episode_0019

One bowl, two bowls.

It was the name of a small restaurant not far from the academy.

“Senior, may I order a little more?”

“…Sure.”

The name of the restaurant where I brought the protagonist from the original story, who used to diligently run around the field, was ‘…Not a great name, honestly.’ I thought it wasn’t a well-thought-out name. Perhaps the reason why there were no customers except us during this golden time of a weekend evening might be because of the name of the place. Objectively speaking, the name “One bowl, two bowls” wasn’t really an inviting name for customers to visit. The reason why I knew about this place, where customers didn’t frequent, was simple. “Wow, the food here is really delicious, isn’t it?” “…Is that so?” “How did you come to know about this place, Senior?” ‘…Because you were a regular at this place in the original story.’ It was a place frequently visited by the original protagonist who is now hastily eating in front of me. As someone who enjoyed the original work more than anyone else, it was a place I couldn’t help but know. In fact, this was the first place I sought out after transmigrating. Out of curiosity. I wondered just how delicious the food must have been for the original Damien to recommend it to the heroines. This curiosity led me to visit this place after transmigrating. ‘…It was quite tasty.’ The result was satisfactory. While it couldn’t compare to a Michelin-starred restaurant, the biggest charm of this place was that one could eat heartily at a reasonable price. Perhaps that’s why the original Damien became a regular at this place. At the beginning of the story, Damien, having finished training as usual, happened to come across this place while desperately seeking food to satisfy his hunger. From then on, he became a regular at this peculiarly named place. This was the content of the original story as I remembered it. Of course, since I couldn’t tell the original protagonist about this fact, I casually responded, “I just happened to come across it while walking around the academy.”

“Even though I’m meeting my senior for the first time today, it seems like Senior has exceptional insight,” Damien nodded his head, his clear and bright eyes sparkling almost too dazzlingly.

Hmm.

Is it really that delicious?

I expected people to like it since it received the original work certification, but I didn’t imagine such a fervent response.

“I’m glad you find it delicious.”

“Yes. It’s really delicious. Senior, aren’t you going to eat more?”

“Well… I’m not someone who eats a lot normally.”

“Then I’ll concentrate on eating without feeling guilty.”

After that, Damien Exios truly ‘enjoyed’ his meal. As someone who had never emptied two bowls of rice since the possession, it was a sight that seemed simply astonishing to me.

Is it really that delicious? Honestly, I’ve tried it myself, but it wasn’t to that extent. Suddenly, I asked lightly, but the response I got back was as expected.

“…Is it really that delicious?”

“Yes. It’s really, really delicious. It seems like the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten.”

Yeah, eat a lot. Since the commission fee for today will be doubled, money shouldn’t be an issue.

Of course, I understood. Any food becomes the most delicious when eaten in a situation where one is extremely hungry. Although I didn’t hear it directly, it was obvious that Damien probably hadn’t eaten a meal today.

On weekdays, the restaurants operated by the academy were free. However, on weekends, one had to pay separately to use the academy-operated restaurants.

“…He wouldn’t have applied for that.”

And the current Damien certainly hadn’t applied for that.

It made sense. Damien was a protagonist who had lived off the basic support provided by the academy until he could earn money through commissions. Compared to other protagonists in academy-themed stories, who were mostly well-off from the start, he had quite a unique background.

Suddenly losing his entire family to a sudden appearance of a monster, entering the academy without anyone to help him from the orphanage, he had achieved something remarkable.

So, you’ve asked for a translation of the Korean webnovel into English. Here’s the translated text:

That’s how it came to the point where I couldn’t even afford to eat on weekends at the academy.

Perhaps, this is also why I suddenly felt like buying Damien a meal out of the blue.

“Senior?”

“Yeah. Why do you call me?”

“Why all of a sudden are you buying me a meal?”

It was a question Damien asked me as he continued to keep his mouth shut before the food arrived.

If it were an ordinary person, it was natural to have doubts about such a sudden kindness.

