The Tragic Hero's Secret War
Cha Jiyun made a phone call from the spot where Nam Doyun had just left.
“Yes. What brings you to call, my granddaughter?”
The person she had called was her grandfather. He was the former chairman of the Samhwa Group.
“...The reason I called is none other than... you know of Requiem, correct?”
“Those bastards that even cursing them out wouldn’t satisfy?”
“...Yes.”
The grudge against Requiem had begun with Cha Jiyun’s grandfather, the former chairman of the Samhwa Group.
“So, have those guys done something again?”
“...Yes. Today, one of Requiem’s members put me in a life-threatening situation.”
After that, Cha Jiyun recounted everything that had happened that day.
“Truly fortunate. You returned safely, at least. More importantly, the man who identified that Requiem member in advance and killed him—his name was Nam Doyun?”
“...Yes. If not for him, I would not have survived today.”
“That is a relief. I should invite him sometime and treat him to a proper meal.”
“...That is not all.”
“Not all? What else is there?”
“Nam Doyun has been waging a lonely war against Requiem all by himself.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I do not know how he obtained information on Requiem. But he knew exactly which member of Requiem had infiltrated our group.”
“...Is that true?”
“...Yes. Not only that, he is hunting down and eliminating Requiem members one by one.”
“But if that’s the case, wouldn’t Requiem refuse to leave a student named Nam Doyun alone?”
“...It is precisely for that reason that he is hiding his power. By concealing his strength, he can slip off Requiem’s list of suspects.”
“Just what kind of fight is he waging?”
“...Even I cannot fully comprehend it.”
Requiem was an organization that even the Samhwa Group—one of Korea’s ten largest conglomerates—could not get a firm grip on. Even if the entire Samhwa Group mobilized, there was no guarantee they could eradicate Requiem. Yet this person was fighting them alone. Just what sort of battle was he waging by himself?
“Do you have any guess why this student Nam Doyun is fighting against Requiem?”
“...Yes. From what he told me, it seems his parents were murdered.”
“How old did you say he was?”
“He is seventeen. The same age as me.”
“To have gone through such hardship at that young age... How truly pitiful. His life must have been hellish. Having to live alone after losing his parents.”
“....”
“And yet he refuses to give up. He sharpens the blade of vengeance and eliminates Requiem’s members one by one—all at the tender age of seventeen.”
“...Yes. Even I cannot imagine the depth of his rage and sorrow. Still, I will need to investigate further.”
“Investigate what?”
“The claim that his parents were murdered is only partial information I heard from him. I have grown curious about the life he has lived. I want to look into it thoroughly.”
“For what purpose?”
“I wish to understand him more deeply. If our goals align, we may be able to fight Requiem together.”
Cha Jiyun and Jeong Hayeon were walking through the quiet night streets of Japan.
“Wow. Taking a night stroll feels amazing, doesn’t it? Right, Jiyun?”
“....Yeah.”
Cha Jiyun nodded. For some reason, her expression suggested complicated thoughts.
Nam Doyun. Just what kind of battles had that man endured? Fighting alone against Requiem—the very pinnacle of Demonic Human organizations.
Nam Doyun. Nam Doyun. The name refused to leave her mind. What thoughts could possibly fill his head as he lived his life?
“What on earth is Nam Doyun thinking?” Jeong Hayeon sighed deeply and muttered to herself.
“...Huh?”
Cha Jiyun’s eyes widened in surprise. Was she reading minds?
“No, it’s nothing. Just talking to myself.”
“...Ah. I see.”
“Anyway, Jiyun, you heard about the sword duel between Radeon and Nam Doyun at the festival that day, right?”
“....Yes. I am not sure about the rumors, but even the part where he said he would drop out if he loses to Radeon.”
“I can’t figure out what he’s thinking. There’s zero chance Nam Doyun could win, isn’t there?”
Jeong Hayeon tilted her head in confusion. To her, the idea of Radeon—who had held a sword since he could walk—losing was simply unimaginable. Especially not to Nam Doyun, whom she had never once seen holding a blade.
“....Zero chance of winning?”
Cha Jiyun tilted her head.
“Obviously. Radeon has been swinging a sword since he was a toddler. His talent for the blade is unrivaled.”
“......”
Cha Jiyun gazed at Jeong Hayeon. What she said was certainly true. When it came to swordsmanship, Radeon’s talent wasn’t merely exceptional—it was peerless. He never neglected his training, either. By comparison, she had never seen Nam Doyun so much as pick up a sword. Yet for some reason, she felt he could win. After all, he was the monster who fought Requiem all by himself. Of course, since the duel would be purely about swordsmanship, she could not say with certainty that he would defeat Radeon. Still, somehow, she had the feeling he would prevail.
