Chapter 160: A Distorted Hero (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 160: A Distorted Hero (1)
After showering with Yoon Ji-an, who was bustling about after waking up early for work, we parted ways, bringing our grand three-day Christmas expedition to a close.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
She had returned to her usual cool-headed self.
But her eyes shimmered endlessly with warmth and affection.
It was a devoted gaze, as if she wanted to grant my every wish.
If I told her to skip work and laze around with me for another day, she looked ready to obey without question.
Now that I think about it, that’s quite a tempting offer… but the problem is, I can’t.
That girl, Yu-jeong, was raising such a fuss, asking when I was coming home and what kind of party lasts two days and one night, that my smartphone was about to blow up in my coat pocket.
Before getting into the taxi, she left me with one last thing, her face slightly shy.
“…I trust you’ll call for me more often next year.”
I waved with a smile, responding to her words.
“Let’s see each other often next year.”
To be honest, during the school year, there’s not much reason to call her… but things are different now.
Looking at her now, to put it crudely, it seems like she’d come running even if I just called her for a quick blowjob.
The analogy is a bit vulgar, but… that’s what I’m trying to say.
Our relationship has progressed to the point where I don’t need a reason to call her anymore.
“Whew.”
After seeing her off, the memories of the past three days flashed before my eyes.
If you asked me to do it again… I could, but it was a forced march I wouldn’t particularly want to repeat.
Thanks to that, a new goal was added to my empty list of New Year’s resolutions.
“I swear I’ll build a harem by next Christmas.”
If I can just get all the women I’m seeing to know about each other and get along, I wouldn’t have to put on this tear-jerking shitshow, right?
Of course, I doubt it’ll be easy in a monogamous country….
“It’ll work out somehow, I guess.”
I’m the guy who’s always managed to pull off things everyone else said were impossible.
Just like always, if I keep getting broken and shattered, I’ll eventually find a way.
As soon as I got home with that thought in mind.
“Hey! Where the hell have you beeeen!”
…I was shattered by Shin Yu-jeong grabbing me by the collar.
“First, just calm down…”
I tried to reason with her like a gentleman, but she suddenly showed me her smartphone screen.
On the screen was a picture of me at Gangnam Station on Christmas Day.
To be precise, it was when I was using magic to catch the Red Thieves bastards. The timing of the photo was so incredible that for a moment, I failed to read the room and almost burst out in admiration.
“What is this? Were you with Yoon Ji-an? Don’t tell me you’ve been with that bitch this whole time…!”
“Now, now, that’s enough.”
I pulled the rampaging runaway train into my arms and patted her on the back.
“Let go! Aren’t you going to let go…?!”
She swung her fists in my embrace, and I thought my ribs were going to break.
She’s just ridiculously strong….
Still, she must have started to calm down, as her struggles gradually weakened before stopping completely.
With hot-tempered people, it’s important to calm them down first before trying to talk.
If I got angry too, fighting fire with fire, things would just get exhausting.
“That picture was taken on my way to the party. Some bastard suddenly stole a charity pot, and I couldn’t just stand by and watch, right?”
“…Then why was Yoon Ji-an there?”
“I should be asking you. Is it really so strange for Ms. Ji-an to be there?”
“……”
The girl suddenly fell silent.
If she just thought about it a little deeper, she’d realize.
That it’s not strange at all for Yoon Ji-an, an Association employee in charge of my care, to be there.
As her breathing calmed down even more, I slowly patted her back and added my final excuse.
“The reason I stayed overnight… is because the party ended late, and since I’d had too much to drink and was struggling, the Association gave me a room at the party hotel to get some rest before leaving.”
“…You slept alone, right?”
The sharp tip of her final suspicion aimed for my heart, but it was too late.
“Of course. But I did have a thought.”
“What thought?”
“That it would have been great if I had come here with you.”
“…So, your point is?”
“That we should go together next time.”
“Well… I’ll think about it if my schedule allows.”
Seeing her bring up a non-existent schedule, it seems she knows she’d look ridiculous if she went from raging like a madwoman to eagerly accepting the offer.
“Are you calm now?”
“C-Calm? What are you talking about?”
