Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Chestnut Manju Rations
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Han U-sol walked slowly down the street.
Head bowed, he dragged his weary body toward the house where he used to live while attending the academy.
After walking for a bit, a familiar street welcomed him.
Buildings that weren't fancy, but not rundown either.
A small convenience store attached to the alley entrance.
A street still spotless, without a speck of trash.
'...Nothing's really changed here.'
Everything was just as it had been. The unchanged street felt like a preserved snapshot of that time, stirring up nostalgia.
The peaceful daily life.
Days when he could smile ordinarily, thinking tomorrow would be the same as today.
He hadn't known back then. That things would turn out like this.
He'd thought he could become a hero. Together with Anis.
Not suffering like now, unable to save anyone, but a hero who could save everyone and smile. He'd thought his efforts would be rewarded accordingly.
He hadn't expected this.
Really, he hadn't.
"........."
Han U-sol stopped in front of a building. It was the house where he used to live.
He opened the door listlessly. The long-abandoned house wafted a musty smell of dust the moment the door opened.
He muttered that he should clean up, but his body trudged powerlessly toward the bed.
-Plop.
Dust billowed up as he threw himself onto the bed. It rose to the ceiling before slowly settling back down.
Han U-sol stared blankly at it before turning his head to the clock on the wall.
7 p.m.
A bit early to sleep.
But today, he was exhausted.
Han U-sol slowly closed his eyes.
He'd probably have nightmares again tonight. Still, for tomorrow's sake, he had to close his eyes even if it was early.
-Ding.
Just as he was drifting off, his phone rang.
Han U-sol sat up and checked it.
[When r u coming]
-Yoon Na-rin-
...Ah, right.
"Whew."
I let out a satisfied breath as I laid out the captured villains on the ground.
7 p.m.
The time when hardworking folks finish their day and prepare to wind down.
Today, even I, Anis Harper, was the same.
Finally putting into action what I'd only pledged day after day without following through brought an indescribable sense of accomplishment.
Season 365 resolution: achieved successfully.
Now, time to eat and sleep.
What to have for dinner? I pondered deeply.
Seemed like I'd need to have a very thorough discussion with Betty.
As I was thinking that, Han spoke up from beside me.
"Still, it's quite worrying."
"What is?"
"Whether these villains will properly obey us."
"They can't go back anyway, so they'll have no choice but to obey, right?"
Even against their will, returning was impossible now.
If they tried heading back to the city from the hellish X Sector, they'd just be branded traitors and attacked.
"You couldn't go back either, but you didn't obey."
I whipped my head away, ignoring his follow-up.
"If Kahatiel were alive, we could've made a contract to ensure they obey."
"Betty, Kahatiel isn't dead yet."
Betty was right.
We wouldn't have this worry if Kahatiel were around.
No, we wouldn't have needed to kidnap villains in the first place if Kahatiel had woken up from the start.
We'd kidnapped them because we lacked magic beasts to fight the heroes.
In the end, the root cause of all this was that damned demon lazing around asleep.
I hurled unspeakable curses at the fucking demon in my mind.
"And Betty, even with a contract, that doesn't guarantee obedience. We've got the perfect example right here."
Han glanced at me and muttered.
"I didn't make a contract, though. Kahatiel just called it a minor deal with me?"
"That's a contract. You got duped. There's a reason our ancestors warned against mingling with demons."
"So that means my heart could explode?"
"If you don't properly fulfill the promise. Though the reverse could happen too."
What I'd promised Kahatiel was to kill the angel.
And what Kahatiel promised me was to release Betty from her contract.
Betty was an idiot.
To put it bluntly, a thick-headed fool.
She'd gone and made a lifetime contract with a demon, after all.
Abandoned by the world, she had nothing left to lose.
She'd already lost everything she had, and in the end, tried to throw away her last remaining life, leaving only faint resentment toward the world.
That's why she'd made the contract with the demon without much thought. Promising revenge on the world and choosing to side with the demon.
I still remembered it vividly.
Late at night, the two of us lying alone in a narrow bed, Betty whispering softly to me.
That after meeting me, she no longer cared about revenge.
She regretted making the contract so carelessly.
She just wanted to keep living this everyday life she'd never felt before.
That's why I'd nodded to Kahatiel's proposal, to killing Yeriel.
I'm a petty person.
A petty soul who abandons yesterday's resolutions today and rationalizes it.
A selfish one who clings to the past, misses the present, and then blames others.
I know that if Yeriel dies, humanity will eventually perish, yet I chose it for my own happiness. A selfish person.
