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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Having already been bombarded with nagging from Ye-na, I spent the rest of my rehabilitation period staying at home without going out much.
I could feel my mana slowly returning, although it was faint.
Of course, I thought it was still a long way from returning to normal, but I was thankful that at least it wasn’t getting worse.
The media was all abuzz with the Yangjae Mado Tool Workshop incident.
The captured Seolhwa Church believers were arrested on the spot, and Ji-eun was praised as a hero who had saved an entire academy class.
Perhaps still unfamiliar with official appearances, she couldn’t find a place to look amidst the barrage of camera flashes on the TV screen.
[How did you think of leaving that place alone right away?]
[A man there told me to do so.]
[Reportedly, as many as 30 Seolhwa Church believers were found at the scene. Is that true?]
The media was doing what the media does.
There were only 10 of them.
[There weren’t that many. About 10 or so?]
[Then did you take down all 10 of them by yourself? That’s amazing!]
[It wasn’t just me… A certain man…]
She seemed to be trying to give credit to me, but it was unlikely.
Not only was I in disguise at the time, but people at our academy currently thought I was absent due to illness.
There was no one who could jump to the conclusion that it was me there.
People seemed to be much more interested in her exploits, being called a genius, rather than the unidentified man who left no traces.
Turning off the TV, I stretched with a good feeling.
“Yeah~ This is it~”
Of course, if it wasn’t for Ji-eun’s help, a huge disaster would have likely occurred, but I still felt good because I had achieved my goal.
With this, I had successfully prevented the deaths of innocent people for the first time through the opportunity I had regained.
That was enough.
However, there was also something worrisome at the same time.
Seolhwa Church.
Their appearance on the surface was something that happened a bit further in the future, but their identity had been exposed because of me.
I couldn’t quite grasp how this factor would change the future.
If the Seolhwa Church was wiped out before it grew in size, nothing would be better, but conversely, if they retreated deeper into the shadows, troublesome situations would arise.
Surely, their internal policies would change due to this incident.
There were still several major incidents caused by the Seolhwa Church that I remembered.
I wondered if they would recreate them in the same way.
Well… I guess I’ll find out when I get there.
By that time, I thought I might be able to regain my strength from my previous life.
For now, the Seolhwa Church aside, I had a more pressing concern.
Returning tomorrow.
Returning to the academy was the problem.
Ha-rin would be sitting right next to me…
I could already feel the blood draining from the awkward atmosphere that would flow between us.
Si-hwa wasn’t much different either.
The message the student council president sent me last night said that the 1st-years’ activities had resumed, so I should take care of myself and return.
So I would have to participate in student council activities again…
And finally.
The club.
During the time I stayed at home, Ye-na frequented this place as if it were her own home.
She seemed to have gotten close with Mom, to the point where Mom was ready to give her the house passcode soon.
Whenever I tried to properly talk about something related to regression, Ye-na wriggled out of the topic like a loach.
I wanted to hear from her own mouth what she was thinking, but she never gave me an answer.
But one thing was certain: she was sincerely worried about me.
As far as I knew, she was a person living a different life from Si-hwa and Ha-rin.
She was not financially well-off and probably didn’t have much leisure time either.
Nevertheless, she brought small vitamins to our house every time she came.
Even when I told her seriously that I was really okay, she would just tell me to eat them and get better every time.
Did Ye-na also want things to work out between us again like my other ex-wives…?
Even as I had this thought, a part of me felt that it couldn’t be.
I was the one who had done terrible things to her.
I thought that Ye-na might be treating me well out of pity.
The current me had become a body that couldn’t even defeat an A-rank hunter alone after being hit by Egeon.
Maybe kind-hearted Ye-na pitied me because I had fallen from being at the top of the S-rank.
If that was the case, it would be a bit painful.
Calmly finishing my preparations to go to the academy, I lay down on the bed.
I’ll know when I get there.
…Sometimes, there are things you don’t know even when you get there, which the me of tomorrow found out.
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When I arrived at our classroom, the kids in the class flocked towards me.
“Hey! Choi In-wook! Are you okay?”
“Wow. But you really held out well in the finals. It’s a shame.”
