Episode 5: The Hero and the Ordinary/Not Ordinary

 

“Oh, Seolhwa, you’re here?”

Yun Seongho greeted her in the living room just as he had welcomed me earlier.

However, what returned to Yun Seongho, who had treated her warmly, was…

 

 

“Get lost. Don’t show me that disgusting face of yours.”

Her reply was quite cold.

The woman ignored Yun Seongho with an intimidatingly low voice as she turned her head to search for something. Behind her, a young woman who appeared to be a healing-type hero followed, holding a staff.

“Looking for Se-ah?”

“If you know, say it quickly. Before I freeze that mouth of yours.”

“Oh my, what a shame.”

-Crackle…!

In an instant, the cold energy emanating from Lee Seolhwa’s body began to slowly freeze the floor of the house.

 

Information

Name: Lee Seolhwa

Age: 22

Alignment: Good

Skill List

Icicle (S)

The most powerful ice-type ability

Magic Amplification (S)

Greatly enhances the power of magic attacks

Stats

Strength: A+

Defense: B

Magic: S

Stamina: A

Agility: A-

Luck: B+

 

‘Incredible. Truly befitting a top-tier A-rank hero.’

As expected, Lee Seolhwa, who would later become an S-rank, possessed formidable abilities.

‘By the way… Did she come looking for me?’

“Tell me now. Where is Se-ah?”

“……Turn around and see for yourself.”

‘Yun Seongho, that bastard…?’

I had just stepped out into the hallway to check the situation, and he immediately snitched on me.

“…Se-ah!”

But as if that didn’t matter, Lee Seolhwa flew toward me in an instant.

‘Ah, it’d be troublesome if I get dragged away here.’

Other than saying something to shoo her away, I had no real way to handle this. If I used my Hypnotic Evil Eye here, Yun Seongho might notice.

“Why did you come looking for me?”

“What kind of question is that? I came to take you back…”

“……I don’t want to. This is my home.”

“………”

When I looked at her with an expression asking why she had come, Lee Seolhwa’s face stiffened momentarily, and she instinctively turned to Yun Seongho.

-Crash!

“Release the hypnosis.”

“Hmm… I haven’t done anything, though?”

As I stood still, Lee Seolhwa, who seemed to believe I was under Yun Seongho’s brainwashing, hurled an ice spear so close that it grazed his cheek. As a result, a trickle of blood seeped from one side of Yun Seongho’s face, and the house began to grow so cold that his breath became visible.

‘Serves him right.’

“Se-ah, snap out of it. You’re being deceived by that man.”

‘Anyway… this is annoying.’

Lee Seolhwa kept shaking my shoulders, telling me to snap out of it, which was incredibly irritating.

-Tap tap tap!

“Seolhwa-ssi! What are you doing all of a sudden?!”

Meanwhile, the healer she had brought along seemed to realize something was wrong and tried to stop Lee Seolhwa while panting heavily.

‘Of course. From her perspective, barging into someone’s house and suddenly demanding to use a purification spell on someone must seem outrageous.’

“You came just in time! Quickly, cast a purification spell on this child…!”

“You know that’s not possible! The purification spell is still in the testing phase-it requires the subject’s consent, and if that’s not possible, we need permission from a guardian…”

“I’m this child’s guardian, so hurry up and…”

“Wait, that’s not right, Seolhwa.”

Just as Lee Seolhwa was about to force the purification spell on me, Yun Seongho and his bodyguards suddenly appeared and blocked her path.

If it were just one person, I could have slipped away in an instant… but I was here too, and overcoming the numerical disadvantage would be impossible.

‘Even if Yun Seongho is only upper C-rank, most of his bodyguards are B-rank or higher.’

Breaking through in one go would be difficult. And getting out without getting hurt while I’m right here would be outright impossible.

“Se-ah! It won’t hurt, so please…!”

As five bodyguards firmly restrained Lee Seolhwa, she looked at me with desperate eyes, pleading for me to accept the purification spell.

‘…I have to avoid this.’

Lee Seolhwa was a hero-a character who would later be of great help to the protagonist’s party.

And such a figure must not be tainted.

Who would ever think of including a murderer as part of the protagonist’s party?

‘I just wish she’d leave… but is there a way?’

After thinking for a moment, I came up with a good idea.

“…You say that, but you poured boiling water on my head, didn’t you?”

“………..!!”

