I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 52

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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A vigorous and strong morning. If I were to say my own name, it’s So-hyun.

That was right.

Another new day dawned.

Getting up with a somewhat forced cheerfulness seemed to actually improve my mood.

Ahem, dwelling on the past and staying gloomy wasn’t something an academy story transmigrator should do.

Academy stories are all about a light and bright atmosphere, right? That’s the national rule, isn’t it?

As I got out of bed, Ha-ni, who had already finished getting ready, was making breakfast.

I felt a bit guilty seeing her wake up early to cook, but the delicious smell stimulated my empty stomach more than anything.

“It must be hard for you to wake up so early, but you even cook right after… I’m sorry.”

“Hey, what kind of hardship is it to make stew and rice? Just wash up and come eat~”

I apologized to her out of guilt, but she just waved her hand dismissively while chuckling as if it were nothing.

Right, this was an academy story.

I had almost forgotten because I had been so preoccupied lately, but originally, academy stories were supposed to have this slightly B-grade sensibility. Of course.

-Hmm, why is that girl dressed like a boy? Is she a Buddhist nun in training?

I was about to answer absentmindedly, but I then hesitated.

How should I explain the concept of a crossdressing heroine to Sun Wukong?

But as always, I was able to come up with an answer quickly.

‘Yes, something like that.’

Academy story transmigrator special ability: glossing over things you can get away with.

-I see, she’s on a difficult path.

And well, coming into the academy dressed as a man to find a husband was kind of like training, so it wasn’t entirely a lie, right?

…Was that too much of a stretch?

Knock, knock.

Just as I finished washing up and was about to sit at the table, there was a sudden knocking at the door.

It wasn’t even a knock, but a bang, bang. This was the sound of someone quite who was angry and was about to confront someone, and it was more of a threat than a knock.

“…Who is it?”

“FBI?”

Maybe a deep, middle-aged male voice would soon boom, “Open the door!”

“…Did you do something bad behind our backs yesterday?”

“No?”

I did kill an elf, but he was a bad guy, so it wasn’t a crime, right?

“Just check who it is first. I have to finish preparing breakfast.”

“Okay.”

I wasn’t really worried.

If this were the original story where villains frequently caused trouble and the academy was completely destroyed, it would be different, but there were almost no villains left who would cause a ruckus in the current, perfectly fine academy dormitory.

So I casually opened the door.

“Yes, who are…”

And there at the door, stood a breathtakingly beautiful woman with a suffocating aura.

Ah, I didn’t misspeak.

It wasn’t that she was just breathtakingly beautiful, but she was a beautiful woman with a suffocating aura. That was right.

She had black hair, rarer than green or blonde hair in this world, and sharp red eyes just like mine.

The difference was that, unlike me, she was beautifully adorned, and had a fierce yet captivating beauty.

With long black hair and an elegant figure, she seemed to lack nothing.

Professor Cathy and Ha-ni were pretty, but this was a different kind of beauty. It was a violent and glamorous kind.

However, her irritated expression, which seemed to devour all of that, was enough to instill a primal fear in me.

“Well, at least this time you’re not asking who I am after seeing my face, are you?”

Oh, but this voice sounded familiar to me.

“Hello. Noona…?”

“Why the question mark? Why? Don’t you want to call me ‘noona’ anymore?”

Oh, it really was her.

She did say she was coming soon.

But normally, wouldn’t you come over the weekend…? It’s a weekday today, and we have to go to school now.

“…Huh…!?”

I could hear our crossdresser gasp from behind me.

“Oh? Ah, you have a roommate since it’s a dorm, right? I’m sorry. It hasn’t been long since I graduated, but I already forgot about it.”

Her tone of voice from “you have a roommate since it’s a dorm, right?” to “I’m sorry” was completely different.

Was this the experience of a hero who appeared on TV?

“Ah, no. It’s… It’s okay!”

How surprised must Ha-ni be to even bite her tongue now?

Meanwhile, noona smiled knowingly, as if used to such a reaction, and looked back at me.

