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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Thinking rationally, there was no reason for me to be scared.
Yes, if I had shouted, “Yoo-na and Joo-ri like you, you idiots!” to Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak, it would have been a mess, but I was innocent.
I might have done it if they had been a little late, but I hadn’t done it yet…!
“Hmm?”
“I’m sorry.”
“…Why are you suddenly apologizing? We’re just asking to be included in the conversation.”
Ah, right. But I just reflexively apologized because I was scared. It was like a conditioned reflex, so what could I do?
Yoo-na was the scariest person in this novel to me.
“So? Whose love story is it? What were you guys talking about?”
Ga-eul naturally brought the conversation back to the starting point.
“It’s obviously about Professor Cathy and So-hyun. They were hugging so tightly before.”
And Ha-ni grumbled, seemingly sulking.
…You weren’t jealous, were you? Nah, that couldn’t be it.
“Yeah, if it’s about romance, we might be able to help, so you can include us, right? What type do you guys like?”
Lira, how could you possibly be of help? I know you’re trying to keep a poker face, but I bet you’re sweating profusely right now. Calm down.
By the way, this was a bit awkward.
It wasn’t uncommon for kids this age to talk about who liked whom, who was the prettiest, and such.
It was only because Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak were involved that they were being so reserved. Other kids often had more risqué conversations.
But it’s awkward when you get caught having that conversation by someone of the opposite sex, especially someone close to you.
Even if you have nothing to hide, it was still unpleasant.
“It’s a misunderstanding. We were teasing So-hyun a bit, and he just said we were being nosy since we’re all single.”
“Yeah, he said that he’s not in that kind of relationship with the professor. The professor was just emotionally overwhelmed, and he just helped her calm down.”
And thankfully, Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak seemed to think the same, as they tried to back out.
“Hmm, I see.”
Yoo-na, who was smiling gently, stared at me.
Why? Please don’t smile like that. It’s scary. Just give me a straight face instead.
“The professor didn’t seem like that though.”
Excuse me, Yoo-na. Didn’t we build up a lot of inner closeness…? We were good, right…? Why are you suddenly attacking me?
Yoo-na, who was suddenly turning her arrows towards me, smiled gently and observed Kim Ga-eul’s reaction.
Oh, was she trying to provoke jealousy and help me?
I appreciated her thoughtfulness, but I didn’t particularly like Ga-eul.
“Well, Professor Cathy isn’t that kind of person. What kind of romance would she have with a cadet?”
It was unexpectedly Ha-ni, not Ga-eul, who flatly denied it.
Yoo-na looked at Ha-ni suspiciously, then nodded as if she understood something.
“Yes, Professor Cathy isn’t that kind of person.”
Yoo-na, I don’t think that’s it. Well, it was more natural to assume that Ha-ni is interested in Professor Cathy than to suddenly reveal “Ha-ni is actually a girl!”, but I didn’t think that was it.
This time, Ga-eul, who had been watching, clenched her fists and looked at me.
As a reader who enjoyed misunderstandings as much as academy stories, it was fun to watch, but it felt strange to me now since I was also involved in the incident.
…Involved.
Lilac smiled.
It seemed like the fact that they were all together was more important to him than the content of the conversation.
Cheon Yoo-hak was also subtly smiling while pretending he wasn’t.
The boy who always pursued aloofness was learning that this kind of atmosphere wasn’t bad either.
Yoo-na smiled awkwardly while looking at Ga-eul and Ha-ni.
Ha-ni and Ga-eul seemed displeased at first, but once they started talking, they giggled, and the atmosphere wasn’t as bad as before.
Joo-ri subtly tried to sit next to Cheon Yoo-hak, but when Cheon Yoo-hak looked at her, she pretended not to notice and sat next to Yoo-na.
And ‘I,’ from Kang So-hyun’s perspective, was watching all of this.
It felt good seeing them chatting, these kids who wouldn’t have been able to enjoy their youth and were originally destined to tear each other apart.
-That’s good.
The noise in my head briefly commented, and the gunk in my heart squirmed, but…
“Hey guys, So-hyun is looking at us with a fatherly smile.”
…it quickly subsided thanks to the clueless hero.
“Oh, it’s because you look like my friend’s kids. Why?”
Thinking it was a joke, the others burst into laughter. I was serious, though.
