Café Manager MILF, Min Jiyou (2)
The Legion Academy had gone to hell. Min Jiyou had been trying to get a handle on the situation when she spotted Xia Jinping — just before he dissolved into light and vanished.
"How—?!"
The man who had loomed over her like a tyrant, immovable as a mountain, was vanishing without a fight. She couldn't summon even a shred of grief at the sight. But she couldn't feel joy, either. She had already killed Xia Jinping dozens — hundreds — of times inside her own head.
If only she had done it with her own hands.
No. The Hero made this happen. I can forget it now.
But could she really forget those nightmare days? She had no confidence she could. Xia Jinping — the greatest enemy of her life — was dead and gone. And yet everything she had ever possessed had vanished along with him.
How am I supposed to live now?
She looked down at Lashu, whose hand she was still holding. After hauling him up with considerable effort and gathering him into her arms, she found herself at a loss.
Why did the Hero come here? Did he know everything?
This small-framed man was a Hero? He'd taken down a monster like Xia Jinping? She couldn't believe it. It was a sight she'd never even seen in her dreams.
The memory of him helping her at the café came flooding back, and she hugged Lashu tight — the way you'd hold a lover.
"Who are you, really? Who are you, to do this for me... haah."
Min Jiyou lowered her head and closed her eyes. First, she had to get out of here. That single thought was enough to get her on her feet.
I opened my eyes. Looking around, I found myself lying on a bench overlooking a hillside. And not just any bench — I was using someone's lap as a pillow.
"Huh...?"
Min Jiyou was dozing off, her head nodding forward, her hands still cupping my face. The moment I saw her, my heart kicked. She must have been exhausted herself. And she'd still carried me all the way here?
Where the hell is this?
Smoke was rising not far off. I recognized it instantly — that was the Academy.
We came pretty far. Min Jiyou hauled me all the way out here? Impressive.
Women from certain countries would've ditched the guy who helped them and run for it. Min Jiyou, though — she was instinctively proving she had what it took to be a heroine.
I shifted, trying to sit up. The movement woke her.
"Mm... you're awake?"
"Manager, where are we...?"
"Ah. This is Destiny Hill Road — one of the capital's famous spots. Couples come here a lot, apparently."
She smiled as she finished speaking. She looked lighter than the last time I'd seen her. Maybe she was feeling a little better.
I scratched my head.
"Um, could you hear me out first?"
"Of course."
I laid it all out for Min Jiyou. Getting her up to speed was the priority. As she listened, her shock piled on top of shock.
"My husband was that kind of person?"
"You probably sensed it, even if you never said it out loud. How much of a monster he really was."
"Yes... but I thought it was just me he treated that way. Haah. I... I had no choice but to bow my head to that man."
She shook her head with a bitter smile. I asked her, gently.
"Why? A woman as capable and beautiful as you — why would you have to bow your head to a piece of human garbage like that?"
Min Jiyou looked at me like I'd caught her off guard. Then she smiled, weakly.
"You said you were a... Hero?"
"Yeah."
"Is that why? Every time I look at you, I feel like I get my energy back. Like I've found something I lost when I was little? Hehe."
Watching her laugh, a little embarrassed, I couldn't help but chuckle myself. It was hard to put into words, but that feeling that makes your chest tremble — I knew it well. I felt it every time I met a heroine, every time I saved one.
"Is this really the time for jokes...?"
"I'm not joking. Thank you. Truly, Hero."
She was watching my face, gauging my reaction. I tilted my head and looked back at her.
This close, she was even more beautiful. Was it the change of scenery? At the café, she'd come across as a capable career woman — sharp, energetic, in charge. But now she just looked like a woman who'd finally set down a burden she'd been carrying. Especially that slender, cat-like face of hers, and those eyes — they were so clear.
"Hero... would you listen to my story?"
"Gladly."
Like she was giving confession, Min Jiyou began to speak, slowly.
"I was born into a really poor family. My parents died young, and the last thing they said to me was... live well, so you never have to envy anyone. Even if it means swallowing humiliation — live that way. Only then can we watch over you in peace."
So she'd started from the bottom. That wasn't just true of people's lives. Games, anything — if the opening is bad, it's hard to claw your way out. I let out a sigh. Of course there was a story. Min Jiyou's eyes welled up.
"I never knew living the way you want could be this hard. Hic... every night, he raped me."
"Raped...?!"
"He'd grope me, lick me, force himself inside without even asking...!"
"That's enough. It's okay. That devil is gone now."
"I know. People say I'm good at my job, that I'm capable. But in front of that man, I was just a helpless woman. What was I supposed to do? That was my parents' dying wish, hic..."
"Manager..."
"I suffered through all of it so they could rest easy up there! I miss my parents so much...!"
Min Jiyou wept, pouring out years of pent-up rage. Every time I looked at her, my chest ached. What had this woman ever done to deserve a life like this? I stroked her back, trying to comfort her. She pressed herself against me.
"I've lost everything. That nightmare of a husband... he was the one propping up my entire life."
