Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Annoying Person
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"How's this?"
"Next."
"What about this?!"
"Next."
"What's the problem?! How about this one then?!"
"...Next."
I shook my head every time Raphael came out in a new outfit. This was all because, before Isia could pick clothes for her, Raphael insisted on choosing her own.
This girl.
Her fashion sense was zero. No, not just zero—it was catastrophic.
She'd come out in some weird green top with baggy pants, or that stereotypical engineering student look complete with a backpack, or—taking my advice that a plain dress would be fine—she'd pick a purple one with a giant spider printed on it.
It was beyond the pale visually. But what pissed me off even more was this—
[No matter what she puts on, she looks fine, nya?]
Yeah, this. Thanks to that damn face of hers, everything looked good on her. Whoever said clothes make the man needs to rethink their life. It's the face. The face completes the fashion. Ninety-nine percent of fashion is the face.
I smacked my forehead. Isia, who'd been watching from the side, stood up.
"How about this one!!"
Raphael appeared with a rustle of fabric. I smacked my forehead again, even though I'd already done it once.
"You're unreal. Seriously."
This outfit was even weirder. Where the hell did she even find something like that? Was she missing the Heaven Realm or something?
A rainbow-shimmering T-shirt. And those pants—why were they dragging on the floor like that?
"Come here."
"Huh? Wait a sec. Seong-hoon? How's it look? Say something—"
I just waved her off wordlessly. Better if she got banned from the store.
[Nya. Nya.]
"Don't you need clothes?"
[I'm in cat form most of the time anyway, so who cares, nya.]
Fair enough. Come to think of it, where'd you even get those clothes?
As I stared at her curiously, Lachesis licked the back of her hand and met my eyes.
[It's magic, nya. Truth is, I'm not wearing anything—]
"Alright. Let's buy you some clothes too."
You should've said that earlier. Damn cat.
Embarrassing. Mortifying. I could die of shame.
"This is my first time wearing anything but my uniform since coming here."
[Nya. This feels uncomfortable, nya.]
And there's only one reason why.
All eyes in the cafe we entered were locked on us. It was an open cafe with no walls, the kind you see in department stores—a round table where we sat in a circle, and passersby kept glancing our way.
Glancing? Yeah, right. More like staring until they walked into a wall.
I looked at the one drawing the most attention. She wasn't even dressed flashy. Just a plain blouse and skirt. That's it.
And yet.
"Gah!!" "Aaaah!!" "Uwaaah!!"
The sounds of heads smacking into walls kept coming. This attention was overwhelming.
Especially the glares. Why her? Nothing special about her, right? Yeah, nothing at all. If you're jealous, come take her.
I won't give up Lachesis, but the blonde in front? Be my guest. Take her off my hands.
"Hey. White clothes and messy eating—it's gonna stain."
"Huh? Really? I can just dry clean it later."
"That's not the point. It's about dignity—"
[Nya.]
"Ack!!"
I watched Isia trying to wrangle these two messes—who weren't even her kids—and summed up the situation.
Trouble was about to erupt soon. A monster attack.
It all started when Kim Tae-hyun, on a date (semi-forced) with Yang Min-ji, said he was going to the bathroom and split off briefly.
He'd save Yang Min-ji from the attack coming out of the bathroom, evacuate people, rack up goodwill—that kind of event.
"Hmph."
I glanced at Isia, who was unleashing a torrent of nagging with ridiculous intensity.
She noticed my look and tilted her head. Like, 'What?' But shouldn't it be more like 'What're you staring at?' here?
Whatever. When the attack hits, I'll ditch this girl and run. She'll fight monsters alone and run into Kim Tae-hyun.
The other interference was Kim Tae-hyun meeting someone else, which I'd desperately block—
"Whoa!!! It's Isia!! And that annoying guy!!"
I smacked my forehead for the third time today. Why is she here? In this huge department store, running into her right like this? God must be messing with me.
A brown-haired girl and a black-haired guy with a blue sheen approached.
I swallowed my tears.
The already packed table gained two more people. A brown-haired girl with one braid, grinning ear to ear. And a guy who'd said nothing since sitting down, freezing the atmosphere solid.
I gave a wry smile. Why'd he have to join us?
"What a coincidence running into you here!! What're you up to?"
"Mind your own business. Keep walking. Here to mess with us again?"
"Nah, nothing like that. I was on a date."
"What?!"
Isia nearly toppled backward in shock, but Kim Tae-hyun steadied her chair with his leg crossed, his face slightly frowning in annoyance.
"Not a date."
"Huh? Isn't it?"
"No."
I didn't like him. He looked annoyingly handsome even frowning, and catching a falling girl so smoothly? That chivalry grated too. Raphael muttering, 'Seong-hoon would've just watched her fall and laughed, right?' wasn't worth answering. Obviously.
Isia frowned at their banter, clearly displeased. Good. Keep it up.
"So, what's the deal?"
"Ah~ well~"
As Yang Min-ji gestured wildly to explain, someone whispered in my ear.
"Seong-hoon. We've been totally sidelined, huh? Can't even join the convo or get treated like people."
