True Nature Revealed

Kang Jihun.

The main tank and secondary DPS of the protagonist's party.

You might think this was going too far. Framing him for cheating he never even did. You might even worry that this would only twist him further before the protagonist ever got a chance to straighten him out.

But I didn't care.

This guy had already gone crooked a long time ago. So this wasn't just a prank — it was something I did for the future, with a little personal satisfaction mixed in.

"Feel wronged?"

I asked, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed. Kang Jihun, who'd come storming out after having his exam paper confiscated, glared daggers at me.

"Don't even try that bullshit. Get lost before I actually kill you this time."

"Hey, this is exactly the kind of thing you do all the time. How does it feel being on the receiving end?"

He stopped dead. Kang Jihun halted mid-stride, tilted his head back, and let out a long sigh. He turned to look at me, then spoke with a blank expression.

"…You seem to think I'm joking. If you want to die, just say so. I'll kill you right now."

"…"

Scary.

That threat to kill me probably wasn't a joke. In the original story, this guy actually ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had a history of murder.

All because he couldn't control that temper of his.

After meeting the protagonist, he turned over a new leaf and deeply regretted his past. But what had already happened couldn't be undone, and both Kang Jihun and his victims had to live through years of suffering.

I figured I'd try to prevent those tragedies.

"Admit it."

"Admit what? I—"

"I know you didn't cheat. So admit how unfair this feels."

"…"

"What, can't admit it?"

"…"

Of course he couldn't. It was the exact same thing he did every day.

Kang Jihun had been aggressive since he was little — extorting other people's belongings, framing them, even running scams. It wasn't about money, not for the scion of a prestigious family. He simply believed it was his right.

Because he was a superior being to ordinary people.

His backstory went roughly like this.

The Joel family stood on the front lines of Korea's gate defense. While his parents and siblings risked their lives every single day, the rest of the Korean public enjoyed comfortable beds and abundant meals without a shred of gratitude. When a gate clear failed, they mocked the hunters under the guise of concern and worry. They even freely compared them to foreign hunter families. The attitude was: you receive government support, so do your job.

But from the perspective of someone whose own father had been torn apart in a vampire gate, the public's behavior was an unforgivable shamelessness. So of course he'd end up thinking, And these people just sit around watching movies in their cozy little lives. Honestly, a certain amount of his deviance was understandable.

Because of this, he grew more twisted by the day. Eventually, he couldn't tolerate the mockery of a cocky B-class hunter and committed murder. In the process, his prior history of violent crimes came to light, and the Joel family, in protecting Kang Jihun, clashed with other families.

It was the Director and the protagonist who cleaned up that messy situation.

Can I stop it?

Honestly, I didn't know. I wasn't him. Without living through it myself, there was no way I could truly understand his psychology. If it worked out, it'd lighten the protagonist's load a little. If not, oh well.

I offered some advice to Kang Jihun, who was still glaring at me.

"You're not the only person in the world who gets treated unfairly. Remember how this feels. Don't do something you'll regret later."

His eyes sharpened twofold.

"…Are you lecturing me? You?"

"Lecturing? Learning has nothing to do with gender or age."

"So you're saying you think I'm the same as you?"

"Obviously. Don't think you're the best just because you're a little stronger. Does that make what I'm saying wrong?"

Kang Jihun clenched his teeth, closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them again.

"Wrong doesn't even begin to cover it. It's because of that 'little strength' of ours that you get to eat and drink so well right now. Because we hold the gates, you get to stand here and run your mouth without knowing your place. If you don't know anything, shut the hell up."

"Hey…"

"What."

This kid was seriously rotten. When someone tries to talk to you nicely, you should at least listen. This was why stubborn people were such a pain.

"You don't know this, but I can fight too…?"

The number of monsters I'd taken down so far was probably higher than his. A minor with a hunter license was still just trainee level, after all.

Kang Jihun narrowed his eyes and let out a hollow laugh.

"Fight? With that makeup on your face, sucking down drinks all day — when exactly?"

"Always."

"Always? What, you ever done volunteer work at a gate disaster site in your life? Don't tell me you mean sniping from a distance when the time comes. That's disgusting."

"…"

Should I just dump this bastard in the amusement park for real? I was starting to understand why the protagonist beat the crap out of him so thoroughly.

Maybe because I was hiding my mana, Kang Jihun didn't sense the danger and kept talking.

"I guarantee it — when a real life-or-death situation comes, you'll hide behind our family. Just like every other piece of trash."

"You think so?"

I had no intention of entrusting my safety to the likes of the Joel family. I'd just take Yena and Kang Jiye and hide in the amusement park. Of course, it was true that I had no intention of risking my life.

I considered teaching him a lesson, but decided against it — it would change history too much.

Damn… this is frustrating.

Well, what could I do? Kang Jihun was still middle-school age. He was emotional enough that his field of vision was already narrow. Even if he thought whatever he wanted, I was the adult here — I should be the understanding one.

"Kang Jihun."

"…?"

"Risking your life for everything isn't the answer. What matters is what you're fighting for."

"…"

"Peciaaa! Our lazy little koala, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?"

I'd been trying to sneak quietly into the dorms when Elaine, who'd been lying in wait at the entrance, nabbed me. All the rage I'd built up over Kang Jihun drained from my face in an instant.

A film reel started playing in my head. What would happen if I got dragged off from here.

