Chapter 20: Reversal (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 20: Reversal (1)
It was humiliating.
After crying her eyes out all day yesterday, the primary emotion Kim Ga-eul felt upon waking up this morning was nothing but pure embarrassment.
Getting rejected by Yu-hak? That happened.
To be honest, even she thought she had looked pathetic yesterday.
When she suddenly recalled Cheon Yu-hak’s cold gaze from the day before, a brief flash of resentment flickered in her heart, but she quickly shook her head to dispel it.
What was a monumental event for her was likely just another passing moment for Yu-hak.
Since she was the one harboring a one-sided admiration, she couldn’t afford to be greedy.
The real reason she felt so humiliated was that she had shown such a pathetic, blubbering side of herself to that loser she usually ignored.
In her mind, the loser Kang So-hyun was already established as a very bad, wicked guy.
“Is he one of those ‘loser hiding his power’ types? Why even hide it in the first place?”
During their duel, he had clearly read the movements of her whip perfectly.
Because he had charged at her without even taking a stance—looking like an ordinary person who didn’t know how to fight—it might have looked like a reckless dash to others. But she, the one facing him directly, knew better.
There was no way that burning intensity in his eyes was just a bluff.
And then, he had reached her with ease, thrusting his dagger forward as he spoke.
— Let’s do better, okay?
Perhaps out of consideration for her, there was no force behind the dagger, but that was another thing that pissed her off.
Who did he think he was?
And why the hell did he let himself get hit by her whip on purpose?
— I’ll never laugh at you.
“Trying to act cool, like a total loser.”
The image of him yesterday, telling her he would never laugh at her, suddenly surfaced in her mind.
…Was she a bit too harsh?
Maybe he wasn’t actually a bad guy?
Even Yu-hak hadn’t said anything, yet she felt like she was the only one who had gone off the rails.
She had to admit it.
Honestly, she just wanted to look good in front of Yu-hak, so she planned to bully him a bit and then stop. But he had endured it much better than expected, so she ended up taking the harassment too far.
For now, she would give him a decent apology today and think of another way to catch Yu-hak’s eye.
She opened the classroom door, walked in, and sat at the loser’s desk as usual, greeting her friends.
“Hey, I’m here~”
However, her friends only glanced at her before turning their heads away.
The fact that they looked at her meant they hadn’t failed to hear or see her; they were definitely ignoring her.
The atmosphere in the class was strangely off.
It wasn’t just her friends; it felt like almost everyone was sending her looks of contempt.
She was quite sensitive to this kind of social climate.
Even the boys who had shown interest in her until yesterday were now awkwardly avoiding her gaze.
A cold sweat broke out on her skin.
It was a sudden change, but it definitely wasn’t her imagination, and she had a hunch about the cause.
Steeling herself, she decided to try talking to them one more time.
“Guys, what’s wrong?”
This time, she got a response.
“Hey, you’re usually so good at reading the room. Don’t talk to us. We don’t want your mess splashing onto us.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Hey, your life at the Academy is screwed. If you’re curious, go read the paper on the blackboard. Just please, stop trying to hang around us and go away.”
The people she had considered friends until yesterday had turned on her in an instant.
She thought their attitude was too different from when they had parted yesterday for it to be just because of that incident, and it seemed there was indeed another reason.
She took a slow, deep breath and headed toward the blackboard.
It felt as if every unpleasant gaze in the room was fixed on her.
There was a piece of paper posted there.
It contained a vivid, slightly exaggerated, and nakedly detailed account of everything she had done to the loser and the process of how she had fabricated and spread rumors.
It was written in a style very similar to how she had done it herself.
She had a rough idea of who the culprit was.
Yu-hak wasn’t the type to do something like this, and the loser probably wasn’t the culprit either.
It was likely that woman who had looked down on her yesterday.
Acting all noble and refined next to Yu-hak, yet she was just a cowardly bitch of the same breed as herself.
When being targeted by public incitement, one must first remain confident.
She knew all too well that the moment you showed fear, the rumors became fact and turned into a blade that would come back to haunt you.
