Chapter 84: My Most Hated Character.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 84: My Most Hated Character.
Leilan Claudia, the Chairperson of the Academy.
She was currently letting out a long sigh, feeling as though she had just shaved ten years off her life.
At the locations she had visited based on Kang So-hyun’s information, various villains and demonic beasts had been lying in wait. Consequently, the search party organized to find Cathy had been pinned down trying to prevent acts of terror.
It was true that a seed of suspicion toward him had sprouted for a brief moment. However, after hearing the accounts of those who had recovered first, she realized that such a possibility was fortunately low. He had likely fallen into a trap as well.
Information was always a fluid thing, after all.
Even those with Future Sight could not perfectly evade the future, so it was entirely possible for someone who had merely heard information from another to be misled.
“At any rate, you did well this time.”
If she hadn’t returned at the perfect moment—if she hadn’t rescued them from the scene—Leilan Academy would have been severely shaken once again.
No, being shaken was manageable.
But what if three boys with such dazzling talent had vanished? The mere thought was horrifying.
“No, it was a necessary task, so there is no need for thanks.”
The girl spoke with a detached air, as if she had simply done what needed to be done. But if the world worked simply because people did what they “should” do, it would be running without a single hitch.
While the Chairperson held the girl before her in high regard, she also felt a twinge of regret.
The girl’s principle of action was closer to utilitarianism than justice.
She acted because it was the right thing to do, but the foundation of those actions wasn’t rooted in a sense of justice or hope.
She simply acted as a hero because she believed that good deeds contributed more to the happiness of the absolute majority than evil ones—because it was rational.
Nevertheless, because she produced results and recognized what was necessary without issue, there was nothing to find fault with.
Though the Chairperson felt pity for the broken girl, there wasn’t much she could do for her.
“Right. I understand you’ve smoothly handled your assigned mission. What do you plan to do next? Will you return to duty immediately?”
“No.”
Hmm? That was unexpected.
Since she held a very special position at the Academy that exempted her from mandatory attendance, she usually left to find another mission as soon as one ended—whether it was hunting villains or subjugating monsters.
“There is a cadet I need to meet.”
“A cadet you need to meet…?”
Those were words hard to imagine coming from her, someone who showed little interest in the Academy itself, let alone the cadets.
“Yes. I intend to meet the cadet who handled the villain Seo In-young—no, Latis Erbashun.”
“You mean Kang So-hyun?”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, my mistake. You mean Cadet Kang So-hyun?”
Her acting had slipped for a moment out of surprise, but the girl didn’t press the issue.
As expected, she was fundamentally indifferent to others, which made it all the more questioning.
Why Kang So-hyun, of all people?
“Since there’s the justification of having rescued him during this incident, a hospital visit wouldn’t be strange. There are a few things I want to ask him.”
Baek Seol, the Student Council President of Leilan Academy, said as much and bowed to the Chairperson.
“Hah…”
Kang So-hyun, huh?
The Chairperson didn’t think any trouble would arise, but for some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were a strangely mismatched pair.
* * *
Have you ever thought you might die just from the way someone was looking at you?
I have.
When, you ask? When else? Right now.
If gazes had physical force, I’d be a pincushion by now.
It would actually be better if they were just glaring or acting annoyed.
I have nothing to be ashamed of.
It’s not like I’m dating anyone, and since a major incident happened, it’s perfectly fine for Professor Cathy to hug me a little.
Right?
When people get emotional, they don’t know what they might do.
To put it bluntly, she was brainwashed, fought me, and turned me into a donut. She must feel both sorry and grateful!
Sniff.
The problem was that even if I wanted to tell the kids that, Professor Cathy was still stuck to my stomach and wouldn’t let go, making my words lack any shred of credibility.
“Ugh…”
Ah, her breath hits my stomach every now and then, and it’s a bit… you know?
It’s hard to put into words, but anyway, it’s a bit something.
“What? What do you want me to do? It’s not like that. I explained it clearly, didn’t I?”
Every time I denied being in that kind of relationship with Professor Cathy, the pressure on my abdomen seemed to strangely increase, but what’s not true isn’t true.
“Hey, So-hyun.”
“What.”
“A strong denial is an affirmation…”
“Shut it.”
Lilac tried to crack a joke to lighten the heavy atmosphere, but his sense of humor was utterly disastrous.
Ga-eul, who was looking at me with trembling eyes, looked ready to burst into tears, and even Ha-ni, who would usually be having a field day teasing me, glared sharply at Lilac for some reason.
“Everyone hates me…”
Only Lee Yu-na patted Lilac’s shoulder in consolation as if this were her chance, but perhaps her conscience hadn’t completely evaporated, as she couldn’t bring herself to say it was okay.
You really think of us as friends now, don’t you? In the past, you would’ve snapped at them for picking on Lilac.
Well, it was a small but positive change.
Now, if only our regressed professor would return to her senses.
Ha-ni, who had been choosing her words carefully, let out a sigh and spoke rather bluntly.
“Hey.”
According to her, she only realized our situation after her first class ended and had chased after us with Yu-na and Ju Ri-ra.
Naturally, since she didn’t know our exact location, she had helped suppress the nearby terror attacks and ended up seeing us all collapsed and being rescued.
“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt regarding Ga-eul. But why were you so petty and only took those two? Are Yu-na and I not your friends? Or did you think I wouldn’t be helpful?”
Is it okay to just leave Ga-eul out like that…?
Well, I guess it is.
Even Ga-eul herself seemed to acknowledge her own weakness, nodding tearfully.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t that I had left them behind.
I had intended to go alone, but Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak had followed me of their own accord, and I honestly thought the two of them would be more than enough.
How was I supposed to know that even with two protagonists, the three of us would get trashed and end up hospitalized side-by-side?
