Chapter 99
Chapter 99
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Resolve (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***
‘Sigh.’
I swallowed a sigh.
Sometimes, when your heart gets ahead of you, you act first and regret it later.
And as I walked with Karite, I was regretting it.
If I had thought things through one more time, I wouldn't have acted that way. But when your heart leads, you don't think.
“...”
“...”
An awkward atmosphere hung between us the moment I met Karite.
Looking back, I wondered why I'd done it.
I'd gone straight to her classroom to meet her.
Seeing Karite glance at me now, a wave of embarrassment washed over me.
‘I should have just waited quietly in the park until our scheduled time.’
My eagerness had needlessly drawn the attention of other cadets.
I belatedly understood why David had assumed I had a meeting with a girl. My actions had practically screamed it.
Most of the people I spent time with were girls.
It had been so long since I'd met up with anyone who wasn't a girl that I couldn't even remember the last time. It just happened to work out that way.
The moment I faced Karite, I definitely felt the strange gazes of the cadets around us.
Glances that seemed to misunderstand the relationship between Karite and me.
Surely those looks must have been a burden for Karite as well.
*Shhh.*
As we entered the park and sat on a bench, the silence became incredibly uncomfortable.
Realizing my actions might have burdened Karite, I found it difficult to speak.
“Han Cheon-seong.”
But when Karite spoke my name first, I replied immediately.
“Karite.”
When our eyes met, Karite was smiling in a way anyone could see was awkward.
“I heard you found a clue about your skill. Congratulations.”
“...Thank you.”
Even as I answered, I hesitated.
‘Just how fast are the rumors about me spreading?’
I knew many people had seen me at the training grounds last week.
But for even Karite to know about it felt different.
“I heard a lot in the lecture hall. Everyone from the other cadets to our instructor was talking about you. The instructor especially praised you. He mentioned your name, saying there are many incredible cadets this year...”
Her words made me smile awkwardly.
Receiving praise is wonderful, but it's all relative. There are times you can't simply be happy about a compliment, especially when you consider the other person's situation.
Thinking of Karite, who was still stuck at Trait Level 1, I couldn't feel purely joyful.
“In many ways... I was just lucky.”
“You don't have to be so modest. You can't find a clue to a skill with luck alone. Besides, I didn't get to say this last time we met, but I heard you even lost consciousness while training. I think this is the result of all that effort.”
Karite spoke so calmly that I hesitated for a moment before finally accepting it.
“I'm just trying as hard as I can.”
“As hard as you can...”
“But I still have a long way to go. The path ahead is far.”
Even as I spoke, I didn't boast about my growth.
Considering Karite, the growth of one's Trait wasn't a topic I could bring up lightly.
“Still, it's really amazing. My Trait is still Level 1, but you're already Level 4 and have even found a clue to your skill. Honestly, it's ridiculous for me to even compare myself to you, but Han Cheon-seong, I think you're truly incredible.”
“Karite... you don't have to go that far.”
As I replied, I started to feel strange.
‘Why is she suddenly acting like this?’
Karite was suddenly making me the center of the conversation.
In our previous meetings, she had mostly talked about herself, confiding her personal thoughts to me. But now, I had become the subject of her words.
The change felt too jarring.
“I'm just... grateful to you, Han Cheon-seong.”
“...Grateful?”
“You're always the center of attention, with so many people watching you. And from what I hear, it's all good rumors. Talk of your growth, your effort, your will. Yet here you are, spending time with me. How could I not be grateful?”
I blinked blankly at her words.
“Karite.”
Then, in a slightly firm voice, I called her name.
Those words were not good. For her to see me as someone to look up to, someone to treat with reverence, was truly bad for the relationship between us.
I looked directly into her eyes and continued.
“You and I are not that different.”
“...Not different?”
“I'm truly grateful that you praise me and hold me in such high regard. But I don't want you to be grateful just because I'm spending time with you.”
“Why...? I was just being honest. I'm so grateful that you're here with me like this. I truly, sincerely feel that way. Because compared to you, I'm so lacking.”
I could see the negative emotions in her eyes as she spoke with such a consistent attitude.
A gloomy, somber expression.
At that look in her eyes, which seemed to say she thought we were so different... a sigh escaped my lips.
“Han Cheon-seong. Did I... say something wrong? I really meant it in a good way...”
