The sparring session wasn’t over yet, and the Flame Spearwoman was still sticking out her alluring rear toward me.

“Didn’t your mom tell you not to bully your friends at school?” “Ack! Why are you acting like my mom?” “Talking back, are you? Stay still!”

Smack! Smack!

“Did you do something wrong or not?” “I did! I did something wrong! I won’t bully my friends anymore! Please stop hitting me!”

Smack! Smack!

“Think of this as a loving punishment for you!” “Hic!”

After about a dozen more smacks on her butt, it was public humiliation at its finest, right in front of the other cadets. Thankfully, there were only 14 of them in Class A to witness the spectacle.

“Huff… huff… ugh…”

Yep, she’s starting to feel it. I think I’ve had enough fun. It’s time to stop, right?

Smack!

I couldn’t see it, but I could tell her butt must be burning. If she took her clothes off, there’d probably be bright red handprints left behind. This much should be enough.

Surprisingly, the Flame Spearwoman's awakening as one of the strongest was triggered by her masochistic tendencies. She’s the only character in this academy-themed story that truly uses sex appeal well. Now that I’ve set her up, Choi Si-woo can handle the rest. Both sides win. I just need to graduate and find a decent job after all.

"Alright, I’ll let you off just this once. Don’t act out again, got it?" "Yes..."

In the end, the Flame Spearwoman left the stage, tears streaming down her face. You picked the wrong opponent in the sparring arena.

Then the Fire Bat approached me with a rather unsettling smile.

"As expected of Yoon Jin-seok’s sister. Well done. That girl was acting arrogantly with the instructors yesterday too." "Why didn’t you fix her attitude earlier, with your ‘Fire Bat’ skills?" "Haha, it’s too much of a hassle."

Is that something a real instructor should be saying?

The Fire Bat, lacking in instructor qualifications, patted me on the shoulder and then dismissed the training on her own whim. What, training’s already over on the first day? It’s surprising, but that Flame Spearwoman must’ve been going through quite the rebellious phase. She had a horrible relationship with the other heroines early on too. If Reina represents noble chivalry, the Flame Spearwoman is more like a rude commoner with no manners. Now that she’s been publicly humiliated, it’s over for her.

The rest is up to Choi Si-woo.

But that punk, Choi Si-woo, watched the Flame Spearwoman walk away in tears from afar before coming toward me.

"Yoonha, you’re seriously impressive."

Oh no, what now?

"Yeah. Honestly, I see you in a new light. Everyone who’s interested in Hunters knows about her, having that spear master as her teacher. She’s arrogant and cocky. But you made her apologize in front of everyone with just a few spanks."

And who are you?

"I should’ve been the one to do it." "Choi Si-woo, if you did it, that would’ve been a sex crime." "It was just a joke, a joke."

Ugh, I wish everyone would just drop dead. Why are they talking amongst themselves like this? They’re just dream people, so why is the quality of this dream so high? Look at that. In reality, the weather wouldn’t suddenly darken in the middle of the day like this.

I feel like I need a cigarette.

What kind of magical cigarette in this world can brighten up such dark weather?

"Maybe I’m just seeing things."

Or maybe it’s a side effect of using parallel circuits and acceleration. Yeah, this is just a dream. No need to make friends or form connections with these dream people just because I’m lonely. That’s it.

In theory class, we learn about the history of heroes, hunters, villains, and the current state of the world. Heroes are selected from capable hunters, pass tests, and are treated like public officials. They mainly deal with sudden gates or villains. Hunters, on the other hand, don’t earn regular income unless they’re affiliated with a famous guild. Villains don’t belong to either side and use their powers to cause trouble in society. Most of them appear in areas where the central government’s control is weak.

"A shitty worldview, and a shitty class. Not that I have any right to complain, since I’m trying to get a job in this dream."

Villains aren’t the only bad guys.

There’s a tier above them too.

According to the author’s canon, they’re called something else. The Seven Deadly Sins, consisting of seven individuals: Lucifer of Pride, Mammon of Greed, Leviathan of Envy, Satan of Wrath, Asmodeus of Lust, Beelzebub of Gluttony, and Belphegor of Sloth. It’s a typical trope you’d see in anime or comics.

In the previous work, the boss fights were mostly against famous villains in different countries, and they were all about destroying the source of the gates. This time, the final bosses are the Deadly Sins, no doubt about it.

Now that I think about it, the author did mention wanting to add demons among the villains.

"That would’ve been a total disaster."

The Seven Deadly Sins are said to have the power to turn the world upside down. Initially, they didn’t move much, but once Choi Si-woo starts using the full power of the Divine Sword, they try to take him down but fail. Their goal is to destroy Earth, and the author even set up multiple endings, most of which result in the Earth’s destruction at their hands. Rumor has it the Seven Sins received immense power during the Great Cataclysm.

Opposing them are the Twelve Apostles, an organization of the world’s strongest heroes. But as a small-fry heroine dropout, that doesn’t mean anything to me.

"Let’s just do our best."

Honestly, I could rival Belphegor in laziness.

"Sleeping during my lecture, are we?"

