CHAPTER 288: NEW DAWN [2]

Click—!

Seraphine’s lighter snapped shut, a thin curl of smoke fading into the air. She exhaled slowly, her expression unreadable behind her sunglasses.

The giant shifted beside her, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, I really wasn’t planning to kill him. Just wanted to see what he had. He looked... promising."

Her head tilted slightly, just enough for him to feel the weight of her silence.

"See? That’s the problem," she said at last, her voice even, almost casual. "If you ’test’ him, he ends up broken. Even if he survives, we gain nothing except attention we don’t need."

The giant frowned. "So you’re mad about that?"

Seraphine shook her head, slipping the lighter back into her clutch. "No. Not that."

His brows drew together. "...Then what? You sick of me already?"

That earned him a sharp laugh—short, amused, and dangerous. "Don’t flatter yourself. You’re useful enough, when you listen."

He grunted, folding his arms. "Then what’s got you like this?"

For a moment, Seraphine didn’t answer. Her golden eyes, hidden beneath her lenses, flicked back to where the group of cadets sat under the roses. Her tone, when it came, was quieter than before.

"...It might’ve just been my imagination," she said.

The giant leaned down. "What?"

"One of those kids." She let the words hang, almost tasting them. "They smelled... familiar."

He blinked, not understanding. "Familiar? As in—?"

"Similar to me."

That shut him up for a moment. Then his mouth curved into something like excitement. "...You’re saying one of them’s got the Omnipotent talent?"

Seraphine’s lips pressed together in a thin line. She shook her head slowly. "No. Not exactly. I’m not certain. But it was there—like a shadow of it. A trace."

The giant’s grin widened, teeth flashing. "If that’s true, then we should grab them. Secure them. Wouldn’t it be better to find out sooner rather than later?"

Finally, Seraphine turned to look at him fully, and for the first time since the encounter, her smile returned. It wasn’t the smooth, polished mask she’d worn with the kids earlier.

No, this one was different.

This one was sharp. Confident. Predatory.

"Well," she murmured, "it would be good if we could."

Her sunglasses caught the light as she adjusted them, hiding the hunger in her eyes. "After all... why waste an opportunity?"

----

Rin’s POV

"Ta-da! Quiz time! Who am I?"

I froze.

Two hands covered my eyes from behind, and a body pressed a little too close against my back.

For a second, my brain short-circuited.

No way. Was I really experiencing one of those clichés I’d only ever seen in manhwas? Someone sneaking up, playful guessing game, way too much physical contact?

Wow. After transmigrating into a novel, I guess I get the full package.

Still... I wanted to give two humble pieces of advice to my culprit.

First—this kind of prank? Way too intimate unless we’re dating.

Second—considering their physique, there was no way I couldn’t guess who it was. They could cover my eyes all they wanted, but those... unmistakable features pressing against my back were louder than any introduction.

My mind went blank for a second. Heavy. Warm. Soft.

The destructive force of those two lumps was on par with a natural disaster. A villain’s terrorist attack would’ve felt merciful in comparison.

And yet, the mysterious assailant didn’t seem like they were going to let go unless I answered their little game.

"...Professor Lena?" I said slowly.

The hands lifted.

Sure enough, standing there with a smug little grin, was the professor herself.

Of all people.

What was she doing here? Wasn’t she supposed to be at the academy?

It was lucky I’d come back earlier than the others.

If they were here with me right now... yeah, I had no idea how I’d even begin to explain this.

Fortunately, I was alone.

I’d told them I’d head back first since I couldn’t keep up with their superhuman pace.

They’d insisted on walking me, worried like older siblings, but I waved them off. It would’ve felt awkward to make them slow down just for me—especially when we were supposed to be enjoying the day.

And then, here she was.

"Yes, correct," she said, her voice carrying that same confident lilt I remembered. "You can tell who I am just by my voice now?"

Well... not exactly just by her voice. The way she stood, the faint perfume I recognized, even her slightly smug aura—it all gave her away.

But she looked so proud, chest puffed out like she’d just won something important, that I didn’t have the heart to say otherwise.

I gave her a small nod. "...Yeah. Pretty much."

Her grin widened.

I sighed. "Professor, please let go. What if the others see us?"

Because right now, she was clinging to me like it was the most natural thing in the world.

