Fated to Die in an Academy Novel – Chapter 145

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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The red-haired maid was picking out frozen dumplings and beer as if she had no intention of fighting me.

…The strongest in the world buying frozen dumplings and beer? That was a bit disillusioning.

[I’m telling you this because you seem to be misunderstanding something, but I’m not buying these for myself.]

Ah, I see. That’s a relief.

Haha, then since we’ve cleared up our misunderstanding, shall we say our goodbyes?

“Then I’ll be going…!”

Of course, I meant goodbye!

[Hmm, are you perhaps afraid of me?]

The moment I tried to run away, she grabbed my wrist.

…Then was it normal for me to not be scared? Huh?

The last time we met, I had just regained my memories, so my emotions were a bit turbulent, and I didn’t want to look weak in front of Seo-ha.

[Ah, excuse me. I was just a bit disappointed that you reacted that way when we’re not in a combat situation. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.]

She readily let go of my wrist, but I was certain she would grab me again if I tried to run away.

[I just want to have a conversation. I’m also something of a stranger in this world.]

Her tone seemed friendly, but honestly, I didn’t trust her.

She was a character who didn’t exist before I regressed, so she was clearly evidence of some kind of intervention.

[You’re not letting your guard down. I understand, but it’s a shame. As I said before, I’m quite fond of you, despite my position.]

I see, but just because a person was fond of a chick didn’t mean the chick felt safe.

[You’re like a cat.]

“Excuse me…?”

[I’ve never been popular with cats.]

She said that cryptic thing, paid for her items, then bought a fish sausage and put it in my hand.

What? Was she telling me to fight with this?

[I gave it to you to eat. You look so wary. I hope we can have a more friendly meeting next time. Well then…]

She said that, then she really left the convenience store and walked away.

…If I told the others I met the strongest person in the world at a convenience store and received a fish sausage from her, would they believe me?

They’d probably tell me to stop talking nonsense, right?

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I suddenly decided to review my goals.

My final goal was obvious, but there were some immediate things I needed to take care of, so I thought I should take a look and organize them.

First, after the end-of-semester ranking competition, I needed to start recruiting allies for my villain act.

I had already planted some seeds, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

-…Were you still planning to continue that villain act?

I suddenly heard Sun Wukong’s slightly exasperated voice in my head.

“Of course. Regaining my memories is one thing, but it actually made me more certain.”

Yes, regaining my memories made me more certain.

Lilac and the others still needed to get stronger.

Lilac wasn’t a perfect superhuman who could do anything.

I knew better than anyone that he could die from a small mistake.

Of course, I no longer had the arrogant thought that I could handle everything on my own.

It was essential to give him bearable trials to help him grow, just like before.

That was the only way he could face the first disaster that would come after the second semester.

The disaster that drove Lilac to his death before I regressed.

“Well, there are more urgent matters for now.”

Specifically, I had to go to the beach during summer vacation.

No, not to play, but because… ‘it’ was scheduled to be born there.

The being who would become the boss of our villain organization would soon be born.

The one originally set as this world’s final boss, who grew up as an evil being under the care of the Twelve Zodiacs. A being they couldn’t even handle and had to release into the wild.

I was planning to retrieve it and raise it as the boss of our organization.

That was about it for now.

Well, there were a few minor incidents left in the first semester, but they weren’t that big, so I could take care of them quickly.

Then, since I’ve reviewed my goals, shall I start with what I can do now?

“Huu…!”

“Good, your movements are getting sharper!”

Specifically, my sparring with Professor Cathy.

I was getting closer to my past movements, but I was still far from it.

I had to increase my personal strength first to do anything more comfortably, right?

Of course, I lost the spar today as well.

I could somehow manage against my sister, but Professor Cathy was still too much for me.

Professor Cathy smiled brightly and wiped my sweat while saying there were two days left until the one-week deadline.

…But why was she cherishing the towel she used to wipe my sweat? It wasn’t what I thought it was, right? I trusted her.

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The most popular boy in the first year was Cheon Yoo-hak.

His handsome face, his skills that rivaled Lilac’s for the top spot, and his background as the heir of the Cheon family made him popular, and he became even more famous after the birthday party.

Lilac and Ha-ni were tied for second. Actually, Lilac was more popular than the feminine-looking Ha-ni, but since a very scary guard dog was always by Lilac’s side, many people couldn’t approach him easily, despite his friendly and kind demeanor.

And surprisingly, I was next.

No, what?

I thought I was doing better than before since people started talking to me after I cut my hair, but I didn’t know it was this by much.

And since I had a strange loser image at the beginning of the semester, there were as many people who were jealous of me as there were who liked me, so it wasn’t that obvious.

But how did I suddenly find out?

After finishing my morning training, taking a refreshing shower, and arriving at school, Lilac showed me something rather monstrous.

Specifically, it was Lilac’s smartphone, and on the screen was some kind of poster made from a collage of photos of Lilac, Cheon Yoo-hak, Ha-ni, and me.

“Lilac, what kind of crazy joke is this? We had so much fun together yesterday, so why are you still bothering me?”

“Hmm, honestly, I wish this were a joke, but it was Yoo-na who found it.”

I looked at Yoo-na, and she shrugged as if she didn’t know much either.

“I just found it while looking for final exam materials, so I don’t know the details. It’s a members-only cafe, but since there are a lot of academy girls, there were some related materials posted there.”

“…So what kind of site is it?”

“It’s nothing much. They just share photos of you four, but besides the fact that they were taken secretly, they’re just everyday photos of you eating or chatting with us. If you’re uncomfortable, you can probably report it, but I’d advise against it. If you crack down on them, they’ll just hide in a harder-to-find place next time.”