It was a strategy to dig up the memories of Lee Seolhwa’s abuse from my mind and trigger her trauma.

‘Please take the bait and leave.’

“What right do you have to call yourself my guardian?”

With each word I spoke, Lee Seolhwa’s body began to tremble slightly.

“You said trash like me deserved this, didn’t you? When you dumped food waste on my face, I endured it. When you beat me under the guise of training, I gritted my teeth and bore it. Do you know why? Because you were the successor of Yuseong Group, trusted by Father.”

“…………….Se-…”

“Of course, I thought you’d take on the role of guild master for Yuseong Guild, which Yuseong Group was planning to establish. That’s why I endured. Because if someone like me, with mediocre abilities, complained about how hard it was, Father would have just told me to shut up.”

“……”

“The moment you changed your surname and ran away with your bags packed, you lost any right to say anything to me.”

“Th-that’s…”

“What, did you get jealous when it looked like I might inherit Yuseong?”

That last remark seemed to be the final blow-Lee Seolhwa’s pupils shook violently.

“Seolhwa-ssi, what is all this…?”

‘As expected, the person in the back knew nothing.’

Good, now was the time to deliver the final blow.

‘I can’t afford to get entangled with a hero like Lee Seolhwa…’

“Get out. Never show me that disgusting face of yours again.”

As I said this, I moved toward the railing. Just a little more, and I would fall-precariously close.

“Miss! That’s dangerous…!”

I even used the brainwashed driver to further escalate the tension of the situation.

“Se-ah! What are you doing there…!”

“Long time no see. Back then, you pushed me from this exact spot to see if my natural healing ability worked, didn’t you?”

From Yun Se-ah’s memories, Yoon Seolhwa was a deeply twisted person.

She worked hard to earn her father’s recognition, but late at night, he would always take Yun Se-ah, not her, down to some underground place.

No matter how much she asked why they went down there, he would only make excuses like “It’s for Se-ah’s training.” So, Lee Seolhwa grew jealous.

It must have disgusted her that her father paid attention to such an inferior being.

‘Yun Seongho’s brainwashing probably played a part too.’

In any case, that’s why she treated Yun Se-ah even more harshly.

They say even the unfavored child gets an extra rice cake, but Yun Se-ah was so starved for her parents’ attention, trust, and love that she couldn’t even tolerate that.

She was used to isolating and breaking her rivals to earn her parents’ approval. Coincidentally, Lee Seolhwa was strong, and Yun Se-ah was pathetically weak-an easy target.

Stabbed with a fork, beaten without respite, doused with food waste…

And among all the torment, what Yun Se-ah found most painful was… this. Being pushed off the railing.

‘From what I remember, she enjoyed watching my body writhe as my neck bones healed, saying it suited me, right?’

That’s what I recalled her saying.

As I leaned against the railing, a strange sense of weightlessness began to take over.

“N-no…!”

“Go back. This is a place outsiders shouldn’t be. If you’ve returned to Yuseong after casually pushing me off here before… I won’t say anything about you staying. But if not… then leave. If you don’t want to see me fall.”

…

…

…

Fortunately, I didn’t end up falling.

“Ugh, huff, ugh…”

“Seolhwa-ssi, you’re hyperventilating! Look at me and take deep breaths…!”

That’s because Lee Seolhwa collapsed after hyperventilating violently.

After that, I didn’t know what happened to her. I used telekinesis to float slightly and flew over to Yun Seongho.

“Father, I’m sorry for showing you such an embarrassing scene.”

“It’s fine. Thanks to you, we got rid of one troublesome guest, so I should be grateful.”

That was the conversation we had over dinner. According to the brainwashed bodyguard I had planted, she fainted immediately and was carried out by the healer, but even as she left, she kept muttering my name.

‘…After tormenting her like that, did she think I’d just forgive her if she apologized now?’

Players of the game or I might see Lee Seolhwa as just a charming A-rank hero, but how filthy must Yun Se-ah have felt?

Her sister, who had tormented her to the brink of death, ran away from home and became a great hero, while she remained a lab rat.

No matter the circumstances, the things she did to Yun Se-ah wouldn’t just disappear.

‘If it had been done to me, maybe…’

Yun Se-ah, who was already gone, couldn’t forgive her. But what right did I have to accept Lee Seolhwa’s apology on behalf of the suffering Yun Se-ah?

‘That’s why it’s better to just help the protagonist grow.’

The path I’m walking isn’t one that suits someone like her.