Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Vice-Commander Gray - Interlude
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💬 Chat Log [Me] - Sorry for breaking our promise. - Let's definitely eat together tomorrow. [Asuka] - ...Then let's eat together tomorrow morning. [Me] - Yeah, I'll definitely keep the promise this time. [Asuka] - You have to this time! Definitely! (˙ Д ˙ )۶ [Me] - Yeah. After sending Asuka a few more messages, I lowered the wrist wearing my smart watch.
And as I took a sip of the iced coffee on the table...
Gray, who had been sipping her vanilla shake across from me, looked at me with a sly smile.
"Girlfriend?"
Gulp.
"No, just a friend."
To be precise, a female friend.
"Oh, really?"
Her gaze shifted to my smart watch upon hearing that the person I'd been texting wasn't my girlfriend.
But while a regular off-the-shelf smart watch might be different, the academy's custom-made ones had a privacy protection spell engraved that prevented anyone but the wearer from seeing the screen.
So even Gray couldn't check it...
"Asuka? That female friend of yours doesn't seem to think so."
Gray giggled and twirled the straw in her shake.
At her words, I recalled that she had the "Clairvoyance" skill in addition to "Wind Control."
"No, sis. Do you really want to invade your much younger brother's privacy like that? Even using a skill to do it?"
"Hey now, the age gap between you and me is only about ten years at most..., wait. How did you know I used a skill?"
Gray stopped twirling her straw and looked at me with puzzled eyes.
I inwardly winced for a moment but outwardly played it cool, answering her question logically.
"There's only one way you could check the messages without breaking the privacy protection spell. Using Clairvoyance."
And crucially, I added that I could see traces of mana swirling in her eyes as proof she'd used the skill.
⚙ INSIGHT REVEALED ⚙ Mana traces confirm Clairvoyance activation. "Ahh."
Gray nodded with a convinced expression.
Then, a pleased smile tugged at her lips as she spoke.
"As expected of my sister's son. You're smart."
Gray slurped down her shake as she said that.
Relieved inwardly, I picked up my coffee and chugged it down too.
And a short while later.
Gray set her empty shake cup down on the table with a thunk, wiped the smile from her face, and erected a mana barrier around us.
She looked at me with a suddenly serious expression, so I met her gaze with equal gravity.
Gray let out a shallow sigh and said,
"Yoo-jin, listen to your big sis carefully. You're in a very dangerous situation right now."
Her warning to be extra careful for the time being clicked immediately. I knew exactly why.
A top-tier Fallen. A Named one.
That Named was really in Korea.
And that Named was targeting me.
My denied suspicions had turned into certainty. I let out a deep sigh.
'Ah, we're screwed.'
It was only the early part of the story.
Already drawing a Named's attention.
This random encounter twist was way too big.
'...At least it's a relief?'
I didn't know why, but since the Named was targeting me, the main characters would be relatively safe.
And upon second thought, there was no need to worry yet.
As long as I didn't face the Named right now, I had plenty of time to prepare.
'To do that, I need to figure out which Named it is first.'
Each Named had different countermeasures, so I needed to know who was after me to prepare properly.
But that wasn't a problem.
Gray sitting in front of me would tell me.
"From how dangerous you say I am, it sounds like a Named is targeting me."
"...Yoo-jin, you're good at deducing things too, huh?"
Gray nodded and continued.
"Right. Just as you said, one Named is after you."
I felt a bit relieved at that.
Only one Named was targeting me, not multiple.
If it had been more than one, I'd have been in real trouble.
No matter how well I knew their weaknesses and prepared, I couldn't survive multiples.
But one? That was different.
Assuming I prepared thoroughly and got help from someone of superior rank.
I could not only handle it but take it down.
'...Please let Cheol-su or Gray be there when I face the Named.'
That way, I wouldn't have to beg them to trust me or follow my lead.
"So, who is this Named?"
"Allure."
Gray grimaced in disgust just saying the Fallen's name and continued.
"That filthy, repulsive bitch is after you."
"Allure..."
"So be extra careful. True to her name, she wields a lethal power against men."
I nodded heavily at Gray, who added, "Got it?"
But inwardly, my thoughts were the opposite.
'Oh, jackpot.'
I was thrilled at this unexpected boon.
Allure was a top-tier Fallen, sure.
But unlike other Nameds, her only overwhelming strength was her "Charm" skill; her physical abilities were somewhat lacking.
So if I fortified my mental defenses, she wouldn't be hard to deal with.
Of course, her Charm being rated "S+" was the issue.
Still, no need to worry.
If the orthodox way didn't work, I'd use exploits.
'Wonder if the instructor will be at the fabrication department tomorrow.'
I had stuff to make anyway, and now requests too.
Eh, I'd pay, so they'd probably agree.
With that thought, I downed the remaining coffee in my cup.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ With the heavy talk done...
Gray switched back to her friendly neighborhood big sis mode, as if she'd never been serious, and dragged me around various spots.
We ate at a restaurant whose quality rivaled the academy's cafeteria.
Afterward, we strolled the streets, indulging in sweets like ice cream and waffles.
Whenever we passed a men's clothing store, she'd buy me outfits that suited me, taking care of all sorts of things.
Time flew by until night fell.
Screech.
Thanks to the car Gray had driven, I returned to the academy comfortably.
"Thanks for the ride, sis."
"No need to thank me. Get back safely. See you next time."
I nodded with a smile at her words.
And as I opened the door to get out...
"Hey, Yoo-jin."
Gray called me back.
I turned to her, one foot already out the door.
She hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
"You... planning to join a subjugation unit?"
I nodded right away at the question.
"Yes, I am."
"...Why?"
