TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 241
‘What do you think?’
Mikhail’s eyes were looking straight at me. With an expression waiting for the truth, Mikhail added one condition and spoke to me.
“Please speak with sincerity.”
“…”
“Without lies, honestly.”
Sincerity, huh.
‘I’m not so sure.’
I couldn’t guess what kind of answer Mikhail wanted to hear. Whether he wanted to hear something nice or something cold, I had no way of knowing.
Two answers came to mind.
One was a negative truth filled with resentment toward the Academy, and the other was a memory of past sorrow.
I emptied my glass and avoided answering. It seemed unlikely that anything good would come out. I didn’t want to ruin the good atmosphere.
“Why are you asking that?”
I tapped the desk and asked Mikhail. Wondering why he was asking such a thing.
I honestly couldn’t understand why someone who said they wanted to learn swordsmanship from me would expose their vulnerabilities like that.
Normally, it would be typical to ask what someone thought about themselves.
“Today’s date has nothing to do with Mikhail, so I don’t see why you’re suddenly asking about Mikhail.”
“…”
“It hurts a little, you know. I worked hard thinking we were on a date. I even spent a lot of money….”
“That’s not it. I was just curious.”
“Hmm…”
I let out a deep sigh and nodded toward her. Since she said she wanted to hear it, I thought I should tell her.
Honestly.
And with a slight touch of falsehood that she could understand, I spoke to her.
“Unrequited love.”
“What kind of… love?”
“Unrequited love. A love where only one side likes the other.”
Mikhail furrowed her brows and leaned her head closer. With a puzzled expression, she tilted her head as if trying to confirm what she had heard.
I waved my hand toward Mikhail to clear up any misunderstandings. Even though I said ‘unrequited love,’ I thought there was plenty of room for misinterpretation.
“I don’t mean I truly like you. It’s more accurate to say it’s a love-hate relationship.”
“…Love-hate?”
“As an Academy Mate, I think Mikhail is admirable and amazing, but Mikhail and I had very different perspectives.”
“…”
“I’m someone who believes in avoiding losses even if it harms others, whereas Mikhail is someone who insists on suffering losses to uphold justice.”
“Because that’s the right thing to do.”
I nodded in agreement to her rebuttal.
“You’re right.”
After all, I was someone who dreamed of being a Hero when I was younger. I could fully understand being stubborn about justice and making it a goal.
Still.
“There’s a limit to everything.”
Mikhail clenched her fist and looked straight at me. I couldn’t tell whether it was the alcohol rising or if my answer had touched Mikhail’s Reverse Scale, but she looked at me intently and asked again.
“What is the limit?”
“Pardon?”
“What rhythm should I follow to be right?”
“…”
“You told me, didn’t you? You asked if I had heard the rumors about you at the Academy.”
“…”
“Yes, I heard them. I heard them in great detail.”
“What did you hear?”
I quietly asked Mikhail in a soft voice. I had a rough idea of what he had heard and what he was thinking.
“You…!”
“Yes.”
Faced with my unwavering gaze, Mikhail’s lips paused like a comma. After a moment of short silence and a deep breath filled with rising resentment, she carefully opened her mouth and spoke to me.
“I heard you were a Troublemaker at the Academy.”
“…”
“That you broke all the Academy’s property, used Violence against students, and even fostered bullying.”
“That’s correct.”
“What?”
“Could you tell me more?”
Mikhail bit her lip and stopped speaking at my shameless request to hear more slander. Her trembling was visible between the tightly clenched fist holding her Liquor Glass.
I nodded toward Mikhail. It was an undeniable truth. If asked to name the Victims, I might stammer, but I could name them.
However.
“Secret Girl.”
I had my limits too.
“What do you think Justice is, Secret Girl?”
“…”
“Living kindly even if it means taking losses?”
“…”
“Forgiving Villains?”
“…”
“Perhaps those actions are right and lead to good Outcomes, but even Antagonists have their own stories. Especially since Mikhail always held me to strict standards.”
“That’s because you never changed….”
“Exactly. Because I’m not someone who changes easily, you disliked me.”
I let out a short sigh and posed another question to her. How do you, who defend Mikhail, want to live?
“So, Secret Girl, do you want to live a life forgiving your Nemesis and being Betrayed like Mikhail? Or do you want to live selfishly like me?”
“I wasn’t Betrayed. Everyone changed and started living kindly again.”
“Hmm… Then why am I always the one being Betrayed? Even at the Academy, I was stabbed by people I showed kindness to and got caught up in things I didn’t even do, receiving Disciplinary Action.”
“…”
“I think I showed kindness in my own way, just like Mikhail. So does that mean I’m not Just?”
