I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 67

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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“Ta-da! Quiz time. Who am I~?”

I was having fun while returning to our lodging, only to be grabbed from behind and subjected to something I had only seen in manhwas.

Wow, after transmigrating into a novel, I even get to experience this.

Anyway, I wanted to give two pieces of advice to the culprit who excitedly grabbed me from behind. First, this prank was a bit too intimate for us, and second, considering their physique, there was no way they could hide their identity just by covering their eyes.

My mind went blank as I felt the massive weight of two lumps pressing against my back.

It was just through my clothes, but what destructive power.

It was a violent and merciless sensation, more so than any villain’s terrorist attack.

But it seemed like the culprit, who had unexpectedly given me this rom-com experience, had no intention of letting me go unless I answered correctly.

“…Professor Cathy?”

But why was she here?

Seriously.

It was fortunate that I came back before the others. What was she planning to do if the others were here with me?

Fortunately, I was alone.

I had told them I was going back first because I couldn’t keep up with their superhuman pace.

They were worried and told me they would go back together with me, but it felt a bit awkward to make them worry about such things when we were here to have fun.

“Yes, correct. You can tell who I am just by my voice now?”

Well, it wasn’t just by your voice, but…

She looked so proud that I felt a little sorry for her.

“Professor, please let go. What if the others see us?”

Oh, our real sister (not blood-related) was here too.

“Of course, I only sensed So-hyun with my detection and played a prank. And a sister can hug her brother. Who would say anything?”

Excuse me, but you’re not related to me, right, Professor?

And can detection really distinguish people like that?

“Ah, you’re right. Yes, a sister can hug her brother.”

…Why are you agreeing to that? Are you crazy?

The professor, who had been hugging me for a while, finally released me, seemingly satisfied.

I felt a little disappointed for a moment, but I swear, anyone would have felt the same.

“Didn’t the seniors tell you? The kids were really happy when we said we were coming along as guardians.”

Ah, so she didn’t just come here without permission.

Well, the seniors would be happy to have the popular Professor Cathy and my sister, who was practically a celebrity.

“But why did you come back alone? Are the kids bullying you?”

“No, it’s not that. I just came back because I was tired.”

Tired.

The moment I said that, I realized it wasn’t the best choice of words.

As expected, the professor and my sister were looking at me with worried faces.

They were the ultimate overprotective duo.

“Are you very tired? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“It’s the weekend, so we might have to go to the emergency room…”

“No, why are you exaggerating so much? I’m not sick, I’m just tired. And the others will be back soon. Lilac was excited, saying he’d grill the meat for the seniors too.”

“Really? You’re not enduring some kind of pain, are you?”

Professor Cathy said so and placed her hand on my forehead.

“You don’t have a fever.”

And then my sister fidgeted as if she was uncomfortable and sighed.

“As long as you’re not sick, it’s fine.”

…What was this incredibly awkward, loving atmosphere? Honestly, it was a little uncomfortable.

“So, So-hyun, you’re going to rest until dinner, right?”

“Yes? I guess so.”

Even during dinner, I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. It would be awkward for me, so I had to do something, but I was planning to rest until then.

“Then, want to hang out with us?”

“…What?”

Before I could even ask what she meant, I was kidnapped by Professor Cathy, who smiled seductively at me.

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Fortunately, Professor Cathy didn’t drag me to a dark back room or a secret warehouse.

Did I sound a little disappointed? That’s just your imagination.

There were seniors there making preparations, and they made me an offer.

“So, you want me to be a spy?”

“Well, it sounds a bit like that, but yeah.”

The seniors answered with a smile.

“Actually, we need at least one freshman who knows what’s going on to prevent any unforeseen accidents.”

“I was planning to tell you anyway since you’re physically weak, but I thought you might feel left out if you were the only one who didn’t know, so I asked. What do you think? Does it feel like you’re betraying your friends?”

“No, I’ll do it. It sounds fun.”

The offer was simple. Would I be willing to participate in the hidden camera prank they had prepared for the freshmen?

