Chapter 49: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 49
It was bewildering.
I never thought that Sylvia would show tears.
Sylvia, clutching the ring she intended to give me with both hands, started crying, her face contorted like a child who didn’t even know how to cry out loud.
Not knowing what to do, I opened Sylvia's hand and took out the ring she was holding.
A ring with a red jewel.
Seeing the inscription inside, guilt flooded over me.
A false relationship I desperately formed to survive by doing nothing.
I no longer intended to remain a bystander, so there was no need to continue pretending to be friends with Sylvia.
However, it seemed impossible to undo this relationship now.
To me, friends were the pillars of my life and those who could console my sorrows.
My fondness for academy-themed stories and nostalgia for school days was because they were precious times when I could meet such friends.
Because the word "friend" held such great meaning for me, I couldn’t consider the false relationship I had with Sylvia for my own goals as true friendship.
Even if Sylvia thought of me differently, our relationship could never be real unless I told her that I approached her with a hidden agenda.
Still, knowing that the truth sometimes causes great pain to someone, I put the ring on my right index finger and said,
“Thank you for the gift. Is Sylvia’s ring inscribed with the same words?”
Sylvia slowly nodded at my words.
“I'm glad you think so.”
I was the one who deceived, and it was also my fault.
So, the weight of the ring on my right hand was something I had to bear.
While enduring the difficulty, I expressed only joy.
When I smiled, Sylvia stopped crying.
Sylvia’s ring was on her left index finger, symbolizing friendship.
My ring was on my right index finger, symbolizing desire and goals.
Nevertheless, both rings were inscribed with the word "friend."
*
“...I had a rough idea from that person, but ha... it’s unsettling.”
After class, I told the kids in the class not to worry, then met Leonor on the way to the cooking club activity in the cafeteria with Mei.
Leonor, upon seeing me, sighed once, tapped my shoulder, and started walking toward the stairs.
The cafeteria is in the opposite direction?
As I stood puzzled, Leonor glanced back and placed her index and middle fingers in front of her lips.
...Aha!
Just then, remembering something, I quickly followed her, with Mei trailing behind us with a bewildered expression.
Up on the rooftop, Leonor and I each lit a magical herb cigarette.
“Do you want one too?”
“No, I'll pass.”
Mei refused Leonor's offer with a very reluctant expression.
It's not bad for your health, so join us.
Well, it was hard to imagine Mei smoking a magical herb cigarette anyway.
I took off the ring on my right hand and lit the magical herb.
It was a bit funny when Leonor lowered her head to light her magical herb from mine as I stretched out my hand.
Even though it was only the third time we smoked together, it seemed so natural.
With the magical herb in my mouth, I inhaled the smoke and saw Leonor making smoke rings beside me.
“Phew... kek... how did you do that?”
“Chuckling, well? I could do it naturally at some point.”
“How long have you been smoking, senior...?”
Leonor laughed at my failed attempt to imitate her, and Mei asked her inquisitively.
Honestly, if she had grabbed a magical herb at her first birthday party, it wouldn’t be surprising.
“Since my mother passed away, so about six years.”
“Ah... oh...”
Mei sank at Leonor’s response, realizing she had stepped on a sensitive subject.
While calming Mei, who turned pale, Leonor said,
“Don't worry about it. It’s an old story. Smoking this has an immediate effect. The reason I still do it is a bit of a habit.”
I stared at Leonor.
What habit? Telling me not to worry while clearly not being fine.
She was indeed a hopelessly kind person.
If the magical herb made one lose their mind to forget hardships, it might have indicated dependency.
But the magical herb's effect was to calm the mind.
Unless Leonor was suffering from hallucinations, smoking it might even make things harder afterward.
The reason people say time heals is that eventually, you realize that accepting it is the only way.
When the mind calms down with the magical herb, it forces you to realize this.
For someone wanting to escape reality, the clarity of mind was brutal.
It forced you to accept it, asking what else you would do.
Yet, despite smoking the magical herb for six years, she continued striving to face her mother's death.
How admirable, knowing how hard it is to accept the death of a loved one.
I cautiously reached out and patted Leonor's back.
She chuckled and then patted my head.
“If you were depressed, I’d offer to counsel you, but it doesn’t seem necessary.”
“Well, I prepared for this, so it doesn’t bother me much.”
When I said that, Leonor began to slowly stroke my head.
“Alright, if things get tough, contact me. You’re always welcome at the cooking club even if it’s just to eat. Don’t skip out, and show your face. I'll make whatever you want to eat.”
The cooking club activity was supposed to end last time.
If half of the first-year students had died and a massacre occurred in the gym, it wouldn’t be a situation for club activities.
But since we protected it, we could do this today.
The smile on Leonor’s face that I protected made me happy.
Because she owed me, I could indulge a little.
To Leonor, who was looking at me in slight surprise, I said playfully,
“Then, is it okay if I come every Friday?”
Leonor widened her eyes and then laughed heartily, ruffling my hair.