“Hmm.”

Up and down, up and down.

After carefully checking me out, she even came into the room.

“Oh my. Two boys living together and even cooking for yourselves? How commendable.”

And she sat down at the table naturally.

“I haven’t had breakfast yet either, so do you mind if I join you?”

“I… I don’t know if it’ll suit your taste, but!”

“Thank you.”

…Ha-ni, you know we’ll be late if we don’t eat quickly, right?

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What was I doing now, after declaring that I would become the new mastermind (temporary) of the academy after a short break?

“Hmm, then shall our Kang So-hyun answer today as well!?”

What was I doing?

I was taking the Basic Magic Theory class.

“Yes, but Professor, this humble cadet has a question. May I ask first?”

“Hmm? What is it? I’ll answer almost any question from our honor student Kang So-hyun. Ah, for the record, I don’t have a boyfriend, but Kang So-hyun isn’t my type.”

The reason why the usually playful professor was twice as playful today was because of a certain woman sitting at the very back of the classroom.

“…Are family members of cadets normally allowed to visit and observe classes at the academy?”

“Aha, I was wondering what you were curious about. Our Kang So-hyun is more innocent than I thought. Of course not! The academy is an educational institution as well as a training institution! Although cadets can go out relatively freely, naturally, not just anyone can observe our classes!”

“…Then why is my noona here?”

“How can Hero Kang Na-hyun be just anyone? I bet there’s no one here right now who doesn’t know Hero Kang Na-hyun, right? Rather, I thought you two looked a bit alike. As expected, an honor student’s younger sibling is also an honor student!”

…Was the academy really okay?

“I’m kidding. Relax. Her status right now isn’t just a simple observer, but an inspector. Naturally, she also has the right to inspect the quality of our classes. You all know about the external inspectors who recently joined the academy, right?”

Aha, I see.

Due to the series of incidents, although they were less severe than in the original story, external forces were scheduled to enter Reilan Academy.

It seemed like my father had used his financial power or personal connections to secure one of those positions for my older sister.

Yes, I understand.

I accepted it, and I understood, but how was I supposed to handle this deep embarrassment welling up inside me?

I had been suffering from the surrounding gazes all day.

Before the assembly, Kim Ga-eul, who was sitting at my desk, jumped down, bowed her head, and ran away, and Cheon Yoo-hak didn’t even look my way.

And Lilac.

-Wow, So-hyun, your sister is really pretty.

He diligently decreased Lee Yoo-na’s favorability towards him. Stupid bastard.

-…Let’s talk after school today.

And because of that bastard, I was summoned by Lee Yoo-na. I was so scared.

“Anyway, I absolutely have to see our Kang So-hyun answer shyly in front of her sister, so don’t change the subject and answer the question!”

“Professor, do you know that your personality is really nasty?”

“Well, I’m a witch.”

Haha, damn it. That was right. Our future traitor’s personality hasn’t changed.

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Kang Na-hyun.

A hero who was among the top 5 rookie heroes in Korea last year, with seemingly nothing lacking in wealth or appearance, was actually quite flustered right now.

“Sorry, everyone. So-hyun will be eating out with me today. I think we need to talk alone for a while. It’s been a long time since we last saw each other.”

And to resolve that fluster, she needed her younger sibling, who was looking at her with a face that said, ‘Huh? Me? Why? I don’t want to,’ so she made a suitable excuse.

“Ah, is that so…?”

Her younger sibling’s roommate was openly disappointed, but the others seemed to accept it.

…By the way, how were all of her sibling’s friends so handsome and beautiful?

Her sibling stood out among them in a bad way no matter how she looked at it.

Though he would look so much better if he just tidied up his hair and dressed neatly.

“Shall we go?”

“Just in case, do I have the right to refuse?”

“You want me to observe your classes tomorrow too? I’m a bit busy, but I can make time.”

“Let’s go. I’ll take you to a decent restaurant nearby.”

Right.

This part.

Honestly, this went beyond just being unaccustomed to it. This was scary.

