Chapter 34
Yoon Si-woo was wandering the streets, not in a hurry to go home right after school.
He had a lot on his mind because of what he saw during lunch, so he decided to take a walk to clear his head.
Last week, he had a heated argument with Sylvia over Scarlet.
When she said she never considered Scarlet a friend, the Sword of Truth had confirmed her words as true, which made Yoon Si-woo think for a while that she would never get close to Scarlet.
For a few days, Sylvia seemed to keep her distance from Scarlet, but for some reason today, she sat next to Scarlet during lunch.
At first, he thought she might be trying to harm Scarlet because of their previous fight.
However, what came out of Sylvia’s mouth was entirely different from what he had imagined.
“Friend,” she said, smiling at Scarlet.
If she had said that to deceive Scarlet like last time, she would probably have been angry at her.
But the Sword of Truth confirmed that Sylvia truly considered Scarlet a friend.
Whether she changed her mind in just a few days or something happened that he was unaware of, the two talking together definitely looked like friends.
Scarlet once again gave something to Sylvia today.
Sylvia accepted it with a slightly awkward but happy expression, looking as if she was completely oblivious to the circumstances.
If Sylvia truly thought of Scarlet as a friend, there was no way she could treat her that way if she knew what was happening or how Scarlet made money.
Yoon Si-woo considered whether he should tell Sylvia what he knew, but it wasn’t something he could share with just anyone, and he remembered Scarlet’s words asking him not to meddle. So, he could only keep quiet.
If she was content with her current situation, his interference could end up causing her more harm.
As he walked while sighing, he suddenly spotted a shabby building that looked like it could collapse at any moment.
It was the building where Scarlet lived, one he had entered before.
The murky taste of the tap water she had offered him that day resurfaced in his mind, and he suddenly felt a little sad, making his steps heavier. Just then, he saw the door of the third room on the left on the second floor swing open.
“I couldn’t give you much, so use this as pocket money. I’ll be going now.”
A man’s voice came from behind the open door.
He couldn’t see well due to the door blocking his view, but from what he heard, it was clear the man was giving money to her.
The door closed.
A middle-aged man with messy hair stepped out from her room.
Didn’t she say she had no family?
So, who on earth was that guy?
He recalled the sight of her entering a motel with a man of similar age, and uneasy thoughts quickly flooded his mind.
Pocket money, middle-aged man.
Could she really be involved in such things even at home…?
The more he thought about it, the darker his thoughts became, and he felt a tightening in his chest.
The man was descending the stairs from her room when Yoon Si-woo, without realizing it, ran up to him and grabbed him, speaking in a harsh tone.
“You! What’s your relationship with Scarlet?”
The man turned around, seeming slightly annoyed at being grabbed.
He gave Yoon Si-woo a once-over, then countered with a question.
“What? You know Scarlet? Judging by your uniform, you look like an academy student.”
Yoon Si-woo, bracing for a confrontation, was surprised by the friendly tone of the man, and he felt his anger cool down.
If he were caught in an inappropriate situation, he doubted the man would be acting like this.
Maybe he had jumped to conclusions too quickly, so he cautiously replied.
“…Classmates.”
“Oh, really? How’s she doing at school? Does she have any friends?”
Yoon Si-woo could tell from the man’s beaming face in response to his answer that he had misjudged the situation.
Even though she claimed to have no family, it didn’t mean she had no one to know.
Shaming himself for nearly accusing an innocent man, Yoon Si-woo responded.
“She seems to be doing well. She has friends she eats with…”
“She has friends? I thought she was silent and expressionless at school, but that’s a bit reassuring. Please try to stay close to her. I’m counting on you.”
Thanks to the man’s reaction, which seemed relieved, and the Sword of Truth confirming that he genuinely cared for her, Yoon Si-woo felt a small weight lift from his heart.
He didn’t know what the man’s relationship with Scarlet was, but just knowing there was someone looking out for her gave him some solace.
