Chapter 514. The Whole Story |
The news was so sudden that my voice wouldn't come out properly. What was even more shocking was the fact that there had been no lie in what Kang Changho had just said.
'This guy—he looked right at my soul and still wants to spill his personal life to me?'
At this point, perhaps the other party simply judged me to be the owner of some unusual skill. However, there were too many awkward circumstances to bluntly ask a human, “Hey, do I look like a person to you?”
'Really, truly....'
I soon brought up something else.
“What is the date of the restaurant reservation?”
A mammalian extraterrestrial life-form had brought up a story that interesting—honestly, how could I possibly refuse?
***
Subtle, warm white lighting diffused throughout. A long white table. A master chef who was doing his best to conceal his nervousness while attending to the guest, and so on.
'Fish is a good thing.'
In the past, whenever I came to a restaurant with this Hunter Kang, I always lost my appetite. Now, I no longer had to fear that the S-rank physical enhancement specialist next to me would kill the weak. And yet, despite such favorable conditions, today I still found myself strangely uninterested in the menu.
Because the topic Kang Changho had used as bait to lure me to this restaurant was such a massive bomb.
'He said he rented out the whole place, but the interior isn't particularly large, is it?'
By my sense of it, the shop was only slightly larger than the one-room apartment this body had originally lived in. Soon, I stepped inside. After arriving at the restaurant, we sat down on the wooden chairs nearby. As soon as the guests appeared, the chef on the other side of the table handed us cold alcohol in a bottle.
'The chef looks incredibly busy. Are there no other employees?'
Alcohol right off the bat. Such concentration-hindering substances were, as expected, not to my taste. But for an S-rank hunter, there wasn't much difference between this drink and water anyway.
'Hmm?'
I drank the aperitif that had been given to me. Then I opened my eyes slightly wide for a moment before returning to a blank expression, moistening my throat while glancing around.
'The chef seems busy preparing the food...'
As was the case on the way here, Kang Chang-ho remained silent for a while after sitting down. The fact that he simply wasn't smiling made the atmosphere around him seem quite serious.
'Is a broken engagement such a big deal to humanity?'
But I couldn't just kill time doing nothing. After a few seconds of observing the agonizing human, I looked for a gap an
'Is a broken engagement such a big deal to humanity?'
But I couldn't just kill time doing nothing. After a few seconds of observing the agonizing human, I looked for a gap and subtly took the initiative.
"By the way, to think Hunter Kang Changho had someone to marry."
Since he went as far as renting out the entire shop, I mentioned his personal life assuming he had already bribed the chef.
"It's the first I've heard of it."
At this, the S-rank physical enhancement specialist, who had been silent, finally uttered his first words.
"When you're in your thirties, it's a time when such talk naturally comes up."
To an extraterrestrial being, the age of this body and Kang Chang-ho's are about the same anyway.
—Clatter.
It was around the time the chef in front of us served a light appetizer. As I took a spoonful of the egg-based dish, Kan
—Clatter.
It was around the time the chef in front of us served a light appetizer. As I took a spoonful of the egg-based dish, Kang Changho continued beside me.
“But because of this unexpected broken engagement, it feels like I won’t be able to time my marriage properly anymore.”
“Is that so?”
The sentence that had just come out carried one hundred percent of Kang Changho’s sincerity. Therefore, I briefly reflected, taking into account both the word *broken engagement* and the claim he had just mentioned.
‘Good grief, how did something that interesting—...no, wait, that’s not it. Anyway, how did Kang Changho end up going through something so heartbreaking?’
I had almost made a slip of the tongue. However, as a seasoned Archmage, I kept my expression cold and posed a proper question.
[What kind of person is the former fiancée of an S-rank Hunter?]
When I showed interest, the man with violet hair stopped midway through filling two glasses of alcohol and replied.
【What kind of person is the former fiancée of an S-rank Hunter?】
When I showed interest, the man with violet hair stopped midway through filling two glasses of alcohol and replied.
“A nurse.”
“Pardon?”
“Her profession is a nurse.”
