Ch.20Chapter 1. I Was Just Trying to Do a Favor (3)

Was it just a joke, or did she really think that way?

Either way, it feels good.

They say even whales dance when praised, and I felt pleased by Ymir’s words.

“Thank you, Ymir. This might be the first time someone’s called me handsome.”

“What? Really? You must be joking.”

“It’s true.”

In the Syndicate, I always wore a Goblin mask, so only the boss knows my face.

Come to think of it, the boss seems to favor me more since seeing me without my transformation.

Still, he’s never once called me handsome, so Ymir’s comment was probably just a polite remark.

Don’t take it to heart…

“You’re very pretty, Ymir. I’m sure there are many people trying to confess to you. Be careful of the high school students. If they were your peers, they’d all be eyeing you intensely.”

“What? I’m not in high school. I’m a freshman in college.”

“…I thought you were a high school student.”

“I’m an adult. A fresh 20-year-old college student as of this year.”

Ymir made a V-sign under her chin, and I felt energized by her sun-like brightness.

Come to think of it.

The original protagonist was also a first-year college student.

“Ymir, you should still be careful, especially with men. All men are wolves. They’re beasts who struggle desperately to seduce women.”

“What about you, sir?”

“I am a wolf, but not that kind of wolf. I’m a noble, solitary wolf.”

An outsider who fell into this world.

A lone wolf who can never fit into the world of sheep.

“Someone I know once told me to be wary of people who claim they’re not that kind of wolf.”

“Then you should be careful of me too. Be careful of all men. I’m saying this because you’re like a little sister to me.”

“I heard men who say things like that actually want to hear you call them ‘oppa’ and are trying to seduce you.”

“That’s not it. I’m saying this with pure intentions.”

“I heard they claim to have pure intentions when trying to seduce someone.”

“You have quite the mischievous streak, Ymir.”

“Hehe.”

Ymir winked and picked up her cola glass.

“Alright. I’ll be careful of men as you said. You too, sir.”

“I’m glad. It seems you understood what I meant.”

I meant she should be careful of me too, and fortunately, Ymir seems to have understood.

‘It would be troublesome if she falls for the protagonist and gets in my way later.’

What if Ymir falls for the protagonist?

Just as I’m about to assassinate him, she throws herself in front of him shouting, “No!!”

-My love, Ymir! Argh, this damn world, just perish already!!

And then a meteor might come flying down.

The same goes for other heroines, but even non-heroines could become the protagonist’s first pick.

The setting of this world is a light novel, but this world is reality.

Bluntly speaking, the protagonist could suddenly open his eyes to a deep, dark world and start liking men, or fall in love with machines after discovering mechanics.

The ending of this world is extremely dangerous.

Not only is the meteor ending dangerous, but the process of the protagonist “turning evil” and dropping a meteor is dangerous too.

I didn’t write this in my review because it’s a spoiler.

The author made a terrible mistake that no author should make.

Readers who had been saying it was fine to inject lethal doses of nationalism daily and asking for more suddenly wrote 5,700-character manifestos in the comments, creating what’s known as a “salt situation.”

In the end, the author, perhaps mentally affected, rushed to conclude with a meteor ending, but I couldn’t understand why they wrote the protagonist going insane.

Honestly, I don’t understand why the protagonist went crazy either, but the author who wrote such a development is the craziest of all.

So I need to be careful.

To ensure the protagonist’s heroines don’t get “NTR’d.”

To prevent situations where a heroine gets kidnapped and brainwashed by the villain Goblin, has some parasitic insect implanted in the back of her neck, and attacks the protagonist while saying “I offer my body and soul to Lord Goblin.”

…Ironically, the Syndicate tells me to seduce heroine-type women and persuade them to join.

That’s why I need to kill the protagonist.

So that if I seduce one of the heroines or some other woman, he doesn’t blow up the Earth while screaming, “My woman got NTR’d! I’m going crazy! Argh!”

‘That’s easiest for me.’

It’s much quicker to cleanly cut off his head than to care for and coddle a man.

That’s why I’m a villain.

If I had planned to persuade and care for him, I would have become a hero.

“Ymir, may I ask you something about dating?”

