Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Chapter 48 - 47화
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter 48: Loafer's Patrol
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Under the dim lighting, the glow from the monitors softly enveloped the cozy interior of the internet café.
Amid the sparsely seated customers, a girl hammered away at her keyboard.
Tak-tak-
The crisp clicks of a mechanical keyboard echoed through the quiet café.
Anis Harper. Age seventeen.
Currently on patrol duty, but midway through, she'd stopped at the internet café to game.
-First Blood!
The character she was controlling died, and the screen turned gray.
The character was dead, but the typing only grew faster.
Tadak-tak-
[6:08]RangedHater: wtf look at this flashy noob
[6:12]SeemsInnocent: luck counts as skill lol
[6:14]RangedHater: if lucks skill then shit lucks shit skill huh asshole
[6:17]SeemsInnocent: no cap
[6:19]RangedHater: no ur mom
A fierce keyboard battle raged between two prideful geniuses.
I had my chair reclined all the way back, practically lying down as I played. Next to the keyboard sat a plate of tteokbokki. I'd ordered it off the menu on a whim, and damn, it was good.
If anyone spotted me from afar, I'd look like the epitome of a lazy NEET—no way they'd peg me for a hero.
But I swear on my life, I'm not lazy. The real lazy ones are those three corrupt relics who dumped all the patrols on me because they hate doing them.
I had no choice but to take direct action against those assholes.
Tit for tat. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth—sloth for sloth.
That's right. This was my one-woman strategy, a tactical masterstroke against the corrupt.
Just messing around 'cause I wanted to?
"..."
Yeah. Truth is, I just felt like playing.
So what? They slack off too—why can't I?
Wahhh, I'm just a rookie hero newbie.
I know nothing. They're holed up in the office anyway; no way they'll know I'm here.
Fuck 'em.
Those bitches are gonna hassle me no matter what anyway. Doesn't matter if I do good or bad—they just wanna grind me down.
So I made up my mind.
Half-ass it here, half-ass it there—might as well go full incompetent and take the heat upfront.
"Munch munch. Mmm. Tasty."
I clocked exactly three hours at the internet café before heading out.
"What the hell have you been doing, showing up now?"
The second I got back to the office, Elise shot me a glare, irritation dripping from her voice.
"I patrolled."
"How thorough was this patrol that it took you all this time?"
Elise pointed at the analog clock on the wall. It was 4:30.
"Super thorough."
I slapped on my thickest skin and doubled down. Elise's eyes narrowed even further before she plastered on a smile.
"Oh, really? Overflowing with passion on day one. Impressive~ Here's some praise for you."
"Thanks."
It was blatant sarcasm. She was dead certain I'd dragged my feet on purpose.
As this subtle war of nerves played out between Elise and me, her sister piped up from the corner, opening the mini-fridge.
"Huh. Sis, we're out of drinks."
"Yeah?"
Elise grinned wickedly at me.
"Anis. Mind grabbing some drinks from outside? A whole box should do."
Her condescending gaze made my skin crawl. Her intentions were crystal clear—and rotten.
No helping it. Time to unleash my trump card counter.
Take this: pure justice, 500x amplified.
"Drinks?"
"Yeah. Just hit the convenience store nearby."
"Me?"
"Yup."
"Why?"
"...Ha."
Elise snorted derisively.
"Fine. Let's see you try."
She shot me a 'can you believe this bitch?' look. No idea what her problem was. I'm just an innocent little hero who knows nothing~
The bitchy sister behind Elise stared at me like I was some lunatic. What was her name again? Couldn't care less—bitchy sister it is.
Their stares bored into me, and an awkward silence settled in.
Rustle— the only sound was Floe flipping through her book in the office.
"Well, we're heading out."
"See ya~"
At 6 p.m., the three of them clocked out and left the office. Smirking at me on their way out was just icing on the cake.
Commuting in this day and age? Absurd. I checked the regs, and sure enough, it was allowed. Heroes assigned to A District who lived in the district could commute.
So those three with homes in A District could punch out, but I—with my dorm in E District—was stuck crashing here.
