Chapter 132

If one were to think about it, with exams over and only the summer break left, it was obvious that proper studying wouldn’t be possible with all the excited children around.

Indeed, teachers for regular subjects like math and Korean made students revise their mistakes under the school’s watchful eyes, but the gym teacher, more boldly, told the girls to play dodgeball and the boys to play soccer before leaving.

To the students, this approach was far preferable to the music teacher, who, while supposedly supervising study time, simply played with their phone in their seat. Joyously, the students cheerfully divided the playground in half, just as the teacher had instructed, and began to play.

As for me, I knew joining in any group activity wouldn’t end well, so the moment the teacher left, I immediately sat in the shade to observe the children at play.

Perhaps it was because summer was already here, or because it was still summer, but I had no desire to play under the blazing sun. My body was still sore from yesterday’s ordeal.

Inna’s group, while not something I clearly noticed myself, was reputed to be the leading clique among the girls, as I’d heard before. This was clearly demonstrated during the dodgeball game.

Surely not a supernatural ability user, a figure in black with Song Gain seemingly perched on their head was eliminating opponents as though they were a physical enhancement-type user.

Though not as powerful as the man I had encountered before, who possessed the ability of the iron-backed boar, they had an alarming agility in dodging the ball that could be considered on par with the former.

In reality, if these two were to ever fight, Song Gain’s strength, even with weapons, wouldn’t be enough to pierce the man’s iron hide, meaning she’d likely lose.

“What are you staring at so intently?”

“Dodgeball.”

“Do you enjoy watching these kinds of things? You seemed to be doing the same thing last time, too.”

“Sort of. There’s nothing else to do here anyway.”

“A few people just take out their phones and do their own thing, but then again, you’d probably get reported by more than a couple students if you pulled that out around here.”

While watching Song Gain, who wasn’t a supernatural ability user but played with the vigor of one, someone sitting next to me struck up a conversation.

Unlike me, who had been somewhat shunned by Inna’s group despite their invitation to join, this person was well-liked enough that students from other classes during gym class were hesitant to let him rest, given his soccer skills and popularity.

Seated in the shade like me, he was also observing the students at play on the field.

Though there was a good chance I was overthinking it, it was highly probable that his reason for sitting next to me was because he wanted to talk.

“I didn’t come here just to say these things—I have another reason. Is something the matter?”

“Sometime during the vacation—I’m not sure when exactly—Inna will confess to you. I think I mentioned this before, do you remember?”

Though I had given the signal to spit it out, I hadn’t expected talk of Inna’s confession to come up here and now.

I glanced at Inna, who was diligently dodging the ball, then looked back at the boy. Her current focus made it hard for me to fully concentrate on this conversation.

Inna, being one who skillfully uses her powers, could potentially use her empathy abilities to pick up on this conversation, but considering all eventualities would prevent me from having any meaningful dialogue.

It was probably better to proceed under the assumption that Inna might overhear us.

“…If I’d been drinking water just now, I would have thrown it right in your face, you know?”

“Good thing I timed my words right then, huh?”

To outsiders, it might look like we were enjoying a pleasant chat, but in reality, there was an ambiguous tension between us.

The kind of tension that would come from knowing, even if I already knew Inna’s feelings, I was unsure how to handle them.

This uneasiness also stemmed from the awareness that our conversation might be overheard—a reality, more specifically, someone with supernatural powers like Inna might pick up on it.

“So why tell me all this now?”

“There’s a different reason actually. If things connect between you and Inna, you’d have access to her great power, reducing the chances of you being forced into choices you don’t want.”

“And what kind of unwanted choices would those be?”

“You probably have a better idea than I do. Though unforeseen events could arise from you, there’s no way you don’t at least have an inkling about something.”

Kim Ha-neul’s words sounded as if he were warning me against unwanted choices. However, regarding Inna, it was my assumption—not his intention—that he harbored no ulterior motives.

“So, after messing with the student council president? And until now, I’ve never felt you cared about me.”

Let alone that, he had even poached this body’s lover in the past.

“Well, I thought I was taking care of you, but if you don’t feel like I have been, then I guess I haven’t.”

“Not sure where you got that idea from…” I retorted, but I was aware of the subtle hints dropped by Kim Ha-neul and the student council president.

I knew that they had formed a contractual fake relationship as often seen in romantic visual novels, but that didn’t change the fact that this body had still made extreme choices, despite their pretend relationship.

Even with the slightly harsh tone I used, Kim Ha-neul merely finished the conversation with a faint, bitter smile, indicating that, as someone receiving their kindness due to the original owner of this body, I was in no position to get angry.

