Chapter 30: Heroes Always Arrive Late (End)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 30: Heroes Always Arrive Late (End)
Everything went smoothly after that.
A containment team arrived immediately to take Jin Gyeong-tae into custody. Once my coughing fit subsided, I told them I was fine and would head back to the dormitory, but Lilac and Professor Cathy told me not to talk nonsense and dragged me to the emergency room.
Oh, it looked like Jin Gyeong-tae wanted to say something to me as he was being hauled away, but since he was completely bound—including his mouth—I never got to hear it.
Anyway, that’s how it happened.
I was hospitalized. Again.
I mean, really, do people have to drag someone to the hospital just because they coughed up a little blood? Honestly. Well, I suppose it was the right call.
“I mean, how does it make any sense that a child vomited that much blood and there’s nothing wrong with him?!”
My secret friend, acting as my guardian, was venting her frustration at the doctor.
I’m telling you, I’m really fine…
“Even if you say that, all his vitals are normal, aside from a slight lack of energy! It’s likely a side effect from temporarily overusing his talent.”
To be precise, my energy had plummeted momentarily and then refilled.
However, to Professor Cathy, who knew all too well about the side effects of my ability, this sounded like a bolt from the blue.
“Um, I’m really okay—”
“So-hyun, I told you not to use your talent…!”
“How could I not use it in that situation?”
Seriously, can we stop now? Professor, you’re not the only one here.
“What do you mean? ‘Don’t use his talent’?”
Oh, shit.
Lilac, who had insisted on coming along, asked with a dead-serious expression.
Cathy seemed to realize her mistake and covered her mouth, but her reaction had already practically confirmed that there was something wrong with my talent.
It wasn’t just Lilac; Kang Ha-ni, Lee Yu-na, and for some reason, even Butt had followed along.
The cadets’ expressions stiffened as they watched Professor Cathy’s reaction.
“It’s nothing major. My talent is Reinforcement, but it consumes stamina every time I use it. It takes a long time to recover, and if I overdo it, it puts a strain on my body like this.”
So, I decided to tell a lie that was very close to the truth.
What I consumed wasn’t stamina but Innate True Qi, but since it recovered after a day anyway—and thanks to Resurrection, the total capacity increased every time it refilled—it was basically the truth, wasn’t it?
If these guys heard the words “Innate True Qi,” they’d definitely become overprotective.
Lilac, especially, would be the worst.
“…So-hyun.”
Wait, these guys don’t look like they believe me.
Even Professor Cathy was letting the cat out of the bag by crying her eyes out, her attitude screaming that I was lying.
“I’m serious…?”
“Hey, you expect us to believe that?!”
Kang Ha-ni tried to snap at me, but Lilac cut her off.
“Right. So-hyun, you’re telling the truth, right?”
“Hey, Lilac.”
“That’s a relief. So as long as you don’t use your talent from now on, this won’t happen again, right?”
“Uh…? Yeah, I guess…?”
This guy’s expression is a bit weird. Does he actually understand?
“Good. I was just worried because you looked so deathly ill all of a sudden. The doctor said you’re cleared for discharge, so just get some rest today and I’ll see you at the Academy tomorrow.”
Kang Ha-ni tried to step toward me, but Lilac quickly stopped her and tried to lead everyone out.
Man, Ha-ni really hates it when people touch her. Lilac, you’re burning through what little favorability you might have had with her.
“Hey, let go! I’m not done yet!”
“Let’s go, Han-hee. So-hyun needs to rest. Let’s go outside and cool our heads.”
“I said let go! It’s obvious he’s lying!”
“Professor! We’ll be going now! Please take good care of So-hyun! Yu-na, help me out!”
“Okay, Lilac.”
The Pink Chihuahua helped Lilac, glancing at me just before leaving, though she didn’t seem to have anything specific to say and quickly looked away.
And our Butt, Kim Ga-eul, hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, but when Lilac called her, she bowed to me and followed them out.
