Chapter 383
Chapter 383
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 384
Chapter Title: The Heavenly Voice
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After Shin Young-jun's turn ended—the one who had granted me a new trait—it was the turn of a first-year student named Shin Ye-eun, known for possessing the rare trait "Heavenly Voice," which was said to purify even ruined ears.
And with her appearance, the audience stands began to stir.
The special power contained in her voice was famous enough that the entire student body knew about it.
Thus began her song.
"Wow......"
As the song started, gasps of admiration erupted here and there. I was no exception.
A soft voice and clean high notes.
Her singing skill was outstanding enough to rival any professional singer.
"Is this the Heavenly Voice? Insane."
"More than that, don't you feel vitality surging through your body all of a sudden?"
As the song ended, a message appeared before my eyes.
[Your 'Aesthetic Sense (B)' reacts to the beautiful song.]
['Aesthetic Sense (B)' proficiency greatly increases.]
[Current 'Aesthetic Sense (B)' proficiency: 79%]
[You have heard a beautiful song infused with mana.]
[All stats increase by 8% for 30 minutes.]
An 8% increase to all stats.
There was a 30-minute time limit, but for a single short song to grant an 8% stat boost was an enormous effect.
Dozens of major guilds would probably pour tremendous resources into recruiting her.
—Thank you.
After that, the song performances continued.
Shin Young-jun's opening act had ruined the first impression of the event, but overall, the level was very high.
"Everyone sings really well."
"Yeah. By the way, when's Seo-yoon's turn?"
"Soon."
No sooner had I finished speaking than Choi Seo-yoon walked onto the stage with a tense expression.
With her appearance, a roar of cheers erupted from the audience stands, on a completely different level from before.
—Seo-yoon! Seo-yoon!
—Unni!
Yun Ha-young showed a surprised reaction to the massive response.
"Wow... what's with Seo-yoon's popularity?"
"She's always been popular."
I tried to play it cool, but even I was a bit surprised.
I hadn't imagined it would be this level of frenzy.
—Ah, hello. I'm Choi Seo-yoon from the second year...
Choi Seo-yoon introduced herself in a somewhat stiff, rigid voice.
She usually enjoyed people's attention, but today, uncharacteristically, she was filled with tension.
—Whoa, what a cheer... She's got quite the popularity.
The host spoke with a smile, as if trying to ease her tension.
But her expression didn't change, her tension not easing easily.
—She looks nervous.
—Yeah. Hope she doesn't mess up.
As with the other participants, a brief interview with the host began.
—Hmm. You've prepared "I Miss You," I see?
—Ah, yes.
The title reminded me of a few songs from my original world, but since songs from that world didn't exist here, it had to be one I didn't know.
—Oh... I know this as quite the heartfelt ballad. Is it a personal story~?
The host asked playfully with a grin.
—Pardon? Ah, well...
The audience stirred at Choi Seo-yoon's flustered, trailing-off response.
Choi Seo-yoon glanced anxiously around the stands, her gaze stopping in my direction.
Our eyes met for a moment, and my body stiffened.
It felt like I needed to help her relax somehow.
After a brief hesitation, I mouthed "Fighting!"
Fortunately, she seemed to get it and gave a small nod.
—Alright, alright, Seo-yoon, don't be nervous—just take it easy. Music, please!
Soon, soft music began to flow from somewhere.
At the same time, the murmuring audience fell deathly silent, and Choi Seo-yoon gripped the microphone tightly with both hands, as if holding a precious object.
And then the first verse began.
—Whoa.
A clear, pure tone emerged from her lips, unadorned by any technique, drawing small exclamations from the audience.
I too listened to her song with slightly widened eyes in surprise.
Did she sing this well?
To be precise, she wasn't singing better than the previous participants in terms of skill.
She was simply singing using only her natural timbre, without any special techniques.
But her song carried a tender emotion absent in the others.
