episode_0004

There was a small mishap. Though, from Cheon Soyul’s perspective, it might not have been so small…

Anyway, I’d enjoyed her reactions enough, so I decided to delete the video.

It couldn’t be helped, though, that because of that trivial(?) prank, Cheon Soyul’s internal evaluation of me had once again plummeted.

Even without that, my perception, which had already been swinging between heaven and hell because of last night’s events, seemed to be on an even more drastic rollercoaster, which I found a little amusing.

So, what are we doing now?

The morning had broken, and no matter how awkward things had become, we still had to eat, right?

I dragged Cheon Soyul to a nearby gukbap restaurant and plonked her down.

Why did I drag her? The reason was simple. She had declared she would eat alone today, what with whatever had bugged her so much.

Of course, if that had been all, I wouldn’t have said anything more, but…

—Eugh.

The problem was that Cheon Soyul, after saying that and making it very obvious she was angry, was about to leave the room when she suddenly collapsed on the spot.

Clearly, her legs had given out. I’d thought she looked dangerously unsteady earlier as she stumbled, and that worry had immediately come true.

I went behind her, her ears bright red, and threw out a remark as I patted her shoulder.

—Want a piggyback ride?

—Shut up…

She was a grown adult, so maybe she was too embarrassed to get a piggyback from a guy friend. She compromised, grabbing at my clothes and asking for just some support.

If that small voice, unlike her usual confident one, somehow felt a little cute, had I also been subtly affected by last night?

In any case, there was no way I could just leave her lying there, so I offered her my shoulder.

It was so funny seeing her limp that I chuckled, only to get hit in the side.

Anyway.

As I said repeatedly, we were currently at a gukbap restaurant. The reason for the menu selection was my perfectly reasonable choice to cure a hangover from the previous day.

“What is it?”

It seemed our Cheon Soyul-ssi didn’t like that either, as she immediately started picking a fight with me the moment she sat down.

“What about it?”

“Why gukbap of all things?”

She started arguing when I replied indifferently. It was rather amusing to see her diligently setting up her spoon and chopsticks despite her complaints.

I picked up a piece of meat from the black gukbap bowl that had just arrived and ate it as I spoke.

“We drank last night.”

“…Right.”

“They say gukbap is the best for hangovers.”

“Who says?”

“People?”

As I mumbled a vague answer, Cheon Soyul’s expression soured slightly.

What else could displease her so much?

As I pondered whether to add the noodles that came with the gukbap, Cheon Soyul casually dropped a remark.

“You’re kind of like an old man.”

“….”

And I stopped all movement. What had I just heard?

When I lifted my head with a visibly hurt expression, Cheon Soyul finally looked flustered.

“…Why are you looking at me like that? I was just saying.”

“No…”

Does she know? Even if I’ve reincarnated, my age, including my previous life, is definitely not a normal twenty years old.

I desperately began to self-hypnotize that my previous life and current life were separate.

Does it even make sense to combine and calculate the ages of a past and current life? Even giving it a hundred concessions, I was twenty-six in my previous life.

…My mood inexplicably sank. I gestured brusquely with my chin towards Cheon Soyul.

“Don’t talk nonsense, just eat. It’ll get cold.”

“…You know I have a cat tongue.”

“Is it something to be proud of that you can’t eat hot food?”

I chuckled at Cheon Soyul, who was still picking at her plain rice.

Her eyes blazed in response. But it didn’t particularly scare me.

Soon, Cheon Soyul sighed and picked up her spoon again. I thought she would finally eat properly, but then she started talking nonsense again.

“…Next time, take me to a more decent restaurant.”

“What?”

“Seriously, you’re such a mood killer…”

When I reflexively asked back, Cheon Soyul muttered quietly, clearly displeased.

I was momentarily dazed, then understood her words about half a beat later.

…So the reason she looked 20% more displeased after entering the gukbap restaurant was because of the menu selection?

I was dumbfounded and asked,

“You always ate gukbap well before. Even if you didn’t really like it… you’d look for it sometimes.”

Perhaps she was equally dumbfounded, as Cheon Soyul frowned even harder at my question and aimed her spoon at me like a sniper.

“That was just because you kept taking me, so I’d eat it with you.”

“…?”

So, was it someone else who brought her here now, not me? Completely bewildered, I wore a puzzled expression.

At the same time, my inner thoughts seemed to show on my face. Cheon Soyul’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Her lips parted slightly as if choosing her words, but as if no good words came to mind, she just spooned a mouthful of gukbap with a sullen face.

“…Is this the same situation as usual…?”

Her subsequent voice was quite soft and hard to hear clearly, but I could roughly make it out. I could also roughly grasp her state of mind.