So, for now, she decided to go where there was at least some possibility of support.
She sat back down at a desk near her friends, as she always did.
“Guys, you don’t actually believe those lies, do you? I mean, it’s not entirely made up, but you guys know how it is.”
There was no answer.
“It’s not like I was the only one doing it. You guys too…”
“Ugh, seriously.”
A clear rejection.
It was no use.
It seemed she didn’t have a single ally left in this class.
Instead of coming to this class out of habit just to see Yu-hak, she should have checked her own class first, but it was probably already too late.
She wasn’t resentful.
She was simply getting back exactly what she had given.
However, the problem was that the opponent was far stronger than her, making it difficult to slowly unravel the situation and take revenge.
Who exactly did she need to make an ally to overturn this situation?
Just then, the door slid open, and someone walked in.
It was a boy whose face was hard to see because of his tacky glasses and his hair, which was long for a guy and tied back haphazardly.
Most of the cadets sent him looks that were the polar opposite of the ones they gave her, but he didn’t seem to care, sitting in his usual spot.
Then, he looked over at her.
The words came out reflexively.
“Wh-what are you looking at, loser?”
And then.
“You really are consistent as hell.”
For the first time today, she received a normal, familiar response.
* * *
Seeing how damn awkward the classroom atmosphere was, it seemed things were playing out similarly to the original novel.
Even so, is she still holding her ground at my desk because she wasn’t directly rejected by Cheon Yu-hak?
The flow of the original novel suddenly came to mind.
— You’re doing things I never asked for. Who do you think you are, constantly bringing up my name?
Cheon Yu-hak’s cold gaze pierced through Kim Ga-eul.
Faced with that frigid attitude that didn’t even view her as a human being, Kim Ga-eul felt like she was about to burst into tears, but she had to desperately swallow them back.
If she let a single tear fall now, everything would be over.
— Lilac’s behavior is frustrating, but at least he has talent. But I don’t particularly enjoy seeing a talentless insect looking down on others. Especially while using my name.
But it was pointless. In the end, the tears she had been holding back fell.
Cheon Yu-hak sneered coldly.
— I don’t know what you think you did right to be crying. Don’t let me see you again. You’re an eyesore.
That was what she originally suffered in the novel. Afterward, she would wander around like a corpse, having given up on everything, before eventually opening her heart to Lilac’s comfort.
However, since she hadn’t heard those cold words directly from the person she liked this time, perhaps a spark of hope still remained in her heart, as her eyes weren’t completely dead yet.
“Hey, loser.”
“What.”
Even though I just gave her a simple answer, the way the corners of her mouth twitched suggested she was quite scared.
Well, I guess a kid who just entered the Academy wouldn’t have that much of a heart of steel.
It’s scary when your friends ignore you and it feels like you’re about to be ostracized.
But don’t worry.
The “sweet guy” Lilac will help you out soon, saying something like, “Isn’t this a bit too much?” so it won’t be a total living hell.
As expected, Lilac appeared, and the subtle bullying from the classmates continued.
Since Lilac didn’t seem to understand what was going on, one of the friends apparently went over and explained it to him.
In an instant, Lilac’s expression crumpled.
Now, around lunchtime today, he’ll probably show off his full “pushover” nature and ask the kids if they could help her out a bit.
Not long now.
* * *
Perhaps they were afraid of getting on the bad side of Cheon Yu-hak’s circle, but I received so many apologies during every break today.
Even a girl who had never directly harmed me came to ask for forgiveness, saying, “I’m sorry for talking after believing only the rumors.” I ignored most of them, but it started making me feel like some kind of villain, so after a while, I just told them it was fine and sent them away.
It seemed I had successfully avoided the “ostracized route,” which is practically a standard rule for Academy transmigrators.
“Hey, you eat this.”
And now, a literal boar was standing in front of me.
Not just a boar, but amazingly, a new species that walked on two legs and spoke human language.
The bastard I enjoyed a game of tag with on campus the other day looked similar, but since we weren’t on “sharing food” terms, it was reasonable to view this one as a new species that just happened to look like him.
