Swallowing the stale taste that filled my mouth, I hurriedly spoke.
“How long has it been since I collapsed?”
“Not long. Around two hours?”
“The ques—no, the Final Stage Conquest Battle ended well, right?”
“Yeah. The Queen was dealt with, and they say Seoyoon regained consciousness, too.”
“Ha, thank God.”
A sigh of relief escaped me on its own. Given the circumstances, our success seemed certain.
“Anyway, thanks. I’m fine now, so you can go.”
I wanted to send off Baek Sayoung, who had been standing there awkwardly.
Part of it was that I wanted to check my messages in peace, but the fact that we had nothing more to say also played a role.
We were not close enough for either of us to nurse the other.
I also felt bad about keeping a busy person here.
“Already? That’s a bit......”
Why were protagonists so oblivious?
“No, don’t you need to go see Cheon Seoyoon? What if she gets sulky because you did not show your face?”
“Still, it wouldn’t be polite to leave the moment you woke up.”
As if he truly meant it, he even shifted as though to sit down again.
No, you frustrating bastard. What manners?
“Just go! I’m telling you, I’m really fine. I’m more comfortable alone.”
“Really?”
“......Of course.”
“Now that I think about it, you might be uncomfortable.”
Baek Sayoung awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
Then, with eyes and a voice that had suddenly settled into calmness, he asked me,
“But answer me just one thing. There’s something I’m curious about regarding the Queen.”
“The Queen?”
The abrupt change in his demeanor puzzled me for a moment, but I soon caught on.
“Ah, it’s because of her condition, right? By the time you faced her, she’d have been as good as dead.”
Baek Sayoung merely nodded without a word.
True to his being a decent guy.
It seemed he was uncomfortable taking the credit without having put in any effort.
“Actually, Cheon Seoyoon deserves a lot of the credit. You saw the sword lodged in her chest, too.”
But I had no intention of telling him the truth.
Even if I went around boasting that I had done something great, it would only be a hassle and mean nothing to me.
“That’s true, but...... A Rank 6 Irregular is no easy Magical Beast. More than the external wound on its chest, there were traces of burning and......”
“Ah, of course I landed a blow, too. But it would have been impossible without Cheon Seoyoon.”
“Then what about the penetrating wound in its abdomen?”
“......A penetrating wound? Was there something like that? Strange. I do not know either......”
“Hmm......”
“Hey, why are you acting like an amateur? You know better than anyone the limits of the Sorcery Arts System that make it impossible to become a protagonist.”
After pausing for a moment, Baek Sayoung gave a bitter smile.
“Okay. You’re not well, so get some rest first. Let’s talk again another time.”
“Okay.”
Without asking any more questions or pressing the matter further, he left the hospital room.
THUD—
It was not exactly a refreshing reaction, but the uneasy feeling I had harbored melted away like snow the moment the space before my eyes rippled.
[Main Quest #3: Final Stage Boss Defeated]
[Reward: 15 days.]
[Time Remaining: 24 days 9 hours 54 minutes]
[Reward: 20 SP acquired.]
[SP Held: 80]
When the completion message I had been waiting for appeared, joy and a swelling emotion mingled within me.
“Ha. Look at me.”
Only three weeks ago, I had more time than I knew what to do with......
And now, I was happy just because I would live twenty days longer.
Just as the absurdity of it made my chest ache with sorrow,
[Achievement-111: Turn a Crisis into an Opportunity.]
[You have successfully concluded a distorted development.]
......A distorted development?
The full story behind the anomaly that had been bothering me all this time was revealed.
[#Turning Point 1. Change to Team 4’s Opening Stage Entrance]
-Reason for Change: Heightened tension through increased difficulty
[#Turning Point 2. Baek Sayoung Fulfills a Substitute Role]
-Reason for Change: Breaking free from a predictable protagonist-centered development
[Reward: 20 SP.]
[4 days added to Time Remaining.]
[Time Remaining: 28 days 9 hours 53 minutes]
“......”
So the reason I had faced Kkeomeoksari instead of Lee Daeho’s team, after the Opening Stage entrance was changed to Number 9......
And the reason I had encountered the Queen with Cheon Seoyoon instead of Baek Sayoung......
“It was all the System’s—no, that bastard 4885’s intention?”
Not the butterfly effect caused by my existence intervening?
“What a vicious bastard.”
There were things he could meddle with and things he could not. How dare he tamper with the original story’s development.
Whatever else, I could not tolerate this one.
What kind of novel was [Epic of Salvation]?
