episode_0035

035

After lunchtime ended,

I was making my way towards the group combat training room for the next class.

“….”

“….”

Step by step.

The sound of my and Soyeon’s footsteps echoed in my ears.

Soyeon was walking silently beside me.

She’s unusually quiet today.

Normally, she would be chattering away.

I sneak a glance at her.

I see her with her cute lips pursed.

She seems to have something to say as she sneakily looks at me.

When our eyes meet unexpectedly, she shrugs her shoulders.

After blinking a few times, she looks away.

As if pretending we didn’t make eye contact, she looks elsewhere.

I smile inwardly.

What’s up with her?

Can’t believe it, really.

“What have you been up to since earlier?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Soyeon awkwardly twirls her hair and avoids eye contact, but I continue.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Did I give it away?”

“Yeah, you keep glancing at me, it’s obvious.”

“I guess so.”

Soyeon gently scratches her cheek with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Hey, Jinhuk.”

Soyeon hesitates for a moment, then carefully opens her mouth.

“By any chance….”

She quickly glances around at the other kids.

Some kids are laughing and chatting, forming groups and heading towards the training room.

Yi Siwoon and Yoo Seolhyun are surrounded by other kids, answering questions as usual, so they seem too busy to pay attention to us.

Since we are walking a bit apart from them, speaking in a low voice might not be heard by others.

Soyeon seems to have realized this and turns back to me, starting to speak.

“…What do you think if Yoo Seolhyun is interested in you?”

“What?”

I was about to ask what she meant, but what kind of nonsense is this?

Soyeon’s sudden question leaves me blinking in confusion, and I stare at her as if I can’t understand.

With a wry smile, Soyeon coughs a few times and adds.

“No, I mean, you seemed interested in Yoo Seolhyun too… If Yoo Seolhyun is interested in you…”

“Soyeon.”

“Huh, yeah?”

“What did you hear from Yoo Seolhyun?”

“Uh, well, um….”

Soyeon’s lips twitch a few times with a moment of confusion, then she falls silent.

From her reaction, it seemed like she heard something strange from Yoo Seolhyun before the ceremony time.

What, Yoo Seolhyun just said something weird as a joke. Anyway, her mischievous personality never changes.

“Yoo Seolhyun said she might be interested in me?”

“….A little?”

I chuckle.

“Do you really believe that kind of talk? Yoo Seolhyun wouldn’t like me.”

“But you two seem to be hanging out a lot these days.”

“Huh? Are you jealous?”

“Stop, stop with the weird talk, seriously.”

Soyeon furrows her brows and pouts, and I smile inwardly.

Jealousy, jealousy….

Well, I can do that enough.

“If I were in Jin Soyeon’s shoes, would I feel a bit disappointed or jealous?”

Because her close friend, who she always hung out with, suddenly started making excuses and not hanging out with her, while secretly hanging out with other girls.

On top of that, Jin Soyeon and Yoo Seolhyun don’t get along well.

If someone she doesn’t get along with and her close friend develop a subtle relationship, she might feel a bit uneasy.

Therefore, Jin Soyeon might feel a bit awkward about me and Yoo Seolhyun becoming close.

“…Of course, that’s not the only reason, right?”

In terms of character setting, Jin Soyeon secretly likes me.

Because of the vague modifier ‘secretly’, it’s hard to know how much and in what way Jin Soyeon thinks of me.

“What exactly did Yoo Seolhyun say?”

“Oh, just… something…”

Glancing at me once, Jin Soyeon slowly continued speaking.

“…She’s a bit interested in you.”

“Really? Well, she might have some interest.”

I replied nonchalantly.

“Since the performance evaluation, she seemed interested in my strategic planning and tactical abilities. She even helped a bit during the dungeon conquest.”

“Oh, the dungeon conquest…”

Jin Soyeon seemed to be thinking about something, lowering her head for a moment.

“Yoo Seolhyun did mention that she received a lot of help from you… It’s strange, you being so helpful among the pro heroes.”

“Even so, I’m pretty strong in terms of theory and tactical abilities, right?”

“Theory and tactics…”

Seemingly disappointed, Jin Soyeon pondered over my words and suddenly raised her head, looking straight at me.

“…Is there perhaps another reason?”

“Another reason? Well…”

As I casually answered, Jin Soyeon hesitated for a moment and then gave a wry smile.

“Well, if there isn’t, then it’s fine, forget it.”

“Leaving that aside, Soyeon… Hm?”

Thud.

A sound of someone falling was heard.

“Huh?”