Shin Yu-jeong pulled away from my embrace, her face red.
Looking at her face, it seemed the misunderstanding had been completely cleared up.
I may have told the story calmly, but honestly, I was scared shitless.
If even one thing had been off, I wouldn’t have escaped a huge disaster today.
Past me, who used the Association party as an excuse, I praise you…!
I went into my room, changed, and flopped onto the mattress. She naturally lay down next to me, fiddling with her smartphone.
Anyone who saw us would think we live together.
“Hey, did you know?”
“What?”
The girl, who had suddenly spoken up, looked at me with a mischievous expression.
What is it now that’s making her look like that?
“Your number of SNS followers is exploding like crazy.”
“……?”
“That picture I showed you earlier? Every one of your posts is getting thousands of comments saying they came looking for you after seeing it.”
“……”
My face pale, I hurriedly picked up my smartphone and logged into my SNS account.
Hundreds, thousands of DMs, and an enormous number of comments piled up on every post.
…But more than anything, the number of followers, which had already increased by 50% and was still skyrocketing in real-time, tormented me endlessly.
“Hehehe, you’re an SNS star now.”
“Nooo….”
This is so unfair, seriously.
* * *
Hunter.
A Hunter who hunts beings from other worlds that appear by tearing through space.
Long ago, when the rifts first began to appear.
In a time when there were no systems or legal regulations, only chaos.
In an era before even the name “Hunter” existed, those who were granted special traits were called “heroes” by the civilians.
They were worthy of the name.
With nothing but the will to save their families on a small scale, and humanity on a large scale, they faced predators of overwhelming power. With no decent equipment, they crushed their enemies with their bare hands and died glorious deaths.
Without their sacrifices, the peaceful world of today would surely not exist.
Therefore, the world, the people living on this land, should never have forgotten them.
They were forgotten.
Buried under the sediment of less than a hundred years, they faded from the memories of the majority.
And now, in this time of peace, where gratitude for their sacrifice has been forgotten.
Here, there is a Hunter called a hero by the people.
Did he risk his life to protect people? No.
He only did what was possible under the protection of safety measures.
Did he sacrifice his body in a harsh environment? No.
Protected by equipment that easily costs hundreds of millions, he merely fulfilled his duties.
He earned more money than anyone, drove more expensive cars, ate more expensive food, and slept in a more expensive house.
Confronting beings from another world? He only does it because it makes money.
In him, you won’t find a trace of noble sacrifice, devotion, or benevolence, no matter how hard you look.
So why is such a man called a hero instead of a Hunter?
It is a strategy to raise his own value.
A stepping stone laid by deep avarice to secure larger contracts and higher salaries.
The word “hero” has been sullied.
It is no longer the pinnacle of honor reserved for the brave and noble, but has become an utterly worldly title sought by those who already have much, only to covet more.
The man wants to ask the world, to ask the people who call him a hero.
Do you truly think he is a hero?
“Cough…!”
To ask them this question, the man stained his hands with blood.
He put them to the test, and if they failed, he killed them without mercy and displayed their heads to the world.
At his hands, tens, hundreds of false heroes lost their lives and crumbled to dust.
To the man’s question of whether they truly considered them heroes, the world answered with “oblivion.”
The ones they called heroes died in vain, forgotten in less than a week.
The people must not have thought of them as true heroes either.
“I wonder.”
What kind of expression the false heroes, forgotten in just a week, are making as they look up at this world from hell.
Someday, when a true hero appears, I will find out.
For I am destined to meet a glorious end at his hands.
Until that day comes, the man will simply continue to test, and to ask.
And now.
The target for this year’s final test has been decided.
A young Hunter who appeared out of nowhere, began to capture the public’s attention, and is being called a future hero.
There is a reason for targeting this unripe fledgling.
‘He resembles him somehow.’
The look in the young man’s eyes, which he saw from time to time, resembled his.
The look in the eyes of the one who passed his test not with the predetermined answer, but by finding his own.
That made the man unbearably curious.
That was the reason.
“…I truly hope he passes.”
The man wished this sincerely as he raised the body he had kept crouched for so long.
It was time to go outside again.