Eat, chat, drink tea, take photos, chat some more, eat dinner.

I'd probably never make it to bed. In that case, better to throw out something she'd have to refuse first.

"Sorry, but I have to go do volunteer work. Want to come along?"

"Volunteer work?"

"Yeah. Though it's probably not something a prestigious family heir would want to—"

"Oh my, oh my! So Pecia is inviting me to do something together right now? I'd love to!"

…?

Before I knew it, work gloves were on my hands. And there I was, diligently hauling temporary camp supplies.

…????

The moment I said I wanted to go volunteer at a gate disaster site, Elaine immediately put in a request with the academy and dragged me here. My big stupid mouth, seriously.

"My sleep schedule is being deleted."

I muttered half out of my mind, and Elaine beamed back at me.

"Perfect! Instead of lonely, boring hours, you're filling them with memories! I never even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought of real volunteer work — a commoner friend's ideas really are different from ours!"

The "commoner" bit might sound like a dig, but Elaine was genuinely thril­led to have found a new activity. Apparently her parents had always opposed her getting her hands dirty. Unless absolutely necessary, always maintain your dignity, and spend any free time contemplating magical engineering that benefits the world — that seemed to be the Ispellen family's teaching.

From that perspective, this was definitely a waste of time in several senses.

What wonderful parents.

I set down a rolled-up tent and asked.

"Aren't you tired? Want to wrap this up and grab some coffee?"

"No. I'm going to use this chance to indirectly experience a hunter's work. I've been curious for a while."

She added that she was glad I'd suggested coming to a gate site at just the right time. Her thinking was that experiencing the field would help her understand the hardships of hunters like the Joel family.

Though her motives didn't seem entirely pure.

"Someday I want to prove with my own hands that Adriel is wrong… Eek! What is that?!"

A green stick that had come flying from somewhere landed next to Elaine. With joints and protruding spines, it was clearly the leg of an insect-type monster. I picked it up, snapped it in half, and tossed it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into a burlap sack.

Elaine looked on in admiration.

"Isn't that gross? You're just handling it like that?"

"This is nothing."

It wasn't like I hadn't seen human corpses. I'd heard there had been quite a few casualties here. Monster remains were nothing to be scared of.

"…By the way, who threw that?"

We both turned at the same time.

About a dozen men and women were shouting slogans, banners and picket signs in hand. It was a protest group demanding compensation for the gate break. They were throwing monster corpses onto the site as a form of protest — along with shouts not to destroy the evidence(?).

Seeing that, the corners of my mouth rose in pure rage. How dare they mess up and not even apologize. We'd clearly made eye contact, and they were pretending not to notice.

"…They're troublemakers."

I clapped my gloved hands together with a smack, and Elaine tilted her head.

"Troublemakers?"

"Elaine, you said earlier you wanted to win a keyboard battle against Adriel, right?"

"Huh? Y-yeah. …But what battle?"

You guys picked the wrong day. This was my specialty, after all. You didn't need field experience to win an argument. Just attack the opponent's emotions and it was over.

Excited to encounter my field of expertise after so long, I pointed at the picket-wielding group off to the side of the disaster site.

"Let's go."

Elaine blinked her widened eyes.

"Go where?"

"To confront them! We almost got hit!"

Elaine looked at the protesters and let out a hollow laugh.

"…I don't think they'll listen even if we confront them. Looking at those forced picket signs, they're clearly professional protesters. They'll just insist they didn't throw it."

"So even you think their claims are forced?"

"Of course."

This disaster had happened because hunters supported by a prestigious family had fled, triggering a gate break. But since the gate level assessment had been wrong to begin with, it was hard to pin the blame on anyone. You couldn't expect people to stand and fight knowing they'd die. Blaming the prestigious family here was either outside influence or a forced claim aimed at compensation money.

Hehe, time to give them a serious piece of my mind.

I'd rack up some glorious cheek-slapping points in this life too.

Hiding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my excitement, I whispered to Elaine.

"So you said you want to beat Adriel, right? Use this chance to represent their position. You have to know your opponent to win."

Honestly, I couldn't care less about representing anyone's position. I just hated volunteer work and wanted to mess with people making unreasonable demands.

Elaine rubbed her cheek with a troubled look.

"Hmm… but people like that don't get convinced just by talking."

"That's exactly what makes it fun. Let's go."

I pushed her forward so she wouldn't change her mind. This way I could ditch the volunteer work and kill some time.

When we stood in front of the picket protesters, a masked man who seemed to be the ringleader looked our way.

"…?"

Elaine, flustered by the sudden confrontation, looked at me — an expression that said, is this really the right move? I nodded encouragingly. Elaine reluctantly opened her mouth.

"…Excuse me."

"What."

"My name is Elaine."

The ringleader's eyes turned hostile, and he curtly spat out something nobody had asked.

"You here about that leg earlier? We didn't throw that. You dropped it yourselves and got scared."

"No, that's not it. Please calm down a little and let's have a more peaceful conversation."

Ooh, so that was implying the protest wasn't peaceful? Elaine was pretty good at this.

As expected, the ringleader's face twisted.

"What're you saying?"

"Ah, well."

Elaine turned to me with a troubled expression.

"How am I supposed to start…"

"Hmm."

I scratched my head for a moment, then pointed at the ringleader like I was aiming a gun.

"Hey, you fucking bastard."