I let out a hollow laugh and replied,

“If you wanted atmosphere, well, I could have done that.”

“… .”

“But you said I didn’t have to, right?”

“…What?”

Cheon Soyul, who had been listening quietly, froze her arm mid-motion and lifted her head.

Her eyes, full of questions, were fixed on me, so I shrugged.

“You told me I didn’t have to take responsibility.”

Cheon Soyul paused again. And as if she quickly understood what I meant, her facial muscles twitched with a truly ambiguous expression.

“…Hey, that was…”

“So I’m just treating you as comfortably as before. Do you have a complaint?”

I cut her off as she was about to say something and chuckled, finding Cheon Soyul’s expression quite something to behold. It was clear she was debating whether to strike me or not.

Just as she seemed to prioritize the preservation of the gukbap restaurant’s interior after deeply conflicted about whether to unleash lightning on me, I added,

“For your information, if you had told me to take responsibility to the end, I would probably have treated you like a superior forever.”

“Hey, choose again. Take responsibility for my life, quickly. I think my back is ruined because of you.”

“Nope, the chance is over. You should’ve grabbed it earlier.”

I replied by casually raising my middle finger. It was the moment a crackle of lightning seemed to flicker on Cheon Soyul’s throbbing forehead.

…Ah, right. Heavenly Lightning.

I’d completely forgotten about it because of the ‘Cheon Soyul Bathroom Masturbation Incident’ this morning, but thinking about it, it wasn’t something light enough to forget.

I pondered for a moment. Should I say this or not? At the very least, it didn’t seem like something I could bring up casually.

“Hoo.”

Still, I decided to think clearly. This ability wasn’t mine, and even if it was an ability I gained as a characteristic, the original owner was the girl right in front of me.

So, I had to at least give her a heads-up.

After a brief hesitation, I looked at the ‘girl in front of me’ who was now eating her gukbap at a normal pace. I looked at her quite seriously.

“Cheon Soyul.”

“…Hm? What.”

At my call, Cheon Soyul, who had been continuously mumbling with her small lips, tilted her head.

She somehow resembled a squirrel.

…Anyway, what I had to say was set, so I didn’t hesitate any longer. I scratched the back of my head slightly and held up one hand.

“Look at this.”

“Why, what is it?”

“What do you think this is?”

At my question, Cheon Soyul made a bewildered expression for a moment. She blinked slowly, as if she was about to hear all sorts of strange things.

“…What else could it be? It’s a hand. Your hand. Is there anything else?”

Nevertheless, at my urging gaze, she gave a reluctant reply.

It was the correct answer, so I nodded and moved on to the next question.

“Then what do you think this is?”

Thrum—!!

I lightly drew up mana. A blue aura originating from my heart swiftly coursed through my body like a road, and in an instant, all that mana converged at my raised fingertips.

And the phenomenon that occurred was, at least, not that of my trademark ice magic.

Crackle—!!

“…!”

A spark flared. It was a beautiful, golden-hued spark. The name of that mysterious flame could also be called lightning.

Heavenly Lightning. The unique magic with the world’s greatest destructive power, created by the Cheon family’s progenitor, the 1st generation Awakener, the Thunder God Monarch.

Cheon Soyul’s expression upon witnessing that golden lightning bloom at my fingertips contained greater shock and disbelief than any expression I had seen on her in this past year.

It was as if she had just seen something that absolutely could not exist in this world.

In other words, it was no different than witnessing with her own eyes something that should not have happened.

Cheon Soyul, uncharacteristically gaping, pointed a finger at me and stammered.

“You, you you you, what is that. What in the world. How, no, why? Huh? Uh?”

Oh dear, her reaction was one of such profound shock that she couldn’t even speak properly. I nodded, feigning an expression of pity.

…Yes, even if I say this, I understand the shock. Of course, I have to understand it.

Why is unique magic called unique magic? Isn’t it because it’s a profound secret art that cannot be acquired through ordinary means and is only passed down through specific families or master-disciple relationships?

And here, an outsider, not even a family member, suddenly displayed it with remarkable proficiency.

“Okay, calm down first. I’ll explain everything step by step.”

This was something that, depending on the circumstances, could get me stabbed without question, so I felt a slight tension as I calmed Cheon Soyul.

And then I laid out the explanation. Concisely, but hitting all the key points.

As she listened to the story, Cheon Soyul’s expression changed in many varied ways.

At first, her eyes trembled, then in the middle, she gaped in disbelief, and by the end, she even let out a hollow laugh.

“…That’s how it happened. And it’s also why I’ve been so desperate to hide my characteristic until now.”

“….”

Cheon Soyul didn’t speak immediately. I understood that too. I figured she would need enough time to process her thoughts.

