This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 55

“Alright, if I just pound this in…?”

With a rock picked up to serve as a hammer, I struck down on the stake, sounding a solid thud, completing the long and arduous task of setting up the tent.

Surrounding me now were…

“Aiyoo… I’m dying here…”

“This is way harder than I thought…”

Two individuals lay sprawled out, nearly out of breath.

Thanks to them, instead of feeling a sense of pride, I found myself thinking how pitiful it all was.

I mean, it’s not like I just set up a 24-person tent; it’s just a tiny one, and yet they both look like they’re about to kick the bucket.

With stamina like that, I wonder how in the world they would manage in the military?

Seeing the two of them sprawled out as if they had a snack with the ground made me cluck my tongue inwardly, muttering my thoughts until I realized.

‘Ah, right.’

This isn’t conscription; it’s volunteer-based.

That means, unless I suddenly lose my mind one day and start babbling about “Hehe… military… yay…” and submit an application, I won’t have to worry about that.

Of course, while I’m free from military concerns, I’ll have to leap into the job market right after graduating high school and start worrying about the future and employment.

So, isn’t it better to just enlist, right?

I’ve heard there are indeed people who choose that option.

But that’s just hearsay, and I don’t really know the nitty-gritty details of any perks that come with taking that path.

‘Still…’

Since it’s volunteer-based, won’t they treat us better than those who experienced it firsthand in their previous lives?

The life of a soldier I endured in my last incarnation was technically soldiering, but it was pretty much akin to being a cheap slave. So, it would be hard for it to get worse than that.

‘Now that I think about it, it gets me riled up…’

Having to rot away for two years in that hellhole under the guise of national defense is bad enough, but on outings, they’d be overcharging you… Those clueless girls on the internet babbling that military service was just like camping… absurd!

‘…Wait, how the heck did I even endure that?’

Looking back now, it’s a miracle I didn’t go AWOL.

Anyway… I have absolutely no fond memories of the military, so even if the treatment is better, I’d prefer to keep that choice as a last resort.

And more than anything… the soldiers in this world are genuinely putting their lives on the line.

With those absurd beings known as Heroes existing, even if battles occur, it’s likely they’ll be sent to clean-up duty rather than fighting upfront… but clean-up doesn’t mean it’s completely safe.

Given the risk of encounters with villains or remnants of Another Ones popping up anytime while on duty, honestly, it doesn’t sound appealing at all.

Could it be that the fact the tent’s colors reminded me of military green got me a bit lost in thought?

The girls who had disappeared into the fridge to fetch something to wash with, promising to bring back lettuce, returned to the pension.

The first thing they noticed upon returning was, no surprise, the neat tent standing proudly in the yard.

“Oh, what’s this? You set it all up?”

It hadn’t been long since they left, but they seemed genuinely surprised that the setup was completed so quickly.

A pure sense of admiration blossomed on their faces.

“Hem hem, it’s not that we were slacking earlier; if we put our mind to it, it’s no big deal…”

And right then, one particularly eager to show off did just that—his name was Jinho.

I clearly remembered him whining about this and that while I was struggling to set up the tent, so his acting all cool in front of the girls was rather unbearable… but I decided to stay silent.

After all, I couldn’t ruin my friend’s moment to show off in front of a girl he liked, even if I couldn’t chime in with a word of encouragement.

“What’s he talking about? It’s obvious Dogun did everything. No need to guess.”

And once again, justice prevailed.

Look at that. I had stayed completely silent, yet people recognized my efforts.

“No way! I helped too! Without me, that tent wouldn’t even be standing!”

If you’re gonna show off, at least hold your ground till the end.

It’s not like you’re a little kid throwing a tantrum, so what the heck is this?

‘Sigh…’

Looking at it, there’s no way this is gonna end well.

“Of course. That’s how it is. Anyway, since the tent’s all set up, shall we start getting ready for dinner?”

“Huh? Already?”

“What’s with this… am I the only one starving?”

Well, it was about that time.

This was only reasonable since everyone had stuffed themselves on thick soup earlier, but there were only two chickens in that spicy chicken stew.

