The Villains I Taught Became Heroes - Chapter 64



63 – Who Will You Go With – 1

Arisha began learning martial arts from a very young age.

Arisha’s parents were busy people.

And rightly so, as both her father and mother were members of the Republic’s assembly.

Though they held high positions and lacked nothing in life, Arisha spent a lot of time alone.

Feeling sorry for her, Arisha’s father had asked his brother for help.

Could he teach Arisha martial arts and keep her company?

For the martial king, who was traveling the continent to test his skills, it was a bothersome task, but he couldn’t ignore it for his only niece.

And when he first taught her the Arang style, he realized something.

His niece was a genius.

From that point on, the martial king traveled the continent with Arisha.

Though she was the child of a noble family, Arisha was bright, curious, and adaptable, so traveling with the martial king was not difficult for her.

The same went for martial arts.

As is often the case with geniuses, she quickly mastered the Arang style.

However, the martial king did not teach her any other martial arts besides Arang.

Thus, Arisha had only practiced Arang, and her skills were developing beyond her years.

But that also meant it was becoming quite tedious for her.

She knew it all.

—

The Arangkwon is something I have become so familiar with that I can unfold it even with my eyes closed.

Yet, it was only natural that I would grow weary when progress stalled.

And so, just as my interest in martial arts began to wane, I encountered him.

Lee Hyun.

A movement that could make Arisha’s heart race.

A martial art more beautiful than that of the King of Martial Arts.

A movement as natural as water. With minimal effort, he could overpower his opponent, and Arisha found herself utterly captivated.

Her lost interest in martial arts began to rekindle.

It was delightful.

To learn something new.

Like water seeping into dry earth, Arisha quickly absorbed the new martial art into her body.

Thus, it was a pity that she had to part ways with him.

But she could endure it.

Because Lee Hyun remained in her memories.

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She could recall him each time she reminisced.

And.

They had promised to meet again.

.

.

.

“Umm…”

It’s a dream I haven’t had in a long time.

Arisha sat on the bed, unable to brush aside her flowing hair, scratching her head.

As she stretched and yawned, she stepped into the living room, where a woman emerged from the bathroom, freshly washed.

A beauty with deep silver hair.

Every time she saw someone, she would flinch, but within her lay formidable magic and knowledge—a great sorceress.

It was Lena, the head of the Colorless Tower.

“Sister! Good morning~!”

“Ah. Uh. Th-th, good morning…”

Lena replied in a stammering voice before darting into her room as if fleeing.

It had been several days since they met, and Arisha wished she could be treated more comfortably, but Lena seemed to struggle with interacting with others.

“Hmm. I can’t understand it, but…”

Isn’t conversing with people enjoyable?

Why does she find it so difficult?

But people are all different, aren’t they?

Let’s just choose to understand, Arisha thought as she stepped outside.

The chilly morning air was cooling her body. Feeling it, Arisha turned her gaze gently toward the instructor’s quarters.

‘Has he woken up?’

If he hasn’t, sneaking in to wake him wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Would it be alright to skip morning training just to see Lee Hyun’s sleeping face? That thought swirled in her mind, but she soon smiled brightly.

—

It wasn’t because she had given up trying to infiltrate his room.

It was because she had spotted someone coming out of the training hall.

“Teacher!”

“Oh, Arisha. Good morning.”

“Yes! Good morning!”

Was she out for morning training like herself?

Should she invite him to join her? That was what she was thinking.

“Uh? Teacher, your hair is sticking up!”

“Where?”

“Here!”

The back of Lee Hyun’s head was slightly raised.

Seeing that, Arisha ran over like a puppy and pressed it down gently.

After a few presses, his hair settled a bit.

‘He looks cute even when he’s sleepy~.’

He always seemed perfect during training sessions.

So this is how he looks in the morning~. Arisha thought, smiling brightly.

Lee Hyun, who gave her a wry smile, lightly stretched his body.

“Did you come out for morning training? Want to join me?”

“Yes!!”

Just as she raised her hand with a big smile, a voice came from behind.

“I also need to do morning training. Would you like to join me?”

Arisha froze for a moment at the voice that came from behind.

When she turned to look, she saw So Wol smiling.

Was she returning from early morning prayers?

Unlike herself and Lee Hyun, who were dressed casually, So Wol looked stunning in her uniform.

In her comfortable shorts and a fitted t-shirt, she felt out of place next to So Wol, who looked incredibly beautiful in her attire.

‘Ugh.’

Seeing So Wol approach Lee Hyun with a smile made a corner of her heart sting.

Gently pressing her slightly full chest, Arisha looked at Lee Hyun.

Even when he was talking to So Wol, a smile was painted on his face.

That made Arisha feel quite bitter.

For Arisha, practicing martial arts was about continuously envisioning an ideal and striving to follow it.