To think a report that the counterpart was a medical professional would come out.
‘How did a talent essential to society end up meeting an individual like this?’
Was she perhaps threatened? A peculiar thought crossed my mind, but it didn’t seem beneficial to show it outwardly.
Sip.
I maintained a listening attitude, having a light drink to accompany the meal.
“So I can still clearly point to the place where I first encountered my fiancé. I met that woman for the first time in a hos
I maintained a listening attitude, having a light drink to accompany the meal.
“So I can still clearly point to the place where I first encountered my fiancé. I met that woman for the first time in a hospital.”
Before long, Kang Changho began revealing various pieces of information.
“Back in college... precisely, during the period when I was spending time in Korea after finishing a pointless study abroad trip, there were many times I was in a state of intoxication.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“One day, I ate something wrong and had a problem, so I had to get my stomach pumped at a general hospital.”
“Hmm.”
“And I even ended up hospitalized for a few days, which had never happened to me before. That was exactly when I met my fiancée.”
Somehow, the atmosphere of the other person was gradually forming in my mind.
“Because I lived such a mess in those days, I don't remember in detail how I ended up eating something and getting h
Somehow, the atmosphere of the other person was gradually forming in my mind.
“Because I lived such a mess in those days, I don’t remember in detail how I ended up eating something and getting hospitalized, but...”
“You don’t remember at all?”
Anyway, this is a personal matter with a fresh feel. Actually, the mention just now couldn’t be called entirely unfamiliar. When you type the name Kang Changho into an internet search bar, the word that follows as an auto-complete is “school days.”
And the posts that appeared afterward naturally didn’t contain favorable content.
‘There were many testimonies that he didn’t participate well in university classes.’
The other party’s confession continued. Perhaps there was something difficult for him to say. Kang Changho swallowed several glasses of the beverage—which was little different from plain water to an awakened being—in succession.
And he brought up a new story.
“Anyway, since you seem curious, Kim Giryeo, let me tell you in more detail...”
And he brought up a new story.
"Anyway, since you seem curious, Kim Giryeo, let me tell you in more detail..."
"Yes."
"The person I met had quite a fearless personality."
Interesting.
"She was short, nagged a lot. Honestly, she was quite different from my ideal type, but strangely enough, during my hospitalization, she was the one person who caught my interest."
"I see."
"So I was the one who unilaterally made advances and got her contact information. That was the starting point of our relationship."
"To think you flirted with a medical professional who was busy doing her job...."
When I pointed out the problem once, Kang Changho chuckled and answered.
“Normally, it would be something felt as terrible, but as it happens, this side is in a position with a lot of money.”
At this point he lightly nodded.
“With a wallet backing me up, and no awakening side effects at the time so my frame was decent—was there any reason I couldn’t win over a heart like that?”
“Hmm.”
“And don’t worry. That nurse, perhaps because she had so much in her head... when a brainless person, the polar opposite of herself, approached, she accepted it with a certain level of interest.”
Hunter Kang Changho, a brainless person? Judging by his muscular appearance alone, it could certainly be interpreted that way. But in reality, wasn’t it a little different?
‘He’s knowledgeable about the internet, handles complicated things like the dark web....’
Because I was thinking about various things, I unintentionally remained silent. Naturally, Kang Changho spoke again first.
“To be honest, back then you could say there was nothing I could do except speak Korean and English.”
“Ah.”
“But that nurse had the talent to keep conversations flowing smoothly without despising someone for being stupid.”
“I see.”
“I think I met her often and had a lot of fun just because that knack was fascinating... Moreover, based on professional medical knowledge, she even dared to meddle in the health of someone like me...”
“If someone did that right in front of an intimidating person, that certainly sounds impressive.”
“Thanks to the attention she gave me, I even quit some bad habits for a while. We genuinely interacted well overall.”
—Clatter.
By the way, I had almost forgotten while focusing on the conversation, but this was clearly a restaurant.
‘Is there no explanation for the food?’
