This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 11

“Wait…?!”

In a place with water, this much of a flood?!

I honestly felt like shouting that out loud.

“Huh…”

I couldn’t believe the scene I was witnessing.

It wasn’t like I was seeing it through someone else’s eyes; I was witnessing it with my own.

I knew, of course.

I knew that in this world, there exist ‘heroes’ with special talents that could easily be called psychic abilities, who fight against formidable villains or mindless invading abnormal creatures.

Even so, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

Until now, my exposure to heroes had been through videos.

So, even though I knew that everything happening in those videos wasn’t just well-crafted graphics but things actually unfolding, it felt somewhat like watching a movie… Now, however, unfolded right before my eyes, the intensity was on a different level.

It was evident that something invisible was at play; instead of dropping straight down, the stream of water swerved to the side and shot toward the wall. The longer I watched, the more my head felt foggy.

That’s why it was even more absurd.

“Wait…”

Is something like phytoncide leaking from my body?

And is that urging my awakening?

Honestly, I thought it was nothing during Bora’s time, but now that the same situation has happened again in such a short time, those thoughts couldn’t help but arise.

Apart from those possibly unnecessary thoughts, I came to a realization: When Bora suddenly left, the shock Yoonseo experienced seemed much greater than I initially thought.

If she were a normal child, wouldn’t she be overjoyed at the thought that the moment she awakened her talent—one that anyone could see was fitting for a hero—she could become one?

But Yoonseo wasn’t like that.

Instead of being happy, she looked like she was about to cry, worried that she might be taken away too, which was proof of her state.

With a face that seemed utterly dejected, Bora said her last goodbyes to her friends, and to Yoonseo, it probably seemed like she was being taken away against her will.

“Well… in a sense, being taken away is the right term…”

By the way, does this mean Yoonseo will be moving her kindergarten to another place?

With the bitter feelings from Bora still fresh in my mind, just thinking that it could happen to Yoonseo made a bitter sensation rise within me.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t show this because, from Yoonseo’s perspective, it would be safe to say she hit the jackpot in the lottery.

Even if she was so restless now, thinking about the rest of her life, there was no doubt it would be that way.

That line of thought didn’t last long.

And that was because I had seen it.

Yoonseo’s face was drained of color, trembling with anxiety.

“Ah…”

The moment I saw that, I remembered.

Unlike Bora, who had been with us from the start, Yoonseo had only just transferred here.

Thanks to that, she seemed to be opening up a bit to the other kids and getting accustomed, but to have to move her kindergarten again?

Of course, it would be natural for Yoonseo to be anxious.

“What if I get taken away, Dogun…?”

With that thought, the talent Yoonseo had once been blessed with began to look different.

What did heroes do?

Sure, there are heroes who contribute to rescue and disaster recovery with their talents, but fundamentally, the role of heroes was to fight.

Not just any fight, but to risk their lives battling villains or abnormal creatures that couldn’t even be reasoned with.

Considering that this role would be assigned to a seven-year-old kid in front of me, the bitterness I felt was on a whole different level compared to earlier.

Of course, I knew that unless an institution took charge of the children who awakened special talents like Yoonseo’s, they wouldn’t send a seven-year-old into such danger.

Rather, they would likely cherish and protect her.

While protecting her… they would teach her how to fight.

They would teach her how to overpower and kill someone.

Even if they wrapped it neatly in the guise of teaching her how to protect others, the essence of what was inside wouldn’t change, no matter how beautifully it was packaged.

Would that be a positive thing for the seven-year-old child in front of me?

To be honest, I couldn’t be sure.

The process would certainly be difficult, but once she became a hero, riches and fame would naturally follow, so thinking about Yoonseo’s future, that might be what’s best, but… the kid in front of me, who puffs up her cheeks like a blowfish every time she’s not satisfied, seemed to want none of that.

For the kids in this world, a hero is nothing less than an idol, but perhaps their feelings would change later, for now, it seemed that way.