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Yoo-na wasn’t particularly intuitive.
Or rather, she was intuitive, but it was more accurate to say that she didn’t pay much attention to her surroundings.
Her intuition became sharp mainly when she sensed affection towards someone.
This was partly due to her sensitive sixth sense because of her birth, and partly because she had honed her senses by paying close attention to the gazes directed at Lilac.
Today, she had a rather bewildering experience.
She already knew that Ga-eul liked Kang So-hyun.
Professor Cathy harboring feelings for Kang So-hyun, even though she wasn’t aware of it? Of course, Yoo-na knew.
It was unreasonable to see her blatant favoritism as just a simple teacher-student affection.
But the affection towards him she felt today came from a rather unexpected person.
Kang Han-hee.
A strange color had started to appear in his feelings, which had been the color of deep friendship until recently.
Huh?
She was so surprised that it showed on her face, which was unusual for her, who was rarely surprised.
“Oh my, oh my.”
But that didn’t change anything.
She was generally quite open-minded about the direction of romantic feelings.
If Lilac were a girl, would she not have fallen for him? Absolutely not. What did gender matter when it came to liking someone?
And actually, depending on how you looked at it, this wasn’t bad.
Both of them were quite pretty for boys, and they were roommates who shared a room.
However, this was just her perspective, and she didn’t know if Kang So-hyun felt the same way.
After some thought, she decided it would be better to give him a small hint before any incidents occurred, so she called him out.
Because she knew that affection could sometimes transform into a sharp emotion.
“I really didn’t say anything. Of course, it’s understandable that you’re suspicious, but do you really think I would do that?”
“…What are you talking about?”
But Kang So-hyun, whom she called out, started apologizing profusely, as if he had a guilty conscience.
‘Come to think of it, he seems particularly afraid of me?’
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Since Yoo-na suddenly texted me separately after we parted ways with the others, I thought she was finally going to chew me out, so I apologized profusely, but it seemed like that wasn’t her intention.
No, I was the one who should be shocked.
“…Han-hee seems to like me?”
Ah, I thought she mistook it for liking Professor Cathy, but I was the one who was mistaken, lol.
“Well, even if it’s not like, she might have some kind of affection for you.”
“Han-hee is a guy, you know?”
I tested the waters, wondering if she had noticed Ha-ni’s true gender, but Yoo-na stated firmly without changing her expression.
“Gender isn’t really an important factor when it comes to liking someone.”
Ah, thankfully, she didn’t realize Ha-ni was a girl.
I was relieved that her secret wasn’t revealed, but at the same time, I was a little impressed that Yoo-na was so certain that Ha-ni had feelings for me.
“…Don’t misunderstand. I don’t usually spread other people’s romantic gossip. I just said it just in case, since you two are always together in the dorm. It would be troublesome if something happened.”
What kind of incident did she think could happen between two guys…? She was saying some scary things.
“Well, thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. You seemed like you were about to interfere unnecessarily, saying you’d support me and Lilac, so this much is nothing.”
“No, that’s not true. I reflexively apologized, but I really didn’t say anything.”
“I know. I was joking. Was it not funny?”
Her slightly smiling face was still cute.
“Hey.”
So I blurted out a question.
About the ending she would meet in the original future of this novel.
“Yeah?”
“If Lilac said he liked another woman…”
The light disappeared from her eyes as she was enjoying her cherryade with a soft expression.
“Hey, it’s just an if. If. I wasn’t talking about what happened earlier, so calm down.”
“Ah, if. Yes, that could happen. Yes. Actually, I don’t know.”
“…You’re saying you don’t know with that kind of reaction?”
“No, of course I’d be angry, I just don’t know how much I would lose it.”
…I see.
Okay, I’ve decided.
For the sake of world peace, I should tell Lilac to run away quickly if Baek Seol tried to approach him.
“By the way, you’re not very surprised.”
“About what?”
“About Han-hee. You’re pretty calm considering you just heard that a guy might like you.”
Oh, that was sharp.
Well, knowing that Ha-ni was a girl, I thought it was possible.
“No, it’s not confirmed that he likes me, right? It could just be goodwill. And how popular could someone like me be anyway?”
I tried to joke around, but Yoo-na looked at me as if I was being ridiculous.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“…Huh?”
