I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 90

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Volunteering.

If one considered the original meaning, it was an act performed without expecting anything in return, so the boy’s words weren’t logically wrong.

In fact, many hero candidates had kind hearts, and he’d heard several stories of them volunteering in humble facilities without compensation.

Nevertheless, the director couldn’t easily trust the boys who said they came to volunteer.

He’d been tormented for almost half a year.

People kept trying to take over this orphanage, changing their methods each time.

It wasn’t unreasonable that his first thought was that they might have recruited cadets to gain favor from within.

He had been too stressed lately to believe that they came to this humble orphanage, located in a remote area and with almost no government support, out of pure goodwill.

But it was also true that he had no justification to kick them out outright.

‘Just wait until they reveal their true intentions. Then I’ll cut them off immediately.’

Though his impression of them started to change after he saw them playing with the children.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Wow! Then, hyung, are you a hero!? Have you caught villains before?!”

“Of course.”

Well, strictly speaking, I wasn’t qualified as a hero yet, but how much would the kids enjoy it if I explained the difference between a hero and a cadet?

Honestly, I wasn’t particularly eloquent, but when talking to kids, capturing their interest was more important than eloquence.

“Eh, you don’t look that strong.”

Yep, there’s always a kid like this.

Today’s test subject was decided.

“Oh, really? Then, how about we test it out?”

“Huh? How?”

I picked up the questioning child and poured a tiny bit of my innate qi into my legs.

My talent, which emitted a bright glow, was visually impressive, making it quite easy to show kids what a superhuman was.

I focused my strength on my enhanced legs and leaped into the air.

With a whoosh, I soared towards the sky. The child screamed at first, but his eyes soon began to sparkle as the surrounding scenery came into view.

Yep, yep, kids like him always loved high places.

As I landed effortlessly, everyone except for Ha-ni, who looked quite surprised, and the director, who looked about to faint, had sparkling eyes.

“Awesome…! Hyung, you’re a real hero…! You flew!”

Well, being able to jump high didn’t make me a hero, but wasn’t this the most convincing proof for kids?

“I’m jealous! Me too! Me too!”

“Me too!”

“Me! Me! I want to fly!”

Oh, I was super popular.

It brought back memories. Should I give them a little service?

“Line up! I’ll do it for all of you!”

Well, it was a good opportunity to raise my favorability with the kids.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Kang Ha-ni just watched at first.

She stared blankly while thinking ‘He really likes kids.’ That thought started to morph into a slightly embarrassing one, ‘He’d be a good father when he gets married.’ Around then, Ha-ni shook her head to clear her thoughts and headed to the kitchen.

She had experience taking care of younger children at the dojo and didn’t dislike them, but she thought it would be better to appeal to them in a different way than playing with them alongside So-hyun.

Fortunately, they had bought enough ingredients, and although a bit old, the equipment was all in working order.

“Hmm, since they’re kids, should I make Western food?”

As she prepared the hamburger steaks, she seasoned them a bit sweeter than usual, added only a little pepper since many kids couldn’t handle it, and finely chopped the onions so they wouldn’t be noticeable.

“What are you…?”

“Ah, we bought the ingredients. My friend is good with the kids, so I thought I’d prepare lunch.”

The director, who had been watching her skillfully preparing the ingredients, asked with a puzzled look.

“…You bought the ingredients even though you came to volunteer for free?”

“Yes? Ah. They’re not strange ingredients. I bought them at the supermarket on the way here since it’s for the kids.”

“Wasn’t it expensive?”

“Well… I bought a bit extra since I didn’t know how many kids were here. If there are any leftover patties, you can freeze them and eat them later.”

Ha-ni stopped cooking as she felt like their conversation wasn’t quite connecting, but then she heard a familiar voice.

“Alright, kids. You’ve played enough. It’s time to wash your hands and faces.”

“Ugh, I don’t wanna.”

“Oh, you don’t want to? What should we do? I think we’re having hamburger steaks for lunch, but I won’t give any to kids who haven’t washed up.”

“I like washing up, hyung.”

It was So-hyun with a group of disheveled children.

A little while later, while the kids were washing up, we had a minor disagreement.

“Let’s just make them ourselves.”

“Hey, kids love kneading dough like this instead of sensory play.”

“They might throw it at each other and start a fight.”

“That’s how they grow. We can just reason with them. And the kids are in a good mood now, so let’s let them do it. We can grill them ourselves so it’s safe.”

“That’s obvious.”

The issue was simple.

The ingredient preparation, which required knives, was already done, so all that was left was to shape and grill the patties.

I wanted to grill them in advance so that the kids could eat as soon as they were finished washing up, while So-hyun wanted to let them shape the patties themselves.

He was surprisingly soft on the kids. It worried me. He might spoil them too much in the future.

…No, I shouldn’t be thinking like this.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“See? The kids love it.”

“…That’s true.”

Seeing them giggling while kneading the patties made her wonder why they enjoyed it so much.

Ha-ni watched them with a slightly worried expression, but it was unlikely that anything would go wrong.

They might smear each other a little and giggle, but they wouldn’t throw the patties since he had told them beforehand that their hamburger steaks would get smaller if they misbehaved.

“Taste is important, but for kids, the shape and the playing process before the meal are also important. You have to stimulate their interest so that they eat well later.”

…Or, like me, they’ll eat well when they’re starving and feel like they’ll die if they don’t eat. But there was no need to instill such memories from childhood. Definitely not.

“I made a bunny!”

“Oh, that’s well made.”

Honestly, it looked more like clay with two elongated lumps sticking out rather than a rabbit, but you always had to praise them.

“Hey, that’s not a bunny!”

Oh, but another child next to him started to pick a fight.

