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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Entrance Ceremony
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Shin Se-hee.
Normally, I wouldn't have even considered bringing her into the party, even if it meant making an enemy of her.
There were simply too many downsides to her becoming a party member, far outweighing any potential benefits.
She couldn't provide synergy for the party members through chemistry, nor was her ability so exceptional that it was irreplaceable.
On the contrary, she only caused trouble among party members.
And when she was grouped with Gukbap's party, even her somewhat useful magic became subpar, turning her into a burden. So, there was no reason to bring her in.
However, during this group sparring session, I discovered a new possibility for Shin Se-hee.
That was the management window.
In the phone game, it was the 'Operator' function, where users could monitor students' growth, manage schedules, and handle various convenience features.
But now that the game had become reality, such convenient functions no longer existed.
This meant I had to gather information manually, running around, and even assess the status of party members myself.
Doing missions on top of that would mean I'd need more than one body.
'But the information Shin Se-hee gave me about Gukbap's party was almost identical to the format of that student management window...'
The paper she handed me then contained the profiles of Gukbap's party members, their skills, synergies, and even various habits, all written in a neat handwriting.
'In the game, she was just a 'gap moe' one-trick pony, a character whose appeal was solely her character design, but in reality, she's specialized in handling information.'
"...A management window?"
Shin Se-hee tilted her head, as if the term was unfamiliar, and asked again.
"Yes, you wouldn't actually participate in combat. Your role would be to help manage the party from behind and provide information."
Her eyes widened.
"It's not a role where you're on the front lines with the party members, but merely a supportive one. How about it? Do you still want it? If not, refuse now."
I spoke firmly.
Given her strong pride, there was a high chance she would refuse this offer.
"Ha, Jin Yu-ha. Are you serious?"
Shin Se-hee let out a scoff, as if dumbfounded.
'As expected, a refusal...'
I had offered it because she seemed quite interested in the party, but it looked like a refusal after all.
I clicked my tongue in disappointment.
Giving an subspace tattoo to someone who wasn't even a party member felt a bit wasteful, but she wasn't the type to tolerate being in debt, so she'd probably repay me with other help later.
'No choice then... I'll have to find someone else for that role.'
Just as I turned to leave.
"That's truly—"
One corner of Shin Se-hee's mouth curled up into a grin as she stared intently at me.
"—a proposition that I find absolutely delightful."
'I thought she'd refuse out of pride... but she finds it delightful?'
I looked at her with questioning eyes.
"So, what you're saying, Jin Yu-ha, is that I'd be managing the party from behind?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Jin Yu-ha. Do you know something?"
The shadow disappeared from Shin Se-hee's face, and she wore a confident expression.
"I actually prefer to work in the shadows, you see?"
"...Ah."
"Being at the forefront is quite exhausting, you know."
Heheheh—
She truly seemed to be in a good mood, her face brightening as she smiled like sunshine.
"Ah, I'll accept your promise, Jin Yu-ha. That I won't lie to you and your party members. But in return for that promise, I also have a request."
"...A request?"
"Yes, if you grant me just that, I will do my best to serve your party."
* * *
Ding—♬
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Shin Se-hee [Flower Petal ✿] has invited
└ Kang Do-hee [Iron Fist].
└ Lee Yu-ri [NotGukbap].
└ Jin Yu-ha [Sword Demon].
[Iron Fist] — ?
[NotGukbap] — ?
[Sword Demon] — This is our party group chat.
[NotGukbap] — Ah, it's a party chat. Should I introduce myself first?
[Iron Fist] — Ah, a party group chat. Hmm? Wait a minute, that flower-head too...?
[Flower Petal ✿] — Hehe ☺️️ I'll explain about that. By the way, Iron Fist... Aren't you embarrassed~~?
[Iron Fist] — Shut up. I don't want to hear that from someone who calls herself Flower Petal.
[NotGukbap] — Hello. I'm Lee Yu-ri, the tank. I'll be taking on the role of tank in the party. Please take care of me. My experience totals 5 years; I've been a hunter since I was 15. And—
[Flower Petal ✿] — Excuse me, Gukbap. I'm the chat leader, so I'll introduce myself first, if you don't mind being quiet for a moment?
[NotGukbap] — I'm going to, I'm not Gukbap?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
What Shin Se-hee requested from me.
It was the formal title of 'Operator' and the 'chat leader' position in the party's group chat.
Honestly, I wondered why she would ask for such a thing, but she claimed that to manage the party members, despite not being a formal party member herself, she needed to at least have some authority.