I didn't know if the place normally operated this quietly. Every time the conversation paused, Kang Changho and I picked up a piece of sushi the chef served and ate it.
“But how did you suddenly end up breaking off the engagement with someone so kind-hearted?”
Why had he broken up with the other person? But when I asked that question, Kang Changho suddenly stopped moving. He stared vaguely at the food on the table for a moment and held back his words before finally speaking in a small voice.
“Because of family opposition....”
That wasn't an answer I had expected.
‘Since his parents aren't around... is the statement just now a mention of relatives?’
'Since his parents aren't around... is the statement just now a mention of relatives?'
The question was easily resolved. The one with the eyes of a dragon soon spoke again.
“When I introduced that nurse, my parents—who ran [Nari Steel]—grabbed the back of their necks and jumped in shock.”
“....”
“It's not that the profession of nurse itself was the problem. Precisely, the background of the person their son was dating became the problem.”
“....”
“Because that nurse’s family wealth was below average. But I didn’t like that woman because of money anyway, so I thought, what does it matter... but...”
“Oh, um.”
“But my mother and father thought very differently.”
Oh, um.
But my mother and father thought very differently.
....
I didn't know this during my school years, but later they told me they had actually wanted to pair their son with the daughter of a conglomerate for a long time.
Something about the timeline sounded strange, and I wanted to point it out, but Kang Changho had begun explaining so compellingly that it was hard to interrupt. Since I remained frozen, he suddenly opened his Dragon's Eyes wide and spoke clearly about his experience.
It was an absurd dream.
....
Logically, there's no way a woman with more money than me would prefer a delinquent with a colorful past.
Hahaha. Suddenly Kang Changho's voice rose.
Anyway, I don't know what confidence those people had to think they could use their son for a political marriage.
Hahaha. Suddenly Kang Changho's voice rose.
“Anyway, I don’t know what confidence those people had to think they could use their son for a political marriage.”
“Hunter Kang Changho?”
“But in any case, because of this plan related to [Nari Steel] that I just mentioned... my parents violently opposed my relationship with an ordinary worker.”
The superpowered man sitting beside me smiled deeply enough to reveal his dimples, then suddenly turned expressionless.
“And to separate that nurse, to put it vulgarly, I heard my mother and father did things that wouldn’t even be enough if they were published in the newspaper.”
“Exactly what?”
“It’s behavior that comes out whenever you turn on a drama, so I don’t particularly want to explain it myself. So just know that the nurse asked to stop seeing each other a few days later.”
Kang Changho covered his mouth and muttered.
“But even after suffering all kinds of humiliation, she never spoke as though blaming my parents.”
“....”
“I never sincerely wanted that damn company, and I was even willing to cut ties with my family and live on my own if they kept opposing.”
“....”
“Rather, the memory of our last conversation is that nurse stubbornly dissuading me from leaving home and asking to break up. Adding that romantic feelings aren’t eternal, and making a decision on her own that I would be much happier meeting someone of my own class...”
A fiancée who acknowledged the gap between them yet politely refused further involvement. Just hearing this much, it sounded like a rather common story of a relationship.
“But the truly ridiculous part is what happened after we broke up.”
“What happened?”
But the truly ridiculous part is what happened after we broke up.
“What happened?”
“Actually, our family is one of the upper-class families that fled to a monster-clean country during the early days of [Dungeon Shock].”
“Hmm?”
“But when we returned after ending our hiding, that nurse had died after getting caught up in a gate disaster.”
“...!”
“I had a bad feeling when she kept not answering the phone, and sure enough—apparently she died while helping injured people.”
Haha... Goosebumps ran down my skin. The timeline of the story had been strange from the start, so I set down my glass and immediately asked.
“No, but Kang Changho-ssi, you clearly said you were dumped and the engagement was broken ‘recently’?”
However, his voice remained perfectly casual.
“I did. But I never said exactly what year the engagement was broken.”
“Huh?”
“Anyway, it’s not a lie, is it?”
“What the—”
“I’m quite sorry for unintentionally deceiving you subtly.”