"Yeah."
"Is this what it feels like to be a background character? It's so uncomfortable. My mouth's itching to say something."
Since when did you get so perceptive? As I recall, you used to blurt everything out without a filter.
I pushed Raphael's head away and sat her down.
"So—strong guys need scouting, but a date seals the deal cheap!!"
Basically, she saw Kim Tae-hyun training by chance, fell for him (professionally) at first sight.
"Oh. That's what it was. I thought—"
"I said it's not."
"No need to be shy. Anyway, Isia, you free next weekend? Dad—"
"No."
I prepared to stand as the three chatted amiably.
The goal was to get Isia and Kim Tae-hyun acquainted, and it happened this way, so no reason to stick around.
Excuse. Truth is, looking at Kim Tae-hyun's face made me want to puke. My guts were twisting. I couldn't take it anymore.
As I signaled Raphael and Lachesis to get up—
"I'm heading to the bathroom!"
"Ah."
Yang Min-ji bolted for the restroom. And what did that mean?
The pistol's trigger had been pulled.
Right as she vanished from sight, like magic—
Boom—!!!!!!!
The wall shattered.
Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!
Screams erupted.
Kim Tae-hyun and Isia jumped up with the noise, bolting toward the source without looking back.
I stood there blankly, watching them go. Huh?
"Perfect scenario?"
They ditched me. Thanks a bunch.
"What're you standing around for!! Run!! Hurry!! I don't wanna get buried!!!"
You're not getting buried, so just stay put, please.
The explosions didn't stop at one. A chain of blasts followed. No need to think—this was an attack.
Monsters or terrorists, didn't matter.
Not important now. Over twenty, easy estimate.
Bad spot too. Seoul's top department store. Foot traffic? Over 100,000 easy.
One thing to do: buy time.
Until people evacuate or heroes arrive. Stall.
Kim Tae-hyun drew the two swords hidden at his waist. They fit perfectly, like finding home. Then—
The blades spun. Reverse grip, as it's called—held backward, against the norm.
He ran with the fleeing crowd, slipping through like water as they parted for him. What he saw?
A 「Dragon」.
No. A sub-species questionable even to call dragon.
「Kieeeaaah!!!」
No wings. But faint reptilian scales and eyes. A 「Drake」—tough for a student.
But as they say, there's always a way. It wasn't huge. Juvenile.
'Manageable.'
Kim Tae-hyun pointed his reverse-gripped swords at the monster. Evacuating this huge store would take time. He wouldn't let a single person die. Luckily, besides him, three more hero candidates were here.
Whether they'd fight or flee was unknown, but better than nothing.
Drakes closing in, drool dripping, tightening the net. Five visible.
Back: fleeing crowd. Front: Drakes everywhere. No escape.
Mana circulated. Body absorbed it, heart pumping wildly to produce mana: 「Ice」.
Air chilled. He charged the monsters—
"Why're you so fast!! Slow down!!"
—then stopped. He looked at the girl following him. Black hair, black eyes, white dress.
Kim Tae-hyun blinked. She'd pierced the crowd to keep up. Impressive.
"What're you spacing out for? Hurry and take 'em out, then head elsewhere—should be fine."
"What're you talking about?"
"That super strong guy's not following."
Kim Tae-hyun tilted his head, then recalled: the guy who'd glared daggers all through the table-sharing, making his displeasure obvious.
Hostile, but so unremarkable he'd ignored him.
"He looked like nothing."
"What?! You didn't see the friendly match or the instant dungeon records?"
"Not interested."
Isia let out a disbelieving scoff, then drew a magic circle in her hand. No time for talk.
"I'm going first. Don't get in my way."
"Hey! That's my line!!"
Yang Min-ji, finishing up in the bathroom, panicked at the blasts and burst out.
Chaos: crowds running somewhere—probably the security system or giant teleport circle. She didn't go, dodging them toward the source instead, but stopped.
No need.
「Grrrrrr」
A drooling reptile threatening her. She knew the name.
Cold sweat. Still in a crowded area, yet facing a monster. Yang Min-ji wasn't combat personnel. Heroes split into fighters and non-fighters, like field vs. office jobs.
She was support.
Amplifying others' abilities—a supporter hero. Not frontline.
And opponent: 「Drake」—even combat students struggled.
"Hi? Can we pretend we didn't see each other?"
The obvious non-starter made her laugh nervously.
Not all supporters can't fight. She could handle basic self-defense. But win? No.
She tried joining her group—Isia and Kim Tae-hyun—but ran into this.
What now? Run? People over there? If I run?
Thoughts swirled. Resolve to fight formed, but body froze as the Drake closed in.
「Kieaak?!」
It screeched and fell. Not over. One steel beam. Then two. Then three. Four.
Nine total crashed down. Blood, guts, brains splattered everywhere. She looked for the cause.
"Whoa... Could you go easier?"
"Go easy and people die."
"Even bullets don't hurt if they're gentle. You should've dropped 'em gently."
"Who taught you to say crap like that?"
A black-haired guy and golden-haired girl bantered there.