“Eh?”
What did you just say?
Who, and how am I responsible?
“My daughter, of course. Thanks to you, her embarrassing pictures are spreading nationwide, and she’s never going to get married. You need to take responsibility for this. If possible, it’d be better if you just became a live-in son-in-law for the Shinozaki family.”
This is ridiculous.
My head is spinning.
We were having a normal conversation, and then suddenly, it goes off the rails, leaving me dumbfounded.
Just like that awful feeling when a certain humanity theme suddenly shows up in the 101st chapter of a web novel I paid for 100 times.
Yeah, I let my guard down, thinking the chat would stay chill.
I should’ve been more cautious, like checking if a fire is truly out after seeing a fire prevention poster.
“I refuse.”
No need to think it over.
It’s a clean, swift rejection.
I’m still upset just thinking about Shinozaki Rin’s bratty antics.
I don’t want to get attached to this world.
Considering my sick mom and the crumbling family, I absolutely must return to my original world.
I can’t afford to take responsibility for anyone.
I’m leaving this world anyway.
A merely utilitarian relationship is just fine.
And Shinozaki Rin, like a typical light novel childhood friend heroine, has secretly felt an unconscious attraction towards the protagonist since they were young.
Of course, she carries the usual traits of a childhood friend: loser, low importance, and no popularity.
“They can build the Great Wall of China on their own; why should I get involved?”
And becoming a live-in son-in-law? Using someone is one thing, but getting entangled with that shady old man under the Shinozaki family is absolutely out of the question.
I wouldn’t do it even if they offered.
“Oh? Refusing the glorious position of live-in son-in-law of the Shinozaki clan? Why?”
Shinozaki Ichiro’s eyes narrow.
The atmosphere turns heavy again.
Oh great, not this again. We were doing so well.
Is an EX-rank hero seriously getting obsessed with me, or what?
“Honestly, I just don’t like her. Just give me the item.”
“Ha, hahaha! How dare you say such a thing in front of me, Shinozaki Ichiro! Have you found some guts? I like that spirit.”
Shinozaki Ichiro starts deluding himself.
I still can’t understand his way of thinking, but hey, whatever makes him happy, right?
“Just give me the item.”
“Alright. I don’t know why you want this little trinket, but I’ll hand it over.”
He hands me a gift box, saying the same line as Shinozaki Rin, proving they really are father and daughter.
When I open the box, there’s a smooth black stone that looks like a pebble inside.
It’s a Black Stone.
Exactly like the one I saw in the colorful illustration of the light novel.
“Finally got one.”
It took a long time.
With just a Black Stone, I can finally improve my pathetic combat endurance.
No more stumbling around every day after a battle like some rookie.
“Awesome.”
I feel like I’m one step closer to my goal.
I feel like I’ve taken a step closer.
It feels rewarding to have accepted Shinozaki Ichiro’s nonsense.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave. Have a good night, Association President.”
I get up from my seat.
I thought I was going to die from boredom.
The business is done.
It’s time to go.
“Yeah. If there’s another chance, we’ll meet again.”
I step out of the sushi place while hearing Ichiro’s farewell.
Now it’s time to consume the Black Stone.
*
After Kim Deok-Sung left.
Shinozaki Ichiro sits alone in the tatami room, popping sushi into his mouth.
The Michelin 3-star handmade gourmet sushi melts in his mouth.
“Did you hear that, Rin?”
Ichiro speaks in a low voice.
Creeeak.
The sliding door behind him, which looked like a decoration, opens.
There sits Shinozaki Rin, a girl with a navy ponytail, kneeling on a cushion with a stiff expression.
Shinozaki Ichiro.
He had been making her wait in the back room from the very beginning.
“………Yes, Lord.”
“I like him.”
Shinozaki Ichiro pours sake into his cup.
It’s infuriating that he embarrassed the family by spreading the dogeza picture, but he can turn a blind eye if it’s for recruitment.
Once he becomes a family member, it’ll be easier to poke at him about that later, right?
“A kid from a small country who is an orphan is a bit off-putting, but if he marries into the Shinozaki family, he’ll automatically become a Japanese citizen, so there’s no problem.”
A little scuffle here and there is no big deal; after all, bonds are formed through fighting.
Back when he was younger, he argued fiercely with his wife before falling in love and marrying her.
Thinking that far, Ichiro says quietly.
