Chapter 320: The Festival is Grand! Fun! And Decadent! (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 320: The Festival is Grand! Fun! And Decadent! (4)
Kim Ga-eul was in a very good mood.
She was naturally the type of person who enjoyed events, and since she was with the person she liked, it was only natural for her to be happy.
“Are you that happy?”
“Yeah, of course. It’s a festival, after all. Don’t you like it, So-hyun?”
The boy looking at her as if she were simply adorable, Kang So-hyun, chuckled and nodded.
“No, I like it too. It’s nice and lively.”
“What should we do first?”
“What do you want to do, Ga-eul?”
“I usually get to do what I want. Is there anything you want to do, So-hyun?”
“Anything that makes my Ga-eul happy is fine with me.”
Ah, yes. This is exactly what I wanted to do…! Giving in to each other, giggling and laughing together…!
She had really wanted to do something as ordinary as being called “my Ga-eul”!
In fact, the reason Kim Ga-eul had so readily accepted the clone date was because of this very tranquility.
Although her power had increased significantly since becoming a Demon King Girl, she was still far weaker than Professor Cathy or Ha-ni.
This meant that if a scramble for his attention broke out, she was highly likely to be the primary target of the others’ aggression.
Even though there was another So-hyun dating Ha-ni in the classroom right now, and another So-hyun enjoying a date with some other woman somewhere else—and even though she might run into another So-hyun on a date if she was unlucky!
It was still better than just watching from the sidelines while sucking her thumb!
“Let’s go get our fortunes told! Fortunes!”
“Fortunes? Like Tarot cards?”
“Whatever works! It’s just for fun!”
The first shop they visited claimed they would see their future through a crystal ball.
“…I can’t see anything.”
The senior student running the booth had given Ga-eul advice, saying she had a surprisingly pure nature and didn’t need to force herself to act in ways that didn’t suit her. However, for some reason, the senior looked extremely flustered upon seeing So-hyun.
“The crystal ball isn’t reacting at all…? Huh? This is a first.”
“Well, it might be broken. Don’t worry, I’ll still pay the full price.”
“Ah, um. I feel bad, so I’ll only take half. I’ve never had this happen before…?”
It felt a bit unsettling, but thinking it could just be a fluke, they went to check their compatibility next.
However, the result was almost the same. The cards, which were supposed to turn into a design that suited the person holding them, turned pitch black and slowly crumbled the moment he touched them.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll pay for the damage…”
“No, it’s fine. They’re originally one-time use, so we usually give them out as souvenirs after the reading. But this is the first time this has happened.”
The moment the second fortune-telling failed, Kim Ga-eul felt a strange sense of foreboding.
“Hmm, there are other fortune-telling booths. Shall we try another one?”
So, the moment he suggested going elsewhere, she trusted her gut and immediately shook her head.
“No! Let’s go eat cotton candy instead!”
Kim Ga-eul wasn’t exceptionally brilliant, but she wasn’t a fool either.
She was a creature capable of accumulating experience, learning, and reflecting.
Basically, when she tried to do something and it failed more than twice in a way that felt like the world was out to get her, it was never a good sign.
It was highly likely to be an omen that she would get caught up in an incident or that an accident was about to happen.
Not a chance.
She had finally managed to get a date without any interruptions; she wasn’t going to let it be ruined this time.
But whether he knew how she felt or not, he seemed to have taken an interest in something strange.
“Cotton candy? Do you like it?”
“Huh? Well, I don’t know. I don’t love it, but people buy it at festivals just because it’s pretty, right?”
“Is that so? Then let’s go. I saw a DIY experience booth over there. They even give prizes if you make a big one.”
She was a bit puzzled by his subtle confidence, but thinking anything was better than continuing with the fortune-telling, she went along, saying she was looking forward to it.
“I used to have an old cotton candy machine back in the day~”
He was skillfully spinning a cotton candy larger than a person, making it even more massive.
“It’s been a while, but I haven’t lost my touch!”
…Seriously, is there anything this guy can’t do? He’s surprisingly good at things like this.
Giggling while continuously adding sugar, he kept growing the giant cotton candy until the seniors running the booth finally told him to stop, declaring him the winner. He then handed the massive cotton candy to her with a bright smile.
“Here, Ga-eul, eat up!”
