I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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Kim Il-shin woke up to the dazzling morning sunlight streaming through the window.

The warm body temperature felt in his arms.

As he opened his eyes, he saw Hanarin, peacefully sleeping with her head resting on his arm.

It was a time of great revelations.

If I had to pick the biggest one, it would be that Hanarin had a style that looked dry when she wore clothes. She was just short.

“Sleep well?”

Kim Il-shin gently covered Hanarin with her blanket up to her neck and lay still.

The birds chirping outside brought a sense of peace.

“Hmm…”

At that moment, Hanarin furrowed her brows and slowly opened her eyes.

After blinking a few times, she widened her eyes in surprise.

Then, she hastily pulled up the blanket.

Noticing what she might be thinking, Kim Il-shin just smiled.

Hanarin, completely wrapped in the blanket with just her eyes peeking out, cautiously asked.

“…Did you sleep well?”

“I did, how about you?”

“Me too.”

“Looked like you did. You were snoring like a chainsaw.”

“…What? Me?”

That was a lie.

But Hanarin, who had no way of knowing that, buried herself deeper into the blanket.

“It’s okay. It wasn’t that loud.”

“……”

“I’m serious, it’s really fine.”

“Ughh…”

‘Okay, I should stop now.’

Just when Kim Il-shin was about to confess the truth.

“…It’s because of you.”

Hanarin murmured softly from under the blanket.

“Huh?”

Not catching it clearly, Kim Il-shin asked again.

“It’s because of you! I said I was just going to take a little break! Huh? Huh?!”

Hanarin poked her face out from under the blanket and charged at Kim Il-shin, punching him in the chest.

How could she hit such a sensitive spot with such precision?

Thinking back, he might have been a bit intense yesterday.

Kim Il-shin hugged Hanarin in the blanket and said.

“Alright, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again next time.”

But there was no response.

Looking down, he saw Hanarin avoiding his gaze and mumbling to herself.

After waiting a moment, Hanarin, with her face flushed, lowered her head deeply.

“No… it’s not like it’s necessary to go that far…”

“……”

In that moment, a burst of impulse swelled up. Kim Il-shin bit his lip and barely held back.

If he hadn’t recalled that Hanarin had overdone it yesterday, he might have really lost it.

“What’s this called?”

Shifting the topic, Kim Il-shin asked while looking at the bracelet on his wrist.

The purple gem reflected the sunlight, emanating a mysterious hue.

“Destiny Mark.”

“…That’s a nice name.”

Carving one’s life.

He could easily understand the depth of feeling Hanarin must have had while making it.

“No matter the situation, whatever you face, this will save you once.”

Hanarin’s words were hard to believe, considering the unheard-of capabilities it possessed.

It didn’t feel like an exaggeration. The expression on Hanarin’s face as she held his wrist was earnest.

“You must never take it off, got it?”

“Understood.”

“You can’t make it again now. There aren’t any materials left.”

“What materials do you need?”

If it had the kind of capabilities Hanarin mentioned, the materials would surely be something extraordinary.

However, leveraging Kim Il-shin’s information, he had no idea how to obtain them.

‘Having a few more wouldn’t hurt.’

If possible, he wished he could get one for Hanarin and Hazuki too.

Though the creation was difficult, having Kim Il-shin present would make the process more stable.

But the materials used in this bracelet were something Kim Il-shin had never imagined.

“It’s my hammer.”

“…Hammer?”

Kim Il-shin realized that he hadn’t seen Hanarin’s hammer since yesterday.

It used to be hanging at her waist wherever she went.

“My hammer was used entirely for this. So now, I can’t make it.”

“Your hammer went into this?”

“Yeah. It was impossible to find a substance that could withstand the mountain’s power while also being malleable and mixable. I was struggling, but it said it wanted to do it.”

To a dwarf blacksmith, a dedicated hammer wasn’t just a tool.

From the moment they embarked on the path of craftsmanship, it was like a lifelong companion.

An object imbued with the craftsman’s spirit was as precious as life itself.

Such a meaningful hammer was sacrificed for Kim Il-shin.

“…It really held up well. If it weren’t for it, I would have failed.”

Hanarin understood.

If the spirit imbued in that hammer hadn’t exerted itself, the Destiny Mark would never have been completed.

That was why she claimed it couldn’t be made again.

‘…What were your feelings?’

What feelings did she have while designing the bracelet, sacrificing the hammer, and betting her life on it?

Kim Il-shin, who couldn’t even begin to guess, could only say one thing.

