I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 91

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Kang Hyun-woo, the chairman of the Yoo-sung Group, was having quite a headache thanks to a request his son made after a long while.

Well, the request itself wasn’t that difficult.

It was simply to support and protect an orphanage.

The Yoo-sung Group was one of Korea’s leading corporations.

Naturally, they could afford to support an orphanage, and frankly, since they were concerned about their social image, they could easily grant this request from his son.

In fact, considering the request itself, it was less unsettling than the last one when his son asked him to hire a woman with a questionable background.

Rose.

The image of the expressionless maid, who was extremely polite and quick with her work yet kept a distance from the other household staff no matter how much they tried to approach her, flashed through his mind. But that wasn’t something he needed to worry about now, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

Yes, the request itself wasn’t the problem.

The problem lay in the merits his son proposed along with the request.

“…An activated dragon vein?”

Dragon vein, mana spot. The terms varied, but they referred to a place where pure, harmless magical power gathered and flowed.

Usually, when too much magical power accumulated, it led to the formation of a dungeon. However, very rarely, pure magical power with no particular attributes would slowly permeate the surrounding area.

This rare phenomenon required a combination of geological veins, climate, and even celestial luck, so fewer than ten activated dragon veins had been discovered worldwide.

Of course, dragon veins weren’t just rare. The value of a dragon vein was beyond imagination.

Simply put, training in such a place increased the probability of an unawakened person developing a talent, and for an awakened person, the efficiency of their training would increase several times over.

Moreover, what if one could somehow harness even a portion of the dragon vein’s energy?

Considering that one of the only three SS-rank heroes in the world was an ordinary person who had been chosen by a dragon vein and absorbed its power, the answer was simple.

“This is crazy.”

No, it was good. It was definitely good.

If there really was a dragon vein there, and no one knew about it yet, he would rush over and offer prayers. The problem was how his son knew about it and the conditions he proposed.

To support the orphanage as much as possible and dispatch guards to protect it, but to not interfere beyond remodeling.

Also, to offer priority recruitment to any orphans who awakened.

He would understand if his son asked him to buy the orphanage and redevelop it, but what was this strange request?

“…Is my son too kind?”

He couldn’t think of any other reason.

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Well, dragon veins were rare now, but they would appear more frequently soon.

It was still a rare phenomenon, not excessively common, but it wasn’t like this was the only chance to claim one.

“Ah, that was fun. Volunteering felt better than I thought. Is this why Lilac does it so often?”

On our way back from volunteering, Ha-ni seemed to be in a good mood.

“It’s not always like this. Actually, when life gets tough and bleak, people become quite tenacious.”

“Ah, yeah. I know.”

“The weak aren’t always good people, alright?”

“Ah~ Why are you saying that after we did such a good deed and are feeling good~”

“Because I’ll go crazy if you start nagging me to volunteer like Lilac does.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t go that far~”

Ha-ni walked in silence for a while, and then turned around and said.

“Hey, let’s bring everyone next time.”

He couldn’t see Ha-ni’s expression clearly because of the setting sun, but he could tell that there was a subtle hint of rejection in her words.

She had been acting strangely all day, and it seemed like she really did have feelings for him.

It wasn’t at the level of love yet, just a small seed of affection.

But even so, fostering that emotion wouldn’t be very good for her.

To a child, parents were gods.

And her god had first given her a sword, and then a duty.

To her, who was just beginning to understand the world and form her own identity, that was still absolute, and he probably didn’t seem like a suitable person to share her duty with.

“Yeah, the kids would probably like Lilac too.”

“Surprisingly, Cheon Yoo-hak and Yoo-na are also popular with kids.”

“Oh, that would be really funny.”

He planned to break the shackles that bound her someday, but not now.

“Hey.”

“Yeah.”

“Are we friends?”

How would he have answered her question normally?

Would he have brushed it off and told her to stop being creepy?

But today, he didn’t want to answer like that.

“…We’re friends.”

“…Right?”

So, until the day her shackles disappeared, their current relationship was perfect as it was.

The noise in his head crackled, and the void in his heart churned unpleasantly, but he ignored it.

Hey, shut up. This is alright for now.

So, just stay quiet.

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“…Huh?”

Park Ah-ram, who was visiting the orphanage, let out a puzzled sound.

“Huh, what’s this?”

“Ah, Ms. Park Ah-ram, we are guards from the Yoo-sung Group. This is part of the service provided by the Yoo-sung Group starting this week, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Well, I don’t usually worry about such things, but why is the Yoo-sung Group suddenly sponsoring this place?”

“Our young master visited here.”

“Young master?”

Yoo-sung Group didn’t have many heirs, so there was only one direct descendant whom they would call young master.

The face of the cadet whom she would tease about being an honor student popped into her head.

“Kang So-hyun?”

“Yes, it seems like he felt something after volunteering here by chance.”

She knew he was relatively compassionate.

She knew he was kind because she had heard from Cathy for about seven hours over the phone about how he forgave her for punching a hole through his stomach.

But she couldn’t quite believe that he happened to volunteer at the orphanage she cherished and then happened to offer them support right after.

The chairman said he was a good kid, but he rarely did anything meaningless.

“Haha, our honor student did something cute, but it makes me even more scared.”

In addition to the man in the oni mask, now it was Kang So-hyun. It didn’t feel good. It felt like a premonition that this place was really in danger.

“Well, it can’t hurt to be careful.”

So, she began to check the safety devices she had prepared one by one.