The way her sibling acted so casually, as if our relationship was close like it used to be, felt incredibly unfamiliar.

“Noona?”

-So, you’re not our mom, huh…? Phew. I don’t seem like your sibling either? Ah! So that’s why you’ve been acting like that? I didn’t know! I didn’t know!

“Ah, uh. Let’s go now.”

She wondered if this was the same sibling who had glared at her with such hostility and coughed up blood that day.

Could we reconcile?

It was something she had longed for a long time.

So…

“No?”

My sibling’s words after we arrived at the restaurant made me feel like my heart was crumbling.

“We can’t reconcile that easily.”

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“Have you forgiven us now?”

Before the omurice arrived, my older sister asked me that question.

“No?”

It was just that the repercussions of me saying that I forgive them might be too much for me.

I didn’t even know if it was something I could forgive them on my own, and even if it turned out to be not that big of a deal, changing my attitude too suddenly would only raise unnecessary suspicions.

“But I’m trying to forgive you now.”

That wasn’t a lie.

If I had to continue living in this world, even if I couldn’t be a good son or brother to them, I couldn’t just take away their family member on my own.

As I scooped up the omurice that arrived at the perfect time, my older sister spoke casually.

“Really. You didn’t force yourself to eat this morning?”

“Yes?”

“Dad said you ate meat.”

Ah, the roast beef? It was delicious. It was the first time I had eaten expensive beef like that, and it was amazing.

“I wondered what kind of meat it was since you could barely eat porridge and were so irritable before. But it seems like you’ve really recovered.”

“Yes, well. I had some good fortune.”

“Really? So you’re okay now? You’re not bleeding? Are you hurt anywhere?”

There was definite worry in her eyes as she spoke.

Well, it was natural since we were family, I guess.

“Yes, I’m really okay now. Don’t worry, noona.”

Her constantly furrowed brows relaxed a little.

She looked even prettier when she smiled, my older sister.

“So-hyun.”

But when she spoke next, her tone wasn’t very positive.

Words that started with that kind of voice were usually unpleasant to hear, and my prediction this time was very accurate.

“Yes?”

“Just quit the academy and come home. You don’t have to be a hero. What are you going to do if you get sick again after barely recovering?”

Hmm, I thought I was done talking to Dad about this, but it seemed like I had to do it again with my older sister, huh?

“I’ll take care of the revenge. It’s supposed to be my job anyway. It’s not something you have to do.”

Revenge.

Information about my past was suddenly coming up from an unexpected place.

Kang So-hyun was burning with a desire for revenge and had a bad relationship with his family.

And his mother passed away when he was young.

I was starting to get the picture.

“Huh? So-hyun. Please…”

“Noona, I…”

Just as I was about to answer, an unexpected voice interrupted us.

“That’s quite an overreach, for an external inspector to interfere with a cadet’s academy life, External Inspector Kang Na-hyun.”

…Professor Cathy, why are you coming out of nowhere…?

Turning my head at the familiar voice, I saw our secret friend smiling as usual.

“…I’m speaking to him as a family member right now, not as an external inspector, so please stay out of it, Professor Cathy.”

Um, setting aside the fact that she appeared here, why was the atmosphere between the two of them suddenly so tense?

“Family.”

Professor Cathy actually scoffed.

Huh, the Professor Cathy in my mind wasn’t someone who scoffed like that…?

“…Are you laughing? Who are you to suddenly interfere in our family matters with such an attitude?”

“Of course, a mere homeroom teacher can’t interfere in family matters, External Inspector Kang Na-hyun. That is, if the family is a proper family.”

“…What are you talking about?”

Excuse me? You two? Calm down.

“Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

…Damn it, I’m so scared…! Everyone’s going to die…!

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T/N – I feel like Professor Park Ah-ram will be one of the subordinates the MC will recruit for his pretend villain scheme. He’s still referring to her as a future traitor, after all.

Also, we get some more clues about So-hyun’s past from his sister. There also seems to be some bad blood between Kang Na-hyun and Professor Cathy. Hmmm…

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