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Chapter 34: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

       Chapter 34




Yoon Si-woo wandered the streets instead of heading home immediately after school.


He had a lot on his mind after what he saw during lunch and decided to clear his head with a walk.


Last week, Sylvia and he had an argument about Scarlet.


Sylvia had claimed she never considered Scarlet a friend, and the Sword of Truth had confirmed it was the truth, so Yoon Si-woo had assumed she wouldn't get close to Scarlet anytime soon.


For a few days, it seemed Sylvia was keeping her distance from Scarlet, but today, for some reason, she sat next to Scarlet during lunch.


At first, he thought she might be up to something malicious towards Scarlet due to their previous argument.


But what Sylvia said was completely unexpected.


She called Scarlet her friend and smiled.


If she had said it to deceive Scarlet, Yoon Si-woo might have gotten angry.


However, the Sword of Truth confirmed that Sylvia genuinely considered Scarlet a friend.


He didn't know if Sylvia had a change of heart in the past few days or if something happened that he was unaware of, but the two certainly looked like friends.


Scarlet gave something to Sylvia again today.


Sylvia accepted it with a slightly awkward yet happy expression, seemingly unaware of anything.


If Sylvia truly thought of Scarlet as a friend, she wouldn’t have acted so casually if she knew Scarlet’s circumstances and how she earned her money.


Yoon Si-woo considered whether he should tell Sylvia what he knew, but it wasn’t something he could just share with everyone, and he remembered Scarlet asking him not to interfere, so he stayed silent.


If Scarlet was content with her current situation, meddling might only hurt her more.


As he sighed and walked, a dilapidated building that looked like it could collapse at any moment came into view.


It was the building Scarlet lived in, where he had been before.


He remembered the murky taste of the tap water she had offered him that day and felt a pang of sadness.


Just then, he saw the door of the third room on the left on the second floor open.


“I couldn’t put much in it, so use it as pocket money. I'll be going now.”


A man's voice came from beyond the open door.


Yoon Si-woo couldn't see clearly because of the door, but from what he heard, it seemed the man was giving Scarlet money.


The door closed.


A middle-aged man with shaggy hair came out of her room.


Hadn’t she said she had no family?


Then who was this man?


He recalled seeing her with a similarly aged man entering a motel.


Pocket money, middle-aged man.


Could it be that she was doing such things even at home?


Only bad thoughts came to mind, making it hard to breathe.


The man left her room and was heading down the stairs when Yoon Si-woo, almost involuntarily, ran over and grabbed him, speaking in a rough voice.


“What’s your relationship with Scarlet?”


The man turned around, looking slightly annoyed at being grabbed.


He looked Yoon Si-woo up and down, then asked in return.


“What, you know Scarlet? Judging by your uniform, you must be an Academy student.”


Expecting a confrontation, Yoon Si-woo was surprised by the man's friendly tone, and his anger cooled.


If he had been caught doing something inappropriate, the man wouldn’t have reacted like this.


Maybe he had jumped to conclusions, so he answered cautiously.


“We’re in the same class.”


“Oh, really? How is she doing at school? Made any friends?”


The man's face lit up at Yoon Si-woo’s response, confirming that he had misunderstood the situation.


Even without family, it’s not like she wouldn’t know anyone.


Blaming himself for almost branding an innocent man as a scumbag, Yoon Si-woo replied.


“She seems to be doing well. She has friends she eats with…”


“She has friends? I thought she’d be silent and expressionless even at school, but that’s a relief. Please stay close to her. I’m asking you.”


Relieved by the man's reaction and the Sword of Truth confirming his sincerity, Yoon Si-woo felt reassured that this man genuinely cared for Scarlet.


He still didn’t know the exact relationship between them, but it was comforting to know there was someone who thought of her.


Then, the man suddenly asked Yoon Si-woo a surprising question.


“…Do you like Scarlet?”


Yoon Si-woo was startled and took a sharp breath.


Had it been that obvious even to someone he just met?


His face flushed with embarrassment.


The man, understanding, sighed.


“Ha, I could tell. I know it might sound strange asking you to stay close to her, but saying this… I think you might end up getting hurt if you continue.”


Looking at Yoon Si-woo with pity, the man continued.


“I can’t give you the details, but for your sake, don’t get too attached to Scarlet. You might regret it later. It’s better for you to stop.”


The man’s voice was calm, but he looked sad.