“Wow! Interesting topic. What is it? I may not know much, but I’ll try to help!”

“This is about someone I know.”

“When people say ‘someone I know,’ it’s usually about themselves.”

“…It really is about someone I know.”

This isn’t working.

I should speak from the perspective of Do Tae-yang who steals women, not the protagonist who gets his women stolen.

“There’s a Man A and Woman A. They’re kind of flirting with each other. Man A has not just Woman A, but also B, C, D… let’s say up to F.”

“Wow, he’s a player. Is that man you, sir?”

“I wish it was, but no. And then there’s Man B.”

“Is that you?!”

“…No. Man B seduces Woman A. And Woman A, disappointed that Man A doesn’t pay attention to her, falls in love with Man B.”

“Oh….”

Ymir’s eyes sparkle.

“So Man B and Woman A fall in love, but then Man A appears. He confronts Man B, asking why he stole his woman when Woman A loves him. What should Man B say to Man A?”

“He’s crazy? …Oops. Sorry for the harsh words. Man A is really something. He’s awful.”

Ymir gave a raw, vivid reaction.

“He’s a player dating multiple women, yet he picks a fight when his flirt interest matches with another man. That’s too psychopathic.”

“That much?”

“Of course. Ah, but I can see one scenario.”

Ymir grabbed her pasta fork and grinned.

“What if Man A thinks he’s better than Man B?”

“……?”

“Like, if Man A is an S-class ability user but Man B is just an ordinary person without abilities. Or if Man A is a building owner and cafe manager, while Man B is just a delivery rider for that cafe.”

Why are these comparisons so specific?

“Imagine you’re Man A, sir. How would you feel if a girl who was totally into you fell in love with a man who’s much less impressive and less handsome than you?”

“Well.”

Obviously.

“Isn’t it natural for her to fall in love with a man who loves her?”

“……Wow.”

Ymir covered her mouth in surprise.

“I didn’t expect that answer.”

“What answer were you expecting?”

“I thought you’d say, ‘How could she fall for such an ugly man? Am I worse than him?'”

“If it actually happened to me, I might react that way….”

I shrugged lightly.

“But it’s not like he stole a girlfriend, just someone he was flirting with, so…”

“So, you’re now Man B who stole a woman from a man slightly better than you?”

“That’s not quite how the story goes, but fine. It’s better than being Man A. I’d rather be less impressive but in a loving relationship than be a pathetic player.”

“Hehe. You really are interesting, sir.”

“Really?”

“I just thought you seemed special from the moment I saw you.”

Ymir raised her glass of cola toward me.

“Like you’re not from this world, that kind of feeling?”

What’s with this woman?

“…Are you just politely saying I’m a global loner, student?”

“Ah. Busted.”

“Do you know about Confucian etiquette and Korea being the land of courtesy?”

“I’m Canadian.”

“But this is South Korea.”

Amazing.

This other world.

It’s turning me into a total traditionalist.

“I have friends too. Although they’re not easy to meet, I keep in regular contact with them.”

“But it seems you don’t have friends to eat with on Sejong Island?”

“Student, do you know what ‘rude’ means?”

“Heheh.”

Ymir made another V-sign and reached out to me.

“We’re comrades! I’m a global loner too.”

“Real loners don’t call themselves loners.”

“But I don’t have friends to eat with.”

“Can’t you make friends going forward?”

“We became friends today, didn’t we?”

Flutter, flutter.

Ymir’s hand kept waving up and down, and I reached out to shake her hand.

This is difficult.

Is this what being social is like?

Or is she an ability user who’s discovered I’m an outsider in this world?

Mind reader? Psychometry? Did she just discover my true identity through that handshake? No way? I didn’t sense her using mana at all.

“Mr. Do, from now on I’ll-“

As Ymir was about to say something with a grin, her head suddenly jerked around.

And then.

“Look out!”

Ymir jumped up from the table and tackled me.

I fell backward with the chair and-

Squish.

Something soft touched my face.

CRASH!!

A powerful explosion rang out as the restaurant wall was destroyed.

Eeeeeee—–

The “rampage” alarm began to sound on Sejong Island.