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“You guys totally betrayed me. I’m super pissed. Can you handle it? Me being pissed?”

Monday morning.

My idiot friend’s son approached me while spouting nonsense.

Hearing a dark-haired male say he was pissed made me feel murderous.

“What is it now, Lilac? Ah, would you mind keeping your distance? I’m allergic to seeing male pups sulking.”

“Ah, your personality. Hey, honestly, if someone’s this pissed, you should appease them, shouldn’t you?”

“Really? Someone who’s genuinely pissed doesn’t say things like that.”

“Oh, judging by your attitude, you think I’m the only one pissed? I’m not the only one, you know?”

“…Then who else is pissed?”

Ga-eul, who sat on my desk with a familiar attitude, glared at me in protest.

She was acting clingy again after a while.

“Loser.”

“What?”

“Why did you go volunteering with only Han-hee!”

Ah, is that why they’re pissed…? Because he didn’t take them along?

“Ga-eul and I are super pissed. To make up for this, you have to hang out with us all week except for study and training time. Seriously.”

“We’re being generous. Really.”

Oh, their combined nonsense was quite novel.

“I was planning to bring you guys next time I volunteer, but seeing your attitude, I’m having second thoughts.”

“Loser! Not me! Lilac made me do it! I was just momentarily tempted…!”

“Ga-eul!?”

“Pfft.”

Oh, no.

I should have held back, but it was so funny that I burst out laughing.

Realizing that I was teasing them, their expressions turned fierce.

Well, what could they do even if they were fierce?

“Ah, fine. Alright. Let’s all go together next time we volunteer.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, promise.”

“…Huh?”

Ah, I instinctively held out my pinky finger, and Ga-eul’s face flushed slightly.

Maybe it was because of the orphanage visit, but I kept treating them like kids.

“A pinky promise is a bit much, isn’t it?”

As I hurriedly tried to pull my finger back, Ga-eul intertwined her pinky with mine with unbelievable speed.

“Hey, promise.”

Um, well, Ga-eul, you’re admitting that you liking Cheon Yoo-hak is just an act, right?

Afterward, Lilac held out his pinky while saying “Me too, huh?” I tried to chop it off, but he ran away while laughing.

Yeah, anyway, we would all go volunteering together.

I would prevent any incidents that might occur before then with Ha-ni.

Then it wouldn’t be a lie, right?

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A dark, secret room where they couldn’t see each other’s faces.

They were wary of each other, but at least today, they had gathered without being hostile to each other.

“…Why is the Yoo-sung Group suddenly interfering?”

“It seems like they caught wind of it.”

Just yesterday, they were competing to take over the Hansol Daycare Center, or rather, the land around it. But because of another faction that suddenly appeared yesterday, they were forced into a semi-alliance.

Yoo-sung.

As one of Korea’s top five corporations, their influence, at least domestically, was undeniable.

“Damn it! How do they manage their information?! You idiots!”

“It’s as if you’re certain you didn’t leak any information?”

“Of course. There are no idiots among my men. I buried all the incompetent ones myself.”

“You vulgar bastard. I think you’re the most suspicious one here. Since you rule your men with fear, maybe one of them sold the information?”

“Oh, your loose lips are quite eloquent, but you better watch out if you don’t want your jaw broken.”

The atmosphere was tense enough for a fight to break out at any moment, but in the end, they swallowed their anger and sat down again.

No matter how much they hated each other, they had to join forces until they dealt with the Yoo-sung Group and demolished the orphanage.

Their individual power, no matter how strong, wasn’t enough to rival the Yoo-sung Group alone.

But if the three of them joined forces, it was a different story.

Of course, if the Yoo-sung Group decided to wage an all-out war, it wouldn’t matter if the three of them joined forces. But there was little chance that the corporation would go that far for just an orphanage.

Even if they had information about a possible unregistered dungeon there, they would try to avoid a full-blown conflict with villains, considering the potential loss of human resources.

So, at least until they drove the Yoo-sung Group out, they had to refrain from backstabbing each other, no matter how tempting it was.

The three villains looked at each other while sharing the same thought.

Actually, their assumptions weren’t entirely wrong.

Kang Hyun-woo was a relatively level-headed man, and he wasn’t the type to gamble on an unregistered dungeon and antagonize three renowned villain organizations, even for his son’s request.

That is, if what lay beneath the orphanage was truly just an unregistered dungeon.

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“…You think it’s true?”

“Yes, after dispatching investigators, we found that the amount of mana in the atmosphere is abnormally high. However, there are no signs of mana poisoning.”

“Do we have an estimate of the total amount of mana in the dragon vein?”

“This is the second time a dragon vein has appeared in Korea, so it’s not accurate, but based on the total amount alone, it’s comparable to the first dragon vein.”

“I see.”

Kang Hyun-woo’s hope that his son was mistaken was cruelly shattered.

Now that he knew that there was a dragon vein there, he couldn’t let other factions have it.

“All-out war.”

“Sir?”

“If any hostile forces target the dragon vein, use all means necessary to crush them.”

“Yes, sir.”

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T/N – Lol. The villains are so fucked. So much for not facing an all-out war. Honestly though, I’m glad the MC is using his connections properly. He tattled on the two escaped early villains to the Chairman before, and now, he told his dad about the dragon vein. Best way to resolve things cleanly rather than trying to deal with it on his own.

Also, didn’t expect the opportunity to be the land itself. I thought it would be another power up for the MC, though this is fine too.

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