novelraw Chapter 53 : Chapter 53
Chapter 53 : Chapter 53
Chapter 53: Five Days of Time (1)
Although I wanted to head home with a light heart, I found myself trudging along the path, utterly exhausted mentally. Somehow, I arrived at a familiar place.
It was the spot where I had my first serious conversation with Kim Su-hyeok.
"It has been a long time since I was here..."
I was not sure if "a long time" was the right expression. It had only been a few months since I arrived in this world.
However, in terms of how the time felt, "a long time" seemed appropriate. Considering everything that had happened, those few months felt more like several years.
"Thinking back, I really overstepped my bounds."
I had told him that the justice he wanted to achieve was half-baked and that his version of justice might end up causing even greater harm to others.
It was truly a laughable story—that someone like me, who occupied the position of a mere extra, would spout such words to the protagonist. I am certainly not a clean enough person to be lecturing anyone about that.
"Justice... I suppose that word does not suit me."
Of course, I do not think my actions are wrong. Even if the same moment came again, I would gladly take the hand of a villain once more for the sake of the heroes.
However, if someone were to look at my actions and tell me they were wrong, I would have nothing to say. Regardless of the reason, the fact that I had colluded with a villain—an act that is socially unacceptable—remained an undeniable truth.
There is a famous line often used in movies and novels. Is a person who becomes a monster to kill a monster still a hero? Or are they just another monster?
"I do not know if I am another monster or not, but I am certainly not a hero."
A hero is a being who always stands at the forefront to protect the people from danger, someone who is admired and longed for by the masses.
Ultimately, a hero can only exist if there are people to protect. But if the people were told that I had joined hands with a villain who had harmed them just to protect them, who among them would offer me their admiration or longing?
Therefore, a being who becomes evil to eliminate evil can never be a hero.
"But becoming a hero is not what I want."
What I want is to protect my heroes, even if it means doing things that are socially condemned. If someone were to say my actions are wrong, I would not say much in return, but at the same time, I have no intention of changing my ways.
It does not matter if the world disagrees. Protecting the heroes by any means necessary is my conviction and my goal.
"Still, it is true that this is a bit exhausting."
Even if it is for the heroes, this is not an easy path. I have to continue walking this tightrope in a situation where it would not be strange to get caught at any moment, and I must always move busily without a moment to rest.
Moreover, is it not a lonely path that no one recognizes? If I were to grab anyone and shout, "The world is going to be in danger soon and many players will die, so please help me!" would they help? I would be lucky if I did not end up locked in a psychiatric ward.
In short, the lack of a comrade to vent to or share my worries with made me even more mentally exhausted. That was why I was currently standing in a deserted place, muttering useless things to myself.
"But what can I do? I prepared myself for this from the start, so I must work hard."
If I do not do it, who will? I am the only one who knows that the future of this world is going to turn into a complete mess. If I approach this with the thought that today's hardships will bear fruit in the future, it is manageable.
Besides, when I think about the heroes being happy, I barely even remember the struggles I have endured so far.
"So, I should head back quickly and finish the rest of my work."
Just as I was about to move my feet, renewing my resolve to keep going despite the exhaustion, I heard a voice.
"Hmm? What are you doing there?"
It was a heavy voice coming from behind me. Since I was the only person around, I turned my head toward the source of the sound.
What I saw was...
"Oh Jin-eon?"
"It seems you came out for a stroll."
It was Oh Jin-eon, wearing his usual strict, solemn, and serious expression. We had certainly met a few days ago, but seeing him felt like seeing an old friend after a long time, so I greeted him warmly.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was on my way back after finishing my training."
"You are always working hard."
"That is only natural. If I did not intend to work hard, I would not have come to Glory in the first place."
His voice was serious, but I could not help but let out a small chuckle at his words. Even if I constantly joked about Glory being a den of villains, it was still a prestigious academy. If someone entered such a prestigious academy, it would be strange if they did not work hard.
Of course, it seemed Oh Jin-eon worked much harder than most.
'Right... he is on the same level as Kim Su-hyeok when it comes to hard work.'
But thinking about that actually dampened my improved mood slightly. I knew that effort does not always lead to success. Especially in the case of this seriously funny guy before me.
'In the novel, there were no pages allocated for this guy.'
In a world where anything could happen at any moment, there were no pages dedicated to a guy who lived so diligently. What could that possibly mean? I did not even have to say it out loud for it to be clear.
'It likely means he met a death that no one would remember.'
Thinking about that made my heart ache a little. Of course, I did not have these thoughts when we first met. At that time, Oh Jin-eon was just the "front door villain" to me, and we were literally strangers.