Ha-ni looked a bit annoyed, but she probably didn’t think it was worth the trouble. And Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak, for different reasons, were of the opinion that we should let it slide.

“Well, yeah. They’re not embarrassing photos, so this much is…”

“Ah, there’s also this.”

[Main Vocalist Kang So-hyun Solo Concert Fancam. Cheon Yoo-hak’s Birthday Party. Some noise. ㅠㅠ]

Should I kill him, Master? Yeah, don’t hold back.

“What, the, hell!”

I was so dumbfounded that I had strange thoughts. No, what? Why were they sharing a video of someone singing at a talent show…? Who’s a main vocalist?

“Well, honestly, I understand wanting to record it. You’re a good singer.”

The way the others were smirking was quite annoying.

But among them, there was one person who was pale with fear.

Kim Ga-eul.

She was the only one who couldn’t keep her eyes still, like a child hiding a secret.

…Was it you?

It was you, wasn’t it? You made that site.

Considering she secretly created a Cheon Yoo-hak fan club in the original story, it was a very reasonable suspicion.

Our eyes met.

I just stared at her, and she started trembling and her face crumpled, even though I hadn’t said anything yet.

It was you.

Look at her, causing trouble every time I was about to forget.

But since the others found out, she would probably behave herself from now on.

I’ll let it slide just this once, so be careful, Ga-eul. You’ll get in real trouble if you do it again.

She nodded as if she understood my warning, so it seemed like I could rest assured.

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In any group, if there were those who stood out, there were also those who fell behind.

Reilan Academy, a gathering of aspiring heroes, was no exception.

Or rather, because they were superhumans aiming to be heroes, most of them thought that they were the best before entering the academy, so when they couldn’t accept the reality that they were behind others, they blamed others instead of themselves and accelerated their downfall.

They were the so-called delinquent circle of the academy.

But the strange thing was that such people never envied those who were overwhelmingly superior to them.

They always found comfort in looking down on those below them and criticized those who climbed up from a similar position.

“Hey, isn’t that bastard annoying?”

And this time, their target, for the simple reason of being “annoying,” was a freshman named Kang So-hyun.

“…Are you crazy? He’s the heir of the Yoo-sung Group, you idiot.”

“I heard that he’s a black sheep of the family.”

The reason this boy harbored jealousy and anger towards Kang So-hyun was nothing special, and there was no particular reason why he considered him an easy target.

He didn’t like that the loser, who had strange rumors circulating about him at the beginning of the semester, was hanging out with the freshman representatives just because he was close to them.

He didn’t like that the guy was acting spoiled by the kindness he never received, and it was annoying that he was surrounded by pretty girls even though he was nothing without Cheon Yoo-hak and Lilac.

And what was this fan cafe? Did he think he was a celebrity?

He hated that the guy was acting all high and mighty just because he was lucky enough to be next to them.

It was for such reasons…

“…So you want to mess with him?”

“Ah, shit. We’ll get caught if we do it ourselves. The end-of-semester ranking competition is coming up.”

“…Ah, you want to use the freshmen who joined our circle?”

“Yeah, can’t juniors do their seniors a favor?”

“And wouldn’t it be nice to humiliate him in front of the girls?”

“I like that we’re on the same page.”

He, who was initially reluctant because he was worried about getting into trouble, became interested after hearing that he wouldn’t have to get his hands dirty.

“Hey, but the freshmen might lose to him.”

“So what if they lose? As long as there’s no evidence that we ordered them. And who do you think I am? I have a plan, so don’t worry, you bastard.”

He took out a colorful pill from his pocket.

“With this, even a freshman can go on a rampage like a decent hero.”

“Ah, what? You’re giving them that? You must really hate him.”

They smirked at the pill, which looked dangerous even at a glance.

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“Done!”

While Ha-ni was preparing dinner while insisting on doing it alone even though I offered to help, the list I had been writing down whenever I had a moment for the past few days was finally complete.

“Why did you write down so many names?”

“Ah, it’s nothing~”

Ah, I was worried my memory would be hazy, but I managed to write down all the big names.

“Oh, you’re not going to tell me?”

“They’re just delinquents at the academy. They’re scum, so no need to worry about them.”

“Then why are YOU worrying about them~? Are you going to beat up the delinquents?”

“I can’t say no to that.”

The names I wrote down weren’t just delinquents.

To be precise, it was a list of delinquents who became villains after graduating.

They were bastards who consistently became villains in both the original story and my first life, so their actions probably wouldn’t be any different this time.

And among them, there were some special idiots…

I wanted to take care of the culprits of the ‘Ability Awakening Drug Incident’ before the summer vacation was over.

If I failed, the academy would become a drug den for a while. I didn’t have enough time to enjoy my youth as it is, so what was this about drugs?

It was a good opportunity to level up the others, and I would probably get a lot of points for resolving a drug incident.

“It would be nice to take care of them with the others later.”

They weren’t major threats, just minor trash. And I would get points for cleaning them up.

It was a sweet deal.

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T/N – Well, we have a sneak peek for the next arc in here. I wonder where those delinquents are getting those drugs from? There must be a source ‘cause I don’t believe kids could make those kinds of things.

Also, I kinda like this butler lady. She’s quite chill when she’s not threatening to kill you. It also makes me wonder what kind of god had made a deal with Seo-ha? ‘Cause it wouldn’t make sense if it was the Lord of All Worlds or the Witch of the Time Flower considering they were the ones who sent the MC back in time in the first place.

Lastly, I just noticed, but there are a lot of redheads in this novel, huh? There’s Ga-eul, Rose, and now this butler lady. Does the author have a redhead fetish? 😏

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.