Ch.63Deviants, Three (2)

I was a truly ordinary first-year high school student. My hobbies were just playing games and watching anime.

If there was anything distinctive about me, it was my blonde hair and tanned brown skin.

I didn’t dye it or anything like that. It’s just because I’m mixed-race.

Because of that, a lot of strange rumors circulated about me. Rumors like I had NTR’d several girls.

But I’m such a coward that I couldn’t even imagine doing such terrifying things. And I find it much more enjoyable to just play games at home than to do anything with girls.

Anyway, I’m that kind of ordinary student. Oh, and I’m also extremely cowardly.

How cowardly I am can be seen in this example. There was a fire at my school. And I died from shock.

But fortunately, or perhaps extremely unfortunately, I got a new life. On the condition that I defeat the Demon King.

Still, my ability is incredibly powerful. It’s the power to interfere with another person’s mind.

But there are several complicated aspects to it. I must have skin-to-skin contact with the target, making it difficult to use against fully armored opponents, and the effect wears off after 10 minutes.

Additionally, the resource required to activate it is critical. To use my ability, I have to pay with my life force.

So I get extremely tired after using it. But if I use it too much, won’t I die? That’s scary.

Anyway, I’m working as a Hero to maximize the use of this ability.

If I can just make contact with a Villain, I can subdue them. So this job is perfect for me.

But I’m scared every time I work. What if I encounter a Villain who’s too strong and I die right there?

According to the boss, I have specs equivalent to an S-rank Hero, so it should be fine, but I’m just an ordinary person.

A cowardly ordinary person who has never fought before and just likes to play alone at home.

And yet I have to defeat a Demon King who is much stronger than me.

It’s absolutely impossible. There’s no way I can do it. I’ll definitely die without accomplishing anything.

I’m scared. If I surrender to the Demon King, will they spare me? Maybe if I beg desperately, they might let me live.

No. Let’s just run away. To a safe place where no one is and no one can find me.

While I was thinking such thoughts, I heard an explosion outside our office.

Bang!

“Is it the Demon King? Is it really the Demon King? Can I run away?”

I urgently asked the boss, naturally terrified. The boss smiled as if satisfied and said:

“Finally, you’ve come, my eternal nemesis.”

“So can I run away?”

“Selene. Go greet our guests.”

“Yes, miss.”

The woman dressed as a maid, Selene, went outside to greet the people.

Then four people entered. And I couldn’t help but be shocked.

Leo, the madman obsessed with magic.

Agath, the embodiment of desire.

Rebecca, the pessimist who denies God.

And the woman who entered last was more dangerous than anyone else.

A psychopath who inflicts fatal wounds on Villains with excessive force without batting an eye, and who threatens hostages by pointing guns at them without hesitation.

She may look like a beautiful woman on the outside. But what’s inside is undoubtedly pure evil.

That person’s identity is Lite, a psychopathic reincarnator.

I’m scared. I want to run away. Help me.

***

I found the last reincarnator. His name was Seo Tae-yang? But that name sounds familiar… Surely he’s not a junior from our school?

“Which school did you go to?”

“Buksan High School!”

The boy answered, still trembling. By the way, that’s exactly the same name as the high school I attended.

“Tell me your student number.”

“First year, class 3, number 11, Seo Tae-yang!”

Something’s about to come to mind, if I just think a little more…

“Ah. So it’s you?”

I remember now. Seo Tae-yang, the blonde, tanned delinquent known for NTR. I don’t know if it was true, but that was the rumor.

If so, then that guy is even more dangerous. After all, he has the ability to interfere with people’s minds.

So he’ll go wild. Like an unbridled ruffian. He’s probably acting docile now to make us let our guard down.

“…Do you know me?”

“Do you know Kim Min-jun?”

“Yes. Are you talking about that muscle-brained senior?”

“That’s me.”

Naturally, Tae-yang looked at me with suspicious eyes. It’s certainly hard to believe, but I should be able to explain it well.

“That senior is a man. Not a woman like you.”

“What if my gender changed when I came to this world?”

“…May I excuse myself for a moment?”

Suddenly Tae-yang stood up and said:

“First of all, I have the ability to interfere with another person’s mind.”

“So what?”

“When I interfere with someone’s mind, I can also see their soul. So if you’re really that senior, your soul will look like him.”

That would certainly prove that I am who I say I am. But there’s a big problem with that method.

“How can I trust you?”

“Then how can I trust you?”

“Do I have any guarantee that you won’t do something weird to me?”

“That’s right! You say that, but actually you’re planning to manipulate Lite’s mind and turn her into your sex slave!”

Agath suddenly interrupted. But there’s certainly a high possibility of that happening.