"Seon-woo, Seo-yoon's doing great, right?"
"...Yeah. She is."
A dreamlike, hazy time passed, and the song reached the chorus before I knew it.
The audience, swept up in her emotions, gazed with distant, wistful eyes.
And with Choi Seo-yoon's final verse, the song came to an end.
A brief silence followed.
The audience snapped out of it and began clapping.
Relief and satisfaction filled her face instead of the earlier tension as she received the applause.
She turned her gaze back to me and flashed a bright smile.
"I'm back."
9:15 PM.
Having finished the second day of the Taehwi Festival, I returned to the dorm.
I scooped up Gretel, who came to greet me, and marched mechanically to the sofa before flopping down.
Lying there, today's events replayed in my mind.
The play, Artistic Manifestation, the song performances...
They were nothing special in hindsight, yet they felt more exhausting than fighting an S-rank villain.
"Oh, right."
Come to think of it, my fans had given me tons of gifts today.
I pulled out the presents I'd stored in my sub-space one by one.
Unfolding them revealed a wide variety.
From snacks to clothes, elixirs, special materials, letters, and more.
I first picked up a piece of clothing.
"...Huh. Perfect fit. How'd they get my size?"
"Nyaang."
I glanced over, and Gretel was staring at the snacks with curious eyes.
"Gretel, pick whatever you want to eat."
"Nyaang!"
Gretel excitedly grabbed a bag of snacks and started munching.
Watching her, I chuckled, then spotted a pink-decorated envelope right in front of me.
"A letter."
I checked the contents immediately.
[TO. Student Kim Sun-woo.
Always cheering for you. Please accept the snacks as a token of my heart!]
A short message.
Simple in content, but the sincerity warmed my heart.
['Fan Letter' achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
"Oh..."
As my heart warmed again from the sudden achievement,
A message alert rang from the smart student handbook on the floor.
Checking it, it was from the group chat.
[Kim Sun-woo, you really not coming?]
It was from Shin Young-jun.
He was asking if I wasn't going to watch the fireworks, the climax of today's Taehwi Festival.
I slowly typed a reply.
[Got personal stuff and I'm tired. You guys enjoy.]
I'd seen fireworks a lot lately, so I didn't particularly want to.
I wasn't the sentimental type to feel moved by them anyway.
And there was this inexplicable awkwardness.
Well, more than that, I really had things to do today.
I picked up my smartphone.
[Milord. Han Se-jin is suspicious about the relationship between Kim Sun-woo and Kim Jin-woo.
A short message from Erin after the song performances ended.
Just one line, but its contents couldn't be ignored.
[Suspicious how?]
[It seems he's obtained some source from the demons lately. It started as suspicion about 'Kim Sun-woo,' but now he's convinced that Kim Jin-woo and the demon hunter are the same person.]
The reply came quickly.
Convinced of my identity...
Since the Ten Demon Society had confirmed me as the Child of Prophecy, that info must have reached Han Se-jin to some extent.
"A bit of a headache."
I planned to deal with the Demon King before graduation, so no big issue there, but Hanseong was different.
As the second-largest power after the Association, and given Han Se-jin's personality and lust for power I'd witnessed, I couldn't predict when he'd attack.
On top of that, Hanseong controlled Korea's media.
If he spread rumors linking 'Kim Sun-woo' and 'Kim Jin-woo'...
"I need to wrap up Hanseong quickly."
Mountains of things to do.
Hanseong, demons, Cruas, the fourth diary, Kim Chang-hyun.
Events were accelerating or unfolding unknown to me.
It was starting to feel overwhelming to handle alone.
I needed people who could be of real help.
"Han Se-yeon..."
Come to think of it, we'd scheduled to meet soon about making an elixir from Gretel's fruit.
"...But Han Se-yeon's been acting weird lately."
She tried not to show it, but her attitude toward me had subtly changed.
Having contacted her daily and spent time close, I was certain.
