Chapter 291: Aftermath
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 291: Aftermath
“Defendant Kang So-hyun, raise your head…!”
“Raise it…!”
…Yeah, I figured it would come to this.
To be honest, things had been chaotic since I went for dawn training today.
There was Cathy Noona, who was worried to an almost excessive degree, asking if I was hurt anywhere. Then there was Master, who, unlike her usual self, just stared at me silently, deep in thought.
Ga-eul was in a state that practically screamed, ‘I’m sulking! Hurry up and comfort me!’ Even Ha-ni, who had already cooled off, found the situation amusing and joined in, pestering me to coax Ga-eul.
With everyone already in such a state, I wondered what kind of ordeal awaited me at school. Surprisingly, the morning passed by quite quietly.
For a moment, I wondered if the kids had finally matured, but of course, that wasn’t it.
It wasn’t that they’d matured; they were just saving the beatdown for after school.
They weren’t genuinely furious, either. It was obvious they just wanted an excuse to mess around and were using this as a pretext.
“The sinner…!”
But I came prepared today, you guys.
“Are you sure it’s okay to treat me like a criminal right now?”
My uncharacteristically firm attitude caught them off guard for a moment, but Lilac soon smirked.
“The sinner shows no signs of remorse. It looks like today’s trial will be a long one, don’t you think?”
“I agree.”
“Hear, hear! So-hyun must go to the coin karaoke right now and sing whatever songs we pick for him!”
Even Cheon Yu-hak, who usually didn’t get involved in these things, joined in. Then there was Ga-eul, still maintaining her ‘I’m sulking!’ act out of pure self-interest, and the others who were secretly looking forward to it.
“Is that so? You won’t regret this?”
In truth, I knew they weren’t doing this out of malice.
They were probably just happy I returned safely. Since no one was injured, they likely assumed the dungeon was easier than expected.
At the same time, they felt a bit slighted about being left behind, and their “punishment” was likely a gesture of pure goodwill—an excuse to skip training for a day and just play.
However.
“Santa Claus doesn’t give presents to rebellious children.”
I wonder if you all can withstand my gift offensive?
“…Huh? Isn’t it ‘crying children’?”
“Or ‘naughty children’?”
As I slowly pulled out the Purple Gold Red Gourd, everyone’s eyes began to sparkle.
They must have realized what I was getting at.
After returning ‘most’ of the artifacts to that con artist thief before we parted ways, the Purple Gold Red Gourd now contained my personal belongings along with the spoils from this dungeon.
“Don’t want any presents?”
Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak hesitated for a split second, but their resolve seemed firm.
“Did you think I’d change my mind for a mere gift?”
“That’s right. Do you know how hard we worked on the plan to go out with you once you got back…”
The others seemed to have similar reactions, so I pulled the first artifact from the gourd.
“It’s a sword used by Theseus. It’s not particularly useful as it is, but the material is Mithril.”
There was the artifact of Theseus, one of Greece’s greatest heroes; the Icarus Wing Earrings that allowed for brief flight; and the horns and leather obtained from slaying the Minotaur. Finally, there were various materials and potions gathered from reward rooms and traps while exploring the dungeon.
If these had been overly powerful artifacts, the kids would have flatly refused them. But materials of this grade? Those were definitely tempting.
“Are you trying to buy us with things…!? No one’s going to cave that easily!?”
“No! So-hyun! I wasn’t mad at all from the start!”
“…I was actually thinking about modifying the Thunder Dragon Spear lately. It seems Lilac was in the wrong. We were just doing what he asked, weren’t we?”
“Exactly.”
Lilac turned to his comrades, trusting them, but Ga-eul, Cheon Yu-hak, and Ha-ni cut ties with him without a moment’s hesitation.
“…I’m being betrayed like this?”
You amateur.
The only times a gift fails to change a person’s heart are when the recipient is a truly bitter enemy… or when your gift offensive is simply insufficient.
Well, unlike a certain someone who doesn’t really need artifacts thanks to his Holy and Demonic Swords, the others have to maintain their weapons periodically.
Materials and artifacts would be even more enticing to them.
“…I’ll surrender too, so can I have just one artifact?”
Wait, really? Even Lilac wants one.
“Then, of course.”
“I knew I could count on you, So-hyun!”
“Since you were the last to surrender, you pick last.”
Lilac’s smile was dyed with despair.
Haha. That’s why, you punk, you shouldn’t try to find an excuse to tease people every chance you get.
After everyone took one item they wanted, Lilac barely managed to salvage the last remaining item: Theseus’s gauntlet.
Wow, that one has a barrier function that’s only slightly weaker than the light of a Holy Sword. Congratulations, Lilac!
* * *
Of course, it’s not like I just silenced them with artifacts.
I was planning on giving those to them anyway.
While I couldn’t do everything on the itinerary the kids had planned, I did agree to go to the karaoke room with them.
“Hehehe.”
“Um, Ga-eul. Is that seat choice right? Did you really think this through before deciding?”
I didn’t expect Ga-eul to be the one to make such a blatant attempt at physical contact.
To put it simply, as soon as we got the room, Ga-eul waited for me to sit down and then immediately plopped herself onto my lap.
The movement was so swift that for a split second, I thought I was being ambushed.
I unintentionally confirmed that Ga-eul’s base stats had increased, but I wasn’t particularly happy about it.
“Hehe, what’s the big deal? Right, Han-hee?”
“Of course. Our Ga-eul can certainly sit on our So-hyun’s lap.”
I really don’t think this is the appropriate distance for classmates, but surprisingly, the others didn’t seem to care much.
After they took turns picking songs, the remote finally came to me. Strangely, the microphone was handed to me before I’d even reserved a song.