"He wasn't supporting you. He was chaining you down."
"...But I don't resent you, Hero. I'm grateful, actually."
"You're free now, Manager. No — Min Jiyou. Listen to me."
"Yes...?"
I needed to tell her my story. Not as Lashu — as Rasiu.
"I used to love this game called Asgard Chronicles. It wasn't popular or anything, but the world-building was rock solid, the characters felt real, none of the heroines got thrown away — and more than anything, the more you played, the more it hooked you. That strange, addictive quality. I really loved it."
"A game...?"
Min Jiyou tilted her head. I kept going.
"Other people never saw what made it special, so I ended up being the only one who loved it. But I've never regretted playing that game."
"Why?"
"Because playing it taught me I could actually do something. I used to be a really powerless, pathetic guy."
The past flickered through my mind for a moment. I shook my head and went on.
"I ran from my past. I always lost to my own helplessness. But once I actually jumped in, I realized I wasn't as bad a guy as I thought. Pretty funny, right?"
I chuckled and let out a sigh. When I played games, I was always dead serious. Maybe more serious than I ever was with actual people. I liked that atmosphere — being able to pour everything into one thing.
"You've still got something you love. The café! The café is still standing. As long as you've got the resolve to bet everything on it, that's all that matters."
"The resolve to... bet everything."
"Yeah. That kind of resolve. What matters is a heart that doesn't break."
"Do you think I can do it?"
Min Jiyou looked at me like a pilgrim searching for an answer. I couldn't be her god. Some grand savior? That was a stretch, too. But if it was about putting some confidence back in her — that, I could do.
"You can. And if you want, I'll help. I... I like you, Min Jiyou."
"Everything I want to do... all of it..."
"Yeah! I've actually got more money than you'd think, you know? And I'm a Hero, so I'm pretty strong, too! Hahaha!"
I threw in a little self-congratulation, too. If a guy wants to lift a woman's spirits, he's gotta be willing to play the fool. Friendlier. Sweeter.
"Nngh..."
Min Jiyou stared at me, dazed, her ears turning red. Then she flinched and ducked her head.
What was that? Cute.
"Hehe. Come on, don't tease me. People say Heroes are mischievous... I guess they were right."
"I'm being serious, though?"
"Liar... what's there to like about an older woman like me? I was just a useless piece of scrap — a doll that pig of a man raped whenever he felt like it."
I put my arm around her shoulders. She flinched, so I pulled her even closer and shook my head.
"No, Min Jiyou. You're pretty. You're beautiful."
"That can't be..."
"Anyone can see it. You run that café brilliantly, you hire people without discrimination, you treat everyone equally. You're an incredible woman."
I couldn't forget the Min Jiyou I'd seen at the café. The way she'd calmly handled a drunk who was picking a fight with zero logic whatsoever. You'd never see that in the real world.
"A person like that — in this whole wide world, there's only you, Min Jiyou. So have some pride."
"Haah...!"
Min Jiyou had been about to say something, but all that came out was a hot, shaky breath. I could see her eyes growing even cloudier with tears.
"You're the first person who's ever said something like that to me... Hero Lashu."
"You can just call me Rasiu. I mean, I fell for you at first sight, so I wanted to show you how I feel. That I'm serious."
I smiled lightly as I finished. No matter what she thought of it, the fact that I meant it wasn't going to change.
The weak smile on Min Jiyou's face finally broke, and she burst into tears.
"Hic... waaahhh!"
She must have been holding so much in. It must have been so hard. Going home meant Xia Jinping was waiting — hell itself. The café, at least, had been her one piece of heaven. When the place that's supposed to be the most comfortable in the world looks like that, how could anyone have peace of mind?
I knew that well. I hadn't been particularly fond of home, either. Home was just a goddamn place that reminded me I was alone.
I patted her. She'd more than earned the right to cry.
"Go ahead and cry. Until it all comes out. And after that, you keep smiling, even if you look like an idiot. I'll make sure of it."
"Ahh-hic...!"
I'd made a promise. That I'd make her smile. Nobody would want a woman this beautiful to cry. A few people with weird tastes aside. A beautiful woman should smile. Once she does, even the world around her starts to look brighter. That's what they mean by a smile like the sun.
Min Jiyou clung to me like she was hanging on for dear life. I held her, breathing in her scent — natural, floral.
"Thank you, Rasiu. Thank you!"
"I should be the one thanking you. For seeing that I meant it."
My chest was getting soaked with her tears, but I didn't care. If anything, I was sorry they wouldn't last — like a medal that would fade too soon.
That feeling of saving someone — it still felt good. This was why you became a Hero. Even a perverted Hero like me.
I let out a breath and looked toward the Academy. I couldn't see clearly, but it looked like a crowd had gathered. There were probably people from Those Who Recite Sins mixed in among them.
Xia Jinping was dead. All right, James. You've lost your right-hand man. What now?
This isn't the end. Limani's about to raise some serious hell. And after that, I'll come. Like lightning after thunder!