Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: A Potent Medicine
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Han Si-hoo and Rena are talking.
The memory of being stabbed slowly resurfaces.
He said it was a misunderstanding.
That it wasn't intentional.
It must be true.
"Maybe I should wait a little longer."
I have plenty of time, anyway.
There are lots of plush chairs on the first floor.
It's a space made for resting, after all.
[13 hours, 16 minutes]
The lights are off now, but it looks like a small café operates here during normal hours.
A shame it's vacation.
No, it's quiet because it's vacation, so it's fine.
Han Si-hoo and Rena had looked quite comfortable through the window.
I was worried I'd caused a problem, but it seems that wasn't the case.
It grated on my nerves.
Why?
Probably a personal issue for Yoo Seo-ah.
If Han Si-hoo, whom she considered her best friend, thought of someone else as his best friend instead.
There's this particular, miserable feeling.
"...Mmm."
Han Si-hoo isn't my best friend.
The medicine is.
My best...
Hmm.
Thinking about it that way is strange.
[13 hours, 15 minutes]
There's no reason for me to hate that Han Si-hoo is close with other people.
Just because I don't have friends doesn't mean I should drag Han Si-hoo down to my level.
It doesn't bother me.
Rena attacked me once, so that's probably what's on my mind.
She's the heroine, after all.
It's also a problem for Yoo Seo-ah, who should have disappeared long ago, to be interfering.
Because it messes up the story.
It's strange that I'm still here at this point in time.
I don't know why I'm here.
Did I make the wrong choice?
I should have run away from the academy.
"Ah..."
I slump into a plush chair and think.
My thoughts flow clearly while the medicine is in effect.
Waiting is one of the things Yoo Seo-ah does best.
As is getting lost in daydreams when she has nothing to do.
If I were at home, I would have gone outside to look at the sky.
Lying on the ground with a friend, watching the stars in the sky.
The yard at home isn't a soft field of grass.
It's not a lawn.
It's concrete.
But even a yard like that was nice.
There's no light pollution there.
The air wasn't bad, either.
The factory that had been attacked by magical beasts couldn't spew smoke anymore.
You can see stars that look like they're about to spill from the sky.
I reached my hand toward the sky.
It's the ceiling.
But beyond the ceiling, there must be a sky.
Actually, the sky doesn't matter.
Just having a friend by my side makes it perfect.
I recall a sparkling memory.
Still, the sky happened to be clear.
So, the thing I wanted to do.
Stargazing.
-Si-hoo, want to go stargazing together tonight?
Even after asking the question, it felt strange.
The Yoo Seo-ah of back then was, to put it nicely, innocent, and to put it bluntly, a fool.
She wasn't good with words.
-Sorry, I had to leave in a hurry... I have plans with a friend from the academy tonight.
Rejected.
Still, the sky was clear.
Yoo Seo-ah lies down alone and looks at the sky.
The sky is clear.
It looks like the stars are falling.
Like rain.
It was real rain.
I think even the smell of rain pooling on the concrete isn't so bad.
Yoo Seo-ah stood in the rain for a very long time.
Even though it was cold, it didn't feel that cold.
Perhaps that's why I started coughing a lot the next day.
It was my own fault, so I can't complain.
Actually, the sky didn't matter.
Because a friend was by my side.
But he wasn't there.
The empty space feels hollow.
Even back then, Yoo Seo-ah knew.
The fact that she was pretty much useless.
She wanted to do something for Han Si-hoo, but there was no way.
It was impossible for her to become someone acknowledged in this world.
Being with Han Si-hoo was also impossible.
Her old life wouldn't return.
Because she lacked the ability to protect it.
Incompetence.
That's the problem.
In the end, I'm angry at myself.
[13 hours, 8 minutes]
I can't even see the sky now.
Only the ceiling and the numbers.
Anyway, just like back then, I reach my hand toward the sky.
And make a wish.
I make a wish even without a shooting star.
A wish that no one would care even if I disappeared.
Actually, the second part of the wish was unnecessary.
The first part, I could manage on my own.
Should I go and ask him to let me run away now?
Thinking about it rationally, that seems like the right thing to do.
But I've already received the medicine, so it's too late.
I even broke the measurement machine, so it's way too late for that.
But I'm not completely incompetent now, am I?
Because I can do *something*.
Right, I have power now too.
So what can I do with it?
I can pretend to be an Awakener if I use the medicine.
But that comes with the condition that I can't get caught using it again.
Come to think of it, it's useless.
"Seo-ah?"
It's Han Si-hoo.
It seems their conversation is over.
"Sorry, am I late? When did you finish?"
[13 hours, 4 minutes]
"About ten minutes ago..."
What did he and Rena talk about?
I have no idea.
I can't help but be curious.
I wonder if they talked about me.
"I see. Should we head back now? Or is there somewhere you want to go?"
"Somewhere I want to go?"
"Yeah."
What I was thinking about just a moment ago.
That thing about going to see the stars together.
It doesn't sound bad.
"Then together..."
But Han Si-hoo is busy.
He has a lot of friends, too.
He's the kind of person who doesn't have time to hang out with Seo-ah.
"Together..."
"Hm? You can say anything."
"...No. I'll tell you later."
"Tell me anytime."
There are only a few places in the academy that I know.