“…This is what a bunny looks like…!”

Ah, he wasn’t picking a fight? He just wanted to show off. Well, his patty was a bit better, but the other kid might get upset.

“Here, you can have this!”

“…Huh? Me?”

“Me too! I made a lion!”

“I made a rocket!”

Oh, the kids started offering me their creations while explaining what they were.

Kids, you know this is your lunch, right?

“Okay, okay, I’ll grill them for you, so take off your gloves and wait patiently.”

“Okay…!”

Fortunately, we were able to grill the hamburger steaks without any problems.

“Delicious!”

“It’s even more delicious because we made it ourselves!”

Well, Ha-ni seasoned and prepared the ingredients, so it was delicious because of her, but that was how kids felt.

As they were enjoying their meal, a girl sitting next to Ha-ni tilted her head and tugged at Ha-ni’s clothes.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Hey, are you an oppa or an unnie?”

“Huh?”

“At first, I thought you were an oppa, but seeing you in an apron, you look like an unnie.”

Damn, these kids were sharper than I thought. No one at the academy suspected anything, but she was being questioned like this here…?

Ha-ni, who was asked the question, answered casually.

“I’m an oppa.”

“Really? Hmm, that’s why you don’t have breasts.”

“Haha, that’s right.”

I wondered if Ha-ni could have laughed it off so easily if she was actually a character with small breasts.

“Oh, then is this oppa an unnie?”

“Me? Do I look like an unnie…?”

I had a handsome face, but it wasn’t enough to be mistaken for a girl.

“Hmm, borderline…? A little risky, but if you look closely…?”

Borderline? What was that supposed to mean?

“But I’m also an oppa, not an unnie.”

“Oh, that’s weird. Then are you two oppas dating?”

Oh, Ha-ni, who hadn’t been surprised by the breast comment, was startled and dropped her plate.

They used plastic plates in places with a lot of children so that they wouldn’t break even if dropped.

The plate landed on the floor with a cute thump, and after a long pause, Ha-ni managed to deny it.

“Ah, we’re not dating.”

No, Ha-ni, why are you so surprised by that?

“That’s weird. Ah-ram unnie said that if you bicker and then one person pretends to lose, you’re dating.”

She must have seen us arguing earlier about whether to make the hamburger steaks with the kids or by ourselves.

Well, it might have looked like a lovers’ quarrel to the kids.

Kids at this age teased each other about dating all the time.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

After playing for a long time, Ha-ni went inside, saying that she would put the kids down for their naps.

Meanwhile, I went to the director’s office to fulfill my original purpose. He seemed to have been expecting me as he was waiting for me with a calm demeanor.

“First, I should thank you. Thank you for everything today. They’re not usually so open with strangers.”

“Well, all kids are like that. Especially children in orphanages, they tend to be closed off no matter how hard you try.”

“…You sound like you know orphanages well. Do you volunteer often?”

“Yes, something like that.”

I couldn’t tell him about my transmigration, so I had to make something up.

“Alright, thanks aside, let’s get down to business. I know you’re kind, and I believe you were sincere with the children. But you two, or at least you, have a purpose, right?”

He was sharp. It was a shame that he was just a character mentioned in a couple of lines in the original story.

“Yes, I have a purpose.”

“…Huu, I expected as much, so I won’t say I’m disappointed. But would you listen to me first?”

“Yes, sure. It’s nothing difficult.”

“An orphanage is like a final barrier. Children who lose their parents at a young age, no matter how, grow up somewhat distorted. Children who are unlucky enough to wander from place to place would usually conclude that no one wants them.”

That was right. He knew what he was talking about.

I had experienced it myself.

Without any exaggeration, parents were like gods to children.

They were the ones who protected them, created them, and gave them everything.

Therefore, the sense of loss a child felt when their parents disappeared before their ego was fully formed was no joke.

-Wait here for a little while, okay?

-Where are you going?

-I’m just going to buy something. You have to wait here with this and buy some ice cream. Don’t go anywhere… Promise?

-Okay, you’ll be back soon, right?

-A little, yeah. It might take a while. But you have to wait here, okay?

Ah, damn it.

It had been years, but I still couldn’t forget it.

“The children who come here have already had enough difficult experiences… So, I can’t let you take away their last refuge…”

…This was the part that reminded me that this world was a novel.

An orphanage director with such a kind heart. That was rare in reality.

It was a nice sentiment, but I didn’t need to hear any more.

“You’ve been saying some strange things.”

“Yes, I know. You also want…”

“No, when did I say I was going to tear down the orphanage? I just wanted to offer some support from my family.”

“…Huh?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

Of course, it was a lie.

At this point, there were probably three villain factions targeting this place.

One of them was after the value of this land, and the other two were after the possibility of an undiscovered dungeon hidden beneath this mountain. But what was sleeping in this mountain wasn’t an undiscovered dungeon.

“Ah, of course, it would be even better if the children who grew up here became excellent employees working for our company in the future.”

“That…”

“If you don’t believe me, shall we draw up a contract? A contract stating that we won’t harm the orphanage in any way.”

And naturally, as a transmigrator, I knew how to obtain the treasure hidden in this mountain without crudely digging it up like those guys.

I presented the business card of the CEO of Yoo-sung Group that I received from my father, and the director’s eyes wavered.

“So, are you willing to listen to me now?”

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

T/N – Awww. So cute. Ha-ni is already imagining having kids with the MC. As expected of the best girl. Also, this misunderstanding of them being a gay couple is hilarious. Though I do hope the author doesn’t run it to the ground.

Lastly, the MC is hitting plenty of birds with one stone with this move, it seems like. I’m curious about the treasure hidden beneath the mountain too.

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