Ch.72Hero’s Trial (3)

I’ve been forced to participate in the Hero’s Trial tomorrow.

Even if I somehow pass the trial and strengthen my supernatural power, would it really be useful?

Of course, being able to interfere with people’s minds is an incredible ability. But the problem is that the Demon King can’t harm anyone except the Hero.

Divine power can inflict minimal damage, but since this is a supernatural power, it can’t cause any harm. So what’s the point of strengthening something like this?

That’s why I wasn’t going to participate in the trial. If only that reincarnator Lite wasn’t around.

Suddenly pulling out a gun when we meet and threatening me to participate—can someone like that really be considered normal?

No, I guess she’s called a psychopath precisely because she’s not normal.

Still, fortunately, until tomorrow I can rest alone without anyone bothering me.

Ding-dong.

Just as I was happily unpacking with that thought, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Wondering what it could be, I opened the door to find a demon who looked pretty on the outside but was terrifyingly scary on the inside.

“Hey Taeyang, let’s go hang out at Ju-an’s place.”

God, why are you doing this to me?

***

I decided to pick up Taeyang first before going to Ju-an’s room. Ha-eun would probably take some time unpacking since she’s a girl.

Anyway, I rang the doorbell of Taeyang’s room. After a while, Taeyang appeared.

“Hey Taeyang, let’s go hang out at Ju-an’s place.”

“…Do you have something against me?”

“Whatever, forget it if you don’t want to.”

If it were just me and Ju-an hanging out one-on-one, that orange-haired guy would definitely try to butt in, but if there are two or more people from the same world, it would be harder for him to interfere.

So even if Taeyang refuses, as long as Ha-eun comes along, I can perfectly block that orange-haired guy in advance.

As I was about to head to Ha-eun’s room, Taeyang urgently called out.

“No! I’ll come!”

“Great, now let’s go get Ha-eun.”

“…Why are you bringing senior Ha-eun?”

“When else will the four of us get to gather like this? That’s why I’m bringing her.”

Honestly, Ju-an and I can meet easily. Taeyang is also close enough that we can meet if we want to. But Ha-eun is the exception.

Ha-eun is the only one who lives extremely far away. So it’s hard to even get a chance to see her face.

So while the four of us are together, we might as well build some camaraderie.

Anyway, we went to Ha-eun’s room and rang the doorbell.

“Who is… Oh, hello senior. Why are you here?”

“Just wanted to hang out together. When else will the four of us get to see each other?”

“Not a bad idea. So when are we leaving?”

Great. I’ve gathered all three. Now we just need to meet up and hang out.

***

A huge variable emerged. It’s that Ju-an’s way of thinking is much more unique than I expected.

Apparently, Ju-an went to the physical training room right after unpacking, saying he hadn’t met his quota.

So when we came to the physical training room, Ju-an was indeed swinging his sword in the air.

“What are you doing?”

“Training.”

Ju-an answered briefly and continued swinging his sword in the air. Is he practicing some kind of swordsmanship?

“But couldn’t you rest for just one day? You should be managing your condition, especially with the trial tomorrow.”

“That’s exactly why I need to cram in as much practice as possible.”

“…You really work hard.”

“I have to defeat the Demon King.”

No matter how much I like exercise, I’ve never practiced to that extent. But if I had to think of it as an obligation…

At least for now, I’m glad I’ve changed into this body.

“Okay, so what should we do now?”

Ju-an is clearly focused on that. So even if the orange-haired guy comes, it’s obvious he won’t get anywhere. Should the three of us just hang out then?

“Let’s just chat here until senior Ju-an finishes.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

Still, there’s a possibility. The orange-haired guy might suddenly show up with a thick skin and try to interfere.

So to prevent that, we’ll build camaraderie here. It’s a perfect plan.

Anyway, the three of us… well, actually just Ha-eun and I had a one-sided conversation.

“Why are you so quiet?”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Just speak comfortably. It’s not like someone’s going to arrest you for saying something wrong.”

“I really think they might.”

For some reason, Taeyang is excessively afraid of me. Did I do something strange?

No matter how much I think about it, I can’t recall doing anything strange. I’m pretty sure I only did normal things…

Or is he just awkward? If so, we should find some common interests.

“Let’s start by sharing our hobbies.”

“Usually the person who suggests it goes first.”

“Alright. My hobby is… I don’t really have one.”

“Then what do you usually do in your free time, senior?”

“…Good question.”

Before coming to this world, I mainly did exercise and gaming, but after coming here, only gaming remained.

Exercise is impossible with this body now. But I don’t play games as much as I used to either.

Since everything I was doing got wiped out, my motivation dropped significantly, and life is too busy to have time for anything.

