Is he really that Luce?
Mouth slightly open, Sihyeon looked at Luce with suspicion in his eyes. He couldn’t understand why the world’s number one Awakened would be leisurely hanging around on someone else’s school field trip ship. When he asked if it was true, the man shot back, asking if he’d spent his whole life being fooled. For someone who was supposedly American, his Korean was remarkably fluent.
“You’re really good at Korean.”
“I’m just naturally exceptional.”
Ah… I see.
In an instant, Sihyeon’s evaluation of him plummeted straight down. He’d thought someone ranked number one among Awakened would be different somehow, but this guy’s arrogance and unpleasantness were basically an upgraded version of Lee Hamin. With both absurd ability stats and looks to match, Sihyeon clicked his tongue and turned toward the teachers.
“Was he hired by the Association too?”
“Huh?”
At the word “hired,” the man reacted as if it were ridiculous, even letting out a dry laugh. Judging by that response, Sihyeon realized he’d completely missed the mark. It had just been a guess, but apparently not.
As he looked back at Luce, the man—misreading his gaze—started talking about his own value. He casually mentioned that his worth would easily exceed the entire cost of this school trip. Whether that was true or not, Sihyeon couldn’t care less.
“So, how did you end up here?”
“We were just about to ask him that when you woke up, Sihyeon.”
“Ah….”
At the teacher’s reply, Sihyeon let out a short sound of understanding and stepped back slightly, letting them continue. After checking Sihyeon’s condition once more, the teachers turned to Luce.
“When did you enter Korea? The Association didn’t receive any notice.”
“Of course not. I came in secretly.”
“…What?”
For a moment, Sihyeon thought he’d misheard. Luce spoke so confidently that Sihyeon could only stare at him, stunned by this absurdly shameless illegal entrant.
“…You came in secretly?”
“They said a Quadruple showed up, right? Then it’s only polite to come see for myself.”
If that required illegal entry, then it didn’t seem very polite at all.
Instead of saying it out loud, Sihyeon stared at him like he was insane. Before, he’d just thought of him as someone strong and famous—but now, he looked like nothing more than a delinquent.
And he’s not even that young.
Sihyeon didn’t know his exact age, but he’d heard he was in his late twenties. Not old, but not exactly young either. Meaning—he should’ve been mature. Watching the so-called strongest human in existence act like this made Sihyeon genuinely worry about humanity’s future.
Meanwhile, after being stunned for a while, one of the teachers finally managed to speak.
“So the Association doesn’t know about this?”
“Probably not. I was going to formally request a meeting, but things have been hectic in the U.S. After handling a Rift, I heard you were going on a school trip. If I waited any longer, I’d miss my chance, so the one who cares moves first.”
So I came, like this.
He was completely unapologetic. Not hiding anything, he even casually said he’d used Teleportation to get here. It was one absurd revelation after another.
As everyone stood there speechless, Luce seemed thoroughly amused. Laughing, he spoke in a playful tone.
“Still, I’ll meet the Association President before I leave, so don’t worry too much. If anything, I helped—I didn’t cause any harm, right? I was really just planning to quietly observe the Quadruple and leave.”
Muttering almost to himself, he looked at Sihyeon. As his attention shifted to him, Sihyeon—who had been draping a blanket over his shoulders that Geonwoo handed him—met his gaze.
A brief silence followed. Luce simply stared at him without saying anything, which struck Sihyeon as odd. Then, realizing something, Sihyeon lowered his head.
“Thank you for saving me.”
“If a Quadruple’s in danger, I should help.”
“……”
“Guess you owe me one now?”
Ah…
Understanding the implication behind those words, Sihyeon let out a quiet groan. It would’ve been nice if he’d just treated it as a good deed, but judging by his attitude, that didn’t seem likely. Clearly, he intended to use this favor someday.
Looks like I might have to go to the U.S. at some point.
Letting out a sigh at the thought of being entangled with such a troublesome person, the very cause of that sigh scolded him instead.
“Where do you get off sighing at your savior like that?”
Sihyeon blinked at the blue eyes staring at him. For a moment, he wondered if the so-called “land of courtesy” was actually America, not Korea.
Meanwhile, a teacher who had been tapping on their phone spoke up again.
“We’ve contacted the Association for now. Since you didn’t enter through the airport, this will be treated as illegal entry, so we’ll need you to accompany us to the Association…”
“I told you, I was planning to.”
“…Understood.”
The teacher responded to the man, who spoke as if it were no big deal. Once their conversation ended, silence settled over the group. Naturally, all eyes turned in one direction.
“…What is it?”
Feeling uneasy under the collective gaze, Sihyeon asked. The response came immediately—they were asking if he was okay.