“Miss Lite. Don’t get involved with something like this. There must be some trick.”

And Rebecca created a bow and arrow with light and aimed at Tae-yang. Tae-yang chuckled and spoke:

“Isn’t this a bit harsh? I’m really going to cry because I’m so scared.”

Tae-yang pretended to be scared and backed away. But I’m not one to be fooled by such things.

By the way, we’re from the same school. Then wouldn’t Ju-an or Ha-eun know about him?

“Do you know Nam Ju-an or Park Ha-eun?”

“I know Senior Ju-an.”

“How do you know him?”

“We became acquainted by running into each other at the academy.”

“Alright, wait a bit. If you’re lying, know that your head will fly off immediately.”

“…I really feel like I’m going to faint from fear. Please go easy on me.”

Tae-yang’s face darkened rapidly. Is he showing his true colors because things aren’t going his way?

Whatever happens, it doesn’t matter. The truth will soon be revealed anyway.

So I called Ju-an and asked:

“Hello? Do you know a kid named Seo Tae-yang?”

-Isn’t he a junior from our school?

“That’s right. So what kind of relationship do you have with him?”

-We’re close senior and junior.

At least they know each other. But the information is still woefully insufficient to trust him.

“So is he trustworthy?”

-Honestly, it’s hard to trust him.

“Okay, thanks.”

-By the way, Tae-yang is very cow…

I hung up the phone. But it seems like Ju-an was saying something… It probably doesn’t matter. Anyway, I harshly shouted at Tae-yang:

“He says you’re hard to trust?”

“…Could you let me talk on the phone? I can really explain everything.”

I summoned a gun, aimed it at Tae-yang’s head, and said:

“I told you. If you lie, your head will fly off.”

Then that boy suddenly foamed at the mouth and collapsed.

While I was confused and unable to grasp the situation, a text message arrived.

[Nam Ju-an: Tae-yang is extremely cowardly despite his appearance, so be careful]

The reason he’s hard to trust seems to be because he’s extremely cowardly. It’s certainly difficult to entrust something to someone who’s very cowardly.

Anyway, Tae-yang seems to be a junior who can really be trusted.

…This is a big problem.

***

After a little while, Tae-yang regained consciousness. And as soon as he got up, he shouted loudly:

“I’m sorry! I won’t act up anymore! Please forgive me!”

It was a truly respectful posture. You could almost believe he was a soldier.

“Um… I’m sorry… I think I misunderstood for a moment…”

“…So I won’t die?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Thank you! From now on, I won’t argue about things like this and will live quietly for the rest of my life!”

Tae-yang shouted with tears of relief. He really is extremely cowardly.

I think someone this cowardly wouldn’t do anything strange. So it should be fine to let him check my soul.

“Anyway, just check my soul.”

“…Is that really okay?”

“Yes. After all, we need to confirm that I’m Min-jun.”

“Are you sure it’s really okay? If the answer you want doesn’t come out in some kind of test…”

“Just hurry up and check before you really get a bullet hole in your head.”

“Understood!”

Tae-yang quickly grabbed my hand. And after about several tens of seconds, he let go and said:

“…Something is strange.”

“What?”

“The soul was somehow strange. Normally, a person’s body and soul should look the same.”

“Is it because I appear as muscular?”

“No. It’s because you appear as somewhat androgynous, if I had to say, like a boyish woman.”

My mind is clearly male. This is an unchangeable, immutable truth. But now this guy is lying.

No, he must have just seen wrong. That must be it.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“…Excuse me?”

“So how did my soul look?”

“Like a boyish woma…”

“Check again. You’ll definitely see the muscular senior Kim Min-jun.”

I spoke as if cornering Tae-yang. Then Tae-yang, trembling, grabbed my hand again.

And once again, after a while, Tae-yang looked at me cautiously and shouted:

“You looked like the muscle-brained senior Kim Min-jun that I know!”

“Gender?”

“Of course, a strong man!”

“Good.”

While I was satisfied with the correctly produced result, suddenly Agath and Rebecca looked at Tae-yang with pity and said:

“Lite. That’s ugly.”

“I think that’s going a bit too far.”

“Shut up. He just said my soul appears male, right?”

“Yes! That’s right!”

Tae-yang still answered respectfully, terrified.

See, even Tae-yang acknowledges it. So my soul is definitely that of a strong man.

Just as the soul verification process was ending, Leo and a gray-haired girl returned here.

“Do you two know each other?”

“Of course! For we two are soul neme…”

“It seems like this annoying chuunibyou kid is stalking me.”

Polar opposite reactions appeared. What kind of relationship do these two have?