The sight was strangely cute, but at the same time, it made her think.
There were times when he was beyond mature, even cynical, but occasionally he showed such innocent, childlike sides.
It felt a bit discordant, or perhaps like an imbalance.
When he tore off a piece of the cotton candy and offered it to her, she took it. The fluffy candy melted away, leaving a slightly sticky sensation.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah!”
Honestly, it wasn’t incredibly delicious, but since So-hyun made it, what did the taste matter?
Satisfied with her answer, he soon tore off a piece for himself, popped it into his mouth, and let out a chuckle.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had this. It’s the same as always.”
“Do you like cotton candy too, So-hyun?”
“Hmm? No, I don’t really like eating it. I just like making it and watching someone else enjoy it.”
Chuckling, he licked his sticky fingers, then suddenly remembered something and pulled out a wet wipe.
After wiping his own fingers, he slowly approached her, took her hand, and began to carefully wipe her sticky fingers one by one.
“Oh!? I can do it myself!”
“Ah, right. I guess so. I just remembered the old days. Little kids don’t really care about being sticky, so if you don’t wipe them down, they’ll just whine and refuse to do it.”
Was he talking about the volunteer work he often did?
“And then there are those who aren’t even kids but still throw tantrums and beg me to do it for them.”
Giggling, he finished wiping her fingers. For a very brief moment, he stared into space with an expression that looked incredibly warm, yet at the same time, incredibly cold.
This, too, felt like a dissonance.
He was always supposed to be by their side.
But every once in a while, when he stared into the void like this, thinking of something—no, ‘someone’—she got the illusion that he might leave them forever.
It wasn’t just her; Professor Cathy and Ha-ni also subtly felt it—a vacant spot in his heart that he couldn’t seem to forget.
And perhaps they treated him even more kindly because they hated that strange emptiness, and because they didn’t even want to imagine him being apart from them.
“So-hyun!”
Because the hypothesis she had come up with was unpleasant, she shouted loudly. His gaze, which had been staring blankly into the air, returned to her.
“Whoa!? Why so sudden…?”
“Let’s hurry up and go do something else!”
“I mean, you could just say that. Why shout so loud…?”
“Just getting myself pumped up!”
Time was already too short for happy thoughts; there was no room for such gloomy ones.
In the end, that was it.
Whatever the nature of his emptiness was, whether they could fill it or not—none of that mattered.
“I’m going to do what I can.”
“Suddenly…? While we’re walking around the festival?”
“While we’re walking around the festival!”
If he could feel happy by her side, if she was happy by his side… if she couldn’t stop him from remembering that ‘something,’ if she couldn’t replace it, then she would at least try to reduce the time he spent feeling empty.
“I’m going to do my best to have a great time!”
“I like the spirit, but seriously, what’s gotten into you…?”
“Never mind that!”
Anyway, the festival had only just begun! Even if there was some forced bad luck at the start and So-hyun seemed strangely lost in nostalgia, what she had to do remained the same.
“I’m going to have a fun date too!”
Watching her, he finally burst into laughter.
“Ah~ I don’t know what it is, but why is our Ga-eul so cute?”
“That’s right! I am cute!”
“Oh, I didn’t expect that. Quite confident, aren’t we?”
If I can make you laugh even a little bit like that, I don’t mind playing the clown.
* * *
At that same moment.
It was past noon, and lunchtime had arrived, but there was someone still lingering near the Academy entrance, unable to muster the courage to step inside.
The leader of the Calamity-class Villains who had vowed to destroy the world, and the pathetic Creator of this world.
Namely, Kang Seo-ha.
She had insisted on coming in the style she used to wear before her transmigration—a beret, a white shirt, and jeans. That part was fine.
But when it came time to actually enter the Academy, her body froze as if she were paralyzed.
She had been loitering at the entrance for about two hours now.
It was already past the time she had promised to meet him, and she had no more time to waste. As she repeatedly took deep breaths, a shadow approached her from behind.
“Ah, seriously, I’m going in. Don’t worry. Do you think I’d get cold feet over something like this?”
Thinking it was the Red Butler who had come for her, she answered, but the approaching presence was similar yet slightly different.
It was someone familiar to her.
“Tea…!”
“If you keep loitering like that, you’ll be here until evening.”
The playful smile, the way he handed her a drink as a joke, his soft tone of voice—it was all so natural.
