“I’m asking. What are you doing?”

Kang Do-hee held onto Kim Okja’s wrist and spoke in a firm voice.

Kim Okja, initially startled, looked at her with a confused expression, then rolled her eyes and surveyed the surroundings before letting out a snide laugh.

“Oh, it’s you, Fighting Dog.”
“Don’t call me by that dog-like nickname. It’s dogshit.”

Kim Okja tried to pull her hand away with a slight force, but when it didn’t budge, she said in a slimy voice,

“Alright, alright. Wow, you’re scary. By the way, won’t you let go of my hand?”

As she spoke, Kim Okja looked around.

Kang Do-hee’s sudden intervention had startled her at first.
In fact, the best course of action would be to avoid getting entangled with her here.

But it was too late.

Once a quarrel started, she couldn’t back down.

Before entering the Academy, she had heard from an older sister that the Hall of Bravery had a clear hierarchy.
Therefore, establishing dominance early on was crucial.

Of course, she didn’t overestimate herself. Going head-to-head with Kang Do-hee was a bad idea.
Unlike Cheonhwa, Fighting Dog was a ‘real’ solo damage dealer.

‘But that doesn’t mean there’s no way.’

Kim Okja used the [Sound Enchantment] skill.

A pathetic skill that simply made her voice a little clearer by infusing mana into it.
But she knew exactly when to use this skill.

‘No matter how much she works alone, can she really ignore people’s voices?’

The girls here were no ordinary girls.
They were all promising individuals who would one day occupy important positions in the hunter industry.

Even if each individual fell short of Kang Do-hee, choosing to make all of them her enemies was an absolute no-go.

‘And most importantly, there’s no justification for it.’

Well, if she had accidentally touched Jin Yuha’s body, that would be a different story, but so far, she hadn’t done anything.
In this situation, if Kang Do-hee resorted to violence, it would only make her look suspicious.
And a few punches were nothing to her.

Kim Okja smirked and opened her mouth.

“If anyone sees this, they might think I did something. It’s just that my hand slipped for a moment. Why are you overreacting?”

Kim Okja raised her voice, feigning confusion.

“What?”

Kang Do-hee, dumbfounded, let go of her wrist and frowned.
Then, Kim Okja shook off the arm that had been grabbed.

“Huh, that’s weird. I didn’t do anything. Why should I be scolded by you? I really don’t understand.”

Then, she widened her eyes in feigned surprise.

“Huh, could it be…!? Are you Kang Do-hee, the special admission student, targeting the male quota student?”

Hush hush─

The onlookers began to murmur.

.

.

.

‘Wow, there are all sorts of ways to commit suicide.’

I watched the scene with a bitter smile, my eyes coldly fixed on Kim Okja.

‘She must hate being incited like this.’

Having heard about Kang Do-hee’s past from Shin Se-hee, I could guess how she was feeling right now.

Her role model, the leader of the Paradine Guild, had been ruined by people’s incitement, hadn’t she?

Glance.

I looked at Kang Do-hee.

As expected.

Kang Do-hee stood there with her arms crossed, her mouth agape, looking utterly bewildered.
Then, she burst into a hearty laugh.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Hearing her name, Kim Okja flinched, but she didn’t back down. Instead, she raised her voice even higher.

“Wh, what do you want to know that for! Are you planning to…!?”

But Kang Do-hee shook her head immediately.

“No way. Why would I waste my time on something like that?”
“Ah, is it a waste?”
“Yeah. I just thought it was funny, so I asked.”

Whoosh─!

Suddenly, Kang Do-hee’s expression turned serious, and she reached for Kim Okja’s head.
The movement was soo fast that Kim Okja couldn’t react at all, a handful of her golden hair was tightly gripped in Kang Do-hee’s hand.
“But it’s not funny now, so you don’t have to tell me.”
“Ahhh!!! Let me go!?”

Kim Okja, who hadn’t expected Kang Do-hee to be so direct, looked up with her eyes wide, her face contorted in surprise, but Kang Do-hee didn’t respond to her.

Kwaang─!!!

She slammed Kim Okja’s head into the floor.

Then, Kang Do-hee squatted down, grabbed her hair, and lifted her head again.
Kim Okja, with a smile on her lips, said, with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, probably from biting her tongue.

“Kuhak! Are you serious!? You hit a first-year student who didn’t do anything! Is that allowed even for a special admission student!?”

Kwaang─!!!!

Kim Okja’s face was slammed into the floor again.

The impact rattled her skull, and her face turned ashen in an instant.
But she still put on a front.

“Kkhat! Yeah! Yeah! Our Fighting Dog must be really angry, huh! I’ll grovel and crawl as you wish─”
Kwaang─!!!!
“You! If you hurt me again…! I’ll get you disciplined by the Academy!”

Before she could finish her sentence, her face was slammed into the floor again.
Kim Okja’s composure gradually faded from her face.
“Th, that!”

Kwaang─!
“Huh?!”
Kwaang─!
“Kuh!”
Kwaang─!
“Ugh!!”

