I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 53

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Perhaps I was being punished.

Perhaps all of this was my punishment for selfishly rewriting my friend’s novel because it was boring, for making the villain disappear early because he lacked charm, and for attempting to act as a villain myself.

Of course, what I did was necessary.

There was no better plan than this to let the main characters enjoy their beautiful youth while also giving them appropriate trials.

I thought I could handle the repercussions, but if this was the price of my selfishness, I wanted to argue that it was too excessive.

“Outsiders should stay out of this, shouldn’t they?”

“There are families in this world who are worse than outsiders.”

…Please, someone save me from this hell! I feel like I’m going to choke on my omurice at this rate…!

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As a matter of course, Cathy’s appearance at the restaurant wasn’t a coincidence.

From the moment she heard that Kang Na-hyun had been selected as the external inspector, she had been secretly tailing Kang So-hyun.

Frankly, she found Kang So-hyun’s older sister, Kang Na-hyun, quite repulsive.

The Chairman’s investigation records stated that when her younger sibling was at his lowest, instead of being there for him, she verbally abused him instead, saying things like “You can’t be a hero” and “Just obediently stay at home.”

Perhaps she was expressing her concern in an aggressive way.

That was what Cathy had thought before she saw them together, but that thought was wrong.

So-hyun, kind as he was, looked at her with eyes colder and more indifferent than he ever did towards Cathy.

He simply couldn’t refuse her due to his kind nature, but in his heart, he had already made up his mind.

His older sister was now Cathy.

For such a gentle child to make such a decision, Kang Na-hyun must not have been a very good older sister.

“So-hyun can decide for himself. Please stop disregarding his wishes like this.”

And she couldn’t stand by and watch as Kang Na-hyun tried to break his will with harsh words once more.

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On the other hand, Kang Na-hyun was equally dumbfounded.

She admitted that she hadn’t been a good older sister.

She, too, had been struggling with the loss of someone precious, and it was true that she had been afraid to face her suddenly aggressive younger sibling and had focused on her work instead.

However, she still couldn’t accept the idea that the woman in front of her cared more for her brother than she did.

Even while working, she kept thinking about him.

She wanted to help.

She regretted the distance she had created between them, but even when she tried to do anything for him, her already distant brother wouldn’t accept anything.

She had become impatient and angry, and hadn’t apologized sincerely.

But still.

Even so.

Now that he was finally starting to listen to her a little.

This was already better than when he was furiously shouting and acting irritable before.

He had just started to return to his former self after a period where he wouldn’t even answer when he was spoken to, and treated everyone around him with indifference.

What if he used his talent recklessly again and died? What if she couldn’t save him at that time?

It felt like she had finally gotten another chance, and if she were to lose another precious family member, she didn’t think she could bear it.

In such a situation, she couldn’t stand a woman who butted in despite knowing nothing yet spouted pleasantries.

It seemed like she needed to teach this woman that no one could know her brother better than his own older sister.

“What do you know? Don’t speak so carelessly when you don’t know anything. It’s disgusting.”

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“So-hyun can decide for himself.”

“What do you know, when you don’t know anything?”

Stop it…! Don’t fight because of me…!

The fight between the pink chihuahua and the purple cat from before seemed like child’s play compared to the fierce torrent of emotions here.

What was this? Was I actually inside a dungeon, and I was having a nightmare because I failed to clear it…?

Right, I need to focus.

If I concentrate my mental strength, I can break this illusion.

-The Saint’s Will strengthens your willpower. You have failed to escape reality.

What the…?

-Hmm, are both of them your sisters?

‘It’s a bit complicated.’

Psychologically, I felt closer to Professor Cathy, but my real sister is Kang Na-hyun, right?

-Well, neither of them seem to be your blood-related sister, but there are things like sworn siblings in the world. I’m practically brothers with Bajie and Wujing, so I respect that.

“…Huh?”

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong, So-hyun?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Yes.”

No, damn it. I was so surprised that I said what I was thinking out loud.

‘What are you talking about? Not blood-related?’

-Hmm? I sense a connection between you and that girl, but it’s not blood ties.

What the heck is this?

So-hyun, you’re just a newbie who dies early on, so why do you have so many complicated settings?

The two were still glaring at each other, locked in a battle of wills while being oblivious to my inner turmoil.

Shit, what do they even know? They’re like this because they don’t know anything.

I shoved the cold omurice into my mouth.

That was right, I had a secret weapon to forcibly end this terrifying situation.

“I’ll go prepare for my next class then.”

The 36th Stratagem: Run Away. A strategic retreat for future advancement was nothing to be ashamed of.

If I, the person they were fighting over, disappeared, these two would naturally separate…!

“Okay, So-hyun. Go ahead. My next period is free, how about you, Inspector?”

“I don’t plan on wandering around the academy too much on my first day. If you don’t mind, could you show me around the premises?”

Ah, will it get worse when I’m not here?

They were talking formally again, but I could clearly see what would happen if I went to class right now.

“Then I’ll be going!”

But that doesn’t mean I won’t go. I’m terrified, seriously.

I’m not kidding, I’d rather face that elf villain I fought yesterday. At least I had a strategy for that.

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The two women continued to stare at each other in silence even after Kang So-hyun left.

As the coffee served as an after-meal beverage grew cold, it was Kang Na-hyun who broke the silence first.

“I admit it. Our family looks strange to others.”

Cathy didn’t really want to hear what she had to say.

She expected excuses, and self-justifying explanations.