Yoo Soyoung had worn down her own life with blood and tears......
You seem awfully self-righteous.
That bastard’s voice suddenly sounded like an auditory hallucination, but I easily silenced it.
......Ah, shut up.
I was still the author, while that bastard was a thief who had not contributed so much as an ant’s speck of eye gunk to this work.
So.
“Hey, you fucking bastard. Why call me here if you are going to......”
[You have reached 100 SP.]
[The boundary of Causality temporarily dulls.]
[The reward you truly need is issued.]
......100 SP?
Already?
“Sir? No, Teacher? If you are going to spring this on me so suddenly......”
The sudden anticipation made my voice grow quieter, as though I were bowing my head.
[Next target: 200 SP.]
The space in front of me opened into a circle, and a small note fell out.
FLUTTER~
I quickly reached out and grabbed it.
On the surface, it was an ordinary piece of white paper with nothing special about it.
“What is this?”
There were still too many things I could not understand, but I decided to check the note first.
When I hurriedly unfolded it, the writing inside came into view.
“This is......”
The contents were so unexpected that my eyes blinked rapidly on their own.
**[Today, 9 PM. 3rd Floor, 11-905, 435 Cheonsu 1-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul Special City]**
......An address?
The writing was so neat that it was impossible to identify the handwriting.
But why was this the reward I needed?
As I thought it over, a possibility suddenly crossed my mind.
Could it be......?
Information related to Yoo Soyoung?
***
After leaving the hospital room, Baek Sayoung first called Lee Daeho.
“Which hospital did you say it was?”
-Guardian Hospital, around Gangnam. How is Park Hayul? He has not woken up already, has he?”
“Why wouldn’t he? He was telling me to leave because he was fine.”
-Wow, Park Hayul. I thought he was skinny and frail, but he’s tougher than he looks. Mana Exhaustion is no joke.”
“It’s fortunate. Thanks to him, I can at least show my face. If I had not gone, Cheon Seoyoon would have cursed me for ages.”
The call did not end until they had exchanged a few more questions about things such as a hospital-visit gift.
While waiting for the elevator, Baek Sayoung glanced at Park Hayul’s hospital room and let out a quiet laugh.
“He really is a unique guy.”
At first, he had thought Park Hayul was merely an outsider uninterested in school life.
But little by little, he began to see him differently.
He seemed timid, yet he had a fiery side that refused to back down before Lee Taekjin. He seemed weak, yet at times he was as solid as a rock.
What happened in the Final Stage was like that.
In that confused situation where everyone had been startled, had he not been the only one to remain calm and rational?
“......Park Hayul was probably the one who inflicted the fatal wound on the Queen.”
The unexplained penetrating wound was one thing, but the traces of powerful Sorcery Arts had remained intact.
To be honest, there was much he was curious about.
How had someone in the lower ranks displayed such powerful Sorcery Arts?
And after bringing the Queen down with such difficulty, why was he hiding that tremendous achievement behind Cheon Seoyoon?
Most people did the opposite.
There were countless people whose greed exceeded their abilities, people busier tearing others down than raising them up.
“Hmm......”
Perhaps that was why he was all the more interested.
He was a better guy than expected......
“Hey, you fucking bastard. Why call me here if you are going to......”
......Or was he not?
“Sir? No, Teacher? If you are going to spring this on me so suddenly......”
At the voices drifting from beyond the hospital room, a bitter smile formed on Baek Sayoung’s face.
Maybe he was just a strange guy?
Thinking it had been good that he had left early, Baek Sayoung entered the elevator as though he had heard nothing.
***
At the same time, in the VIP room of a hospital owned by the Guardian Joo Family.
“You are going to let that pass at a time like this? Did you not hear what the doctor said? He told you to eat nothing but porridge for the time being. If you are going to do whatever you want, then go to your own hospital.”
“Ah, whhhy. I awweady wecovewed. Munch, munch. To get better quick, I have to eat sweet things.”
Despite being dissuaded, Cheon Seoyoon took a bite of the banana and wore an expression of absolute bliss. Unable to bear it any longer, Joo Arin rose from her seat.
“It seems the purpose of this visit has disappeared. I should be going now. There’s somewhere I need to stop by while I’m out.”
“Awweady? Munch, munch.”
“Yes. You’ve already recovered completely, have you not? I won’t disturb you any longer, so rest well by yourself.”
As though it was not merely empty talk, Joo Arin checked her clothing, which did not need adjusting, and picked up the bag she had set aside.