To be honest, from my perspective, I also needed a little time to mentally prepare myself.

At the very least, I just hoped I wouldn’t disappear without a trace, dragged away by the Cheon family.

‘Still, we’ve been friends for a while… Maybe she can cut me some slack.’

I suddenly thought that, but considering how badly I’d treated her last night, that was a rather shameless thought.

I was needlessly making my posture more respectful, wondering if she might hold a grudge.

“…It can’t be helped, I guess.”

Cheon Soyul finally broke the silence. But, contrary to my expectations, her tone was quite calm.

I looked up and met her eyes, and she continued softly.

“Originally, that was your characteristic, so what can I do? If I didn’t want my ability taken, I shouldn’t have… you know. That.”

Did she just try to say ‘sex’ just now?

How interesting. I’ve never heard her say that before.

“Ah, anyway, it doesn’t matter. It’s power you got from my ability, so use it or don’t use it, do whatever you want. Instead, you handle any gossip from other students or the media.”

As I looked at Cheon Soyul with a meaningful gaze for a moment, she finished her sentence, her earlobes turning red as if she was slightly conscious of something.

And in conclusion, she stated she didn’t care whether I used the power of Heavenly Lightning or not.

I hesitated for a moment, then asked again,

“Are you sure?”

And an immediate answer came back.

“I said it doesn’t matter.”

…Somehow, I strongly felt she was just trying to brush it off. Feeling vaguely uneasy, I decided to point out the most important part.

“It might not matter to you, but what about your family?”

“….”

“I don’t think the elders of your family will just sit still.”

Cheon Soyul suddenly started looking away. She seemed to be half-listening to my words, elegantly slicing and swallowing a piece of meat from her gukbap.

It was like she was eating steak…

I narrowed my eyes and continued.

“For example, during the Cheongsongje festival in April, what if I have to unleash power beyond my full strength to fight against my seniors? And what if I mix your Heavenly Lightning with my ice magic, and it gets broadcast, and the Cheon family elders clutch their necks and collapse…?”

“…Ugh, stop, stop! You’re noisy, let me eat!”

At my endless barrage of ‘what ifs,’ Cheon Soyul could no longer bear it and let out a shriek.

And when she glared at me, I responded with a shrug.

She should have answered earlier.

Cheon Soyul aimlessly stirred her almost empty gukbap bowl for a moment.

She glanced at my eyes once, then spoke in an ambiguous voice.

“…There is only one case where an outsider, not a family member, is allowed to use or be imparted the family’s unique magic.”

“Oh…?”

And that was more useful information than I had thought. My eyes widened. There was such a clever method?

I waited for Cheon Soyul’s next words, containing a small hope.

“….”

“….”

“…?”

“….”

“Hey.”

But the next words didn’t come. Cheon Soyul had once again entered ‘picking-at-food mode,’ and I glared at her with sharp eyes.

I was starting to get frustrated, wondering what she was doing, but for some reason, Cheon Soyul’s expression looked even more complex than mine.

I swallowed the words I was about to retort. I reluctantly propped my chin on my hand with a sigh, and only then did she hesitantly open her mouth.

“I can’t tell you that method right now…”

“…This girl, seriously.”

Had I waited for nothing again?

I felt my temper flare.

“What is it? Why do you bring it up and not finish it?”

“I can’t say it. I can’t say it. I won’t, I won’t.”

“No, seriously, what’s wrong with you?”

No matter how I pressed her, she kept shaking her head. Cheon Soyul made an X with both arms, then quickly gobbled down the remaining gukbap.

And leaving me, still frozen, she swiftly got up from her seat.

Her speed was so fast that I didn’t even have time to catch her. Cheon Soyul, who had paid for my share in an instant, quickly left the restaurant.

“…No.”

Suddenly left alone, I let out a bewildered, hollow laugh.

What in the world is wrong with her?

*****

“…Ugh.”

Immediately after leaving the restaurant, Cheon Soyul felt the heat that had reddened her face refusing to subside, even as she was hit by the cold wind.

The reason? Simple. It was because, a moment ago, she had almost carelessly blurted out something she shouldn’t have, carried away by the moment.

She turned the corner of the street and squatted down right where she was. Even covering her face with both hands, the winter chill somehow seeped through, constantly tickling her flushed face.

Cheon Soyul remained that way for a while. Not getting up, not moving, just staying still.

And she thought. At first, that is, before the vacation began, she had wondered if there was any need to leave the academy, but—

Since the situation had turned out this way, she thought she probably needed to visit her family home at least once.

“Aghhh…”

Cheon Soyul, burying her head in her knees, let out a long, weak sigh.

It was winter.