She wasn’t aware of it herself, but unlike her usual self, she was being hostile to someone she barely knew right now.

Her attitude softened slightly because Kang Na-hyun didn’t offer any trivial excuses, and Cathy sensed a strange sincerity from her.

“But that’s still okay. What does it matter if others think we’re strange? As long as my brother is healthy, and as long as he lives a healthy life like everyone else, I don’t care. You may not know this, but he’s reckless.”

Cathy couldn’t deny that.

He always had a tendency to push himself too hard.

“He’ll definitely prioritize being a hero over his own well-being. Can’t a family member stop him from doing that?”

Cathy understood that Kang Na-hyun wasn’t trying to control him blindly.

But even so, she couldn’t agree with her.

“I’ll be honest first. I know what So-hyun’s ability is. I also know about the penalty of his talent.”

Hearing those words, Kang Na-hyun wondered for a moment if she had misheard something, but no matter how much she replayed it in her mind, what she heard didn’t change, so she exploded with anger.

“So you’re telling me you knew all this, and you just watched him die as he uses his talent regardless? Are you really a professor? You’re crazy!”

Cathy understood her anger.

She, too, once wished for that kind child to live a quiet and happy life. To not walk the path of a hero.

But he didn’t.

He kept moving forward, and in terms of growth rate alone, he was developing faster than anyone else at the academy.

He could have become twisted, or despaired over his situation.

But seeing him quietly moving forward without breaking or crumbling, she found herself captivated by him.

A good child. A cadet who resembled her younger brother. There were many reasons, but in the end, she reached the conclusion that she wanted to support him.

“So-hyun found a way to restore his innate qi.”

“…What?”

“He’s recovering his innate qi with a relic he obtained from a dungeon. So his body won’t become as drastically weak as before.”

Hearing this, Kang Na-hyun’s face lit up with joy, but she soon showed a confused expression.

“…He didn’t tell me anything about it, though.”

“This is just my guess, but maybe he thought it would be pointless to tell you about it.”

“…What?”

“Just by looking at how you two talked today, I can tell. You haven’t really tried to listen to what So-hyun thinks, have you?”

“What, I’ve never…”

Never.

She wanted to say that, but she couldn’t.

Because he was weak, because it was dangerous, and because ‘Mom’ had asked her to.

She had only thought of him as someone to protect, and she had certainly tried to restrict his words and actions.

Suddenly, the image of her restless brother from earlier came to mind.

She thought she had watched him all day, but she couldn’t quite recall his expression.

She had been so surprised to see her brother, who used to throw up even when eating soup, eating rice and soup, and she had been surprised to see him, who used to keep everyone at arm’s length, chatting with his friends.

That was why it felt unfamiliar to her.

She had plenty of excuses in her head, but she couldn’t utter a single one.

What if what she thought was him softening up was just him giving up on her?

-I don’t know. I don’t know if he forgave us, or if he just gave up.

Her father had said that after seeing her brother that day.

Fear gripped her.

She felt a sudden urge to run after him and confirm his true intentions.

“Though it’s probably not that.”

As she was filled with anxiety, the person she was talking to suddenly started to deny her own words.

“So-hyun is too kind for that. Even if not immediately, he’ll eventually try to forgive you. I just said that out of spite because I think you’re trying to get close to him too quickly. It was immature of me.”

Kang Na-hyun felt a little sorry for Cathy, who had lowered her head.

This professor wasn’t someone who knew nothing.

On the contrary, she knew her brother better than she did, and had stopped her from rashly approaching him when he hadn’t yet sorted out his feelings.

“…I’m sorry for speaking so carelessly. I thought you were speaking lightly without knowing anything.”

“No, I was a bit emotional too. It’s probably unprofessional for a professor to get so emotional with a single student.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

Cathy smiled faintly.

The reason she had suddenly changed her strategy was that once she realized Kang Na-hyun wasn’t a bad person, she concluded that there was no need for hostility.

So-hyun would probably rely on her more, but it wasn’t a bad thing for him to have many people who genuinely cared for him.

“I’ll help you. If you’re careful not to be too harsh with your words, you’ll be able to get close to him again soon.”

Of course, she needed to maintain some distance for now.

From a slight distance, she would support So-hyun as another older sister figure.

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That was right.

I recalled a famous saying.

There is no paradise in the place you escape to.

It was exactly like that now.

I ran away because I was afraid of hell, but the place I arrived at was another hell.

“Haha, Junior So-hyun. Do you need a drink?”

“…Senior, aren’t you going to class?”

“So-hyun! I didn’t notice it before, but you look really handsome like this! Speaking of which, does your sister have a boyfriend?”

“Hey, you. Can’t you feel that my brother-in-law is uncomfortable? Why don’t you back off?”

…Right.

Damn it, I should have expected that when my older sister was revealed, the male cadets would go crazy.

This was an academy story, after all.

“Haha, you’re quite popular, huh? Lucky you, So-hyun.”

Kang Ha-ni chuckled and joked.

Lucky me, my ass.

“Well, he’s popular for a reason. His sister is really pretty.”

Lilac was digging his own grave again.

Yoo-na, who was listening at the side, seemed to be glaring at us.

If you’re going to die, please die alone. Don’t drag me down with you.

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T/N – Wow, family drama continues. So Kang Na-hyun is not blood-related to So-hyun? And the way she addressed her mother as ‘Mom’ in her head with quotation marks… Maybe Na-hyun was adopted? Or maybe she’s a child from another mother… Hmmm…

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