This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 14

I wasn’t immediately thinking of opening the negotiation table just because I had the weapons ready to use in discussions with the adults.

What I had secured so far was merely the most basic of requirements.

What if we just opened the negotiation table right now?

It would be like going into war with just a gun in hand.

The best course would be to avoid such dangerous situations entirely, but… I had no choice but to go out.

Since I had no choice but to go out, it would be much wiser to at least equip myself thoroughly.

Therefore, the first thing I needed to do right now was to mentally arm myself.

I had set up conditions that could make me appear like a genius, but if my behavior was reminiscent of someone my age, the speaking rights I had worked hard to secure would likely evaporate.

Since Yoonseo wasn’t on her second run like me, it might be tough for her to act like an adult, but I thought she at least needed to show a capable side.

That way, she wouldn’t be looked down upon.

And thankfully, it didn’t seem like that would be too difficult.

Even though she occasionally had moments of rebellion, Yoonseo showed a clearheadedness that was comparatively better than other kids her age.

“Okay, Yoonseo?”

“Yeah…?”

“Just remember one thing, no more, no less. Got it?”

I planted the essential point for her to remember using the language of a seven-year-old, looking at Yoonseo who seemed unsure of what I meant with her expression filled with question marks.

Once the mask I had to wear in front of the adults was finally ready—

“Now, let’s let the adults know.”

After a long discussion with Yoonseo, we decided to reveal the awakening fact to the adults.

Of course, persuading Yoonseo wasn’t easy.

Because the image of Bora’s sorrowful back, having to abruptly leave kindergarten, was vividly imprinted in Yoonseo’s memory, she initially showed fear at my suggestion to let the adults know.

After persuading her time and again, I finally got her to nod, and after gaining Yoonseo’s consent, we had to decide.

So… in what way should we reveal the fact of awakening?

Naturally, it wasn’t easy to make that decision.

Thus, the method I chose was—

“Dogun, I’m thirsty… can you get me a glass of water?”

“Huh? Water? Sure.”

We were using the kindergarten as the stage.

Following the script I had prepared in advance, Yoonseo made her request, and I went back with a cup full of water to where Yoonseo was waiting.

And when I closed the distance enough, I pretended to stumble over the block I had placed there earlier.

“Oops…!”

It might be obvious, but as my body began to sway, the water that was brimming in the cup spilled over, naturally heading towards Yoonseo, who was located directly in my path.

I swallowed hard, taking in the sight of the scene unfolding as if it were in slow motion.

So far, this was all agreed upon, but the real important part began now.

What if, by any chance, Yoonseo got splashed with that water?

That would mean my grand debut was gone down the drain, and I’d have to come up with a new plan from the start.

If I couldn’t even block water flying towards me, there’s no way I could pretend to be a genius.

Was it because of the noise I made while stumbling?

Before I knew it, the eyes of the kids around, as well as the teacher, who was sitting by the wall watching the kids play, were all directed towards us.

Did they think in just a few seconds, Yoonseo was going to be drenched in water?

Glancing to the side, I saw the teacher who had been sitting suddenly stand up.

‘Please…!’

I hoped she would manage to block it well.

To cut to the chase, my desperate prayer seemed to have paid off.

Like a wave, the water came rushing towards Yoonseo, and she perfectly managed to block it without spilling a single drop.

The sight of water cascading in mid-air, as if time had stopped, was unreal no matter how many times I saw it.

And the scene Yoonseo created literally turned the kindergarten upside down.

The first to react was the teacher who had been rushing towards Yoonseo.

“W-What is this…?”

Was it so hard to believe the sight she was seeing?

With a bewildered expression, she cast an incredulous glance at Yoonseo, and I caught a flash of jealousy in her eyes.

That feeling blatantly showed in the teacher’s gaze as she looked at Yoonseo.

This made me feel even worse.

Thanks to the reaction the teacher showed, I realized just how much this world was dominated by a talent-centric doctrine.

While she had to spend her life here watching kids, her student might soon become a hero candidate, possibly earning the admiration of people later on, making her stomach twist with envy.

But well… an adult was an adult.

In the blink of an eye, the emotions that had peeked out from her face were swept away.

“Yoonseo? How did this happen?”

The teacher’s question was just the beginning.

Even before Yoonseo could respond, the little kids began to swarm towards her.

“Wow!”

“Yoonseo, how did you do that?!”

“Can you do other things?!”

“Can you make a lion shape?”

As I said a few times, in this world, heroes aren’t just objects of admiration.

They are the “wannabes” that kids desperately want to become.