Finally, the hospital room grew quiet, leaving only me and my secret friend.
“So-hyun.”
Ever since we were about to leave the Academy, she had been calling me So-hyun instead of “Cadet.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what she was thinking.
I didn’t know if she’d be angry at me for using my talent despite her warnings, or if, given her personality, she’d scold me for being so reckless with myself.
But contrary to my expectations, she didn’t really get angry.
Instead of words, her warm hand wrapped around mine as if to convey her feelings.
“So-hyun, you really remind me a lot of my younger brother. You’re both the same age, too.”
“…You have a brother?”
Of course, I knew. I knew very well that he was no longer of this world, but I had to play dumb for now.
Kang So-hyun was someone who couldn’t possibly know about her family history.
The best I could do was read the sorrow in her expression and look solemn.
“Yes, I did. He was a kid who loved helping others, just like you, and he wanted to be a hero. I worried about him a lot because he was physically weak. You two have so much in common.”
Did.
In other words, he wasn’t here anymore.
She tried to force a smile, but the expression she made was a far cry from a happy one.
“Maybe that’s why I’ve been so concerned about you. To be honest, when you said you liked omurice, for just a split second, I felt like my brother had come back.”
“That…”
“My brother died a few years ago, caught in a villain’s terror attack.”
I knew that too.
I knew how close she had come to breaking back then, how hard she had worked to overcome it and move forward—I even knew the backstories that weren’t described in the original novel.
Because I was the person who knew this world second-best.
So, I also knew the story she was about to tell.
“But the truth is, he could have lived. No, he might have lived. But he insisted that it would be too late if they waited for heroes to arrive at the scene, and while he was helping with rescue efforts, he was caught in a secondary collapse.”
That was right.
Her brother actually had a chance of survival immediately after the attack, but while practicing his own sense of justice through rescue work, he met his end when the building collapsed a second time.
“Some praised him as a model hero, and others grieved that a star that shouldn’t have left yet fell too early. People who survived thanks to him actually came to give their thanks.”
What could I say to her that wouldn’t be a deception?
Should I praise him as a brother to be proud of? Or should I grieve it as a tragic accident?
No, neither was the right answer.
Deception or not, she wouldn’t want to hear those things from me.
The grip on my hand tightened slightly, but instead of pulling away, I squeezed back. That was the only answer I could give her.
“But even so, my brother isn’t coming back. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
“Yes.”
She was worried about me.
Worried that I would overexert myself.
Worried that by trying to do more than I was capable of, I would meet the same end as her brother.
“Right. I was incredibly worried, but after hearing what the doctor said, I think I understand. It was because of that artifact from last time, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t purely because of the Will of the Saint, but I couldn’t explain that now.
“So-hyun, let me ask one more thing. When you used your talent, were you certain you’d be okay because of that artifact?”
Of course.
Even with the Innate True Qi, I knew I’d recover eventually thanks to Resurrection, and I was certain the Will of the Saint would handle the physical burden somehow.
When I nodded, she smiled.
“I see. Then I can’t really say anything. You were doing what you could, and you wouldn’t have listened even if I tried to stop you anyway.”
“I promised not to use my talent, but I did. Are you not mad?”
“I was mad. But So-hyun, you didn’t do it for something bad or out of greed. Cadet Lilac’s power alone probably wouldn’t have been enough to block all that poison. In the end, you saved the cadets.”
She finally let go of my hand and gently stroked my hair.
After stroking it for a long while, she gave a bittersweet smile.
“So-hyun, you just stay still even when your hair is being stroked.”
“Pardon?”
“My brother hated it. Or should I say he was embarrassed? He’d ask how long I was going to treat him like a child. Even though he was still a child. I guess you’re not exactly the same. I knew that, but… yeah.”
The look in her eyes as she watched me seemed a little sad.
“So-hyun.”
“Yes.”
“Could you try calling me ‘Noona’ just once?”
