Chapter 31: Absolute Proposition (12)

“Jaeyoon is….”

“Yeah….”

Ihyun stared up at the ceiling with a hollow expression. After listening to Nari and the guildmaster’s conversation, he had a rough idea of what must have happened at school. He let out another heavy sigh.

“Why didn’t you tell me!”

“W-Well, because he didn’t want to talk about it himself! You know how worried he was that his grandfather would explode in anger!”

“Still, I’m your partner. You know I don’t do things you hate, Nari. More than anything, I’ve been close with Jaeyoon since we were kids.”

“Sorry….”

Even from an objective point of view, it was only natural for Ihyun to feel upset. Nari had no excuse, so she just fiddled with her fingers and stared at the floor.

She had promised to act together but had fallen into her old habit of trying to deal with everything alone. Because of that, things had nearly gone wrong. And in organizational life, you are not supposed to hide such matters.

“It’s not that I didn’t trust you and the guildmaster, it’s just…”

“I know. I know what you were worried about. But it’s fine. I don’t know about the Sanctuary Guild, but I’m still on your side, Nari. Right?”

“Mhm.”

“I’ll contact Jaeyoon tomorrow and ask if I can meet him separately. That guy, he stopped answering my calls at some point, and I guess he thought hiding his strength was a clever act…”

When Nari gave a reluctant nod, Ihyun smiled again and carefully added,

“Oh! And even though the guildmaster sounded like that, she actually cares a lot about Lude. I do too. So, don’t take it to heart….”

“No. I’m not hurt. It was true that I was in the wrong.”

Hearing such ordinary advice again after a long time made Nari thoughtful. Hugging her knees on the sofa, she glanced at Kang Ihyun and mumbled,

“And I trust you now. Like you said, I won’t leave for a year. I can’t anymore.”

“Ah.”

Ihyun froze with his mouth half open. He had hoped his impulsive words from earlier would be forgotten, but now they resurfaced. His eyes darted around before he reflexively asked,

“W-Why?”

“…”

Nari glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. When Ihyun only blinked back, she frowned sharply, then suddenly stood up.

“Ugh, forget it! If you keep being that nice, some bad guy is going to take advantage of you one day! I’m serious!”

“Huh?”

“Forget it, whatever, I’m going home!”

“H-How about you have dinner here first and…!”

“Quiet! I’m leaving right now!”

With her ears burning red, Nari grabbed her coat and immediately opened a dimensional rift. Just before stepping through in a hurry, she glanced back at Ihyun.

“Kang Ihyun.”

“Yes?”

“…See you tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes! See you tomorrow!”

Nari gave him a brief look, then whipped her head away and stepped straight into the rift.

And then, a black indirect message appeared in front of her.

[To be honest, says the Lord of Chaos, stroking his chin.]

[I thought you would get rid of Kang Ihyun. That way your heart would have settled, says the Lord of Chaos as he stares at you.]

“...Shut up. It settled like this too, so it’s fine isn’t it! What are you even doing, are you protecting me or just using me?!”

[Of course I’m protecting my pretty little sister. This big brother only ever thinks of Nari, says the Lord of Chaos, shaking his head.]

“Hmph! I don’t believe you anymore.”

[Anyway, I’m glad our Nari feels a little more at ease, says the Lord of Chaos as he pats your head.]

“Pretending to be kind now won’t work on me.”

Nari kept staring at the status message that had appeared in front of her eyes.

She had worried that Ihyun might think of her as just a passing presence in his life, but she realized he too had feared that he might be nothing more than a passing presence to her.

When she understood that Kang Ihyun was not simply ranking number two, not only the son of the national hero, not only the sole incarnation of an archangel, but an ordinary human who felt anxiety just like her, her own abnormal state began to change.

Of course, at that moment her spirit energy had flared out of control and she had become emotional. But Ihyun accepted even that.

No, he went further and revealed his own weakness to match her condition.

[Status Effect :: Social Aversion is alleviated!]

[*Current Status Effect – You are suffering from Social Aversion. If you use a skill in front of others while in your true form, the skill effect will be severely reduced.

However, trusted individuals are excluded.

Currently excluded: Kang Ihyun*]

Realizing that Kang Ihyun was not just the eternally kind person she had imagined, but an independent being with his own thoughts and personality, Nari let go of her arrogance.

And once again, she ended up placing her trust in another person. Even though she had guarded herself so consistently, it still happened.

Of course, she knew this might one day lead her to ruin again, yet the heart is something so easily broken and yet so easily healed.

The sun was too warm, and the coat was too hot.

* * *

“Yowch— no, ow! Grandpa, that hurts!”

“Quiet, brat! Do you know how terrified I was! Huh?! You don’t answer your phone, Ihyun says nothing, and it’s not like you were skipping school either! Seeing that the Sanctuary gate raid was restricted, I knew you had to be inside!”

