Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 621

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 621: Episode 13: King (5)

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No one dared object to Yu Junghyeok's declaration.

The atmosphere was such that anyone who objected looked liable to lose their head.

Whether they knew Junghyeok or not, the Incarnations couldn't deny it this time.

The owner of Chungmuro Station had been decided.

A few Incarnations trembled, while some Readers wore complicated expressions. A few who had been frightened in advance whispered among themselves.

"Is this really okay?"

"But if it's Junghyeok..."

"That's exactly why it's a problem."

I could tell what they were thinking.

―Was this your plan from the start?

Ye Hyeonu was glaring at me from about ten steps away. Rather than responding, I addressed everyone.

"A new Representative has been elected. Let's all congratulate him."

Clap. Clap. Clap.

As my shameless applause echoed through the desolate station, everyone looked at me as if I were insane. Gu Seona and Kim Gyeongsik glared at me, too.

"Could you be..."

Only then did everyone seem to understand why I had waited instead of claiming the white flag.

「At this point, Yu Junghyeok is the person best suited to be Chungmuro Station's Representative.」

I calmly endured the Readers' stares and pictured Chungmuro Station's future.

「If Junghyeok becomes Representative, gathering Chungmuro's Readers together won't be impossible.」

Junghyeok was the protagonist of TWSA and the strongest Incarnation at this point.

If none other than Junghyeok became Representative, the Readers wouldn't dare cast opposing votes.

「This was Lee Hakhyun's "Operation to Unite Chungmuro."」

What was my role in all this?

"Please claim the flag."

What else could it be?

"Everyone is waiting for you."

A few Readers frowned at my fawning tone. Still, there was no helping it. This was the best option right now.

Didn't I tell you before? My first survival plan had been to meet Junghyeok, latch onto him, then switch over to Dokja.

Well, it's not like I still thought that way, but...

"I've changed my mind."

That was when Junghyeok said something strange.

"What?"

Junghyeok stared at me for a moment, then lightly nudged the white flag over with his foot instead of picking it up. The flag fell precisely toward me. After looking down at it for a moment, he spoke.

"You take it."

* * *

"Inho-ssi, what happened?"

The situation had become strange. To summarize it for the confused Readers in Gyeong Se-in terms:

1. The protagonist Junghyeok appeared dramatically and declared that the flag was his. (That could happen.)

2. The protagonist Junghyeok made a cool, troubled expression and made one full circuit of the station. (That could happen.)

3. The protagonist Junghyeok handed the flag to the suspicious Inho Cheon. (???) << New!!

Jeong Huiwon asked with a puzzled expression.

"Did you pay that man?"

"He's not the kind of guy who'd do this for money."

Trampling the flag he had knocked over as he strode away, Junghyeok sat on a distant bench and glared in this direction. He looked as though he intended to watch what choice I made.

[The Constellation Monarch of the Small Fries admires Incarnation Yu Junghyeok's bearing!]

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon asks what on earth Incarnation Yu Junghyeok is doing.]

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband curls his lip at Incarnation Yu Junghyeok.]

[The Constellation Bald Army General asks what on earth is happening.]

I wanted to ask, too.

Why was this happening?

"It seems kicking it doesn't count as claiming ownership. Should I touch it a little, too?"

"Se-in-ssi, what if you become Representative?"

"Hehe."

While Gyeong Se-in and Uncle Dansu played around with the flag between them, I looked down at it and thought.

「The Junghyeok I know would never entrust the flag to someone else.」

The moment someone owned the flag, everyone in that station became a member of the flag owner's group.

Yet Junghyeok had handed the flag over to me instead of claiming it himself.

Why?

There were two hypotheses.

Hypothesis one: Junghyeok had gone insane.

He had gone mad from regressor's depression and made the drastic decision to hand me the flag and join my group.

No matter how I thought about it, that couldn't be true. One look at those vicious eyes told me he was completely sane.

Hypothesis two: he had noticed that I had used him in the Apostles' conflict.

Even if he had found that out, there was no reason for Junghyeok to give me the flag. With his personality, one or two Apostles weren't worth worrying about in the first place.

As I met his intense gaze, something that had happened in the Theater Dungeon suddenly came to mind.

「"You are Yu Junghyeok."」

Wait, could it be?

Hypothesis three: "Yu Junghyeok Who Repays Favors" had appeared.