Ah, caught by the Fire Bat.

"Teacher, I was meditating." "Oh? Meditating? Then why don’t you write down the magic theory and mana operation method we’ve been learning?"

The Fire Bat tapped the blackboard with her bat, indicating the complex magic formulas written there. Even if you’re not a magician, understanding magic theory is essential for handling mana, which boosts your strength against monsters.

"Tsk tsk. She thinks being the Divine Sword’s sister makes her special." "Everything’s just handed to her because of her abilities."

As expected, some people took this as an opportunity to throw shade. Responding to each one would make me look like an idiot getting riled up in a dream. So I just let it go and walked up to the board, writing down the theory as the Fire Bat asked. It wasn’t hard. In the novel, Choi Si-woo practiced mana manipulation and narrated the whole theory to himself.

Surprisingly, even though my memory is all tangled, I can clearly remember this stuff. As I wrote down the theory on the board, the students who had been mocking me were left gaping, and even the Fire Bat, who looked ready to hit me, seemed astonished.

"Both you and your brother are exceptional. But don’t meditate during my class again, got it?" "Yes."

With that, I went back to my seat.

Is this my fault? No, it’s the Fire Bat’s fault for making the lecture so boring. I don’t care about being a hunter or anything. I just want to wake up from this dream.

"How can the Divine Sword’s sister be such a delinquent?"

As soon as theory class ended, Reina started poking me on the nose.

"If you already know everything, wouldn’t you want to save time too? Sleeping is the best use of it. Anyway, where’s Choi Si-woo?" "What, are you after Choi Si-woo or something?" "As if. Don’t look at me like that." "Choi Si-woo went to apologize to Han Soo-ji." "Oh, the Flame Spearwoman?" "Flame Spearwoman?" "Yeah, since she swings her spear with flames at the tip, she’s the Flame Spearwoman."

What else should I call her?

"That sounds weird." "Yoonha! Han Soo-ji said she wants to see you!"

The protagonist appeared, looking strangely refreshed, and shouted that out loud.

Me? Why?

The Flame Spearwoman, who had asked to see me, sure had a knack for keeping people waiting. I smoked two cigarettes, and she still hadn’t shown up. She must be messing with me because of that spanking earlier. Fine. Tomorrow, I’ll give her a taste of public humiliation right in front of the academy.

As I was thinking that, I sensed someone nearby. Looking over, I saw the Flame Spearwoman glaring at me like a pigeon that had just been punched.

“Hey, why are you smoking at the academy?” “Why do you care? It’s not even a restricted area.” “Hmph! I may have lost earlier, but I won’t lose so easily next time!”

What is she even trying to say?

"So, what are you getting at?"

“If you want a rematch, then next time—” “W-wait, that’s not what I meant!”

I made a spanking gesture, and the Flame Spearwoman quickly backed away, covering her butt with her hands. She then glared at me.

What is this girl’s problem?

“So, what do you want?” “What I’m saying is, I’m not going to let you take Choi Si-woo!” “Wait, do you think I like Choi Si-woo?”

“He’s handsome, strong, and full of justice. What girl wouldn’t like a guy like that?”

Handsome, strong, and full of justice. Sure, I can admit all of that. But unfortunately, I don’t think I like men. No matter how much I think about it, the idea of liking men just doesn’t work for me.

If I were to seriously consider pregnancy and childbirth, it’d mean doing that with a man. Even if this were reality, it’s just too much for me. Just imagining a man’s thing inside me is... gross.

“So, what you’re saying is, because you like him, you see me as a rival?” “Even if you deny it, I can tell just by looking at you! Your face is all red!” “Look, I’m going to clear this up right now. I don’t like men.”

More like, it’s physically impossible for me.

“What? Then are you saying you like women?” “Yep.”

Exactly.

“A woman liking another woman? Hmph. You’re just making excuses to throw me off. You’re trying to calm me down, aren’t you?” “Sorry, but you’re actually pretty attractive to me.”

“Huh?”

“Like this.”

I gently placed my hand on the Flame Spearwoman’s cheek and slowly brought my lips closer.

Smooch.

What would it look like, seeing a white-haired beauty pressing her lips against a red-haired girl’s on the rooftop? Beautiful? Or gross because it’s two girls? I don’t care either way.

One thing’s for sure—I don’t want to become a heroine.

To avoid that, I need to make it clear that I like women.

“Mmph?”

I gave her an adult’s kiss, teaching her what it really meant. At first, her lips were sealed tight, but I loosened them, sliding my tongue in and intertwining it with hers. It was a yuri kiss. Once she realized that I could kiss a woman this well, she wouldn’t hold onto that ridiculous idea that I liked Choi Si-woo.

“W-wait, I get it! You can stop now.” “What are you talking about? You’re part of my goal too. Your body, just like the spear you wield, is burning up with excitement. You’re a natural at turning girls into lesbians.”

“What do you mean by that? Mmph!”

I deepened the kiss, making the Flame Spearwoman’s body melt further. After about ten minutes of this thick, steamy kiss, she finally started to reciprocate, her tongue intertwining with mine.