I've seen a map of the academy, but that's it.
"Oh, and Seo-ah. If you're okay with it, there's someone who wants to apologize for what happened last time..."
Rena, I assume.
"I see."
"If you don't want to, just say so. She said she wants to come apologize if you're okay with it... but it might be hard for you."
"No."
"Are you sure? If you don't think so, tell me. It's really fine. If you don't want an apology..."
"I'm fine."
If apologizing will make her feel better, then so be it.
She's the heroine; it's right for her to be on good terms with the protagonist.
It wouldn't be good for things to get twisted because of me.
If I had actually died, it would have taken a considerable amount of time for their relationship to recover.
"Ah. That's a relief. Wait here, then. I'll go get her."
With that, he heads out of the building.
Han Si-hoo believes he's doing the right thing.
He always does.
That's why he's the protagonist.
The person who tried to kill me is coming back.
But I have power now, don't I?
[13 hours, 2 minutes]
If things go south, I can just kill her.
If it comes to it, I can just stab her back.
O, medicine, o, medicine.
I need a weapon.
-Sshk.
A black dagger formed in my hand.
Good.
When would be a good time to strike?
I'll strike before the other person attacks.
So I have to be ready.
"...Ready?"
For what?
There's a dagger in my hand.
I was going to kill her.
Rena?
Han Si-hoo's friend?
-It's a very potent medicine.
-It wasn't made for human use.
Lee Yoo-ram's warning flashes through my mind.
-It's a military-grade drug.
A drug made for fighting.
It's not strange for it to induce strong aggression.
This is a problem.
"Disappear."
I said to the dagger.
It doesn't disappear.
It'll be a problem if Han Si-hoo comes back and sees this.
Rena will be with him, won't she?
This time, they might really think I'm trying to kill her.
It's a plausible scenario.
This isn't what I want.
"Disappear, I told you to go away."
The dagger remains where it is.
This can't be happening.
"I said disappear..."
I began to feel crushed by fear.
This is dangerous.
[12 hours, 33 minutes]
There's no time.
It's because I created a weapon.
The time is draining faster.
The end result is panic.
"Why, why? Why won't it disappear?"
It just disappeared last time.
What's different?
"Because I told it to disappear without using it?"
If that's the reason, I can understand.
To be honest, I wanted to stab her too.
Revenge for the pain she inflicted on me.
It would be good for you to suffer the same.
Not the same.
Harder, more brutally, more, more, more.
To the very end, I'll watch you be destroyed.
"Shut up."
This kind of hostility is unfamiliar.
The hatred is too strong.
I didn't know this is what "a potent medicine" meant.
The dagger still hadn't disappeared.
-Thunk.
I stabbed the desk with the dagger.
Isn't this enough to serve its purpose?
There's a saying that if you draw a sword, you should at least slice a radish.
So I try cutting something.
It still doesn't disappear.
"...Seo-ah?"
I've been discovered.
Han Si-hoo is back.
Of course, he didn't go far, just right outside, so he was bound to be back quickly.
Han Si-hoo is standing over there.
Rena was following behind him.
Both of them froze when they saw me.
"Ah. This is."
The situation I feared is about to happen.
I've become a threat again.
That thing they call a Villain.
"This is, well..."
This time, the Doctor isn't here with me.
So there's no one to take the fall for me.
I don't know why the dagger won't disappear.
"...Seo-ah."
Han Si-hoo calls my name.
His voice is calm, as if to reassure me.
But haven't I seen this scene somewhere before?
It was like this last time, too.
He reassured me, and then the next day, he tried to kill me.
The dagger is still clutched in my hand.
It hasn't disappeared.
Even as I tell it to disappear, a part of me doesn't want to let it go.
Rena, who stabbed me, is standing right there.
An impulse rises within me, telling me I should do something with this knife right now.
"Seo-ah, calm down."
Does Han Si-hoo trust me?
Or what is he thinking, seeing me as a threat?
He'll try to deal with me, of course.
Right.
They said if I take the medicine and do something strange, I'll be dealt with.
I can't believe things blew up this quickly.
I'm going to die.
"Why, why are you looking at me like that?"
I know the reason.
It's because of the knife.
For some reason, this strangely familiar dagger won't disappear.
As if it's perfectly natural for it to not leave my hand right now.
I looked at Rena.
Rena opened her mouth to say something, then closed it.
"Disappear..."
In a small voice, a truly tiny voice, I mumbled.
I want the dagger to disappear.
But it doesn't.
"I wasn't really trying to attack."
I say to Han Si-hoo, who looks like he's about to approach.
Is he trying to subdue me?
Like that time?
"Wait, it's true. So just give me a moment."
[11 hours, 52 minutes]
The time is running out.
No.
"I have no intention of attacking-"
Still, isn't this a good opportunity?
I think it would be fine to kill someone like Rena.
O, medicine, give me a weapon.
A longsword appeared in my left hand.
A black longsword.
This is better than the dagger.
I checked Rena's position.
She seems to be backing away.
She came up behind me when my guard was down.
I have to be careful.
"...No, I..."
My head hurts.
The hand I naturally raised to my head was also holding the dagger.
For someone with no intention of attacking, this is a strange picture.
My words have already lost their credibility.
I really had no intention of attacking.
Just a moment ago, I was reminiscing about happy memories.