Chapter 344: Preparing for Departure
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 344: Preparing for Departure
The Divine Realm.
A place where countless gods maintain their own systems and domains—a realm that can expand infinitely one moment and shrink to a mere speck the next.
Several gods were looking down upon the mortal world.
They watched with worry and pity for the child who appeared so enticing, so delectable.
One god refused to look away for even a moment, fearing they might miss the boy’s ultimate ruin.
Another watched with the belief that he would surely overcome his trials.
One god yearned for the tragedy of seeing everything the boy held dear abandon him.
Another simply wished to witness him destroy his most precious treasures with his own hands.
And yet another waited for his Ascension.
Even those who usually found no joy in waiting were now of one mind, craving the first conclusion the boy would reach.
* * *
“…You’re going where?”
“The Underworld. Some people call it Hell, but the place I’m going this time is—”
“Stop.”
As I’ve mentioned before, the Academy isn’t particularly strict about attendance.
As long as you submit a field experience report, activities like dungeon raids or battles against villains on weekdays are recognized as official attendance.
If it weren’t for this system, my attendance record would have been beyond saving by now.
It’s also thanks to the Chairperson, who accepts my attendance even when I’m being quite unreasonable.
“…Is it somewhere you absolutely must go?”
“Yes. There’s an item I need. It’s a bit urgent.”
“I’m asking just in case, but is it something I can’t obtain for you?”
“I don’t think so. I heard there’s only one of its kind in the world.”
“…Fine. Then, just hypothetically, what happens if you fail to get it?”
“If I’m lucky, I’ll die. If I’m unlucky, I’ll go mad and run wild.”
“…Who told you that? Is the source reliable?”
“The God of Contracts. It’s probably accurate.”
“…This is driving me crazy. Seriously. For once, I actually wish Cadet Kang So-hyun was lying to pull some kind of stunt.”
“I feel the same way, but since it’s the truth, there’s nothing I can do.”
“…You speak of the possibility of your own death with such composure.”
“Don’t you remember? I was already terminally ill when I first enrolled here. I’ll figure something out this time, too.”
“…Right, what a concrete and certain hope that is. So, what support do you need from the Academy?”
“I’ll be taking a few professors with me.”
“Do you not need any material support or my personal help?”
“I do, but I need you to keep the Association’s movements in check. Their momentum might have slowed, but those bastards in the Honor Faction are likely still out for blood.”
“…True.”
Ah, for the record, I thought they’d just cut off a few tails and call it a day, but surprisingly, the Honor Faction took a massive hit—including high-ranking officials—and it even made the news.
Now that there was evidence, the Association President must have been delighted to strike down the faction that had been subtly opposing him.
…Or perhaps that woman, Seo Ye-hwa, did something.
“Since you say you don’t need help, I won’t force it on you. I’ll approve your attendance.”
“Thank you.”
As expected of the Chairperson. I like how surprisingly bold she can be!
“By the way… will you be receiving help from that masked villain again this time?”
“…No? Uh, that’s something I’ve been meaning to mention. I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you and the professors have, but I’m not exactly in a cooperative relationship with that person…?”
We aren’t in a cooperative relationship. Because that person is me.
“I know. But you do have some sort of connection, and you’re well-acquainted, aren’t you?”
I’m well-acquainted, all right. Since it’s me.
“That’s true, but it’s just a temporary thing when our interests align…”
“Yes, don’t worry. Unless Cadet Kang So-hyun suddenly goes mad and tries to destroy the world, we won’t misunderstand you.”
…I’m saying this because I think you are misunderstanding.
“I only asked because if you were planning to borrow that villain’s power again, it might be dangerous, so I was considering forcing myself along as an escort.”
Ah, I see. But why is her face turning red? Now I’m actually getting scared. Maybe I should stay away from the masked villain persona for a while?
“…I’m asking just in case, but you don’t have a contact number or anything, do you?”
“No. It would be a bit weird for a secretive character like that to have a phone number.”
