The Academy’s FFF-Class Summons are SSS-class Hunters

Chapter 3: Books

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“D-deliver it safely, Piigy1.”

   

“coo.”

   

Lilil tied a letter to the pigeon's leg.
Since, this world lacks the conveniences of a smartphone.

   

‘Usually fantasy novels like these have a well developed civilization.’

   

Jinhyuk quickly realized that this world was not a world of convenience-oriented fantasy novels.
Even the toilet was said to be a conventional toilet, not one with a seat.
It seemed that it would take quite some time to adapt for a modernized mindset.

   

“The admission application is on the way… I’ll soon have to leave my home.”

   

Lilil looked around the room.
She didn't have any important memories in particular, but she grew affectionate for the house she had lived in since she lost her family.
For someone who rarely left her home, it was her entire world.

   

“When’s the admission?”

   

“There’s a week left.
From here, Triina, to the capital it will take four days on a carriage, so we’ll have to leave in three days.”

   

“I see.”

   

What’s there to do for a week? It didn't seem like there was much in this world to be enjoyed.
Jinhyuk would pass the time by talking, but Lilil pulled out her book and began reading on her desk.

   

“That book, is it from earlier? There are No Bad Summons in the World.”

   

“No.
It’s…”

   

Lilil slightly lifted to show the cover.
It was titled 'How to Get Close with a Stranger’.

   

“How many times have you read it?”

   

“This is the first…”

   

“When did you buy it?”

   

“Three years ago.”

   

“Hmm, is that so?”

   

Jinhyuk looked at Lilil's bookshelf.
There were countless books.
But many looked new, never touched before.
Some were even left wrapped in their package.

   

‘I guess she buys books that seem helpful and reads them accordingly.’

   

But can you learn something like conversational skills from a book? Everyone's conversation style will be different.

   

'Well it’d probably make her feel more at ease for at least reading about it.'

   

Jinhyuk was well aware that Lilil was different when talking to Ishizu and to herself.
She has no problems speaking to Ishizu, but often panicked when talking to herself as if she’s scared.

   

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“I’ll read a book too.”

   

“Mr.
Jinhyuk, do you like to read books?”

   

Jinhyuk took a moment to answer.

Do I like to read books?

He was not ready to answer that question.
Not because he didn’t know if he likes to read, but because he barely had anything he liked in the first place.

   

'I've lived a really boring life.'

   

Jinhyuk replied with a bitter smile.

   

“You’re reading, so I’m gonna do the same.
There’s nothing else to do, too.”

   

“Ah… I’m sorry.
I want to spend some time together, but I don't know how to do that yet…
”

   

“Do not be sorry.
There's no rush in getting to know each other.
It’s only our first day, right?”

   

“Ye-ye-yes, of course.”

   

Lilil stuttered through her response and returned to her book.

   

‘Now what should I read?’

   

Jinhyuk looked around the bookshelf.
Lilil says she spent most of her time reading books, so it’d be easy to learn what kind of kid LIlil is by looking at the books she read the most.

   

No matter how kind and delicate of a child Lilil is, fifteen is where your emotional sensitivity peaks – that’s something to be considerate.
Jinhyuk hated people who lacked sympathy.
He wanted to be the last person to be that way.

   

‘That book seems to be it.’

   

Jinhyuk picked out a book that seemed obviously read and worn.

   

The title brought a smile.

   

‘What it Means to be a Summoner.’

   

How many times did she read this to become a great summoner? Who could hide a smile after seeing how hard one’s striving for their dream.
Especially when you lived so differently – with no ambition.

   

‘But I don’t think I’d understand anything in this book, how about…’

   

Right next to it, Jinhyuk saw another book that seemed worn out through reading.

   

The moment he read the title, he frowned.

   

'How To Strengthen Magical Powers.'

   

To imagine how hard she must’ve tried to increase how magical strength, knowing that she has a talent for summoning.
The despair of failing to get anything out of the book.
It wasn’t something Jinhyuk could fathom.

   

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‘Let’s see.’

   

Jinhyuk opened the book and started reading through it.
It was easy enough to breeze through it.
In 20 minutes, he completed the book with a bitter smile.

   

‘She must’ve felt terrible.’

   

There are two main ways to increase magical power.
One is to eat special foods, and the other is to grow spiritually and attain enlightenment.

   

However, enlightenment through spiritual growth is different for everyone.
This book simply was a record of different cases of enlightenment.

   

Then the only remaining option is to eat special food, which was stupid in its own way.
How would Lilil, who has no power, kill monsters to eat them? Impossible.

   

‘It seems there is no choice but to use my strength.’

   

500 push-ups doesn’t seem easy in this world.
Ishizu's reaction makes it obvious.
No matter how limited Jinhyuk’s power was, he should at least be able to kill the weakest monster.

   

‘There must be monsters like goblins and orcs in this world too, right? They may serve as a good meal.’

   

The question now was where you could find them.

   

‘Maybe there’s a Monster Encyclopedia?’

   

Jinhyuk looked around the bookshelf to no avail.
She may not have bought it thinking she would never be able to kill one for the rest of her life.

   

He instead found another seriously worn book.
Unlike others, it was a notebook.
Pulling it out from curiosity, it didn’t even have a title.

   

'What is this?'

   

Jinhyuk slowly opened it.
A picture of a man and a woman.
Below it were written in crooked letters – Dad and Mom.