“Of course, it’s fine. If our cute junior is coming, I’ll make sure you’re stuffed every time, so be prepared.”
I nodded.
Mei, standing next to me, looked somewhat sulky.
“Come to think of it, Mei, would you exchange phone numbers?”
“Oh? Ah. Sure!”
It wasn’t the same anymore.
*
After the rooftop magical herb time, the cooking club activity officially began.
“I want to make homemade chocolate for dessert. What should we eat before that?”
“Of course, something spicy and salty!”
Hearing Mei's desire to make chocolate, Leonor exclaimed.
Spicy, salty, and sweet is indeed a universal truth in this world too.
For some reason, Mei and Leonor, who seemed to be a bit more excited than usual, took out pots and started cooking.
Since I was officially designated as the one to eat, I sat down and waited for the cooking to finish.
Speaking of homemade chocolate.
I asked Mei, who was cooking.
“Hey Mei, if you need chocolate to make chocolate, why not just eat the original chocolate?”
When I asked that, Mei looked at me with a stern expression.
It seemed like it was something I shouldn’t have asked.
Mei, you’re serious about chocolate...
Quickly apologizing, I quietly waited for the cooking to finish.
When Mei put the melted chocolate into the mold and placed it in the refrigerator, Leonor’s dish was ready.
It was spicy tteokbokki with half-reduced bright red sauce.
The melted, stretchy cheese on top promised it couldn't taste bad.
For some reason, the looks in Leonor and Mei’s eyes were particularly intense today.
It seems like women really love tteokbokki.
I almost wonder if there’s an ingredient in tteokbokki that drives women crazy.
While I was slowly fishing out things like fish cakes instead of rice cakes, the two were working silently but quickly.
Judging by the silent movements when Mei reached out, she must have been using her abilities.
I didn’t notice while eating chicken, but today, eating tteokbokki, I realized anew that heroes are combatants even during meals.
The nerve-wracking showdown between the two over the last remaining egg was more thrilling than the duel between Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia.
The final winner was Leonor, after all.
The person who cooks is the boss, after all.
Mei brought out the chilled, solidified homemade chocolate from the refrigerator for dessert.
When I took a bite of the chocolate Mei had cut, I had to admit homemade chocolate definitely tastes different.
I nodded, and Mei smiled bashfully, seemingly pleased.
Despite there being quite a lot of tteokbokki and chocolate, they were gone in an instant.
Today, it didn’t feel like I ate that much, but it seemed true that women’s stomachs are divided into sections for meals and desserts.
After the enjoyable meal and cleaning up, I said goodbye to the two in front of the school.
Once they were out of sight, I wiped the smile from my face.
The streets were still quiet.
I checked the time on my phone.
7:30 PM.
It was Friday evening, but it was a bit early to make a hasty conclusion.
According to the original story, on the Friday evening of the week the incident occurred in the gymnasium, a protest took place in District 15.
It was a protest where citizens who lost family and friends expressed their anger towards the heroes.
If that was all, it would be fine, but taking advantage of the heroes being dispatched to stop the protest from other districts, the beasts crossed the barrier and attacked the city.
I didn’t know the details of who would die or in which district, but I knew such an event would happen.
I stopped by a discount mart to buy bean sprouts, then went home, washed up, and changed clothes.
Checking the time on my phone, I opened the window.
9:00 PM, the outside still looked calm.
And at 10:00 PM, 11:00 PM,
12:00 AM, Friday turned into Saturday.
Nothing happened.
Now I could be sure.
The future I knew had changed.
Since no one died, there was no protest.
Since no heroes were dispatched, there was no invasion by the beasts.
The future altered by my actions.
Now, I could no longer be certain about the events to come.
Events I knew might not happen, and things I didn’t know could occur.
In the midst of it, there might be a situation where I could die.
But rather than doing nothing and waiting for destruction,
I decided to struggle desperately to save more people.
Although it still looks like a gentle breeze, I hope the end will be a storm.
The butterfly started to flap its remaining wing.
Thank you for the chapter
ReplyDeleteI am a hopeless addict atpðŸ˜ðŸ˜
ReplyDeleteThings may have started for desperation, but...
ReplyDeleteRelationships, same as people, evolve with time and shared memories.
I believe that goes to show us the fact that more like hanging on past mistakes, we should focus on the now.
MC needs anchors, to feel part of that world.
But also because this is a new life, MC needs to find a purpose and the strength to make that true.
Not being alone, caring and being cared for, is important.
And yes, clearly, what MC did changed things drastically overall.
That's something to be happy for.
thanks for the chap!
ReplyDeleteTime to see if it goes for the better or worse
ReplyDeleteFinally a novel where the butterfly effect immediately takes effect !
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter !
She altered the future too much, but it was a well worth decision :)
DeleteThx for the chapter
ReplyDeleteThe imagery of the one winged butterfly hit me really hard
ReplyDeleteStory's picking up, huh? Nice.
ReplyDeleteFun so far. Thanks for the translation, Translator!
How did she take off the ring to smoke with one hand?
ReplyDelete