Of course, I didn’t give a truthful answer.

“Well… just because?”

“You’re saying ‘just because’?”

“Yeah. Just because. I just felt like doing it all of a sudden.”

Just… just because.

I merely bypassed a difficult question with that single word.

“…Actually, I don’t really know the reason myself.”

More precisely, I didn’t understand why I was approaching the protagonist of the original work to buy him a meal, so I casually passed it off.

I didn’t know either.

Why I was doing this, why I was suddenly buying the protagonist a meal.

It was a fact that I clearly knew.

The person I should be most cautious of in order to “die comfortably” was none other than the protagonist who was diligently eating in front of me right now.

From the start, there was no way I wouldn’t know.

While Damien attended the academy, I couldn’t possibly be unaware of how many incidents would befall Damien, having read the original work.

However.

Despite knowing all these facts.

I approached Damien, who was running on the field, and brought him straight to this restaurant.

It was impulsive.

Very impulsive.

“…”

Just a few weeks ago, I would never have done it.

It was something I would never have done if I had been the me who feared above all else that my fate would unfold as in the original work.

The original Lian was expelled from the academy.

By this very protagonist who is still earnestly eating in front of his fiancée Elena.

Since then, he didn’t even appear in the original work.

Occasionally, he appeared as a memory of the past through one of the heroines, Aria Trice.

Even that was as an antagonist.

The sight of my older brother, who seems like a stubborn fool that doesn’t listen to anyone in the family.

Considering this, from my perspective of living just enough and wishing for death by my own name, today’s decision to buy dinner for the protagonist might have been the worst choice I could make. It was highly likely to turn out that way. Getting involved with the protagonist means a higher chance of getting entangled in all sorts of incidents. However, even so, the reason I made such an impulsive move was simple. Earlier, I couldn’t find a reason for myself, but now, at least it seemed like I could answer to myself.

“······Because you looked hungry.”

You looked hungry. The sight of the protagonist, who is training for their own goal, seemed incredibly difficult. Buying food for someone who looks hungry. Is there really a need for a complicated reason for this simple proposition? Moreover, especially for me, who can understand the protagonist’s position better than anyone else. It’s me who knows how dreadful hunger can be in the process of striving hard for one’s own goal. For the past year since the possession, I could confidently say that I lived busier than anyone else. Not to follow the original work. I worked harder than anyone else to not follow the future of Lianne Trice indicated in the original work. Of course, there were no hardships in that process. Now, everything has been settled and is fine, but for a while, the 1 million won, which now feels abundant, felt terribly insufficient as I organized Lianne’s past in the original work. There were more than a couple of times when I didn’t have enough money and had to use my body. There were more than a couple of times when I skipped meals because I didn’t have enough money to eat. Me. I know better than anyone else the hardships of such efforts. “······How could I overlook it.” How could I simply pass by the protagonist of the original work, who strives hard with the goal of living for others. That’s all there was to it. I simply couldn’t pass by. “Senior?” “······Hm? Why call me?” “This is also fate. Won’t you tell me your name, senior?” “My name?” “Yes. I mentioned mine earlier, but come to think of it, I haven’t heard your name yet, senior.”

“My name. Curious?”

“Yes. Very curious.”

“…No need to know.”

This was just an insurance I made for my unfulfilled self.

“Yes?”

“Do you really need to know my name? We’re not likely to see each other after today anyway.”

“You never know. There might be a day when I’ll meet you again, senior. Then I could treat you to a meal…”

“Never mind. I’m fine, so just eat comfortably. Don’t bother thinking about repaying me.”

“…”

“In the future, it doesn’t seem like we’ll have any reason to meet again. Just think of it as meeting a gullible senior by chance.”

Insurance.

Preparing in advance for a feared future event.

I was still just a coward who feared something that hadn’t even happened yet.

This was a fact that wouldn’t change in the future.

A clear truth that no one, not even myself, would deny.

Unlike the person in front of me, who would someday shine brightly like a star in the night sky, becoming the protagonist.