—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Chinese group disappeared into the distance.
They might have started as bad Chinese, committing the evil deed of voice phishing.
But now?
They had become good Chinese, lovers of peace.
And I didn’t even have to worry about the aftermath.
The Ministry of Public Security would make them even better.
It was the perfect example of “use barbarians to fight barbarians.”
[You hate China too much.]
‘Hate? I actually like China a lot.’
I was quite fond of China.
So much so that I prayed every night…
That my favorite China would multiply.
Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms should be enough.
Anyway, my task was done, so we decided to get a free meal.
However…
“Can we get you the four-person set? We’re a little tight on budget, and it’s cheaper that way.”
“Okay, sure.”
The staff member told us that we could only order the four-person set.
So we decided to invite Kyouko to join us.
As we were eating, I briefly explained the events of the morning. Kyouko started complaining,
“Why is only watashi being bullied?! Why is there bullying in Korea?!”
“Kekeke. Bullying isn’t unique to Japan.”
“Miss Kyouko, they’re just worried that it might be dangerous.”
Jung Ah-yeon tried to soothe her.
But Kyouko wasn’t backing down.
“But it’s not fair! If watashi wants to go to art school, watashi need to see more art!”
“Seriously? Talking about art after capturing Chinese spies?”
“Hye-ji-chan showed me!!! Explosions are art!!!”
“Oh, Kyouko! You’ve finally seen the light!”
Hye-ji, who had been eating, stopped and hugged Kyouko with a delighted expression.
Kyouko giggled and said,
“Watashi will go to art school and create even more spectacular art than Hye-ji-chan!!!”
“Damn it, I thought she was going to be the Führer, but she’s Deidara.”
“Then we’re rivals now. I look forward to it, Kyouko.”
“Watashi will show you even bigger explosions than Little Boy or Fat Man!!!!”
“Bring it on, Kyouko. I won’t lose. ”
Hye-ji and Kyouko shook hands excitedly, right in the middle of our meal.
It might have looked heartwarming to an outsider, but to us, it was just two crazy bitches plotting something sinister.
“Miss Kyouko, are such large explosions really necessary?”
“This rotten world is what watashi wants to blow up!!!”
“Don’t use a line that sounds like it belongs to a baker.”
“…Are we witnessing the start of World War III?”
I was wrong.
Trying to label Kyouko as a mere Führer?
She was far more ambitious than that.
‘Good job, Kyouko. Destroy the world with your own hands.’
[Change her name to Kim Kyouko right now.]
After finishing our meal, we followed Kyouko, who suddenly told us to come with her.
She led us to the academy’s recreational facilities.
“There’s lots of fun stuff here wwwww. I’m envious of the academy students wwwww”
The recreational facility had everything:
An arcade, a park, various shops…
It was an impressive facility.
But it was mostly empty.
Only a handful of academy students and a large number of visiting students were there.
It was understandable.
“Shinwoo, did you know this place existed?”
“This is my first time seeing it.”
“…Is this truly a facility for students?”
None of us knew this place existed.
It was a great place, no doubt.
Most of the facilities were free or very cheap, a real bargain.
Actually…
It made me wonder if they were even making a profit.
As I pondered why they hadn’t told us about this place, I heard the voice in my head.
[They probably kept it a secret to avoid overcrowding and losing money.]
‘Damn, this academy is truly idiotic.’
They saw students as either research subjects or potential fighters.
This shitty academy.
I’ll bring the wrath of Road Taylor down on you, bastards.
Anyway, we were excited to see this place for the first time, so we started having fun.
Of course, things didn’t go smoothly.
“Sir Hye-ji, calm down! It’s just a game!!!”
“I’m a girl, you bitch!!!!!”
“I understand, Miss Hye-ji! Please calm down!”
Hye-ji was causing a scene at the punching machine.
She seemed unhappy with her low score.
“This is my power! Just one! I’ll blow it up gently! Let me do it just once!!”
“Hye-ji, you’re not a kid anymore. Stop being childish. I’m disappointed.”
“…Was I too much? Sorry.”
She slumped down, her head hanging low.
Jung Ah-yeon, who had been trying to calm her down, sighed in relief.
But…
“Since you’re an adult now, you should use at least two.”
“You get me, boss! I knew I could count on you!”
“Master! Please don’t encourage her!!!”
“Hye-ji-chan! Make me watashi too! But just one since I’m a minor!”