Kang Do-hee, expressionless, grabbed her head and lifted it up before slamming it back down.
There was no mercy in the mechanical repetition.

Kwaang─!!

“Kkeuk─!!!”

Her bloodied face looked utterly bewildered, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.

The floor cracked and caved in where her face had been slammed.
And Kim Okja, with her teeth broken and clumps of golden hair falling out, was in such a miserable state that it was hard to look at.

“……Keh…”
A wretched groan escaped her lips.

Kwaaaang─!!!!!

Kim Okja trembled, her face still pressed against the floor.

Kang Do-hee looked at the back of her head and slowly stood up, scanning the surroundings.
The girls all lowered their heads and averted their gazes.

Kang Do-hee let out a dry laugh.

“Hey, you bitches.”

She gave them a look, as if to remember their faces.

Wince─

“From now on, if you want to mess with Jin Yuha, come to me first.”
“……”
“Discipline? I don’t give a shit about that. If you can, go ahead and try.”

Everyone clammed up, and a tense atmosphere settled over them.
Tsk.
Kang Do-hee clicked her tongue, dissatisfied.

“Answer.”
“Yes, yes!!!”

The girls around them hastily nodded.

Then.

Wriggle─

Kim Okja’s body, which had been lying on the floor, twitched.
She clenched her trembling arms behind her back and gripped the handle of the hatchet she had at her waist.

Flop─!

Seizing the opportunity, she got up.

“You…!”

She charged with her eyes blazing.

But the one she charged at wasn’t Kang Do-hee, it was me.

‘……For a moment, I was an idiot for thinking she might be a character.’

I had already sensed her intentions and looked at her with cold eyes.
Just as she was about to pounce on me.

Swish─

I spun around, gripping the hilt of my sword.

Sssssssssssssssss─!!

Smack─!!!!

I swung the sword, scabbard and all, and slammed it against her head.

“Kkeok─!”

Thud.

Kim Okja, with her eyes rolled back, collapsed on the spot.
Everyone stared at me and Kang Do-hee with blank faces.

“Hey, Kang Do-hee. Let’s go.”
“Hmm.”

I nodded at her, and Kang Do-hee nodded back.

After turning one student into a bloody mess,
Kang Do-hee and Jin Yuha left the scene nonchalantly.

.

.

.

As I walked with Kang Do-hee, I suddenly remembered the scene from earlier and burst out laughing.
“Puhuh!”
Kang Do-hee, with furrowed eyebrows, turned her gaze towards me.

“Ah, sorry, it’s just funny.”
“What’s so funny?”

I straightened my expression.

“Hey, you bitches.”

Kang Do-hee’s body trembled.

“From now on, if you want to mess with Jin Yuha, come to me first.”

“Discipline? I don’t give a shit about that. If you can, go ahead and try.”

Kang Do-hee clenched her teeth, trying to act nonchalant and glaring ahead.
But her face, now the same color as her hair, couldn’t hide her embarrassment.

“Hmmmm…”
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

She bit her lip as she tried to speak, and as she did, Kang Do-hee turned her head and glared at me.

“Thanks.”

I cleared my throat and spoke sincerely.
Kang Do-hee, who had been about to say something, closed her mouth like a clam.
She turned her head and said in a small voice,

“……I know you could have handled it yourself.”
“No. If it weren’t for you, living here would have become quite exhausting. There would have been more weird girls besides that weird girl.”

In fact, from my perspective, it was indeed a bit troublesome.
If I lived in the dormitory from now on, it seemed likely that other girls, in addition to that strange woman, would gather around me.

Judging from the way they looked at me earlier,
They probably wouldn’t take direct action like that gyaru, but they would definitely be watching my every move.

‘Creepy bitches might even stalk or secretly intrude into my room.’

Of course, I could have handled it myself each time, but because of the gender difference, it would have been awkward to take the initiative unless the situation was as bad as with that woman.
But Kang Do-hee had sorted out the hierarchy, solving the problem neatly.

“Thanks, Kang Do-hee.”

To be honest, I hadn’t expected her to go this far for me.

Unlike Shin Se-hee or Yoo-ri, Kang Do-hee and I still had a dry relationship.

She had come to me later, saying she wanted to join my party, but we hadn’t had many conversations or interactions since then.

Even the process of recruiting her into the party was dull.

-Will you be a member of my party?

-Yeah.

That was it. A handshake and it was done.

But Kang Do-hee, when she saw me being approached by that weird girl,
She stepped in and gave a warning to the other female students on my behalf. This was a significant improvement in our relationship.

“Hem, Hem!!!!”

Kang Do-hee, feeling awkward, turned her head and coughed repeatedly.

“I want to repay you since I’m grateful.”
I smiled and said to Kang Do-hee, who scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.
“……I didn’t ask for anything like that.”
“I know. I’m just doing this because I’m grateful, so accept it. It’s not expensive.”

I grabbed Kang Do-hee’s hand and pulled her along,
My lips curling up with rising anticipation.
‘Finally, I can try that combination with her.’