With her sharp instincts, she might have figured out my identity to some degree.
"Did I make things too big?"
Lost in thought, I opened the internet on my smart student handbook.
I accessed the wizard community and typed 'Kim Sun-woo' into the search bar.
[Taehwi Festival Play 4th Circle Review]
[Saw 4th circle play, Kim Sun-woo's acting was legit good]
[Kim Sun-woo has a girlfriend? Real?]
[Something off about Kim Sun-woo, feels shady.]
Countless posts popped up.
From today's play to praises, jealous rants, and wary comments about my skills—various writings caught my eye.
Skimming through the meaningless ones, I checked posts from a few days ago around the time I took down S-rank demon Elina Kim.
[Demon Hunter is Kim Sun-woo 99%. Proof inside]
[Should suspect Kim Jin-woo and Kim Sun-woo connection too lol]
[Three similar-style wizards appearing within two years is suspicious af.]
[Ugh, so many conspiracy nuts. You think Kim Sun-woo could fool the Association?]
Plenty of content already linking Kim Sun-woo, Kim Jin-woo, and the demon hunter.
"...Hiding it is reaching its limit."
As my tasks piled up, maintaining my disguise grew harder.
I'd exposed a lot that could be inferred.
For now, it was just suspicions, but solving incidents could snag me anytime.
If that happened, the hard-built 'Kim Sun-woo' brand image(?) could crash in an instant.
"Come to think of it, that might not be so bad."
Could be a chance for big points.
...Just kidding.
To prevent Lee Seo-jun's death and progress the main story, making too many enemies wasn't good.
Plus, after graduation, I'd join the 'Special Task Force' with Lee Seo-jun, so no scandals on my name allowed.
As I pondered post-graduation plans, a call alert rang from the smart student handbook.
I blankly stared at the name on the screen.
[Choi Seo-yoon]
"...Hello? Yeah?"
Answering, a cacophony of noisy festival sounds poured in, as if she was still there.
[Ah, hello? Sunbae, you're at the dorm now?]
"Uh, yeah?"
At her question, she spoke cautiously.
[Sunbae, you didn't leave early because of me, right?]
"Huh? No, nothing like that. Why would I."
[No, just in case.]
Then another voice chimed in.
[Hey, Kim Sun-woo, you really not coming?]
Shin Young-jun's voice.
Seemed the main cast was all together.
[Sun-woo! Fireworks starting soon!]
Next, Yun Ha-young's voice.
From the excited tones, they were all hyped.
"Nah, you guys have fun. Got stuff to do, and tired."
[Kim Sun-woo.]
Now Lee Seo-jun's voice.
What were they doing, taking turns?
"Sheesh. Just ignore me and enjoy."
[Still, we should watch together. Come to the window at least. Fireworks starting soon—watch from there.]
At that, I checked the time.
9:29 PM.
Fireworks at 30, so right around the corner, as he said.
"Hmm..."
Should be visible from the dorm window.
Might as well watch from afar to raise Aesthetic Sense proficiency.
I slowly opened the window.
Cool early-winter breeze seeped into the room.
—Kim Sun-woo!
A familiar shout rang out.
Startled, I looked down to the first floor, where Lee Seo-jun's group was gathered, waving.
The sight drew an exasperated laugh.
"...What are you guys doing down there?"
—We hung out all day; gotta see the finale together!
Their youthful energy was something I truly couldn't keep up with.
What made those fireworks so important?
Chuckling wryly at the thought, then—
*Whoosh*—a vibrant mana burst from a distant firework soared into the sky.
*Boom*—it bloomed into a beautiful flower of flames.
Again.
Once more.
Rainbow-hued fireworks blossomed, dazzling lights shining into my eyes.
Even though this was only my fourth time seeing them, counting my past life, each one impressed me anew.
No wonder Taehwi Festival fireworks were called one of the world's top three.
"...Pretty cool."