I had helped Junghyeok in the Theater Dungeon. My [Incitement] had awakened Junghyeok from his regressor's depression, and he had seized the opportunity to defeat the Theater Dungeon's boss.

It could be said that was entirely thanks to me.

Then was the third hypothesis correct after all?

Still, did a story like "Yu Junghyeok Who Repays Favors" even exist in this world?

If I could, I wanted to enter the Snowfield and ask Dokja.

"Excuse me."

"What will you do?"

The Incarnations who had cautiously raised their hands asked me.

I hadn't officially claimed the flag yet.

Hyeonu, Gu Seona, Kim Gyeongsik, even Killer King and Literary Girl64.

All the Incarnations at Chungmuro Station were suddenly looking at me.

「Junghyeok has entrusted the disposition of this flag to me.」

I didn't know why he had given me this flag.

Still, from now on, I was the one who would decide its owner.

* * *

[The Representative of Chungmuro Station has been elected.]

As though their fight over the position of Representative had been a lie, the Incarnations cooperated to repair the ruined station.

"For the time being, we need to use this place as our Shelter Zone. Seona-noona, please secure food for everyone. Gyeongsik-ajusshi, form a separate unit and scout the nearby stations. The Representative Elections at other stations should be over by now. There might even be Odokhyeop bastards around."

"Leave it to me."

The people moved in perfect coordination at Hyeonu's words.

"And..."

Hyeonu met my eyes from afar and quietly lowered his head.

I understood. Things were probably still awkward.

Someone beside me spoke.

"You're a really strange guy."

I turned to see Pildu Gong with a displeased expression. He was stroking Max, the Ground Rat, while watching Hyeonu carry supplies.

"You could have become Representative. Hyeonu wouldn't have complained, either."

"Taking a position is a real pain."

"Why?"

What was there to say?

Most of the Incarnations here were members of the landlord coalition who had cleared Scenarios alongside Hyeonu.

If I had become Representative, they would have followed me reluctantly, but they wouldn't have sincerely sworn loyalty to me.

Even when that Kim Dokja had taken Chungmuro Station, there had been some defectors from this group.

And besides...

"Above all, there's someone much better suited to it than I am."

[The current Representative of Chungmuro Station is Incarnation Pildu Gong.]

Pildu Gong, the Armament Lord of the Ten Evils.

He was Chungmuro Station's longtime resident, an Incarnation with both the strength and connections to lead the station despite not being a Reader.

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon is disappointed by your idiotic behavior.]

[The Constellation King Heungmu asks if that means there won't be a fight.]

A few Constellations expressed dissatisfaction with my decision. I understood why.

Still, it wasn't a losing deal from my perspective.

[A Constellation that has yet to reveal its modifier finds your choice interesting.]

[The Constellation Reclining Dragon praises your far-sighted judgment.]

[Constellations of the absolute good alignment admire your wisdom.]

[The Constellation Defence Master supports your judgment.]

[You have received a sponsorship of 2,000 coins.]

I stroked Max as Max rubbed against my calf and continued.

"I gave it to Pildu-ssi because he accepted my conditions."

[You are not currently under Chungmuro Station's rule.]

[You are not currently affiliated with Chungmuro Station.]

The terms of my contract with Pildu were simple.

Those who rejected the Representative's rule, including the Apostles and me, would remain under Chungmuro Station without being forced to obey.

He would form a temporary alliance with me and would not act against our Allies until the Scenario ended.

All of this would be sworn through an Existence Oath.

[The Existence Oath is currently active.]

An Existence Oath was a pact among Incarnations. If its terms were broken, blue Mana would rise and burn the oathbreaker's heart.

The Readers who had been watching from afar were exchanging opinions.

"Seona-ssi, are you really staying here?"

"Well... as long as the Representative doesn't have the power to force us, there's no reason we can't stay together."

"Th-then I'll stay in Chungmuro, too."

What the Apostles feared now was a single Representative wielding unbridled power. If that problem was resolved, there was no reason they couldn't cooperate.

The Readers probably hadn't thought of such a simple answer because they hadn't had the room to do so.

Until just now, they had been reading this story alone.

Still, the Readers I knew were never people who read stories alone.

―Didn't I tell you before? Secretive Plotter is Yu Junghyeok! Yu Junghyeok from another worldline! I knew it!