Of course, having Ha-ni there wouldn’t have changed anything.
That red-haired woman was an enemy beyond the reach of these kids’ current level.
Well, based on the original work—right before the hiatus—maybe a Lilac who had spent five years rolling around with all sorts of villains after graduating, or a Cheon Yu-hak who had lost half his body to another entity, might have stood a chance. But even then, I wasn’t certain they could win.
Is she a bug?
I knew this shitty novel depicted villains as being much stronger, but this was over the limit.
Now you’re dragging in things that aren’t even characters from this novel?
In this world, the only one who could probably put up a proper fight against that woman would be the final boss of this novel, who only appeared once in the original.
“…Is that so? Even if I were there, the result would have been the same?”
Huh?
I had spaced out for a moment, and Ha-ni, misinterpreting my silence, clenched her fists in frustration.
That wasn’t why I was silent, but since it was the truth, I couldn’t deny it.
Lilac, who would usually comfort Ha-ni by saying I didn’t mean it that way, and Cheon Yu-hak, who would have been brimming with confidence about winning next time, both remained silent.
It must be their first time experiencing such an overwhelming defeat.
Especially for Lilac, who had just sworn to become stronger, the sense of frustration must be even deeper.
It felt a bit futile considering I started playing the mastermind to prevent them from feeling this way.
But it wasn’t entirely hopeless.
Their faces were filled with reflection, but not with surrender or despair.
The two protagonists of this novel were characters who, even if they tripped over a crisis or trial, never gave up and always grew from it.
The two boys would stand up again and find an answer.
They would use this defeat as experience to grow and move forward.
So, the only remaining problem was that I had no way to break the current awkward atmosphere.
Just as the hospital room fell into an uncomfortable silence…
Slide. The door opened again.
I didn’t think there was anyone else left to visit. Thinking it might be my sister or father, I looked toward the door, only to see a woman with silver hair and a somewhat mysterious aura standing there.
I recognized her immediately.
She was someone I had seen countless times in text, and one of the few characters who had an illustration in my friend’s novel.
Silver hair that was almost white, and silver eyes tinged with blue.
“Hello. The situation didn’t allow for it during the rescue, so I’m only greeting you now. This is our first time meeting face-to-face, isn’t it?”
She sounded polite, but her businesslike attitude felt chillingly indifferent.
“Technically, I’m the one who rescued the three of you, but there’s no need for thanks. There wasn’t much of a battle involved.”
The Student Council President of Leilan Academy, and a character who held the qualification of a B-rank Hero—the highest rank a student could achieve.
Her actual skill was considered to be A-rank or higher, and in the original work, she was the one who helped the protagonists beat the perverted elf to death.
Baek Seol.
The woman whom the few readers called the “True Protagonist” was standing before my eyes.
And the expression I wore while looking at her was definitely not one a person should show their savior.
I immediately fixed my poker face, so the others probably didn’t see it, but she at least must have clearly seen my face contort with loathing.
I thought it wouldn’t be strange if she got angry immediately, but instead, she approached us with a bright smile.
“My juniors, who haven’t even received their hero ranks yet, pushed themselves too hard.”
She sounded worried, but it was merely a learned tone.
She was simply imitating what she had learned a good senior and a reliable hero should act like.
“Still, you did your best.”
I didn’t like it. It was irritating.
It was a feeling that arose because I knew who the model for that character was, and the feeling only amplified when I recalled her actions in the original work.
In the end, the poker face I had struggled to maintain crumbled, and I could feel my expression rotting again.
This character named Baek Seol was the character I hated most in this shitty novel.
* * *
Baek Seol had always liked rational behavior.
Two was better than one, and creating was better than destroying.
She didn’t want to do things that yielded no profit, and she naturally disliked causing harm to others or being harmed herself.
Her fundamentally apathetic personality had caused a few arguments with her peers in the past, after which she judged even that to be irrational and unproductive, leading her to learn and overhaul her very personality.
Fortunately, as the days went by, she was able to become a rational human being.
Her natural appearance was beautiful, and for the rest, she could get by by imitating what others were good at.
No, rather, she was able to leave only good results behind.
A perfect human, some said.
A child to be proud of, others said.
A hero candidate more upright than anyone else, said the rest.
Those were the evaluations the world gave to the human known as Baek Seol.
After awakening her talent and traits, those evaluations only grew more fervent.
Ever since her childhood, everyone showed her affection, and everyone offered her gratitude.
She had learned the concept of humility, and knowing that it often led to rational results, she always acted humbly.
That was why this feeling was a first.
These were definitely the boys she had rescued.
Whether it was because of her beauty, her reputation, or simply out of gratitude for the kindness she had shown, most people looked at her with favor.
Occasionally, there were those who looked at her with jealousy or envy, but that never lasted long.
However, the hostility mixed in the gaze currently fixed on her was not something so trivial.
Where had she felt this before?
Ah, on the field.
Was it the look those who lost their families to villains because a hero was late gave to the villain—or sometimes, to the late hero?
It was similar, but slightly different.
It was closer to contempt than resentment, and closer to simple loathing than contempt.
Ah, no. This wasn’t something so lukewarm.
It was more like the emotion villains directed at her.
Realizing this, she smiled brightly.
She wasn’t used to being disliked, but it wouldn’t be rational or efficient to lose her temper in response.
Seeing that smile, the boy’s face contorted once more.
Watching him, a strange curiosity began to sprout within Baek Seol.
At first, she had simply wanted to ask how he knew the identity of Seo In-young—Latis Erbashun—to prepare for similar incidents in the future, but not anymore.
Her learning should have been perfect.
So why, exactly, do you hate me so much?
She wanted to ask him right then and there, and she would have if not for the others around them.
With a strange sense of regret, she opened her mouth to speak.