And to make things more complicated, there was my sister—Rachel—standing a few steps away, watching with her usual sharp-eyed scrutiny.

Well, not my real sister, but close enough.

Which made the whole scene even harder to explain.

I also wanted what she was doing here to but I guess she came along with professor Lena.

Rachel crossed her arms, one eyebrow arched so high it looked like it might detach from her forehead.

"Well," she drawled, "isn’t this a suspiciously coincidental reunion."

Professor Lena, still attached to me like some kind of octopus in human form, didn’t even flinch. If anything, she tightened her grip, chin resting lightly on my shoulder as if to announce, Yes, I’m here, and yes, I’m staying.

I could already see the gears turning in Rachel’s head. She didn’t even need to say it out loud—I knew she was running through at least five different explanations, all of them terrible for my reputation.

I cleared my throat, trying to pry Lena’s arm off. "Professor, seriously. People will misunderstand."

"People like her?" she said with a playful glance toward Rachel. "What’s there to misunderstand? You guessed correctly, and that means you win the prize."

"...Prize?" I repeated, my tone dangerously flat.

Her grin widened, smug as ever. "Getting to walk around the festival with me, of course."

Rachel’s eyes narrowed to slits. "Oh, is that how professors are spending their time nowadays? Dragging students around like... dates?"

"Correction," Lena shot back without missing a beat, "this isn’t dragging. This is volunteering. He could’ve refused."

"Could he?" Rachel muttered. "Because it looks like if he tried, you’d just glue yourself tighter."

I groaned inwardly. This was spiraling fast. Exactly the kind of scene I wanted to avoid, and exactly the kind of scene that would make explaining myself impossible if the others showed up right now.

"Okay, okay," I said quickly, holding up my hands. "How about we—uh—just... start over? Professor, Sister, why are you here? Together?"

Rachel’s lips curved in a smirk—but not the friendly kind. The you’re in trouble kind.

"Did your senior not tell you? We’re here as guardians. Watching over you."

...Guardians, huh?

Somehow, I really doubted that. But since they had permission, I couldn’t exactly argue.

Before I could say anything, Professor Lena turned her attention to me.

"Why did you come back alone? Weren’t you spending time with your friends?"

"Oh... well." I scratched my cheek. "I was tired, so I decided to come first."

The word slipped out too easily. Tired.

And the second it left my mouth, I regretted it.

Both Rachel and Professor Lena froze, their expressions shifting into the exact same worried look—the ultimate overprotective duo.

"Are you very tired? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Rachel asked, already half-serious.

Professor Lena frowned thoughtfully. "It’s the weekend, so the emergency room might be the only option..."

"...Wait, what? No! You’re both exaggerating." I waved my hands quickly. "I’m not sick. I’m just... tired. That’s all. The others will be back soon anyway. Ryen was excited, saying he’d grill meat for the seniors too."

That seemed to calm them down a little, though not much.

"You’re sure?" Lena asked, studying me carefully. She placed her palm on my forehead before I could stop her. "...No fever."

Rachel, standing beside her, fidgeted like she didn’t know whether to scold me or wrap me in a blanket. She let out a small sigh instead.

"As long as you’re not sick," she muttered, "then fine."

The atmosphere softened, warm and protective in a way that made me shift uncomfortably in my seat.

"...Seriously," I mumbled, crossing my arms. "I’m not going to collapse just because I said I was tired."

"Words matter," Lena said gently. "You can’t throw them around so carelessly. You have people who’ll worry."

Rachel gave a short nod, her eyes narrowing. "Exactly. You’re not allowed to casually scare us like that."

Great. Now they were teaming up.

"I wasn’t scaring anyone," I said, but my voice came out weaker than I intended. Maybe because, deep down, I knew they weren’t wrong.

For a moment, silence settled between us, broken only by the faint chatter outside the room.

Then Rachel leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. "Next time, don’t come back alone. Even if you’re just ’tired.’ Got it?"

I sighed, knowing there was no way I could win. "...Got it."

Lena smiled, soft and satisfied, like she’d just finished tucking in a stubborn child.

...What was this, really? A lecture, a check-up, or an ambush of affection?

Either way, it was overwhelming.

----

Author Note:

Thank you for reading the Chapter. I hope you continue to do read more in future.

It’s my second novel so if there’s any kind of mistakes you find in the novel related to grammar please tell me and I’ll edit it as soon as possible.