Chapter 238: Jealousy (10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 238: Jealousy (10)
Deep within the abyss of Hell, a woman watched from her throne.
The beautiful Demon King, who shared her subordinate’s vision until the very moment of its annihilation, was flushing, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she salivated.
Was she enraged that the servant she sent to the surface had been killed? Regrettably, no.
Leviathan, the Demon King of Jealousy.
She was becoming aroused by the spectacle unfolding before her eyes.
Not only had he tracked down and killed half of her subordinates in that short span of time, but he had also reduced them back into demonic energy and used it without a moment’s hesitation to mend a broken girl.
In that sight, Leviathan felt a profound sense of love.
First, she was astonished that someone could be so focused on another. Second, she was amazed that a human could harbor such a vast amount of demonic energy within their body, even if it was for the sake of treatment.
The reason a human could display such a marvelous side was, as always, love.
Without love, how could one possibly exhibit such a beautiful form?
She truly believed that.
While most humans were not like this, it was because of these rare, beautiful individuals that demons found themselves so irresistibly drawn to the human race.
She was glad she had played along with that woman’s crazy talk.
At first, she had felt uneasy about the fact that she might end up antagonizing two fellow Demon Kings at once, but that feeling was gone now.
When something so beautiful and valuable was right in front of her, what could be more regrettable than giving it up just because someone else had targeted it first?
Watching that beautiful scene with eyes like a girl in love, the Demon King made a wish.
She wanted him.
She wanted to steal him.
She wanted to pluck out those eyes that sent such pure love toward that girl and make them look only at her.
She wanted to steal the heart of the girl the boy loved so much and make it her own.
If she could do that—if she could only get her hands on such intense emotions—how ecstatic would it be?
How wonderful would it be if she could finally take them as her own flesh and blood?
The Demon King of the deep sea reached out, painting a picture of a happy future.
As a Demon King who must eventually grasp what she desires, she had made up her mind to claim that beauty for herself.
* * *
Kim Ga-eul opened her eyes very, very slowly.
An inexplicable sense of anxiety rose in her hazy mind, but she was soon able to relax thanks to the faint scent of flowers.
He’s right next to me. Thank goodness. Huh? Why am I relieved?
Hehe, I don’t really know, but I like it anyway. So-hyun is right here as soon as I wake up? This isn’t a dream, is it?
“…Are you awake?”
Ah, how did he know when I haven’t even opened my eyes yet?
“Ga-eul.”
His voice was softer and kinder than usual, making her want to act a bit spoiled.
“Yeah, So-hyun. Hehe.”
“We’re in the infirmary. the others were here until just a moment ago, but it’s late, so I’m the only one left for now.”
“Huh…? The infirmary? Am I sick…?”
“Well, yeah. You were hurting a bit. I’ve given you emergency treatment for now, but I’m staying here just in case.”
“I don’t like being sick…”
As she rubbed her cheek against his approaching hand like a pampered child, the hand touching her cheek trembled slightly.
“Ga-eul. Do you remember what happened?”
“Huh…? Ah.”
For a moment, it felt like her heart had dropped.
Her hazy mind cleared, and the events before she fell asleep—no, before she collapsed—came back vividly.
She didn’t know why, but bad thoughts had kept surfacing, and when she tried to deny them, everything went haywire.
To be honest, she didn’t have the courage to look at his face.
Even if she had been influenced by something, it was true that the thick sense of inferiority and ugly jealousy had been inside her all along.
On top of that, she had gone berserk and caused everyone to worry…
“You remember. Um, honestly, I don’t know how to say this.”
The images of the others looking at her with concern before she lost control were still vivid in her mind.
Is my appearance right now uglier and more broken than I can imagine?
Or maybe I caused more damage to my surroundings than I thought.
“It’s okay. It didn’t turn into a major problem. It’s just, well… there might be some side effects. I was just thinking about how to tell you.”