“Okay, I’ll go first then. My hobby is just researching magic.”

“…That’s a hobby?”

“Yes, it’s more fun than you’d think. Would you like to try it, senior?”

“No. I absolutely don’t want to try it.”

Ha-eun continued to recommend magic to me with a disappointed look.

“Come on, how about learning basic magic at least? It’s easy to learn and has many uses.”

“You call that easy? I couldn’t understand it at all when I saw it.”

“Who on earth explained it to you?”

“Leo.”

“…I think you just don’t have talent for magic, senior.”

What on earth happened in those two weeks that changed Ha-eun like this? Should I have checked when she first mentioned enjoying studying?

But it’s probably fine since there’s no major issue. Maybe I just have strange prejudices about mages.

Anyway, now I just need to ask about Taeyang’s hobbies.

“So what’s your hobby?”

“Just playing games and watching anime.”

“Then what’s your favorite game or anime?”

“I don’t really have one.”

None of us have overlapping interests. So what should we do?

“Should we just watch him?”

I pointed at Ju-an as I spoke.

Now there’s nothing left to talk about. We’ve already discussed our recent situations, and we don’t share any interests.

“That sounds boring.”

“I agree.”

“Do you have anything else in mind?”

“No.”

“No.”

“Then let’s just watch him for now. If it gets boring, we can think of something else.”

So we decided to watch Ju-an train for the time being.

Surprisingly, watching Ju-an was entertaining. Each of his movements was so flashy that it was enjoyable to watch.

So while we were continuing to watch Ju-an, he suddenly spoke up.

“Um… this is a bit uncomfortable.”

“Oh, sorry. Should we move?”

“No, I was just about to take a break. So how have you all been?”

And finally, we had something to talk about.

***

I deeply realized why an MC is such an important figure. With someone mediating in the middle, the conversation flowed smoothly.

So even after midnight, the conversation showed no signs of stopping.

While we were having a good time, the orange-haired guy came looking for us.

“Ju-an? You should take it easy since there’s a trial tomorrow…”

And then our eyes met.

“Hello.”

“…Why are you here?”

“Just building camaraderie among people from the same world, you know?”

“You told me before that I was interfer—”

“We waited without disturbing Ju-an until he finished training, so don’t worry.”

The orange-haired guy glared at me fiercely, probably because all his sentences were getting cut off.

From the beginning, he was the one who rudely spoke informally to me even though we weren’t close. So I don’t need to show him the same respect.

Of course, if he had spoken politely to me, I wouldn’t have thought about cutting him off. But he didn’t, so this is my revenge.

“Anyway, it’s time to—”

“I understand. We’ll disperse soon to prepare for tomorrow’s trial that the four of us will be taking together.”

I cut him off once more as I headed out. Right, I should say goodnight since it’s bedtime.

“Then, sleep well.”

And I was confident that I would sleep soundly tonight.

***

When I returned to my room with light steps, Agath was sitting in front of my door.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to ravish you.”

Agath squeezed out the words in a completely drained voice.

“So what’s the problem this time?”

“Remember when we caught that high-ranking demon last time?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Do you remember when I played that rather harsh prank on you?”

“You mean that idiotic gang rape plan?”

“Yes. My father found out about it, and I’m going to die tomorrow.”

I looked at Agath with the most contemptuous eyes I could muster. She probably came to ask me to explain the situation to her father.

“Look, I was just playing a really harsh prank. But my father misunderstood and thinks it was real.”

“So you want me to explain on your behalf?”

“No. I really came to ravish you.”

“…”

“If I’m going to be misunderstood for something I didn’t do, I might as well actually do it and get dragged away. That would be less unfair, right?”

“Just explain that it was really a prank…”

With my help, she could easily explain and make it like nothing happened. Then she wouldn’t get in trouble. But why is she trying to make things worse?

“Even ghosts who die while eating look pretty.”

Suddenly Agath stood up and started walking toward me.

“…Didn’t you say you needed to live normally until this Friday?”

“I’m going to die tomorrow anyway. So why should I bother following that?”

“Please come to your senses! It’s not too late!”

Agath suddenly stopped, smiled brightly, and spouted nonsense.

“It’s your fault for having such a tempting body.”

I summoned my gun and put it to my head.

“If you come any closer, I’ll kill myself.”

“You know what? They say a body stays warm for a while even after death.”

Agath took one step forward and said,

“The inside would still be warm, right?”

“Let’s… calm down and talk this through…”

“Then let’s communicate with our bodies.”

Agath’s eyes were still lifeless. This person is completely broken.

Okay, who can I get help from nearby? Right, his room isn’t far from here.

“Ju-aaaaaaaan!”

I screamed as loudly as I could while running away from Agath.