Ch.10Hospital Visit – 2

Squeak—

The hospital room door opens, and a black-haired female student peeks her head in cautiously.

“Excuse me. Arbiter Seojin Baek?”

“I’m here.”

“Ah. Hello! Um, may I come in?”

“You’ve already opened the door, so what’s the point in asking? Come on in.”

Only then does Soohyun Kim carefully enter the hospital room.

She looks… well, yes. Just like a nervous kitten.

This isn’t an act to show off her cuteness. I know she’s just naturally timid.

Even her characteristic trait is “Inferiority-Driven Genius,” isn’t it?

‘How did someone like her become The Crimson Witch?’

How could someone so timid become a notorious villain who caused 500,000 people to die or get injured?

What horrific process did the villains use to brainwash her?

Villains are villains after all. At least in this world.

“Um… are you really okay?”

Soohyun Kim approaches the bed awkwardly and asks this.

Her face is filled with guilt. Does she think my injury is her fault?

But Soohyun has no reason to feel sorry. I made the decision myself.

The simplest way to erase that guilt quickly is straightforward.

Show her that I’m fine, and make her worry fade away.

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine. I think I was just lucky.”

“Th-that’s a relief. You looked so badly injured, I was really worried. I wanted to visit you right away that day, but everyone stopped me… I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, Arbiter. You risked your life to save me…”

“No, it’s really fine. Besides, even if you had come then, I was unconscious, so we wouldn’t have been able to talk like this anyway.”

And it would have been dangerous for Soohyun to be wandering around at such a time.

Those who failed might be waiting nearby, trying to accomplish their goal somehow.

That would mean all my efforts to erase the future where she becomes The Crimson Witch would be in vain.

“Still… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Arbiter.”

“I told you it’s fine. Oh, how about your injury? I remember you had a serious wound on your leg last time.”

“What? Oh… it’s, it’s fine. I received treatment right away, so it’s all healed.”

Well, if it hadn’t healed, she wouldn’t have been able to visit me like this.

“Um, by the way, Arbiter. You can speak casually to me.”

“Me? No, no. It’s fine. I’m comfortable this way.”

I once received a complaint after being friendly with a kid.

How dare a civil servant disrespect a child like that? Shouldn’t I use formal speech?

It was absurd, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I just had to take the criticism and receive a warning not to do it again.

Since then, speaking formally to everyone has become a habit.

It’s a habit born from a sad reason, but now I feel uncomfortable if I don’t do it.

How should I put it? It feels like committing a serious crime.

Getting a complaint as a low-ranking official was more stressful than I could have imagined.

“But… you seem older than me…”

“Well, isn’t it rude for you to bring up age, Soohyun?”

“What? Oh. Aaah! Ahhh?! I-I’m sorry!!”

I was just joking. If you react so seriously, it makes me uncomfortable.

As I try to stop Soohyun, who keeps apologizing, I hear someone clearing their throat behind me.

“Ahem! Hmm!”

I didn’t even notice anyone else. Only Soohyun had entered the hospital room.

Could it be that those damn villains have followed us here?

“Grandfather.”

At that moment, Soohyun moves toward the old man.

Wait… grandfather? Grandfather? Now that I look at them, they do seem somewhat similar.

But wait a minute. That face, that attire. I’ve seen this old man on the news before.

Where did I see him…? Right, he was with Hakjun Ma in a program called “Heroes of the Past.”

“It’s Minseong Kang. I heard you saved my granddaughter. I came to express my gratitude.”

– Activating The Third Eye. –

◎ Minseong Kang

: The Sword That Never Ages

◎ Details

: He has not lost his edge despite the passage of time.

All abilities are enhanced when wielding a sword.

He remains undefeated except in one case.

Is it really… really Minseong Kang? The figure even villains feared and called the Sword Wraith?

One of the heroes who saved South Korea alongside Hakjun Ma is standing in front of me?!

‘And Minseong Kang’s granddaughter is… Soohyun Kim?’

I could understand once more why the villains targeted Soohyun Kim.

If they kidnapped the granddaughter of such a prominent figure, they could use her as a bargaining chip.

Minseong Kang’s family is known as the best in the Weaponry Class in South Korea.

I’ve heard that this family has produced one S-class and several A-class ability users.

With connections to all sorts of politicians and business people, their power must be immense.

For the villains, kidnapping Soohyun Kim would have been their best card.

“I’m Seojin Baek. It’s an honor to meet you.”

I jumped out of bed and bowed my head to the old man.

People should know when to stand on pride and when not to.

In my view, this situation was one hundred percent the latter.

Bowing one’s head is neither servile nor shameful.

The old man before me is a giant with the power and backing to deserve it.

Hakjun Ma is impressive enough, but this old man is equally formidable.

“If it’s an honor to meet me, would you grant me one request?”