“..Yeah. I will go watch as well.”
“Oh? Really? Then we can watch it together that day. Let’s hang out.”
“..Yeah. Sounds good.”
“But the outcome seems so obvious that it might not be very entertaining.”
“.....”
Cha Jiyun let out a small, silent laugh. She was certain that would absolutely not be the case.
“...It will not be a completely one-sided defeat.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“...I just do not think Nam Doyun will lose.”
“What?”
Jeong Hayeon blinked in disbelief.
The lodging for Elphon Academy’s Class 1-A had been relocated to a nearby family home. All the hotels in the area were already fully booked. The three-story house offered more than enough space for the students.
I stepped into my room and checked to make sure no one was around. Then I pulled two rings from my pocket.
Effect: None
Hidden Effect: Raises wearer’s all stats by +0.1 per day (Wearer must be Nam Doyun. Effect ceases after one month from initial equipping.)
“After a month, that’s an increase of nearly three points across all stats.”
Considering how difficult it was to raise stats in this world, this was an incredibly overpowered item. Simply wearing it raised your stats permanently, not like some temporary boost from an elixir.
“I wonder if the genuine version has a hidden effect too?”
Curious, I channeled my unique mana into the genuine Crystal Ring. The ring began to resonate with my power.
A low hum sounded—then a blue light poured out.
Ding!
Effect: Magic recovery rate doubled.
Hidden Effect: Raises wearer’s all stats by +0.1 per day (Wearer must be Nam Doyun. Effect ceases after one month from initial equipping.)
“Oh. This works too?”
An unexpected gain. At this rate, after one month I would gain nearly six stat points just by wearing them.
“....”
Originally, these rings were supposed to go to Jeong Hayeon. But would it be so bad if I kept them for just a month? Raising my stats was my top priority right now. Once the month was up, I could hand them over with no issues.
Ding!
Hidden Effect 2: When worn by Nam Doyun, this accessory remains in a ‘transparent’ state.
“It can stay transparent?”
I slipped the ring on. Sure enough, the genuine Crystal Ring turned completely transparent.
“Nice. This is pretty useful.”
Unfortunately, the counterfeit version did not turn transparent. I slid the counterfeit onto the fourth finger of my left hand and the genuine onto the fourth finger of my right.
Knock, knock—
A knock sounded at the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
The voice belonged to my homeroom teacher.
“Yes. What can I do for you?”
“I have a small favor to ask, Doyun.”
The highlight of any trip is the campfire. Firewood and kindling had been prepared in the yard. Students gathered around it in cheerful clusters.
I glanced at my watch.
[PM 8:00]
The campfire would begin in about ten minutes.
But how was I supposed to hand all these out?
I looked down at the two full shopping bags in my hands. They contained souvenir rings the homeroom teacher had bought for the students to remember the trip by. There were exactly thirty, one for each person.
“Hmm… I’ll just set them in the corner and hand them out one by one.”
They were quite heavy. I placed the bags in a corner and pulled out one of the boxes containing a ring. The ring itself was a cheap souvenir worth about ten thousand won, but the box was unnecessarily luxurious. It probably cost more than the ring inside.
Who should I give it to first?
I scanned the area. Jeong Hayeon was sitting right in front of the campfire. Perfect.
I walked straight toward her. She must have sensed my presence, because she whipped her head around. Our eyes met.
Her gaze immediately dropped to my left hand. She stared at the ring on my fourth finger. Then her eyes rolled over to the ring box in my hand.
Her pupils began to quake violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
Why is she reacting like that?
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of her.
“Hey. Here, take this.”
I held out the box containing the ring.
“....Y-You… What is… this…”
She stammered, completely flustered.
“What do you mean?”
“...Why… Why are you giving me this…?”
I placed the box in her hands.
“Hey. I’m asking why you’re giving this to me!”
“Don’t you think about how the person receiving it might feel burdened?”
“...?”
Footsteps approached from behind me. I turned to see the homeroom teacher.
“Doyun, are you handing out the rings properly?”
“Yes. I’m going to give them out one by one.”
“S-Souvenirs…?”
Jeong Hayeon asked with a dazed expression.
“Yeah.”
I opened the ring box. Inside was the cheap souvenir ring.
“Ah…”
She let out a deep sigh of realization.