“Do you know what happened to Park Min-seok?”
I was stunned by their sudden barrage of questions.
They usually didn’t care, so why were they doing this…
“Everyone. Stop.”
Ha-rin, who had put her bag down next to me, stopped them.
“…In-wook is a patient. I understand you’re happy to see him, but I’d appreciate it if you were considerate.”
At Ha-rin’s firm tone, the kids apologized and returned to their seats.
You don’t have to go that far…
Ha-rin, who had no problem talking to the other kids in a sharp manner, couldn’t even make eye contact with me when I looked in her direction.
“Are… Are you feeling better?”
Ha-rin seemed cautious even about starting a conversation with me.
“Yeah. I’m much better.”
Her shoulders looked particularly small today.
“That’s a relief…”
With those words, Ha-rin didn’t speak to me again.
It was a completely different attitude from her, who always clung to me, saying that a pair was one.
“…Ha-rin.”
When the bell rang to end the class, I called her name first.
Perhaps startled by my voice, Ha-rin’s body flinched.
“Uh…”
“Can you look this way for a moment?”
At my words, Ha-rin finally showed her face to me for the first time today.
…She lost a lot of weight.
Her face looked like there was almost nothing but skin left.
She was already skinny, but Ha-rin had become so emaciated that she seemed to have nothing but bones left.
“…I look ugly. Sorry.”
When I stared at her face without saying anything, she lowered her head again with an awkward smile.
How much heartache must she have gone through?
She must not have been eating properly.
Otherwise, it was impossible for a person to become this thin in just a week.
Seeing her looking more like a patient than me, my heart ached for no reason.
“Wait a moment.”
I opened my bag and handed Ha-rin one of the vitamins Ye-na had packed for me.
“This is…”
“It’s just a vitamin. You look too pale.”
Ha-rin didn’t put the vitamin in her mouth and just held it tightly in her hand.
“Thank you… In-wook. But you know…”
Ha-rin seemed to have trouble opening her mouth as she mumbled her lips.
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m really fine… So don’t concern yourself with me.”
Seeing her smile weakly, I almost said it was okay.
Although Ha-rin’s haggard appearance was heartbreaking, what she had done couldn’t be condoned.
Still, unable to bring myself to say okay, I got up from my seat and told her.
“But make sure to eat.”
It was my sincere feeling without any pretense.
I left the classroom and headed to the club room.
There were two people I was grateful for in the club: Ye-na, who always visited our house, and the club president, who sent me texts every single day.
To be honest, it was hard to tell whether Oh Tae-soo was worried about me or just bored.
But regardless, I definitely wanted to express my gratitude to him for sending me funny video compilation links to laugh at while I was sick.
That was something that required sincerity to do.
Opening the door to the club room, the president was in his blanket as usual, not even looking this way.
“…Ye-na?”
“It’s me?”
He must not have expected the voice he heard, as he kicked off the blanket and got up from his seat.
“Ohoho! Who is this! It’s In-wook! Are you feeling better? I heard you got hit by Egeon. You didn’t become disabled or anything, right? Like down there.”
Please don’t say such terrible things. You.
I almost got traumatized as memories from my previous life suddenly came to mind.
“But thanks to you, senior, I was able to stay at home laughing.”
The nonsense was nonsense, and the gratitude was gratitude.
“It was funny, right? Right? That’s what I watch in the club room every day. I’ll recommend you another series.”
His reaction was so overly positive that I felt like I had responded unnecessarily.
Feeling like I would have to listen to his profound humor philosophy for a whole hour if I stayed here, I made a vague excuse about going to the hospital and left the club room.
Phew. I’m exhausted.
I only listened for about 20 minutes, but it felt like I had listened for two hours.
I should go home and rest.
As I was dragging my heavy footsteps through the hallway, I felt someone running towards me from behind.
Was there another student like Ye-na who was late for work?
But the sense of discomfort grew as the distance got closer.
This was…
I reflexively twisted my body and deflected the attack aimed at my neck with my fingertips.
“…Found you.”
Lee Ji-eun, wearing the uniform of Sehwa Hunter Academy, was looking at me with red eyes.
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