You Arrogant Bastard
You Arrogant Bastard
The Director told me.
"There are no bad people in this world, my child."
I replied. "The only people like that in this world are you and us."
"And I'm not part of that 'us'."
"Why do you think that?"
The Director looked at me with a sad expression.
I replied. "Isn't the Orphanage poor, too?"
"Support is scarce, and I've always seen you take from your own share to feed the children."
"Besides, if the world were full of good people, I would never have ended up here."
"... If I'm the child of parents like that, it's obvious the contents are the same."
The Director hugged me.
"You're not wrong, either."
"It must have hurt."
"Life is hard, and you might see everything as hateful. That's the same for other people, too."
"But I don't want to tell you to just endure it or hold it in."
"Whenever you feel sad, cry your heart out in my arms, and I will fill your empty heart with love and hope, so let it all out."
"And, I want you to promise me one thing."
"If you ever see someone in a situation similar to yours, I want you to embrace them with love."
I pulled my face away from the tear-soaked clothes and replied.
"It won't be easy, but I'll try."
That was the last pinky promise we made, and the last smile I saw from the Director.
The day I went to the market alone to buy ingredients for breakfast, a mysterious man broke into the Orphanage and killed everyone.
Seeing the Orphanage slashed everywhere and stained red, I held the Director in my arms and said.
"I still know that people are maddeningly hateful and are just dirty things that only lie."
"But because you believed in me."
"Because I have to not be your liar."
"I will definitely keep my promise... I said."
In 'UtoAca', you can customize the settings of the characters, including the protagonist and the heroine, but I didn't do that.
Even in the demo, although I was careful about choosing the genre, I set the background and character settings to completely random.
'If I figure out "Ah, this is this kind of character", I can get a sense of what they'll do in the future, and there would be no end to crafting characters one by one.'
There are countless works and authors who dug deep into story and settings only to receive harsh criticism or fail, so why would I be any different?
So, for the protagonist I created this time, I just roughly set the personality and alignment to Chaos/Evil and left the rest to random, hoping they would do things I couldn't predict.
'If I knew I was going to possess them, I would've min-maxed the settings like crazy.'
There's no narration hinting at goals or the future, like "Do this~, prepare for the invasion~".
Status window? There should be something that pops up. Even when I shouted in a heavy, deep tone, only a sharp, high-pitched voice rang out in the shower room.
The only thing I got as a possession perk was a soft, squishy body.
... Ah, is that not all?
There's one right next to me, this soft, chewy mascot-like thing.
"My dad is American and my mom is Korean. They run a bakery called Rose Dia near the Academy, have you been there?"
"No."
"Then do you want to go later? The melon bread is delicious."
"Not really."
"Waaah..."
Aisha's flapping twin tails droop.
While leaving the Dormitory and heading to the Academy main building, I roughly grasped the worldview thanks to the pink-haired girl chattering non-stop beside me.
It's generally the same as Earth, but due to the influence of the Urban Fantasy genre I chose, 'Magi', which acts as a deadly poison to humanity, covers most of the Earth.
Utopia Academy, established in Gangnam, is a training institution for raising selected humans with supernatural abilities and magical power, the Awakened, into heroes.
The thin golden Barrier covering the sky blocks the Magi beyond it, and overseas trade or exchanges use portals that utilize magical power. Aisha's family also came via portal in the past, apparently.
'It's a world that could turn into an apocalypse genre at any moment, damn it.'
If the portals close, the country becomes isolated, and heroes are heroes in name only; they're no different from expendable soldiers like knights or military personnel in fantasy works.
The fortunate thing is that Kwon Do-ah... the heroine I possessed is also an Academy student. In other words, since she's an Awakened, she's better off than a regular person.
Chapssaltteok, no, neither Aisha nor I look like we could fight Magic Beasts at all.
"Hmm hm-hmm hmm~"
Aisha was briefly depressed by my dry response, but as we got closer to Class A, her twin tails regained vitality.
Should I say they're fluttering excitedly rather than flapping with joy like before?
Cute, this is.
I asked Aisha.
"What are you so happy about?"