Why? Obviously to get the "Evil with Evil" talent.
...But truthfully, I also genuinely wanted to join a subjugation unit.
"Because I hate Fallen."
For some reason, ever since encountering the game Arena Academy, I'd despised Fallen.
Even though they were just graphic blobs back then.
And that feeling intensified once the Arena Academy world became reality.
I hated Fallen. They disgusted me. I wanted to kill them.
I wanted to exterminate every last one in this world.
That's why I wanted to join the 9th Subjugation Unit, specialists in hunting Fallen.
As if sensing my resolve...
"...I see."
Gray looked at me with a somewhat complicated expression.
She let out a short sigh, pulled out her smartphone from her pocket,
And tapped my smart watch with it.
⚙ PHONE EXCHANGE REQUEST ⚙ Gray has requested to exchange numbers. Accept? YES / NO I pressed YES.
✅ CONTACT SAVED Gray's phone number has been saved. Then Gray said,
"Save it as 'Pretty Sis.'"
Hmm... Pretty was true, but having her tell me to save it that way felt a bit off.
Still, I complied obediently.
She'd done me so many favors today.
✅ NAME CHANGED Gray has been renamed to Pretty Sis. Gray nodded contentedly at the smart watch's voice announcement.
She wiggled her smartphone and said,
"I'll be in Korea for a while, so call if you're bored or something happens. Especially if you run into Allure—you must call. Got it?"
"Yes, sis."
"Good. See you during break then."
"Yeah, see you then."
Thud.
With that, I got out and closed the door.
Vroom!
Her sports car roared to life.
It sped away from the academy in an instant and soon vanished from sight.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Whew... What a busy day."
Back at the dorm, after showering, I sat not on the bed but at the desk.
I pulled out a brand-new notebook from under the desk that I'd never used before and opened it.
"I could record it on the smart watch, but... just in case."
Muttering that, I gripped the pen and began jotting down the info I'd gathered today.
Possibility emerged that not my entire existence possessed, but to parallel world's me (statistically likely).
Reason = Biological parents exist.
Kzzt.
But no memories of this place at all.
Reason = Seems like developer or system intervened. Or... maybe an outer god.
Kzzzt.
Parents' abilities similar to my cheats (could be the same).
Reason = Father's main weapon was a gun. And like the cheat "Super Accuracy," pierces magi/mana, perfect hit rate.
Reason 2 = Mother's ability seems mana-related. E.g., infinite mana (couldn't hear details due to sudden mental breakdown, but gut feeling).
The voice I heard during the mental breakdown. What was that?
Kzzzzzt.
Emotions felt from that voice were definitely "longing," "worry," and "sorrow."
Related to me?
Or to Gray?
Anyway, I think it was "Mom."
Then could it be that Mom...
Kzzzzzzzzzt─!
....
......
Drip.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next morning.
"...What? Why did I fall asleep at the desk?"
I could've sworn I showered and lay down on the bed?
"Do I have sleepwalking?"
I'd never had that even in the previous world?
"No, impossible. I have Resilient Mind (A), so no."
Then why was I at the desk?
"Hmm......"
I crossed my arms and pondered yesterday's events.
But no new memories surfaced.
Gray dropped me off at the academy.
I came straight to the dorm, showered,
Lay down on the bed to sleep.
So... why was I at the desk?
That's when I noticed something on the desk.
"...Wait, what's this?"
It was a notebook.
Practically brand new.
But the first page had writing on it.
"Whose handwriting is this?"
Not mine?
Just in case, I picked up a pen and wrote on the notebook.
Nope, different from the writing already there and what I'd just written.
Mine had a slight flourish, while this was neat and straight.
"And why so many boxy hieroglyphs? Did someone break into my room while I was out?"
But that thought didn't last.
"Nah. Dorm security is top-notch. No one could get in."
Then what was this notebook?
Who left it?
"...This is ridiculous."
I stroked my chin and checked the notebook's contents.
Or tried to.
Ding.
💬 New Message [Asuka] - Top student! You didn't forget breakfast together today, right? (・∀・) A message from Asuka.
I chuckled and replied.
💬 Chat Log [Me] - Of course not. [Asuka] - Phew, good. ヾ(*´∀｀*)ﾉ - I'll wash up and message you. See you soon! ✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡ [Me] - Yeah, see you soon. "Cute."
I lowered my smart watch and stood from the chair.
Before heading to the shower...
"...Sigh, what was I about to do? What was it?"
I felt like I'd forgotten something.
But only for a moment.
"...Must not be important."
...Again.
"Hm? Again?"
Why did I say "again"?
A question popped up, but I couldn't find an answer.
Shrugging it off as a slip of the tongue, I headed to the shower.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📝 CENSORED NOTE ■ Entire existence was ■■, but parallel world's ■■ ■■ (statistically likely). Reason = Biological ■■■ exist But no ■■ of this place. Reason = ■■■ or system intervened. Or..., ■■ intervened. ■■■'s abilities similar to my cheats (could be same) Reason = ■■■'s main weapon was gun. Like cheat "Super Accuracy," pierces magi/mana, perfect accuracy. Reason 2 = ■■■'s ability mana-related. E.g., infinite mana (couldn't hear details due to sudden ■■ ■■, but gut). ■■ ■■ occurred, heard ■■■. What was it? Emotions from that ■■■: definitely "■■■," "■■," "■■." Related to ■? Or Gray? Anyway, ■ think it was "■■■." Then could ■■■ be... Kzzt. ⚠️ SYSTEM INTERVENTION ⚠️ ['Lee Yoo-jin, it's not time yet.'] ['So I'll hold onto this notebook for now.'] Kzzzt.