I'm not interested in revenge against Yeriel.
Some might not understand, but being petty by nature, I'm not the vessel to harbor such thoughts.
Did it hurt? Of course it did. But I'm used to pain anyway.
Yeriel was the one who plunged me into misfortune, but life is full of people who make me miserable. She was just one of many I'd encountered.
I just want to protect the daily life I have left with Betty.
Even if I waver countless times in the process.
"You made a contract too, right, Han?"
"Yeah."
"What kind?"
"Similar to Betty's. Not lifetime, though."
"What, so Han's a moron too?"
"People with nothing to lose are all the same."
"Tsk tsk."
"What."
My gaze toward Han turned pitying.
If you saw someone signing a lifetime unpaid contract with a company with no future, it'd feel like this.
"When Kahatiel wakes up, should I ask to include canceling Han's contract as a condition?"
"Fine by me, but the contract's already made. Can you just do that?"
"I'm a master negotiator, after all."
"Haha. Sounds reliable."
Han smirked.
Come to think of it, Han rarely smiled.
Always expressionless, it was oddly novel to see him smile like that.
Han turned his head to look at me, his red eyes fixed on mine.
"Thank you."
"No problem. But could you stop staring at me? Every time our eyes meet, it feels like you're reading my emotions, and it pisses me off."
I scowled as I replied.
"That's a socially controversial statement. That's ability discrimination. Discrimination can't be justified in any sense..."
"If you're as pretty as me, a little discrimination is fine."
From my lifelong experience of discrimination and contempt, I'd realized that even the same contempt from a pretty girl could feel like a reward.
Yes. Right now, I was actually rewarding Han.
"Contempt from a pretty girl feels like a reward? Makes sense."
"Right?"
"But you're not."
As Han and I bantered nonsense, the villains lying unconscious on the ground began to stir one by one.
"Ugh, urgh..."
"Where...?"
The villains looked around in confusion, faces blank.
Hm. Did I hit them too hard on the head?
Seemed their memories right before passing out were fuzzy, as they looked visibly flustered.
I approached the villains and greeted them.
"Nice to meet you, newbies."
Spotting me, their faces twisted in terror.
They must have recalled their last memory before blacking out.
"Gasp!"
"D-don't come closer!"
"Calm down. I won't eat you."
I casually clenched my fist to show them, and they all quieted obediently.
To think I could calm these heinous criminals with a mere gesture. Maybe I have a knack for leadership?
"You must all be tired and hungry, so eat first."
I nodded at Betty as I said it.
She understood my words perfectly, unlike others, and nodded before vanishing.
I wondered how much food was left in the warehouse.
We'd stockpiled a lot, but with so many more mouths now, it might be tight.
Still, a leader is responsible for their members' livelihood.
Clothing, food, and shelter were basics.
"Alright, we'll distribute meals, so line up single file. No cutting."
I lined up the villains and waited for Betty to return from the warehouse with the food.
"Anis! I'm back! This what you wanted?"
Soon, Betty returned, arms full.
It was those palm-sized buns from the local supermarket, about 300 won each. I remembered looting a ton from a mart before.
Tasty, but they got old fast and were so dry I'd stashed them in the warehouse.
The villains stared blankly at what Betty brought.
Faces like "Who sticks something that small up their nose?"
"Good job, Betty!"
Not just understanding perfectly, but bringing something even better than I'd thought of. As expected of Betty.
They were criminals in the end.
A proper meal was a luxury for scum like them. Let them choke down these dry chestnut manju without water.
"Alright, everyone. Take your meals for today and tomorrow."
I handed out the manju: one for today, one for tomorrow, two total each. The villains' faces darkened rapidly. Still, hunger won out as they gulped them down.
"Anyone need water?"
A few cautiously raised hands at my question.
"There's a rainwater barrel over there, so handle it yourselves if needed."
The raised hands quietly lowered.
"Sleep anywhere on the ground over there. We'll end today's light greeting here and properly meet again tomorrow. Good night~"
We left the villains behind and departed.
A few still glared hostilely, but they wouldn't dare attack. Even if they ran, they couldn't leave.
Anis, Betty, and Han quickened our steps while picking dinner.
"Anis, what for dinner?"
"Hm... Chicken?"
"Yay!"
"Convenience store chicken again?"
"Hm... Let's steal from a proper chicken joint for once."
"Sounds good. Betty and I will go."
A leader's life is busy.
Tomorrow, more villains to welcome.
Fill up on hearty chicken tonight and work hard tomorrow too.