“I’m sorry for believing the rumors. You’re not actually a bad guy.”
Wait, is this bastard doing this because he thinks I covered for him with the professor?
Don’t do this, you prick. I’m still not letting you off the hook.
“I’m giving this to you because I felt bad just apologizing with words, so make sure to eat it when you’re alone.”
He was acting like he was doing me a huge favor by giving me a single tube of potato chips.
He seemed to think this was a cool apology, but yeah, I have no intention of forgiving him.
I’m going to get my petty revenge later.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Is that guy bothering you again?”
Ha-ni, who was approaching as class had just ended, came over.
“No, he just gave me some potato chips to eat. I guess he felt a bit sorry in his own way.”
“Pathetic losers, and they call themselves heroes. That’s why I said you shouldn’t just believe rumors. Actually, rumors have spread to every class that the girl who was the ringleader trying to mess with you is the real villain.”
“Don’t believe those rumors too much either.”
“She tried to screw you over innocently. That makes her a bad person, doesn’t it?”
It seemed my roommate cared about me more than I thought.
But don’t be so sharp.
Because from now on, you’ll have to listen to Lilac say things that will give you an aneurysm while we eat.
“Ah, there come Lilac and Lee Yu-na.”
Speak of the devil, the pushover and the Pink Chihuahua were walking toward us.
We got our meal tickets and finished our lunch while chatting.
Aside from being forced to eat cherry tomatoes under my roommate’s threat of violence, the meal passed without much incident.
That’s right—Lilac didn’t say a word.
You crazy bastard. Why aren’t you saying anything?
“Uh, Ga-eul?”
So, I just asked him myself.
Fortunately, the Pink Chihuahua and the girl in disguise were absent, saying they had the same class together.
“Yeah, you’re the type who really hates bullying and stuff like that.”
One might ask what kind of nonsense this was coming from someone who hadn’t even known him for a week, but Lilac didn’t particularly deny it.
“Hmm, well, it’s true she did wrong, but I don’t really like this way of bullying her.”
“And?”
“But the victim this time isn’t me, it’s you.”
“…Huh?”
“If I were the target of the bullying or the fabricated rumors, I’d have a justification to persuade the others not to bully her once things were resolved. But this is entirely something you suffered. As your friend, I can’t try to persuade the others without your permission.”
The guy scratched his cheek sheepishly with a grin.
What the hell? Why is he actually making sense?
Good grief.
I thought Lilac was a “White” human, a pure optimist who believed every evil act had a reason and that people could turn good if the problem was solved. But the reason he acted that way in the original novel was simply because he was incredibly generous toward people who messed with him.
Come to think of it, that was always the case.
The Setting Book stated he wouldn’t tolerate injustice, and while he rarely killed villains who harmed citizens or caused “Heroine Dies First” incidents, he would beat them all half to death without mercy.
It wasn’t a character inconsistency; it was because of this specific trait.
But damn it, if you act like this, it makes things difficult for me.
“You don’t have to worry about that, so you can do whatever you want.”
“Oh? Really?”
Lilac’s eyes widened.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“To be honest, So-hyun, I thought you were the type who would never let something like this slide. Like back at the cafeteria.”
Yeah, you’re right. I’m exactly that type.
But this time, I have something in mind, so I’m letting it slide. However, it would be weird if I did it, so you need to step up.
“Anyway, I don’t really care. If you want to, you can go ahead and persuade the kids.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Don’t mention it, man.”
[The Will of the Saint reacts to your good deed.]
What?
[To you, who has practiced the virtue of forgiveness, an even stronger recovery rate increase effect is applied.]
No, you said the effect was a random buff of whatever is needed, so why does only the recovery rate increase keep popping up? More importantly, why is this a good deed?
I’m only doing this because I have a plan.
I just said it was okay to defend a girl who was harassing me with rumors just because she felt like it, right?
…Wait, now that I think about it, excluding the tactical part, it does seem like a good thing?
“You really are a good guy.”
Holy shit.
All the characters in this novel are misunderstanding me as a good person.
Everyone, I’m not that kind of person.