After the anti-personal combat practice.

I went toward the class with corpse-like step to attend the next lecture.

‘Ugh, I’m gonna be late…’

Sparring with Kang Do-hee alone was exhausting, but rolling around on the ground with her had completely drained my energy. It felt like every cell in my body had been wrung out.

‘Grappling is usually very tiring anyway…’

And the fact that my opponent was Kang Do-hee didn’t help.

All I wanted to do was lie down on my bed and close my eyes.

‘But it’s good that I can teach Kang Do-hee grappling now. Great.’

The reason why I, a non-specialist in martial arts, could confidently teach her grappling, despite not having any expertise in it, was simple.

I had Instructor Baek Seol-hee.

I planned to make a special request to Instructor Baek Seol-hee during tomorrow’s major class. I wanted to ask her about grappling so that I could teach Kang Do-hee.

Judging by the fact that she had fought Kang Do-hee in hand-to-hand combat during the basic training, she seemed to be well-versed in martial arts as well as swordsmanship.

‘The opportunity came faster than I expected.’

The thought that had occurred to me during the last major class.

Using what I learned from Instructor Baek Seol-hee’s class and internalizing it to teach my party members.

‘But to do that, I’ll have to use the items in the Alice Box, won’t I?’

To be honest, I felt some resistance to using items that might be needed later so soon, but if the payoff was an increase in abilities, it was worth it.

As I walked while lost in thought, I soon found myself at the lecture hall.

As always, all eyes turned to me when I entered the classroom. I scanned the room, looking for Shin Se-hee.

‘Where did she go?’

This lecture was “Understanding Party Formations and Organizations.” It was a class that increased intelligence, particularly related to party management, which I had chosen for myself and Shin Se-hee, the operator.

My gaze stopped at the corner of the classroom, where a long-haired girl was hunched over with her head down, trying to hide herself.

Even though she was trying to hide, her distinctive sparkling aura couldn’t be concealed.

‘Is she hiding because she’s embarrassed about the drunk texts she sent last night?’

I smirked and approached her.

“Shin Se-hee, what are you doing there? Are you sleeping?”

As I asked, standing next to her.

Umm─

Her body trembled.

Ugh─

She reluctantly raised her head and stretched her arms out in front of her, as if claiming that she had arrived early and dozed off.

“Oh, Jin Yuha. You’re here. Sorry, I arrived early and dozed off for a bit.”

She turned to face me and spoke as if nothing was wrong.

“Are you feeling tired? Are you unwell?”

“Yeah, a bit…”

Shin Se-hee nodded. I placed one hand on my forehead and the other on hers.

‘Hmm? Is she really unwell?’

Her forehead felt warmer than expected.

“You’re hot. Are you really okay?”

I sat next to her, concerned.

“Wait, just a moment! Wait, it’s fine!”

Shin Se-hee huddled in the corner, trying to make herself smaller. Then, she stole glances at me before speaking.

“Um, Jin Yuha…”

“Yeah?”

“The, that… Did you delete the chat?”

“Of course. You told me to delete it right away if there was a virus. I didn’t check, I just deleted it.”

“Is that so…?”

Shin Se-hee looked at me with eyes that trembled with complexity, biting her lip.

Hmm, to be honest, I really wanted to tease her about it now, but it didn’t feel right to tease her when she was sick.

‘I’ll tease her later.’

I figured I could ask her about what happened yesterday after the class was over.

“Okay, let’s listen to the lecture.”

I sat next to her and lay down on the desk.

‘I’ll just take a nap until the instructor arrives.’

.

.

.

Shin Se-hee bit her lip.

‘Jin Yuha told me not to lie to him…’

What was the condition he had given her when he agreed to accept her into the party?

─ Be completely honest with me. If you ever try to lie to me or deceive me, that’s the end of our relationship.

But she couldn’t undo the fact that she had sent those embarrassing texts after drinking the night before.

─ But did you really believe me? I was really touched by that,
─ Huff… so what? I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it.
─ Did I do something weird to you at the time? I swear, I didn’t do anything to you, really.

As soon as she woke up in the morning, she checked her phone and found messages she had sent the night before, with no memory of doing so.

As soon as she saw them, her fingers instinctively started typing a lie.

‘How could I written that shit!!!’

As the messages she had sent flashed through her mind, Shin Se-hee’s face flushed even hotter, as if it would burst.

She tapped her feet in midair, shadowboxing to herself to try and shake off those embarrassing memories.

‘Why have I been drinking like this lately… What’s wrong with me…’

She covered her face, which was hot with embarrassment, with both hands.

To be honest, she wasn’t sure if this fell under the category of lying that Jin Yuha had warned her about. She just didn’t want to show him her embarrassing side.

‘Jin Yuha believed in me…’

Perhaps he was still giving her a chance.

Shin Se-hee turned her head to the side, her expression complex.

His face, asleep with his eyes closed.

He seemed tired, as Jin Yuha had only exchanged a few words with her before dozing off.

Shin Se-hee also leaned her head on her arm, mirroring his position, her face resting on the desk.

‘……His eyelashes are really long.’

His sharp nose bridge.