It wouldn’t matter much if I refused, but it felt a bit awkward for me to be the only one excluded from this kind of event.

It was an event that didn’t exist in the original story, but I didn’t think a hidden camera prank would cause any major incidents.

…Rather, it would be a problem if a major incident did occur, so I had to participate.

“Good, junior. Then I’ll explain your role. When the kids come back, you’ll be trembling and acting worried, and then tell Lilac that we’re fighting. Can you do that?”

He smiled playfully and pointed to an empty icebox.

“The meat we brought has disappeared. I’m going to accuse him of embezzling the funds, understand? Then we’ll pretend to fight, and the kids will worry, and at the end, we’ll reveal it was a prank, and the professor and the inspector will appear with the meat.”

Oh, that’s so old-fashioned.

“Sounds good.”

But as the saying goes, old but gold. It seemed like it would be fun.

Lilac was good at mediating these kinds of minor disputes, but he wouldn’t be able to be too firm with his seniors.

It seemed like we could create some good memories for the kids.

“But can you promise me a few things?”

After getting a few assurances from the seniors to prevent any unforeseen accidents, I went to the entrance of the lodging while managing my expression.

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“There’s more to see than I thought.”

“Yeah, there aren’t many clubs that allow free time on the first day like this one.”

“That’s true, the seniors seem nice too.”

Lilac was in a good mood.

It was simple, but he had shared delicious food and looked around with his friends, so there was no reason for him to be in a bad mood.

Above all, he had worked up an appetite while sightseeing, so now it was time to grill the meat as promised, and it wasn’t an exaggeration to say he was feeling great.

That was, until right before they returned to the lodging.

The moment he saw his friend with a pale face at the entrance of the lodging, his good mood instantly soured.

“So-hyun, what’s wrong? Are you sick!?”

Ha-ni rushed out a step ahead of him.

“No, I’m not sick. But the situation inside isn’t very good.”

It seemed like he wasn’t sick, which was a relief, but seeing him, who was always calm, this flustered was definitely not a good sign.

As if his other friends were thinking the same thing, their expressions hardened.

“The meat is gone.”

But the words that came out of his mouth were unexpectedly anticlimactic.

“Hey, So-hyun, we can just pool some money and buy more meat.”

They could buy more meat, so why was he so worried?

But he shook his head as if that wasn’t the issue and continued.

“But the kids will be expecting meat, and the seniors are fighting about it. Someone even accused someone else of embezzling the funds from the beginning, so it’s a mess inside right now.”

Indeed, this wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

They could buy more meat if it was gone, but if people were fighting, the entire atmosphere of the trip would change.

And if the seniors were fighting, it wouldn’t be easy for the freshmen to mediate.

Above all.

‘How bad is the fight that he’s this scared?’

This was So-hyun, who was always confident even in front of villains.

He was so composed that sometimes he seemed to be detached from reality. How bad was the fight inside that he was this scared?

“I’ll go check it out. Han-hee and Ga-eul, please look after So-hyun.”

He braced himself and entered the room, where a cold atmosphere hung in the air.

“Hey, so you’re saying what you said was okay?”

“Hey, if you had managed the meat properly, this wouldn’t have happened. What did you do right to be yelling like that?”

‘Huh?’

But the moment Lilac saw the seniors fighting, or rather, pretending to fight, he realized.

Oh, it’s a hidden camera prank.

There were three reasons.

First, the seniors’ acting wasn’t as perfect as So-hyun’s.

They subtly flinched and sometimes glanced at him, and they clearly looked like they were holding back their laughter.

Second, the intensity of the fight was very weak.

Frankly, the So-hyun he knew would have either grumbled and tried to resolve this kind of fight, or he wouldn’t have cared in the first place, thinking it would be over soon.

Third, the icebox, which was supposedly missing the meat, was too clean.

If it had been filled with meat and ice, there should have been ice crystals or water droplets inside due to the temperature difference between the inside and the outside, but unless they had deliberately wiped it clean, it looked too pristine.

In other words, there was no meat in it from the beginning.

Combining all of this, there was only one answer.