“So-hyun…?”
His tone sounded so sad that she finally opened her eyes. There he was, wearing a smile that was a bit more bitter than usual.
“Ga-eul. I’ve really thought about this a lot. This isn’t something for me to decide; your own will is what matters most.”
“What is it…?”
“You were attacked by a demon and are currently corrupted by demonic energy. You’re in a state where you can’t be treated with divine power.”
“…Huh?”
“And because I injected a larger amount of demonic energy to give you emergency treatment, it could be dangerous if something goes wrong.”
“Wait, what…??”
The reason my emotions got so intense was because I was attacked by a demon? Why on earth a demon? What’s so great about me that a demon would even approach me?
“Victims of demon attacks are popping up one after another at the Academy right now.”
Oh, I see. It’s not because I’m special? That’s a relief.
“I’m sorry. I did it because there was no other way, but I know how dangerous it is to be corrupted by demonic energy.”
…Hmm?
Wait a second. Is the reason he’s been looking like he’s at a funeral this whole time because I’m corrupted by demonic energy…?
I almost went berserk; isn’t it a relief just to be alive…?
I feel like this is the timing where I should be saying thank you.
“But, but you know. Fortunately, there is a way to turn you back. Just bear with it for a bit. I promise I’ll return you to normal.”
But seeing him focus on me like this feels kind of nice?
* * *
In truth, I had agonized over this for a long time before speaking, and many other methods had crossed my mind.
I thought about just putting her to sleep with the power of a succubus until everything was over, and I even considered falsifying her memories through hypnosis so she wouldn’t blame herself.
It was an unheroic method, something a villain would do, but it was a method I was more familiar with, and I hoped that she wouldn’t be hurt, even if it meant doing that.
But I couldn’t do that.
Even if it came to the worst-case scenario, the choice had to be Ga-eul’s.
“…You know, Ga-eul. Maybe… even if I treat you this time, if you keep staying with us, dangerous things like this might keep happening in the future.”
According to Ha-ni, she met Seo-ha, and Seo-ha said she prayed that we would become her most precious existence.
The others have the strength to protect themselves, or at least the strength to hold out until I can run to save them, but Ga-eul is different.
She’s a girl who could be in danger just by a group of delinquents gathering.
“If you want… only if you want, I can erase everything from your memory—this incident, and all the bad things that have happened so far.”
“Huh?”
In other words.
The things that hurt you and put you in danger—even the cause of everything that might eventually take you away—you could forget it all.
How about moving far away so you never get involved with it again, living a life of smiles in a safe, sunny place?
If you could just go back to before you hung out with a guy like ‘me,’ quit being a hero, and just live safely.
Maybe that kind of path would be okay.
Since you’re ordinary, maybe the life of an ordinary person, who is less likely to get hurt than a superhuman, would suit you better.
“I don’t need that, though?”
“…Huh?”
“Why are you reacting like it’s such a surprise?”
“No, no. Ga-eul, you have to think about this carefully. This isn’t something to answer lightly.”
“I have thought about it. I’m a dummy, so if I forget, I’ll just repeat the same mistake. It hurts a bit, but I can just take it as an experience and reflect on it.”
It’s not that simple.
“Ga-eul.”
“Yeah?”
Let’s be honest.
So she can choose.
“This is a chance I’m giving you. A chance to escape from me. From the culprit who put you in danger, from the demon who might put you in even worse danger in the future. This might be your last chance to run away.”
“…Huh? Then I really don’t want to.”
“No, you don’t understand. You don’t know what kind of dangers lie ahead. That’s why you can answer so easily.”
“Is that so…? So-hyun, do you want me to forget?”
Of course not.
But that’s just my greed.
If I desire too much when I don’t even have the ability to hold onto it, won’t I eventually end up with nothing?
I was so scared of that…
“Loser.”
“…What?”
“So-hyun, I can see you’re agonizing over something totally useless right now~”
Useless?