Especially since there hadn’t been a request for revenge from the original body’s owner.

Ironically, his attitude felt like that of a brother dealing with a misbehaving younger sister, which irritated me even more.

“…Like Cao Cao, do you like taking other people’s women?”

“Hardly. I intend to remain a pure love enthusiast until the day I d*e.”

True, in the story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where the protagonists are three, including Cao Cao, Kim Ha-neul could be seen as a figure like Cao Cao and thus acting within character.

However, just because Kim Ha-neul claimed to pursue pure love didn’t mean he was aiding others in doing the same—it merely referred to his personal aspirations.

“I’m not sure if we’ll meet or not during the summer break, but I wanted to discuss this with you before the break… as a side note, to leave a good impression with them too.”

As Kim Ha-neul put it, “them,” were the ones playing dodgeball until they glanced at us, only to be targeted by Song Gain’s dodgeball straight to the face.

“Seriously, they’re still interested in you—it’s quite surprising, given how little you hear about other students. Do you know you’re far more popular than me in some ways?”

“I don’t want that kind of attention from them.”

Some of them were the names I had seen in the restroom during the school trip, meaning they were the delinquents who had failed in their attempt to torment this body.

Had it not been for Kim Ha-neul, they might have sought trouble, but with him beside me, they refrained from coming near, choosing instead to enjoy their dodgeball and soccer from afar.

It seemed like a solid shield. But this consideration was more likely a favor because of the situation involving the student council president, and it didn’t sway my favorability towards Kim Ha-neul.

“In any case, it’s better to be prepared in advance. Rushed decisions often lead to the worst outcomes for both parties.”

His cryptic message stirred something within me that I wanted to inquire about, but before I could, he stood up and walked away.

Leaving me with a conundrum, he had escaped.

It was an act of pure cowardice.

*

Many people had their arms ripped out. Ordinarily, this would have been cause for punishment, but Erica received none.

One reason was that no one had died. Another reason was the influence of Erica’s sister, a high-ranking member of the association.

The most important reason, however, was that the severed arms were reattached by someone, preventing Erica from being held accountable.

With the string skills of a doll maker to stop bleeding, and a surgical technique that neatly separated the arm from the body, Erica left perfect specimens of dolls for the healers to work with.

This made reattachment a simple task for the healing-type supernatural ability users.

“So, what are we doing with these kids?”

“Killing.”

“Let’s frame them!”

With those words, the patients, who had been healed and laid down in the association’s medical bay, heard the rash twins demand their deaths as they glared up.

Though they outwardly claimed a desire for vengeance for a fallen agent, whose existence remained a secret due to their inability to even hold a proper funeral, the twins’ eyes gleamed with intrigue.

Their true intention wasn’t genuine vengeance, but rather creating a pretext to manipulate Erica into a disadvantageous position.

“One of our agents has died.”

“His existence was a secret so we couldn’t even hold a funeral.”

“He’s pitiful.”

“We have to avenge him by taking it out on Erica!”

Though they claimed vengeance for a fallen comrade, the gleam in the twins’ eyes betrayed their ulterior motives.

As if understanding their manipulative plans, the healer sighed. Despite the Black Reaper’s high standing in the Association, not everyone followed her.

There were those within the association, with government connections, who opposed her.

Though they might seem like monsters capable of sacrificing human lives to achieve their goals, their purposes differed.

“Then what if someone doesn’t want to?”

All the healer could do was sigh, understanding that the Black Reaper herself had delivered these students to her care. If anything went wrong under her watch, she’d bear the responsibility.

The twins knew this, using it to pressure her into compliance.

Not out of consideration for her, but simply because she’d be the one forced to bear the consequences.

“Then, there’s nothing we can do!”

“We’ll just leave then!”

All of this must have been a test orchestrated by the Black Reaper herself.

Though she might not care about betrayal itself, she was warning them to consider the cost they would incur if they did.

With that, the twins left as though they had accomplished their mission, leaving the healer of the infirmary to bitterly smile.

Outside, the incidents were escalating while the association remained divided rather than unified, with elements within the government stoking the division.

The government might have initially intended to use the association to control supernaturals, but the moment the association crowned one of its members a reaper, it gained independence and strength.

This so-called “hero,” whose actions may not resemble those of a true hero, possessed enough power to make the organization an independent force.

“Soon, there will be more coming here. Maybe we should get more beds.”

Even with plenty of empty beds, the owner of the infirmary found herself contemplating this.