When I was already busy worrying about the people important to me, how could I worry about a guy I had just met? Such behavior is something Kim Su-hyeok would do, and it did not suit me at all. So back then, the future fate of Oh Jin-eon was not my concern at all.
'But things are a bit different now.'
After all, he is someone I have spent some time with now. Since meeting him, I have been quite busy, so the time we spent chatting and laughing together was not long, but it was enough time to know that he is a good guy.
Even when we could not see each other often, we contacted each other frequently via text, and he was the one who worried about me when I lost consciousness before. Yes, to put it simply, we were in a relationship where I could roughly call him a friend.
And I am not such a twisted human being that I would remain indifferent toward someone I consider a friend.
'No matter how much I say I will do anything for the heroes, if I only think about using these relationships for calculation, would I even be human?'
That is not a matter of admiring heroes or anything else; that would just make me a villain, nothing more and nothing less.
'Besides, he has a somewhat... more special feeling to him.'
If I think about the connections I have made since coming to this world, it is easy to understand what I mean. The people I have spoken with and formed close relationships with are either the heroes I admire or individuals who are in a completely different league from me from any perspective.
Oh Jin-eon was the only person among them who did not belong to either category. He was not a hero I admired, nor was he in a different league; he was in the position of a perfectly normal friend.
I liked that quite a bit. Who knows? Perhaps one day we could open up to each other and have a conversation while laughing joyfully.
'I hope I can have a separate talk with him when I have the chance later.'
Right now, having a serious conversation would just look awkward, so it was right to postpone it for later. With that thought, I spoke to Oh Jin-eon.
"Did you train alone? Did the other kids all head back to the dormitory?"
"Yes. Kim Su-hyeok and Ha Eun-ha said they were going in first, and since Do Gang-ho had a sparring match today and needed to rest, I told him to head back."
"I see."
"And as for the other two, I do not know them well because we are not very close."
The "other two" likely referred to Ryu Jin-oh and Ju Ha-yeon. In truth, I was not worried about those two. Given their backgrounds, they were the types who would manage to survive even if they were thrown onto a deserted island.
While I was lost in such idle thoughts, Oh Jin-eon spoke up as if he had remembered something.
"By the way, have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"They said we are going to be on break for the entire five days of next week."
"Huh? The whole time?"
As far as I knew, there was no such plan in the novel. However, I could understand why such a schedule had been created after hearing Oh Jin-eon's next words.
"Did you not hear that loud explosion earlier? It is likely because of that. A villain appeared."
"Ah..."
"The academy said they would provide a five-day maintenance period for the cadets, but I doubt anyone believes that literally."
"......"
"According to the rumors, there were even words saying that the principal himself would take action during those five days."
"I see."
They were saying the five-day maintenance period was because of the villain, but it was highly likely this was due to Cha Yu-na and Shin Yu-hwan. In the original story, even though they were hit hard, there was no mention of a five-day school closure.
The fact that such a story appeared even though the situation had been prevented beforehand was easy to understand when considering the parts that had changed from the novel. In the original work, Shin Yu-hwan and Cha Yu-na did not attend the practical exam, but this time, the influence of other parents must have also played a role.
'This is not bad.'
Five days is a short time if it is short, and long if it is long, but in my opinion, it is a sufficiently long time. I quite liked the fact that I did not have to attend useless theoretical classes and could focus solely on my own work during that time.
'If need be, I can use the extra time to meet with Yu-hyeon or that crazy woman.'
They were connections I needed to take care of periodically. Especially that crazy woman I made a contract with today; she was a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment, so that was even more true.
However, my plans were immediately shattered by Oh Jin-eon's next words.
"On that note, Player Cha Yu-na asked me to pass a message to you."
"Huh?"
"She told you to come visit the Horizon Guild on Monday. She said she might be disappointed if you do not show up."
"......"
No, what was that all of a sudden?
I wondered if Shin Yu-hwan had said something to her, but that was impossible. Doing something like lobbying or making a request was an action that absolutely did not fit Shin Yu-hwan's personality.
That meant Cha Yu-na had made the calculation independently and acted because she thought it would be beneficial.
"Ah, for your information, you are not the only one going. Me, Kim Su-hyeok, Ryu Jin-oh, and Do Gang-ho are going as well."
"......"
...I understood the reason even less now.
Dammit, I do not know what it is, but it seems my five days of happy life have flown out the window for now. It is not as if she called us just because she was bored.
'The amount of work I have to do after returning to the dormitory has increased again...'
It seems this world extremely dislikes me being comfortable. As soon as I finish one task, it throws the next one at me.
After nodding appropriately to Oh Jin-eon's words and telling him I would see him later, I had no choice but to walk toward the dormitory with a heavy heart.
Clearly, the joy of the successful contract I made today had long since vanished, replaced by very heavy footsteps.