Her relief was short-lived.
And Jung Ah-yeon wasn’t exactly well-behaved either.
This time, it was Hye-ji’s turn to try and calm her down.
“Are you mocking this one? How amusing! This one will definitely catch it for you!!”
“Hey! You were so calm earlier when you were trying to stop me! What happened!?”
“Stand back, Miss Hye-ji. Even a machine must pay the price for its treachery.”
It was the claw machine that had angered her.
We had all successfully gotten the prizes we wanted, but Jung Ah-yeon kept failing. She was fuming.
“To think that it would let go of the prize after capturing it! It must be punished!”
“You’re blind without your summons! Shinwoo, help me stop her!”
“Jung Ah-yeon, move a bit to the right. Let’s try to get an iPhone too.”
“Hmph, that sounds like you.”
“Fake martial artist!!! Get me a Canon camera too!!!”
We were eventually caught by the staff and had to write apology letters.
The reasons: property damage and theft.
At least Kyouko, being a visiting student, only got a light scolding.
“Damn it, I should have broken something.”
“This one agrees. We should have looted everything.”
“These guys have a different mindset.”
We returned, dragging the grumbling Hye-ji and Jung Ah-yeon with us.
Although we had been a bit rough earlier, we were relatively well-behaved now.
Except…
“This is so weak! It already broke!”
“It couldn’t even withstand this much?”
Hye-ji accidentally broke the levers and buttons on a few machines…
And Jung Ah-yeon caused a few malfunctions…
But we had a fun day, overall.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next evening.
We were seeing off the visiting students who were returning home.
Before boarding the bus, Kyouko approached us to say goodbye.
“Hye-ji-chan! Shinwoo-chan! See you again desuwwwwwww.”
“…Don’t leave this one out.”
“Fake martial artist’s name is too difficult to remember desuwwwwww”
Kyouko laughed, and Jung Ah-yeon groaned.
I grabbed Kyouko’s shoulder and gave her some serious advice.
“Remember how I lost all my money? Don’t buy Dogecoin.”
“Owl Blue was on Shinwoo-chan’s phone wwwwwwwww.”
“Damn it, Sanji’s probably coming for me now.”
She turned and boarded the bus.
She stuck her head out the window and waved at us.
“Kyouko, see you next time! Let’s keep in touch!”
“Let’s meet somewhere else next time, not at this shitty academy.”
“Hmph! This one will show you the true terror of a martial artist next time.”
“Arigato, everyone wwwww. See you again wwwwwww”
We waved back at her.
The bus drove away, shrinking into a small dot before finally disappearing from view.
It was time to say goodbye.
Once we could no longer see the bus, we stopped waving.
Hye-ji approached me and said,
“Well, Shinwoo, at least you managed to snag a Canon camera for her, right?”
“Damn it, it cost more than buying it at retail price.”
“Master, why did you do that?”
“Ah, I thought we could actually get it this time.”
We almost had it, but it was frustrating that the claw machine suddenly widened its grip at the last second.
Hye-ji looked at me with disappointment.
“You pulled the same stunt with your gacha pulls this time and wasted all your money.”
“This damn game. That shrew keeps showing up.”
“…Please return the emotional farewell I felt just now.”
We had successfully seen Kyouko off.
Having no more reason to stay, we decided to part ways.
Then, I suddenly remembered something I wanted to tell Hye-ji, so I stopped her.
“Shinwoo, what is it?”
“Hye-ji, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“What is it?”
She tilted her head, curious.
“It’s something I’d rather tell you in private. Should we move somewhere else?”
“Y-yes! Where do you want to go?”
Her expression changed instantly.
It was the look of anticipation.
I led her to an empty training ground.
She followed me silently, and when we reached our destination, she asked,
“Shinwoo, can I ask what you want to tell me?”
“Well, actually…”
“Yes, yes. Take your time. I can wait.”
Her cheeks were flushed, and she was clearly expecting something.
I whispered softly,
“…I think I awakened my ability.”
“…Huh?”
Her eyes widened, and her expression instantly turned cold.
“I awakened it during the fight with the pointy-eared bastard, but I don’t know what it is.”
“……”
“So I wanted to ask for your help in figuring it out.”
“……”
She glared at me, saying nothing.
A murderous aura emanated from her.
I continued speaking, oblivious to her reaction.
“I didn’t want to tell anyone else, so I only told you. You’re my only friend.”
“…Hey.”
