“No, ha...”

I don't know where on earth should I start pointing out.

As I was facing Han Soo-Young, who was staring at me as if she were looking at a child on some water's edge, Choi Hyun-Woo, who was staring as if watching, muttered as if he were missing it.

“When we were very young, Master personally taught us."

Even as he said so, he gently moved and blocked the way so that Jin Ye-Seul could not escape.

Jin Ye-Seul, who was trying to sneak away from us, gave a small sigh at such action of Choi Hyun-Woo.

“.. move."

In a quiet voice, Jin Ye-Seul muttered as if threatening Choi Hyun-Woo.

Then Choi Hyun-Woo, who was making eye contact with Jin Ye-Seul for a while, looked at me blankly and said.

“Um, Ji-Hyuk. Ye-Seul is suddenly trying to go somewhere alone, should I just let her go?”

“Ah, ah..! You...!”

At Choi Hyun-Woo's words, Jin Ye-Seul was startled and looked at me in a hurry.

I don't know if it was fortunate or unfortunate, but Svengali had told me that she would have a tendency to rely on me for a while.

And, at least for now, I could say that it was fortunate.

In the past, she would have acted unexpectedly, even after saying she understood what I said, but at least now, she wouldn't do anything that I earnestly ask her not to do.

“Ye-Seul.”

"Uh, huh.. ?”

“I said don't do anything.”

The moment Jin Ye-Seul heard the story from Han Soo-Yung, she immediately tried to disappear somewhere.

I could tell that she was heading to Professor Emilia even without asking.

I didn't even have to ask what her purpose was.

I told Jin Ye-Seul that Han Soo-Young was exaggerating a bit, so she didn't have to worry about it.

Then, Han Soo-Young showed the video she took in class to Jin Ye-Seul without saying a word.

I don't know if it's because of the composition, but I wondered if people who didn't really know the content of the video might misunderstand.

On the way, when Han Soo-Young said, look, she's touching his butt side, I clearly heard a sound like air escaping from Jin Ye-Seul's neck.

Jin Ye-Seul watched the entire video without even blinking.

And seeing her mumbling something small like that, I had to keep holding on to her, telling her to stop.

I don't know when, but at least for now, Emilia shouldn't be touched.

Nevertheless, Jin Ye-Seul somehow kept looking for a chance while looking at my mood, and seeing that, I let out a small sigh.

“Ye-Seul, can you lend me your ear for a moment?”

"Yes?"

“Guys, I’m sorry, but let me whisper a little only once."

I asked the two for their understanding and approached the hesitating Jin Ye-Seul.

Then I put my mouth to her hesitating ear and whispered quietly.

“You saw it right away.”

“.. yes?"

“That woman is my enemy. I'll have to deal with her later anyway."

After hearing that, Jin Ye-Seul's body stopped.

I caught my breath once and added.

“Ye-Seul, if you don’t like that woman that much, I'll let you do as you please. But not now. So be patient.”

If you move now, I think I'll be really in trouble.

At those last words, Jin Ye-Seul stepped back and hurriedly grabbed her ears with both hands.

Then she asked, looking at me with a reddened face.

“You mean.. if I do as I please now, you'll get in a lot of trouble, right, Ji-Hyuk?”

"Right."

“You mean you want me to be patient?”

"Yes."

“.. then I understand. I'll be patient.”

Jin Ye-Seul nodded and drooped her tensed body.

Then she trudged closer, and seeing that, Han Soo-Young let out a small sigh.

“Anyway, I think it's like this because I'm officially raising this issue. And Ji-Hyuk, you....”

She shook her head and muttered as if it were really unfair.

“.. No, I'm seriously getting angry thinking about it? He had hit me with so many iron walls like that, so why is he so loose on this kind of matter? Really, I get so worried every time I see him. If you look at these things, it's an ability, really. To make the viewer worried and annoyed. What the hell, he can't be like this, right? Do I really need to do something secretly to instill a sense of crisis....”

“Soo-Young, Soo-Young.”

Choi Hyun-Woo snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, who was muttering to herself.

Soon she shook her head and came to her senses, and he let out a small sigh, as if relieved.

"Have you come to your senses? You haven't been like that for a while, but suddenly you're like that again.”

At his words, Han Soo-Young blushed in embarrassment without saying a word.

Feeling that the atmosphere had naturally settled down, Choi Hyun-Woo said, stretching a little.

“Then, shall the four of us eat together after a long time? In any case, I have the advisor's class later, so I need to eat well in advance because I have to work hard."

“.. you always say let's eat whenever you do something. You're like a pig.”

For some reason, Han Soo-young muttered as if grumbling like that.

Meanwhile, Jin Ye-Seul let out an ah sound.

“It’s Yu-Na.”

"Where? Oh, really.”

When I looked where she was pointing, there was really Lee Yu-Na.

I didn't know because there were so many people taking the class, but it seemed she had been taking the same class all along.

Wearing a turtleneck covering her neck as usual, she pulled her collar with her hand and covered it almost to the bottom of her chin.

"Yu-Na? Oh, it's true.”

Choi Hyun-Woo also looked at the place and nodded.

Yes, it's better to eat with a lot of people if possible.

It was when he was about to approach, muttering like that.

“....!”

Lee Yu-Na looked at her surrounding situation and disappeared, as if running away.

She was so quick that there wasn't even any time to call and stop her.

“She's gone.”

Han Soo-Young muttered so, looking at her back.

Then, adding she was like a squirrel, she tilted her head.

