Chapter 97 – The Lord of Despair and Hatred (7)
“What’s wrong?”
“I just have a weird, bad feeling.”
After school hours, it was finally time to play after class.
While waiting for the other kids in front of the school gate, I glanced at the sky with a furrowed brow. Suddenly, Park Tae-jun’s expression turned serious.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s just a hunch. Why are you overreacting?”
“But we almost had a big problem last time.”
I hadn’t thought too much about it, but Park Tae-jun was firm.
Thinking back, even including the events that had occurred just a few days ago, this guy had already been involved in more than a few issues.
Each incident had put our lives at risk.
At such a young age, he had gone through what others would struggle to face even once.
“I understand your feelings, but there’s no need to worry too much.”
“I’m not worried. Because you’re here.”
“…Good judgment.”
Park Tae-jun chuckled softly and answered without hesitation.
I was a bit dumbfounded, and even though I understood what he meant, I didn’t want to argue and make things awkward.
“No matter how you think of me, it’s better for you to rely on me and graduate quickly.”
“That…”
“For your sake too.”
But that line had been drawn. For me, this life was pretty much a game, and I wasn’t truly committed to role-playing like the dragons that live out their play, grow old, leave offspring, and pretend to be dead.
When the day came for our inevitable separation, I wanted Park Tae-jun, with whom I had formed a bond, to achieve growth rather than loss.
“I’ll think about that when the time comes.”
Of course, he didn’t comply easily.
I clicked my tongue, avoiding his keen gaze, and turned my head. A group of four girls, including Kim Soo-jung, was coming our way.
“I was planning to go somewhere else, but…”
“Let’s go to the karaoke! Karaoke!”
The kids grew more lively the more they clustered together. Among the noisy chatter, I deliberately took a step back and walked away.
Perhaps due to his recently changed attitude, Park Tae-jun unexpectedly chatted well with the other kids.
“I still remember vividly the time you shouted about alcohol. Do you not need adult entertainment anymore?”
“Yeah. Back then, it was the goal, but now it’s just a means. But now, this is the entertainment.”
Ren above my head opened his mouth as if it were funny. I didn’t bother to deny Ren’s words.
Perhaps what I wanted so much in the past was not just entertainment and pleasure I could enjoy on Earth, but the unforgettable memories of my previous life.
“Great Lord, but this world is in crisis. Shouldn’t you take more active steps to protect the things you love?”
“You’re still as sinister, Ren. No matter how much you urge me, it’s useless. And, I’ve never spoon-fed my accomplishments to my vassals, even as a lord.”
I pulled Ren down and grabbed his broad ear, stretching it. Hearing his scream, I chuckled.
“I’m more inclined to utilize my vassals. My ideology is firm: in nature, those who are eliminated have no value in living. It actually happens. So, this world also needs to strive for itself. To develop and grow.”
Trials are essential for development and growth. Monsters, conflicts among themselves, and I.
All of those will be trials.
So paradoxically, I couldn’t interfere. On the contrary, because I wanted to love and protect this world.
“Ugh, but sometimes competing like that leads to mutual destruction. Competition isn’t always the answer…”
“Unless they actually compete properly, I wouldn’t know.”
I stared blankly at the kids ahead.
Those kids would continue to compete as they progressed toward adulthood and beyond.
I spotted Kim Soo-jung’s face, bright and laughing as she chatted with her friends. Compared to our first encounter when she was withdrawn and terrified, she had transformed completely.
It felt like she was finally at the starting line. I wondered what would have happened if we hadn’t met. I had rescued her, who was already left behind, so my role was enough.
“Jin-ah. You look happy.”
“…Me?”
At that moment, my eyes met Kim Soo-jung’s. She smiled and came over to hold my hand.
“You’re smiling. It’s different from that sneer I usually see. You seem like a different person.”
“That’s true.”
I touched my own face. This really is healing.
However, the world these days isn’t exactly peaceful. I furrowed my brow as I caught sight of a flickering blue fox fire in the distant sky.
*
“Suddenly going into a real fight. Is this right?”
“No matter how many times you train, real skills don’t improve. Right now, there’s plenty of prey on the streets, so it’s the right time.”
It was after school, and Jeon So-hyun, who had just come out of school, was no different. Unlike other students heading out to play or to study, she had come out onto the street against her will.
“Then, can’t you at least hide your appearance? You can turn into a small fox that isn’t visible, right?”