Then, the man unexpectedly posed a question that startled Yoon Si-woo.
“…By the way, do you like Scarlet?”
Yoon Si-woo gasped, caught off guard.
Was it that obvious, even to someone he had just met?
His face flushed with embarrassment.
The man looked at him with understanding before letting out a sigh.
“Ha, I could tell just by looking. I know it might seem weird for me to ask you to be close to her and then throw this question at you, but I’m saying it because I think you might regret it later.”
Looking at Yoon Si-woo with a sad expression, the man continued.
“I can’t give you the details, but don’t invest too much of your heart in Scarlet. You could end up regretting it. It’s better for you to take a step back.”
His voice was calm, but there was a sadness to his words.
After saying this, the man turned and walked away.
The man’s cryptic words resonated in Yoon Si-woo’s mind. The Sword of Truth echoed back that it would be better to refrain from getting too attached to Scarlet.
While he was curious about the meaning behind what the man said, he didn’t particularly want to follow him and pry.
‘Don’t pay any more attention to me.’
She had told him that before, and he had tried to stop himself from liking her.
Since then, he had attempted to redirect his feelings.
But even if one day he found himself suffering because of his feelings for her, as the man suggested,
Yoon Si-woo felt it was already impossible to erase these emotions.
*
Arriving at school early in the morning, Yoon Si-woo was surprisingly greeted by a pile of construction materials stacked in front of the gym.
In a normal world, this would have taken some time, but in a place with magic and superpowers, construction would wrap up much faster.
It seemed like enough to meet the deadline.
Asking Eve for help had been a good decision.
While staring at the gym, lost in thought, he sensed a presence behind him.
It was the history teacher.
“If the curtain is pierced and monsters invade, they’re building a door just in case. Some teachers think it’s a waste, but I don’t see it that way at all. Preparing for the worst is essential, especially when lives are at stake.”
The history teacher spoke while looking at the materials stacked in front of the gym, arms crossed over his prosthetic arms.
When someone who looked like a hero spoke, it had an undeniable persuasive touch.
By the way, his prosthetic limbs looked quite rugged at first glance, but the way he crossed his arms seemed very natural.
I must have been staring too hard in fascination because the history teacher chuckled, unfolded his arms, and started flexing his fists in front of me.
Although it was rude, I couldn’t help but be captivated by the way his robotic-like hands moved smoothly, making my heart race.
It was like a boy’s absolute dream come true.
Of course, I was in a girl’s body right now…
“Does that hand cause you any inconvenience?”
“Not at all in daily life. It’s probably a lot sturdier than most people’s arms. But that’s about it; I can’t fight as I used to anymore. If we had been better prepared, I might not have needed these.”
The history teacher gazed at his prosthetics with a distant look.
To be precise, he was looking at the prosthetic that had replaced his arm.
For a moment, he stared at his cold, lifeless hand before shifting his gaze towards me.
“Do you know what I think about every night before I sleep while I look at these?”
I shook my head.
The history teacher replied in a sorrowful voice.
“Before sleeping, I always look at my limbs and wonder, why did this happen to me?”
It was understandable to have such thoughts if one ended up in such a situation.
Even someone who looked as strong-willed as the history teacher was still human after all.
While I pondered that, an unexpected response reached my ears.
“I regret not fighting until I lost my other leg. What does losing a single leg really mean? I regret panicking at the thought that if I made a mistake, I might lose this too. After all, I could have just replaced it with a prosthetic. I often wonder how great it would be to have around a hundred legs.”
The teacher looked at his right leg, his only remaining limb, with regret, before adding a lighthearted remark for my sake.
“After being a teacher for so long, you can generally tell what kind of student you’re dealing with just by looking at their face. That’s why I’m giving you this advice.”
The look in the teacher’s eyes as he held my gaze was filled with concern.
He spoke to me seriously.
“Make sure you don’t create situations you might regret later.”
With those words, the teacher entered the building first.
After he left, I quietly stared at the gym for a while before going back to the classroom.
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