From the moment she learned the wall-hopping technique until now, and even now, Lee Hyun’s form was the most ideal for her.

So it was only natural that his image would come to mind every time she practiced.

Though their time together had been short, the time she had spent thinking about him stretched over several years.

He was handsome, beautiful.

It was only natural for her to think of Lee Hyun that way.

That’s why Arisha wished others would recognize how wonderful he was.

But then.

Why did it feel so bitter?

“…Arisha?”

“Uh?! Yes! Teacher!”

“You seem distracted. Is something wrong?”

“Um… It’s nothing!”

“I’ll let you try the Byeokhwanjang, so go ahead.”

“Uh… What about So-wol?”

“She’s meditating over there.”

So-wol’s Moonlight Sword was complete.

There was no reason to add or take anything away from it.

In other words, just by meditating alone, So-wol could be considered sufficient. But Arisha was different.

The Arang-kwon and Byeokhwanjang. She had mastered these two martial arts to a level that was impressive for her age, but they were not yet complete.

With Lena and So-wol’s arrival, her power had increased, but the most crucial factor in achieving the true ending was none other than Arisha herself.

If Arisha didn’t grow stronger, it would be problematic.

“Don’t you need to train too, Teacher?”

“It’s not more important than teaching you, so don’t worry.”

Thump. Her heart raced.

His warm words pulled the thorns from deep within her chest.

‘Ah, he’s really amazing!’

As Arisha looked at Lee Hyun, who was smiling, she thought while receiving his guidance.

Still, she wanted to keep this coolness to herself.

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.

.

Just because it’s a combat class doesn’t mean they only train for battle.

To prove this, a female instructor stood in front of Class 1-A.

With her thin arms and legs, she seemed far removed from combat.

And indeed, that was the case.

The subject she taught was composition.

“I’m sure many of you are wondering why you need to learn composition in a combat class. However, writing is surprisingly important in your daily life. Um, So-wol, you would know, right?”

“You can just call me So-wol. And to answer your question… Yes. Once you reach a certain level, you can’t just focus on combat.”

Unless one intended to become a solitary seeker of martial arts like a Sword King or a Sword Master, it was natural to interact with others.

In that process, reports and such would often need to be written, and it was only natural that writing skills would be necessary at those times.

Of course, there were countless other situations where writing skills would be required.

“This class is designed to enhance your basic writing abilities. Now, let’s wrap up the introductions and dive into the main lesson, shall we?”

With a light smile, the instructor clapped her hands.

“It’s been a few days since you all enrolled, so I assume you’ve met some friends by now. Let’s see… with a total of 25 students, could five of you who get along well pair up?”

At her words, the students moved busily, but a few remained completely still.

It was simple. Their high status made it difficult for the other students to approach them easily.

Especially in the case of So-wol and Lena, it was even more pronounced.

Their status and skills were so high that it instilled a sense of awe and made others feel burdened.

As the team began to form, excluding them, Arisha let out a deep sigh.

“Rifa. You’re going to be on the same team as me, right?”

“Huh? Well, I guess… why?”

“I’m planning to team up with those people.”

“But the prince went over there… what’s left are the princess, the saint, and the overseer, right? Ugh… won’t that be a bit overwhelming?”

In response to her, Arisha smiled brightly.

“Not at all!”

“If that’s the case…”

Having made friends with all the members of her class in just a few days, Arisha boldly approached them to propose a team.

The others, pretending to be reluctant, accepted Arisha’s suggestion, and just like that, a team was quickly formed.

As the other students gathered in their own teams, the female instructor smiled and quickly wrote on the blackboard.

“Today’s class is a time to evaluate your writing skills. After choosing a single topic, you will write and present on it.”

“What is the topic?”

“Someone you respect.”

Writing about someone you respect.

It’s not a particularly difficult topic.

As everyone let out a sigh of relief, the instructor stepped back, and discussions began within the teams.

“Then we should decide on a topic… who should we choose?”

“If we choose His Majesty, King Seirdon Deorant II, who is a star of our kingdom and renowned as a saintly ruler, I think many from other countries would respect him as well. Wouldn’t that be alright?”

Rifa gave a wry smile at her confident suggestion.

If that’s the case, Sowol and Lena might choose the Pope and another overseer from the Ivory Tower, respectively.

“Then let’s decide by majority vote!”

“That sounds good.”

“That seems best!”

Confident Lumina wrote down a name on a piece of paper and handed it over.

Seeing that, the others also wrote down names and handed them in, and soon they were able to decide on whom to choose.

“Then shall we have Group 1 announce their choice?”

“Yes!”

The first to raise her hand was Arisha.

As the instructor looked at her with a pleased smile, Arisha beamed and said,

“We’ve decided on Teacher Lee Hyun!”

Arisha cheerfully spoke, ignoring Lumina’s slightly displeased gaze.