Sharing that among six of us, regardless of how many potatoes were in there, it was bound to leave us all hungry again soon.

True to that, barely any time had passed since lunch when Jinho groaned, questioning why we were already talking about dinner.

“I guess we have to eat. Hm, well, it is 7 PM, the perfect time for dinner. Count me in.”

“What? It’s only 7 o’clock? I thought it was closer to 9.”

“Even if it looks like this, it’s still a mountain area, right? So, it gets dark faster here, huh?”

Sure, that might play a part, but honestly, it’s mostly because it’s winter.

Anyway… it seemed like everyone was on board for dinner, so it was getting close to prep time.

Well, we had decided on barbecue, so dinner prep wasn’t going to be that complicated.

Just slicing up some veggies to grill with the meat?

Among those, the sweet potatoes I got as a backup in case of meat shortage would be left untouched.

Thanks to Jinho’s aunt’s benevolence, we had enough meat to take care of, so trying to grill those will just leave us with leftovers.

Better to leave those alone and save them for later, wrapping them in foil to enjoy roasted sweet potatoes.

As I was doing just that, wrapping up the sweet potatoes meticulously, someone suddenly chimed in.

“Huh? What? Are we gonna have roasted sweet potatoes too?”

Knowing how delicious roasted sweet potatoes are, even though the aroma wasn’t wafting yet, Yoonseo appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Her sudden appearance was a surprise to me.

It had to be; ever since the deep impact at the trampoline park, she had been awkwardly avoiding me, and I figured it would last until at least tomorrow morning.

Yet here she was, bouncing back so quickly—could it be the power of camping?

“Why? Want me to make one for you?”

“Well, are you trying to eat that all by yourself?”

“Sorry, but I can’t share my roasted sweet potatoes, no way!”

“I’d been wondering why things seemed so quiet this winter, and there it is, your obsession with roasted sweet potatoes…”

Roasted sweet potatoes are tasty in summer, but they taste even better in winter.

Especially when you’re out in this chilly wind, roasting them over a campfire?

‘I absolutely can’t resist that.’

Just imagining biting into a freshly peeled roasted sweet potato—warm, fluffy, and emitting fluffy steam—was enough to make my mouth water.

But what did she just say?

“So, are you not gonna eat it?”

“Well then, can you make one for me?”

That’s more like it.

But there she was, hounding me like it was unnecessary…

“Then take this one and that one outside.”

“Pfft… What’s the harm in just making it for me?”

“Yep, there’s harm.”

With Yoonseo’s enthusiastic help, dinner prep for the barbecue wrapped up in no time.

And only then did I properly face the barbecue ingredients for the day… Honestly, all I could do was admire what was laid out before me.

The pork belly we brought was just decent pork belly, with nothing that really impressed me, but the meat Jinho’s aunt gave us as a treat was ‘real’ meat.

Perhaps she splurged a bit in honor of her nephew’s graduation? With marbling that was beautifully patterned like flowers, it made me understand why people refer to this cut as flower sirloin.

Maybe that’s why the sound it made when it hit the grill was something else entirely.

‘This meat…’

Did I just roast up some premium beef by mistake?

I was worried that everyone might end up swearing off pork belly after this one.

At one point, I thought that way, but it didn’t take long to realize how foolish that train of thought was, underestimating the sophisticated tastes of sprightly boys and girls.

Even though I’d slightly under-eaten at lunch, that degree of hunger didn’t make sense.

It was like each of them had a black hole in their mouths, as even with a big grill fully fired up, the meat was disappearing faster than it could cook.

Thanks to that, my grand plan of snacking on a piece or two while grilling went down the drain.

‘Damn…’

These ingrates!

Come on, when one’s grilling this hard, shouldn’t at least one person come over with some wrap?

Even as I silently lamented this, a soft sound echoed.

Crunch…

Someone stepped on the gravel beneath us, and—

“Hey.”

“Huh?”

A well-wrapped piece of lettuce appeared beside my face, careful not to let a drop of its contents spill.

“…Eat.”