I'm Not a Hero, Though (4)
I seem to have a real knack for picking up villains. Not sure if my luck is bad or good.
Picking up a villain is bad luck in its own right, but snagging these vicious original-story villains before they turn into villains? That's gotta be good luck.
After all, if things went according to the original plot, these kids would've turned the half-apocalyptic world into a full-blown apocalypse.
Of course, this poor kid wasn't quite on that level of influence... but still, she was destined to become a pleasure-devouring cannibal.
Hard to imagine from her current looks, but...
This is the perfect environment to drive someone completely insane.
From the looks of it, she's been beaten for more than just a day or two.
I don't know how far I can go with this, but maybe I should aim to keep her from becoming a villain if possible.
"It's getting late, so let's sleep."
It's not that late, but that's adult time. Kids need their rest.
"In the be...d... can I sleep...?"
"No no no no, you sleep in the bed."
"I like the fwor."
Seolhwa shook her head vigorously in refusal.
Bitter, huh.
She should've been going to school without a care in the world at her age.
"It's not okay with me, so come on. Mina, help support her?"
"Sure."
For now, she'll sleep in my room.
The only rooms with beds are Mina's and mine.
I can just crash on the first-floor sofa. It's not that uncomfortable anyway.
"Let's go."
I got Seolhwa into my room, barely pried off Mina—who for some reason didn't want to leave my side—and headed downstairs.
...Still, with three rooms, I could just toss a bed into the empty one later.
But can I even buy beds at the market?
I flopped onto the sofa, staring blankly at the moon floating in the night sky, lost in thought until drowsiness hit. I closed my eyes.
I'll think about it after sleep.
Sleep.
"You don't grip the pen with your fist like that. Rest it on your middle finger, and use your index and thumb like..."
Never thought I'd see the day I was teaching someone.
I slowly observed Seolhwa as she awkwardly gripped the pen.
Her hair, once a tangled mess, was now tied back neatly, revealing a face still covered in scars from her past. But maybe it was my imagination, or perhaps the swelling had gone down a bit.
In about a week, most traces should fade.
"Mister, you're so smart."
"Just know what I know."
Of course, by this world's standards, that was enough to qualify as an intellectual.
Literacy rates, which had been low even in the old days, had skyrocketed again after the war.
In a world like that, just surviving was a blessing.
Seoul still had public education keeping illiteracy down... but that only applied to the expanded New-Seoul, merging northern Gyeonggi and Incheon.
Kids raised in the Swamp Zone were lucky to master Hangul and basic arithmetic.
And Seolhwa couldn't even read properly—she was basically illiterate—so I felt the need to start with the basics for her.
...Starting with how to hold a pen.
Honestly, even I hadn't held a pen in ages, just tapping screens, so it felt a bit awkward at first.
But after a few tries, muscle memory kicked in.
It's not hard to hold a pen, so that was natural. But for Seolhwa, experiencing it for the first time, it seemed tough.
I hadn't expected her to struggle with just gripping it for a full 10 minutes.
"It's hard..."
"It's okay. You'll get used to it as you write. Let's start with consonants then."
"Mister, I'm gonna go work now."
"Yeah. Have a good one."
"...Have a good day, sir."
"Have a good dayyy."
"Have a good daaay?"
"Yeah, yeah."
...She doesn't look much younger than Mina visually, but teaching her feels like dealing with a little kid.
Can't be helped.
She's not a normally raised kid.
I spent the entire morning teaching her consonants and vowels.
Thankfully, while she hadn't learned much before, she wasn't dumb—Seolhwa picked up Hangul quickly.
And the final lesson of the day.
"Now, write your own name."
"Seol...hwa..."
Seolhwa slowly scrawled her name in crooked letters.
"Good job."
"...Hehe."
Is this the appeal of child-rearing...? No, no, no.
"Practice writing until this paper's full. I have to step out for a bit, so guard the house well. Don't open the door for anyone. Got it?"
Mina and I have keys, so no one normal's getting in without breaking the door.
As long as she doesn't go out...
I turned to leave the office but glanced back at Seolhwa practicing her writing.
...She'll be fine, right?
No.
To protect the nest, I gotta hustle. Worrying too much isn't productive.
I grabbed a handful of steel marbles and stuffed them in my pocket.
Not that tasty.
Curiosity killed the hunter, huh.
I barely chewed and swallowed the jerky I'd bought from a shop, using a bit of water power.
How do you make jerky this bad?
Shivering at the bitter aftertaste, I stared blankly at the playground where kids must've once played.
Abandoned, it was overgrown with grass and vines, giving off an eerie vibe.
Coming at night would've made it a full horror spot.
Though in this world, spots like that are rarer than the normal ones. Like that skull staring at me from the corner over there.
Of course, it's not alive.
Even in a world of superpowered rampages, no necromancy magic exists.
If it did, the remnants of civilization would've crumbled entirely.
Or maybe they'd raise the dead as skeletons for labor.
Endless workforce without food needs? Civilization rebuild would've been way faster.
...Anyway, time to loot.
I stood from the bench and headed into a nearby villa to fill my half-full bag.
This place hadn't been touched in ages—not by hunters, but by even older squatters.
Good call sticking to the outskirts.
Higher risk, but spots like this pay off.
I checked the rooftop first: the penthouse was mostly collapsed from time, so squeezing in would be needed to see inside. Pass for now.
The only intact unit on the third floor was covered in fur—probably some animal's nest.
Not many critters climb that high besides cats, so cat traces?
Clothes here would be unusable anyway.
Not like anything intact survives.
Stainless stuff might work if the rust is scraped off. Or well-preserved items.
Jewelry especially fetches good prices—easy to polish and resell.
I scoured the place for valuables.
By the time I'd cleared the whole villa, my bag was full of junk that'd sell.
This'll keep me comfortable for days.
Time to head back.
Sunset's starting; gotta go now to beat the dark.
I retraced my steps.
And after some walking...
I halted on the path back to the Swamp Zone.
Or rather, I had to.
"You pulled off quite the funny stunt, huh?"
"You again, Goblin?"
"Goblin?"
Oh, right—no one here knows goblins.
Makes sense. This world's no gates, just humans warring to the end.
No one'd know fantasy monsters like goblins.
Maybe Seoul folks.
"Spouting nonsense... You seem pretty relaxed."
"Well... no reason to tense up."
I feigned casualness, hand on my hip.
Five of them.
Four besides Goblin held tools—weapons for sure.
A normal person would get wrecked by one hit.
"Anyway, looks like I need to teach a clueless pup who fears no tiger. Kids."
"Can we handle him?"
In the Swamp Zone, I'd hold back for repercussions... but Gray Forest? Different story.
No laws, no morals apply here.
Violence is the law.
"Ha, handle? Entering Alligator Gang turf doesn't make you one of us. And... dying out here? Who cares."
"True that."
I carefully set my bag down and stretched.
"Sigh... Thought I'd get home peacefully today."
This day's gonna drag.
I pulled a handful of steel marbles from my pocket.
"I'm busy, so let's end this quick."
"Beat his ass!"
With Goblin's shout, they charged.