“Even if you mean well, don't say that.”
I cut her off firmly, feeling the need to reshape our relationship.
From our last meeting, I thought Karite and I had gotten quite close. Close enough to be called friends. I thought we had grown closer through our few encounters.
But now, Karite was arbitrarily trying to define the relationship between us.
That I was on a higher level than her, and she was in such a low position that she should be grateful just for being with me.
That's how she saw herself.
“......”
Karite hesitated, seemingly at a loss for words, and I reached out to her.
*Grasp.*
And I carefully turned her to face me properly.
“Um... Han Cheon-seong? Why all of a sudden...”
Looking at her, clearly startled by my action, I spoke calmly.
“First of all, I'm a commoner. And I have a Common Trait.”
I brought up what could be considered my weaknesses in public.
“Compared to that, Karite. What about you?”
I asked her, someone in a completely opposite situation.
“...That's.”
“You come from a noble family incomparable to mine, and though your level is low for now, you have a Unique Trait. Am I right?”
To Karite, who hesitated to answer, I continued as if giving her the answer myself.
“Yes....”
Watching her nod blankly, I spoke again with emphasis.
“But when I first met you, I didn't see you as someone above me or difficult to approach. Why do you think that is?”
I asked her again.
Why she thought I acted that way.
And I believed Karite would be able to answer correctly.
“Because we're... cadets at the same academy.”
“Exactly. And I believe that as long as we're fellow cadets, everyone should be treated the same, unless they're in the S-Class.”
In my heart, I wanted to say that even S-Class cadets should be treated the same, but I couldn't bring myself to say it.
The academy even separated the S-Class lecture spaces from the other classes. They were effectively a class that had to be viewed as completely separate.
“...”
Looking at Karite, who was staring at me blankly, I spoke again.
“Karite. So, our positions are the same. You don't need to be grateful for being with me, and you don't need to praise me so much like you're doing now. And I told you this last time. I'm meeting with you because I want to, because you're on my mind.”
Even as I spoke emotionally, I truly felt that way.
I was grateful she praised me and thought highly of me, but that wasn't why I was meeting her.
“My words might have sounded a bit much, but I felt we needed to properly establish our relationship. I really want you to be comfortable around me. I want you to treat me like a close friend.”
“...A close friend.”
“And at this point, couldn't we say we're friends?”
I slowly loosened my grip on her shoulders and smiled faintly.
I don't know why saying the word 'friend' felt so cheesy, but it seemed necessary to say it directly to Karite.
And it seemed my words had gotten through.
The look in her eyes as she stared at me blankly was now distinctly different.
The negative feelings, the gloomy air, had largely disappeared.
And the empty space left by those emotions was filled with others, like surprise.
“Right. We are... friends.”
As Karite blankly uttered the words, a small laugh escaped me.
“Karite. When you think about it, how many times have we met now?”
“This must be the third time.”
“Right. We've already met three times, and we plan to meet more in the future. Doesn't that already make us friends?”
The word 'friend' doesn't carry that much weight, but lately, I felt like I was constantly emphasizing it.
And what I considered a friend was really nothing special.
Spending time together, making small talk, or for any other reason—if you just hang out together, I consider you friends.
In that sense, Karite was no different from a friend to me.
“You're right. You're right, Han Cheon-seong.”
Seeing Karite's faint smile, I felt my heart lighten.
“So, don't be grateful for being with a friend. I really just want you to be comfortable around me.”
I repeated myself, wanting to imprint it on her.
An imprint that told her it was okay to be comfortable with me.
“After hearing you say all that, I guess I really was thinking foolishly.”
As Karite spoke with a slightly hollow laugh, I chuckled as well.
And seeing her laugh, I realized it once again.
...just how difficult a life Karite was living.
Thinking of how Karite felt she had to be so grateful to me for simply approaching her, I steeled my resolve.
‘I have to save her.’
Two days from now. The first incident of this world will unfold.
I wanted to prevent Karite from even going to the place where the incident occurs, but I had no right to do that.
So, I'll do what I can.
I will prepare for the coming incident by attaining the greatest strength I can.
Just as I solidified my resolve.
“...Han Cheon-seong.”
Karite looked at me with a slightly strange expression.
“What is it?”
“That person over there. Aren't they looking at you?”
When Karite pointed to one side, my gaze followed unconsciously.