He’d already said it several times, but he had to repeat himself yet again.
Thanks to Heal, he wasn’t in pain, and he’d coughed up all the seawater he’d swallowed. The only discomfort left was the lingering salty taste in his mouth and the chill creeping in from his soaked clothes. It was also quite unfortunate that the Clean skill didn’t dry seawater.
Other than that, he was completely fine.
And yet, the looks directed at him were anything but ordinary. Sensing something was off, Sihyeon watched as the teachers, who seemed like they had something to say, hesitated and bit their lips instead. The same went for the Association’s Awakened beside them.
“I’m really fine.”
For a moment, he even considered getting up and spinning around to prove it. Just as he was debating it, the teachers’ expressions darkened further, and they shut their eyes tightly.
“…I’m sorry.”
“……”
“We failed to protect you and made you sacrifice yourself.”
“Ah….”
The atmosphere suddenly turned heavy. As they apologized for failing in their duty, Sihyeon frowned, feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles. It felt like a scene straight out of a movie.
The opponent had been a Catastrophe-level Irregular—what were they supposed to do? If they had recklessly tried to kill it and ended up dying themselves, the first-year students of Strongest High, left stranded at sea, might have become Kraken food. They had made the best decision they could. It wasn’t like they hadn’t tried.
Recalling how the teachers had been swatted away by the Titan, Sihyeon insisted once more that he was fine.
He was fine. The teachers had fulfilled their roles. The situation had simply been unfortunate.
But even if he said that, it wouldn’t erase their guilt.
Knowing that, Sihyeon was just about to say something to lighten the mood—
“It’s because you’re incompetent.”
“……”
At that single sentence, a cold silence fell over the ship.
All the effort Sihyeon had spent trying to ease the tension vanished instantly. His brows drew together at the blunt remark, which lacked even a shred of consideration, and he turned toward the speaker.
The man shrugged.
His gaze remained fixed on Sihyeon, who was still completely soaked.
“Just today, he almost died three times.”
His low voice calmly listed the three incidents at sea—Kraken, Siren, and Titan. At his words, the students who had lived through those moments flinched. Luce took a step closer to Sihyeon.
“Three times, you almost lost a Quadruple for nothing.”
And one who still has two Class Engravings left, at that.
With each objective fact he stated, the hands of the Association Awakened and the teachers began to tremble. Sihyeon noticed and glanced at them, but Luce’s eyes never left him.
“Quadruple.”
At the call, Sihyeon looked back at him. The man now stood just three steps away. His wet golden hair retained its brilliance even under the cold, dark sky, as if he had stolen the color of the heavens themselves.
Smirking, he slowly spoke.
“Want to come to the IRS?”
“…What?”
“Mr. Luce!”
“What are you—!”
The teachers cried out in shock at his blatant attempt to recruit national talent in front of everyone. Alarmed, they hurriedly tried to stop him, but Luce merely scoffed and looked around at them with a disdainful expression.
“Seems like a waste for a country without the qualifications to keep him. If you come to the IRS, I can protect you until you finish all your Class Engravings—and until you’ve grown strong enough. Not just from Hazard or Warning-level threats, but even from Catastrophe-level ones.”
Like today.
The man who had pulled him from the Titan’s grasp presented that as proof. Meanwhile, the teachers—who had failed to do so—looked at Sihyeon helplessly.
If Sihyeon chose to go, they couldn’t forcibly stop him. If news broke that Korea was trying to monopolize a Quadruple who wanted to go to the U.S., the global media would tear them apart. Other countries, already eyeing the Quadruple, wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.
As one teacher tried to step in, saying Sihyeon hadn’t even been contacted by Korean guilds yet—
“Are you forcing me?”
“It’s an offer.”
“Then I refuse.”
“…Hm?”
The immediate rejection made the man frown. Sihyeon briefly glanced at the pale-faced teachers before continuing.
“Today was different because it’s a school trip, but school itself is safe, so I don’t think I need protection. Thank you for saving me, but I’ll decline your offer.”
His tone was calm, without a trace of hesitation. Seeing the teachers visibly relax, Sihyeon looked back at Luce.
At a glance, the man was clearly insane. Even though he had saved him, going to the U.S.—where he knew no one—and living under his protection sounded far worse than staying at Strongest High, with room and board provided, petting Pia and living peacefully.
“I’m sorry.”
With that simple statement, Sihyeon even bowed his head, firmly sealing his decision.
Luce’s eyebrow twitched.
A cold gaze landed on him. Feeling it burn into the back of his head, Sihyeon kept his head lowered, only moving his eyes as he swallowed dryly.
For some reason, he had a very bad feeling about this.