After saying that, he turned and walked away, leaving Yoon Si-woo with his enigmatic words.


The Sword of Truth confirmed that it was true: it was better for me not to give my heart to Scarlet.


Though I was curious about the meaning behind those words, I didn’t want to follow the man and ask.


‘Don’t pay any more attention to me.’


She had said that to me before, and I had tried to stop liking her.


I had made efforts to divert my feelings since then.


However, even if someday I might struggle because I like her, as the man had suggested,


it was already impossible for Yoon Si-woo to undo these feelings.


*


When I arrived at school early in the morning, I was surprised to see a lot of construction materials already piled up in front of the gymnasium.


In the normal world, construction would take some time, but in a place with magic and superpowers, it would be completed much faster.


It looked like it would be finished in time.


It was the right decision to ask Eve.


As I stared at the gymnasium, lost in thought, I sensed someone behind me.


It was the history teacher.


“They’re building a door in case the barrier is breached and monsters invade. Some teachers say it’s a waste, but I don’t think so. It’s important to prepare for any eventuality, especially when lives are at stake.”


The history teacher spoke as he gazed at the materials in front of the gym, his prosthetic arms crossed.


When someone who looked like a seasoned warrior spoke, it had an undeniable persuasiveness.


His prosthetic arms looked rough but moved naturally as he crossed them.


I must have stared too intently out of curiosity because the history teacher chuckled, uncrossed his arms, and opened and closed his fists in front of me.


Though it was rude, I couldn’t help but be fascinated by how smoothly his robotic hands moved, making my heart race.


It was every boy’s dream come true.


Of course, I was in a girl’s body now...


“Doesn’t that arm inconvenience you?”


“Not in daily life. It’s probably sturdier than most people’s arms. But that’s as far as it goes; I can’t fight like I used to. If we had been better prepared, I might not have needed these.”


The history teacher looked at his prosthetic arms with a distant gaze.


To be precise, he looked at the prosthetic that replaced his arm.


He stared at his cold, bloodless hand for a while before turning his gaze back to me.


“Do you know what I think about every night when I see these before I fall asleep?”


I shook my head.


The history teacher answered in a sad voice.


“I always regret why it happened.”


It was understandable to have such thoughts if one ended up like that out of necessity.


Even someone who seemed as strong-willed as the history teacher was still human.


As I thought that, his unexpected answer reached my ears.


“I regret that I didn’t fight until I lost my other leg too. What’s a single leg compared to the fear of losing it? If I had just pushed through, I wouldn’t have had to replace it with a prosthetic. I sometimes wish I had a hundred limbs.”


The teacher looked at his remaining right leg with regret, then added a light-hearted comment, probably for my sake.


“When you’ve been a teacher long enough, you can tell what kind of person a student is just by looking at them. That’s why I’m giving you advice.”


The teacher’s eyes were full of concern as he looked directly at me.


In a serious tone, he said.


“Don’t do things you’ll regret later.”


With those words, the teacher walked into the building.


After he left, I quietly stared at the gymnasium for a while before heading to the classroom.




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Comments

  1. Yoon Si-woo’s attraction to Scarlet is so forced, I much prefer Sylvia being with Scarlet as it makes a lot more sense nhá»›
    Well we’ll just have to wait for the author to cook

    Thanks for the chapter !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Uhm, the guy kind of contradicted himself there.
    Either you tell to stay close or opposite.
    In any case, i would prefer that stalker to stay out of sight.
    A least he does realize that meddling is worse...
    I agree to what the other commenter said, i does feel forced.
    Not just the chance encounters, but also the fact that he can't let it go even a bit after MC's crystal clear rejection.
    I mean' it CAN happen, but, it's not common to be this fixated on someone that you don't know basically anything about and also wants nothing to do with you.
    I would expect to see MC liking Sylvia in the future than that.
    Changing bodies doesn't mean one's tastes change and MC's already smitten by her beauty, after all.
    I wouldn't mind it if MC doesn't end with anyone either.
    Considering that MC doesn't feel like part of that world, it would make sense that forming a deep relationship with someone isn't easy.
    That makes me circle back to the man before though.
    There must be a reason for saying what he said.
    Since this story gets dark sometimes, there's quite a bit of reasons i can think of, so i'm really curious.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I guess unknowingly scarlet was the monster or made into one?

    ReplyDelete

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