“No, you never know, Cadet Kang So-hyun.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s actually a popular trope for such secretive characters to be surprisingly close by in their daily lives, living as ordinary people.”
Wait… does she already know and is just messing with me?
“Yes, they’re closer than you think, smiling at me without me knowing, subtly maintaining a cooperative relationship. And then, when the mask comes off, it turns out to be someone I trusted deeply—the shock of that betrayal is just irresistible…”
“I should probably get going. I have an appointment.”
“Ah, a topic I’m interested in came up and I almost went overboard.”
…That was only ‘almost’?
“…But wasn’t that supposed to be a secret?”
“Cadet Kang So-hyun already found out, so what’s the point in hiding it? Ah, in a way, you’ve become the only person I can talk to about my hobbies.”
Looking at her chuckling, it doesn’t seem like she’s realized I’m the masked one.
…Yeah, um, I definitely need to keep the fact that I’m the masked villain a secret for the rest of my life.
Actually, hearing what she said today, I get the feeling she might actually like it, but I’m going to be careful regardless.
To do that, I also need to silence the person I’m meeting today, but they’re a truly troublesome opponent, which is a problem.
“Anyway, both personally and as your hero senior, I hope for your safety, Cadet Kang So-hyun. If you think of anything you need before you leave, don’t forget to tell me. I’ll help as much as I can.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Don’t make Cathy and A-ram cry.”
“…Yes, I’ll be really careful about that.”
I gave a parting greeting to the Chairperson, who was smiling playfully, and left her office.
* * *
Then came lunchtime.
After asking my friends for their understanding and telling them I had an appointment for lunch, I headed to the meeting place about forty minutes early.
For a meeting arranged so suddenly, I had managed to book a fairly decent restaurant. Since I arrived early, I wouldn’t keep the two of them waiting.
Even though I was in my school uniform, I had ironed it as neatly as possible. This might not be perfect, but it was the best I could do.
…Does ‘the best I can do’ even matter if the results don’t follow? Should I just throw money at the problem right now and change to an even better restaurant?
I’m not even sure if this gift is okay.
They might suddenly splash tea in my face, so I brought a change of clothes, but what if one set isn’t enough?
I’m in trouble.
Once the negative thoughts started, they just kept spiraling endlessly.
“Hmm, I believe the appointment isn’t for a while yet, but you’ve arrived early.”
However, with about twenty minutes left until the scheduled time, I heard the voice of my guest sooner than expected.
Turning my head, I saw a man in a martial arts dobok and a woman who looked remarkably like Ha-ni looking at me.
“Hello. I’m Kang So-hyun, we met at the festival last time. Regarding your daughter…!”
“Oh my, you don’t have to be that nervous, dear.”
…How can I not be nervous when my girlfriend’s parents want to see me?
“…Let’s head inside for now.”
“Yes, sir.”
In truth, this meeting had come about quite abruptly.
They had texted me this morning asking if I was available, so if I had declined, they probably would have just gone back quietly.
But if I missed this chance, I didn’t know when we’d be able to meet again. It was only right to meet them—both to ask for their silence regarding my identity and to solidify my relationship with Ha-ni.
Now, meeting them was all well and good.
It was something I had to do eventually.
The problem was that I had almost no experience with this kind of thing, so I had no idea what to say.
Was I even supposed to start the conversation?
“How fascinating, this boy.”
“Pardon?”
“When you were cross-dressing, you really looked like a girl, but in a male uniform, you just look like a pretty boy.”
“As I mentioned last time, I only wore that because of the festival. I don’t dress like that normally.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, it suited you well. To be honest, I was half-hoping you’d show up like that today too.”
…Ha-ni’s mother—no, my mother-in-law—seemed to be quite a humorous person.
She was surely trying to put me at ease.
“I always wished I had more daughters.”
…That’s a joke, right?
“…He’s troubled, so stop with the jokes.”
“Can’t I tease him just a little more?”
“Later.”
“Fine. Well, since the tension seems to have broken, you two talk.”
“Right. It hasn’t been that long, but we haven’t been able to exchange greetings properly because we’ve both been busy. Have you been well?”