“What’s that?”

As Jin Soyeon and I turned our heads in confusion, we could see a girl lying a little further away, with papers and textbooks scattered around her due to the fall.

“…Oh? It’s her.”

I hesitated for a moment.

It was a familiar figure.

Pink hair that reached down to her collarbone.

Eyes reminiscent of deep sea waves.

Long, fluttering eyelashes.

A gentle face and a carefree expression.

A large pouch hanging from her waist.

“…Roxanne.”

Roxanne Han.

A mixed-race girl with the surname Han.

An orphan who lost her parents but was adopted by the priest Han Sungwon and is currently active as a nun at the Noon Church.

She was a character that was popular among many men who played the game.

With a clean and pure heart, beautiful appearance, and the setting of being one of the candidates for saintess, as well as being one of the prominent characters in the fantasy subculture genre.

Her stats were also considerable, and she was one of the playable characters that you had to recruit without fail due to her excellence.

If not a man, one couldn’t help but be interested in her character…

“…I shouldn’t get involved with her.”

I was quite reluctant to get involved with Roxanne.

Because getting involved with Roxanne would be very dangerous.

“Cough, cough. Are you okay?”

“Oh, I should have looked where I was going, right?”

“Oh my? All my stuff is scattered. What’s this?”

The laughter of nearby girls rang in my ears.

There were about six girls giggling.

They seemed to be Roxanne’s classmates.

“…”

Roksan looked up with a relaxed expression and gazed at the girls.

After briefly observing the girls with a carefree expression, Roksan silently began picking up the bait without any complaints or grievances.

Although it was clear that one of the girls had tripped and fallen, Roksan seemed disinterested.

“Oh, I want to help, but I’m short on time. Shall we go ahead?”

“Do we need to hurry?”

The girls hesitated for a moment before starting to move.

That’s when our female protagonist, Jin Soyeon, couldn’t just stand by and watch. She furrowed her brows, unable to ignore the situation.

With her typical nonchalant attitude, she couldn’t just stand by and watch like the typical hero of a boy’s love comic.

Well, that’s just Soyeon being Soyeon.

But she couldn’t afford to get into unnecessary trouble with those girls.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

I quickly placed my hand on Soyeon’s shoulder.

Soyeon flinched and turned her head, giving me a questioning look.

“Soyeon.”

“….”

I shook my head slowly and gestured towards Roksan, who was picking up the bait.

Soyeon glanced at the scene for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“Okay, I get it.”

She seemed to realize that causing trouble with those girls would only make things difficult for Roksan.

I turned to the girls who were staring at us with disapproval and said, “Sorry, it’s nothing, you can go.”

“Tsk.”

The girls clicked their tongues in annoyance, but knowing there was no point in fighting in the hallway, they reluctantly backed off.

I quietly watched them leave before turning my gaze back.

Soyeon was already helping pick up the bait that was scattered.

I also moved to help pick up the bait and textbooks.

Roksan watched us with a calm expression, then pursed her lips.

“Thank you for helping.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s nothing.”

Roksan expressed her gratitude with a clear and innocent voice, but there was a hint of sharpness in it.

Soyeon smiled as if it was nothing and waved her hand.

I just watched them quietly.

“But there’s really no need for you to help me.”

“Huh?”

Roksan warned us as she accepted the bait we handed her, but Soyeon just shrugged as if she didn’t understand.

“Is it because of those girls?”

Soyeon furrowed her brows slightly and gestured towards where the girls had gone earlier.

But Roksan didn’t say anything more and just bowed her head before saying goodbye.

“No, don’t worry about it. I’ll be on my way then.”

“Huh? Oh, uh.”

Unable to say anything more to Roksan, who clearly indicated her refusal, Soyeon nodded her head once.

Roksan glanced briefly in my direction before bowing her head and then walked away after putting the bait and textbooks in a box.

She disappeared into the distance with a faint pink hue swaying, and Soyeon watched her quietly, letting out a deep sigh.

“Ugh, seriously.”

She ruffled her hair as if feeling uneasy.

“Are they aspiring heroes? Such foolish torment.”

If it was just a little teasing, it would be fine, but what Roksan was going through was beyond mere teasing or bullying.

“I want to help, but…”

“Soyeon, we’re going to be late for class. Let’s go.”

“Oh? Yeah, let’s go.”

In Class 1-3 where Roksanne is enrolled, there is a candidate for saint and a villain, Seong Yura.

Already, Seong Yura had a tight grip on Class 1-3, so there would be no trainee in Class 3 who could dare to oppose her.

