This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 131

When a person in the position of Principal faces off against someone qualified as a Hero, who would emerge victorious?

In this matter, anyone you ask would give the exact same answer.

“They’d say the hero would win.”

There’s no denying that.

Although the position of a school principal is fairly high in the overall society, they’re facing off against a hero, someone who represents the very pinnacle of privilege.

Even if the hero has just barely passed the qualification exam and has only been rated as a 5th level.

Thus, those who have awakened some respectable talent flock to the qualification exams that allow them to bear the name of “hero.”

“But…”

That’s only if you look at it “generally.” What if there’s a strong argument on this side?

Not just any argument, but one that’s practically a cheat code with overwhelming power in this camp’s hands?

Would the situation still play out like it usually does?

While I was having such thoughts, a question that one would naturally ask in this situation slipped out from my senior’s mouth.

“But Dogun, even if you want to contact someone, the signal due to the weather—”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I sneaked a peek earlier, and it seems like the rain has eased up a bit. I saw that the signal was coming through.”

Of course, the signal was only two bars strong, but considering there was no signal at all before, two bars was quite good.

“And… considering what we’re about to do, it might actually be better if the signal is barely holding on instead of it being full at four bars.”

That way, it’d feel more realistic.

“So… it means we can contact the principal, right?”

“Yes.”

“Is that really okay…?”

“Well, I guess so. Maybe…”

Depending on the person, they might see it as an opportunity.

It’s true that the power wielded by the Association is tremendous, but that also means there are many keeping an eye on the Association.

But the moment this leaks out, could it be that they’ll hold a card that could send public opinion regarding heroes spiraling downward?

How much benefit could really be gained from that?

Of course, there was always the possibility that things wouldn’t go according to my expectations.

As my senior explained, the principal is someone pure and innocent who doesn’t know anything about students or the outside world, so they might not even consider using such information if they had it.

But… honestly, how likely is that?

In any group, to rise to the top, politics is practically a necessity.

And as my senior said, if they really care for the school and the students, wouldn’t they be even more anxious to act?

Because two “precious” students were stuck out here in the mountains, at such a late hour, getting drenched in rain.

“Wow, I can already see the headlines coming together.”

The headline would be something like, “Heroes’ Abuse of Power that Endangered Our Children: Is This Okay?”

Or maybe “Is This a Villain or a Hero?” could also work quite well.

“Yikes…”

Just imagining it was enough to fill me up so much that I didn’t even have to bother with a midnight snack.

While I was distracted by such thoughts, my senior had successfully connected with the principal and was smoothly explaining the situation.

Of course, there was not a shred of exaggeration in what they said.

Yet, from the phone speaker, I could hear the principal’s chuckle, which meant they must have found this situation utterly unbelievable.

Well, I would have reacted the same way if I were in their shoes.

Sending students on errands?

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that could happen.

But what if it happened on a pitch-black night where you couldn’t see even a foot in front of you?

Especially if the errand was to a location so far away that you had to wind your way through the mountains to get there?

Honestly, that alone would be shocking, and to top it off, to reveal that the teachers were all wasted, and that we were now stuck walking when the rain suddenly started pouring down creating this isolated situation…

“Wow…”

Considering the principal’s age, it was quite surprising they hadn’t collapsed from shock and were still able to carry on this conversation.

Just then, while I was having such thoughts, the wind that had been ferociously battering the building calmed down for a brief moment, leading me to think it would die down…

But suddenly, the wind picked up ferociously once again—

“Hello? Principal? Can you hear me?”

And just like that, the tenuous signal we had was finally lost.

Just a moment ago, my senior had been chatting away without a hitch, but now with the phone in hand, they were visibly concerned.

Seeing that, I asked, “What happened, Senior?”

“Well… I relayed the entire situation, but while I was explaining where we were, the call got cut off…”

My senior had said this with an air of embarrassment, but I actually thought it worked out better.

From the principal’s perspective, they suddenly lost contact with a student who had just revealed they were stuck in the mountains.

The moment the call ended, they must have felt a sudden rush of alarm, and because of that, they’d likely try to act even faster.

So now, what we needed to do was to wait here calmly so there wouldn’t be a misunderstanding about the route—

“Oh, right. Senior.”

“Yes?”

“The T-shirts should be dry by now; let’s check them.”

“Oh…!”

“Are they dry yet?”

“They’re still a bit damp, but they’re wearable.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then how about we step outside for a bit and walk around?”

“Huh…?”

It seemed that we hadn’t quite reached the point of expecting the principal’s arrival but were just preparing to greet guests.

My suggestion to step outside surely raised an eyebrow from my senior.

“Well…”

Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered if we just sat here quietly.

But there’s that saying, isn’t there?

That even lions do their best when catching rabbits.

In that sense, if we’re going to throw someone a huge curveball, shouldn’t we aim for something grander?

That’s why I had suggested to my senior that we step outside for a moment.

Whether the principal would come directly or send someone else was still unknown, but if we were to greet our guest, we should do so in a way that highlights how ridiculous the situation was.

When I calmly explained this point, my senior looked at me with disbelief for a moment but didn’t outright disagree.

So my senior and I stepped outside for just a minute.

We spent exactly one minute outside, and as soon as we stepped out, the rain and wind were so fierce that our appearance reverted back to how it was when we first entered the place.

Still, I felt it was slightly better this time due to the small campfire we had lit.

In any case, having prepared for our guest, I thought we were just waiting for them to arrive when—

Rumbling…

At first, I genuinely thought it was thunder.

I figured the thunder was cracking intermittently, creating the sounds I was hearing, but that wasn’t the case.

It had to be something because that persistent sound continued to echo.

And as time passed, the noise grew louder, as if something was barreling toward us.

Curious about what could make such a sound on this night, I cautiously opened the storage door, peering outside to discover… a huge creature’s eyes gleaming through the violent rain.

So what could that possibly be?

I would find out soon enough.

Because through the storm, a massive figure began to reveal itself.

Screech—

What came to a halt, making that noise, was none other than a car.

But not just any car—it was an off-road vehicle so grand that any man would feel their heart race upon seeing it.

The reason I hesitated at the sight wasn’t just the car’s intimidating size or from being taken by its appearance.

No, it was more of a curiosity; who could possibly ride something like that in Korea? A car that looked more suited to the desert.

Assuming my memory serves me well…

If I correctly recalled, there was exactly one person who drove something like that as a personal vehicle in our country.

Just one person.

And that person was none other than—