“.. but I think I saw something strange on her neck?”

“Isn’t it just hair?”

“No, Yu-Na's hair is light brown. I think what I just saw was a little shiny....”

[it's Mana Marks.]

Svengali muttered.

I just nodded slightly, thinking, come to think of it, it's time for them to appear slowly.

[Mana Marks, it is so rare that even I have not seen it many times... And even more so if it is looking with the eyes.]

Mana Marks.

As I earlier heard in Emilia's class, in this world, not only humans, but also monsters and even inanimate objects have mana.

And all of them have a path for mana to flow through, but very occasionally, this path will appear on the skin like a tattoo.

A representative person who has these Mana Marks is Lee Yu-Na.

And my advisor, Professor Abel Grossman, was also one of those who have Mana Marks.

To express the representative characteristic of Mana Marks in one word, the people who have it are literally like they are receiving the blessing of Mana.

In the first place, even before she was afflicted with Mana Marks, it was mentioned that Lee Yu-Na's ability to handle mana meticulously was to the extent that no one else could keep up with.

Perhaps if she had magical talent, she would have at least developed a skill comparable to Han Soo-Young.

After awakening Mana Marks, Lee Yu-Na boasted such an excellent skill in handling mana that she was almost unrivaled.

[Ah, that is why she was so small in stature compared to her peers...?]

And another characteristic of Mana Marks was that it puts a great strain on the body.

The characteristic of putting a strain on the body could be understood well by looking at Abel Grossman, another person who had Mana Marks.

She often gets sick and lacks innate physical strength, so let alone fighting, she is even refraining from strenuous exercise.

If it had not been for her chronic lack of physical strength, her name would have been included in the Ten Strongest as well.

.. However, Lee Yu-Na's small stature had nothing to do with Mana Marks.

I clearly remembered that it was mentioned, as if passing by, that she would still be small without Mana Marks.

“.....”

From what I saw, it seemed it hadn't been long since Mana Marks appeared, so I thought that her body condition would start to deteriorate slowly.

‘In the original story, I struggled for a long time to fix these Mana Marks...'historical

The materials to fix Mana Marks are all expensive and only rare, so it needed a lot of hard work, such as entering dungeons to get them directly, entering dungeons again to raise money, and receiving quests.

Of course, I didn't have to do such hard work at all now.

'Since I'm stopping by this time, should I ask for a favor?’

If I ask Lee Ye-Eun or Shin Woo-Seok, they'll prepare everything in less than a day.

It seemed like I was using them for whatever I wanted, but I thought it would be okay considering Shin Woo-Seok had been texting me every week asking if there was anything I needed.

“Well, it looks like she has some urgent business. Let's go on our own for now, Ji-Hyuk."

“Uh, yes.”

I answered Choi Hyun-Woo who called me and followed him.

First of all, as he said, it's been a really long time since the four of us ate together, so I decided to relax a little and enjoy the time.

* * *

“You're here early."

Evangeline, who was sitting and reading a book, looked at me and muttered so.

Taking off her reading glasses and putting them on the table, she skimmed through the prepared documents and said to me.

"You're done talking, aren't you?”

"Yes. We can go now.”

"Good.. then let's go right away."

Looking at her like that, I asked back without much thought.

“Are we moving with space magic?”

Then Evangeline stared at me for a moment, as if perplexed.

"Uh.. I think it's better to point it out first, so I'll tell you. We're not moving with space magic. To be precise, we'll use it to get out of here, but after that, we'll move on foot."

She added immediately, as if explaining.

“There are several reasons. First, space magic is a magic of such high difficulty that it is impossible to even learn it without innate qualities and talents. And I have so little of that talent that I can barely imitate it. I want you to remember that a case like Yuzuki is really an absurd case.”

She spread her fingers.

“And it's not only in the academy, but also within the World Tree clan, there will be techniques that interfere with that kind of magic. There's no need to take risks for no reason, right? Above all else, as you have felt before, space movement technique that I do put quite a burden on the body."

"Yes."

“.. so it's not that I'm incompetent, it's that various circumstances are overlapping. Do you understand?"

Looking at her, who seemed to be making some kind of excuse, I stared at her as if asking, what's the problem?

“No one will think you are incompetent. If a Ten Strongest is incompetent in the first place, who in the world wouldn't be incompetent?"

“.. well, now that I hear you, you're right, too."

Nodding her head, she lifted the shopping bags that were lying next to her.

When I looked at them, thinking what in the world, I found that they were all clothes.

The prepared clothes were so diverse that not only men and women, but also children could wear them.

"You know, but Isaac McDowell's pawns are scattered everywhere here. Perhaps there are more hidden away besides his disciples.”

"I guess so."

“Well, honestly, even if there aren't.. Oh, I'm not bragging, but I'm a little famous, so if I just move like this, I'll get attention right away."

I nodded again this time.

Then Evangeline suddenly stared at me and began to look at every inch of my face.

“.. what's wrong?”

"No. Um, good. This is passable enough. The skin is pretty good, and the face... I think it's possible.”

Saying so, she held a women's blouse and jeans in one hand and a child's clothes in the other.

"I can change other people's outward appearances besides myself."

“.. no way."

“That no way is right.”

She stared at me with an expression that seemed to be looking forward inwardly.

“Do you want to dress up as a woman, or change your appearance to a child?"

You decide.

Evangeline asked me, with a smile and a look that, no matter who looked at it, looked like she was enjoying it.