“Is this… right?”

Is it acceptable to drag a kid who doesn’t even want to into such a strange environment just because she awakened a special talent?

“Huh…”

The frustrating part is, no matter how much I think about it, there’s really nothing I can do.

As I said before, a man with no chance of awakening in this world is merely a third-class citizen.

Right now, the child doesn’t feel the vast difference, but as she gets older?

That distinction would slowly start to show.

But would anything change if a future third-class citizen intervened?

“What happened?”

In that case, the only thing I could do was encourage the anxious Yoonseo by guiding the conversation.

She might not seem to have much power yet, but if she went berserk, it would cause quite a flood.

“I don’t know…”

“Have you told your mom or dad? Did you say anything?”

Before I even finished asking, Yoonseo bit down on her lips and slowly shook her head.

That meant I was the only one who knew about Yoonseo’s awakening, excluding her—strangely, that made me happy.

Well, throughout this, Yoonseo probably thought that if the adults found out, she would be taken away just like Bora, which was likely why she kept it a secret. Still, she was the first to share such a secret with me.

“Are you going to tell them?”

“I don’t know…”

She still believed that if the adults knew, she would be taken away like Bora without a doubt.

“Isn’t this… exciting? You can become a hero.”

I asked with that hope, but Yoonseo shook her head again.

Then she reached out and held onto the hem of my clothes tightly.

As if she was saying she didn’t want to part with me.

Seeing that she valued me as a special friend made me, as a person, happy, but… unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do.

Just like there’s no such thing as eternal secrets in this world, no matter how much Yoonseo hides it, someday the adults will discover her awakening, and she will inevitably follow the same path as Bora.

“Wait, hold on…”

Is there really nothing I can do?

I thought about it carefully.

Yet, the conclusion came out the same as before.

But that was only when I was directly involved in the matter… what if I were to intervene indirectly?

“If I do it well, maybe something can come out of it…”

But first, there was something that had to be confirmed.

“Yoonseo.”

“Yes…?”

Maybe she truly thought I was wrong; Yoonseo, with her extremely gloomy face, was met with my serious expression and tone as I asked.

I knew it was silly for a seven-year-old to be serious, but in situations like this, formality mattered.

“Do you dislike moving?”

When I threw that question, Yoonseo nodded as if to say, “Why are you even asking something so obvious?”

“Don’t just answer right away; think it through.”

“I don’t want to…”

I see…

If Yoonseo doesn’t want to, then there’s nothing we can do.

We have to give it a shot, whatever the outcome.

“I have a good idea… do you want to hear it?”

“Yes?”

What could be the reason for the institution to take care of children who have just awakened their talents?

It’s undoubtedly to provide ‘education.’

While talents that pose no harm to others might be fine, if Yoonseo’s talent—like the one she awakened—could pose a severe threat depending on how it’s used, it could lead to a major incident if not properly educated.

Furthermore, there are likely purposes like protecting them from villains.

In any case, the primary reason for collecting these newly awakened kids is to teach them how to manage their talents.

Regardless of the actual purpose, that’s the pretext the institution presents.

So what if… really, what if a newly awakened child shows an extraordinary aptitude that hardly requires education?

If they displayed such exceptional capability that genius wouldn’t even begin to describe it.

Would they still just drag them away like with Bora?

Especially since Yoonseo’s prospects of heading down the hero route are exceedingly high?

“The process of moving affiliations without considering the children’s opinions…”

Would that really just be because they’re ‘children’?

Children who don’t understand anything?

That’s probably how they handle things.

But if they displayed abilities so exceptional that you couldn’t think of them as “just children”?

Then wouldn’t they at least want to listen to what we had to say?

Nobody would want to have a promising young hero be on their bad side.

Otherwise, if things went south later, how foolish would it be to have committed such a blunder?

So, what I need to do now is—

“Yoonseo.”

To make the seven-year-old in front of me appear to the adults—no, to show her as a genius in everyone’s eyes.