Since the year had never been specified from the beginning, he insisted this conversation was not deception.
“But Hunter Kim Giryeo. Don’t pay too much mind to the timing of the nurse’s death after all...”
As he continued speaking, Kang Changho suddenly reached inside his coat.
“Strictly speaking, she wasn’t ‘my’ fiancé anyway.”
Then a meaningful statement emerged. It was fairly chilly outside now, so he had been wearing a brown shearling jacket the entire time. Muttering a few cold words, Kang Changho suddenly reached into the inner pocket of that coat.
—Shing.
And pulled out a dagger.
‘He was hiding a small item box there!’
After the appearance of that grotesque weapon, the situation rapidly escalated. Just moments ago we had been eating an expensive meal, yet Kang Changho—who had been sitting beside me—suddenly revealed hostility.
—Flash.
And the opponent was charging at me holding what looked like a magical artifact far too dangerous for a mere mammal to wield. Surprisingly, I had predicted this would happen.
‘So that’s why he invited me all the way to a restaurant!’
Because the drink I had been consuming contained poison.
‘So in the end it comes down to violence?’
It wasn’t exactly a liquid that would be harmful immediately. It felt like the drink I consumed was mixed with something like a [Lubricant] that helps certain magic work well. But I possessed a modified body that instantly decomposed all toxins. So I had boldly looked Kang Changho in the eyes and swallowed all the food and drink.
‘I knew it would be like this.’
Now that I had already identified the opponent’s aggression. I activated the spell I had prepared in advance to stop him.
—Flash!
But then something unexpected happened.
‘Huh?’
But then something unexpected happened.
'Huh?'
The magic didn't work.
'Wh-what?'
The miracle I had just activated was a mid-level technique that seized control of the opponent's mind. But Kang Chang ho was not affected by such a technique in the slightest and raised his dagger. Which meant that his claims about being mentally weak had all been lies.
Kang Chang-ho possessed a [Regeneration] ability close to infinite, and he is not an Awakener particularly weak to things like [Curses] or [Brainwashing]!
'Good grief? This guy, he fell asleep so submissively in front of the artificial Awakeners back then, so why now all of a sudden...'
After suspecting others all this time, perhaps the real monster had been Kang Changho all along. And the story about his fiancée had merely been a monster's tactic to buy time. The movement of the blade he held was felt by the kinetic vision of my SS-rank body.
So I decided I would no longer hold back.
'He's completely insane.'
The dagger he had drawn contained extremely powerful magic, so there was no other choice. I soon exerted my power to overcome this substantial threat.
'Even he should stop if I do this.'
What followed was a rather desperate attack. In a way that would naturally force any human to recoil reflexively, I—
—Whoosh.
Burned him with fire.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to say I merely singed him slightly. But the way Kang Changho reacted to it was so unbelievable that words almost failed me.
'His eyes....'
He literally didn't blink and continued moving. Even though soot clung to his clothes and the light created by the flames now surrounded everything. As Kang Changho swung the dagger at once without even frowning while burning, only then did the thought "Ah, that guy really is a monster" occur to me.
But to counter-attack and kill the opponent on the spot, various pieces of information blocked my actions.
—I... I'll never do you any harm.
—Let's really be close friends from now on.
Hadn't those words Kang Changho once said been one hundred percent genuine sincerity? No matter how decayed and outdated I might be, I was still a former Archmage. Based on that tremendous ability, I could assert this: Kang Changho had never once been caught lying by a lie detector.
But if I killed him while possessing that information? Would it be right for me to take such an irreversible action?
Anyway, whether this 0.3 seconds of hesitation was conveyed to the opponent, Kang Changho only spoke like this just before his dagger was about to pierce my skin.
“As expected, you are...”
He had lowered the ends of his eyebrows—something rare for him—so it was difficult to interrupt casually.
“You’re soft in everything you do.”
***
After being struck by the dagger Kang Changho swung, my consciousness went dark for a moment.
Author's Thoughts
Hi, from now on, I will update this novel 3 chapters/week. Thank you for all your support so far:)