“You’re not bad. You should be more aware of yourself.”
“I appreciate the compliment, but honestly, I’m not at the level where I have to be careful around women. I’m not Cheon Yoo-hak.”
The professor, Ha-ni, and if I forced it, Ga-eul, so three? It was a bit much, but would it really increase from here?
“…Lilac is a serious case, but are you also unexpectedly dense?”
…Why would you say such harsh things out of the blue? It hurts my feelings.
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Park Ah-ram, the academy’s mana studies professor, was visiting the orphanage.
“Have you all been good children?”
“Yeah~ Ah-ram noona is here!”
Although she didn’t think she was young enough to be called noona, because of her unchanging appearance, the children still called her noona or unnie.
“Yes, yes, it’s your favorite Ah-ram noona. I brought candy and snacks that are ve~ry bad for your health today.”
“Unnie~”
“Haha, you’re not usually like this, but your voices change when I have presents! I love how honest you are with your desires!”
Of course, she said it jokingly, and the children, who were used to it being her way of showing affection, didn’t mind.
“Heehee!”
The children burst into laughter as she lifted them into the air with magic.
“Well, where’s the director?”
“The director is sleeping!”
“It’s nap time!”
“…That’s a problem. Why are you awake during nap time, and why is the director sleeping?”
“I don’t want to sleep!”
“Yeah, I want to play soccer, but he always tells us to sleep.”
“If you don’t sleep a lot when you’re young, you’ll regret it later. You won’t grow tall.”
“…Did noona sleep a lot?”
“What? I think I slept a lot.”
“Hmm~?”
“Then we’re not going to sleep. It’s useless.”
“Haha, you little brats. Don’t cross the line. You know I’m scary when I’m angry, right?”
“Waaah~ Run away!”
As she was playing with the children floating and flailing in the air, a middle-aged man walked out, perhaps because it was too noisy.
“Ah, our director, who’s neglecting his duties, has appeared. You all shouldn’t be like that when you grow up.”
“Okay~!”
“…Don’t say things that will cause trouble. We already have less funding as it is.”
“Haha, that’s why I came here to donate some money. Bow your head gratefully and accept it.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Shh, the kids can hear you. Just answer grumpily like usual. Don’t be creepy.”
“Even so…”
“I’m an academy professor, and I earn quite a bit since I’m a high-ranking hero. Don’t worry. I would have run away a long time ago if this was too burdensome.”
The old orphanage.
It was understandably difficult for the middle-aged man to manage it alone, so they needed manpower, and the cost of hiring staff, the children’s food and snack expenses, and toy expenses…
It was realistically difficult to cover them all with the salary of an academy professor who didn’t participate in dungeon raids or subjugations, but she didn’t show it.
Because this was the place that taught her about human connection, the place where she first laughed and made memories.
“Hah, you were a decent man when we first met, but time is a cruel thing.”
“That’s true. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? Awakened people don’t age easily.”
She knew that immortality wasn’t entirely a blessing, but she didn’t show it.
It wasn’t a concept one could understand just by being told about it.
“Haha, anyway, is everything alright?”
“You keep saying that these days, Ah-ram. Is something wrong with you?”
“What could be wrong with me? I’m just asking out of concern. I guess I’m getting old.”
“You dare say you’re getting old in front of me.”
“Isn’t there a saying that wrinkles should be shown in front of silkworms?”
“I’ve never heard that in my life.”
Actually, she had been checking on the orphanage every week after being warned by the man in the oni mask.
The fact that something might happen to the people she cherished was more stressful than she thought.
“Anyway, I’m glad that everything is alright. I’ll play with the kids for a bit, so don’t worry and go back to sleep!”
Thankfully, everything still seemed to be fine.
The man in the oni mask must have been spouting nonsense to lure her in.
What reason would he have to harm such a small orphanage?
She truly believed that.
And that was why she didn’t notice.
That just as she was worried about them, they also didn’t want to worry her.
That the director’s expression didn’t brighten even after receiving her donation.
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T/N – I really like the friendship between Yoo-na and the MC. I hope the MC can help her end up with Lilac.
Also, the next arc seems to be about Professor Ah-ram. The MC already has the Philosopher’s Stone that she needs, so he can start hooking her in. I do hope nothing bad happens to the orphanage.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