"Huh? Ah~ meeting you is great, but... there was a name on the list that was the same as a friend I parted with when I was young. Just in case."
"Oh... a boyfriend?"
"Th-th-that's not it..."
Look at her waving her hands, steam is even coming out of her head, it's definitely that.
It seems she ended up in the same class as the boy she had a crush on when she was little.
Then, if you add me, the protagonist, Aisha, and the boy, does that make a basic 4-person party?
It's a decent number, not bad.
It's a known theory that if five people gather, one is trash, but since there are four of us, everyone should have some use. Probably.
"But you said you haven't seen him for a long time, will you be able to recognize him?"
"Definitely. Hae-won has yellow hair and red eyes, so I'll know right away if I see him."
Wait.
What did you just say?
"I wasn't an Awakened back then, so my hair color is different from now, but... I hope he recognizes me right away. Hehe..."
Blonde hair and red eyes.
And the name.
Aisha, who arrived in front of the Class A classroom, uttered something meaningful.
Too many things overlap for it to be just someone with the same name.
The possibility that it might be three, not four.
Above all, the heroine is my— no, it's Kwon Do-ah.
'The possibility that there are heroines other than Kwon Do-ah... I see.'
There was even a post on the UtoAca gallery about a heroine I'd never seen before suddenly reverse-raping the protagonist during the demo play, so it's a plausible story.
Just as various questions began to intersect, a shadow was cast over me and Aisha from beyond the translucent blue classroom door.
"Danger!"
"Eek!"
The moment I hugged her and dove down, two students who had flown in while breaking the door slammed into the wall.
Crash!!
"Ugh?!"
"Argh!"
Murmurs of panic and fear are heard from inside the classroom.
The only footsteps heard are getting closer.
Following that, a man's voice, sharp and edged, pierces my ears.
My knees started to shake.
"I asked nicely, but you don't get it... Get lost."
"Ugh... A first-year, not knowing your place, daring to hit a senior?!"
"Cheon Hae-won! Do you think the Circle is a joke? Prepare yourself later—"
"Later?"
The man who came out of the classroom approached the sprawled students and sat down in a delinquent manner.
Then, with both hands, he grabbed the heads of those who called themselves seniors and lifted them up just like that.
Squeeze-
"Argh, aaaaaargh!!!"
"Wait, time out, you—"
"Why do you think there's a 'later'?"
No matter how hard the lifted students tried to pry the man off, nothing changed.
They struggled with all their might, but anyone could see the difference in strength was clearly in favor of the blonde man.
The man only put the two down after one of them, who was screaming in pain, passed out.
"The world these days is such a pain~ Can't even kill these idiots as I please... Right, I let you live, didn't I? What should you say?"
"J-just you wait...!"
"Why are you so stupid... Should I just crush you?"
"Hic?!"
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The student with blue handprints on his head, carrying the passed-out student, ran away without even looking back.
"Anyway, there are so many things worse than monkeys these days... Hm? What are you kids doing?"
As if he had only just discovered Aisha and me, the man's gaze turned toward us.
Golden hair shining brilliantly in the sunlight, red eyes with black cross-shaped pupils, and a sharp impression.
Partly because we were hunched over, but the difference in physique was even more pronounced due to Kwon Do-ah's absurdly small height.
I quickly scanned the inside of the classroom, but seeing no other blonde student, it was definitely this guy.
'Cheon Hae-won.'
The protagonist I created.
Aisha's childhood friend.
What should I say?
To survive in this damn world, Cheon Hae-won's rehabilitation is an indispensable element.
Wouldn't the world be peaceful only if the protagonist acts like a protagonist?
But if I scold him like "You! You can't do that! Tsk!", not knowing the situation like now, would he even listen?
Let's not act out of my league for no reason.
'I'll be lucky if I don't get lifted up.'
"Because you threw them without looking, she almost got hurt."
"I didn't see them, so what do you want me to do? Is it my fault you guys are small?"
Wow, what an asshole.
Slap-! I swatted away Cheon Hae-won's hand as he tried to pat my head and checked on Chapssaltteok.
"Are you okay? You didn't get hurt?"