'But does being the chat leader really give you authority...? And by the way, Shin Se-hee isn't intimidated by Lee Yu-ri in the chat?'
It seemed she could speak properly when not facing them directly.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Flower Petal ✿] — From now on, I will be acting as the 'Operator' for Jin Yu-ha's party. My role is to provide overall support to all of you, so please keep that in mind~~🥰
[Iron Fist] — Hey. Jin Yu-ha. Is this right? You're letting that girl into the party?
[Sword Demon (劍鬼)] — Strictly speaking, she's not a party member. She won't directly participate in clearings, and I'll still be giving the commands in the field.
[Flower Petal ✿] — That's right, that's right~~! My role is to handle information and schedules when there's no party activity, so we'll hardly ever clash directly~~?
[Iron Fist] — ...Can't you stop using those damn squiggly lines?
[Flower Petal ✿] — Please speak more nicely~ We're in the same group~~. And 'damn'? You're the one who's like a dog, aren't you?
[Iron Fist] — 🌈Don't talk nonsense🎉 🌈Shut up💫
[Flower Petal ✿] — Oh, just because you decorate your words doesn't make them pretty, you know?
"Shin Se-hee [Flower Petal ✿] has muted Kang Do-hee [Iron Fist] for 1 minute."
[NotGukbap] — Hmm. So I should call you Operator?
[Flower Petal ✿] — Yes, Gukbap. I'd appreciate that~
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Shin Se-hee, skillfully using her chat leader authority, controlled the room's atmosphere.
'This one's a chatroom tyrant.'
Indeed, with the chat leader position, it seemed they couldn't ignore Shin Se-hee's words just because she wasn't a party member.
Well, it seemed like a long way off until the party members became close, but that was fine.
After all, it was just the entrance ceremony. As they talked and interacted more, the awkwardness would gradually fade, wouldn't it?
I chuckled and turned off my phone screen.
'Sword Demon looks cooler with the Kanji after all.'
* * *
And the next day.
Finally, the day of the Velvet Hunter Academy Entrance Ceremony dawned.
The vast and sprawling main athletic field.
Murmur— Murmur—
Prospective students who had completed three weeks of training were gathered there.
They were lined up, each with their weapons, while instructors walked around, adjusting the students' spacing.
I, too, stood in line among the male students.
Click-clack—
Click-clack—
Click-clack—
With the sound of heels, a small girl with purple twin tails walked out, her face stern.
Soon, as she stood on the platform, the entire assembly instantly fell silent.
"..."
Lina, standing on the platform, had the microphone above her head.
She looked far too cute to be the academy's director.
She struggled for a long time, adjusting the microphone height, then, frustrated, kicked it hard.
Screeeeeech—
The microphone fell to the floor, emitting a sharp noise.
In truth, everyone wanted to say something.
But no one dared to utter a word.
'Wow, insane... Did she bind everyone's bodies with magic?'
Even if I tried to speak, my lips were glued shut and wouldn't part. And my eyes couldn't even blink; all I could do was stare at Lina.
She was probably trying to establish discipline. No one would dare disregard her after witnessing this divine power.
"Welcome."
A small, thin voice.
"Prospective students of Velvet Hunter Academy. I am Lina, the director of this academy."
But her voice pierced clearly into my ears.
"You all worked hard during the past three weeks of basic training."
Clap clap clap clap clap—
My hands moved on their own, clapping.
"From now on, prospective students will become official students and begin their journey to be reborn as true hunters, facing both Minds and Monsters."
This speech, at this moment, was all too familiar to me.
"Everything taught here will become your flesh and blood, and you will experience pushing past your own limits."
After all, it was a scene I had to watch every time I re-rolled* because I couldn't get the character I wanted.
There was no skip button, so I knew this scene by heart, even with my eyes closed.
"What you will learn here is not simply how to fight."
"You will learn honor."
"You will learn courage."
"And you will learn justice!"
Even though I had heard this familiar speech countless times.
Her voice, unfolding right before my eyes, felt incredibly unfamiliar.
"This place will provide the world's best education, so take pride as students of Velvet Hunter Academy!"
A shiver ran through my body.
"Welcome to Velvet Hunter Academy, students."
The coercive force that had enveloped my body was released.
Clap clap—
Even without the compulsion, students voluntarily began to clap, one by one.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap—
Wooooah—
A roar of applause.
Against the backdrop of that thunderous cheer,
the full-fledged academy life of "Velvet School Life!" began.
*Re-rolling: Resetting an account and starting over from the beginning if the desired outcome isn't achieved in a gacha pull. Short for 'reset marathon.'