This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 546

Due to Chae-rim’s involvement, my heart sank as the anticipated showdown took an unexpectedly anticlimactic turn.

This was hardly surprising, considering the timing—an announcement signaling the end of our reserved time at the Training Ground echoed throughout the area.

Perhaps thanks to that sound, Chae-rim seemed to regain her senses and ceased her complaints about the situation.

From my perspective, it felt like a stroke of luck.

Honestly, I couldn’t help but think that if Chae-rim had joined the debate following Yoonseo and the Senior, I would have ended up in an even more awkward position.

After all, it’s not a subject that can be neatly concluded.

Just like earlier, with the Senior and Yoonseo getting all riled up and poking at each other until they turned toward me to ask who they thought was better among us three, I could only shudder at the thought.

“Ugh…”

Just imagining it sent shivers down my spine.

“What’s wrong? Are you cold or something?”

“N-no, nothing like that.”

Yoonseo, who was walking beside me, looked concerned upon seeing my reaction. It must have seemed especially alarming.

Anyway, it was a crisis averted for me. I had successfully navigated a moment of potential disaster and, following Yoonseo’s wishes, had even managed to integrate a new attack option into my skill set. Now all that remained was repetition and mastering it.

In a way, the training process had now devolved into the most tedious phase.

Nevertheless, Yoonseo dove into the training without a single complaint.

This left me puzzled.

“Something’s off…”

If I remembered correctly, the repetitive and mastering phase was exactly what Yoonseo detested most.

Seeing her go through this without a word of complaint was strange.

Perhaps seeing slight improvements every training session had silenced her grumblings?

Honestly, that seemed a little too convenient.

“Or perhaps…?”

Could something have happened while she was on her trip to China?

Was there a change in her mindset, prompting her to think she couldn’t let things go on like this?

If that were the case, her eagerness to seek my help with training soon after returning made perfect sense…

But what on earth happened over there?

Having suffered a crushing defeat once, Yoonseo held immense pride and self-esteem.

At least, her abilities were way beyond those of ordinary folks.

Now that I pondered, it might very well have been expected.

Up until she met the Senior—the ultimate rival in Yoonseo’s eyes—she had known nothing but victory for nearly a decade.

In other words, for ten years, she had lived a life entirely divorced from defeat or frustration, so encountering that level of setback was perhaps more than she could comfortably handle.

Yet, if Yoonseo was able to set her pride aside and ask for help…

“That means she was at least as shocked as when she first lost to the Senior…”

Right, that didn’t make sense otherwise.

So what could have happened?

Could she have faced someone like a legendary hermit rumored to exist in China, as people sometimes said?

It might sound far-fetched, but considering the vastness of China, such things were conceivable.

With its large landmass came an equally large populace; it was a land teeming with what people often referred to as unregistered Awakened individuals.

It was even said in stories that the dying martial world revived in modern times—says it all!

Of course, the tendency to control people is common to both the China I knew and the China here, with the Chinese government and Hero Association publicly denouncing the existence of unregistered Awakened and treating them like Villains if caught.

However, it’s not like those who had tasted freedom would just fold under oppression.

Moreover, unregistered Awakened weren’t fools; some analysts even theorized there might be a kind of alliance formed among them.

Given this reality, things were becoming increasingly chaotic in China, and it would be entirely normal for someone involved there to encounter such figures…

“But generally, unregistered Awakened tend to be of a lower skill level…”

This was a widely known fact, so picturing Yoonseo struggling against those types seemed bizarre.

Yet that left me puzzled, despite thinking there had to be more to the story.

In any case, if this led Yoonseo to concentrate on her training, I shouldn’t complain and just accept that it was a good outcome.

“By the way, is it just two days left?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Your vacation, Yoonseo.”

It was undeniable that she’d be off work for a week upon returning from her trip.

As I said that, her reaction seemed a bit odd.

The moment her hands, which had been active until now, abruptly stopped made me question what was going on.

What on earth was that reaction supposed to mean?

From the looks of it, she seemed troubled by something.

“Are you disappointed?”

“Uh…?”

“Well, you probably would be, huh? After a week off, going back to work must sting…”

Even for me, when I used to take summer vacations, I often found myself feeling glum about the impending end as it approached.

Yoonseo was likely experiencing something similar at this moment.

Also, it would be especially disappointing for her, since this was her first week-long break following her passing of the special exam.

“I won’t be able to sleep in anymore, right?”

Trying to empathize, I said it lightly, and sure enough, it seemed I had hit the target.

Looking utterly crestfallen, she nodded in response.

“Now that it’s like this, what if we just pretend to train tomorrow and then hang out a bit?”

Seeing her so adorably downcast stirred something in me, prompting the suggestion without thinking it through.

The moment Yoonseo, who wore such a sad expression, perked up was right after that.

“Huh? But weren’t you the one who couldn’t go out?”

“That’s true.”

Honestly, it was only because we had the upper management’s permission that I could even help Yoonseo with her training.

There were valid reasons cited, and yet navigating through all that to this point was hardly an easy feat—not to mention gaining permission to simply go out together.

As Chae-rim put it, the Association Chairman was practically a control freak and would never allow it.

However, that was only the case when we actually wanted to go outside…

“You don’t need to go outside to hang out, right?”

Look around us right now.

There were just the two of us in the Training Ground.

And it wasn’t as if security cameras were installed here; as long as we didn’t draw attention like on that first day, no one would even notice what Yoonseo and I did here.

I put it that way, and the instant I finished my sentence, Yoonseo’s reaction was quite the spectacle.

Her face suddenly turned bright red.

“You… thought of something weird, didn’t you?”

“N-no, I didn’t?!”

“You saying you didn’t makes it even more suspicious…”

“I re-really didn’t!”

If she would say that, then at least do something about the crimson hue invading her face while she spoke.

With her entire face, neck, and ears aflame, it wasn’t the most convincing denial.

“So what was this weird thought?”

“I swear I didn’t think anything weird!”

“Then what kind of weird thought are we talking about?”

I pressed on, wanting to know more.

Perhaps overwhelmed by my relentless questioning, Yoonseo tried to hide her flushed face in her palms and audibly groaned.

Then, as if awaiting the perfect moment, she swatted at the air above her head.

And just like that, water cascaded down on me.

“Whoa?!”

It was none other than a splash of water.

“Hey, you crazy…!”

Even if I had nothing to say, was it really necessary to use your Talent to block my words?

“Ah, so this is how it’s gonna play out, huh…”