"............"
"Aisha?"
"Y-yeah... I was just a little surprised. Thank you, Do-ah..."
Aisha couldn't take her eyes off Cheon Hae-won.
She's trying hard to smile, but the corners of her mouth are trembling.
Pat, pat. While I stood up, brushing off her uniform, Cheon Hae-won was looking at us, narrowing his brows.
To be precise, not at us, but at Aisha.
Did he only just recognize her?
"Um, Hae-won..."
"Why are you here?"
"Hae-won... right? It's been a while—"
"And what's with that hair. No, ha... are you serious?"
Contrary to Aisha, who was looking forward to the reunion, Cheon Hae-won showed a reaction so cold it felt excessive.
"I thought I'd never see you again."
Words she would have really wanted to hear if it weren't for the current atmosphere.
Aisha, who was next to me, slowly walked out and stood in front of him.
"I was so surprised when you disappeared without a word... But I'm so happy to see you after so long. Hehe... You know, I, I tried really hard? Now I can make delicious bread, I became an Awakened and got strong enough to make it to Class A, and also—"
"So."
"I even became a Saint Candidate..."
"Isha."
He looked annoyed.
As if there was someone here at Utopia Academy who shouldn't be.
Sigh.
A deep sigh followed.
"No, never mind."
As if he didn't even want to face her, Cheon Hae-won left Aisha behind and walked out into the hallway.
"......"
"......"
I briefly made eye contact with him, but he didn't particularly avoid it.
"Hey, stop."
He was a character I created assuming this kind of attitude, but facing him in reality, he's colder than I imagined, and it feels unpleasant.
A pink-pink girl's heart should be filled with love rather than sadness.
They say I need to maintain a friendly relationship with him for survival, but I don't want to crawl to him.
I have the promise I made with the Director, but I can't stand it because it's frustrating for me to watch.
"Is that something you say to a girl who's been looking forward to meeting you again for so long? You arrogant bastard."
Ehh.
I felt it when I was far away, but seeing him up close, only his solar plexus and chest enter my field of vision.
It feels like I've become a rabbit facing a tiger, but if you bite the bridge of its nose hard enough, even a tiger can be startled.
"Kid, do you know what you're blabbering about?"
"Even if I don't know, if I just put up with the way you talk, I'd be an idiot."
"...Ha, you've got guts, I don't hate that."
Hiccup.
His face is a, a little scary, but a man has his pride, I can't just tuck my tail and run away here.
I took my eyes off the smirking Cheon Hae-won and turned my body toward Aisha.
"You stop it too, are you crying because some arrogant jerk said something? Are you going to become a hero like this?"
"I-I'm not cryiiing..."
"Alright~ Let's go in first. What's with your face?"
I wiped Aisha's face with my blazer sleeve and went into the classroom together.
I was worried Cheon Hae-won might grab us from behind, but fortunately, he didn't come into the class.
Phew.
I didn't run away because I was scared. I'm doing this because I have a plan.
If I turn UtoAca into a pure romance between Cheon Hae-won and Aisha, it's the completion of a world where everyone is happy.
Aisha will be happy to be with Cheon Hae-won,
Cheon Hae-won will rehabilitate and become a hero,
'And I will survive in this hopeless urban fantasy. How great is that.'
Just because I'm given the role of a heroine, I don't need to be hugged by or fawn over a delinquent like Cheon Hae-won, right?
There's a classic, reliable childhood friend position right next to him, so why would I?
"You know. I'm going to try talking to Hae-won again."
"Will you be okay? He seemed to hate the fact that you even came to the Academy."
"St-still, I have to! Because at least I want to know why he's like that...!"
I thought her mentality might have been shattered by Cheon Hae-won's cold attitude, but it seems she's regained her energy.
Even if she's a bit small, Aisha is worth seeing as a romantic interest.........
.........Hmm.
"Do-ah? Why are you staring intently at my chest?"
"Dust. It got a bit black on your chest, probably because you fell earlier."
"Ah, you're right!"
Pat-pat-pat-pat-
There's no shaking, and no slapping sound.
Can I... corrupt her?