Mikhail pressed her lips tightly together.
I smiled faintly at Mikhail, trying to lift the heavy mood. I hadn’t brought this up to start a fight.
“I don’t like living like a Push-Over, so I act like this. Prickly like a Hedgehog, biting like a Mad Dog. I’m not saying Mikhail is wrong.”
“…But the wrongdoings are yours.”
“That’s true.”
I nodded cheerfully, agreeing with Mikhail’s interrogation.
“It’s true that it’s my fault.”
However.
“Even though there are people who cry and feel sorrow because of me, there are also people somewhere who smile because of me. Isn’t that a form of Justice in its own way? Just like how the Young Lady I serve became a proper person.”
“That’s selfish.”
“I know. That’s why I was expelled from the Academy.”
I smiled faintly, trying to lift the heavy mood.
“It must be because I come from a humble background.”
“A humble background?”
“Yes.”
I smiled faintly and looked at Mikhail.
“I may look refined, but I’ve had a rough life. Believe it or not, I’m of Slum Origin.”
At the word ‘Slum,’ Mikhail widened her eyes and clenched her fist like a child eager to ask a question.
Mikhail looked at me and spoke in a heavy Voice filled with Emotions.
“Which Slum are you from?”
I smiled faintly and answered the secretive her.
“That’s a Secret.”
“…Then.”
Mikhail’s lips quivered as he spoke to me in a trembling voice.
“Do you know someone named Lee Minhyuk?”
“…”
[A Restriction is Applied.]
I shook my head toward Mikhail with a Bitter Smile.
“I don’t know.”
“…Then at least tell me since when you’ve been living.”
“That’s a Secret too. I’m someone with many Secrets.”
I took a sip from my Liquor Glass and spoke a slightly honest thought. The liquor was good, the snacks were good, and there was an old Memory in front of me. Her pretty face was just a bonus.
“You asked me what I think about Mikhail, right?”
“…”
“It’s the same as Secret Girl.”
I think he’s a good person.
“I don’t dislike him.”
*
Mikhail was walking down the Street with her head lowered.
1. Show Ricardo your Original Form. (1/1)
2. Go on a Date with Ricardo. (1/1)
3. Hear Ricardo’s True Feelings. (0/1)
There was no result.
Mikhail, dressed in a White Dress, walked weakly toward the Alleyway where her School Uniform was hidden.
‘True Feelings.’
She didn’t hear them.
Mikhail clenched her Fist, realizing that what she thought was Ricardo’s True Feelings about her was actually the wrong answer.
‘I tried not to laugh.’
She thought it was enough to show her Original Form to The Man she disliked, but as she walked with Ricardo, laughter kept spilling out.
It was as if he knew her Bucket List and gifted her something she couldn’t normally experience.
Mikhail, who wasn’t someone to laugh easily, hated herself for laughing so much today.
[‘Mikhail’s Favorability with Ricardo: 71 > 80]
└There are 3 hours remaining.
‘I can’t give up like this.’
Mikhail clenched her Fist and swallowed her Resentment under the Dark Alleyway.
‘There won’t be another chance now.’
Lost opportunities don’t return easily. Walking through the Darkness, Mikhail slowly began to disappear into a Secluded Area.
And when she reached an Alleyway with no sign of people.
“Hey, Little Kid.”
The unforgettable Voice of The Man echoed chillingly from the Darkness.
Goosebumps began to rise on Mikhail’s back.
The Voice of The Man she hated the most, the one she wanted to erase from this world immediately, whispered in her ears.
Mikhail froze and slowly turned her head.
And she looked at The Man standing in front of her.
Missing one arm.
A Scar on his eye and a chilling Smile on his face.
The Archbishop of Oblivion.
‘Yung.’
He emerged quietly from the Darkness and greeted Mikhail with a light tap on her shoulder.
“We still have unfinished business, don’t we?”
Mikhail quickly reached for her waist. But when her hand brushed against Empty Space, she gritted her teeth.
‘It’s not here.’
Her sword was missing.
Mikhail clenched her teeth and swallowed her Resentment, realizing too late that she had come without her sword to deceive Ricardo.
Yung pulled a Dagger from his chest and slowly approached Mikhail.
And.
-Stab.
Without resistance, he pierced Mikhail’s abdomen.
Blood flowed.
The unbearable pain painted a Future she could feel in her shoulders.
As Mikhail’s eyes began to close slowly, a ‘Ding’ sound accompanied by an alarm opened them again.
“I was ‘worried’ about leaving you alone, but you found your way back safely.”
-The Quest has been completed.
Ricardo’s Voice shattered the Nightmare.
“I was worried.”