“Make him yours, Rin. Definitely.”
“………Understood. Lord.”
Shinozaki Rin responds with a trembling voice, clutching her school uniform skirt.
Hearing her response, a twisted smile creeps onto Ichiro’s lips.
Swish, swish.
The sound of the bamboo waterwheel installed in the sushi-restaurant garden, the clear sound of Shishiodoshi rings in the ears of the father and daughter.
You want me to swallow this?
I finished my meeting and returned to the academy at 9 PM.
Neither early nor late; it’s an ambiguous hour.
But it’s a suitable time to use the Black Stone.
Beep.
As I scan my student ID, the heavy metal automatic door opens with a loud sound.
It’s not as good as Olivia’s top-class private training room, but the inside looks quite decent.
I see training dummies and a training system stacked in one corner of the metallic walls.
It resembles a typical training room space you’d see in a Korean academy story rather than a Japanese academy battle story.
But I didn’t come here to do skill practice.
‘Finally, it’s time to open it.’
I sit on the training room floor and open the gift box.
Of all things, they put it in a nicely wrapped Christmas gift box.
There’s a bad taste in humor if anything.
The Black Stone makes its appearance.
The official name is the incomplete Philosopher’s Stone.
Messiah sought the Philosopher’s Stone to acquire infinite magical power and possibilities, which are central to his New World plan, and he obtained the Black Stone in volume 16.
‘But the Black Stone is an incomplete item. Since it’s defective, it requires an enormous amount of energy to transform into a complete Philosopher’s Stone.’
Here, energy includes magic stones and all forms of life force.
This is a reason why terrorist activities aiming at energy collection by the New World League become more prevalent after volume 16.
‘Of course, it’s mine now.’
That said, I can’t let my guard down.
Messiah will never give up on his New World plan, and he’s a madman who has prepared a Plan B in case he can’t get the Black Stone.
He’s a crazy guy who even has a Plan B ready in case he doesn’t get the tone right.
What that Plan B is remains unspecified in the story or in the setting book; it’s just a MacGuffin to make the final boss stand out.
Welcome to this insane world where novels become reality.
“Since I’ve claimed the Black Stone, it’s only a matter of time before that Messiah guy activates his Plan B.”
We’re still in the very early parts of the original story, so the final boss’s claws haven’t yet surfaced.
Right now, Messiah probably doesn’t even know about the Black Stone’s existence.
“I’ll need to prepare for it someday, but not now.”
What matters is that I get stronger.
Winning the Great Game as an extra character like Kim Deok-Sung is impossible without a cheat item like the Philosopher’s Stone.
Beating the protagonist, the center of this world, is what that means.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
“Alright.”
I hold the Black Stone in my hand.
In the original story, Messiah consumed the Black Stone, which then acted as a second Magic Core within him.
To put it simply, it’s like having a dual-core processor in a computer, or two hearts as a soccer player.
This is something I desperately need, especially since I’m always passing out due to magic deficiency.
“But do I really have to swallow this?”
Just looking at it makes me think I’ll choke and start coughing.
In web novels, protagonists swallow things like this with ease. I suddenly feel a newfound respect for them.
I let out a sigh.
But I have no choice.
I tightly close my eyes and pop the Black Stone into my mouth.
“Ugh! Cough!”
Just as I thought I swallowed it, my throat feels blocked.
I can’t breathe.
It hurts. It really hurts.
It hurts so much I could go insane.
Tears start streaming down my face.
Bzzzt!
Condition reflexively, I activate my magic.
Thump, thump.
My heart races as my Magic Core activates. The magic extracted from it goes wild across my body.
Bzzzzzzzt!
The Black Stone lodged in my esophagus starts vibrating in response to my magic.
“Fywoosh! Cough! Cough!”
A vibrating stone in my throat, huh?
Crumpled on the ground, I awkwardly thrash as I twist my entire body.
Suddenly, the sage’s time hits me.
Why do I have to get stronger through this agonizing pain, just like during the gift?
When I read web novels, the protagonists hardly suffer even after monopolizing their fortunes.
Is pain what makes it a fortune?
“Cough! Gah! Fywooosh!”
The sound of a beast howling escapes my mouth.
I scratch the floor in agony.
As the vibrating stone slowly makes its way down my esophagus…
“Ugh!”
The indescribable pain feels like the stone is tearing through my insides.
“Ugh!!”
I can’t help but gag.