“Hey, they say no news is good news! Isn’t that right? I was scared too, you know. Comfort me~ will you? Who would have thought the moment I tried to sneak over the school wall, an erosion type gate would blow up? Crazy luck~ right?”

At Min Jaeyoon’s house, Min Jaewon was furiously applying red antiseptic to a scrape on his grandson’s finger.

Normally, an Awakener would heal such a scratch in no time. But Jaeyoon, not wanting to arouse his grandfather’s suspicion, deliberately slowed his recovery to the pace of an ordinary human.

“That’s not what that saying means! And stop looking at your phone when an adult is talking! Huh?!”

“I’m looking at something important. I told you, I’m fine! You don’t have to put medicine on me!”

Scrolling through every article about the school gate on his phone, Min Jaeyoon’s face grew sharp. All day, he had obsessively checked the internet and even social media reactions.

He was searching to see if any of his friends had been transported to a hospital and died, or how serious the injuries were. The more he searched, the darker his expression became. Suddenly, a thought struck him.

‘I don’t think I’ll ever escape that school, or that moment.’

Ten years from now, twenty years from now, he felt he would still be trapped there. He would always be wearing his school uniform.

Regrets crushed his shoulders. ‘If only I hadn’t hidden my strength. If only I had acted more decisively. If only I had studied magic more.’

If not for Lude and Kang Ihyun, no matter how strong he believed himself to be, he would never have saved all his friends at school.

“You brat, stop staring at that phone and study for once. What are you going to do with your life? You’re not an Awakener like Ihyun, yet you skip school and you ruin the college exam. What then? I can’t pay for you to repeat your studies.”

His chilling thoughts were hidden behind a joking tone, spoken so his grandfather would not suspect anything.

“Heh, but isn’t it lucky? You always nagged me for skipping school, but this time, skipping class actually turned out well, didn’t it?”

Expecting another barrage of nagging, he half ignored his grandfather’s words while continuing to search the school’s name on social media. The reactions were mixed, praise and harsh criticism all swirling together.

It felt like the text on the screen was devouring him, but he couldn’t stop. When he sat still, the sight of friends collapsing, the helplessness and regret from that day, all seemed to wash over him again.

After a long silence, his grandfather spoke.

“…Yes.”

“Eh? Really?”

Jaeyoon looked up, grinning playfully. But then he froze. His grandfather was gripping his hand tightly.

“Thank goodness. Truly….”

“G-Grandpa?”

His grandfather’s shoulders were trembling. He held Jaeyoon’s hand in both of his own, then muttered in a voice that sounded close to sobbing,

“Thank you, Jaeyoon. Thank you for coming back safely. I… this old man thought I’d lose you too….”

“N-No, Grandpa, I’m fine! Look at me. I’m great at dodging things like that, aren’t I? Right?”

“You don’t understand. You don’t understand, Jaeyoon. People die so easily… if I lost you too, I couldn’t go on...”

Jaeyoon’s expression hardened.

Then he realized something. Just as he could not escape the memory of what happened at school, his grandfather too could never escape the dungeon where demons had taken his son and daughter-in-law.

Floods of thoughts surged in his mind. His grandfather, Min Jaewon the Hunter, was his own future.

Ironically, his grandfather could only live within that dungeon, where he had lost his children. And so Jaeyoon too would only be able to live within the school where he had nearly lost his friends.

Ding. A notification popped up on Jaeyoon’s phone.

[You did well today, Jaeyoon. Sorry to bother you late at night while you’re resting, but Lude said he wants to talk about the erosion type gate problem. Can you come out tomorrow? Message me when you’re free.]

Jaeyoon read it quickly, then switched off the screen.

The memory of Ihyun’s holy power and Lude’s spirit energy still lingered in his mind. What if they hadn’t been there to save him that day?

At least when he was at the scene, he had Kang Ihyun and Lude at his side. He had their help. But his grandfather who had no one to help him?

Who would save him, when he remained forever trapped in that dungeon, alone?

“…Grandpa. I’m fine. Really.”

Jaeyoon grasped Min Jaewon’s trembling hands. Only now did he begin to understand his grandfather’s feelings. It was fear.

The fear that it might happen again. The trauma that any small sign might mean the catastrophe would return.

Jaeyoon wondered if perhaps he could shoulder that fear with him.

Because he was the King of Demons. Because he could bury the demons tormenting his grandfather into the abyss and carve their names into his grimoire.

“Don’t cry. It’s fine now.”

Patting his grandfather’s shoulder, Jaeyoon spoke with a rare seriousness. He would soon graduate high school. It was time to decide his path, to stand tall as an adult.

He was no longer a student who needed protection. He had to become an adult who could protect someone else. He had no choice.

Otherwise, as Lude said, someday he would regret not acting when he could have. He would see the faces of those he failed to save, haunting his mind.

With that thought, Jaeyoon squeezed his eyes shut. Then he patted Min Jaewon’s back and spoke softly.

“…Grandpa. I have something to confess. Will you listen?”

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