This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 354

“If there’s something you want, I’ll get it for you, even if it’s a person.”

That was the kind of statement that anyone would find tempting the moment they heard it.

Was that why I felt… a bit shaken?

To be perfectly honest, the first thing that popped into my mind upon hearing that was Dogun’s face.

And after being shaken like that, what then?

I probably felt… annoyed.

I was frustrated not just by fleeting temptation from that statement, but by the fact that I had let things stray this far out of control simply because I didn’t know what to do. I was irritated at myself for not having done anything for Dogun while others dared to try using him, and a slew of other concerns added to my irritation.

So…

“Let’s stop there, okay? I can’t really keep listening anymore.”

I could no longer hold back my anger.

I had been worried whether they would persist even after my outburst, given how stubborn they seemed, but fortunately, it seemed they weren’t so bold as to dare provoke someone who was clearly angry.

Just a slight clenching of my teeth made them flinch like they had been threatened.

That little flinch only lasted a moment; could it be they were so embarrassed at having been intimidated by a newbie who had just entered the hero industry compared to their own experience?

The woman, whose face I already disliked, turned a bright shade of red and coughed awkwardly.

Then she said she’d be on her way and suggested I give it some serious thought, before she just walked off.

If she had planned to retreat like that, why hadn’t she done so earlier?

Why did she have to mutter nonsense that made me uneasy?

‘By the way…’

When she referred to herself earlier, she had definitely said “we.”

Not “I” or “me,” but “we.”

Had she been so rushed that she accidentally let it slip?

I didn’t think that was the case.

If it really was a slip, she would have shown some sign of embarrassment afterward.

However, the woman persisted doggedly without showing even a hint of being flustered.

What does that mean?

It means it wasn’t a slip.

If it wasn’t a slip, then it implies that she had been involved with a certain faction for quite some time, to the point where it came to her naturally.

But what faction could that be?

Honestly, if I claimed I had no idea, that would probably be a lie.

It’s impossible not to have some clues, especially considering the Association is currently split into three factions.

Those following the Association Chairman, those following Chae-rim, and a neutral group that had decided to observe for various reasons.

And of these, those following Chae-rim and those in the neutral camp had no real reason to attempt to recruit me.

After all, to those who chose to follow Chae-rim, I would be considered an “ally.”

Even if they didn’t quite like it, that was how people perceived it for now.

And as for the neutral camp?

While they were called neutral, they lacked a focal point, making it virtually impossible for them to take any action.

If those two dropped out of the race, the remaining faction would naturally be the Association Chairman’s side.

So the woman who had approached me so insistently earlier was probably… on the Association Chairman’s side.

They had come here, even offering blank checks, to try and recruit me because they thought that if they could draw me into their ranks, they could significantly undermine the growing power of Chae-rim and her followers.

The possibility was certainly there because the Chae-rim faction was obviously outnumbered, especially given that I and Baeksulhwa are considered valuable assets to her side.

If the current strongest active heroes retire, it’s highly likely that two who are entrenched right now would inherit their positions.

Just hearing that sounds incredibly promising, right?

But what if someone who seemed to strongly support Chae-rim suddenly defected?

With a hastily formed group that has a lot of rookies, Chae-rim’s faction would start wobbling uncontrollably.

If that’s what the Association Chairman’s side was really aiming for, then it makes perfect sense why they would go so far as to offer blank checks to recruit me.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I was going to accept such an offer.

What are you kidding me?

If I did, it’d be clear that I’d turn into someone who could never go back to Dogun.

And moreover… I felt the same way about the Association Chairman.

Or rather, perhaps I found him even less appealing than Chae-rim.

After all, while Chae-rim looks after Dogun, according to the story she told me, the Association Chairman intended to treat Dogun like some kind of lab rat or slave.

Forget the rest; just based on that point, I couldn’t really hate Chae-rim.

How could I, when if she hadn’t taken the step to become Dogun’s protector at that time, he might have been… spending unspeakable horrors under the Association Chairman’s control by now?

How could I ever like a lunatic like that when that sort of scenario flashed clearly in my mind?

So even if they refused to give up and tried to raise the stakes further, I wouldn’t fall for it.

Not ever… So let’s get back to what I need to do.

Once the dam finally broke, I needed to be careful not to let those thoughts drag on.

Just as I was about to take a step back out into the world again…

“Hmm, I thought that was a condition that would be quite enticing… Was I wrong?”

As I rounded the corner, someone emerged with a statement that seemed ominous and intriguing.

I hadn’t sensed anyone there, so had they been hiding and eavesdropping on our conversation?

The very thought of that possibility made it distinctly uncomfortable, especially when they acted as if they knew something.

‘By the way…’

This must be someone I’d never met before, but why did they feel so familiar?

“Excuse me, who are you?”

I asked that of the woman who had suddenly appeared around the corner, feeling the uncertainty within me.

“Don’t you remember? We met once before.”

Since that was the reason behind my question, I was surprised by her response.

She said we had met before.

But it really looked like a face I had never seen before… where could we have met?

‘Oh, wait…’

Was she a hero?

Was that statement referring to a scene from an outing?

Suddenly that thought struck me, but there was something vague about it too.

The truth is, I didn’t have every active hero’s face memorized, but I knew most of them.

However, the face of the woman standing in front of me wasn’t on that list at all.

If that’s the case, then the likelihood of her being a hero was low, but what on earth was she?

“Well… judging by your expression, it really seems you don’t remember. Still, I thought I’d made quite the impression back then…”

What kind of person was she acting this way?

“Should I… give you a hint? Maybe that would trigger your memory?”

“…”

“Hmm, let’s see… three years ago, in the Association bathroom?”

‘Three years ago? Association bathroom?’

When I heard that for the first time, I thought that was some bizarre statement.

I was certain it was like that at first, but then at some point, it all came flooding back.

Where I had met that woman.

It must have been on the day of the special exam.

After somehow finishing the exams that were scheduled that day, I had briefly stopped by the bathroom before heading home… There I had run into her.

“Are you starting to remember now? Where we met?”

“Yes, well…”

Once again, I couldn’t shake off that feeling of disbelief.

“Can I ask you now?”

The brief conversation we had in the bathroom back then, although it was short, was definitely significant, but was it really to this extent for someone I’d only met once three years ago?

“I think the conditions are objectively enticing enough… why did you turn it down?”