This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 577

It may not have been more than four hours in total, but during that time, following Miss Almighty around made me realize just how unpredictable she truly was.

“Do I really have to wear makeup?”

“Ah, um… if it’s uncomfortable, should we skip the makeup…?”

“No, that’s not why I asked. I was genuinely curious.”

“Well… from what I hear, today’s lecture is going to be livestreamed on a video platform for the kids who couldn’t get invited, so it might be a good idea to dress up a bit…”

“I see. Then please take care of it.”

“Yes, will do.”

What if I had just acted like a crazy person all the time?

Ah, I would have just accepted that this is how she is and moved on.

However, the fact that she occasionally showed a normal side, like just a moment ago, made it hard to treat her as just a crazy person.

‘… Anyway.’

What exactly do I want to say?

I wanted to throw out a question right away, but I held back for now.

With many eyes watching, I had no choice but to wait.

Right now, I was way too busy preparing for the lecture, so this situation wouldn’t last long anyway.

So, if I calmly wait, an opportunity will surely come.

‘I hope I get a chance to chat before the lecture starts…’

Of course, it would be best to speak with her, but I wouldn’t mind if it was after the lecture.

What matters is not when we talk, but how clearly I can convey my thoughts to her.

So, I quietly followed behind, but unfortunately, was it really too much to talk before the lecture began?

As soon as the makeup process finished, one of the staff members assigned for today’s lecture came into the waiting room to inform us that the preparations were complete, and we could now enter.

Upon hearing this, Miss Almighty immediately stood up as if there was no reason for her to hesitate.

“Then, shall we go?”

The hotel hall chosen for the lecture was soon filled with fresh faces.

Yet, it was so quiet that you could almost hear a pin drop… The reason was simple.

Everyone was too tense to even think of speaking.

Still, you’d expect at least one person to admire the magnificent decorations of the hotel hall, but surprisingly not a single one did.

Thanks to that, an indescribably strange atmosphere enveloped the hall.

Because of this, it was not the students but the association staff assigned to the lecture that became flustered.

They had only imagined themselves drenched in cold sweat trying to quiet the noisy kids, never picturing a deathly silence like this.

So perhaps that’s why, buzzing began among the staff instead of the students… but honestly, it was something they couldn’t help.

After all, this wasn’t an ordinary lecture.

Even when the so-called Korean strongest, Chae-rim, held a lecture, those aspiring to be heroes couldn’t help but be nervous, let alone when today’s speaker was none other than the world’s strongest hero.

So everybody just had to swallow their nerves.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

The fact that most were seeing each other for the first time played a significant role in this eerie silence.

Sure, the world is vast and people are diverse, so it’s possible to find someone with the extraordinary charm of a capybara who feels no hesitation in talking to strangers… but unfortunately, that couldn’t happen in this space.

This was because, for the most part, the people gathered here were meeting for the first time and were potential competitors.

Unless the structure of the qualification exam dramatically changes in a few months, that’s how it’s bound to be.

Amidst the such awkward and strange silence, the atmosphere in the lecture hall was going slightly differently than I had imagined. And just as I was starting to sweat it was wrong, a note was passed to the host.

After reading the note, the host nervously approached the microphone.

“Ah, um! The lecture will begin shortly, so please take your seats.”

The atmosphere, which had felt rather odd with young people so silent, flipped instantly.

Unlike the complete quietness from before, it now felt like something was about to bubble over.

In this kind of atmosphere, finally, the star of today’s lecture made her appearance.

And in that moment, the applause erupted as if they had all been waiting just for this.

Not just one or two, but a full 400 people were now clapping for her.

Normally, someone might react with excitement or anxiety, but the woman strolling across the stage was unaffected.

Instead, she ambled across the stage as if this was nothing, with a nonchalant expression.

And there was someone peeking from backstage with a worried look—Yoonseo.

Somehow, she ended up being in charge of closely guarding Miss Almighty today and ended up backstage. But upon arrival, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of worry.

After all, she had no idea what this unpredictable woman would say to the candidates gathered here, watching only her.

‘I hope she doesn’t say something weird…’

As much as she may have a conscience, one couldn’t help but wonder if that woman would really say such things to the kids. But having heard things from Chae-rim and seen her behavior firsthand, she couldn’t easily put her mind at ease.

Yet, she couldn’t really do anything either.

It was simply her role to be a guard, not to take on the role of a host.

Of course, even if she were the host, it would have been impossible to stop that woman.

As she mulled over her worries, finally, Miss Almighty, having taken her place in the center of the stage, began speaking into the microphone handed to her by the host.

And contrary to my earlier concerns, the lecture surprisingly seemed normal.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if what she was saying would actually help the candidates, but based on the content alone, it felt that way.

‘Well…’

In a way, this lecture was close to a pact between nations.

No matter how unruly someone might be, they wouldn’t act carelessly.

Just as I had thought this, Miss Almighty continued.

“I imagine many of you might be thinking, ‘Did I come all this way just to listen to such clichéd content?'”

Clichéd content?

Where on earth did she learn to casually use such expressions in Korean?

Even if I let that side go, I still wondered why she suddenly turned to that.

That made me feel a bit uneasy, and just as I had that thought, Miss Almighty’s voice continued.

“In that sense, how about I share a story that I think all of you are most curious about?”

The story that the candidates invited here would be most curious about.

What could that possibly be?

That question was quickly resolved.

“It’s how I came to be in this position, as the world’s strongest hero, you surely want to know how I got here, right?”

A statement that sounded like she was about to reveal the secrets to reaching the pinnacle of power began to pour from Miss Almighty’s lips.

And it seemed I wasn’t the only one to take her words that way; the candidates sitting around the round table, as well as the staff from the association sent here for smooth proceedings, all had their eyes as wide as saucers.

Including the more than hundreds watching through the live broadcast, this moment was undeniably impactful.

What she was about to share could lead to considerable consequences, and if someone connected to the world hero association was present, they might have tried to stop her.

As expectations silently swelled, she finally unleashed, “To cut to the chase, the secret is…”

At that moment, all the attention from the several hundred people present, as well as those watching online, began to magnetically focus on her.