“Why should I do that?”
Gabi, who was walking beside her, scoffed and looked back at her. Jeon So-hyun couldn’t hide her astonishment.
Currently, Gabi, wearing a black women’s suit, seemed ordinary compared to what she usually wore.
But her tall, slender figure, stunning face, long, shiny silver hair, and especially the fox ears that perked up at odd times absorbed everyone’s attention.
“At least hide your hair color… The ears might still be seen as a hairband for now, but I’m telling you they’ll catch you!”
“But if I hide my ears, I have to use my nose… and you said I can’t do that no matter what! Sniffing around on the ground doesn’t make any sense.”
“This is insane.”
Gabi tilted her head in disbelief, while Jeon So-hyun pounded her chest in frustration.
In the end, Jeon So-hyun chose to cover her face. She pulled out a mask to wear and took off the name tag from her school uniform.
“Stop whining and start getting nervous.”
“Are you really saying an enemy has appeared?”
“…It’s coming. Everything is.”
But the light atmosphere ended there. As they passed through a residential complex and entered a slightly busier area, Gabi turned her head towards the direction her ears perked up.
“Where is it, where? No, what enemies do I have to fight?”
“Wait. This is a variable, but there’s a… presence nearby.”
“A presence? No way.”
Jeon So-hyun gasped at the word ‘presence.’ The only one Gabi avoids mentioning and refers to with extreme honorifics could only be one person.
“Then Takilas… shouldn’t that person handle it?”
“I’m asking them right now.”
Summoning the fox fire invisible to others, Gabi sent it with her intent. Soon, the fox fire was indeed delivered to Takilas nearby, and it returned with an answer.
“That person will not intervene. So don’t worry and focus on your own work.”
“What the hell are they doing here…”
Gabi returned to her work, but since Jeon So-hyun had nothing to do at the moment, she swallowed hard at the mention of Takilas being nearby.
From her perspective, it was hard to imagine. How would the strongest, most fearsome magical girl, that arrogant and rough girl, look in her normal state when she wasn’t transformed?
‘With that crazy personality, she doesn’t seem like she’d be ordinary at all. Does she attend cram school, go to cafes, and go to karaoke like an ordinary middle school student here?’
Without saying a word, Jeon So-hyun busily started scanning her surroundings.
Knowing Takilas’s estimated age, she found herself suspicious of all the teenage girls she met on the street who looked younger than her.
“Oh?”
Then she spotted them.
A group of middle school kids with familiar faces mixed in. They were quite close to her. In particular, one of them with a black bob cut was someone she wouldn’t expect to see here at all.
‘Are they going to karaoke?’
Those kids entered the shopping building where the karaoke was located.
As Gabi stood still, listening intently, Jeon So-hyun took a few steps closer, deciding not to acknowledge them. It would clearly be intrusive.
However, contrary to her consideration, one girl left her friends in the basement and soon came up to see her.
“What a coincidence.”
“You too? Me too.”
“What are you doing here?”
“You seem like you’re here to have fun with your friends.”
Jeon So-hyun smiled awkwardly as she looked down at the pretty girl approaching her.
‘This girl is strangely impossible to read.’
Even with a rocky history and a deep bond, standing in front of Lee Jin-ah made Jeon So-hyun feel like she was the one shrinking, even though she was always taller and older.
Lee Jin-ah, wearing a shrunken version of the school uniform trimmed by Park Tae-jun, looked rebellious, but she had never once been told she was weak, making it even more pronounced.
“That’s right. This isn’t a place you usually come alone. You don’t attend a cram school, right?”
“I just had some things to do alone. Go on and play. I just wanted to say hi.”
Since she couldn’t reveal the truth, she waved her hand and mumbled. But because of that, she missed the fact that Lee Jin-ah didn’t pay any attention to Gabi, who was standing there catching everyone’s eyes.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, nothing.”
“Then I guess it doesn’t matter. Move. An incident has occurred nearby.”
As Lee Jin-ah turned to leave, Gabi, who had been observing her from behind, pointed in another direction.
Immediately, her expression hardened.
“Your expression has changed. Is there a reason for your change of heart?”
“This place is off-limits. There are now people I need to protect.”
“…Good mindset. That depends on you. I see the Special Task Force and magical girls are struggling, so it would be wise for you to assist them.”
Gabi smiled subtly and indicated the exact location. Without hesitation, Jeon So-hyun started to run toward it.
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