Ch.28Three Idiots (3)

I got third place in the card game. It’s not exactly a great result, but I don’t feel bad at all since the person in last place has to buy the meal anyway.

In any case, Agath came in last. She gets so emotional during games, which made her really easy to play against.

Rebecca was difficult because she always maintains a poker face, and Leo was impossible to read—I could never tell what he was thinking.

By the way, I’m having good luck today. Nothing particularly difficult happened, and I just played card games…

…Come to think of it, we came here to subdue villains. I had forgotten about that for a moment.

But the villains have all disappeared somewhere and all the hostages are safe, so I guess it doesn’t matter?

“By the way, do you know where all the villains who were here went?”

“I subdued them.”

“I don’t remember hearing any fighting.”

“I stopped time, so naturally I could subdue them without any resistance.”

“You’re such a damn deceiver.”

I don’t have abilities like that, so I had no choice but to surrender to the villains. That’s why I ended up playing card games.

But wait, wasn’t it actually better that I’m weak? If I had been strong, I would have had to go through the trouble of subduing all the villains.

I’m sure that if there were no Demon King, I would have considered this body a great blessing.

If this world had been peaceful, I could have used my frail body to my advantage and adopted a “sickly cute girl” concept for streaming.

I could have lived such a happy life, getting everything handed to me and receiving affection from everyone around me.

…But there’s no way that would ever be possible. I should stop these pointless delusions.

“So how did you end up here?”

“I suddenly saw you on the news, so I rushed over in the middle of my training.”

“…Please tell me all my actions weren’t broadcast live on the news.”

“Unfortunately, they were all broadcast live.”

According to Ju-an, it seems like everything I did was aired on the news.

The scene where I took the villain boss hostage, the scene where I threatened the villains, and even when I failed at threatening them and quietly surrendered—all of it.

In such a situation, there’s only one way I could react.

“So did I look cool?”

“…What?”

“If I had known this would happen, I would have tried to look cooler. I shouldn’t have surrendered so quickly.”

“…”

For some reason, Ju-an is looking at me with bewildered eyes.

Judging by his reaction, I probably didn’t look very cool.

“But seriously, did I really not look cool? I feel like I must have had at least a few good moments.”

“…”

Ju-an’s eyes were shaking even more than before. Was there really not a single good scene?

“Wasn’t I at least somewhat cool when I ignored the villains’ threats or when I mercilessly took their boss hostage?”

“…Sigh.”

Ju-an covered his face with both hands and let out an incredibly deep sigh.

“How exactly did I look? Don’t tell me I looked like a little girl?”

Quickly surrendering and going to play card games in a corner. Come to think of it, that’s something only a little girl would do.

Turning your back on the enemy is a man’s disgrace. So no matter what I did, there was no way I could have looked cool. I can’t believe I didn’t realize something so simple… I feel truly pathetic.

Next time I meet villains, I’ll try to look as cool as possible when fighting them. And I should throw in some cool lines too.

While I was deep in these important thoughts, Ju-an suddenly created a serious atmosphere and spoke up.

“Have you been going through a hard time recently?”

“Recently? I lost three years of my lifespan saving you, my body became weaker because of that, I was sexually harassed by Agath, got hit on the head with a wooden stick by Leo, was sexually harassed by Agath again, got electrocuted by Leo, and was sexually harassed by Agath yet again… Anyway, I’ve been through a lot.”

Come to think of it, I’ve experienced all sorts of things in just one week. I went through a TS, had my mental state shattered multiple times, and nearly died several times.

The fact that I haven’t gone crazy and have remained sane through all of this—doesn’t that mean I actually have incredible mental strength?

While I was praising myself, Ju-an suddenly spoke in what sounded like an angry voice.

“Wait. I’m going to have a serious talk with those people right now.”

“Why the sudden confrontation?”

“To get you out of that hellish place immediately.”

“But I’m fine.”

Hearing my answer, Ju-an’s expression showed deep shock.

No matter how hellish this place might be, I have reasons why I can’t leave.

“To defeat the Demon King, we need their power, right? So I have to endure this much.”

“But are you really okay with being treated like that?”

“It’s just everyday life now. And it’s not as difficult as it used to be. Besides, it’s not really a good situation for me to leave the office right now.”

There’s the one-year contract issue, but if I want to persuade the people at the office, it’s better to stay close to them. So I have to endure, even if it’s by force.

But recently, Rebecca has come to her senses. Thanks to that, I now have someone I can have normal conversations with!

No one truly knows how hard it was for me to stay sane all by myself.

Anyway, if I can get Leo and Agath to come to their senses too, this office will return to normal.

But for some reason, Ju-an’s expression kept getting darker.

“Are they threatening you or something?”

“No. Actually, they’ve helped me a lot.”

“What kind of help?”

“They give me a place to sleep, food to eat, clothes… though I don’t want to wear them. Plus, I now have a stable income. It’s just physically demanding…”

Looking at it objectively, they solved all the problems I had when I suddenly fell into this world without anything, and they did it without charging me.

Thanks to that, I’m not homeless and can live normally now.