I considered saying “I’ll do my best with anything!”

But that seemed too submissive, so I held back.

As I quietly waited for his next words, Minseong Kang cleared his throat and continued.

“I’d like you to grant my granddaughter’s request.”

“…Pardon?”

“My Soohyun keeps asking you, doesn’t she? She’s even apologizing. This old man thinks that’s enough, so just pretend to give in.”

“Well, I mean…”

“I’m asking you to speak casually to Soohyun, young friend.”

Excuse me? Isn’t something a bit strange here?

Shouldn’t he be saying, “She’s a precious young lady, so don’t speak casually to her!”?

Instead of asking me to use formal speech, he’s asking me to speak casually?

“Is that request too difficult for you?”

“Not at all. As Soohyun said, there’s a bit of an age difference, so I think I can speak more casually!”

Don’t call me a coward. This is simply a survival strategy.

And when a hero from the past makes such a request, I should comply. Of course!

“So, um… Soo, Soohyun? Is it okay if I call you like this?”

“Yes! Arbiter. I’d like that!”

Soohyun approaches me and smiles, saying she likes it.

I don’t quite understand why speaking casually makes her so happy, but whatever.

Honestly, I wanted to get closer to Soohyun too.

Beyond superficial reasons like her being pretty and from a powerful family.

‘The villains might target her again.’

The immediate kidnapping crisis has passed thanks to my efforts.

But the villains could target Soohyun again at any time.

And if they succeed, she’ll become “The Crimson Witch” as predicted.

The problem is that I can’t explain this to anyone.

Not even to Soohyun herself. The reason sounds too absurd.

Even I would say “cut the nonsense” if someone told me, “You’ll become a mass murderer in the future!”

So the only solution is to watch over her from close by and detect any potential crisis.

As the granddaughter of Minseong Kang, she surely has many people to help her.

My job is just to buy a little time until they arrive.

‘Yes. Just like at the Academy.’

While I was reaching this conclusion, Soohyun sat beside me, chattering away.

She said she saw me defeat Junwoo Park from a distance. That it was really cool.

That she was grateful I blocked The Elder after sending her away.

She even asked if I was really just an ordinary arbiter, which made me feel a bit guilty.

I am actually an ordinary arbiter. I just become extraordinary during evaluations.

“Um, wait. Soohyun. Mr. Chairman? Would you like to sit down and join us…?”

“It’s fine. Continue your conversation. Don’t mind me.”

It’s really uncomfortable with you just standing there watching us.

I can barely focus on our conversation with you staring like that.

Whether aware of my thoughts or not, Soohyun seemed to be having a great time.

Thanks to her, I eventually forgot about Minseong Kang’s presence and focused on our conversation.

*

“…”

Minseong Kang stood at the entrance of the hospital room, quietly observing his granddaughter.

How could her smile so perfectly resemble her mother’s?

It was as if his long-deceased daughter had returned to life.

‘I’m sorry.’

An overly prominent grandfather, an extraordinary family, and relatives.

Among them, the relatively ordinary Soohyun Kim felt immense pressure.

‘Even if they were just words expressing expectations, they must have been a heavy burden for that child.’

Because she was Minseong Kang’s granddaughter, and for the sake of her mother who died honorably.

She had to become strong. No, she needed to be strong. She had to become an excellent ability user.

Crushed under that enormous pressure, the child became smaller and smaller.

Not everyone in a special family can be special.

Ordinariness exists precisely because there is extraordinariness.

But Soohyun seemed to view her ordinariness not as normal but as falling behind.

She became quieter and increasingly dejected.

It was the same after entering the Academy. If anything, it got worse.

So he had almost begged his friend Hakjun Ma for help.

In the midst of all this, she was attacked by villains.

The Elder himself had come to kidnap his granddaughter.

An irreversible tragedy nearly occurred. One young man prevented it.

His name was Seojin Baek, an arbiter dispatched on the day of the incident.

‘He stood directly in front of The Elder to let Soohyun escape.’

It was such an unbelievable story that it wasn’t even reported in the news.

But Hakjun Ma had told him directly. That it was true.

That Seojin Baek had blocked The Elder, saved Soohyun, and survived.

‘Because of that, this young man has become a benefactor to Soohyun. And someone she admires.’

He heard that upon arrival, the man had defeated all the students.

Perhaps he too was an ordinary person who revealed his extraordinariness from within that ordinariness.

For Soohyun, there probably wasn’t anyone she wanted to emulate more.

To be honest, there was a small part of him that was suspicious.

He had even struggled to stop Soohyun from visiting right away.

But in the end, Minseong Kang couldn’t resist his granddaughter.

“When the Arbiter did this, he was really cool…”

“No, no. That was just luck…”

After watching the two for a moment, Minseong Kang quietly left the hospital room.

Whatever it was, if his granddaughter was happy, it was good for him too.