That’s because Seong Yura was no ordinary person.

Taking advantage of being selected as a saint candidate at a young age, Seong Yura repeated all sorts of misconduct and corruption to expand her influence.

She led a faction within the Central Church and wielded considerable influence.

By now, she was bribing and lobbying various companies, wealthy individuals, or penholders and gold badge holders.

Already a great evil, one could say.

Seong Yura had been jealous, envious, resentful, and obsessed with Roksanne, who was also a saint candidate like her, since ancient times.

Roksanne, who had grown up in a similarly miserable environment as an orphan but had honed her noble character and talents without straying from the path.

Roksanne, who never harbored hatred towards her environment or people, was an ideal that Seong Yura could never reach or become.

The twisted attachment and desire born from lost ideals and admiration had made Seong Yura what she was now.

Therefore, Seong Yura harbored a setting that she not only tormented Roksanne but also wanted to degrade her spirit and character, ultimately turning her into evil.

The decisive reason why Seong Yura entered the Union was Roksanne.

“In the setting, even if you are selected as a saint candidate, you should not disclose it externally, nor should you abuse your position.”

Already, Seong Yura and some other saint candidates had freely wielded their power and positions to gain benefits and expand their influence.

The only person who followed the kekke doctrine was Roksanne.

That’s why Roksanne, one of the saint candidates, could be subjected to such torment.

Roksanne had hidden her status as a saint candidate, had not requested help from the outside, had not created any particular power or faction, and had thoroughly rejected support and sponsorship from both inside and outside.

As a result, she could only be isolated.

Just as fish cannot live in clean water.

“Come to think of it, Roksanne is about to embark on the ‘Path of Atonement’ soon.”

Originally, saint candidates had to endure long hardships and trials with determination if they carried out their mission.

Therefore, saint candidates had to go through difficult and arduous trials at regular intervals, offer prayers at a specific location, and this act was collectively called the Path of Atonement.

Of course, I didn’t care much about where Roksanne went to pray during the game.

“Anyway, if I get involved with Roksanne, there’s a high chance of incurring Seong Yura’s wrath, so I should be careful not to get involved.”

Seong Yura was a mentally unstable person and a typical villain.

If necessary, she would not hesitate to use any means or methods and had a considerable number of villains under her command, so if you crossed her, you could simply lose your life.

She even used assassins.

Originally, it would be in the later part of the story that you could deal with such a villain.

Making a fuss in the early stages like this was no different from hitting a rock with an egg.

“If I leave Roksanne alone like this, she will eventually be tainted by evil.”

The episode of the saint’s corruption that appears in the later part.

After enduring Seong Yura’s continuous torment, Roksanne loses everyone around her and falls into despair, eventually becoming corrupted.

Corrupted Roksanne, now an evil person, emerges as a powerful enemy blocking the protagonist.

That’s right.

In fact, Seong Yura’s role in the game is to corrupt Roksanne into an evil person.

Seong Yura was nothing more than a mid-boss and a tool to corrupt Roksanu.

“But I can’t stop it even though I know that.”

As mentioned earlier, it’s too dangerous to intervene with Seong Yura right now.

It would be better not to get involved rather than risking getting caught by Seong Yura for no reason.

Later on, after farming various items and recruiting male protagonists as allies, we will be able to deal with her.

So for now, I can only pretend not to see.

“…Still, it feels a bit uncomfortable.”

It was a bit regrettable that a character like Roksanu would eventually fall into corruption and become a villain.

Although I felt a slight sympathy and empathy for her knowing her future but not being able to help, I was more concerned about taking care of myself.

Moreover, the person I should be taking care of is none other than Jin Soyeon.

Let’s not do anything foolish that would put me and Jin Soyeon in danger.

Let’s just ignore Roksanu.

“…Still, I’m sorry, Roksanu.”

I silently apologized to her in my heart and walked away with Jin Soyeon.

I had no intention of resorting to threats for Roksanu.

“Oh, but I hope the items I asked Yuseolhyun for arrive soon. I need to go down to Yookseongsan in Chungnam to farm those items.”

If the items arrive quickly, maybe I can go farming this weekend?

***

Inside a large mansion.

Seong Yura was smiling mysteriously.

“So, Roksanu is leaving for Yookseongsan on a journey of self-discovery?”

“Yes.”

Interesting.

She’s thinking of going back even after the ‘accident’ last time.

Alright, then what kind of ‘accident’ should I cause this time?

No, not an accident, let’s try a more direct attack this time, shall we?