"Unbelievable."
The Association and Central were rotten to the core.
Inevitable, really. A hundred fifty years of peace was more than enough time to corrupt the system and erode discipline.
These idiots wouldn't ditch their outdated customs even after a magic beast raid turned a whole district to rubble.
Hell, if beasts attacked right now, all four of us would need to team up and fight.
Home in A District or not—in an emergency, how long would it take them to show up and join the fray?
Probably why B District crumbled so pathetically: this archaic bullshit system.
"Fucking disgusting."
These pricks deserve every curse hurled their way.
Nothing special going on? Duties are just standby and patrols—and skip patrols, no one notices anyway.
And with beasts potentially invading any second, heroes commuting home? Does that even make sense?
We should be rotating day and night shifts nonstop, yet they're only pulling days and dipping. Got a guarantee beasts only hit daytime?
The whole setup relies entirely on heroes' consciences.
A real hero who gives a damn about citizens would patrol diligently and stand guard without clocking out.
But a conscienceless hack? That's our office to a T.
Decades of peace bred this arbitrary mess. Even after taking a beast hit, no one's bothering to fix it.
"Sigh."
I let out a heavy breath and flopped onto the sofa, closing my eyes. The empty office was dead quiet.
Before long, the hallucinations started tormenting me.
They were especially vicious today.
The environment had changed too drastically. No Yoon Na-rin. No Han U-sol. No Reisi. No one on my side anymore.
That was probably why they were hitting so hard.
[Trash like you...]
Please.
Just shut up.
I plugged my ears and tried to catch some early shut-eye on the sofa.
A few days passed since I started working here.
And what I'd realized? The world is full of petty assholes.
Exhibit A: Elise. And her bitchy little sister. Floe just sat there reading her book without doing much to me directly, but being a bystander sucks—so she's an asshole too.
The sisters were always itching to screw me over. Still were.
"Lunch?"
"Yeah. Go buy some."
"Me?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Ugh."
"Just order delivery."
"Oh. I don't do well with delivery food."
Delivery game's on point these days—what nonsense. Just admit you wanna fuck with me.
I kept playing dumb and brazen. Elise finally sighed in defeat and sent her sister to grab lunch instead. A bit later, the bitchy sister returned with food in hand.
"Ah, oops? Totally forgot yours~"
She chirped it out perkily, sticking her tongue out.
Figured as much. Wasn't expecting any. Such a slimy, petty way to harass. The old me would've scoffed at something so trivial.
The problem? The current me was pissed even by this nothingburger prank.
Maybe 'cause it had been ages since someone directed such pure malice my way. Or maybe the nightly hallucinations had my nerves frayed. Probably both.
"..."
My chest felt tight. Needed some air.
"Heading out on patrol."
"Okay~"
I stepped outside. Giggles leaked through the closing door crack.
I wandered the streets slowly. Through quiet alleys with few people, along park walkways. Less patrol, more stroll.
Entered a bustling commercial strip between shops, and an internet café sign caught my eye. Wasn't feeling it, so I passed.
How long had I walked? Snapped out of it in a decent-sized plaza. Lost in thought, I'd wandered past A-3 Block.
Citizens had gathered in the plaza for a protest. Full-on public bashing of heroes and the Association.
If you're protesting, do it in front of Association HQ—why block a busy plaza? Made no sense.
'...Time to head back.'
Back to A-3 first. Grab some food, then office.
As I turned to leave, my eyes met the protesters'.
Someone spotted me and whispered to the person next to them. That one whispered to the next, and so on.
Did they recognize me? As a promising hero prospect, it was possible.
――………!
The murmurs began. They spread from person to person, growing louder.
"..."
What were they saying? The stares weren't friendly.
I considered amplifying my hearing with magic to eavesdrop, but I chickened out.
These were folks who'd just been protesting heroes and the Association as incompetent. Nothing good coming out of their mouths.
I turned and started walking away. The murmurs clung to my ears.
My heart began to pound. Cold sweat prickled my skin.
Even after fully leaving the plaza, those gazes bored into my back.
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