“You just have to say whether you want to be with me or not. That’s all. Blaming yourself because I was in a bit of danger and acting all mopey like that… you really are a loser.”
“I might not be able to protect you.”
I was being serious, but Ga-eul just giggled and looked away.
“You know, So-hyun. Before I collapsed, I really had a lot of bad thoughts.”
What is she talking about all of a sudden?
“I was jealous of Professor Cathy, and I was jealous of Ha-ni.”
“…Huh? Ha-ni?”
“Ah, I slipped up. Anyway, that’s not what’s important right now. Those two are so amazing, and everyone else seems so much better than me that I thought it would be great if everything just went to ruin—thoughts like that.”
“That was because of the demon.”
“Right. It was probably because of the demon. But that didn’t create a feeling out of nowhere; it just amplified a feeling that was already there. As the person involved, I know. But you know, that’s not all. I definitely had resentment and jealousy inside me, but I had a feeling even bigger than that. Because I had that feeling, I was able to resist the demon until the end.”
“…What was it?”
“It’s the longing to be like those two. I want to be helpful to you and my other friends, or at least I don’t want to be a burden. So, I’m going to work hard.”
To be honest, it wasn’t something that could be achieved through effort alone.
In this world, talent was never something that could be ignored.
“Since you guys won’t be able to just stay still by my side, I’ll work hard to keep up with you. Of course, I’ll trip and make mistakes sometimes like I did now, but no matter how far away it feels, I’ll keep running to get to your side.”
It definitely won’t be easy. You’ll be frustrated many times, and you’ll want to give up because it hurts.
“But it’s okay.”
Ga-eul reached out and stroked my hair.
Because of the demonic energy, it must hurt a lot just to move a little.
“I’ve ended up liking a loser who gets such a teary face so easily, so what can I do? I have to stay by your side.”
It must hurt.
It must be scary.
How can she be like this?
Yeah, maybe I was just the one who wanted to run away again.
What I had to do became clear.
“Ga-eul. It must hurt a lot, but thank you for saying that anyway.”
“Wh…at?”
“Just wait, just wait a little bit.”
“Um, So-hyun…?”
“Even though it’s just emergency treatment now, I’ll make it so you won’t feel any pain at all soon. And when the treatment is over, I’ll definitely return you to normal.”
“Uh… uh…?”
“Just wait a little bit, Ga-eul.”
“Uh, yeah. Okay. I’ll wait…?”
* * *
Kim Ga-eul was flustered.
It was because she noticed that something was strange about the way Kang So-hyun was treating her. She thought he was being unusually worried, and it turned out he was treating her like some kind of critically ill patient.
Well, she knew from her studies that being corrupted by demonic energy was supposed to be painful, so it wasn’t a completely strange reaction, but there was one problem.
I don’t feel any pain at all, though…?
That was it. They said it was normal to be in pain when your body was full of demonic energy, but she didn’t feel even a little bit of pain.
In fact, rather than being in pain, she felt even more energetic than before.
However, Kim Ga-eul didn’t bother to point this out.
She liked his soulful gaze, and she liked this ‘frail heroine’ position.
A heroine in trouble and a protagonist making a vow to save her.
She felt a little sorry for So-hyun, but this… this was maybe…
After all the twists and turns, had the era of Kim Ga-eul finally arrived…!?
Snapping out of it, Kim Ga-eul first put on the most aloof and fragile expression she could manage, then smiled and held out her pinky finger.
“Yeah, I’ll wait. Promise.”
What if he doesn’t do it because it’s embarrassing?
“Promise.”
Wow! He did it right away! This is the best!?
Hehe, I love this.
Linking pinkies and making a promise with So-hyun…! My conscience pricks me a bit, but I’m a patient, so this much is okay, right!?
I’ll just play around a bit and then tell him I’m not actually in pain! Even if I get scolded a bit, I’ll like that too…!