However, only a minuscule number of those who awaken their talents can actually become heroes, and now, that being stood right in front of the children.

Moreover, she was even a friend from the same kindergarten, so it was only natural for the kids to go wild.

With the children starting to go berserk, the atmosphere in the kindergarten turned into a literal marketplace, and it wasn’t until our homeroom teacher, as well as other teachers, lined up to move in that the noise settled down.

Once the kids calmed down, what happened next?

The teachers were the ones in chaos.

“This is amazing. Two kids have awakened their abilities in just a few days…”

“Right… Is there some special energy flowing in this room?”

“By the way, that one… Yoonseo? She’s going to have a flower path from now on.”

“Indeed. Awakening at the age of seven is rare, isn’t it? Usually, kids awaken during elementary school…”

“Recently, kids have been awakening their abilities earlier and earlier, but still, it’s rare.”

“Maybe later she’ll become a huge hero, and we’ll see her giving interviews on television or something.”

“Oh my, then we should be nice to her right now, huh?”

“Eh, well, we won’t be seeing her much longer after tomorrow anyway, so what’s the point.”

While I listened to the teachers chatting eagerly, huddled together by Yoonseo’s office door, my stomach sank.

It made me worry even more.

‘Hope she’s doing fine…’

While Dogun was lost in thoughts of worry for Yoonseo, coincidentally, Yoonseo was thinking of Dogun too.

“Yoonseo, the principal has a question for you, can I ask it?”

“…Yeah.”

“Um… about what you just showed in class earlier. Can the principal know how you did that?”

-You know, if someone asks you how you did that…

I could feel Dogun’s voice naturally overlapping with the principal’s voice, and Yoonseo recalled the conversation she had with Dogun.

Slowly, she opened her mouth, answering the principal’s question.

“…I don’t know well.”

“Is that so? Hmm…”

Dogun had said, when the questioner speaks in that way, just say one word, no more and no less.

“It just happened.”

Then, they would surely show a surprised expression.

And this time, Dogun’s words seemed correct once again.

As soon as she said that, I saw the principal looking flustered.

As Yoonseo’s confidence in Dogun deepened, the flustered principal of Sunshine Kindergarten, who had been momentarily taken aback by Yoonseo’s unexpected response, collected herself and resumed her duties.

“Um, Yoonseo?”

“Yes?”

“Do your parents know that you can do such things?”

The principal who asked Yoonseo that question likely never anticipated.

That such a question was listed among the predicted questions Dogun had prepared for Yoonseo.

“…No.”

So, the answer that flowed from Yoonseo’s mouth was also in line with what Dogun and she had agreed upon beforehand.

“I see. Is that so…?”

“It just happened suddenly… Did I do something wrong? The principal’s office is where naughty kids are called, right?”

“That… can’t be true…! The teacher was just a little worried…”

The effect of taking the initiative from the start was undoubtedly there.

With teachers, who could be seen as the first witnesses, portraying her as an extraordinary child, the image of ‘Yoonseo = extraordinary child’ naturally took root in the minds of those who came by after receiving the contact.

Of course, that didn’t directly lead to gaining speaking rights.

Their role was to discuss with the parents of the awakened child, not to hear the child’s opinion.

“In that case, here, look at this item…”

As a result, Yoonseo naturally got pushed back in that conversation, and that, in turn, deepened her trust in Dogun.

It couldn’t be helped since that too fell within the scope of Dogun’s predictions.

So Yoonseo began to act according to what she had discussed with Dogun without any doubt.

‘It feels a bit humid…’

The first to notice the change was one of the staff members who had been talking with Yoonseo’s parents about upcoming matters.

Perhaps the sudden sense of humidity made them a bit nervous, as the staff member put their fingers into the collar and loosened it slightly, only for their gaze to slowly turn towards Yoonseo and become rounded.

This was due to some object that was floating on Yoonseo’s palm, dropping drops of water.

It looked as if a part of the dark clouds floating in the sky was plucked and brought down right here.

In an instant, she found herself at a loss for words.

After all, anyone could see that it was a manifestation of talent.

Before coming here, she heard that it had barely been even a day since the kids awakened their talents, let alone a few hours, so what was she witnessing?

Was that truly the kind of control a child who had awakened their talent for less than a few hours could exhibit?

‘It doesn’t make sense…’

She had seen impossible cases in this job several times.

Thus, she already knew what to call such occurrences.

Unexplainable by common sense, ordinary people could never achieve this even if they were dead and reborn.

Such individuals were labeled by society as—

‘Perhaps… a genius?’

Commonly, they were referred to by that name.