Blood splatters everywhere.
Am I going to end up in the hospital again?
If I get hospitalized, my review time will increase.
That cannot happen.
“Geez… Damn…”
Cursing slips out uncontrollably.
I decided ten minutes ago to only use clean and proper words, but it seems every day without a curse in this mad world is impossible.
Bzzzzzt!
The vibrating stone settles next to my Magic Core.
The Black Stone resonates with the Magic Core in my chest.
Reacting to the magic, the Black Stone absorbs my magic and begins to slowly produce more.
The transplant is a success.
“Gag, ugh!”
I get up while fighting off the urge to retch.
My legs wobble.
The overflowing magic, now twice as much, circulates throughout my body.
Thanks to the magic, I barely avoid passing out.
The pain gradually diminishes.
Is it due to the Black Stone’s effect? My wounds heal quickly.
But no amount of magic can lessen the fatigue and helplessness.
“I really need to rest.”
Stumbling, I step out of the training hall, now a bloody mess.
Leaving the practice room, which was now a bloody mess.
I should go to bed early tonight.
*
At the same time, Kim Deok-Sung was twisting his body in the practice room.
Shinozaki Rin was sitting on her dormitory bed, wearing a serious expression deep in thought.
As the top student in her class, she, like Olivia, had received a special single-person dormitory.
Unlike Olivia, who had attendants, she was alone in her room with no one to help.
‘To recruit him…’
The words of her stepfather, Shinozaki Ichiro, echoed in Shinozaki Rin’s mind.
‘He wants me to turn him into a man. How on earth am I supposed to do that…?’
Shinozaki Rin’s face was filled with confusion.
For her, Ichiro’s orders were absolute.
It was a task she had to complete.
If he said to recruit Kim Deok-Sung, she had to do it.
By any means necessary.
‘But I’ve never even dated anyone. My girl power is low…’
For Shinozaki Rin, romance felt like a story from another world.
Having grown up in an orphanage, and then adopted into the Shinozaki clan due to her aptitude and talent, she had spent her life training to seize the position of crown prince at the command of her lord.
There had been no time to cultivate any feminine charm.
‘Why am I worrying about this…?’
Shinozaki Rin’s face turned red.
Of course, back when the Kurosawa family was still thriving, she would occasionally associate with Kurosawa Yuji under the pretense of interaction, but that faded away after the Kurosawa clan was destroyed ten years ago.
‘Why is Kurosawa’s face popping into my head now!’
Shinozaki Rin shook her head, trying to scatter the image of Kurosawa Yuji from her mind.
From childhood until now.
Shinozaki Rin had never won a match against Kurosawa Yuji.
It was a streak of defeat.
Even the matches held at Shuo Hero Academy ended in her loss.
To her, Kurosawa Yuji was an insurmountable wall, yet also a childhood friend she had mixed feelings about.
On the other hand, Kim Deok-Sung was…
‘I don’t know.’
Shinozaki Rin’s pupils wavered.
The only information she had about Kim Deok-Sung was that he was a C-rank Korean student and the protagonist of the surprise victory over the Knight Princess.
She didn’t know any more detailed history.
An image of Kim Deok-Sung formed in her mind.
A face that looked like a delinquent, contrasted with a solid muscular build.
‘If you asked me if I like him or hate him, I’d definitely say I hate him.’
But she could definitely place a bet on a game with him.
However, the thought of actually engaging in a game, then spreading it nationwide, seemed a bit excessive even to her.
Normally, if you placed a bet, you’d let it slide since that was too much.
But Kim Deok-Sung actually went through with it.
Not to mention, as if he had something against her, he turned legitimate duel requests into taunts and provoked her constantly.
Naturally, she couldn’t have a good impression of him.
‘Although his skills are impressive…’
She confirmed in their previous duel that he was indeed a worthy opponent who had beaten the Knight Princess and could rival Kurosawa Yuji.
She was known as the best swordsman in Japan.
Yet, the extreme speed he displayed at the end was something even she, hailed as a genius in swordsmanship, couldn’t match.
When it came to swordplay, Shinozaki Rin believed she could defeat even France’s renowned Knight Princess.
Yet, she couldn’t counter his black flash.
So Shinozaki Rin acknowledged her defeat gracefully.
But that was all.
Considering how he had unceremoniously called out her name, she certainly didn’t feel any attraction towards him otherwise.
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