“I already got approval to use the training ground. Can you help me out?”
“You bastard!!!”
She exploded.
Her anger was intense.
“Hye-ji, why are you suddenly so angry?”
“You bastard!!!! You got my hopes up for nothing!!!”
“What did I even say?”
“Damn it!!! I’m such an idiot!!!!”
She stomped her feet and growled.
Then, I remembered something else I wanted to tell her.
How could I forget?
I smiled and gestured for her to come closer.
“Hye-ji, come here. I have something else to tell you.”
“Haa… Fine, this is the real deal this time, right?”
“Just come here.”
It was getting dark.
The timing was perfect.
She quickly calmed down and approached me.
She was standing right before me.
I smiled gently and pulled her closer. She didn’t resist.
“W-what do you want to tell me? Why did you bring me here?”
She was nestled in my arms.
Her face was flushed red, even in the dim light.
When I met her gaze, she slowly closed her eyes.
I quickly lifted the flap of my coat.
“Look! It’s a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur!”
“…Huh?”
I showed her the dinosaur before she closed her eyes completely.
Its glowing figure reflected in her eyes.
“Can you see it? Even though it’s not completely dark yet?”
“…”
“You can add this kind of design to the inside of Defensive Coats?”
“…That’s what you wanted to show me?”
Her voice sounded strangely cold.
“Isn’t it cool? What else should we add? Any suggestions?”
“Can you let go of me?”
She was smiling brightly.
Except for her eyes.
Her face was pale, and her smile seemed forced.
She stepped away from me and activated the training ground system.
“You said you wanted to know about your ability?”
“Yes, will you help me?”
“Of course I’ll help you.”
She immediately activated her ability.
It seemed like she was going to teach me about it through practical training.
However…
“I’ll make you learn, whether you want to or not.”
“Thank you for helping. But why are there so many…?”
She had materialized a ridiculous number of weapons.
It was definitely not an appropriate number for a training session.
It looked more like she was going to destroy someone.
“You need to learn this thoroughly, don’t you agree?”
“…Hye-ji? Are you smiling? Your eyes look lifeless.”
Her expression contorted.
She gritted her teeth and shouted furiously,
“You recognized that and still did that to me?!?!?!”
“Hye-ji, I’m sorry. But can I just say one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
Her voice was quiet, her eyes fixed on me.
There was a flicker of hope in them.
“There are too many weapons. Can you reduce the number by half?”
“Just shut up and die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The flicker vanished.
As soon as she finished her sentence, the guns in her hand and the materialized turrets opened fire.
The deafening gunshots assaulted my eardrums.
The smell of gunpowder filled the air, threatening to numb my nose.
And a relentless barrage of bullets, leaving no room for escape.
“Argh! This hurts!!!”
“That’s the point, you bastard!!!”
“Easy there! I’ll die at this rate!”
“Just die already!!! Stop breathing, just die!!!”
It was a one-sided beatdown.
Until the very end of the training session.
Even though the coat’s defense limit was exceeded, she didn’t stop.
She just continued shooting, as if glad it was finally broken.
That day, instead of learning about my ability, I learned two things:
One. White phosphorus bombs hurt like hell.
Two. Never mess with Hye-ji.
[…Are you alright?]
‘500 won white phosphorus bomb. 1000 won white phosphorus bomb. It fucking hurts.’
As soon as the training session ended, Hye-ji turned around and walked away towards the dorms.
She was still fuming.
I wanted to stop her, but my body was numb with pain. I couldn’t speak.
After she left, my body slowly started to recover, and I returned to my dorm.
I washed up and lay down on my bed. As I did so, I heard the voice in my head.
[Well, you got beaten up quite badly.]
‘I got completely destroyed.’
[You deserved it.]
‘Hey, she could’ve gone easy on me. Even Tekken players wouldn’t beat up a newbie like that.’
Even though I had no visible injuries, my body ached, as if I was experiencing phantom pain.
[You’d get beaten up in Tekken too if you don’t know the game. You don’t understand human psychology because you’re clueless.]
‘What psychology?’
[Wouldn’t it be boring if I explained it to you?]
She chuckled mockingly.
Her words were annoying.
‘Really? I’ll make it boring for you then.’
[I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!]
The voice in my head begged for mercy, sounding pathetic.
This was HAL gaslighting.
Thank you, Assistant Manager Han.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
noooo Kyouko, don’t get rejected from art school!!!