BANG.
It was then that Lee Daeho, who had gone out, came back in.
“Gasp. Ms. Arin, are you leaving?”
Unlike his usual bear-like manner, he swiftly grasped the situation.
“Ms. Arin, my ass......”
Cheon Seoyoon mocked him with all her might as she peeled another banana, but Lee Daeho lightly ignored her and spoke.
“Sayoung said he’s coming too, so how about waiting a little longer?”
“Baek Sayoung? Then......”
“Yes. Park Hayul woke up, too. Um, so......”
“......?”
“If you haven’t eaten yet, how about we share a meal? There’s a place nearby that makes excellent hangover soup. Ha ha ha.”
He was doing his best to summon courage before Joo Arin, whom he had always liked.
PFFT.
But why did the timing have to be like this?
Just as she was stuffing the banana into her mouth, Cheon Seoyoon happened to spit it back out.
BLEGH. COUGH COUGH.
“Ha, I knew this would happen.”
Instead of answering, Joo Arin glared at the coughing Cheon Seoyoon and patted her on the back.
The promising atmosphere was ruined in an instant.
...That bastard is doing it on purpose.
Lee Daeho glared at Cheon Seoyoon with eyes like axes.
He thought the resentment left over from their team assignments was the cause.
But the truth was different.
Cheon Seoyoon had choked because of the name Lee Daeho had mentioned.
The moment she heard it, the memory of the Final Stage returned to her......
“Have you calmed down?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine.”
With her face slightly flushed, Cheon Seoyoon firmly shut her mouth and looked down at her right hand.
***
At one time, Cheon Seoyoon had wanted to become the pride of the Thunderforce Cheon Family.
“Seoyoon, do you know why we bear the surname Cheon?”
“Hmm. No.”
“The Azure Heavens. It is because our home lies above that sky.”
“Woooow. Really?”
“Yes. So live with pride. You must not become a sky to be ashamed of.”
The uncle who had especially doted on her was the perfect ideal of the Thunderforce Cheon Family.
Dignified yet refined features.
Skill that did not fall short even when compared to her father, the family head.
And a kind, upright personality that always looked after her in place of her busy father.
Young Cheon Seoyoon had promised herself again and again that she wanted to become someone like him......
But that man killed her father.
On the day of her thirteenth birthday......
After that day, the sky was no longer something to look up at, but something that had to be brought down.
She lived with relentless determination.
Dreaming of a pure revenge she could achieve solely through her own power, she rejected both the Thunderforce that the Cheon Family boasted of and every other form of support.
She desperately saved money, learned to curse instead of learning refinement, and strove to become a tenacious Taehak cadet rather than a young lady of a prestigious family.
As if it were more than just a resolve, there had not been a single day when she had failed to do her best.
What are you talking about? If I kill that spider bastard, I will definitely take first place. If you are scared, you are the one who should back down.
But that reckless temperament of hers was the problem.
The Final Stage Conquest Battle, which she had entered with firm resolve, and then the sudden encounter with the Queen.
SQUELCH.
And the shoulder that had been pierced when she charged in without thinking.
No matter how resilient she was, poison rendered it useless, and she could only fall helplessly.
She tried to draw up mana somehow, but her body would not obey her.
I haven’t even flapped my wings properly once yet......
Cheon Seoyoon found herself unbearably resentful of her own foolishness.
GRAB.
It was then that, instead of the cold, hard floor, she was caught in someone’s arms.
She quickly realized the situation.
That irritating bastard who had made the worst possible first impression. Park Hayul, whom she had thought had nothing to boast of but the renown of his family, had shaken off the Queen and saved her.
It was a situation she could not understand at all, but as the pain intensified, she quickly forgot even that.
Instead......
*Hey, ge…t a hold of yourself….*
*Someone will come soon, so hold on just a… little longer......*
*I told you... why did you mo…ve on your own and make such a… mess of things.*
*At le…ast, do not resemble tha…t damned face......*
*Po…wer…*
Amid her fading consciousness, she had heard that voice.
She did not know whom he said she resembled, but the sincerity behind his words came through clearly.
*Sorry... just cooperate wi…th me. To deal with the Queen... there is no other wa…y.*
He had always acted so mean toward her......
Even if Park Hayul had given up and waited, what could she have said?
But why......?
That was as far as Cheon Seoyoon remembered.
Then the back of her right hand suddenly burned, and a languid sensation like the midday sun seeped in. She finally let go of the thread of consciousness she had barely been holding onto.