This whole situation was a hidden camera prank, and the seniors had asked So-hyun, who was trying to rest, for help in tricking them.

Lilac suppressed his laughter and put on a serious expression.

He was generally good at reading the mood.

Above all, he had to at least pretend to be fooled since his friend was working so hard.

‘Anyway, he acts all reluctant, but he does everything people ask him to do.’

“Seniors, we’re back.”

“Oh? You’re back. The atmosphere isn’t very good right now, so come over here for a second.”

“What happened?”

Lilac decided to play along and pretend to be fooled while acting naturally.

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“Are you feeling better?”

Hmm, this was bad. Maybe I really did have a talent for acting?

Judging from the way Ga-eul and Ha-ni were constantly by my side, asking if I was okay, my acting seemed to have worked too well.

Lilac walked out with a dark expression.

“Are the seniors fighting badly?”

“Yeah, it’s not just about the meat, they’re saying hurtful things to each other now.”

“Should we go buy some meat now?”

Ha-ni suggested, but Lilac shook his head.

“No, it’s not like we can do anything, it seems like it’ll quiet down soon, so let’s wait until they calm down.”

[…!!!]

[….!…!!]

“Huh…!?”

Suddenly, there was a loud crash and the sound of something breaking from inside the building.

Ha-ni and Ga-eul, startled, rushed inside to stop the fight, and Lilac finally grinned and approached me.

“…How did you know? Was my acting that bad?”

“No. Rather, the other seniors weren’t very good at acting. They must not have done this much.”

“You’re incredibly perceptive in useless areas.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Does it sound like one?”

“Since you know that I already figured it out, I’m curious, is there actually any meat?”

“Yeah, my sister and Professor Cathy brought some as part of the event.”

“Aha, that’s a relief. I was looking forward to grilling meat. Then let’s go in. The girls must be surprised.”

“We should.”

It was the moment I got up and was about to walk inside…

-The main quest has started early due to special factors.-

With the familiar notification, the ground shook violently, causing me to lose my balance.

“Huh?”

“…What’s this…? So-hyun…!”

I thought he might say something like, “Is this another prank?” but Lilac’s reaction was surprisingly quick.

He reached out to me without hesitation, but once the tremors started, it was impossible to interact with one another if we weren’t already close.

“What the hell is going on…!?”

Yeah, I wonder. It started a bit earlier than expected. I should have suggested just eating the meat instead of doing all this.

“Hey, Lilac.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t panic and look around. If there’s anyone who needs help, don’t hesitate to rescue them. Keep your field of vision wide and put what you’ve learned at the academy into practice, okay?”

“So-hyun, what are you talking about? What’s going on? Do you know something?”

“It seems like…”

Red mana surged around the area, and space itself began to distort.

“I think we’ve been caught in a dungeonization.”

It started a bit earlier than expected, but it wasn’t a major problem.

It was better than happening in the middle of the night like in the original story, and we could just enjoy the barbecue afterwards.

“Dungeonization…!? So-hyun, grab my hand…!”

Ah, but our Lilac seemed to be quite serious.

Even I thought it would be worrying if a physically weak kid like me was left alone in a sudden accident.

But I was fine.

“Too late, man.”

“So-hyun…!”

“You can do it, right? I believe in you.”

The boundary between another world and reality crumbled as Lilac’s figure before me disappeared.

Dungeonization.

A dungeon containing the legacy of another world had swallowed the real-world space.

When my vision cleared.

“Aha.”

I was left alone in the middle of a dungeon.

“This is even better.”

And it was a golden opportunity for me, who had been wondering how to separate from the others.

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T/N – Sorry for the late unlock, guys. I got a high fever last night that put me out of commission. I’m alright now though and I should be able to unlock on schedule this week.

And plot, start! Honestly, I felt like it took a bit too long for us to get here considering this is like the 4th chapter of this arc. Still, I’m quite excited for what he’ll get this time.

I’m also curious if he’s going in as himself or if he’s going to use his villain persona. I mean, with no one around him, now is the perfect time to change. I want more hilarious dialogue from his chuni self. 😂

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