When I told him this, Ju-an’s eyes suddenly began to burn with intensity.

“I definitely need to have a talk with them.”

“Why?”

“What kind of person would stand by when their friend is being mistreated?”

I can’t leave this place. But for some reason, Ju-an is trying to pull me out of here.

“What if I get kicked out of the office because of this?”

“I can provide you with food, clothing, and shelter. And I’ll figure out the financial issues somehow. So don’t worry too much.”

“But I’m really fine.”

“I’m not fine with it.”

For some reason, Ju-an seems really angry right now.

Ju-an is usually a quiet person. Even when he has complaints, he doesn’t really speak up—that kind of pushover. Naturally, he doesn’t get angry easily.

And now this overly nice guy is getting angry for no reason. Is he sick or something?

I put my hand on Ju-an’s forehead to check if he had a fever.

“You don’t seem to have a fever… but why does it feel like you’re getting warmer?”

From the moment I put my hand on his forehead, his face seemed to get redder and his temperature seemed to rise a bit.

Is he really sick?

“Have you been going through something difficult recently?”

“…There is one terribly difficult thing.”

“Tell me about it. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do my best.”

Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be much help. If anything, my weak body will probably just hold him back. But he’s my friend, so I should try to help somehow.

“…I have someone who’s really precious to me. But that person is in a hellish situation and doesn’t even realize it.”

“Then you should force them out of there. Why have you been doing nothing?”

“But that person doesn’t even know they’re in a hellish situation.”

“You should still force them out. If you help them stabilize, they’ll return to normal soon.”

Someone precious to Ju-an… Is it that orange-haired woman I saw before?

They’ve already progressed that far in their relationship? They must be really compatible. My judgment was right after all.

Now I don’t have to worry about Ju-an’s love life anymore. That’s a relief.

…But what did that orange-haired woman do to end up in such a hellish situation?

“What kind of situation is that person in?”

“I think they’re surrounded by sadists who keep sexually harassing them.”

“…How did they end up like that?”

“They said they signed a contract without reading it properly.”

I need to prepare to interfere with Ju-an’s love life immediately.

I trusted him because he’s perceptive, but he didn’t even check the contract carefully and ended up in danger? Definitely not suitable as a life partner.

But let me hear the rest of the story first. Maybe there’s something I don’t know.

“So that person doesn’t even know they’re suffering?”

“Yeah. They’re even defending those sadists.”

“Isn’t that person just a masochist then?”

This changes things a bit. I can’t judge someone’s sexual preferences.

Maybe they didn’t sign the contract by mistake but did it on purpose.

Still, I’m worried…

While I was still thinking about this, Ju-an suddenly said something completely out of the blue.

“Do you enjoy pain?”

“I don’t have that kind of preference. But why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“I was just curious.”

It’s clear that Ju-an is mentally struggling right now. His nonsensical words and strange behavior are proof of that.

But if Ju-an is suffering to this extent, how deeply has he fallen for that woman?

Even though their future seems uncertain, if he likes her, who am I to stop him? I’ll just support their relationship.

“Hang in there. I’m sure things will work out.”

“…Thanks, you’ve helped me make up my mind.”

Ju-an said with a faint smile.

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve given advice like this. Was the last time in second year of middle school?

“Then I’m going to go save that precious person now. Do you want to come with me?”

“Of course I do.”

It’s clear that a big fight is about to break out. So there will definitely be some entertainment value in watching.

If only there was a place selling cola and popcorn nearby, it would have been perfect.

“Alright, let’s go.”

And Ju-an went into the bank. Is the person who made them sign that contract in there?

As I followed Ju-an into the bank, I saw Leo and Rebecca stepping on Agath.

Suddenly, Ju-an asked me in a confused voice.

“…Why are those people doing that?”

“They’re just acting like they always do.”

“…”

Once again, Ju-an’s eyes began to shake wildly.

I left the confused Ju-an behind and went to ask Rebecca about the situation.

“What happened this time?”

“We decided to go to a Chinese restaurant for lunch today, right? But this crazy woman is saying we should pour the sauce on the sweet and sour pork before eating it!”

“This is a blasphemous act of the highest order!”

Leo and Rebecca spoke with expressions that seemed extremely angry.

So everyone was angry because Agath suggested pouring the sauce on the sweet and sour pork!

There’s only one thing for me to do in this situation.

“I’ll help you too.”

I joined in stepping on Agath. Rationally thinking, this is the best course of action.

****

After the regular hate session of the “dip-the-sauce” faction ended, Agath got up wearily and said,

“Why am I wearing shorts underneath again…?”

“What else would you wear?”

“I was obviously hoping for no panties…”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After shooting a few dozen emotions at her again, she completely returned to her senses. I really like this supernatural power more and more as I see it in action.

While I was feeling satisfied with my ability, Ju-an approached me and said,

“…Min-jun? Let’s talk for a moment.”

“Let’s eat lunch first. Do you want to join us?”

“…Sigh. Alright.”

So we took Ju-an, whose expression had somehow become seriously dark, to the Chinese restaurant.

Should I give him another counseling session after we eat?