For a moment, she even had the illusion that he had been by her side yesterday and the day before.
What was she supposed to say when she first saw him?
Ah, right. She was going to say she just came to scout out enemy territory.
Yeah, that was the plan.
“Why are you standing there looking so stupid? You didn’t come here to fight today.”
Because he took her hand—a physical contact that wouldn’t have meant much before—her heart pounded so hard she couldn’t get the words out.
She was happy because this normalcy seemed to tell her there was still a place for her to return to, but it was also true that it was a bit unexpected.
She had thought he might condemn her or tell her to apologize to the characters first.
“There’s no way you’ve eaten lunch yet. What do you want to eat? Do you want the omurice my class is selling, or the pizza Ha-ni is selling?”
“…Ha, me?”
“Why wouldn’t you be able to eat it? Take this chance to properly introduce yourself. You’ve only met them very briefly.”
“I’m sure they’d be thrilled to meet me. Don’t you remember what we did?”
“Oh, hey, that looks good too. Let’s go eat that.”
“Hey!? Listen to me when I’m talking about something serious!”
“No, I don’t want to. I’m not interested in going on a date while having a depressing conversation.”
“Da…!? Why did you grow up to be so thick-skinned!”
“…I learned it from you.”
…Come to think of it, he was right.
He had a handsome face, but she hadn’t liked how he was always sulky and blunt, so she thought it would be better to give him a more playful personality.
The culprit was right here…?
But she hadn’t expected him to become this sly!
“Fine, honestly, I did come here to play. But don’t let your guard down. I might suddenly change my mind and…”
“Ah~”
“Ah…? Mmph!?”
Something hot entered her mouth.
It wasn’t painfully hot, but she looked at him in surprise. He was still snickering.
“A hot takoyaki is perfect for a mouth that only talks nonsense.”
“That was dangerous!?”
“You’re a superhuman, so it’s not that dangerous.”
“Still, it startled me!”
“Fine, then stop talking nonsense. I’ll blow on it to cool it down before I feed you this time.”
Whoosh, whoosh. After blowing on the snack in front of her eyes, he carefully fed her another takoyaki.
“It’s wasabi flavored.”
What she ate this time wasn’t a takoyaki, but a wasabi bomb.
“UGYAAAAAAAH!!!!!!”
“Ahahahaha!”
“What’s so funny…!?”
“Ah, now you finally seem like yourself.”
“…Huh?”
“You’ve been scowling since earlier, trying your best to look like a villain, but I’ve decided to just play today without thinking about stupid things. You should give up and just play too.”
“…What if I release Calamity-class Villains into the festival and let them run wild?”
“Then I’ll have to stop them. And I’ll apologize with you.”
Naturally, he took a step forward and reached out his hand to her.
“So? Are you going to keep up this persona with that grumpy face all day? Or are you going to take my hand and play? Decide quickly.”
“…Seriously, who made you like this?”
“I told you, it was you.”
“I know…!”
At first, she was the one in front. He was the boy who only ever took the hand she reached out.
But before she knew it, it became natural for him to be ahead of her, reaching his hand out to her.
“Shall we go, then?”
Because she thought he was too strong compared to her, she had felt he was a bit distant.
But why did he always stop at a distance where it felt like she could catch up, looking back at her?
Is he trying to wait for me? Or does he think I can actually catch up to him?
No, it’s impossible, Ha-neul.
I’m not strong like you. I’m afraid of the experience of falling apart, so I don’t want to climb back up.
So…
Boing.
A toy hammer hit her on the head.
“…What do you think you’re doing?”
“It’s a hammer of justice for those who let their guard down.”
…She was having serious thoughts, and he just…
“Sigh.”
Boing.
And the second strike, which she hadn’t expected, didn’t hurt, but it wounded her pride.
“Ah! Seriously, you’re dead!?”
“If you can kill me with a squeaky hammer, go ahead and try!”
She dodged the toy hammer he swung and picked up one herself to swing at him. Even though he could have dodged it, he didn’t, taking the hit from the toy hammer head-on.
She was momentarily flustered, but seeing his eyes sparkle, she was left speechless.
Ah, seriously.
This is why.
This is why I can’t give up on you.
For the sake of this stupid world created by a bitch like me, how could I ever give up on you?
You idiot.