I wasn’t sure what the right move was here.
The relationship I had originally intended to build with her wasn’t like this, but I was already past the point of worrying about that.
“Don’t feel pressured. I’m not really planning to ask you to be my brother. Could you just call me that once…?”
Perhaps the reason she looked so fragile was that, just as she had been unconsciously chasing her brother’s image in me, seeing me collapse while vomiting blood had triggered the memories of that day.
If so, I had put her through something terrible.
Thinking of her, who must have thought she might lose a brother for a second time, I had no choice but to open my mouth.
“…Noona.”
“…Just once more.”
“Cathy Noona.”
“Yes, So-hyun.”
“Thank you for saving me.”
“Don’t thank me. It’s only natural. If anything, I should be the one thanking you for stopping the incident in advance.”
“I just went to save a friend.”
Ah, for the record, I had secretly coordinated with Kim Ga-eul to make it look like she had sent me a text asking for help. The story was that she had sent it to whoever was at the top of her contact list in her haste.
“What you did was by no means a small thing, So-hyun. Everyone lived because of you, and you came back safe too.”
Professor Cathy took her hand off my head and bowed to me.
“Thank you.”
I didn’t know how to respond to a gratitude that condensed so many emotions.
As I sat there in silence, she raised her head and looked at me. Her face looked a bit refreshed, as if she had found some closure in her own way.
“But So-hyun.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“…So-hyun.”
“…Yes?”
She was staring at me with a pouting face, clearly dissatisfied with something.
…Surely not?
“Noona…?”
“Yes, So-hyun.”
Wait, damn it, didn’t you say just once?
“It really is nice. Why don’t you just keep calling me Noona outside the Academy?”
I’d rather not…?
I started to feel like I had made a wrong choice somewhere.
* * *
Lilac remembered the sensation of that day vividly.
When the inextinguishable flames of magic had swept toward him and the fallen Cheon Yu-hak, he remembered the words that had bolstered his breaking will and the sense of omnipotence that followed.
The miracle that had drawn out power a level beyond his own.
The image of Kang So-hyun speaking bluntly to the professor, saying everyone would die if they stayed like this, was still clear in his mind.
To be honest, at first, he looked so desperate that Lilac had run in with the intention of being punished alongside him if it turned out to be a prank.
But those words had been true, and thanks to them, everyone was saved.
— You can block it, so don’t be scared.
It was a simple sentence, but it had felt strangely reassuring.
Should he describe it as the feeling of a reliable adult standing firm behind him?
“…So, you’re saying the reason you caught that criminal at the entrance ceremony was because of So-hyun, and he collapsed afterward?”
“Yeah. Exactly. I think So-hyun is the type to sacrifice himself for others even if no one recognizes it. He’s also quite stubborn, so he won’t answer honestly if you keep asking what his ability is.”
That was it. Through the recent events, the person known as Kang So-hyun had been defined that way in Lilac’s mind.
A man who wouldn’t tolerate injustice but didn’t seek reward; a man who hated standing out but was generous enough to show mercy even to the classmate who had bullied him.
It was somewhat different from the truth, but at least Lilac believed it to be so.
“So, instead of pressuring So-hyun, why don’t we secretly help him so he doesn’t have a reason to use his talent?”
“…Hmm.”
On the other hand, Kang Ha-ni’s evaluation of Kang So-hyun was a bit different. Because she had formed an image of him as a quick-witted, cowardly friend who was fun to tease, her assessment was bound to differ from Lilac’s.
He was a coward but stepped up when it mattered, yet he was so weak that she felt she had to protect him.
It was more like he was a ‘younger brother’ than just a friend.
“Secretly helping him, huh.”
Kang Ha-ni thought it didn’t sound too bad.
“That’s not a bad idea.”
Lee Yu-na and Kim Ga-eul also nodded, each having their own thoughts.
It would be a while longer before Kang So-hyun realized that a secret meeting regarding him had been formed without his knowledge.