His straight eyebrows.

His porcelain skin.

The color of his bright red lips.

It was like looking at a work of art.

She wanted to keep looking at his sleeping face, but.

Thud.

Thud.

The sound of stiff shoe heels broke Shin Se-hee’s reverie.

“Welcome. I’m Park Jin-soo, the instructor for the ‘Understanding Party Formations and Organizations’ class.”

At the sound of the instructor’s voice, Shin Se-hee jumped up, startled.

The lecturer was a male instructor with a cold, stern face.

He looked like the type to be very strict.

“There’s no such thing as ending early on the first day. This is already part of the exam scope, so make sure to take proper notes.”

The instructor, true to his appearance, began writing on the holographic blackboard that appeared behind him, holding a book in one hand.

“Jin Yuha. Jin Yuha.”

Shin Se-hee gently shook his shoulder and whispered in a small voice.

At that, Jin Yuha’s eyebrows twitched.

“Wake up. The instructor’s here.”

“I want to sleep more…”

Jin Yuha grumbled in a low, bass voice.

“……Do you want to sleep more?”

“Yeah…”

Shin Se-hee trembled.

Gulping, she looked down at him for a moment, then closed her eyes tightly.

‘Well, if that’s the case, I can’t help it.’

She clenched her fist.

‘I’ll take notes for the class. And after class, I’ll show him my notes and confess about what happened yesterday.’

Then, she could keep her promise to be honest with him, and since he had already deleted the texts, she wouldn’t have to tell him what she had sent.

.

.

.

Squeak, squeak─

The classroom was deathly quiet, with only the sound of students’ writing utensils squeaking.

“The formation and arrangement of a party is like putting together a puzzle, and it must be done with great care. Depending on the roles and positions of each member, the outcome of a battle can vary drastically.”

And the indifferent voice of the instructor, who continued to lecture without emotion.

“Here, we have two B-grade healers, four C-grade damage dealers, and one E-grade tank. And in front of them are four A-grade monsters. In this situation, how should you position your party members to achieve victory without losing a single one? Take into account the characteristics of this terrain and come up with a strategy.”

The instructor manipulated the hologram, creating a simulation of the scenario.

Then, the status windows and items of each party member appeared on the board as numerical values.

‘……This class is more challenging than I expected.’

Before entering Velvet Academy, she had experience managing and leading a party, so she was confident about this class, but it turned out to require considerable inference and strategy-making skills.

The other students’ complexions didn’t look good either, indicating that they were struggling to keep up with the lecture.

‘Two B-grade healers, four C-grade damage dealers, and one E-grade tank… Four A-grade monsters.’

If they planned their paths well, it seemed possible to defeat all four monsters. But the condition that no one should die was a challenge.

‘This class is definitely necessary for me.’

Jin Yuha had recommended this class to her, saying that it would be helpful for managing his party in the future.

At that moment.

“Hey, male student.”

The instructor, with an indifferent expression, called out to the sleeping Jin Yuha.

‘Big trouble.’

Shin Se-hee shook Jin Yuha’s shoulder.

“Hmm…”

“Jin Yuha. Wake up. I think the instructor is calling you.”

“……What?”

Then, Jin Yuha rubbed his eyes and lifted his head.

“It seems like you’ve been sleeping even before my class started. If you don’t intend to listen, I’ll give you the opportunity to leave.”

“I apologize.”

Jin Yuha bowed his head, still half-asleep.

The instructor, who had been staring at him, frowned slightly, looking displeased.

“Or maybe my class is too easy for you.”

The instructor nodded, stroking his chin.

“Yes, I believe you understand my lesson perfectly, cadet. Now, come up and solve the problem.”

‘Oh no…’

Shin Se-hee sneakily hid the notes she had prepared under his arm.

“Jin Yuha, please take a look at this…”

However, Jin Yuha did not turn towards Shin Se-hee. He simply looked at the board with narrowed eyes and nodded.

Step by step, he walked to the front of the class.

Shin Se-hee watched his back, feeling anxious.

‘This is a problem that can only be solved if you’ve attended the lecture! He doesn’t know the terrain or the monster’s characteristics!’

Indeed, the information had not been displayed on the screen; it had only been verbally explained by the instructor moments ago.

Jin Yuha was expected to formulate a strategy based solely on the status windows of his party members, without any knowledge of the enemy.

He glanced at the status windows, then at the monster deployment map.

Then, without hesitation, he brought his hand to the hologram and began arranging the party members.

Tap. Tap.

But his choices were unexpected. He placed the healers, who had no combat abilities, in the front lines, and even moved the damage dealers and tanks far away.

‘Healers… at the front?!’

Next, Jin Yuha began manipulating the skills, items, and movement paths of each party member.

‘Huh?’

Shin Se-hee, who finally realized his intention, widened her eyes in surprise.

“I think this should work,” Jin Yuha said, turning to the instructor with a stoic expression.

“Are you sure about this?” the instructor asked, his voice trailing off as he looked at the deployment map.

Jin Yuha nodded confidently. “Yes, it will work.”

For a moment, the instructor’s cold expression faltered, and a look of bewilderment crossed his face.