“…Thank you.”

“It’s fine. I told you. It’s for me.”

“Still.”

“It’s enough already.”

With that, Hanarin, snuggling into Kim Il-shin’s arms, paused for a moment before saying softly.

“Then don’t lie anymore.”

Despite all the sacrifices, that was all she wished for.

Of course, Kim Il-shin had only one answer he could give.

“Sure.”

“And you have to tell me everything that happens.”

“Of course. I’ll tell you everything.”

“Okay. …You’re not hiding anything from me now, right?”

“Nothing…”

Kim Il-shin, who had been answering fluidly, hesitated for a moment.

It was because the incident with Hazuki came to mind.

It was just a fleeting hesitation, but that was something Hanarin wouldn’t let slide.

“…What’s that? What was that hesitation? Are you still hiding something from me?”

With narrowed eyes, Hanarin began to interrogate him.

Having made a promise, Kim Il-shin couldn’t withstand that gaze.

“No, it’s not—”

“Then what is it? Speak quickly.”

“No, ha—”

“You promised me…”

“…I understand.”

Kim Il-shin, after ruminating several times, began to speak.

Stripping away all the embellishments and subjective thoughts, he laid out the facts simply.

But just that was enough to stiffen Hanarin’s expression to an extreme degree.

Eventually, the voice that slipped from Hanarin was chilling enough to send shivers down his spine.

“So, before you came to me.”

“Yeah.”

“You kissed her?”

“No, it wasn’t a kiss…”

“You made lip contact then.”

“…Yeah.”

He was at a loss for words even if he had a hundred mouths.

While there were excuses he could use, he had no idea what might happen if he opened his mouth here.

If he put himself in her shoes, it was only natural for her to react that way.

“Ugh…! Ah. Huh…”

After hearing the whole story, Hanarin began to ponder with her head down.

Kim Il-shin felt like a criminal waiting for judgment.

After what seemed like dozens of minutes, Hanarin, having pondered, got up from the bed.

As she gathered her clothes and entered the bathroom, she spoke.

“I want to talk to her. Set up a meeting for me.”

He had no reason or method to say no at this point.

Since things had escalated this far, Kim Il-shin had to make a final decision.

“…I’ll try to set something up.”

Saying that, he turned on his phone and coincidentally received a message from Hazuki.

[Il-shin, have you finished everything?]

[Yeah. Just wrapped up.]

Upon sending the text, a reply came back as if she had been waiting for it.

[Was everything resolved? Are both of you alright?]

[All good. We’re both fine.]

[That’s a relief. If you have time, can we meet at the café in front of the station? We have things to discuss.]

[Is it okay even if I have company?]

It took a few minutes for her reply.

[Yes. That sounds good.]

Even though it was just a text, it felt somewhat resolute.

After setting the meeting time, Kim Il-shin turned off his phone.

Then he closed his eyes tightly and lay back down.

“Ah…”

Imagining the events of a few hours later made him feel dizzy.

It felt like it would be easier to face three bishops at once rather than this.

At least there was a clear answer of victory in that case, but this was really…

“I can’t take this anymore…”

But the water had already been spilled. There was no way to escape now.

*

Inside Verter’s workshop.

Park Eun-ho, lifting a box filled with various pieces of evidence, asked the deputy chief.

“Is there anything else we need to take?”

“No. I think that’s all we have.”

The operation to eradicate the Red Sky Church had come to a successful conclusion, but there were still follow-up actions left.

They needed to thoroughly search through the enemy’s branch and eliminate any remaining threats, as well as relocate clues that might be useful in the future.

Only after staying up all night did the end of the work begin to come into view, but this was still remarkably fast compared to elsewhere.

Thanks to the efforts of Kim Il-shin and the Nangong brothers, there were very few remaining enemies in this branch.

As a result, they were able to almost skip the threat elimination process and concentrate solely on searching and moving clues.

“… It’s really horrifying. What could they have been saving this for?”

The deputy chief frowned as he observed a wall adorned with human remains.

Though he was a seasoned hero who had seen many battles, this was his first time witnessing such perfectly preserved corpses.

Uttering a silent curse over the suffering the victims must have endured in the process of making this, he couldn’t help but feel anger.

“There’s no need to try to understand a madman. Just organize it carefully and send it back to headquarters. There might be a chance to find the owner using magic.”

“Understood.”

As the deputy chief cautiously began to clean up, a few minutes passed.

“Uh?”

Something suspicious caught his eye.