episode_0030

In front of me, her expression clearly showed disappointment, as if she had misunderstood something.

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– User’s Matching Partner’s Emotional State:

[Disappointment 23%, Disgust 20%, Betrayal 17%, Irritation 15%, Self-pity 10%, Sadness 5%]

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Ah, yes. Thank you for showing up after a long time.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized that I had said something that could be misunderstood by her.

Without giving her a chance to clear up the misunderstanding, she spoke in a voice full of disgust.

“Are you the kind of person who lusts after a woman’s body like that?”

I immediately cut her off and denied it.

“No, no. I just hoped you would show me a little kindness…”

She looked at me with suspicious eyes.

Checking her emotional state once again…

And there it was.

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– User’s Matching Partner’s Emotional State:

[Distrust 99%, Expectation 1%]

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She didn’t trust me at all.

Should I be relieved that she had at least 1% of expectation?

She frowned suddenly and said,

“So, you. You want my kindness, right? So what do you want after receiving my kindness? Do you have someone in the martial arts world you want to kill? Or do you want to inherit my martial arts skills after defeating me in a duel? Or do you want to take advantage of my weakness and take over my body? Stop talking nonsense and tell me what you really want. I don’t believe in kindness without a reason, so it’s better to speak before my mood changes. If my mind changes, you won’t get what you want even if you regret it.”

So, this woman doesn’t want anything from you.

And if you’ve come this far, you won’t say anything even if you have a reason.

“Hurry up.”

As I looked at her urging me, her condition suddenly worsened.

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[User’s Matching Partner Ju Hwarin’s Negative Temperament: Delusion – Persecutory (C) has worsened.]

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[User’s Matching Partner Ju Hwarin’s Negative Temperament: Delusion – Misanthropy (C) has emerged.]

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– User’s Matching Partner’s Emotional State:

[Suspicion 53%, Irritation 47%]

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Hmm… well.

Even though I felt that her reaction to people who betrayed her was a bit extreme, I couldn’t completely understand it.

In that sense, I thought it wouldn’t be so difficult to win her heart.

“No, really.”

I saw the appearance of a wounded wild animal in her, which made me realize that it was important to approach a wounded wild animal with care and consideration.

As I kept offering a helping hand for no reason, she, like a wounded wildcat, puffed up her body and guarded against me.

“Then I won’t repay any favors for the help you give me in the future.”

“Okay, got it.”

So it’s okay.

“…I won’t ask for anything in return.”

“Okay.”

“I won’t teach you any martial arts.”

Uh… but now that I think about it, that’s a bit disappointing.

“It’s… fine.”

As I hesitated to speak, she looked at me with a glint in her eyes.

“Do you regret it?”

“No, honestly, if I said I didn’t regret it, that would be a lie.”

“Then why don’t you tell me you want to learn the sword from me?”

Well, that answer doesn’t seem right at all.

But suddenly, if just a while ago we were in a battle simulation, now it feels like we’re in a dating simulation.

But when I think about it, the purpose of this meeting is a blind date.

In that sense, isn’t a dating simulation not so different?

“Just because.”

“So, just because…”

“I’m not helping you with any ulterior motives. I don’t expect anything in return from you.”

“…”

After a long stare-down, she turned her back to me and spoke.

“Go. Thanks for the medicine. You don’t need to repay me. I won’t give you anything in return. I’ve abandoned the thought of you being a spy. I don’t know how you ended up here, but I won’t ask about your circumstances either.”

And with that, her emotional state window, which had turned her back on me…

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– Emotions of the user’s match:

[Distrust 95%, Expectation 5%]

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It seems that leaning slightly towards the positive side has somewhat won her over. Is that a good thing?

Up until now, it felt like I was dealing with an unbeatable character, but now I felt like I was just at the starting line.

“Alright. And I’ll leave the medicine here for you to take.”

“…Are you really going to give it to me again?”

“Yes.”

“…I have no idea what your intentions are.”

After spending some time like that, an alert indicating the end of the match popped up.

.

.

.

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– expresses (★★☆☆☆) satisfaction with your meeting.

– 50 points credited to user Lee Soo Hyun.

– The interdimensional blind date app is dedicated to supporting users in establishing ideal relationships with all their matches.

Please connect with more potential partners.

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– The 1st level fondness lock of the user’s match [Ju Hwa Rin (C(S))] has been released.

– 1st level fondness lock release condition: [Showing unfounded kindness.]

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“Hah.”

And just like that, the matter that had been giving me a headache for days came to an end.

*

“…”

Meanwhile, Ju Hwa Rin paused for a moment, looking at the place where a man suddenly disappeared into hiding.

Clearly, he wasn’t an ordinary man if he suddenly disappeared like that.

“Just… because.”

No matter how many times he said it, it wasn’t funny.

There was no such thing as kindness without a price. How many people didn’t realize how much they were taking advantage of it?

When he was powerless, he naively accepted whatever people gave him, almost getting himself into trouble, and once he gained power, he was betrayed by people’s kindness and trapped here.

A twisted life.

It was my life, but even I couldn’t believe how twisted it had become.

The woman he thought was his mother was actually considering selling him as a slave, and the person he met after running away was using him as a disposable tool for his own purposes.

Who would have known that the woman who had taken him in as an orphan was actually a human trafficker who would sell seemingly orphaned children to noble families or brothels, and that the person he met after running away would think nothing of sacrificing multiple lives for his own achievements if necessary.

And the comrades he met in the chaos of the martial world at the end of that road, who made him a cripple and left him helpless as a recluse because his martial arts achievements were too high compared to theirs, robbed him of his achievements in a fight against the Heavenly Demon.

He was the one who played the most crucial role in the final battle against the Heavenly Demon, yet they took away everything he was supposed to enjoy.

What did they say when asked why they didn’t take his life?

There were too many eyes watching, so they couldn’t kill him outright, and they suggested he quietly meet his death in a place where no one would find him.

Sometimes, he heard stories from people climbing the mountain with some purpose, and he felt sick hearing that they said he had taken refuge in this mountain after the battle with the Heavenly Demon.

…So it would surely be no different this time.

Just like his stepmother, who fed and clothed him but whose real intention was to profit from human trafficking.

My master taught me martial arts, but in reality, he was like my former master who took away my inner strength to achieve greater heights.

And like my old colleagues whose only goal was my martial arts achievement.

And the one who risked his life to deliver this medicine, claiming to save my life….

It was definitely no different.

“….”

I should have lived from the beginning cunningly deceiving people, but whether it was my nature that was wrong or not, I never did so until this point.

Becoming a fool was enough by now.

I trusted people enough and was betrayed more than that.

I don’t know what he is helping me for, but if so, I will use him as well.

By using him, I will now become the one who betrays.

Yes, now I will not believe those who come to me pretending to be kind without expecting anything in return, but live only for myself….

*

“Hey, listen. Someone’s talking about me.”

“Be careful of catching a cold, sir. It’s still cold outside.”

“That’s true. It’s still February.”

It seemed like I should be careful of catching a cold.