“Yes, I’ve been fine. Father-in…”
“…What?”
“…I mean, I hope you have been well too, Father.”
“…It’s fine, just be comfortable.”
“Ah, yes.”
…What do I do? It’s already suffocating.
I thought it might be better once the food arrived, but because we were early, it wasn’t ready yet.
They quickly prepared drinks for us. I even checked to make sure it wasn’t a Hero Drink, but I couldn’t bring myself to take a sip.
“I’ll be honest with you first. We’ve looked into you.”
“…Pardon?”
“Who you are, what background you grew up in, what you do on a daily basis. You can assume we’ve investigated most of it.”
“I see.”
“Aren’t you angry? We did it knowing it was rude, so it’s okay to be angry. I’ll accept it.”
“It’s natural to be curious about what kind of person your daughter’s boyfriend is. Actually, since you’ve investigated, I’m more curious about the conclusion you reached.”
“You certainly have a lot of women around you.”
“…Yes.”
“And you’re quite the meddler.”
“…I can’t deny that.”
“Not only that, but you seem to cause quite a lot of trouble. You beat an S-rank hero to a pulp, picked a fight with the Association, and yesterday, you even went so far as to put on a mask and cause a scene.”
Well, am I screwed? If their daughter’s boyfriend was a guy like that, who would possibly like him?
“But honestly, I think all those flaws are trivial.”
“…Pardon?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself. If my daughter likes you, I have no right to tear you apart. Besides, part of the reason I sent her here was so she could choose her own husband.”
“He talks like this, but he’s praised you a lot, saying there’s no better groom than So-hyun.”
“…Be quiet. I’m in the middle of an important conversation.”
“Hoho, look at him getting embarrassed. Ah, the food is coming. I’ll be eating, so you two carry on.”
“…Anyway. I have eyes, so I know you don’t actually intend to be a villain. So those things don’t matter.”
Since he was trying to return to a serious atmosphere, I straightened my expression and followed his lead.
“Yes, those things aren’t important. Only one thing truly matters to me. If you can keep this one promise, I will endure a bit of anxiety and acknowledge your relationship.”
“A promise…?”
“Can you promise to protect Ha-ni until the very end, even if your own life is at risk?”
Whether I could protect Ha-ni even if my life was at risk. That was a given, of course, but it seemed my father-in-law wasn’t finished.
“Being with Ha-ni is more dangerous than you think. A certain monster will target you for being by her side. That monster is an incredibly strong and ancient existence; one day, it will surely take my head and come for my daughter.”
…Perhaps this was related to the scars on his body.
“If you aren’t prepared to face that monster in my stead, give up on my daughter. I’m saying this for your sake as well. This is still just a student romance. End it before it gets any deeper.”
…Uh, well.
Setting aside the fact that Ha-ni and I were already quite deep, my answer was already decided.
“Does putting my life on the line change anything?”
“What?”
“If I die, will that monster stop targeting Ha-ni?”
“No, it won’t.”
“Then I won’t die. I absolutely can’t die. Until I’ve crushed that monster so it can never threaten Ha-ni again, I will never die. And even after dealing with it, Ha-ni won’t be able to smile if I’m gone, so I’ll survive no matter what it takes. I’ll stay alive and keep smiling until the very end, telling her everything is okay.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”
He seemed to ponder for a long while, but eventually, he nodded.
“Then, can I ask a question too?”
“Pardon?”
This time, Ha-ni’s mother, who had been enjoying her meal, wiped her mouth with a napkin and turned toward me.
“I’m going to ask a much simpler question than he did. The kind of question any parent would naturally ask. Are you prepared to make our daughter happy for the rest of her life?”
Answering ‘Yes’ might have been the correct response here, but somehow, I felt like I shouldn’t say that.
“…It would be nice if she could be happy forever.”
“…Are you saying you won’t?”
“No, I just don’t want to give such an irresponsible answer.”
The faces of both the father and mother froze coldly.
…But it’s how I truly feel, so what can I do?