This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 146

“Shh, stay quiet. If you stay still, it will pass soon.”

With a voice so close to whispering due to the volume being turned down to the maximum, a breath brushed against my nape.

The light touch sent a shiver down my spine, causing my hairs to stand up and creating a chilling sensation.

At the same time, something heavy yet soft pressed down on my chest with no regard.

As I reflexively flinched and released my breath, a palm suddenly covered my mouth, drawing that breath right back inside.

Thus, I had no choice but to gulp it down with a muffled sound.

Why is this happening all of a sudden?

I didn’t bother to ask such a question.

In this situation, the reason for this person’s actions was honestly quite obvious.

As expected, the ominous ‘Kuuung—!’ sound from outside the cave crashed in, echoing into our hiding spot.

And that’s when it all began.

The sound was so enormous it was hard to believe it belonged to a creature, filled with foreboding.

And it drew closer and closer.

‘Why…?’

Wasn’t the business finished when they took the people who were down?

Why are they coming back now?

Could it be that they came to check if their subordinates had done their job properly?

As the footsteps grew nearer and the anxiety constricted my body tighter, those doubts echoed in my mind.

“Why is the Bruiser here… And it seems to be quite big…”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one questioning the sudden appearance; a voice laced with discomfort seeped into my ears.

Meanwhile, the thundering footsteps continued to approach.

Could it be that they’ve noticed we’re hiding here?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, the footsteps rang out again… and suddenly, night had descended within the cave.

It was a shadow so immense that it could only be described in that way.

The creature loomed over the entrance, greedily swallowing the light that had been streaming in.

The sight of thick, bulging veins writhing against a massive wall seemed to personify the very word ‘ominous’… I couldn’t just sit still in front of what looked like it would discover us at any moment.

Crackle—

A sound so small that it could easily be missed if one wasn’t listening intently accompanied the sight of something thin and blue flowing along Chae-rim’s arm.

Were they going to throw it away right then and there?

As that blue and black thing swayed in a standoff, a thud resounded—a loud one!

The black mass was the first to retreat.

It had been inching closer to come inside, but perhaps it abruptly changed its mind.

What had been swaying at the entrance seemed to turn back, then disappeared.

Of course, I didn’t relax my guard.

Perhaps now was more dangerous than before.

Isn’t it the case that most accidents happen when you let your guard down?

Even so, I felt a slight sense of relief compared to when the shadow had been swaying at the entrance, leading me to unconsciously let out a soft sigh.

But to conclude, I shouldn’t have done that.

The moment my tension loosened, other sensations crept in uninvited.

Something soft pressed against my chest, and I could feel it slightly squishing on top of me.

That which I had completely disregarded until just now suddenly began catching my attention—

“Shit… shit…”

I muttered silently, starting to sing the national anthem vigorously out of a sense of urgency that if I messed things up now, the relationship I painstakingly built could collapse in an instant.

However, the effect of the hero suit, designed ergonomically to fit snugly on my body, was amazing.

Thanks to the design, it was also compatible with my physique.

I began reciting the service oath instead of the anthem with utmost reverence because the sensation against my chest was alarmingly real.

‘Don’t think… don’t think at all…’

It felt as if I had returned to my military days, standing as a sentry.

At this point, it felt like an almost fourth-degree level of tension.

Time was dragging excruciatingly slow.

Nevertheless, reminiscing about my time in the military had its benefits.

The reason, which was teetering precariously on the edge of insanity, became somewhat steadier.

It was during that torturous moment of waiting.

“Huff…”

It seemed the creature had finally moved far enough away to let out a sigh of relief, and Chae-rim leaned back a bit, visibly relieved.

Of course, the hand that was tightly covering my mouth also retreated simultaneously.

“Finally…”

Has it ended?

From Chae-rim’s reaction, it seemed so, and I was silently showering myself with praises for making it this far when—

“I’m sorry, that must have been frustrating for you.”

With those words, Chae-rim adjusted her position slightly for comfort.

The problem was… that at that moment, she was still sitting on top of me.

What had been pressing down heavily on my chest was now replaced with a softness on the upper part of my thigh.

And perhaps there was a button there, one that I didn’t even know existed.

“Ah…”

“But thanks to you, staying calm and not overreacting, we were able to safely get through without being discovered by it—”

Just as I was sighing in relief, I was abruptly hit by the unexpected assault of Chae-rim’s voice, which stopped unnaturally in a most awkward manner.

And trailing behind was an excruciating silence.

Was it possible that Chae-rim, who had been through countless situations by the time she reached the Special-Class, had not anticipated this kind of scenario?

Frozen like a statue as if confronted by Medusa, she was completely immobile… which only made things more uncomfortable for me.

If only Chae-rim had reacted a bit… more strongly, I could have at least matched her embarrassment with my own, but now, that was quite difficult.

So, all I could do in that situation was—

‘This is bad…’

I could only mutter that inwardly.

As the tension hung heavily, just like something pressing down on my shoulders, someone suddenly pressed an imaginary magic stop-watch called ‘Time Stop’ and Chae-rim quietly lifted her body off me.

Then she slid across to sit against the opposite wall.

Everything happened without a word, making the already stifling atmosphere even more awkward.

While we sat there, staring intently at the wall—each of us avoiding eye contact was inevitable.

“I… you know it was unavoidable, right?”

My words echoed through the cave without any coherence.

“Y-yeah, I know.”

Thanks to that, I had no idea what Chae-rim was trying to say… but I earnestly nodded my head.

It seemed that if we could just manage to get past this incredibly awkward atmosphere, I felt we could do anything.

But wasn’t simply nodding my head of little consequence?

And that’s when it all began.

This laid the groundwork for a competition between Chae-rim and me on who could rationalize and justify better.

“U-uh! At that moment, it was the best option given the situation. If you had startled and made a sound, we could have been discovered—”

“Y-yeah…I would have done that too.”

“…..Right?”

“…..Yes.”

As we desperately continued our awkward confessions, we discovered that despite Chae-rim’s mature appearance, she surprisingly seemed quite immune to that aspect.

Anyway… we somehow managed to diffract the excruciating tension in the atmosphere—

“Uh, ahem, anyway, I scanned the area around us using my abilities.”

“Oh, okay.”

“And it seems we should be safe for the time being. So, how about we take this chance to peek outside? Want to come with me?”

Chae-rim suggested.