“…What’s this?”
“Hmm? What’s what?”
The culprit who handed me the mic, Lee Yu-na, spoke in a calm, soft tone, as if stating a very obvious fact.
“Do you think the kids paid for the karaoke and drinks for nothing?”
“…I’ll just pay my share, so why don’t you guys sing the songs you picked?”
“Is that so? I don’t mind.”
As expected of Lee Yu-na, who was surprisingly sensible when Lilac wasn’t involved, she seemed to back down easily.
“I’m sure Luna was really looking forward to hearing her Papa sing, right, Luna?”
Never mind.
I thought she was backing down, but it seems it was just a tactical retreat to set up a flanking maneuver using Luna.
“Papa, aren’t you going to sing for me?”
That Pink Chihuahua. Using a hostage, how cowardly.
Ju Ri-ra, for her part, was handing snacks to Luna while subtly whispering a list of songs she wanted to hear into the girl’s ear.
These people seem to think I can’t refuse a request from Luna. Unfortunately, they were right.
How could I not sing when Luna was looking at me with such anticipation?
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
While Luna clapped with a beaming smile, the first song began. When the calm, still somewhat awkward first track ended…
“Hi… hiii… hik… hehe…”
Ga-eul, who had been sitting on my lap, was twitching, her mind completely blown.
“…What do you make of this, Mr. Cheon Yu-hak?”
“Hmm. It seems her brain was fried by a point-blank sonic attack. It’ll be hard for her to get up from that.”
“Wow! Papa, you’re the best!”
“…How does he actually sing like that? I think you’re better suited to be a celebrity than a hero.”
“You’d think we’d get tired of it, but he somehow sounds even better than before.”
“Ah, everyone quiet. The next song is starting. I picked this one.”
I had a fleeting doubt about whether this was how one was supposed to enjoy a karaoke room, but I decided to let it go since everyone seemed to be having fun.
Afterward, I sang a duet with Luna at her request, and when the fainted Ga-eul woke up and whined about missing the song she’d picked, I sang the same song for her again.
As a reward for overworking my vocal cords, the kids treated me to dak-galbi. While we were finishing up by frying rice on the iron plate…
My eyes were suddenly drawn to the TV news.
A ‘Breaking News’ report was announcing that the Labyrinthos dungeon had collapsed and villains had escaped.
How did this happen? It’s not like I did anything specific.
It was simply the joint production of the rotten Hero Association and the old fogies in the government who absolutely loathe any kind of change.
They probably tried to suppress the information as much as possible, hoping to bury it or fix it quietly.
But, though it’s a bit rich coming from the guy who caused it, there was no way a large-scale incident like this could be covered up so easily.
Needless to say, they must have failed to contain it. They only released the report now because they needed time to prepare their scapegoats—blaming it on villainous information tampering or negligence by internal Association staff.
[The Association apologizes for the negligence in management and for turning a blind eye to the reality that Labyrinthos, being a dungeon, always carried the risk of a breach. Consequently, two management officials, including a Mr. Lee, have been…]
See?
I didn’t do it knowing this would happen, but I’m really glad I hid the fact that I was going to that dungeon from the kids.
Imagine if I’d told them I was going to Labyrinthos.
How would they look at me after seeing that news?
“…Whoa, that many villains escaped?”
“A major incident might break out soon.”
[But there is no need for concern! The Association has already prepared countermeasures for such a situation. We promise that the escaped villains will be swiftly apprehended by a newly formed hero team, and we will strive to ensure the peaceful daily lives of our citizens!]
In other words, they’re going to put together a few handsome heroes, give them a narrative like a variety show, and put them on display.
[You might be thinking: ‘Aren’t they just going to put on another show with pretty-faced heroes like a variety program?’]
Hmm?
[However, not this time! The new project that the Hero Association has been developing in secret does not include any hero below A-rank.]
…Wait, could this be?
“Wow, there aren’t many A-ranks compared to S-ranks, but still.”
“The Association must be taking this situation seriously. Well, I don’t know if they’ll actually do a good job, though.”
[That is not all. The team to be established will also include an S-rank hero, known as a standalone peak power. I dare guarantee that this will be enough for you to trust our Association once more!]
Wait, wait, wait. This feels familiar.
It’s happening much faster than in the original history, but it’s not much different in that it’s a project the Association bastards jump-started after a major disaster.
In the original story, this happened after Alcatraz fell, not Labyrinthos.
A team consisting of the S-rank hero ‘Flash’ and several A-ranks chosen by the Association solely for their looks and potential went out to catch villains. Most of the A-ranks ended up dead, and that Flash guy defected to the villains.
It was the starting point of the event that sent the Association’s already poor image plummeting into the abyss.
[Please look forward to the heroes who will become the new faces of our Association…!]
For the record, back then, the project was a mess where they just picked people from a shortlist after a rough ‘secret audition.’ Naturally, nothing would be proceeding properly right now either.
“Wow, the Association actually does work sometimes.”
“Don’t be like that. I’m sure they have struggles we don’t know about.”
Lilac gave a bitter smile at Ga-eul’s absentminded comment, but I was certain the Association President was probably out grilling premium beef even on the day the incident broke.
The press conference ended with the sound of applause and reporters’ questions, and the news moved on to other topics.
Since they likely announced it in a hurry to shift the mood, the project won’t actually start for a while.
“…Shall we see how it goes?”
Well, for now, I have more important things to do than worry about the Association.
I scooped up some fried rice, blew on it to cool it down, and held it out to Luna. She beamed and took a bite.
“It’s delicious!”
Honestly, I don’t really care what happens to those Association bastards.
Luna enjoying her fried rice is much more important than the Association. Obviously.