   

‘Seems like her dead  parents.’

   

It's not that he wasn't curious.
He just didn’t want to touch on Lilil’s painful memories by asking.

   

‘Absolute evil killed them, right?'

  

What is absolute evil? Jinhyuk turned to the next page carefully, avoiding damage to the paintings.

   

‘The Cruel One and the Seven Great Demons?’

   

Although the crooked writing seemed clumsy, it was soon obvious through reading that the content was not.

It was organized quite logically, making it easy to understand what kind of existence the cruel one and the seven great Demons were.

It wasn't because Jinhyuk was smart.
It was just well written.
Jinhyuk bit his lip at the emotions contained in the text.

   

‘It’s a kid’s writing.
To think of how sad and angry she must have been.’

   

Jinhyuk read it all and closed the notebook with a confused mind.

   

‘The cruel one.’

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People of this world develop a talent at the age of 15, but the talent did not make you invincible.
A talent’s strength stems from your spirit, and is the materialization of it.

The cruel one finds a gap in that spirit and turns it evil, and when that happens, makes you lose consciousness and drown in traumatic experiences, turning you into a evil spirit.

   

‘Of course, not everyone becomes one.’

   

The Cruel One doesn’t blindly poke through the gaps.
Rather ironically, he asks kindly, asking if they want his powers.

   

If they graciously accept, they lose their humanity and become a demon.
Those who received the most power from the cruel one are the Seven Great Demons.

   

‘If you become a demon, you keep your consciousness, but your humanity is ruined, and if you become an evil spirit, you lose your consciousness… It's a tragedy one way or another.
The Cruel One is a fitting name.’

   

Humans are the only beings The Cruel One can defile.
Since humans who turn into demons do great damage to other races as well, The Cruel One and demons are considered absolute evil.

   

‘Well then.
Not even the King of the Gate, who just stupidly spat out monsters, is a match for it.’

   

What if The Cruel One was in Hell Joseon?2 Could have been a real hell.
Jinhyuk shuddered at such a terrifying thought.

   

‘Though… it would be less sad if the Demon was what harmed Lilil's parents.'

   

Jinhyuk had thought of the worst-case scenario as he read through.
Where Lilil's parents became evil spirits and ran wild until they were eliminated.
He read it wishing that that wasn’t the case, but it was hopeless.

   

Lilil's father became an evil spirit.

Even young Lilil couldn't figure out why.

   

All she knew was that her father became an evil spirit, with her mother killing him with her own two hands.
She died failing to recover from the fatal serious injuries In the process.
That's all she knew.

   

‘And she lost her surname, all because she’s a daughter of an evil spirit…
’

   

It’s unknown how important surnames are for nobles.
But seeing how proudly Ishizu spoke of her family, it must be considered precious.

   

Still, Lilil did not grieve over the loss of her surname.
Rather, the emotions in her writing were her longing for warmth, sadness in the wishes to see her parents again, the rage to have her revenge with The Cruel One,

   

And, a feeling of helplessness that she could do none of that in reality.

   

‘The fact that Lilil’s talent is summoning, and that the summoned is the strongest man on Earth.’

   

Could this be a mere coincidence?

   

Talents stem from your spirit.
It can’t be a coincidence.
Lilil longed for a being who could do something, as she knew she couldn’t do anything on her own.
At the same time, desperate to feel the warmth of living with someone.

   

That is why her talent is summoning.

   

‘Well, if my guess is right.'

   

It was clear why Lilil dreams to become strong at the academy.
To get her revenge with The Cruel One.

   

‘Killing The Cruel One should save the world, right?'

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That didn’t matter.
Jinhyuk wasn’t interested in protecting the world, but he wasn’t against helping Lilil's revenge.

   

‘I wouldn’t do it for anyone, but not Lilil.’

   

Jinhyuk liked Lilil.3 The more he learned about what kind of kid she is, the more he wanted to help.
The honor of saving the damn world meant nothing, but helping the kid he likes would mean something.
It sounds fun too.

   

'I’m feeling motivated.'

   

Jinhyuk smiled and put the book back on the bookshelf.
At the same time, Lilil also stretched and got up, seemingly finished with her book.

   

“You finished it?”

   

“Yes, for now.”

   

“Is it fun to read?”

   

“No, it’s not.”

   

“Then why are you reading?”

   

“Because it’s the only way I can grow, even a little… ”

   

An ambiguous growth of the mind – Lilil may believe that books could give that kind of growth.

   

But books aren’t enough.
Jinhyuk thought that while books are important, the experience to supplement them is as important.
He wanted to spend a lot of time with Lilil and have a lot of experience.

   

“Wanna go get some air? I want to see what the world is like.”

   

At Jinhyuk's question, Lilil recalled the book she had just read and ‘There are No Bad Summons in the World’.

   

'If a stranger or a summon suggests doing something, smile, nod, and follow along.'

   

Lilil smiled brightly and nodded her head twice.

   

“Of course, of course.
Our Mr.
Jinhyuk wanted to go out and play, I see?”

   

“Is that from the book you just read?”

   

“Of course, of course.
It is from the book.”

   

“It’s trash.”

   

Jinhyuk muttered, pointing his finger at the book Lilil had just read.

   

“Fire.”

   

What used to be a book was turned to ashes.