└Before, you said he was Kim Dokja.

└I am Yu Junghyeok!

└This guy always leaves the same comments.

...

As I read the comments written by the Readers, I briefly remembered an older time.

"Please protect those people, just as you protected Hyeonu."

"I didn't protect Hyeonu. Hyeonu protected me. I'm only repaying my debt."

I already knew that Pildu cared deeply about Hyeonu.

That was why I had entrusted Pildu with the burden of being Representative in the first place.

「The Pildu Gong of this round is different from the Pildu Gong I knew.」

I didn't know what about Hyeonu had changed Pildu so much.

Perhaps his setting as a "wild goose father" had evolved, or perhaps he had always been this kind of person and had simply been unlucky in the main story.

Either way, it was remarkable.

In a sense, Hyeonu had accomplished something no one in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint had managed to do.

"Are you leaving? It would be safer for you to stay here, too."

It was true that I would be safe here for a while.

But...

"I have to go."

After meeting Han Suyeong in the Theater Dungeon, I had realized something.

To reach the end of the Scenario in this "41st round" world, ordinary resolve wouldn't be enough.

If I only intended to retrace the path Dokja had walked, I would never survive when I met her again.

「I have to become stronger. Maybe even stronger than Dokja of the third round.」

"Tell me if you need help."

"Let's hope that doesn't happen."

Junghyeok, who had been sitting on the bench, stood up.

It was time to leave.

* * *

Jeong Huiwon, Uncle Dansu, Gyeong Se-in, and I packed our things and prepared to leave Chungmuro.

A few people came to see us off, including Literary Girl64.

"Where's Killer King?"

"They're lying down and won't get up. I think the shock was too much."

"Shocked? Why?"

"They're staring at the ceiling and muttering, 'I was a fake.'"

I could roughly tell what state Killer King was in.

"Please comfort them."

Literary Girl64 nodded.

"We'll see each other again, right?"

"Of course."

"Let's talk a lot more about novels."

I said goodbye to Hyeonu last. Hyeonu still hesitated around me, so I guessed things were still awkward.

There were people like that in the world. They couldn't bear feeling sorry, so they hovered around someone and ended up doing something even more regrettable.

"If you're going to apologize, this is your last chance."

I decided to give Hyeonu a chance.

Fortunately, Hyeonu was still a boy. He wasn't old enough to be severely reprimanded simply because he wasn't familiar with various social manners.

"Usually, getting hit by an artillery shell kills you."

Hyeonu's face reddened. Tears welled in his eyes as he lowered his head.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to kill you, Inho-ssi. I just... I couldn't think of a better way."

I looked at Hyeonu for a moment, then took an item from my clothes and set it on the ground.

[Miniaturization has been deactivated.]

The artillery piece instantly expanded back to its original form, and Hyeonu's expression changed.

"Th-this is..."

"It's the Singijeon you asked for then."

Hyeonu examined the Singijeon from every angle, his mouth hanging open.

"It really existed. It really did."

Those shining eyes showed that Hyeonu was a Reader through and through.

"But why are you giving this to me...?"

I answered Hyeonu in a calm voice as he lowered his head.

"You did it to save people, didn't you?"

"N-no. I... I just..."

"Do you want to become Kim Dokja?"

Hyeonu jerked his head up, his eyes wide.

His expression asked how I knew.

There was no way I couldn't know.

[The Reader Comment List has been activated.]

I don't know if the author will see this, but I'll write it anyway. There's a spell I recite when I'm having a hard time. I am Kim Dokja. My friend says I look more like an octopus than a squid, though. I wanted to thank you. I'll come back in a few days to reread it from the beginning.

―Likes 351 / Dislikes 0

(Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Chapter 551)

I had known from the moment I first saw Hyeonu.

That was why I wanted to tell him.

"Hyeonu-ssi, you aren't Kim Dokja. Even without becoming Kim Dokja, you're already a strong and wonderful person."

Not everyone needed to be unhappy.

This world was a story shaped by one person's misfortune, not a story written so everyone could be unhappy.

"Don't become Kim Dokja. Don't sacrifice yourself for someone else. No matter what happens, survive. You have to."

Sacrifice wasn't the only way to save someone.

Sometimes, a single sentence could save someone from the brink of death.

The Readers had taught me that.

"And I recite that spell sometimes, too."