This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 155

It suddenly emerged from the depths of perception as if it had always been there—’that thing’ appeared to have the semblance of a girl.

If you were to mold a person using the words “delicate” and “pure,” you might end up with something like that.

Such a beautiful girl, I thought.

If one were a man, or honestly, any person with normal eyesight, the moment they laid eyes on her, they couldn’t help but feel attracted to her.

And the white dress that broadly enveloped the girl’s fragile body only amplified her features.

So… I was scared.

I became afraid.

Because my common sense couldn’t grasp ‘that’ which was before my eyes.

What if this place, the ground I was standing on, was originally the world where I lived?

Seeing the girl, I would have thought they were filming a movie nearby or something.

Perhaps I even would have taken out my mobile phone to search for her.

However, this wasn’t the kind of world I was familiar with.

According to Chae-rim’s eyewitness account, this place was… hell.

And here was this girl, seemingly strolling through paradise while existing in a realm that could only be hell for a human.

That’s why I was afraid.

For human beings, the unknown is just like that.

And the girl in front of me was the very essence of the unknown.

“Hmm, what’s with that reaction? I came to see you since you were so quiet, and now I’m feeling a bit left out—”

Was it not even worth listening to further?

A single bolt of blue lightning struck down upon the girl perched atop the debris.

And that was the beginning.

Perhaps one strike wasn’t enough.

The lightning danced several times across the air.

It raced through the sky to strike the girl.

But that was all it did.

While everything around was bursting apart, the girl’s appearance remained intact.

“Ahaha, what now? This won’t work on me right now.”

Her voice laced with genuine regret.

In that moment, I instinctively realized something.

That ‘thing’ in front of me had an eerily vivid presence but lacked any physical substance.

Did Chae-rim, who kept summoning the lightning, also realize this fact around the same time as me?

“Tsk.”

With a light click of her tongue, Chae-rim withdrew her outstretched hand toward the girl.

That was precisely when ‘that’—the girl’s antics—began.

“By the way, aren’t you embarrassed? I heard humans feel shy if they’re not wearing clothes.”

“What…?”

“Especially that… um… what do you call it? Ah, right! The opposite sex! I heard it’s even worse when you’re with the opposite sex, isn’t it?”

Only after hearing those naively innocent words did I realize.

Chae-rim’s state was not something presentable to others.

Perhaps she had dashed out right after her shower.

She wasn’t wearing the hero suit properly, leaving far more exposed than usual, and the wet red fabric clung to revealed areas, giving off a peculiar vibe.

Maybe that’s why.

The moment I thought our eyes met, Chae-rim’s face turned beet red, but… that was all.

In front of something whose identity was unclear yet surely an enemy, she deemed it unsuitable to show any sign of being distracted.

Unlike whoever was flustered, Chae-rim maintained her composure throughout.

The issue was… that it was literally just the beginning.

Given the chance that it was probably the first time the girl saw a perfectly healthy human, was she suddenly curious about human biology?

Even after that, the girl’s apparition continued to follow behind me and Chae-rim.

In fact, up to that point, it wasn’t a major problem.

Though it was concerning that an unknown entity was trailing us, it seemed we couldn’t harm the girl, just as she couldn’t physically affect us.

So far, there hadn’t been a problem.

The problem was… the girl’s mouth.

Because she alone took on the human form in a world filled with monsters.

Perhaps, finding some semblance of kinship with us—who, despite having similar appearances, were animated unlike the ones displayed in a nest—caused her to be overwhelmingly chatty.

And so many questions poured out.

“Is that tasty?”

Such questions were commonplace.

Still, since Chae-rim and I had already agreed to ignore whatever the girl blabbered, we could just pretend we hadn’t heard.

If only we could keep passing over everything like that, it would have been great.

Unfortunately, the girl’s curiosity about humans didn’t stay at a mere mundane level.

And the sudden bombshell questions she threw out, mirroring the human traits she so closely resembled, could sometimes unleash unexpected havoc.

“But… how do you make babies?”

“…Puh?!”

“Cough…!”

Just like now.

Why on earth did she have to ask that kind of question while we were eating?

Was she intentionally aiming for this timing?

“Ahaha, I made you vomit. You threw up.”

“…Shut up.”

Because she occasionally fired off such questions, it became impossible to ignore her.

I inevitably had to respond.

Thanks to that, both Chae-rim and I found ourselves feeling awkward more than once.

“I told you, go away.”

“Eh? But I heard humans get bored if I stay inside trees.”

Being unable to forcefully expel her made things even worse.

It wasn’t just the awkward questions that were troubling, but through Chae-rim’s efforts, we had learned of a means to return to our original world; discussing how to secure it also turned out to be impossible.

The one silver lining in this whole mess was that since the girl started following us, there had been no news from the Another Ones.

Yet, the fact that I couldn’t feel at ease remained the same.

Perhaps this was all part of her scheme.

Using her apparition to keep us from acting, waiting until our supplies ran low before renewing their ambush would be a dire scenario for us.

Even if Chae-rim was a Special-Class Hero, she was still human.

If she couldn’t eat and drink properly, it would be impossible for her to muster her strength.

I shared my concerns with Chae-rim, and after exchanging thoughts in the most discreet manner possible, we ultimately made a decision.

If overcoming this situation was impossible, we might as well face it head-on when our conditions were closest to optimal.

Ever since escaping the cave, we had just been moving further away from the tree that was presumed to be their ‘nest’, but we finally decided to shift directions for the first time.

Was our change in direction too blatant in someone’s eyes?

After walking in the opposite direction and eventually arriving back at the cave we had escaped from a few days ago, the girl, who had been flitting around us until then, called out excitedly.

“Hmm? What’s that? Are you finally coming to see me?”

“Yeah, you damn brat.”

It was Chae-rim who replied to the girl’s question.

During our unwanted companionship, had so much accumulated unknowingly?

With one side of her mouth curled up, Chae-rim answered the girl’s question with a fierce energy.

Despite that, the girl didn’t even blink.

“Ahaha, really?”

“I’m serious.”

“You promised, right? Then I’ll just go home and wait, so you must come!”

Her voice was even more excited than before, as if she were making plans with a newfound friend.

No, it was beyond mere conversation.

“Okay? Got it? If you don’t come… I’ll torment you until you do…”

With an innocent yet terrifyingly intense gaze, those words flowed from her eyes like an alarming obsession watching over us.

A look reminiscent of a child desiring to hold onto their toy, vowing never to let it go.

The moment I found myself laid bare under such an exposing gaze and swallowed hard—

“Then I’ll wait!”

With that innocent exclamation, the apparition of the girl who had tormented Chae-rim and me for days faded from view.

“…Let’s go.”

Staring blankly at the place where the girl’s apparition had just been didn’t convince me it was real, and Chae-rim began to walk ahead.

With her composure hardening like someone about to engage in battle, Chae-rim’s expression was unmistakable.